I'd rather be surfin' USA

Aurora Joy at Audley End
1A
Shoulders
Jetlagged

(do you realise this means I'm getting there with my backBlips? Surely not!)

Great day with Mary and Alexander in Marina del Rey. We lived here for a few years both on this period of living in the US and 15 years ago, ironically too on the same street. I remember when Reuben first came home from hospital. We relied on day and night nurses to get us through because of his medical complexity, and I remember too when I became pregnant with Callum after IVF 5 just 3 months after Reuben came home, allowing on occasion a nurse, after weeks of training by me, to take Reuben for a walk. It was to give me a break I guess, and to get me through a long term sick pregnancy and allow me some sleep when the night nurse was a no show. Yet, coming back here today watching the boys play together, or run wild making new friends, climbing, playing with sand (at last Reuben can), I couldn't help but wish I had never had to rely on anyone else to help with Reuben's care. I had no choice at the time, but still, that necessity didn't make it any easier.

How sentimental I'm now feeling with Mary shortly to leave LA with a new military posting of her husband's. I'm just trying to fit everything in with her from now til then that we possibly can. She really has been a marvellous friend through the most intensive times this year whilst Reuben's been in hospital, taking on Callum's separation anxiety at its most profound. Thank you Mary!

The Cheesecake Factory finished the day off rather nicely, thank you and with Mary buying her first SLR to lovingly capture son Alexander and with my coaxing to join us here in Blip so I can keep in touch with her easily when she's gone, we've made plans for shooting a Trash-the-Dress at the beach. Any takers? Seriously... *

Another lovely memory of today: this morning before I found myself in a bit of bother back ache, probably due indeed to the amount of time spent at the children's table in the kitchen, I thought I should teach Reuben how to draw and patiently, with his little left hand came a sun ("What colour is the sun, Reuben? - he signs yellow. What colour is the grass Reuben? - he signs green), sky, grass, flowers and a little Callum. I guess that should be tomorrow's Blip because I'm absolutely over the moon not just about him conceptualising colours, but about the lovely drawing in yellow, blue, green, red, purple and pink (Callum) which I will forever cherish.

*Note: Trash-the-dress is about giving your wedding dress (or longed for wedding dress if you've seen one in Goodwill or your local charity shop) a second chance to dazzle. My vision is shoot the bride (?) with or without the husband dancing in the waves or running through open meadows, that sort of thing. I love the style having had a lifelong interest in fashion photography. I have every issue of Vogue from the 80s til mid 90s, with pages of b/ws completely covering my walls at university - daunting for some but I was drawn to the low key back then. So with tonnes of inspiration from my 80s and 90s photographic heros, great locations and stunning weather, I couldn't resist the draw. Trash-the-dress is edgy and great fun and sure beats the gown sitting in a pristine box in a dusty cupboard! Looking for models in LA for a complimentary shoot. Any takers?