You know when ...

You know when the whole family is in the building and breakfast is chaos, the doorbell rings just as you are on the phone organising a meeting with last weekend's client ... the doorbell is rung by the man delivering the antique dress-making mannequins for a lovely Parisian-based friend and it turns out that he had spent his honeymoon traveling New Zealand so you talk for a while then go back upstairs, carrying the manneqins, and call back Saturday's client explaining why it would be better if she met you in Brussels after work on the morrow rather than you rushing through post-processing so she can pick up the photo-shoot results today.

Why the rush?
Well this gorgeously 6-month pregnant Australian is flying back to Australia on Friday with her lovely Australian man to quietly marry during the week they are home before relocating someplace over in Japan.

Therefore, it is simpler to try for the rushed post-processing and handover as opposed to chasing them round the world as they wander at speed.

Then there's the beautician's appointment, the waxing into shape of my eyebrows which for some unlucky reason was terribly painful today ... but I didn't cry. She said men do. But just as I was out on the spiral staircase, Jess called me back for the phone and voila, HP Europe was calling.

I didn't believe him for the longest time. I was so sure he was making a mistake. He laughed a lot during our call ... perhaps I won the most amusing customer award, hence the decision to service my broken computer. I do believe every HP phone guy I had a long conversation with yesterday broke into laughter more than once.

And yes, if you work there and they talked about the crazy lady with an accent that wasn't Belgian despite her claiming she lived there well, that was me. I was giddy and shaken by the time he had talked me through the fact that HP would pick up my laptop sometime tomorrow.

Beautician survived and it was off to the supermarket via the sandwich shop organising kids, stepkids and grandkids as I went ... feeling slightly crazed. You know that look a cat gets when it's just seen the pack of dogs heading its way but it still thinks there's a chance to outrun them? It was a quietly determined slightly deranged look I suspect.

Or maybe those Disney birds were circling my head.

Supermarket list mostly ticked ... shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser, chewing gum and then a whispered threat in a Belgian friend's ear that I would have pinched his bum as I strolled up behind him in the queue but I wasn't quite sure that it was him.

His English is more BBC than mine could ever be and he was just back from 2 weeks of shell-searching in Egypt. He's also a magical panoramic photographer and he had fabulous stories to tell. He and his friend dropped me off at home in their car and we made plans to talk one day soon.

And then ... well the air kind of leaked out of me.
I sent off a cd of war memorial images I promised two lovely New Zealand men a long time ago ... it's in the post Gary and Carrick, if you happen to read this. Your photographs too, Sue.

So I'm kind of packed for Italy and for that day at work tomorrow.
The new laptop is loaded with all that I need, including photographs and documents from the external hard drives. I remembered my passport and e-ticket for the flight.

I feel slightly deranged but I'm getting there.
How's things in your world?