Very, if you can trust my camera phone. My pots have been inundated with rain, and seem to be ok with it. Our house has had some inundation as well, but hopefully that’s been fixed. And I finally got the towels (all the spares in the house!) that were used to mop up, and set aside (for a rainy day 😆 ) clean and drying…
My mini(ish) rose flowered.
And the plants in the back were enjoying their shower.
Frog garden?
Presumably, the unicorns are hiding…
Happy space 🙂
My bee-on-flower ornament fell over with the storms, so I moved it to another pot.
It was a bit of a storm tonight… no inhouse flooding for us, thankfully, but some hail. The hail didn’t last for long. Just long enough to get the car as far under the overhang as possible, before the rain drowned it out! 😆 There was a spectacular lightning display out the bedroom windows as well.
So, we’ve been checking the windows for flooding most evenings this week, as the rest of the world flows around us. Feels like there are storms all over the place, and at least half the world has lost their collective minds. Feels like time for prayer. And no, not “thoughts and prayers”. More like the warrior kind…
Well, technically four. But they’re all monoprints grouped into one piece.
It’s a family portrait! Not sure why the boys appear to be older than us, or why Sweet Bean seems to be moonlighting as some sort of Ancient Greek philosopher. And Biggest Boy doesn’t like his photo taken…I was going to leave him out, but decided to include him in a way more acceptable to him. And that’s my second (and final) print! Yay! 😀
I used to enjoy monoprints, and did enjoy doing these, but my hands may not be as dexterous as they used to be. Or maybe it’s just lack of practise. These were done on the back of an old etching plate. It’s one of my midsize ones – roughly 4.5×5.5cm. I did have smaller plates, although I can’t find them now. I think the smallest was about 1x2cm.
I did a lot of miniatures back then.
A monoprint is made by inking a plate, then wiping away the “white” spaces before printing. Because of the process, you only get one print, although I have heard of “ghost” monoprints – making another print from what’s left of the ink after the first printing. I don’t think there would have been much left with these. It’s a versatile method, and you don’t need too much special equipment, so it’s easier to do at home on the kitchen table…
I’m aiming to get the assessment in tonight, so I can enjoy tomorrow without a deadline looming over me. And I will dream for a bit, and smile at the season’s first frangipanis.
I’ve been out this morning – a women’s get together at church. We were doing “faithbooking”, which is basically scrapbooking. Lots of fun! It wasn’t as hot as I’d expected, even while I was waiting outside for my ride home. I took some photos of flowers, just because they were there.
And I’m sure the sky was smiling at me!
😀
It’s Saturday night – time for some music!
Ok, I can fit in another one…
Whether scraps or smiles flowers or fuzzy clouds – it’s been a good day! 🙂
I don’t like this summery version of spring… felt a bit woozy in the heat today. Lots of water/cordial was had.
Well, at least I finished my lino print!
Not perfect, but I quite like it. I plan to call it “Ya Reckon?” …which is sort of how I’ve felt today. Lots of thoughts rolling around in my brain! It’s been a bit difficult to process the news lately. I found comfort in my Bible reading this morning. Someone made an interestingchoice! Also enjoyed listening to songs I’ve loved in the past, and reflecting on the variety of music in this world.
But this morning I also realised that, no matter what happens in the world, I can still create beauty. I think that’s sort of my job 🙂 And I can continue to notice the little bits of good in each day, whatever the circumstances.
Life grows, even through the cracks in the concrete, the dirt, or the bitumen. Time to create – to burn bright in the dark skies.
Yes, it’s not very clear – had to take it quickly because there were people walking around it and I don’t like to put random strangers (at least their faces) on here without permission. That’s just one section of the yard – there’s lots more to see. And at least some of them are movement activated, so we’re getting strange sounds drifting across from time to time.
Skeletons don’t scare me, but I have been putting off carving my lino block for my next assessment. I’m very good at procrastination. Got started on it today and, as usual, it wasn’t as hard as I’d thought it would be. Not the design or design transfer anyway. The actual carving requires more energy than I had today, so I’ll continue tomorrow. Of course, it would all be easier if I didn’t take aeons to think about everything that could go wrong! The block that I’m using is 40 years old, so it might not be as easy to use as these new-fangled lino blocks…
Yes, I have carved a bit more than that!
I think I’m so tired today because we were out yesterday (I pretty much came home to bed). Glad to be able to be out and about, though 🙂 We went to our favourite place.
🙂 Checked out the flowers before going in.
I don’t know what these are, but they look like tiny parrots. Pink seemed to be the order of the day.
…and a welcome cup of hot chocolate.
I did find my own little monster for the windowsill.
A…dinochicken? Chickosaur?
Like I said earlier – I don’t do Halloween. I do, however, do “silly”.
We (along with lots of other people) were suddenly hit with a bit of a storm last night. Pretty sure there was hail, too. The people over the road had their Halloween display reconfigured, including an absolutely massive spider upending itself on the lawn – I’m assuming it’s some sort of heavy plastic. Now they’ve added giant figurines…
I was feeling snug and dry inside – we’ve been through storms here before. There was leaking through the roof of the back porch, and a river was running down outside our bedroom window (the guttering is either split, or has a hole), and there was a fair lot of water that had come through the door/window downstairs. That’s happened before, and we had enough spare towels to plug all the leaks, in the end. The boys were watching the cockatoos grimly hanging on to the tree next door – one seemed to be attached to a branch just by a wing tip – so I went to check the back porch area again. I thought it was funny that, amid all the sound and fury, one tiny sprig of leaves had stuck to the kitchen window, with nothing else around it.
This little mini twiglet.
It’s not focused particularly well because, just as I snapped a shot, I realised that the kitchen windowsill was rapidly trying to emulate Niagara, and the next chunk of time was taken up by plugging the gaps. I’m not sure whether it was coming through the window seals or around the metal frames – I just stuffed towels everywhere they’d fit.
All dry today, and nothing wrecked. Glad I decided to keep all those towels when we moved, though! 😀
Today I don’t feel like I have a coherent theme, or possibly a coherent brain, so I’ll just round up some interesting things from my week… I am continuing to feel better than I have in a while, but I have also managed to do something(?) to my neck/shoulder/both. Apparently this occurred because I did the very strenuous thing of…sitting on a chair. No – not the action of sitting down on a chair. Just…existing on a chair. 😆
Anyway. Interesting things.
As I’m doing an art course, I am seeing different artworks, from different eras and styles. This one came up yesterday.
I think I may have looked similar to this lately. I do love reading. And books. And libraries. Currently, my library basket is full, with due dates coming up on some of the books. The problem is – they keep getting new books! Which I then borrow because they look interesting! And, added to that, I have also started trying to catch up with some of the books I own, but haven’t got around to reading yet. It’s been a (personal) book week 😀
I have no idea who these people are, or what they do when they’re not mimicking muppets.
Also, here’s the latest from one of my favourite artists. I haven’t shared any of Ren‘s work on here so far, because there is some language used that may not go over too well with some readers…it’s not really gratuitous, and I think it’s worth hearing what he has to say. If you want to know more it’s probably a good idea to start off with Hi Ren, and maybe Sick Boi. Then have a look at more of his views on money, and move onfrom there...
Yesterday was a very big day for me. Most days I stay home; some days I go out, but not generally for long, and not far from home.
It was my Babe’s birthday on Monday, but I couldn’t get a booking for his birthday surprise before yesterday. By surprise, I mean that I didn’t tell him where we were going until we got in the car, and he still had to wait until we got there to see what was happening. 😀 We went to the Planetarium to see the show. Last year was 50 years since “Dark Side of the Moon” was released, and they’d put together a planet/space/moon/light show to complement the full album. Yes, it was spectacular! It was also further from home than I’ve been lately… We’d already been out in the morning, and we were out in the evening as well. Three events in one day! …and today I’ve been feeling good too 🙂
I had some prayer the other night, for specific areas of my health. In the days since I have seen big improvements – it feels a bit strange. There are other things to pray for, but it feels like that first small spark that can turn into a flame. There are things to do and places to be!
I have been noticing the “tiny” in my environment lately, whether it’s the fragrant white flowers in our hedge, with their bright little berries,
the nameless (to me) weeds flourishing in the grass,
or the rosebuds waking up to the sun,
they are all living their lives to their proper rhythm. Some will quietly exist, and then fade away. Some will open out into scented beauty.
It’s pretty good, really… I had a productive day today. Did some stuff I hadn’t got to before. Some days aren’t quite as smooth – I had a bout with pain the other night, something that tends to come roaring out of nowhere, and smashes my schedules. Generally, it doesn’t stay long, but I tend to be quite tired the next day or two. This was day two. Suddenly – Energy! Ability! What to do when I wake up and feel capable?
ALL THE THINGS!! At least until my body goes, “Nope.”
But at least I got stuff done 🙂
Well – life as I know it. Pretty good. Just sometimes a lot slower than at other times…
a bit of creativity, a bit of eco consciousness, a bit of inspiration.... hopefully not a lot of pompousness and blathering :D
i'm not entirely sure what's going on here... let's travel along and see...
1000 Fields of Roses 