Illustration, The Universe and Everything

Well, I'm still in Surrey at my mum's and not in Cornwall where I'd hoped to be by now. However, the last check has been done - at long blummin' last - and the results are OK, so it shouldn't be too much longer. I've been working on a few bits and bobs but I don't have my scanner here so I can't assemble it all as yet. I've been mainly been knitting and making notes for my new story idea.

Calorie-free cake, anyone?



I also need to list six odd things about myself, although I have been tagged by three people, so maybe I need 18 weird things!But here goes:

1. I can't eat yellow food. Or rather, I can't eat too much yellow food. For example, a couple of nights ago, my sisters had chicken casserole with mashed potato and peas for dinner. My sister Holly isn't keen on peas, so she had sweetcorn instead. Now the yellow of mash, with the yellow of the corn, and the orange of the carrots, and the creamy colour of the chicken made me feel odd. I actually couldn't look at it. Similarly, I can't eat off a yellow or orange plate.

2. I can't go downstairs. I HATE stairs. Especially if they are old or spiral or those backless ones. I actually have nightmares where I can't get down enormous old, ornate staircases and just cling to them sobbing until either someone rescues me, or I bump down on my backside like a three-year-old. I usually have to hold onto someone's shoulder in front of me as we go down. I think this stems from my grandmother's old staircase which was backless and made from highly polished wood. I always used to think I'd just slip through the back on my socks.

3. If I'm out with Lovely Jon, I never look before I cross the road. I let him be my eyes and ears. Dangerous, I realise, plus I run the risk of looking like a fool when he roughly grabs my elbow and runs with me across the road with my arm in the air.

4. I will straighten all CDs/DVDs in their cases even if they are not mine. Like in the library, or at other people's houses.

5. I have to eat in even numbers. For example, if I'm offered a Tic Tac or similar, I have to take two. My mother is like this, too. To the extent where she had my youngest sister Sophie to make the total number of her children up to a nice, even four.

6. I am a bit obsessed with eyelashes. I love the feel of them. If Lovely Jon is in a particularly nice mood, he'll let me stroke his. I have done this ever since I was two when my grandad used to let me "play with his eyes" while I sucked my thumb. Even now, it will send me to sleep. I often have an overwhelming urge to touch the eyelashes of people I'm talking to, even if they are virtual strangers.

Yes, I am odd.