To Have Is Not To Hold

A friend of mine is getting engaged, or is engaged to be married. She was discussing the price of diamond rings and the idea that she might like to purchase a second hand ring in order that they could save some money and be a little more creative. After all, where is the art in wandering into Graff and laying down the price of an apartment? Yesterday on the way to buy a cake,  ever helpful I looked in the jewel shops of Burlington Arcade and what struck me was just how many 'second hand' engagement rings there were. I wondered if each one of the those precious stones embodied some bitter disappointments and sorrows of the previous owner. Shattered dreams of togetherness cashed in at the local porn shop? I am reminded of Marian Williamson talking about the 'jewel encrusted frames of our ideals', she says the rubies are your blood and the diamonds are your tears. I can't imagine the energy of a second hand ring would be particularly great somehow. I think I would not get engaged in the first place as it seems totally pointless this side of the enlightenment era and not get married either except of course under the following circumstances

• man is extremely interesting & rich 
• international border issues 
• protection of inheritance 

When a friend who was struggling not to divorce his wife asked me if I would ever get married again, my response was 

'Not for something as transient as love.' 

Happiness Is ....

Stella and I had a total Hamlet moment this morning when I received an email in response to a letter I wrote to Laduree head office complaining that Stella had been asked to leave the Covent Garden branch. I pointed out to them that they had dogs in their advertisements and in Paris stores. The manager who wrote to me apologised and said that he has made it clear to staff that dogs are welcome in retail and that we could collect 8 free macaroons for our inconvenience. How totally fabulous. They even gave me the beautiful and special Tsumori Chisato box. Pity there is nothing else to complain about really ..

Here Comes The Sun

I love that song so much. I have managed to achieve a number of things this week. I threatened legal action against the university that I worked for and they have decided to adjust my pay schedule accordingly. It is amazing what can be achieved with a little legal terminology! I bought a ticket to Miami so I have something to lift my spirits on a rainy day like today.

Lazy Wednesday Afternoon

Stella and I had to wait in for the fire alarm man to come with our new 'heat detection' system. Time for a nap and to update our blog. What is fabulous about our new system is that it detects heat not smoke which means that I can burn incense with impunity from here on. Normally I have to begin each ceremony by standing on tip toes on a chair sellotaping a plastic bag over the fire alarm. This is not fail safe system and I have had to resort to beating a number of over zealous fire alarms to death in an effort to get them to stop screeching.

Found items

I gathered up some discarded Crow feathers from St James Park to use as page marks in my Magick books.

Everything is beautiful ...

We were sitting in  a dimly lit Chinese restaurant peering at the menu, sharing our reading glasses trying to get a focus on our options. Roz said she wouldn't take her reading glasses out of the house as they made her look old. I said I liked mine as I think they make me look smart. Jess said that she blames Botox for ruining her eyesight and insists that she had perfect vision up until the day she succumed to the beauty treatment of the Gods. I don't think that Botox damages your eyesight. I think you have Botox because you look old and that your eyesight starts to fail because you are actually old. Even if she is correct and there is a corrolation between the two its best to think of it like this. With Botox you look alot better and one of the postive side effects could be that so does everyone else.

Clouds in my coffee

Listening to Carly Simon, You're So Vain. Decided to see if I could get 'clouds in my coffee'.

Night Stalker

So I am standing on the porch and I notice the screens that Richard put up. We were reading Night Stalker together, we often read the same books at the same time. It is all about Richard Ramirez a serial killer who targeted LA in the 1980's. Anyway its wrong to make light of rape but I will say this, if I was going be gagged, bound and defiled then he's my man.  
Still the book was really frightening and it inspired Richard (my Richard - the other is in San Quentin on death row) to purchase screens and window locks for the apartment in Miami. It feels very safe here but when things go wrong in the US they really do go horribly wrong.

It gave me such a jolt when I turned to see that I had left the keys in door all night. I could have got the flat robbed or anything. Imagine Richards horror if I was murdered here. My body would decay at a hell of rate in this heat. I was looking at crime scenes once on You Tube and the victim had become one with the mattress. I imagine myself dissolving into Richards super expensive new mattress. He would raise me from the dead to kill me again.