success

Got a job today.....yayyyy! Just a teeny weeny job with only a few hours per month but it's my way back into school. The head teacher is lovely and someone I know I can work with. I think I've made a good impression on her. I've met many headteachers in my time. Some positively emanate power and you almost feel like one of their pupils! Some, like this lovely lady, make you feel more like a friend.
I've made it clear that I intend to get actively involved with the school, offering voluntary help and going on their supply list.
My first meeting will be on Monday when I meet the current clerk and begin learning the ropes. I just hope I'm up to it!

two lovelies

Baked a delicious wholemeal loaf today. And bought from Waitrose the Springiest bunch of flowers you're ever likely to see....am trying to feast (my eyes) on the resplendent Ranuncula rather than the bread!

baftas

Loved the show last night, so much more refined and modest than the ostentatious Oscars!

Favourite wins: Carey Mulligan, best actress; Kristen Stewart, rising star; Up, best animated film.

Favourite frocks from left: Romola Garai in Erdem, Kristen Stewart in Chanel, Carey Mulligan in Vionnet and the oh so elegant Audrey Tautou in Lanvin.

times

Today was the first day of Dave's new job. Not the best of starts as at 1am the dialysis machine gave up the ghost and after speaking to someone in America about it for about 45 mins, we were both wide awake! However he managed to get himself up before 7am and arrived on time. Home by 2pm which was lovely and then at 4.15pm I had an interview for the job of clerk to the governors at a local school.
At 5.45pm I was told I hadn't got it! Not really that much of a surprise when I learned that the person who did get it had been doing said job for quite a few years at a different school.
What will be will be and I'm in no rush to rejoin the rat race. Being a kept woman for a while suits me just fine!

larsson mark two

Having just finished reading a wonderfully compulsive trio of books, it seemed very apt to name this blog larsson lover for another reason. The author of those three books is Stieg Larsson and they are called The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. I found them utterly unputdownable ... and for once, my husband agreed with me! Turning the last page of the last book, I felt bereft to know that it was indeed the last as the author died in 2004. The books have only recently been discovered and translated. Thrilling, compelling and passionate, it's hard to not want more of the same.
I'm now reading The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. I am approaching this ghost story with a certain amount of trepidation after reading a review which said "I could only continue reading this book if someone else was in the house"!

why larsson lover?

I spent a good while deciding what to call this blog. I've had many loves and interests over the years, of which a few have dropped by the wayside (including an ex husband I might add!). Art was and still is a biggie and over the years I've fallen in love with many art movements or artists themselves. One of my first loves was all things Impressionist. I studied Van Gogh for my Art A level and I still adore his work. After Impressionism I moved on to the Pre Raphaelite movement (a recently reignited love after becoming addicted to Desperate Romantics on the tv). I then went back to Impressionism, being particularly devoted to Monet and Bonnard. After that came Gustav Klimt which lasted many years, culminating in a visit to Vienna to view most of his masterpieces.
However, one artist has stayed the course right from the beginning. An artist that my mum and I discovered when I was in my teens. I have books and books of his work, his paintings are always the first ones I find a home for when I move house. If I'm looking for a picture to decorate my blog, it's to him that I go. That artist is of course Carl Larsson, a Swedish genius who had the amazing ability to capture on canvas the delightfulness of children, family life and the stunning Scandinavian landscapes. We also see in his work the beauty of his spare, fresh and stylishly furnished home, something that I constantly aspire to.
So this blog, which I intend to use as somewhere to write my thoughts down, will be carefully enhanced by the work of an artist who has remained a love of mine throughout most of my life. The picture I've included below this post, is my favourite of all and has pride of place in my bedroom which I like to think has a touch of the Swedish about it :). Click to enlarge,