I’ve had a long day finishing off an assignment, and I have no brainspace left to think of a post…
It’s been a long time since I did a Pinterest post – ever since they changed the site, I haven’t been able to figure it out. Hopefully this works. 😀
Not sure of the artistic legitimacy of repinning stuff… but I’m tired. I recharge by finding beauty. This is what I found to be beautiful this time round…
I Am Weary, And Need Beauty
Suddenly…
…. a wild duckling appears.
Went to have a chat with the neighbour this morning (the same one with the tomato guttering. It’s all excitement over there.) She’d rescued a baby duckling, but didn’t know what to do with it next… We offered to ring round, and found someone who takes in random wildlife. Little Duckling is now sharing a home with a baby dove, a blue tongue lizard, a canary, and a dog who raises ducklings and lets them follow him round the garden…
He’s a feisty little thing. Tried to get out of the box whenever possible, but didn’t really show any signs of distress until we started the car to take him to his new home… I had to hold him and stroke that little head the whole way in.
Littlest bean took time, before we worked out where to take him, to try to figure out what sort of duckling we had. He pored over his bird book – didn’t get it quite right, but didn’t do too badly. Seems it’s a “woody” duck.
Little bean chatted as he researched. Little duckling chatted back.
…and so our quiet morning became a little more exciting.. 😀
Strange Beans
Snuck up on my littlest bean today.. this is what he looked like..
Why? I’m not really sure..
We homeschool our two boys, which is wonderful, or frustrating, or all points in between…
They are both such individuals – something we want to nurture in them. Of course, there are some things that they need to learn – being able to use numbers, and the English language; knowing at least some of how the world works; knowing what happened in this world before us… these are important things to know…
… but if that should involve marching around the house, speaking in an interesting accent, or pretending to be the Cyber Controller (possibly the inspiration for the dome hat) – then – why not? It’s rarely dull in our house.
Cheeky little bean 😀
Years Past To The Present
I was going through an old diary and found a (very!) old self portrait that I’d drawn over twenty years ago..
Back then, I’d not long left college, where I studied art. I did self portraits quite a lot (the model was always available, and worked for free 😀 ) I can’t remember exactly when I did this one.. it’s on mulberry paper, with charcoal and white chalk to highlight. I’ve been told it looks “dark” and “haunting”. I don’t remember that being something that I was trying to convey.. it could have shown through anyway…
I don’t do a lot of art these days.. at least, not visual art. In some ways, this blog is another form of self portrait – little glimpses of things that pop into my brain, or that I’m wrestling with, or that I just love to ponder. I don’t feel the need to create representations of my physical appearance anymore (although there’s an unfinished painting in a cupboard somewhere. Perhaps I’ll finish it someday.)
Back then, it was like my life was in a holding pattern – like there was something on the horizon, but “not yet”. Now, I’m living. I see who I am in the mirror every morning, and I like who I see. I may still do self portraits – there’s a lot more wrinkles and grey hairs now – that could be a challenge 😀 ..but my life now is fuller than a static image on a page.
Tomatoes On High
We were on our way out today, and noticed something odd at the neighbour’s house..
Might be a bit hard to see… but that’s a tomato plant. In the guttering of a two story house.
I could quip about “blooming where you’re planted”..
..or talk about overcoming adversity, whatever your circumstances.
Really, I just want to find a very long ladder and harvest them before they’re overripe. They look lovely and juicy..
Doctor Puppet – Episode Four
Yayy!!
Who is that (non) masked man? 😉
Check youtube for the other three episodes! Or here’s number three 😀
Unusual Images
Still feeling ill 😦 so another short post…
Here are some gifs created by Guillaume Kurkdjian – to see some more, click here.
Very cute 😀
Good Cheer And The Day’s Eye
I’m not feeling too well today.. there’s a fever sort of hovering..
I won’t write too much, but – here’s a bouquet of daisies, to cheer us all up 😉
The name “Daisy” is said to come from “Day’s Eye”, apparently a reference to the petals opening and closing with the sun.
In the language of flowers, daisies stand for innocence, loyal love, purity, faith, cheer and simplicity. I’ll take the cheer today, thanks! 😀
Many years ago, I did a short course in speaking Irish. I can say “Hello, how are you?” (but I can’t spell it..), and I remember that daisies are called “noonini”. I’ve always thought that was pretty..
Hope you’re feeling well today 😀 Either way, share my bouquet, and be of good cheer!
Coconut Coffee Surprise
I’ve been reading about the health benefits of coconut oil.. it’s good for all sorts of things, but I find it hard to eat it straight. I’ve been putting it in cooked rice, with tuna and seeds… and finely chopped ginger, if I’m feeling adventurous..
The other day I came across a recipe for using it in coffee, instead of milk. Sounds a bit strange, right?
Here it is –
1 tablespoon of coconut oil (or 2, or 3…)
1 teaspoon of unsalted butter
Cup of coffee
Put it all in a blender.
Blend.
Simple! 🙂
Here it is in the blender… surprisingly normal-looking.
This was my first try. I’m not sure whether it was because I didn’t blend it for long enough, or because I didn’t have any unsalted butter, but it was a bit oilier than I’d like… those spots are little globs of oil.
Second try – bubbles rather than oil splodges 😀
It’s not as coconutty as you’d think… still a slight tinge of oiliness. I had butter this time.. it seems to make it a bit smoother..
Delicious!
And So, Hello To August!
What to do for the first post of the blogalong?…
There are a few possibilties.. but I thought I’d start with a bit of joy. 😀
I first came across these videos a few years ago, and they’ve always made me smile. They’re done by a bloke called Matt Harding, who was traveling with a friend. One day they decided to get the friend to film him doing his “funny dance”. There have been a few more since. 😀
Read more of his story here
This one’s not the first (They started in 2003, with the most well known one in 2006), but it’s the first with him predominantly dancing with other people, in various countries. I have a bit of a soft spot for this – there’s a section filmed in Brisbane – New Farm Park, by the look of it. I’ve “danced” there!
One of the things we’re trying to teach our beautiful boys is to look at their place in, and responsibilities to, this big world we live in – to see how much more there is outside of the little they’ve so far seen. I love the breadth of travel in these, and seeing people of such different backgrounds enjoying each others’ company. Doesn’t matter if we speak the same language or have the same beliefs or traditions. We can all still dance! 🙂
Just as a little aside.. anyone remember “Sweet Lullaby”, by Deep Forest? It sampled a recording done in 1971, by a French ethnomusicologist traveling in the Solomon Islands. He recorded a young woman called Afunakwa, singing Rorogwela. Matt Harding used the Deep Forest version in his 2006 video, and later set out to find the origin of the sample. This shows what he found…
So – first blogalong day done and dusted! Yayy!
GIFSoup
1000 Fields of Roses 