Saturday 24 September 2011

Insomnia stricks again ...

I keep waking around 2am which is great for stumbling and checking out Pinterest, however it's going to be a nightmare for going back to work next week.

It's given me time though to indulge myself in capturing some bits and pieces around the flat as we start to get organised:
Our one organised corner.  The shelves are made out of recycled scaffolding boards by Mr BL, the chair was being thrown out at the theatre he works in, the doll was a present from my best friend and the phone was from the junk market - £5.  Mr BL fixed it - he's so clever!

A couple of old boxes we've picked up at the junk market - the top one is an old Police ammunition box.  Great for hiding away games controllers and wires.  I picked the vase up at the Salvation Army shop for 95p; it's going to be drawn on I think for my Etsy shop.  But for now it's holding some lovely sunflowers :)

So there we go - the ONE corner we have sorted! ha ha.

While I was sorting things out I noticed this weird 'connection':
This box we picked up (where? You've guessed it - Deptford Junk Market) ages ago and it houses more wires and tools. Note the number on the side.

This tea crate was one of two that we found on the street where we used to live.  Note the number on the side! I know it's only a coincidence but a weird one nonetheless.
I thought I'd also share a couple of bizarro purchases from last week before I got sick:
We discovered this weird Kewpie praying Spiderman doll in the Salvation Army shop - really a bizarre mixture of ideas.

 
Found these 'aura goggles' on the market - £1.  They were produced by the British Metaphysical Society in the 60s and are just fascinating.  The only place I could find something similar was here and they sold for $49.99 - one of our friends wants them - not sure we want to get rid of them.  They're also quite steampunk in a way I guess.
Yesterday my Zuzzle Bind-It-All turned up - the instructions on the disc and the booklet are rubbish so I turned to trusty Youtube and found this awesomely simple tutorial.  I was binding within minutes and only really messed up a couple of times being my usual over-excited self.  I haven't really done anything ground-breaking but I was fairly pleased with my first tries, creating some little 'art journals' for when I feel 'arty'!
Add caption

The covers are vintage bingo cards I picked up on the Market.

Random pages taken from an old scrapbook I found on the market - mostly of playbills and adverts from the 70s and 80s.

I painted some of the pages with oil pastels and water colours.



And finally on another 'crafty' note a new addition to the Belle-Laide collection and a 'second' which ended up being just a test plate that I kind of liked!
Mucha inspired

Just a doodle - I kind of like it though.  I'm really not a very good artist! ha ha.
Well there you go - my little life in a nutshell.  Hope you managed to get to the end of this!

Friday 23 September 2011

I am the only person in the world I should like to know thoroughly.

However I do like being nosy - and I'm sure Mr Wilde did too (for the title is a quote from the ever quotable Mr Wilde)

This is me me me me me ... I saw this on Lakota's awesome blog and thought at this ridiculous early hour of the morning I would indulge my obsession with myself! 

Age:
Ahhh start with a good one eh?  38 unfortunately.  Somedays I look beyond 40, others I get ID'd in Wales to buy tobacco - TWICE! No joke.  B, who is 5 years younger than me, could buy it ... I couldn't :( So ridiculous. I guess I should have been flattered but I KNOW I don't look 17!
my family had strange living habits
This photo really looks like I bloody love myself!


B-Bed size:
eh?  Weird one. It's a double - hand made by B out of scaffolding poles and as hench as a hench thing. 

C-Chore that you hate:
Hoovering - I hate hoovering.  It makes me wheezy and we haven't got a very good hoover and a high pile rug which makes hoovering a nightmare.  Can't wait to get a Henry.

D-Dogs:
I was brought up with a beautiful Boxer dog called Amber.  She died of throat cancer (she should have given up that 20 Woodbines a day habit) and broke my heart.  We then had a crazy Jack Russell called Clyde (the cat was called Bonnie! - I wanted to name then Morten and Mags - no prizes for guessing which Scandinavian popular rock combo I loved in the 90s).  If I could have a dog it would most definitely be a mutt, discarded and unloved by another.  Although Huskys ARE adorable (but mad - B has a great story about a friend's husky jumping over his owner's back fence and killing the nearest poodle).

E-Essential start to your day:
Used to be a couple of rollies (licorice papers) and a coffee.  Now I am no longer a smoker and am trying to cut down on caffeine it's a Berocca multi-vit effervescent drinkie.

F-Favourite Colour:
Black and red.  Our palette is very 'white stripes' stylee - I'm well know by students in the school who are not taught by me that I'm the teacher who always wears red and black.  It was never planned however it just developed that way before I even noticed.

G-Gold or silver:
Silver silver silver - can't do gold - I'm too pale it looks weird on me.

H-Height:
5'5"

I-Instruments you play:
The pink oboe - sorry - couldn't resist.  As a child I played the keyboard (self-taught), guitar and flute.  I can still play a mean version of The Entertainer on the recorder!  However I have no musical bones and leave that to the boy!

J-Job title:
Teacher.

K-Kids:
None.  I've never wanted children - despite absolutely adoring them; my nephew is the most important person in my life.  I have my friends' children around and my second-cousins to wear me out when I need it! However the thought of my own doesn't appeal.  Sometimes I get broody and the thought that someone will never call me 'mum' does make tears leap to my eyes - however - that's not a reason to have a child. And I don't need to hear 'oh you might change your mind, you've still got time' - yes I know I might, and yes I do, but I'm old enough and ugly enough to know when I've made a decision.

L-Live:
Sarf-East Landan

M-Mother's name:
Shirley - crazy woman, cake baker extraordinaire, hoarder and my mum.  (photo of my mum, me (not wearing red for once), my big sis and my nephew)



 
N- Nickname
Polstar, Pogs, Pol

O-Overnight hospital stays:
Loads - loads and loads.  The worst was when I had to be resuscitated after an asthma attack.  Dying was interesting!

P-Pet peeves:
Oh god - I'm such a grumpy old woman I have too many.  Like Lakota I hate people who use apostrophes incorrectly; I'm a total grammar Nazi.  Incorrect spellings of homophones like their/ they're and there, or you're / your - grrrrr.  However I do expect the apostrophe and these common homophones to eventually disappear from our vernacular!  I absolutely DESPISE poor customer service - I unleash my middle-class rage on anyone who dares to give me bad customer service!  I worked in shops all through University and for a few years afterwards and I was never rude to a customer.  Along the same line, I hate shop assistants who have those stupidly long nails.  I always end up putting as much change as flat on the counter as possible just to see them try and pick them up.  They remind me of cats bemoaning the fact that they don't have posable thumbs.
Also - I hate evangelical Christians who harrass me along the streets - who try to convert me by telling me incorrect information from the Bible.  I'm convinced that most atheists know the Bible better than most Christians.  I have the upmost respect for peoples' religious beliefs, seriously, I think faith is an amazing thing, however I can't stand organised religion and people who are ill-informed about the religion they're trying to enforce upon me (and yes - they have tried to enforce it upon me by following me down the road and shouting irrelevant Bible verses at me and shouting, in public, that they will pray for my soul). 
One more - you may have gathered from above - I also hate people who think that I will change my mind about having children.  I might - but that's not for you to say - but at the age of 38 I think I'm pretty much set in my ways.

Q-Quote from a film:
I'm consistently quoting from films, so much so that the phrases have sneaked into my everyday speech.
As teens we were obsessed with John Hughes films:
"You're nothing but a neomaxizoomdweebie."
The Breakfast Club
 
"I'm off like a dirty shirt."
Pretty In Pink
 
" I feel like a pig shat in my head. "
Withnail & I 
 
I think the worst thing is that I have integrated a lot of film quotes so much into my everyday life that I can't remember which are quotes and which aren't.
 
R-Right or left handed:
Right

S-Siblings:
Older sister, T, she's a mum of one and a step-mum of 3.  We've had our ups and downs but have grown closer in the past couple of years.

T-Time you wake up:
At the moment 2:30am.  Usually 5:30 for work.

U-Underwear:
Erm, yes.  I wear it.

V-Vegetable you hate:
Depends on how it's prepared but I generally love all veg.

W-What makes you run late:
Loss of travel card, keys, sunglasses/ umbrella, generally being unorganised.  However, I have only ever been late a couple of times in my life, I really don't like tardiness! ha ha

X-X rays you've had:
YAWN - chest, broken rib, broken wrist, broken ankle, teeth.

Y-Yummy food that you make:
Not the greatest cook in the world - I do make a lovely vegetarian chilli.

Z-Zoo animal:
Depends on the zoo!  Any sort of ape or primate usually does it for me.

Wow - don't you feel like you know me SO much better?

On another note expect an update later today.  My Bind-It-All should be arriving at some point today so there will be lots of shouting and hollaring as I try and bind random shizzle together in a binding frenzy.

Thursday 22 September 2011

and breathe ... albeit with a wheeze

Hello!  Well - where do I start? 

At the end of the summer hols my dad went in for his bronchoscopy (sp?) - as I picked up my nephew from the station my sister got the text - it was BENIGN :)  honestly - it just didn't sink in for days.  After waking every morning worrying about my father, nightmares, stress, depression - all of that weight and worry dropped off.  I woke the next morning with the word 'benign' simply echoing through my brain.

Then - I had my nephew stay with me for 3 days - he didn't know what was going on or why my sister and I had burst into tears at the station and started hugging each other insanely.  I think he's guessed, he's far from stupid, however the poor little love had to put up with my mood swings (from no sleep and stress about the move) and migraines.

We then moved - two days of lugging stuff down 3 flights of stairs then lugging up 4 flights of stairs.  I'm so lucky that B's a theatre tech and we have theatre techs for friends.  They're used to lugging and packing vans.  When we next move we are getting movers in - but hopefully that won't happen for a while!  The flat is coming on lovely.

I've been back to work 2 1/2 weeks and I'm off sick.  I have a stonking chest and sinus infection and am on sh!t-hot anti-biotics; 500mg 3 times a day and steroids.  Yesterday work phoned and said that I've got a meeting with the Head next week.  Seriously - I hoped I wouldn't be sick this year and now I am, and I'm so angry.  I need to be in my classes, teaching my students, helping them progress.  And now I have more stress about my job.  I think everything has just gotten on top of me and my body is making me flop - WHY NOW? Why not wait for half term?

But enough of whinging.  My dad is well and the tumor is BENIGN :) The flat is awesome and can't wait to post photos.  I have a job (for now).  Things are good :)

I'm now going to come around and see you all xxxxx

ps: while I've been trying to deal with things and get better I've done a bit more 'doodling' on ceramics:



All are available on etsy here - I did sell the teapot but then the woman messed me around severely so it's now relisted.  I've got to go and get some more meds today so I'm hoping I've got enough energy to go to a charity shop and get some more bits to draw on.  However walking from the car to the docs to Boots yesterday knackered me out.