Scribble-n-Paint

A Beautiful Sunset

2012-02-17T06:37:00.000+08:00

We don't often get beautiful sunsets like this so I had to capture it. I don't have a very flash camera, so I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

Layer Number Three

2012-02-15T15:16:00.001+08:00

Canvas #1 - Layer 3 Canvas #2 - Layer 3 More marks!!

Canvas # 2 - The Big One

2012-02-12T12:14:00.000+08:00

OK, here's a pic of my second canvas. This is the second layer - making marks. I stuck a can of soup beside it so that you can see how big it is (for Thingy). I am really enjoying the process.

Bloom True - Flora Bowley Online Painting Course

2012-02-11T17:28:00.001+08:00

1st layer - movement to music Smaller canvas My BIG canvas - 1st layer 2nd Layer - making marks smaller canvas Here are three photos of my efforts so far. These are not finished paintings but works in progress. I'm enjoying myself immensely. It's all about getting out of your own way and just letting things happen. I haven't made many marks on the big one yet.

Canvases

2012-02-10T21:19:00.000+08:00

I had a little win yesterday. I went out to lunch with my friend Rosalie and called in at the shopping mall on my way home looking to buy a canvas for the painting course. Propped just inside the art shop door were two huge (76.2 x152.4 cm or 30" x 60") canvases reduced from $59.95 to $29.95, so I bought them both. I'm using one of them for the course and also a smaller one that my son bought

Yessssssssssss!!!!

2012-02-10T13:25:00.000+08:00

My computer problem is fixed :) A very nice man called Richard came out to check the phone lines and all it was, was that I needed a filter on the line that goes to the cordless setup. We have a really old dial phone in the garage which he disconnected, and all is well. I was starting to panic a bit as I have signed up for Flora Bowley's online painting course which started at the beginning of

The Big Silence!

2012-02-07T15:27:00.000+08:00

Two and a half weeks ago, in the early hours of Friday morning, we had the most terrific thunderstorm which hung around for about four hours. Lots of bolt lightning, and it hit the phone lines. I was unaware of this until my son visited to tell me my phone wasn't working. I could phone out but no-one could phone me. I contacted my service provider and they put in a work order and the phone was

Gmail & Jean Michel Basquiat

2012-01-10T07:39:00.000+08:00

I don't know why they had to mess around with the gmail format. I don't like it. As far as I can see, it doesn't do anything different from the old one except I can no longer see who is online in my chat list and we have symbols instead of words for things. Why do they feel the need to fix something that isn't broken??? ******************************* I watched an interesting documentary called

Fawzia Koofi

2012-01-08T18:53:00.003+08:00

Click to enlarge

2012

2012-01-01T07:38:00.002+08:00

Happy New Year to you all :) We don't see the new year in as we're usually in bed and asleep by midnight. New Year hype is something that I've never really understood. I started the New Year well. I was up at 5.30am and went for a walk along the sea front getting back home at 6.40am. When I started out I could have been the only person on the planet. The roads were quiet so no stinky exhaust

AVAAZ

2011-12-28T20:22:00.000+08:00

Let your voice be heard in 2012 with the Avaaz organisation. They are petitioners on a grand scale worldwide and you can help to change the world and make it better in many ways. You can add your voice to any number of issues and changes have been made. They are active in all parts of the world working for humanity and common decency. All it takes is a few moments of your time.

War Horse

2011-12-27T15:35:00.001+08:00

We went to see the movie War Horse on Boxing Day. What an excellent film. Spielberg does make good movies. I've seen many of them but not all. Close Encounters is one of my all time favourites. I would recommend War Horse to anyone, but take some tissues with you! There was a round of applause from the audience when it finished, which is not something you hear often at the cinema. It is about a

Summer Solstice

2011-12-22T13:50:00.000+08:00

Our longest day today, which you would think would be the hottest seeing as the sun's up for the most time. But no! It will get hotter and be the hottest probably in February, just when the kids start back at school. It's going to be a lovely 29C on Christmas day. A bit different from last year when I think it was about 40C. I think I've done all the Christmas shopping flurry now. No-one is

Wishing.........

2011-12-21T06:13:00.001+08:00

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year

Deck the Halls.........

2011-12-18T07:05:00.001+08:00

Well the Christmas tree is finally up and twinkling away at me. It will be back in the box on Boxing Day............ That's the meaning of Boxing Day! I always wondered what it meant. I've promised myself I'll have a go at making a Pork Pie this week. I've never made one before. Never made hot-water pastry before, but the ones they sell in the shops here never get the pastry right and they're

Iraq

2011-12-16T11:01:00.000+08:00

I feel compelled to comment on the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, because it has been in the news. In Panetta's speech when referring to those who made the ultimate sacrifice he claims "But those lives were not lost in vain: They gave birth to an independent, free and sovereign Iraq." I think it was that before they invaded. As much so as many more countries around the world. I'm sure the

Sketchbook

2011-12-08T10:09:00.000+08:00

This is one from 2007 that I rediscovered the other day. Black pen and coloured pencils They look a happy bunch, don't they?

My Part of the World

2011-12-08T08:40:00.000+08:00

If you go here you will find images of mainly Fremantle and Perth. I'm not fussed about Perth - it's too impersonal - but I love Freo. It's a very laid-back place and the people are interesting. Lots of hippy types complete with their dogs roaming around. Unfortunately, there are no captions on the images in the slide show but if you scroll down, the images are in thumbnail with information

A Doodle in Black Pen

2011-12-06T17:38:00.000+08:00

I think I want to put some text in the empty boxes, but I'm not sure what yet.

More Gut Art

2011-12-04T07:22:00.000+08:00

I've been falling behind a bit on the course but here are a couple more of my efforts :) The course is designed not to show you how to paint, but rather to offer inspiration in the form of videos and visits to artists' galleries to see different approaches and have a go at various styles. The Dancers The Monk and His Chook

Memories of My Godparents

2011-11-26T11:38:00.001+08:00

Aunty and Jim on a day trip to the seaside 1957 Me and brother Stan on Aunty and Jim's front step I woke up this morning with a smile on my face. In my dreams I had visited my Godfather, Jim. It was a lovely visit and seemed like it was only yesterday I'd seen him for real. Aunty (whose name was Emily, but was always just 'Aunty') and Jim were my Godparents. Aunty died

Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup

2011-11-25T17:34:00.001+08:00

I made this today for lunch. It is a lovely soup which I first tasted on holiday in the UK with my sister. Before you say 'Yuk!' because it has blue cheese in it, I don't like blue cheese. It tastes like a mouthful of loose change to me. However, I like this soup. Here's the recipe if you would like to try it yourself. Ingredients 300g Broccoli -cut into florettes, stalks as well. 2 Large

This Made Me Smile

2011-11-12T17:18:00.003+08:00

You have to watch it through to the end of the credits. BOB from Jacob Frey on Vimeo.

Finger Nails

2011-11-09T09:58:00.000+08:00

When I was a young woman I would grow my nails; shape them and sometimes I would paint them. I never grew them more than 1/8" beyond the flesh. I was a secretary and it's very difficult to touch-type with long nails. When I had my first child I chopped them off and kept them short - and they've been short ever since. I find long finger nails rather unsavoury, especially when they've been grown

Gut Art - Week 2, Day 1

2011-11-08T08:45:00.000+08:00

For this challenge I painted in a primitive style and this is what I got. I quite enjoyed doing it and the end product is growing on me. The Sea God Shows the Way

Gut Art

2011-11-04T06:42:00.001+08:00

Another piece from my first week of Gut Art. Reclining Woman with Collage

Halloween Getup

2011-11-02T08:01:00.000+08:00

While surfing, I happened across an article about a three year old who had been dressed as a biker's moll for halloween. Apparently last year she was dressed as a hooker. This is just so wrong. There is a voting button as to whether you think it 'inappropriate' or 'no big deal'. 7% thought it no big deal - probably the voting pedophiles.

Channel 9 - A Current Affair

2011-11-01T10:18:00.001+08:00

Last night on ACA they had some beat-up, bullshit story about people stealing parcels intended for someone else. This was a total set-up which just showed the low things they'll do to get fodder for the show. We have quite a few things delivered and never has anything been stolen. The reasons for this are: 1. If it's something coming via Australia Post, and no-one is home and it's too big to

Moth Plague

2011-10-31T07:55:00.000+08:00

For about three weeks now we have been suffering from clouds of moths. They appear at twilight and seem to be feasting on the bottlebrush nectar. A few of them are caught by birds, but most of the birds are settling down for the night when they appear. I don't like them very much. If they stayed outside it would be alright, but they find their way inside. They are quite large too. I have

Gut Art Oct 2011

2011-10-28T11:11:00.000+08:00

I'm doing the Gut Art course again with Mystele Kirkeeng. I did it in January of this year but the weather was so hot I didn't really achieve a great deal, so I'm doing it again - and having a ball. These are my first two pieces. The course is all about going with your gut feeling when you paint. This is a big departure from what I usually do, but I'm liking what happens. Using a palette

Australia Post. . . and Others

2011-10-21T10:49:00.001+08:00

I've just completed an online form for Australia Post to try and track a package that I think may have gone astray. One of the * required fields* was my mobile phone number. Now, as you all probably know, I don't (and won't) have a mobile phone, (pains in the arse, or rather the bad manners that accompany them are) so I typed in the space - Don't have one. That, apparently, didn't compute and

Music?

2011-10-15T09:58:00.000+08:00

Hubby likes to put the telly on when he gets up. It drives me nuts, but it's a fact of life. This morning he wandered onto the local Public Service channel where a concert(?) was in progress. A very intense young man was centre stage with a microphone and amplifiers playing.........the maracas. There was some sort of 'freeform' cacophony going on in the background and he was shaking himself

Why .......

2011-10-10T06:46:00.000+08:00

.... has Paul McCartney got married again?? I would've thought the last debacle would've made him think twice. He's 68 years old, but seems to be having trouble coming to grips with the fact. Love at that age doesn't have to be accompanied by wedding bells. You can live in sin, Paul. Nobody would bat an eyelid. Nancy Shevell is 51, so they won't be bringing any children into the world. At

Funny

2011-10-04T10:40:00.000+08:00

I've just been watching next door's bull terrier playing with a willie-wagtail (bird) . The bird swooped her and then she chased the bird and then the bird chased her. This went on for several minutes. The dog didn't try to get the bird and when she'd had enough the bird was fluttering around and almost landing on her back. When the dog tired out and went to lie down the bird flew off. Now

What??!!!!

2011-10-03T15:12:00.002+08:00

I saw this when I was doing a bit of surfing: Magnesium: Meet the Most Powerful Relaxation Mineral Available A DEFICIENCY IN THIS CRITICAL nutrient makes you twice as likely to die as other people, according to a study published in the Journal of Intensive Care Medicine ........ I don't think so! We're all gonna die sooner or later. Life is a terminal condition. Yes, I know what it really

The Mouse. . . .

2011-10-02T07:59:00.001+08:00

. . . . it is no more. It is extinct. It is an ex-mouse. It was a very crafty mouse, having several meals supplied by my good self. I ended up buying some different mouse traps - same spring idea but plastic instead of the old wooden one with the spring you had to balance very carefully. Washable too. I didn't think we'd caught it but my husband had disposed of it before I got up this morning.

And Another Thing....

2011-09-30T16:39:00.000+08:00

Can someone tell me why we are still paying (correction - why they are still charging) $12 per kilo for bananas? They went as high as $17 per kilo but they are now stuck at $12 and don't seem to be going down any further. In the UK they can buy a kilo of bananas for under $2 and they don't even grow the bloody things there!!! I love a banana, but I'm buggered if I'll pay that price for the

Of Mice and ParMEsaN

2011-09-30T08:31:00.001+08:00

I have a mouse. At least I hope it's just one. I found mouse poo and bits chewed off the brown rice bag on Sunday night. Monday morning the cupboard was emptied onto the table so that the gap between the door frame and the brickwork could be cemented up, cutting off access. All the shelves had to be removed to get the job done, so while they were all out my better half thought we might as well

Something Worth Watching for a Change

2011-09-30T07:00:00.000+08:00

<<< In keeping with the new intention of being more pictorial. There is next to bugger all to watch on TV these days, but the BeeB has made Alexander McCall Smith's book The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency into a series. I watched the first one last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was how I had imagined it to be, which is often not the case with books that have been made into films. I

Just a Few Things

2011-09-29T22:49:00.000+08:00

Hurray for the Saudi women. They now have the right to vote . . . . . well, not right now but in four years time. Then they might be able to vote themselves driver's licenses too. ************************* I belong to four 'ning' art communities and they have a policy of no nudes, which I find quite strange being art communities. I do like to paint me a nude now and again, but apparently

Housebound

2011-09-02T08:59:00.000+08:00

It was a lovely warm, sunny day yesterday. I parked my car on the drive in case I wanted to go out again and left all the windows down a couple of inches. The meteorological mob had said it would rain, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the car gets very hot with the windows up. They were right for once. It did rain - it came down in buckets but I had forgotten I'd left my windows down.

UK Childhood Memories - Playing in the Snow

2011-08-21T09:20:00.001+08:00

This piece is a transplant from my original Toasted Knees blog on Wordpress. I will transfer more and then close that one down.********** As kids we always looked forward to it snowing. We hoped each year that it would snow for Christmas, but it seldom did. It usually arrived in January. You knew as soon as you opened your eyes in the morning if it had snowed overnight. The quality of the light

Cat Deterrents

2011-08-20T07:48:00.001+08:00

Thanks for the push, Sandy. I never even thought of Googling 'cat repellent'. Duh! I did buy some stuff a couple of years back, which turned out to be those water retention granules (the same thing they put in disposable nappies) that had been soaked in citronella, which turned them into a gel. This was fine and I sprinkled it around all where the cat had been and it did not smell nice.

Update

2011-08-19T15:55:00.001+08:00

I did some weeding and tidied up a bit of the garden until I reached the corner of the house. I had to give up then because of the stink of cat crap. I do not own a cat; have never owned a cat, in fact I am not particularly fond of cats. However, I seem to own the neighbourhood cat toilet. I'm too scared to put my hands in the soil because it wouldn't be the first time I'd pulled them out

Gardening Today!

2011-08-19T09:33:00.000+08:00

Clear blue skies today, and once the air's warmed up a bit I will get into the garden and do some weeding. Oh, I do live the wild life! We have had lots and lots of rain this winter so I haven't been doing much gardening, but I feel enthused this morning. I might have to get dressed first though and it's already gone 9.30 am. So, upward and onward!

Some Zentangles

2011-08-12T07:47:00.000+08:00

Fooled, Yet Again

2011-08-06T10:11:00.004+08:00

I looked at this product in the supermarket and thought, 'Ooo, they look really nice. Gourmet pies with actual chunks of meat and mushrooms in. I'll take some.' I really should know better at my age. I put them in the fridge to await hubby's return from work. He had been working up north on night shift, but told me he'd eaten on the way from the airport and he didn't feel like dinner. He

Nottingham Goose Fair

2011-08-06T09:11:00.002+08:00

As kids, Goose Fair was one of the highlights of our year. This fair dates back to 1284 when the burgesses of Nottingham were granted a charter by Edward 1 to hold the fair. Originally it was held in the town centre, but that was before my time. I only remember it being held on the forest (not actually a forest anymore, if it ever was, but an open, recreational area on the edge of the city

On Vacuum Cleaners

2011-08-06T00:24:00.000+08:00

I decided to vacuum the stairs today. It's a job I've been putting off for some time. Most of my floors are tile and I usually use a brush and dustpan and a mop. The stairs are carpeted and were covered in bits of stuff. I got the vacuum out and also a looooong extension cord because the cord on the vac won't reach from any power point either upstairs or down. I tied the two cords before

Rant on Tampon Ad

2011-08-05T09:04:00.001+08:00

Over the last few nights I've seen an ad on the telly which irks me somewhat - well, quite a bit actually. It is for tampons - don't ask me which brand; I don't know. I can't get past the stupid graphics. They show a couple of tubes with an ordinary tampon on the left and one with spread 'wings' on the right. Now I can only assume that men created this ad with absolutely no input from those

Sweet Chilli Sauce

2011-08-01T14:56:00.000+08:00

No, this is not a recipe - not an edible one at least, but it is a recipe for a good belly laugh. I have spent far too much time over the last few days reading J Cosmo Newbery's Sweet Chilli Sauce. A most entertaining website where he deals with the corporate world and Nigerian con-men. Do take the time to visit. It will brighten your day no end. Mavis Bramston, and the Coconuts are

Tour de France

2011-07-23T09:16:00.000+08:00

I caught a bit of this last night on the box. I'm not a follower but they were getting towards the end of one of the legs of the race, to the top of the Alps, so we watched. All the moronic idiots on the road! If I was on one of those bikes (not that that's a possibility, I'm not a masochist) I would be mightily vexed (that's a nice word) if I had to plough through that lot. They only leap

Shopping With Intent

2011-07-19T16:58:00.002+08:00

I thought I might like a new camera, so I went searching today. What brought it on was, the other day while out walking I tried to take some pics of the coastline, but had no idea what the pics were like as the black screen was too reflective and I couldn't distinguish anything at all. It was a case of point and hope for the best. My daughter has one with a proper viewfinder as well as the

My Studio

2011-07-10T11:25:00.000+08:00

This is a bit out of focus.

Lost at E Minor

2011-07-10T08:55:00.000+08:00

I've just come across this interesting site packed with arty stuff on many different topics. Don't ask me how I arrived there because I couldn't tell you :) I particularly like Olga Feldman's Rainbow Body work on the 'Art' page. There is plenty to see on this site.

Blogger Problems

2011-06-29T21:13:00.000+08:00

What's with Blogger at the moment? My Followers have disappeared, and also Recent Comments on my other blog. I don't know where they've gone to and I've tried to get them back.

High Heels

2011-06-27T21:05:00.000+08:00

I was sitting in the shopping mall today, watching life's rich tapestry pass me by. There was a woman in a pair of black patent high heels - about 4" high or more. She was having to take half-steps as she walked because her shoes had about 3/4 inch of empty shoe at the heel. They were Minnie Mouse shoes and looked ridiculous. It's something I've noticed a lot with women wearing high heels

Sketches

2011-06-06T11:40:00.001+08:00

I've joined a Tuesday morning life sketching group. Lovely bunch of people. We start at 9.30 am and finish at 11.30 am. These are a couple of the sketches I did the first week. I haven't posted many pics lately as I have a new three-in-one which I'm still feeling my way around. Also I'm getting used to the updated version of my photo program which seems more complicated than the

Upcoming Documentary

2011-06-03T06:57:00.001+08:00

I'm looking forward to a documentary to be aired this month - three episodes 19 - 21 June. It's called 'Go Back to Where You Came From'. It's about a group of Australians with differing views on the desperate people who arrive here, from various countries, in leaking boats via Indonesia. This group of Australians will do a 'reverse' refugee trip in what would appear to be one of the boats used

You're Never Too Old........

2011-05-23T11:36:00.000+08:00

....for a culinary cock-up. Yesterday I decided to make a beef and mushroom pie for dinner. Now I've been making these, or a variation on these, for many years. Never had one fail. I sealed the meat and cooked it with onion, herbs and seasoning in the pressure cooker, which takes about 20 mins. Doing it in the pressure cooker is quick and I know the meat will be tender. I also sauteed the

Offline At Present

2011-05-05T10:11:00.001+08:00

No internet at the moment as we are changing servers, and nothing goes smoothly, apparently. Wed 11 May - Things are moving along in the internet department. Hopefully I will be back online by the end of this week.

More On The Scam

2011-05-04T09:13:00.000+08:00

On checking my new card today, an amount of $64.87 has been refunded to me. This is only half of what they took so I will be chasing up the rest. It took a while (about three weeks, I think) but we had the Easter break in the middle of it all. I will be pursuing the rest of it.

A Tip From WA ScamNet

2011-04-16T07:35:00.000+08:00

I got this from WA ScamNet which you can use on all that spam you get. Use your mouse to defeat email scammers.Most fraudsters sending this sort of spam use free web-based email service providers such as Yahoo or Hotmail. If this is the case, you can fight back. Look at the email address of the person who has sent you the offending message. It has two parts, the username on the left of the @

SCAM ALERT

2011-04-15T09:12:00.001+08:00

A little while ago I wrote about phone botherers. I had paid $2.97 to find out about work at home using my computer. BIIIIIIIIIIG MISTAKE!! This bought me a link to a page on 'How to set up an e-Bay store' which held no appeal for me, so I didn't pursue it. The payment went to AGGEGGI GREENACRE. Remember that name and SMARTER LIFE AND LEISURE GREENACRE! The Smarter Life and Leisure looks legit

Good Book - Sex Wars by Marge Piercy

2011-04-14T07:45:00.001+08:00

I've just finished reading 'Sex Wars' by Marge Piercy. It's a book about several different people living in New York in the second half of the 1800s. There is a Jewish immigrant called Freydeh; some of the actual women involved in the fight for women's rights; the family of 'snake oil' shyster from the mid-west and a religious loony on a one man crusade to clean up the moral degradation he sees

YEEEEEEEEEEssssssssssss!!!! Rain!!

2011-04-07T17:16:00.000+08:00

It rained in the night and this morning too, and it's coooool! I actually felt like doing something today. I raked up all the pine needles and the mess the birds had made and then made a start on cleaning the gutters. My daughter put a stop to that and my son came around and finished the job this afternoon. I'm going to do some painting later. Everywhere looks so clean and fresh. There are

The Vandals Are Back

2011-04-02T07:20:00.003+08:00

The naughty black cockatoos are sitting outside in my pine tree, making a racket and a lot of mess. They made their first visit about ten days ago when they chewed off most of the pine cones and dropped them on the ground. Today they are picking through them and carrying the open ones back into the tree. Go figure! Many of the ones they dropped on the ground were still very green. They are

Rain on Thursday

2011-04-02T06:16:00.000+08:00

The weather people have promised us showers on Thursday. If it happens, and I say if because they are not notorious for their accuracy, I will dance about in it. I was going to say 'naked' but I don't think the world is ready for that. Everywhere is brown and crispy, so the earth will probably make a noise like the sink emptying when it does happen. Although it might just roll off the top.

Eeeew!

2011-04-01T08:39:00.000+08:00

I've just seen an American woman on the TV with finger nails about a foot long. They are all painted in pretty colours, so don't look quite as gross as unpainted ones. They are all curled and twisted. At first I thought she was carrying something. It showed her preparing meals and other things she could do, but her husband has to tie her shoelaces for her. I wonder who wipes her bum, because

Weather Update

2011-03-31T23:58:00.000+08:00

We have had two months with absolutely no rain at all. We have had fifty-eight days with temperatures over 32C - many of them nearer to 40C One dam is dry and another very low. ......................... and no relief in sight!

Speech Patterns

2011-03-31T23:53:00.000+08:00

Have you ever noticed how some people can't say their Rs. They have to use a W instead. Since 'The Life of Brian' and 'Welease Woddewick' I can't help noticing when people have this problem. It seems to be rife in academic circles, and you often hear it in documentaries. If it was me, and I'd chosen a career which required me to speak in public, I think I would try my hardest to change it.

A 'Must Read'

2011-03-27T11:01:00.000+08:00

Over the last three days I've been reading a book I bought for my daughter back in 1999. It's called 'A Mother's Guide to Life' by Barbara Toner. It is sensible, very witty and expresses my own views on things. I must have glanced through it when I bought it for her but had never read it all the way through before. It contains absolute pearls of wisdom presented in a humourous way. If you

Autumn Centre

2011-03-24T08:02:00.000+08:00

I've joined the local Autumn Centre. Basically, it's a social club for seniors. They have a very full programme of activities and I've joined the art group for now. Other activities include keep fit groups - yoga, movement to music, tai chi; there's pool, table tennis and lawn bowls; several dancing groups including belly dancing and zumba. They have a computer room and organise outings to

Another Book

2011-03-24T07:41:00.002+08:00

I've just finished reading The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt. It's an unusual book and tended to flit back and forth quite a bit. I enjoyed it. It is about the friends and family of an author of children's books and the era is the latter half of the 1800s and up to the end of the first World War. It has a lot of social/political reference to the times, which was quite interesting. It is

Telly

2011-03-19T08:38:00.001+08:00

I've been watching over the past three weeks, and thoroughly enjoying, a documentary series called Extreme Fishing with Robson Green. Now I don't like to fish - have never liked to fish - but this is good entertainment. He travels to different countries to catch big fish, which he throws back - and he does catch some really big fish - but he doesn't take himself seriously as a lot of other

Two and a Half Men

2011-03-03T15:50:00.000+08:00

I think Charlie Sheen must be the half. It's not a programme I follow, but I have seen the odd episode. It would seem Charlie pretty much plays a milder version of himself. There have been several interviews televised lately that he's done with various people and he seems not to be able to make sense anymore. I watched one and had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. He was talking

Phone Botherers

2011-03-03T07:37:00.000+08:00

I seem to have attracted the attention of phone botherers. They like to ring very early in the morning. So far I have had three calls - 5.40 am, 5.55 am and today a 6.20am. Needless to say I was less than pleased. The 5.40 am one woke me up, but I was awake and up on the days the other two rang. I think I know where it's springing from. Like an idiot I clicked on a 'work from home with your

Take Me Somewhere Cool!!!!!!

2011-02-24T14:00:00.000+08:00

The sun feels like it's blistering the skin off me, and that's just walking from the car into the shops! It seems to have been hot for weeks. Mid 30s C temperatures, humid and absolutely no sea breeze at all, in fact no movement of air at all after the sun's gone down. The Antarctic is looking very attractive at the moment. The temperature doesn't drop much at night either. I was awake at

Buses

2011-02-13T22:58:00.000+08:00

When I left school and started work I would catch the same bus every morning, with the same group of people. Most people used public transport to get around as not many people owned cars. I made friends with a girl called Anne who lived around the corner from me and also worked at Boots. We generally had to sit on the seat at the front of the bus which faced all the other seats. Not many

Shane !@*#!! Warne

2011-02-12T20:00:00.000+08:00

Can somebody tell me why Shane Warne and Liz Hurley's sexcapades warrant mention in the evening news?? Who gives a toss? Apart from the fact that he's a so called 'sporting identity' - so everyone thinks he's a bit of a jack-the-lad (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) - why are they turning it into some sort of mediafest? He has a record of not being able to keep his dick in his pants - something

More Books

2011-02-12T15:46:00.000+08:00

I've just finished Jodi Picoult's Handle with Care. A good read about a couple who have a little girl with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (brittle bone disease). They have an older daughter who does not have the disease and the story is about how she impacts on all of their lives. A sad story, but very well written. I recommend it. I'm now reading The Girl With the Cardboard Port, an autobiography

My Other Neighbours

2011-02-01T07:10:00.000+08:00

The couple who lived the other side of us (from the couple in the previous story) were about our age and we would socialise with them in the evenings and sometimes on the weekend. I can't for the life of me remember their names, but they had a boxer dog that, for some reason, they used to bring with them when they came around. My husband had a boxer dog, too, but I refused to have it living

A Brace of Pheasants

2011-01-31T22:41:00.000+08:00

When I got married (the first time) we lived in a village. We lived in it but were not of it, if you get my meaning. We bought a tiny duplex on a new estate that had been developed. Every Friday evening a man came around selling fresh eggs. I always bought a dozen off him. One particular Friday evening he asked me in a conspiratorial way if I'd like a brace of pheasants for a quid. He'd

A New Blog

2011-01-30T21:56:00.000+08:00

My little granddaughter, Piper, has created a blog. She loves to write! You can visit it by clicking here.

Weather

2011-01-30T08:22:00.000+08:00

The impending cyclone seems to have petered out without crossing the coast, which is a good thing. Yesterday was absolutely crap. Hot, humid, not much movement of air and it was stinking hot all night too. I've had enough of summer. Roll on winter. We sat down the foreshore for dinner last night. It was slightly cooler but not much. We sat for the half hour of twilight we get after the sun

Karma

2011-01-29T10:24:00.000+08:00

I've decided I'm sick of climbing into an oven when I go out in my car, so from now on I'm going to rely on karmic law to stop anyone from nicking it. I refuse to wind the windows up. I never used to have to, so I'm returning to former times. I won't leave anything in it that is worth nicking and there are far flasher cars than mine in the car parks. Something I noticed in the UK when I

Magpie # 49 - The Camphorwood Box

2011-01-21T08:45:00.001+08:00

The child opened her bedroom door slowly and peeped out with one blue eye. The landing was empty. The coast was clear, and the loft ladder was still in place. She could hear the grown-ups downstairs and she knew that Tom was in the yard. She had wanted to climb into the loft for a long time, but was always told she was too small and it was dangerous to climb the ladder. She thought

Good Book

2011-01-14T23:22:00.000+08:00

I've just finished reading Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly. It's a story of the potato famine in Ireland and one family's escape to 'Amerikay'. I enjoyed it very much. I found the glossary of Irish words at the back of the book, after I'd finished reading it. I wished I found it before I started. The family ends up in Chicago in the mid 1800s. A very moving story. A good read.

More Background Practice

2011-01-13T17:21:00.000+08:00

This is a work-in-progress. I'm having fun!

Gut Art - Jan 2011

2011-01-12T11:41:00.000+08:00

I have something to show from my Gut Art course. Each week we get assignments on Monday and Wednesday. These involve a sketching exercise and a visit to an online gallery to view different artists' work and discover our likes and dislikes. Having viewed Monday's artist Jeanne Bessette I found I really loved what she did. So I've been practicing with background and I've had a go at painting

Eeeek! I have to get my finger out!

2011-01-06T08:45:00.000+08:00

My Gut Art course started on Monday and included a sketching exercise and an online visit to an artist's gallery. I did both of those, but need to do some exercises connected with the gallery visit. My second lesson arrived today, but I haven't even started that yet. My Silliness course started yesterday too. I have still to do that. I have to draw a scruffy little dog's head, repeating it

Young Me Now Me

2011-01-02T22:42:00.000+08:00

I was having a look at this site and found it quite interesting. It is a collection of pictures of people when they were young/younger and a picture of them now. Many of the 'now' pictures have repeated the pose (and sometimes the clothing) of the 'young' pictures. It made me smile, but then, I'm easily amused :)

Doodling

2011-01-02T14:39:00.003+08:00

My first bit of stuff for 2011. I had this piece of plywood that I had collaged with text and daubed some paint over, but didn't know what I wanted to do with it. I started doodling and ended up with this. It's sort of a zentangle. Because I have to prop things up to photograph them, the sides are never quite parallel and you can see a bit of what's behind it. It is collaged text from a

Courses

2011-01-01T07:27:00.002+08:00

I am starting my new year off with a couple of courses. I am doing Gut Art, with Mystele Kirkeeng and very much looking forward to it. I joined Mystele's online Little Glimpses Studio a few months back and have made some lovely new friends and enjoyed participating. Mystele is a very inspiring person. I have also signed up for Silly 3, The Art of Silliness with Carla Sonheim This looks as

2010-12-31T20:14:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year to the whole world!

Rechargable Money Card

2010-12-30T07:52:00.001+08:00

I applied and was granted a rechargable money card. All went through OK and on 20 Dec I put $200 on it. I got it mainly for online purchases. It is not connected to any account and I just add money to it when it gets low. This is so that if anyone steals the details they can only get the small amount that's on there. So, last night I put all the new card details on Pay Pal and they advised

Library

2010-12-29T15:13:00.003+08:00

The library opened again today after the Christmas break, so I returned some books and found some more. I love going to the library. It's a nice place to disappear to if you don't want bothering. Cool in summer; warm in winter and it's fairly quiet. When I come home again I feel like I have a bag full of treasures. I usually get a few novels, which I may or may not finish, depending on

Agincourt, again

2010-12-29T08:23:00.000+08:00

I'm not doing anymore to this. I've had enough! It measures 10.5 cm x 24.0 cm and is painted in acrylic on a piece of cracker box. The colours are stronger in real life. They never seem to come out the same on here. I tried adjusting it in my photo programme but it's still not right. The quote's from Shakespeare's King Henry V.

Boxing Day Sales

2010-12-28T08:11:00.001+08:00

Wild horses could not drag me to the shops on Boxing Day. There are people who camp out overnight to be the first through the doors when they open. There is nothing they are selling, no matter how cheap, that could induce me to take part in the madness. I hate shopping at the best of times and there's no way I could put up with all that pushing and shoving.

Hot, Hot, Hot!

2010-12-28T07:33:00.003+08:00

After a stinking hot Christmas - 38C Christmas Day, 40C Boxing Day and 37C yesterday - I woke to a lovely fresh sea breeze this morning so went for an early walk (5.45 am) along the foreshore. It was so refreshing after the heat. There were several other walkers out and all expressed relief for the sea breeze. I'm now sitting on the patio having a cup of tea and some toast and contemplating