On the shelf

Books currently on my bedside table:

- A decent ransom by Ivana Hruba. When a woman is kidnapped and her husband refuses to pay the ransom, she plans her revenge. It caught my eye on the 'new books' table at the library.

- Unfair Trade - How big business exploits the world's Poor and why it doesn't have to, by Conor Woodman. This sounds really interesting and challenging. I hope it's got something I can do at the end.

- Big Porn Inc, edited by Melinda Tankard Reist and Abigail Bray. I'm scared of reading this, but I know it's important.

- Perfect people skills - all you need to get it right first time, by Andrew Floyer Acland. Here's a quote: "When people are listened to, they feel they matter; that what they think and feel is important. That they are important. And when people feel important... they feel responsible and they act responsibly. That's why listening is important."

Projects waiting to be done:

- A weighted blanket for Bright Eyes, in the hopes that it will help him calm down. I suppose I can always sell it on if it doesn't work. They appear to retail for around $200!

- a little smock top for a friend's 2 year old. I made her one last year but she's outgrown it.

- Eight (8!) white waistcoats for Year 3 and 4 boys for our school musical. Think John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever and you know what I mean.

Work on the boil:

- A series of leaflets for my mum's work about migrants of different types, for her ESL teachers. Five down, seven to go by mid-January.

- A pitch to Jessica Kingsley Publications to publish Love, Tears & Autism in the UK and the US. My current publishers are Australia/NZ only.

- Eventually, I'll turn over Invisible again and see if I can't get it up to standard. The Penguin editor sent me another email telling me not to give up on it!

Decluttering areas to get done

- pantry

- cupboard under the stairs

- my craft cupboard (again)

- the garage. Oh My Goodness. It's a Bomb!