order in the house

I'm almost not game enough to say it, but I think the excavators are coming in tomorrow. It's been such an amazingly drawn out process. Everything has taken so much longer than expected - ridiculously so. I guess because I've always worked on magazines to me, a deadline is a deadline and must be met or there'll be blank pages - not what the reader requires. So if I'm given a deadline, I stick to it - unless circumstances cause me to beg for an extra day. So when I'm told I'll have plans by a Friday, colour me naive, but I expect them on a Friday, not months later. The structural plans that were meant to take two weeks took three months - and that's after we had to keep sending them back because my husband kept discovering major errors (retaining walls located in our neighbour's yard - other walls that didn't exist...) and now, the construction certificate that takes "seven days, max" is still not complete - 25 days later. Sigh.

But the excavators are still coming in tomorrow to do 'pre-excavation' work - whatever that is. I don't care, so long as it's progress. With only four months till summer I want to be swimming in my own backyard - and not in the Barbie paddling pool - in our real pool! After all, I already have the frock for our "pool cooling party" and have chosen a cocktail to co-ordinate (it's a red and white strapless frock and I reckon a pale blue cocktail "Splashing Out" will be just peachy).

Here's how I'm going to make said cocktail (served in a martini glass - the only way to drink a cocktail)

Splashing Out

A shot of vodka

A shot of blue Curacao (for colour - use more or less to match your pool - our pool's going to be a very retro ice blue - with a white interior so I reckon just a splash of curacao will do it)

A shot of Limoncello

Soda water to top it up

I'll garnish it with a twist of lemon zest and will pop a red mermaid on the side, what's a water-themed cocktail without a mermaid perched on the side? Nibbles to go along with it will include chicken, chorizo and haloumi kebabs, prawn puffs with a smoked chilli dipping sauce and some other delights... Bring on summer.