Communicating without words

Thank you for all of your photo-editing suggestions. I am feeling my way around Photoscape at the moment, although it's rather trial and error and the photos are bigger than normal.

It's been a nicely productive week here, after the mad driving up and down to the forest last week. The peach tree is blooming, I have been drying washing on the line and the tomato seeds are up. Spring, no?

I have given up coffee, which you may recall I started drinking back last summer. I feel heaps better without it. I was about to make myself a cup the other day, but I read up about it a bit first and realised that I get lots of the negative things it can cause. I really do feel quite unwell when I drink it. I've been drinking a mug or two of green tea every day instead and I have my appetite back and all is good. Coffee does have rather a siren call though, doesn't it.

I have been happily cooking nice things for everyone, after a rather lacklustre period of thinking I just don't want to eat anything. Does anyone else have that thing where a child sidles up while they're cooking, peers over their shoulder and says, after a dramatic pause, Is it supposed to look like that? Probably just me. The littlest boy is being vegetarian for Lent which is nice. He has give up the few meaty things that he likes, which has been just enough sacrifice to make it meaningful.

The internet has taken to showing me adverts for Chanel jewels. I love its optimism. Internet purchases that I am actually considering are a bargain pack of cotton cleaning cloths, two yak's milk dog chews, a secondhand copy of Scrivener for Dummies and a pair of the stretchy tight-like things that hold shin pads in place when you're playing football. Not a jewel in sight.

There is a new dog parlour in town. You can actually see the dog being groomed on the table inside. There was a very silky show cocker in there today. He looked right at me very intensely and I could actually hear his thoughts: Help. Help! GET ME OUT OF HERE. I am wondering if it is the right thing to be showing the general public the fear and loathing element of dog grooming.

Is it my imagination, or are acronyms out of control? I am increasingly having to Google things like DIP, PoDs and JTM and then getting all confused when there are twenty possible options. I have a client who likes to use jargon as well, so half the time I have to actually translate his emails before I can understand them.

I have a relaxing-ish weekend planned. Bird survey, dog walk, football and cricket practice/reading time. I have new ball of wool that I am contemplating. It has been looking at me from the shelf for a few days now, trying to communicate what it wants to be. I think it's saying The same scarf that you always make but I can't be sure.

Any good plans yourselves?