tsk tsk

things

could I have thought of a better title for this post??

Well, firstly I just wanted to say a super big thank you to all of you who left a comment on my last post. WOW! I am really touched..no, blown away by your feedback. So many of your words struck a chord with me, and I hope to email you all very soon in response to your time and words of wisdom. I often wonder just how different things will be when my children are older and less reliant on me. I think I will feel less flippantly and jumbled. More in control. I will be clearer about what direction I want to travel in and appreciate what I am doing now..I guess this is a normal road we all travel as we grow older. With that said, I also don't want to overlook how my life right now moulds the way I am and what I do.

I have so many other things, (there's that word again) I could blog about: swaps; birthdays; spring; art, etsy buys...all in good time.

Right now my sister is on an airplane somewhere over Asia. This is her with Miss M.

I have 2 new prints in my shop.

And I say goodbye to this painting later in the week. Originally I painted this for our house. It was spied by another who offered to buy it. Can you believe  it was bought before it was finished. I went into slight panic mode initially, fearing I would ruin the final touches, but now I am at peace with it and much to my family's sadness it will be leaving our humble home  for another.

where is my self control?

I’m feeling a little full. Like I have eaten too much. Once again, I feel like I have too many projects happening and each project has a different style of its very own. I want to able to focus and have more self control over my work.

You see, I have trouble making decisions :: I went out recently with my husband to a fabulous French restaurant. I wanted almost everything on the menu and wine list but I also wanted to eat simply and not indulge. I wanted to remember every taste the next day.

If I list all the things I am currently doing for love or money, or both, I feel like I’m dabbling in too many styles.  It is like I  have ordered a glass of champagne, French onion soup, grilled figs stuffed with chevre and wrapped in bacon, a glass of sauvignon blanc,  courgett flowers with crab, lemon sorbet, duck l’orange, crème brulee, and squeezed in some cheese and a glass of dessert wine.

Now I’m not trying to say that my work is by any means like a good French meal. I just feel like there are so many techniques and genres I want to explore, and because my time is so interrupted I jump from one plate to the next .

I don’t know how to order simply, savour the flavour and extend the experience. I’d be happy to eat French fries and green salad everyday, and know that after some time I have truly appreciated every bite.

So, I guess what I am trying to say is,  I want to make decisions about what area of my work I should really focus on. What is it that I should really be doing? Why can’t I just work on one area and be happy with that?

Any tips or advice on self control would be greatly appreciated. And hey, any feedback either via comments or email, about what you think are my strong or weak points would be wonderful. I am about to launch into a new website design and I really need to sort these issues out.

bon voyage

my sister and her partner are going to India for 3 months on Monday. Today we are going to have lunch with them and say our farewells. I don't see them that often, but now it seems strange that I won't see them at all until next year. I wanted to give her something to take. But what do you give someone who is backpacking? I quickly, and I mean quickly, made this scarf for her. And some tiny photos of the kids. One side shows them with their nice smiles and on the other they have on their cheeky faces, in case she gets a little home sick.

working with holes in my teeth

School Holidays::Wk 2 Day 4

I love my work day....not so much when it starts with a visit to the dentist, but I really do love working.

art adventure

School Holidays::Wk 2 Day 3

Today we went to the Gallery Of Modern Art and the State Library. We saw gigantic balloons, the kids climbed through tunnels, played snakes and ladders, hungry hungry hippo, drew on paper bags, made a block tower, ate sandwiches on the grass and chased the birds. I did have fun, I just always frown, especially in the sun. I think it is time for a coffee now....and a nanna nap!

at home

School Holidays::Wk 2 Day 2

Friends came over to play. toys everywhere. cups of tea. lots of noise. orange cake and freshly made sopressa and salad rolls. it is peaceful now, only the sound of play school on a video to hear.

Are you bored with my week yet? Tomorrow should be fun...we are going to the art gallery.

billy cart

School Holidays::Wk 2 Day 1.

Somebody made a billy cart with his granddad. It had to be painted red so it would go faster down the driveway.