I'm an idiot. I know this because DW has just told me. A couple of people rang yesterday and mentioned it as well. I didn't even know all of them. Also there was an ad in the Sunday paper. And some jerk has sky-written "Bernard is an id". He hasn't finished yet but I'll let you know what it says when he is. Even Princess has called me an idiot and she is only four. I try and discourage that sort of attitude but Princess can see how funny it is by DW's reaction, which kind of softens any rebuke from me, the idiot. In my defense, I have five pieces of string with which I fashioned the words "am not" in my office. Unfortunately, I'm the only one in my office today so my witty comeback and craftsmanship will not be appreciated until Wednesday. Still, I don't see any of my disparagers lining up to play me in chess. Could be because they are afraid I'll embarrass them or because I like to move my pieces with a 5-iron (safety glasses should be mandatory in chess). If anyone ever says to me "Is that a golf club in your pocket...?" it probably is.

Speaking of segues, DW recently did something of note, which I failed to note, despite its noteworthiness. She likes to cross-stich. While it is definitely not a good idea to stitch when angry, cross-stitch is actually a reference to the manner in which tiny little threads are poked through tiny little holes and back through to make a tiny little crosses. Unlike cross-woodworking, cross-web browsing and cross-tv watching. Cross-country skiing is different again.

Anyway, DW loves to cross-stitch, but having kids does make it difficult. And while I'm not specifically referring to the labour, a very funny visual just popped into my head and the term cross-stitch is funny again. Not that giving a woman in labour any kind of pointy object is cause for humour.

As I was saying, kids can make it difficult to find the time to do the things you did before kids. In our house BC means "before children" and AD means "after dinner". The common theme is children, not time. So DW's passion for stitching crossly slowed to a crawl. However, ground has been made up and threads have been spent, and many "wow"s and "that looks fantastic" and "I'm not just saying that, I know which part you're working on" later, she has finally finished an extraordinary piece of work. It is called "Magical Night" and it has taken nearly ten years. I could be wrong about that duration. The designer is a woman called Teresa Wentzler and DW is a big fan. In fact, DW has made it a point to collect every TW design she can find and currently has far more patterns than she could ever hope to stitch in a month, even if we didn't have kids.

Much has happened to us over the ten years and when DW finally finished this piece the other day, she was understandably emotional. She was very proud of what she had achieved and so was I. The result is fantastic. I haven't the patience to do cross-stitch and DW says I'm an idiot but I can appreciate fine work when I see it. DW even improved on the original design because she felt it wasn't quite perfect. She really did an excellent job.

Then she did something quite expected. She emailed Teresa Wentzler directly. Now, TW doesn't overtly encourage this behaviour and DW isn't one to put herself out there like this, so it was something of a surprise, not only to me. In fact, DW didn't even tell me she had done it until she got a reply, not from TW's solicitors but TW herself. And the email wasn't just a "good job" or "nice one" or even "this is my private email address. Please don't...". TW was actually very interested in what DW had to say about what "Magical Night" had come to mean in her life and how she was so very proud to have completed it. It showed me that TW is not only a great designer, but also a compassionate person who cares about the impact she has on other people. I don't mind that. What really impressed me was that DW showed me something I didn't know about her. Its wonderful to know that the person I know best can still find ways to surprise me and that makes me very proud. And surprised.

Ciao!

Thought for the day: Wheat bags do not make great pets, but you are legally allowed to microwave them.