A small gallery of works on paper, for no particular reason.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
the I-solator and the lack of face time
I spent a day (airport, meeting,meeting, meeting, airport) in the big city (OK, not that big) this week. On my return to the less frenetic country homefront, I sat down to check what had transpired on Etsy and found this post. It crystallised what I had been thinking about the day.
Those with an aversion to weirdness - look away now. I admit it, I am a sad individual who does not own anything starting with an "I-". No pod, no phone, no pad, no whatever-they-call-their-computery-things.
I know that they are cutting edge, brilliant, fabulous and highly desirable. They do lots of interesting and useful things.
But seriously, folks. The world is out there. Can we not make it up an escalator without telling someone about it, yet not make eye contact with those around us? Are we SO important that we must be contactable 24/7 for any reason? Why do mobile phones have an off switch?
Everyone scuttling along, absorbed in their music or download of choice, no eye contact, no interaction. Yet happy to exchange constant texts with people not in sight. And to list hundreds of 'friends' on their social networking site of choice.
I'm on a nodding acquaintance with a number of people I see regularly during the day. Some, I now stop to chat with or exchange some pleasantry in passing. Even on a bad day, you walk on with a smile. Try it, city dwellers. Spend some time outside your bubble. Join the human race. Social networking can include actual people....
Oooooh, shoes....
Monday, January 17, 2011
bright shiny things
Spent quite a lot of time veging on the front verandah last week, consuming George VI (see previous posts) and a cracking good read it was too. A summer breeze, a sunny day, a tidy garden.
Oh, the serenity!
The bench from last week has been popped under the twisty willow and looks rather nice I think. There is a new side fence which changes the micro climate - ie, stops the sandblasting effect of the wind, at least in part. The agapanthus are blooming, new groundcovers various are starting to do their thing and all is good.
I like the way the ancient bedhead is settling into the garden too. Love that twisty willow!
The girlchild returned from her beachside idyll, suntanned and pretty darned happy. Seems like a continuous party was enjoyed by all. The boy/manchild returned to his cave clutching newly painted Warhammer and I now know far more about painting Space Marines than the average mother.
Next stop, the new school year. Last one!
Next stop, the new school year. Last one!
I spent the weekend among the bright and shiny - the next market is not till Easter but one needs to make a start somewhere.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
I won a free burger so I'm quitting my day job....
Yes, my expectations really are that low. Just as there is nothing more cheerful than the Sunday night of a long weekend, there are few things more miserable than the Sunday night at the end of the Xmas holiday. Luckily, I postponed the eventual return to the pit of despair by not starting work till Tuesday. One last day of freedom....
The weather has been warm, but kinda windy (I am the queen of the understatement). As snow is to Antarctica, so wind is to Albany. We have both types - easterly and westerly - sometimes on the same day.
The veggies are going rather well, but I have to keep the water up to them, the wind is as drying as the heat.
At the end of a break its always nice to look at my achievements, planned and unplanned. I read a LOT of books, some trash, some not. King George VI is proving most interesting and quite engrossing. Frankly, the resale value is also impressive. I watched some movies - Red, the A-Team remake, Going Postal(not festival movies but hey, amusing); finished some projects, including the little bird from last post;
started a few more projects; shampooed the carpet (it's the small things); shopped; gardened; painted Warhammer with my boy; hung out with friends; and just hung out.
Before (to be continued...)
Trying a bit of rudimentary weaving....and I DO mean rudimentary!
So far, 2011 is going pretty well. Let's see what happens next.
The weather has been warm, but kinda windy (I am the queen of the understatement). As snow is to Antarctica, so wind is to Albany. We have both types - easterly and westerly - sometimes on the same day.
The veggies are going rather well, but I have to keep the water up to them, the wind is as drying as the heat.
At the end of a break its always nice to look at my achievements, planned and unplanned. I read a LOT of books, some trash, some not. King George VI is proving most interesting and quite engrossing. Frankly, the resale value is also impressive. I watched some movies - Red, the A-Team remake, Going Postal(not festival movies but hey, amusing); finished some projects, including the little bird from last post;
started a few more projects; shampooed the carpet (it's the small things); shopped; gardened; painted Warhammer with my boy; hung out with friends; and just hung out.
Before (to be continued...)
Trying a bit of rudimentary weaving....and I DO mean rudimentary!So far, 2011 is going pretty well. Let's see what happens next.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Judy is on a break right now. We hope you enjoy this episode from the library - nah, just kidding.
I am on a break, though. I hadn't realised that it had been so long since my last post, guess that December goes more quickly than other months.
Festivities, nice new neighbours, perhaps a nice new handbag - so far, so good for 2011.
The Xmas/ NY break officially concluding at midnight tonight, I must observe that one of the few things better than the Sunday evening of a long weekend must be the Monday evening of a long weekend when you are still on leave. Oh, happy, happy day (or night). There will be that deeply satisfying time tomorrow morning when I take my breakfast and a book back to bed, just coz I can.
For the record, any smug self satisfaction will evaporate Monday next week - as I contemplate returning to work on the Tuesday.
I have spent several days sewing - cheesecloth beach pants for the beach baby, and I modified a couple of linen dresses which have been stashed for upcycling/recycling/reconfiguration/deconstruction. The sorting of the clothing stash is a whole 'nother post, let me tell you.
The reconstructed articles work really well over a plain Tee.
While I was sorting stashes, I also deconstructed a slide projector from the verge delectation, they have such fascinating components (and of course they take up less space this way). The lenses give you the best magnifying lenses.
I've had a Dremel tool for ages but it seems that every time I take it out of the box a man appears and wants to try it out ( malespeak for play with it and make random marks on wood and metal). Yesterday I spent some serious quality time modifying a small and very ugly thing - it was supposed to be a bird - with reasonable success and no major injuries. So far.
Before
After:
Next, the metal cutting....bits. (insert sound of evil laughter here)
Most of the op-shops were closed for the Xmas break but a quick look last week yielded a couple of treasures.
We took a trainee with us, as part of our renowned op-shop with the stars tour program. I have to say that she took to it like the proverbial fish. The three of us carried her bags from the boot of the car for transfer to the spousal conveyance.
Useful tip : fold gleanings in a clothes basket and leave them in plain sight. What, these old things? Had them forever.
Festivities, nice new neighbours, perhaps a nice new handbag - so far, so good for 2011.
The Xmas/ NY break officially concluding at midnight tonight, I must observe that one of the few things better than the Sunday evening of a long weekend must be the Monday evening of a long weekend when you are still on leave. Oh, happy, happy day (or night). There will be that deeply satisfying time tomorrow morning when I take my breakfast and a book back to bed, just coz I can.
For the record, any smug self satisfaction will evaporate Monday next week - as I contemplate returning to work on the Tuesday.
I have spent several days sewing - cheesecloth beach pants for the beach baby, and I modified a couple of linen dresses which have been stashed for upcycling/recycling/reconfiguration/deconstruction. The sorting of the clothing stash is a whole 'nother post, let me tell you.
The reconstructed articles work really well over a plain Tee.
While I was sorting stashes, I also deconstructed a slide projector from the verge delectation, they have such fascinating components (and of course they take up less space this way). The lenses give you the best magnifying lenses.
I've had a Dremel tool for ages but it seems that every time I take it out of the box a man appears and wants to try it out ( malespeak for play with it and make random marks on wood and metal). Yesterday I spent some serious quality time modifying a small and very ugly thing - it was supposed to be a bird - with reasonable success and no major injuries. So far.
BeforeAfter:
Next, the metal cutting....bits. (insert sound of evil laughter here)
Most of the op-shops were closed for the Xmas break but a quick look last week yielded a couple of treasures.
We took a trainee with us, as part of our renowned op-shop with the stars tour program. I have to say that she took to it like the proverbial fish. The three of us carried her bags from the boot of the car for transfer to the spousal conveyance.
Useful tip : fold gleanings in a clothes basket and leave them in plain sight. What, these old things? Had them forever.
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