We rock!

Hello! I worked at Oxfam this morning - I'm a weekly volunteer nowadays, since deciding to upgrade my contribution to the Burma/China disasters from its former "weep feebly while watching the news" status. (I still do that). I really enjoy it (working in Oxfam, that is, not the news!) As well as meeting lots of nice people, I get to rummage through interesting bric a brac, old clothes and tons of books. Just like at home, come to think of it...

This afternoon, Charlie and I have been painting stones. When I was little, I wasn't interested in being a pop star or ballerina, oh no. My ultimate goal was to find either a perfectly spherical stone, or one that's evenly flat and oval for painting on. I've always aimed high...

Many centuries later my interests haven't changed much, although I now also pick up stones with holes right through (they are lucky). Charlie seems to have inherited my ways. Here are our efforts...



(Charlie hasn't inherited my taste in music however. He likes heavy metal, which explains the cross with angel wings on his stone!)

Woeful Wednesday

Yes it's here again, my worst day of the week. Made more bearable this week by a visit to Pam's, who is tragically (for me) going to be moving away from Newhaven in the near future. Whatever shall I do? Go back to staying indoors alone watching the herds of chavs sweeping majestically past my house I suppose. I'll have to start sketching them...Pam, I shall do it in your honour!

Here are a few character drawings I did yesterday, by the way.

Weekend & Mossycoat

Hello everyone. It's been an eventful few days for me...here are a couple of highlights!

Saturday - a day at Seaford beach. Here are my lovely boys braving the icy sea...

Followed by a family bbq...

...relaxing in what I laughingly call my garden. (No pics of me I'm afraid. I don't want to scare people).

Sunday was spent gardening, and today was just pretty stressful. Not much work got done, except I finally mounted a doll I have been working on...

The doll is all fabric; the face needlesculpted. It's a character from the story "Mossycoat", an English Folktale. The girl's mother makes her a coat from moss and gold thread, which lets her move around and to change to other forms by wishing. I used the idea of the mother making the coat as a theme for the mounting, and collaged some treasures from women's sewing boxes I have into an old drawer. I love sewing boxes and button boxes, and I've been lucky enough to have some of these passed on to me by friends recently. The next theme for our touring Inky Crows exhibition is "English Heroes and Villains" and I think I would like to develop the women's work box idea further for this - I think they have a quiet power and are quite magical. I love the way they are passed down, too. Especially if it's to me!

(By the way, I don't mean to be sexist and suggest that only women have sewing boxes. It's just I have never seen one belonging to a man!)

Now off to my dancing class...don't laugh - it's my only form of exercise other than housework or gardening!

A Treat!

Now I have never attempted to insert a link in a post before. So if you get porn, or even worse, Rick Astley, please accept my apologies. But if all goes well, you should see a sight to cheer your heart. Peregrine falcons are nesting at the top of Sussex Heights, a Brighton tower block, and they have kindly allowed a webcam to be installed! They've been coming back for a few years now. Please take a look - it's great. http://www.regencybrighton.com/birds/webcam/

Broccoli

I really don't like Wednesdays. I used to go and clean for a lovely 94 year old friend, who sadly died last year. I still clean, but now I do it for her son, so the house is empty when I go, and it still makes me sad. We used to have fantastic conversations. I wrote one down in my notebook once. Here it is:-

Mrs B: Do you know, I heard something the other day that made me feel sick.
Me: Oh?
Mrs B: That actor, you know, one of the top film stars...Well his wife is pregnant, and he's only said he's going to EAT the afterbirth when she's had the baby! Eat it!
Me: Really?
Mrs B: My John says he's one of them...scientists.
Me: A Scientologist?
Mrs B: Is he? Oh, that must be why then.
Me: I just think he's got more money than sense.
Mrs B: Do you know what I think? I think he's got more money than sense.
Me: Mmm.
Mrs B: Here - can you imagine getting your husband to eat an afterbirth?
Me: Ooh no.
Mrs B: I couldn't even get mine to eat broccoli.

Great, isn't it? I miss my friend. Sigh. Enjoy the sunshine everyone.

Princess & the Pea

Just been trying out some collage.

Work!

Behold my latest painting project. Yes, it's my garden fence, which I painted yesterday, all six panels and one gate of it. The weathered look had gone beyond stylish, so I found a small tin of something-or-other in the cupboard and just started. The tin ran out after two panels, so I walked, yes walked, to B & Q, only to find the stuff I needed had been discontinued. Using the splashes of paint on my hands and arms as a guide I chose what I hoped was the same colour in a different range. I queued up for ages. You always have to in B&Q, to allow the till staff time to make constant staff announcements while serving people: "Staff announcement, 306 to checkout two please, 306 to checkout two, customer waiting." Everyone in the queue can then glare accusingly at said customer - usually an embarrassed-looking bloke carrying a really long, white strip of plastic. I finally reached the front of the queue and oh! how I hooted with laughter when realised I didn't have my debit card in my purse. I nearly grabbed the mike and shouted, "Staff announcement, evacuate the store please, homicidal customer at checkout one, checkout one homicidal customer, thank you!"

Long-suffering Brad came to my rescue, and the fence got finished. Followed by the weeding in my Mum & Dad's garden. Don't be fooled though - these jobs were only done to prevent me from doing things I actually should be doing.

Have a nice weekend everyone and more illustrations here next week when I have access to a scanner, I promise.