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2010-04-11T20:41:00.001+12:00

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2010-04-10T19:22:00.013+12:00

Me: Don't you empty that toy box onto the floor, Madam, or there'll be hell to pay! R: But I don't get any pocket money! How'm I supposed to pay anyone anything?

Ahem. Here are some of today's beautiful things:

Finding a necklace I thought lost. It's of great sentimental value, and I'm absurdly delighted to have it back.

Kate's post about a Marie Howe poem, and her comment about 'poets whose words save us just when we need to be saved': read it at Mother Words.

Jack and the girls bake cinnamon pinwheels. They're sticky and delicious. Becca is beside herself with pride.

We take the pinwheels to Morgue and Cal's Farewell To Newtown party, where we spend a couple of hours having afternoon tea while the girls entertain the guests with a synchronised routine on the elliptical trainer, eventually mastering the tricky 'one person on each footplate' manoeuvre.

2010-04-09T16:05:00.013+12:00

A trip to the newly reopened Carter Observatory with Dave and his son Dan. Maggie, instinctively, homes in on the room with the ceiling-high ladder (that would be the one with the great big telescope in it). Dan and Becca squabble over who has seniority. (I'm six! – I'm six, too! – Yeah? Well, I'm six and THREE QUARTERS!) I learn that New Zealand adopted standard, nationally-observed time in 1868, possibly the first country in the world to do so. Becca is very impressed with the planetarium, and excitedly turns to her neighbour and announces: Excuse me, sir: I think the movie's going to show ON THE CEILING! During the show Maggie is excited by the rotating firmament. We go round and round! she exclaims.

Riding the Cable Car up to the Observatory is equally exciting: the girls make friends with a young woman who gives Becca her seat by the window, and helps them count the tunnels, before getting off at the University.

A do to celebrate Maxine's 30-year assocation with the crèche. There are a few speakers, and then Veronica asks if anyone else would like to say a word. A dad comes forward to thank Max for welcoming his autistic son into the centre.

Theye've asked me to play fiddle at Maxine's do. So I do a bit of klez, kicking off with 'Yoshke, Yoshke', which sets a couple of the teachers dancing. Max is delighted, and sings along, when I finish with 'Someone to watch over me': it seemed fitting.

A day so astonishingly blue that complete strangers turn to each other to point it out.

Brian sends me more photos from the archives. If you fancy a laugh, here's one of me in Village Person drag.

2010-04-07T21:40:00.004+12:00

Waiting for a prescription, I browse the cosmetics. You're already beautiful, Mama, says Becca.

She's a lot better today. Her eyes shine with merriment and her cheeks are pink.

At the mall, a bead shop is running free jewellery-making sessions. Becca spends a happy half hour methodically threading tiny purple and red beads onto a wire. She makes a perfect job of the repeating pattern she's chosen, and proudly shows off her necklace in the next shop we visit.

2010-04-06T20:20:00.003+12:00

Being so engrossed in my book (the Coetzee finally made it to the top of the pile!) that I was hanging out for the commute home.

Coming home from work to a warm bright house, a husband cooking dinner and two small persons engrossed in Spongebob. Sometimes domesticity can be pretty.

Because her sister's getting medicine, Maggie, not wanting to be left out, announces, with a dazzling smile, I sick TOO!

2010-04-05T17:18:00.009+12:00

Having weekend guests – my brother Jim, his wife Jo, and their five-year-old Evelyn – makes me appreciate the house all over again – the extra rooms, the space and airiness.

The girls are delighted to see their cousin Evelyn and spend the weekend running around giggling and devising complicated games.

We watch Galaxy Quest for the first time in ages. Much hilarity. That was ... a hell of a thing...

To settle Maggie for a nap she needs but won't take, I lie next to her stroking her hair and watch her fall asleep, then doze next to her for an hour, listening to the excited scampering and shushing on the other side of the wall.

An Easter egg hunt in the back garden turns up for each delighted little girl a chocolate bunny the size of a table lamp (bounty kindly supplied by Jim and Jo).

At the end of a long and busy weekend, a quiet and productive hour in the garden as the sun goes down, watering pruning the tomatoes, spraying and deadheading the roses, potting up herbs. The small-leaved mint Rose gave me is flourishing, putting out tiny mauve flowers; it's been promoted to a bigger container; the ambitious wee oregano plant I got from the garden centre has a huge terracotta tub to take over. And a pot of purple sage joins the happy herbs on the brick ledge in the front garden: hopefully it'll be as happy as the others.

My friend Brian sends me a photo he found while trawling his archives: it's me and Sarah Abbott at Jim's wedding on 5 February 2000, just a couple of weeks before ours. Good gigs both.

2010-04-03T17:19:00.004+13:00

The four of us get the house ready for our Easter visitors. Becca enjoys helping me make up the beds and rearranging her room, which she'll share with her cousin, putting the Dorothy the Dinosaur bed linen on the air mattress for her.

The flame-coloured roses in the front garden, petals clinging tenaciously in the autumn winds.

Wondering what colour the camellia buds will be when they open.

2010-04-02T10:26:00.002+13:00

Becca's hair's so tangled I give it a quick trim before school, evening out her fringe where she hacked a clump out of it a few weeks ago. Am very pleased with the results - my technique is definitely improving and the wide, blunt-cut fringe and collar-length bob suit her lovely heart-shaped face and emphasis her big green eyes.

She walks herself to school for the first time. I follow her slightly disconsolately to our gate, where she turns and says kindly It's OK, Mum, I don't need you any more.

Leaving Mummy Ducky behind at the library provides the opportunity for a second walk into Jville in the sunshine while M, who won't sleep at home, dozes in the pushchair.

By some miracle of timing the second return trip coincides with Becca's Jump Jam assembly. Her face lights up when she sees me sneaking in with Maggie and her face glows with pride as she performs. Meanwhile, Maggie is squirming on my lap and hollering Mummy! I see Becca! Wave to Becca! HELLO, BECCA!! as teachers and Other Mums smile benevolently in our direction.

2010-03-31T19:29:00.004+13:00

We take the girls to see the Wiggles. It's usual during performances for a couple of the lads to walk around the auditorium, greeting their excited young fans; as Sam approaches, Becca runs forward to present him with a bunch of fan letters she's written and carefully sealed in envelopes illustrated with each character's emblem. I see his tall figure bend over and listen to what she's saying, then they give each other a high five and she scampers back to her seat, face glowing.

Overwhelmed by the awesomeness of it all, Maggie, on our return home, has a two-hour nap. Two hours of peace!

Becca announces that from now on she'd like to walk to and from school by herself. And we're going to let her: it's a five-minute walk, with no roads to cross, or driveways, for that matter.

2010-03-30T11:02:00.010+13:00

I ring the shop about the standard lamp I bought the other day, which is missing a piece. Violet, who sold it to me, remembers me, and is lovely about the fact that I have no idea what became of the receipt. We have a very amiable conversation and she promises to help with the shlepping as I will have Maggie when I go in to get the replacement.

J emails that M is happy this morning because she is wearing her pirate dress. This makes me smile at my desk.

Instead my usual quick 30 minute lunch break, I take a leisurely hour, and go and buy a bright red top, which I will wear in winter when it is grey and gloomy.

2010-03-29T22:11:00.003+13:00

An after-work swim for the first time in ages, and having the whole pool to myself.

New and somewhat pricey but (important, this) non-leaky swimming goggles.

Stepping on the scales with my eyes screwed half shut and discovering I've lost 4 kilos in the last couple of months without particularly trying.

2010-03-28T20:13:00.003+13:00

Soft shell crab, Japanese style, at Kazu. Crunchy, juicy, and fun to rip apart with chopsticks.

We take the girls to the pool. Becca proudly shows off her unassisted deep water swimming styles.

An afternoon in the garden, pottering and doing maintenance. Becca joins in with the deadheading and weeding, and we plant lavender in the spot vacated by the scraggly daisies I pulled out.

2010-03-27T19:22:00.003+13:00

Watching the gyrocopter at Wellington Aero Club's open day. It looks and moves like a shopping trolley with a propeller stuck on top of it.

Paddling with Maggie at Lyall Bay. She toddles into the sea, and the wave recedes. Hey, she exclaims, what happened? Moments later she has a dunking, but it doesn't faze her: she simply strips off her little pink sundress and carries on.

A brisk walk around Newlands with J and his mum's hounds; we stride up the steep path to the top of the ridge, near the trig point and see some weather coming in from the south.

With the girls at their nana's, an evening pass, and deciding what to do with it.

2010-03-26T12:06:00.005+13:00

Home-made pesto from the bushy plants on our windowsill - so easy to make in the food processer. A dollop each on spaghetti, and dinner is done.

By the bus station, a woman and a handsome golden retriever are collecting for the Red Puppy appeal. The dog's clearly very excited by the bustle of commuters and is barking at everyone who passes. Shush, she says, bending down to him, shush!

A stroll around Thorndon in the late afternoon sun clears my mind between work and commute.

2010-03-25T13:56:00.002+13:00

As I'm playing a Bach Partita, Becca slips in and stands listening for a moment, looking entranced, then begins to execute what I can only describe as an interpretive dance.

Maggie yells Higher! Higher! as I push her on the swings as hard as I can.

Pushing the stroller back up the hill, even laden with twice the weight its manufacturers recommend, gets easier every day.

2010-03-24T18:31:00.005+13:00

Bit of a Maggie theme today, but she has been especially adorable.

Jack replaces the bulb in Maggie's bedside lamp. My light! You fix it. It's better!

We arrive at Mainly Music just as the second song is starting. Maggie rushes in and joins in with the kangaroo hopping dance, earnestly encouraging her friend Catarina to do the same.

At Te Papa, she spies the giant ammonite fossil: Look at the big snail!

2010-03-23T16:10:00.007+13:00

An email from a Cambridge chum, asking me to write a book review for a scientific journal she edits. Last time I was asked for a book review, it was by one of my PhD examiners, during my thesis defense, which I correctly took as a good sign.

An email from Emma, who accepted some of my poems for Enamel: it'll be out in May.

The exciting possibility of a klez/gyspy-fest in Wellington later this year, featuring some cracking bands (including the Rebs, of course!): further bulletins as events warrant...

birthday party

2010-03-22T20:45:00.002+13:00

2010-03-21T22:47:00.003+13:00

In the middle of party prep, taking the roundabout route into J'ville - walking up the top of the hill in order to stroll down the long sweep of Ironside Road, below which J'ville looks like Toytown.

Pulling off another successful birthday party: take a houseful of overexcited six-year-olds; add refined sugar, a dressups box, and ABBA...

My friend Suzie offers to make Becca's cake. It's in the shape of a bejewelled crown resting on a tasselled cushion. Jaws drop all round, mine included; the birthday girl, possibly for the first time in her life, is lost for words.

2010-03-20T16:38:00.003+13:00

Tai chi demo in Civic Square. The group's made up of all shapes, sizes, ages and backgrounds, and they're all moving calmly, unselfconsciously, gracefully through their routine. Having a few minutes to spare, I sit and watch, and chat to the organiser. Apparently it's very good for your knees.

A brisk walk back along the waterfront. Blustery wind and sunshine make the harbour dance and dazzle, and the place is alive with cyclists, dogs, skaters, promenaders, shrieking kids and stallholders setting up for this year's South East Asian Night Market.

She's a serious eater, comments one mum admiringly of Maggie's performance at a birthday party.

2010-03-20T09:47:00.002+13:00

Klezmer Rebs at Paekakariki tonight? Folk, Yeah!

2010-03-19T21:11:00.003+13:00

Becca staggers into the kitchen first thing, a sleepy haystack, improbably attired.

A really good meeting about new project at work, collaborating with colleagues from different teams.

A gathering to celebrated Piriniki's arrival. Activists, musos and rugrats mingle happily, and the baby is passed around.

2010-03-18T19:36:00.002+13:00

A gig buzz that's still there when I wake.

Suzy admires my (frankly splendid) basil plants, and asks what my secret is. I have to confess it's just lots of water and a really good spot on the kitchen windowsill, in the morning sun.

I go book-shopping for niece Molly's second birthday. Unable to choose between the two finalists, I get both.

2010-03-18T13:33:00.004+13:00

Aunty C comes around with a present and birthday cupcakes for R. We leave a couple for Jack, but when I go into the kitchen to put them away, I find that Maggie has sneaked in and carefully removed the M&Ms from the tops. (At least, I assume it was Maggie.)

A joyful, energetic gig at Bodega, sharing a bill with the young and talented Oy Azoy. Our awesome clarinetist Urs is back, and it's a treat to tag team with him on Heyser Bulgar. And to see him from the audience jamming with Oy Azoy during their set.

Getting to meet and have a cuddle of Urs and Em's new baby Piriniki.

Rebecca

2010-03-16T14:13:00.007+13:00

It's Rebecca's birthday. She embodies beautiful things to numerous to count, but as she's six today, here's a double 3BT for her:

Her eyes are subtly different colours. They're green, like her father's, but the right eye has a large amber splash.

She has a warm heart, and a compassionate nature. Empathy comes naturally to her, and she is nurturing and kind to those close to her.

She is fiercely proud, and protective, of her little sister. And patient.

She loves dogs (and has been agitating for one for some time). When we're out and about and she sees a dog, she always asks the owner politely if she can pat it. And she knows how to approach and greet a dog gently so it will respond to her.

She could talk the leg off an iron pot, and argues with cunning, skill and exhausting persistence.

She loves to climb trees, to brachiate, to climb from rope to rope, and to show off new tricks she's mastered. Every day she gets stronger, more coordinated, and more daring.

Happy Birthday, Becca Bug!