Day 41: (Good luck) Silver Seed pearls

I'm not a very superstitious person, but these silver seed pearl earrings have become my talisman. I have chosen to wear them for the birth of the boys, whenever I've had surgery, and I always wear them when I fly!  (I also stay awake when I fly too, to keep the plane in the air of course - it's punishing on a long haul flight to the UK.  I'm working on addressing my magical thinking!).

James aka Mr Incredible welcoming Angus; me with silver seed peals.

I designated these as my lucky charm soon after I bought them when on a flight the sleeper to which the pearl was attached opened and the pearl fell off. Miraculously, I not only noticed that the pearl was missing but found it among the detritus wedged between the seats! As soon as I could, I bought a more secure pair of sleepers to attach them to; they have been my security blanket ever since.

What makes them extra special is that I bought them in 1999 when I was staying with Pauline and John in their lovely Notting Hill flat. I found them in a small shop on Portobello Road, which is located just around the corner. It must have been July as I remember also buying Cazy a similar pair with a red bead, to take home for her birthday.

J&I 5/3/03

Happy J with Octopus

I chose them today for the obvious reason that I was wearing them 14 years ago to the day, when James was born - one of the most momentous days of Rob's and my life. After three long days in labour, it made me indescribably happy to give birth to a healthy boy. James was a good baby - once we worked out how to feed him properly (with some sound advice from big sister Ree!)- and has always been such an easy going, cheerful, chatty boy.

It thrills me to bits watching James emerge as a young man with a great sense of humour, compassion for others and diverse and quirky interests. The quirkiness was well on display this morning when he woke us up by letting off a cracker full of metallic blue confetti all over our bed - quite a surprise to say the least!! 🎉  😬😬😬

Opening Nanna Betty's card

Angus w. James in new raincoat with pasta maker

James was showered with messages, gifts and appropriately funny cards - thanks to you all! Angus gave him a pasta maker, so with Mel's help we're hoping to expand his repertoire in the cooking stakes.

James @3 with pirate-cowboy cake

J&G with Rob's successful incredibles cake

James @8 with Nanny's rainbow cake

As is obvious, James loves a good birthday celebration and has had many fun parties. Both he and Angus have made it clear that they wish I was a more talented cake decorator - more like my Aunty Meg or friend Lisa. His 3 year old pirate cake looked more like a cowboy, others were a complete disaster. When I can, I've contracted the job out to Rob or Mum - who made a mean rainbow cake, where mine looks like mud!

All about women

On Day 41 in amongst James-mas, I got to enjoy a belated celebration of my own. As my birthday gift, Andy generously purchased tickets for us to attend the 'All about women' festival held at the Opera House. First up we heard Actor Geena Davis give a really funny and energising speech about her work in changing women's representation in film. Her point about learning - in her case through engaging in sport-  to have the confidence to embrace the space she takes up in the world really struck home (and made me think of Nat and KK). We then listened to Janine di Giovanni discuss her life as a war correspondent in Syria among many other places. She was also great, albeit with Geraldine Doogue as moderator being more on the grating side! These two events, followed by a delicious lunch, were such a special treat. I wished I had the energy to see more of the events offer, curated by the wonderful Ann Mossop (who I used to work with at Usyd), but as most talks will be available as web/podcasts, I can download the rest.  Rob's delicious roast lamb dinner, and my nectarine toffee birthday cake - one of my better efforts - topped off a lovely day. How spoilt am I!