tsk tsk

watching the clock tick by

I said to Mr N last night whilst we were all eating dinner, "I am so looking forward to this week. I have so many great things I want to do, and I'm feeling really energetic about doing them. Infact I could easily work another 12 hours straight now" Of course when you are a mum, you can't. There are mum things to do.

The weekend, was great. Blue skies, long walks, 40th birthday celebrations, garden cleaning and Japanese food.

But....

This morning Mr A woke up with a headache. I drugged him up with panadol and shipped him off to school. Sat and did reading with his group, drove to the PO, went to the butcher, bought a yummy cake for morning tea with my friend, did a quick and minimal vacuum and kitchen clean, editioned some prints and then the phone rang.
Mr A was unwell and could I come and collect him from school.

The poor little boy took himself straight to bed, slept for an hour and a half, then woke up and was sick. Yep, the vomiting kind of sick.

So it seems that this blog isn't much fun at all of late. I really haven't been enthused to write about anything much at all. I did manage to start on some new prints and new bird illustrations, but mostly I find myself just watching the clock and waiting for the school bell to ring so I can be on mummy duty again.

blog guilt

do you ever have blog guilt? I have it right now. I should be working. I came into the studio this morning, cleared the desk to make some room so I could work and intended then and there that I would start my day.
But then I took a photo of my dog and then my shoes and studio floor to see what the light was like, then these dolls which have fluff coming out of their bums! And don't tell the kids I said 'bum' because they will take money away from me. That's what Mr N does when either of them say  "a rude word"  or a "naughty word". Please don't dob.

Breaky dishes are still there in the sink.
Dishwasher is only half unstacked....i do that all the time. Half now, half later.

Maybe it is a hangover from when I was a child and my sister and I would have a share each! looking back on that seems so pathetic. A half each! Honestly, both our parents worked full time and the fights we would have about the dishwasher. "Tiel hasn't done her share" "Larah is meant to do the plastics!" Now as a mother, I cringe at our selfish teenage ways.

But I digress.
I am still procrastinating.

Oh, and I have wet towels in my laundry basket that need to be dried and I am thankful that is has been wet so I can not feel bad about using my dryer.
I haven't thought about dinner and probably won't do until late this afternoon.

Now I really must stop, because I could harp on and on and on!

a new week

i needed to clean my studio {again} in order to actually do some work. So the start of this week sees me sorting and moving things about. I'm always rearraging my studio and i think it is because I need a different shape/size table in here for me to be happy. Whilst going through piles of paperwork I noticed this lovely mother's day card from Miss M. I love the way she spells her name differently each time she writes it and refuses to care when I try to correct her.
"no no no. it's ok mum. that's the way I want it to be. Don't you see?"

I'll keep this for days when I doubt myself and my work.

I've been working on a quilt for a friend....shall show you more later, but was very impressed at my ability to go from nothing to an almost quilted top within two days. I won't reveal much more, but she loves the ocean and favours blues and greens....so hopefully it will be liked.

open studio on monday

This is what my desk looked like this morning. It was cleaned last night and I get a great sense of satisfaction laying out some of my work ready to go. I'll try and show you what it looks like as the week progresses.

inspired

I'm feeling really ready to move forward with some ideas that have been buzzing around in my head.

At the moment I'm loving shape and colour.

mustard
grey
teal
black
rust
olive
triangles
circles
rocks
pebbles
leaves
agate slices

I cleaned my desk, (OK I just moved some piles onto the other table) and pinned up some new images on my board ... I am ready to begin.

pulling my hair out

Do you ever have those days where...
How often do you have the days where everything is too much..the day goes too quickly....and you can't seem to finish one thing? And all you want to do is stop and breathe.

Last week I bought some art supplies. Yesterday I discovered that I couldn't find a ream of printing paper that was apart of the purchase.  Some very expensive archival, printing paper. So I panicked a little and frantically searched my very messy studio and house and car. I then rang the shop to see if I had left it on the counter and of course I had. I just needed to find the receipt to prove that I had actually paid for it.

I looked in all of my handbags. nothing.

I then looked under piles of organised mayhem. nothing.

I then realised that my clutch purse that I often place receipts in was no where to be found.
I panicked some more. I had all my cards and my money pouch at hand so it must have fallen out somewhere yesterday.
15 minutes later I found it. But there was no receipt inside.

I repeated all my steps. nothing.

Until it dawned on me that I should look in my receipts tray that sits above my head at my desk.

And yes, there it was. And yes I had paid for it.

Each day I have a moment like this. It is usually my car keys that get lost. I honestly try to keep organised but it's just not a skill I excel at.

Right now I'm off to find the school photos form that is due in tomorrow...I guess I better check the school paper work tray before pulling more of my hair out.

folky little friend

Miss M popped in to the studio this afternoon, because she was booooorrrrrreeddd! So I brought their table in and set her up to do some drawing with me. She wanted to draw a babushka doll too.

We are having a great time together whilst Mr A is playing with his lego. 

We dropped friends at the airport today after a long weekend of playing  and shopping together. I found some great bargains, including this skirt....very folky don't you think? It is a heavy weight linen, all stitched and in perfect condition....yes a second hand find! I was so happy as it is the perfect size and even more happy with the very low price!

my wednesday

It ain't pretty! I'll be honest and let you peek at how messy my studio has become over the last month. I've moved out and taken over the dining AND kitchen tables. All this mess is doing my head in because I can't work if I don't have a clean space to work in. I know what I'll be doing next week. You should see the laundry. Piles of clean clothes have migrated into other rooms around the house, onto spare beds, kitchen benches, toy cupboards, and couches.

and the winner is....

Thank you for all your lovely little stories and comments. Some of these really got me laughing! I used a random number generator from the internet as both my little poppets are busy elsewhere today.

And the winner is Ali from Domesticali! YAY. Ali has been a regular for a long time and I do love her blog, full of laughs. Thank you all who entered. As an extra surprise, I'd like to extend a 10% discount on the ABCme product to all those who entered. If you are interested you must email me by October 31st to confirm this offer.

Meanwhile, there is work to be done.

where's wally?

My almost 6 year old has been wanting to do this puzzle since he was 4! It has been stored away in the chest. I think my sister or brother gave it to me when I was a teenager. So it was decided yesterday that he (with the occasional support from me) would give it a go. He has so much patience! Unlike Miss M who can't play a game of memory without showing me some ballet moves, changing chairs 3 times and wanting something do drink!

And on my desk today, the morning light filters through my studio window, beckoning me in to create!