Disguise

A quick doodle for Illustration Friday, just so I don't get out of the habit (it's easy to do). The theme this week is 'disguise', and this is an animal disguised as a snowboarder - he's hoping his outfit will do the trick, I imagine. There's no more snow in Auckland, by the way. Spring is creeping a little closer, the days are becoming a tiny bit warmer, and there are lots of duck couples waddling round the neighbourhood, looking (I think) for places to lay their nests.

Seven

Suddenly seven. How did that happen? Enormous amounts of showing off, shouting and cheeky answering back are interspersed with whispering sweet nothings into Neil the cat's ear and making little houses for his toy koala. I'm trying not to get all soppy (too late), but sometimes it really is like watching the gradual slow-motion fading of childhood innocence into the fight to be tougher, harder, bigger, faster, better than anyone else. Help! I think I need a stern talking-to.

Sort of Snowing

Snow in central Auckland? Not since 1939, apparently. It's a shame it didn't last long enough to make even a tiny snowman, but it's given everyone something to talk about. The country's being swept by an Extreme Polar Blast (I like the capital letters, it sounds more dramatic), surging up from Scott Base. Places like Wellington, where I grew up and never ever saw one snowflake, are covered in snow, even down to beach level, with photos of suburban houses looking like cosy little lamplit cottages in the wintry English countryside. Staying inside, wrapped up in fluffy blankets and eating soup, seems like a good idea at the moment. It's not just the cold, but all the news of erupting worldwide chaos over the past week or so - in fact, it's been a year of chaos; things cracking up, the unexpected shattering of normality. Sometimes the simplicity of home makes it the very best place to be.

Obsession

'Cure for an obsession - get another one.'  Mason Cooley

I can definitely relate to this week's Illustration Friday theme! L's current obsessions: volcanoes (are there any about to explode in Auckland), guns, Jackie Chan, wobbly teeth, money. Mine: MasterChef, hot baths, the smell of jasmine, other people's haircuts (haven't had one for months because I'm trying to grow it). Very tame. Once upon a time my past obsessions were once much more exciting and emotionally draining; usually involving unattainable men and running away to live in foreign countries, although if I start thinking about it I could get obsessed with living-in-Paris-or-New-York fantasies once again...