Evuhleen's Corner

Abigail, Abby, Abbymonster, Aolem, Lemlem (muh muh muh lem!), Princess Lem, Lemska –

And yesterday she turned three. How did this happen? I know that minutes flowed into hours which were carried by a swift tide into days and, in turn, years but these three years seem to have hurried much too quickly. And she is no longer a baby. Instead, a little girl who walks and runs and talks and repeats everything and grabs the prettiest things from my dressing table. Sometimes, I want nothing more than to be with her, even if that means having to play her crazy games.

I'm enclosed by toys of different Disney characters (I recognize Ariel, the Little Mermaid… well not really little anymore with the size of those knockers). Abigail, my niece while having her breakfast (donuts) on her birthday morning told her mum how she wished she’d look like one of her favourite female cartoon characters. I'm only somewhat appalled. I mean, the way Disney depicts princesses doesn't exactly make them look like missile engineers. They're over-sentimental, fall in love at the drop of a hat and get on any random idiot - uh-erm - magic carpet. It's like their whole celluloid way of life is geared wholly towards landing a prince. And that's not right.

In spite of awful role-models and near-lethal amounts of sugar, Abigail’s small birthday party restricted to just family, was fun. Just keep your fingers crossed that we have the same luck on her huge party sometime during next week...when friends, family and kids descend upon our house. Send good vibes. And if you don't hear from me soon, send help.

Abigail, you are adorable, special, smart and funny and I am proud to be your aunt. I'd appreciate it if you'd sleep a little later than 7:00 am and, maybe, not pound on my door when you think it's time for me to wake up (that's cruel). But you’re cute so you can get away with it.

For some reason the other day, I kept replaying the song 'Diamonds are Forever' over and over again in my head. Thankfully the internet still exists and I was able to find a version of this track which has become one of my all time favorite songs since Shirley Bassey’s original, which was the James Bond theme in the movie ‘Goldfinger’. Arctic Monkeys never fails to impress and this track is no different. Included below is one of the finest reworking of a song. This cover is not to be missed.