New House

This house thing feels like it has been going really slowly so far, but the last week its really picked up - really. The middle of last week we were told that the exchange date would be this friday - as in the end of the week. I'm really starting to panic now as I feel completely unprepared.

I seem to have blocked the last house move from my memory and have absolutely no recollection of what we did, how long it took, what services we cancelled - all the details really. I suppose it's hardly surprising really, the last move coincided with when my Mum passed away, that's the lasting memory of that weekend. But this move, it's all good - It's our first house as homeowners, I have a new job next year - me and boyf are at a good place.

I think because last time I didn't have time to think about what could go wrong, as well as the moving and the previously mentioned event I had just been offered a job - it all happened in the space of 3 days, yeah - apparently I can't 'do' one life changing event at a time. So now all I have in my head are the practicalities of getting new services hooked up, ending old services and, of course - getting all our crap moved. The shadow of Christmas is ever looming over me as well - moving house means no cash at the moment as it's all tied up in  deposits etc, so I'm making gifts for family. Unfortunately I can't really do much about that until our stuff is out of boxes, so that leaves a grand total of about a week to make everything. (Not to mention that I'm working pretty much every day of that week). Okay, I'm getting stressed just thinking about it now, chat amongst yourselves - I'll quietly have a panic attack...

So, on to a more positive outlook - I'm really excited about the new house, there's tons of useful space we can utilise (I've already got my eye on the spare bedroom for my craft room/our office) and I'm hopeful that with it being ours rather than rented , my dear partner will be more inclined to pick up after himself - I know, wishful thinking! And we get to spend Christmas in our own house, plus cardboard boxes(!) It'll all be over by the new year, then we can get on with enjoying it. So yeah, in short- I'm stressed but I'm happy, and it's all positive.  Here it is:

Chai latte

I'm totally into chai latte's at the moment, but where I live it's almost totally unavailable to buy, so the past week I've been experimenting with how to make my version of it. I can't claim its authentic, it's just how I've made it to taste as I like it - the 'McDonalds' of chai tea if you will. Here's the recipe;
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup cows milk
4 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp black tea leaves

Stick everything bar the tea into a pan over a medium heat to simmer for about 5 mins. Add the tea and leave for another minute or so (however strong you like your tea) then pour through a sieve and you're done.

You don't need the almond milk - I just think it adds an extra flavour and sweetness. If you slightly squeeze the cardamom pods first they open and infuse better. I think the result would be smoother if rather than a sieve I'd use coffee filter paper but I don't have any and am not that fussy about texture. (Thats a lie - I'm really fussy about textures, I can't eat dumplings when they are crispy on top, they have to be all squishy and doughy). But anyway, give it a try - then you can add things depending on your own taste. Enjoy.

Edit: just made some using rice milk instead of almond milk and earl grey tea - YUM!

She's Back!

Hi everyone!
First off I'd like to say sorry for being offline for soooooooo long. I've really been away from everyone and everything at the moment but I'm happy to say I'm back in the world of the living!

So the reasons behind my absence - a few posts back I mentioned we were bidding on a house, well - we put a bit on, rejected - put another bid on - rejected, put ANOTHER bid on - finally accepted, hopefully with all things running smoothly from now we should be in by the end of January. Of course I will put pics up when we get in (if we get in - still feeling a bit nervous about it since it had such a tentative start).

On to second point. The last few months have been really crazy at work - I work for the local council and we're going through a restructure at the moment which basically meant everyone's job was disestablished and we all had to apply for new jobs within the new system (regime, she says, tongue in cheek.) There are now nothing like as many people at the level I currently work at (supervisory - nothing to write home about) so it's really competitive. But now I've had my interview and I can get back to my job - and my life.

Sorry about the long post, I just had to explain because I've been stressing out, but I'm back to same old now. Next post I'll be back on my game!

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

It was rather a dull looking day yesterday - rain and drizzle but a bit of sun peeking through so the grass looked really vivid green. I spotted this double rainbow outside my kitchen, reminded me of that video on youtube of the guy going nuts over a double rainbow, made me giggle!

I love this time of year, autumn is the best. The colours are all so cool, the trees look more interesting and it always seems like theres something magical in the air - you know, with crisp blue skies and sparkling icy ground in the morning. Plus, I recon after the summer when you can only find t-shirts and thin tops when it's freezing outside you can finally find weather appropriate clothes.

Lace detail handbag

Hi everybody!

Re photography challenge, I'm still taking pictures but I've decided its taking up to much blog space doing an image a day so I'm going to have a few on the one entry. But for now I'd like to show you a bag I was inspired to make after seeing this vintage Putty handbag on pinterest

I love the lace detail. I had a load of lace edging kicking around so decided to give it a try. I used a floral pattern flannel fabric for the main body, the lining is from polyester pyjamas, I bought both from a charity shop. I'm afraid I had to play around with the contrast on photoshop to pick up the details, but I don't think the integrity of the piece was compromised. Here it is;

I learned a lot making it, there are parts I would change; I would make the bag shorted and deeper, I would change the handle to something more deliberate and sturdy and I would put a different fastener in, maybe a magnetic popper. I'm kind of eager to try some more bags out, I enjoyed making the pattern.
I'm really pleased with it, what do you think?

Photography challenge, days 3: clouds & 4: something green

I was at work early yesterday so I didn't have time to upload my day 3 photo. So here it is. Clouds are hard to come by at the moment (strangely) as its really hot outside this week. Apparently the good weather is only due to last a week so I ain't complaining! Here's day 3's photo: clouds.

I love these wispy clouds, perhaps because of the implication that the weather is good

And here's day 4's offerings: Something green. I took some 'things' green as my flip flops are also green. I took a few different places before deciding on this one (perhaps good weather again) boy, I have a lot of green in my house!

 tomorrow it's something from a high angle. Have to think about that...

Photography challenge, day 2: What I'm wearing

Now I've done it, I'm thinking I could have been more imaginative with how I displayed the subject (clothes), I didn't really have to be in the frame at all - especially as I commented about my trouble with focusing when not behind the camera yesterday. But here we are; I couldn't decide on the two photos so I've put them both up for now.

 I put the one on the right on because it took me ages to do my Heidi hair today so I wanted to show it off! But I think the one on the left is framed better. In both shots I'm totally watching the tv in the other room!

Photography challenge, day 1: Self portrait

I like the blury background and the composition, although that was more because I was stood in the wrong place to be in shot, so serendipidy I guess. One thing I need to work on is the blury detail - especially as it was on timer so I didn't really compensate for the object of focus when I was behind the camera. Something to think about for tomorrow.
P.S. I hate looking at the camera, it makes me look really stern. Yes, I'm that vain...

Day two tomorrow: What you wore today.

30 day photography challenge

I found this on pinterest courtesy of whitepeachphoto.com recons I'm gonna give it a go - more so than my last attempt to do this sorta thing. Will report back.

Singapore Grand Prix

Ok, one thing you should know about me is I am obsessed with Formula 1. I watch the qualifying, the races and the F1 forum on BBC red button afterwards. Once that's all over I'll go onto the website to read all the tweets and interviews. If I'm not at work during the free practice I'll watch that too.

I was absolutely gutted yesterday that I was working during the Singapore qualifying - even more so when I got home and realised It hadn't recorded! But after some reflecting and reading up I'm over it... I was home to watch the race on the Sunday (today).

So this weekend started with the prospect of Vettel winning the drivers championship (constructors championship is already in the bag for Red Bull). This was all dependent on IF Vettel won and IF other drivers didn't gain higher track positions. As it was, he won - despite Button's best efforts in the last few laps (really thrilling to watch) - all his nearest rivals gained good positions, meaning Vettel is ONE POINT off wrapping it up for the season so next week in Japan it'll be his - meaning that he is so far ahead in points that no one will be able to catch him up.

Remember guys, its 'Vettel' like 'kettle'

I guess its taken the shine off the end result, but for me its all about the racing. The sports I like watching, I watch without routing for a team. For me its all about the play itself so I guess I'll enjoy every grand prix until the end of the season for its individual merit rather than because 'my team' won. I like seeing sportsmanship and skill,  hate seeing bad losers (or bad winners for that matter). Sure, there are drivers I prefer, but that's because of skill rather than nationality or team loyalty. I think loyalties get in the way of a good game in sports. I'd prefer to watch a sport and be thrilled at the performance of everyone rather than the experience be tainted by making up excuses or bogus calls.

come on Tim... geddit?

I enjoy watching Wimbledon when it's on, but I can't help cringing with the 'Murray Mania' that hits the British media. Sure, he's a good player, but that is no excuse for crowds to boo opponents or even not applaud when they make a good shot. It's just not cricket, as the saying goes. In my eyes it's equal to watching a soap but only watching when the character you like is on screen; you're missing the bigger picture. The experience should be enjoyed as a whole, not compartmentalised into 'good' moves because you like them or 'bad' moves because you don't. Is this an odd opinion to have - am I one of the minority?

I don't want to alarm anyone but....

As I draw ever closer to my 27th birthday I am becoming increasingly aware of my own mortality, or to be more specific; my age. The prospect of living fast, dying young and leaving a good looking corpse is getting less likely by the day... Not that I'm overly keen on that dying malarky or anything, but the one compensation would be the 'good looking corpse' bit surely? Alas now that just seems to be a pipe dream.

Well not quite like this, but you get the idea...

Now this is going to sound quite vain, but every now and then I have a wrinkle and grey hair inspection; yesterday before work I had a look - no greys yet (phew!) although I'm starting to notice very faint, fine lines on my forehead - the 'surprise' lines, if you will. I've always been of the opinion that all your imperfections are what make you who you are. But then, that was when I didn't have many. Who's laughing now, eh?

 I expect I'll get used to it as I become older and look back at this moment thinking, 'pah! I wish I looked 27!'.

Actually... I wish I look like this when I'm older

When I was a kid I had several operations to remove brain tumors and was left with a dirty great scar on the back of my neck. I've got used to that now and I don't even bother to hide it. When I was 14 I had radiotherapy on the area which thus far has worked brilliantly, but has left a nice baldy patch covering the bottom half of my scalp. That's never properly bothered me, you just style around it. I joke about it being an inconvenience - no trendy pixie 'do's, but It's never been an issue. (Except the first day my hair started falling out, that was bizzare, it turned my stomach watching a full handful of hair slide away from my scalp with no resistance).

Anyways, the point is that I'm over it, but ageing - that's something new, I guess I'll just have to get used to it like everything else, and as I've found out before - turns out most people don't notice these things anyway. Meh, but a crisis of faith - I guess I'm over it, just keep drinking water and green tea!

One day maybe...

Snood and fingerless gloves

I bought this wool from B&M a while back for *98p a ball!* (although this was before VAT went back up - I think its £1.08 now) I have to admit, primarily I bought it because it was so cheap - I thought I could try different bits out on it before spending money on good wool. But as it happens I really like the colour, so I've made a few bits out of it.

Snood, freshly made today

 I've been looking for a pattern to make snoods for ages, they're so good for bad hair days. I finally found a tutorial on youtube. So much easier than I thought it would be! I did this in a couple of hours - and it's my first one!

fingerless gloves/sleeves

These are crochet - I made them a few months ago, no pattern to them really, just a few rows of single, double and tripple crochet mixed up to create a pattern, and decreasing for the wrists.

Setting it up to knock it down

Every so often I go through a phase where I get bored with my lot and decide to change it up. The problem I have when I do this is that I try to do it all at the same time. I decide, right - I need to exercise more, I need to eat better, I need to drink more water, I need to take better care of my skin, I'm going to groom myself better, I'm going to care more about the environment, I'm going to make a start with my future career plans.

is this REALLY the right outfit for this task?

I end up overwhelming myself with the sheer amount of things I need to do, making me feel like every aspect of my life presently is wrong. I start up doing it all, on top of all the little things we need to do in order to survive; working, shopping, cooking, cleaning etc which, lets face it takes up most of the day in itself. I come up with these great schemes when I have a day off and I have the time, forgetting that I won't be able to do a two hour run and make my own bread every day.

just a little something I knocked up before pilates

I put so much pressure on doing everything at once, I end up with too much on my plate and give up. I was talking to an aquaintance about this a few weeks ago and they told me this 'clumping' tasks together is typical of an introvert (such as myself). Whereas a more confident person would say, 'I'm going to start making some changes' and that would be that, I come up with a long list of separate changes I need to make.

'I have a halloween party, ok?'

Once I fail to become a superhero overnight (which is what my brain thinks I should be) I feel like I've let myself down and I may as well not even bother, so there I crawl, back to where I was in the first place. What I need to figure out is how to stop my regular pattern of thinking and start behaving like a 'regular person'. Any ideas anyone? (she shouts into the abyss).

Here's the crazy part; all those things I feel I should be doing - I enjoy doing them. Exercising, baking, sewing, knitting, living green etc... it's as if I'm punishing myself by not doing them; because I'm not doing them. It makes no sense! I think I'm spending too much time analysing why I do things rather than actually doing them. Perhaps I should be more spontaneous...

Perhaps not that spontaneous... Olaf Brzeski - Dream (Spontaneous Combustion)

Waiting...

So, we went to the financial advisor on Saturday with the dream of potentially buying our first house. We must have seen a million houses in the past few weeks/months. But there are a few clear runners, one specifically we are very interested in, which we discussed. So today (Monday) she's putting an offer in for us.

It's a little weird, going to the next step of buying a house; we've never done it before and it seems like a huge expense but I just don't want to line some landlords pocket anymore. At the moment we're paying rent at the same time as saving a deposit, this way we'll be paying roughly the same on mortgage and be able to save for little things like food, clothes.. ya know... But seriously, we're not destitute or anything - it'd be nice to have one of those 'disposable incomes' us 20-somethings are meant to have (before leaving my 20's - which is getting ever closer!)

So that's where we are; waiting for our offer to be accepted or declined. It's quite exciting. You'll excuse my lack of enthusiasm, it ain't my thang, I'm far to british to show emotion.

Just waiting...

But hey, just to change the subject; check out this photograph I found the other day online, isn't it fab? Its by Polish photographer Yevgeny Kaldei, taken in 1941. Listed as on of the most badass was heroes who never held a weapon on Cracked.com

I am not a robot, I am a unicorn

I know, I've been off the radar for a while- we're house hunting at the moment and I'm exhausted! I'll let you know the results, there's possibly a result, but we're seeing the financial advisor at the weekend. Hmmmm... But in the meantime, I found this clip on youtube, had to share! 

Land Art

Today I was looking through my bookshelf and I came across a book I was given (I think as a joke) a few years ago. The book is a series of images by the land artist Andy Goldsworthy called Black Stones Red Pools.

Red Pool in Dumfriesshire, Scotland by Andy Goldsworthy

As you can see by the above picture, the title's pretty self explanatory; it's a load of red pools and black stones created by the artist using natural pigment from the surrounding area. The reason I like land art as a concept is the connection it had to its surroundings. It's something that could easily be there without human hands, you could almost walk right past it and not see it's there but when you look closer it reveals itself. Land art isn't loud or brash, it nods towards mother nature and tries to emulate her.

A line in Scotland by Richard Long

I love the narrative of this art, the artist didn't just go out with a mission or an image in mind, but the sculpture grows and takes on its own identity. Each stone is chosen, not just picked up; each stone has it's own uniqueness and personality. When I see these sculptures if I close my eyes I can feel as though I am going on the journey with the artist. The first time a saw a piece by Richard Long in the flesh I have to admit I was so moved I had to look away to stop myself from shedding a tear. Don't get me wrong, I'm not some 'art ponce', but it just makes me so happy to see it, to be in the presence of it. It was like meeting an idol, but it was everything I thought it would be.

This kind of work is site specific so the surroundings dictate the size, shape and look of the final piece. It's just so special to see it, you become a part of that sculptures story. I'd urge anyone if they haven't seen any land art before to look it up, and if you can, go see some in the flesh. As I'm writing this I really can't believe I haven't tried my hand at it myself, perhaps its because I'm too in awe of it. This seems like a project I should try. I'll get back to you on that...

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Russian Constructivism

Last night I was watching a documentary on russian art towards the end of the tzarist regime. It reminded me how art isn't a separate entity, it is connected with it's surroundings politically, environmentally or psychoanalytically. I think we sometimes forget this, just seeing whats on the surface. Ok, there are genres of art that visually I'm not a fan but the more I look into it I can build a context to how it came about.

Beat the whites with the red wedge by El Lissitzky

I first was introduced to this type of art at uni, the above painting was my introduction. If I'm honest, I thought it looked a bit simple; the 'I could have done that' kind of reaction. But, as I learned -that was the exact reaction it was designed to give.

During the reign of the Tzars the russian people were living hand-to-mouth while the elite upper class spent to excess. The uprising wanted wealth to be shared equally amongst the masses; the communist revolution, represented in Lissitzky's painting by the red wedge. The style was simple, in opposition to the complicated styles and subjects representing the old ways. Colours and shapes were kept to a minimum, only what was necessary with no 'ornamentation'. This style was designed to remove the artists ego, the notion was, 'we are all in this together', no one person was more worthy than another. The message was that anyone could do it and everyone was necessary. Russian constructivist art strips everything down to the bare essentials, to the flesh and bones with no extras.

Shout out by Alexander Rodchenko

Much of the art came in the form of posters, rallying the cause. This poster combines photography and painting. The woman wearing the head scarf is a deliberate image; it shows her as a worker, one of the people. Another feature worth mentioning are the diagonal lines. A diagonal line shows movement, dynamism. This is a visual representation of the dynamic changes happening in Russia.

I'd forgotten how much I love Russian constructivism. I think it intrigues me because it's at this moment I was hit by how art can play a vital part in moulding a society, how it isn't just about pretty pictures completely unconnected with the outside world. Art is everywhere and has vibrant connections with all of us, in one way or another, we are all art.

Inspiration

I've had a bit of a mooch on http://pintrest.com, I can spend hours on there but amazingly have never joined. I think I'm a bit scared of having my name out there on the web, but as I have a blog now I thought, in for a penny in for a pound and finally requested an invitation. It's such a good site just for surrounding yourself in ideas and inspiration. As an 'indoorsy' type such that I am, it feels good that the community is in my own home.

I have a bit of an obsession with birds, ever since boyf told me about the crow experiments done by Oxford University; setting them simple and more complex tasks to solve. Check them out, bloody amazing!

 I love maps and globes, I just think it's really cool to know where places are; places where I want to go and places that seem worlds away from where I sit. This was an idea for a project I saw online, I really can't wait to try it, we have these horrid chairs and laminated table we bought when we had no money but wanted to have a dining area so we could look civilized, it's the same theory I had when buying a 5 door over a 3 door car!

I really love this idea, I love samples anyway but this is a really simple, modern twist. MUST DO!

I think of this quote when I'm feeling really rubbish and useless. I was watching an interview on TV a few weeks ago with Henry Winkler, the 'Fonz' (of all people!) He was talking about a project he does with young people in schools, he said we all praise the top 10% of a class because they will be doctors or politicians but neglect the bottom 10% who may become builders or plasterers even though those jobs are equally important, I mean, I can't build a house any more than I can perform open heart surgery. I thought it was such a simple but powerful analogy.

As a creature, butterflies really gross me out but when drawn, painted or sculpted I just think they look so beautiful. Maybe it's what they represent; beauty, freedom, nature. Hmm, I think I'm in a particularly hippified mood today...

When I was a kid my sister and I tried to make a chicken-wire sculpture at the bottom of our garden, since then the medium has really intrigued me,

we also covered our sculpture in moss, leading nicely into this image; I love the connection between the mechanical and the earth. It reminds me how everything starts and ends in the dirt.

This is just a fun way to stylise trees, they are crafty little buggers to draw!

This is such a simple idea but looks really cool, all it is is a photo in a jar filled with olive oil, and how cool! I will have to gift one for someone!

How could you not think this looks pretty! Its all crochet I  believe... I wanna wrap my trees up for the cold weather!

Always remember, even in the darkest times. Life is what you make it, we are all beautiful!
x

food network

The food network uk has just started broadcasting on freeview from 6pm-10pm and I have to say I'm hooked. I can't describe what it is; all these 'lifestyle programmes' are so unbelieveably fake, but I'm hooked!

 

 

Nigella's bus turned out to be fake *shocker*

I was watching an episode of Nigella Express the other day where she had the ordacity to claim she gets on a BUS to work! I'm sorry Nigella, but if my shared fortune (with hubby Charles Sacchi) is an estimated £110million there's no frikkin' way I'd be getting bus; unless it was my own rock star-style tour bus - coated in gold and diamonds, driven by James Franco... and it flies. On another occasion she 'just whips up' some chocolate croissants for a BREAKFAST MEETING(?!) Keeping in with the scroats eh? I, for one, can't get enough of breakfast meetings(!) Why is it that some presenters make out they're salt of the earth one minute and completely contradict themselves in the next?

There-in lies the reason I love watching them - its car crash tv. Some celebrities are so far removed from reality that they really think 'plebs' like us would believe that they 'just pop to the shops' on the way back from the office. Its a total farce, a mockery - but boy is it addictive! True, I spend the majority of the shows talking to the screen (I'm getting sectioned shortly). Isn't that half the fun of TV? It's totally interactive when I'm watching!

Hey, don't judge - some people have the soaps, I have my food channel!

Knitting

I'm having one of my knitting phases at the moment, it seems to go in circles, knitting, crochet, sewing, drawing, photography, drawing, writing. All in some kind of order. I can't seem to do more than one at the same time; I think I'm a little obsessive about whatever I'm doing at that time and I can't concentrate on anything else. However the obsession can switch suddenly and I'll put the piece I'm working on down for months. I have real trouble finishing projects! You just have to look around my front room to see the remnants of my crochet phase. I'll get back to it I'm sure, but the joy will have gone out of it. Anyone else feel like that?

At the moment I'm working on a scarf; a work collegue showed me these lace knitting patterns that she couldn't get to grips with and asked if I could figure them out. I liked the look of the pattern so I have now 'adopted' them. Initially doing the swatch I didn't find them that difficult to follow but when I started a bigger item every time I finished the 4th row I'd picked up 4 stitches somewhere. I kept reading the pattern and counting the stitches (full of increases and decreases), it all made sense but whenever I did it there came these four stitches, aargh! So I decided to use my HUGE needles to try and work it out and when I started I really liked the big loops and I got this cool pattern. Thinking of giving it to my (twin) sister for our birthday in October. It's not completed yet but I couldn't resist taking a photo, what do you think?

Framing was never my strong point

I've gone for alternating 16 rows cellular stitch with 16 rows stocking stitch.

Cellular stitch: Units in any number of stitches
Row 1: (wrong side) Purl
Row 2: K1, *K under the horizontal strand before the next st, K1, pass the made st over the K1*

Laugh Hard

I was watching Tim Vine on TV last night. When I first saw Tim Vine I thought he was super unfunny, but then he was presenting a game show on the first night of broadcast on channel 5. I hate game show hosts even more than I hate gameshows; I'm yet to see one who doesn't make me want to gouge my eyeballs out - it would be less painful than seeing another frikkin' smarmy, nicey, orange oxygen breather. (Rant over) But I've since seen him doing stand up and ok (I'm man enough to admit I was wrong) he was misrepresented; he's really funny. He does one liners mainly, so by law of averages you have to hit a few winners. Anyhoo, I thought I'd share this clip with you. P.S, if you haven't seen Tim Vine then youtube him.

Seeing as we're doing funny clips, this one made me cry when I first saw it:

Toodles

Fo' Shiz

This made me crack a smile, I'm thinking of making my brother one for his house; he lives in this apartment in Austria thats decorated really classically and tastefully. It needs a bit of tweeness and a sense of humor won't go amiss...

Finding my voice

I am endlessly aware that my posts are all truly dull and needlessly long, I'm just trying to find something interesting to say. I think at the moment I'm being prolific with my writing because I'm trying to find my voice. Seriously, if someone was to tell me I would be as yawn-inspiring as this I would have thought they were just being a dick! I honestly thought I had more to say for myself - I mean, I make myself laugh, right?

Am I trying to be someone I'm not? Ya know, saying things that I can't make flow because I'm not really that into them? Or is it just because I'm new at thins kinda thing? Really, I recon its a mix of the two (and who knows - I probably am quite dull really!) I'm writing just for writings sake, not because I have anything interesting to say. I know, right? As if I don't have anything interesting to say?! But seriously folks, about this voice thing...

Is it best that I just 'power through' with the crap shiz of should I leave it until I have more idea about what to say? I initially thought this would be a great place for me to put my ideas down and 'show my wares'. I still think thats what it will be, the problem being that I'm putting too much emphasis on getting something- anything, down and not giving myself time to really think about what I'm putting.

I guess that decides it then, I'm gonna chill out about getting something new down on the page and wait until I have something to show for myself or something to say. The idea to take photos I had a few days ago seemed like a good one at first, but I didn't give myself time for it to grow, I thought I should put something new on, keep the page fresh and all.

I'm gonna try to speak the way my head speaks as well I think. At least until I see that it is all mangled nonsense, it'll give me a flow at least anyhoo. So, so long for now. Back when I have a better idea of what to say.

Those were the best days of my life...

I saw this picture on the internet a few months ago it made me chuckle. I don't know about you but I have an inner dukebox of songs that play over and over, there's not a moment when I don't have a song in my head.

I often think of all the useful things from school I could have kept onto if I didn't have the lyrics to Brian Adams "Summer of '69", maybe Trig wouldn't have been so hard to grasp. It pains me to admit, but when I hear 'Got my first real six-string...' I know I'm going to be singing along, like it or not. And obviously I find Brian Adams intolerable, who doesn't for goodness sake?! I guess that goes to show how bland he is...

Dear me!

I suppose I can't in any way call today the day from hell, I just feel exhausted! There's a whole shake-up with work which we had a consultation meeting about today after shift for two hours. I guess I'm not feeling negative about it, I could become redundant at the end of it but to be honest I think the service needs the shake up and its for the greater good. But anyway, I shan't bore you all with work issues. I think because I work in a 24/7/365 industry when I do eventually have a weekend off it becomes even more precious. Today my mind wanted to clock off at 2.30 but here I am at half 6 having just got back. Anyhoo - that was just the background to todays photo, I've posted it on facebook as well to show my solidarity to my collegues.

BTW, that photo in the frame behind is my chameleon, Doc. I know - the frame is hideous but theres a story behind it. We got given it as a holiday present (maybe as a joke?) but now we have it. We were looking for a picture to match it's *ahem* charming qualities, so when we got Doc it just made sense - garish animal, garish frame.

does my bum look big in this?

This was right at the end of the day, I was doing the sleep over at work and I was wiped out (much as I am now - 24 hours at work is evil, especially for 2nd day in a row). I was covertly trying to take a photo without being heard, its more of a stealth photo on the run. My dress was from primark a couple of years ago, still going strong! Leggings from Tesco and my shoes (love my shoes - they have that clonky sound when you walk on hard floors but are still flats) they're from New Look. If only I could hold a camera straight...

and today... I can't do those 'model' poses that other people do (believe me, I tried - to no avail), I think I'm to self conscious so I've gone with the trying-to-hard-to-be-cool-looking-up shot, eek - less said the better methinks. BTW, that headband was made by my own fair hands. I'm totally in to headbands ATM, so easy to whip up in a short time and you can be wearing them the same day. Awesome-o! You can just see my chameleon's travel cage in the background - I'll get a pic of him for tomorrow.

Getting Started

Howdy,
So I've been thinking about how this 'quest for creativity' is going to start and I did what any sane person wanting knowledge would do- ask google. And what I came up with is that I have to mix it up a little bit; get out of the funk that I'm in, doing the same things, seeing the same people and going to the same places. I guess thats where this blog comes in - if I can document what I plan to do then I have written evidence and I can't get away with talking about it anymore.

And now I'm out of ideas, perhaps I should just look for opportunities where I would usually do one thing and try doing something else - boyf said that I am the least spontaneous person he knows, which could possibly be true, I'm a bit of a control freak about knowing what EXACTLY is going to happen and I completely stress out about not having a plan or feeling like I don't know something; I even hate being surprised by nice things like christmas presents! I know, I'm a freak...

I think everythings connected, how you feel in yourself, how healthy you are, what you do. If you change one thing then the rest will follow, theres gotta be something in that. So thats what I plan to do, I can document how I get on and see if its working. In the meantime I recon I need to set myself a challenge; I'm going to go somewhere and take a photograph each day, it could be of anything but it should be different. I'll check back in a few days to see how its gone - it may be a completely crap idea that goes nowhere but I can think of something else...
cya soon

honest to blog..?

I watched Banksy's Exit through the Gift Shop the other day;

The basic synopsis is a guy, Thierry Guetta, videos everything, goes on holiday to see his cousin who is a graffiti artist and follows him around. He then gets into the graffiti scene and filming other artists and decides this is what he's going to film about from now on. He finds Shepard Fairey and follows him around for a bit and later finds Banksy and follows him around for a bit, eventually he decides to make a documentary from his footage, but his finished documentary is rubbish, Banksy asks to take over the documentary and suggests Thierry goes off and tries a bit of graffiti and maybe puts on a little show (he has previously been inspired to try graffiti for himself). The rest of this documentary is Thierry going completely overboard with this task, selling all his things and buying a studio, hiring graphic designers, set builders, artists to create the ideas he comes up with. He hypes up this show to the LA art scene and they go crazy for it, its a huge success (footfall wise) but those who work for him and whom he followed before all lose respect for him as he doesn't seem to understand the art, its just about the money and the specticle; to them he seems a joke, clueless.

In my opinion its a fake. I can kinda see how it could almost be real, there may be some nutters who would behave like Thierry but I recon it was Banksy making a metaphor about what the graffiti/street art scene has become; all hype and no foundations. The footage of graffiti artists seems pretty thin on the ground, judging that it says he spent eight years following graffiti artists and it seems mostly to be Shepard Fairey and Banksy. The Andy Warhol style factory he sets up and Thierry's whole look and attitude is cliched to the extreme, think of a typical artist and this is what you will see. The whole body of work looks completely like a lazy set designers idea of what 'a lot of modern art' would look like, it has no theme other than, 'that piece is bright, lets copy that.' It just looks fake to me.

Having said that, I did like the documentary. It was kinda fun initially trying to find out if it was real or fake and it shows footage of loads of graffiti being created. Thierry is an interesting guy to watch - whether he's for real or not.

All in all, if I was gonna watch a 'mocumentary' I'd watch this ten times over before I'd watch 'I'm Still Here' again!

My *narrow* body of recent work