I apologise...

if I appear to be random and disorganised this year. That's because I am, which causes me to be even more random and disorganised because I'm stressed. VCE is not fun for the parents either, let me tell you. For some reason the youngest has dropped her bundle this year and we have been cajoling, poking and prodding her through VCE. I am empty. I have no clue how to get her moving again, she has 2 weeks until exams. Yesterday in a test exam, she wrote 2 lines. No. It was not a 2 line type of exam either. She says she just can't remember the info. *sigh* 

My 2 bobs worth on the Cousins thing:

People who use drugs won't stop using them until *they* want to, either their life becomes so shit, they have a near miss, or they just realise that they don't want to live that way anymore. It doesn't matter how much detox and rehab they do, it won't stick until they want to stop using drugs.

 It's not as simple as stop using drugs just because others want them to or because people are *concerned* about them. Drug addicts will tell you whatever you want to hear and appear to cooperate until you go away and they can access their drug of choice again.

Mind you, I don't think holding someone up as a role model and marketing them to the public as a role model if you know they have a drug or alcohol problem is a good idea. Pressure is in everyone's life, adding more pressure when you know they have problems is not a good recipe although it may seem that they're a marketers dream and can earn you money, increase exposure etc. Eventually it will rebound. Noone is above the law and although it's a cliche, the public expect that even celebrities and heroes receive the same punishment as the average person

Speeding. No one thinks big of you

Right Brain/Left Brain and other fun things I'm up to...

The Right Brain vs Left Brain test ... do you see the dancer turning clockwise or anti-clockwise?  Click here to try it

If you can't make her switch direction, leave a comment and I'll let you in on an easy way to make her change rotation. This has kept me amused for days LOL The best part is watching people freak out and think they're seeing things the first time it happens.

Yes, I am evil and if you don't use it, you lose it  ROFL 

In other exciting news youngest daughter has FINALLY finished all project and assignment work for VCE. Now she only has revision for exams. Phew! Less stress for the whole family.

I ordered some sterling silver jewellery findings that should arrive in a week. I've been making earrings as I couldn't find any that I wanted to wear. I can't wear pierced earrings as I keep having allergic reactions to the metal, doesn't seem to matter how high the gold content is.

 I have sapphires and beads that I bought from www.aussiesapphire.com.au  for a different project so decided to make my own instead using those. I made some with plated stuff and I really like them, so I'm going to duplicate them with the ss findings. I only wear white gold, silver or marcasite, so it's harder to find stuff that I like.

Bubbles is going to meet her Gt Grandad [my dad] in a week, so I've been training her in preparation so that he doesn't scare the shit out of her when he does his lion impersonation and roars at her. She thinks it's hysterical when I do it, so hopefully it's worked.  The youngest two used to hide under the table when he did it to them. No. I am not kidding.  Dad is here until December, so this is going to be interesting!

 

Hearin' - Nothing at the moment

Readin' - Waaaah! Run out of books as well. Have to go to the library.

Proof my kids take after me

D3: Mum,does all water evaporate?

Yep.

D3: Even water in the toilet?

Errrm, yep

D3: So that means there's shit in the air then?

Hmm.Yep.

D3: Ewwwww. Gross. We breathe it IN as well?

 

LOL

Sportified type of weekend

James Toseland won the World Superbike Championship  followed by Haga and Max Biaggi in 3rd place. Although Max didn't win the championship ya gotta be a happy Max fan this year. First season in Superbikes, not knowing a lot of the tracks and 3rd. Pretty damn cool *g* 

V8 Supercars, Bathurst was definitely interesting!  I bet Rick Kelly had to do more than have a sit down after his near miss when his tyre blew and he slid over the track with Lowndesy narrowly missing him. heh.  and the car fires! Yikes. I bet Andrew Jones also needed a quick sit down after that too. His fuel line burst apparently, although it looked like something like a piston took out part of his bonnet.

Took the boy down to the skate ramp today so he could play around on his skateboard. The older guys that were there helped him with his technique until he fell off and hurt his wrist, so he's been running around the house with a bag of peas on his arm all night. Huge lump though but only seems bruised. The guys said he was now an official skateboarder LOL One of them apparently spends $200- a month as he keeps breaking his boards. I hope the boy doesn't think we'll be doing that!

And on that note, I am off to watch F1 then get some sleep.

Hugs!

snort *g*

Wanna bet the Council is going to have to keep spraying the wall every year LOL
I can't believe they thought people wouldn't go back and sign it again. Have they not seen the shrines all over the country on the sides of the roads? Same thing happens there too, councils yank them and back up they go. DUH!

FANS of racing legend Peter Brock have again turned the heart of the Mount Panorama racing circuit into an unofficial shrine to their idol, to the dismay of Bathurst Regional Council Read More

 

Hearin' - Nothing
Readin' - The Stars Shine Down : Sidney Sheldon

Feast One Hundred & Sixty Three

Fridays Feast 163

Appetizer
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you look forward to your birthday?

10 as of course I'm getting younger all the time!

Soup
What is one word you don�t like the sound, spelling, or meaning of?

Whatever word is being overused by the media at the moment. Journey is one that makes me want to send the person using it on one and not a happy pleasant one at that.

Salad
Do you wear sunglasses when you�re outside?  If so, what does your current pair look like?

No. I hate sunglasses, the colour shift in the lens makes me feel like I'll thow up.

Main Course
If you were to write a book, to whom would you dedicate it?

Pebbles, my cat.

Dessert
Name a beverage that you enjoy

Limoncello is my current obsession since we moved to Melbourne.
Stoli Lemon is my long term beverage of choice

There is a link between the 2 and it's not just Lemon *g*

Alchemy by Numbers

I've started a new series though so I'll be putting WIP's up again, maybe on a daily basis or knowing me, on a randomly daily basis *g*  I was thinking though that I may do some Art Cards to refine my ideas, so I'll probably put some up of those for free, on a first come, first served basis.

I've been researching numbers [ mythology and symbols with a bit of theology thrown in covering several cultures] as part of it. So that's what I'm up to. I'll put up the outline once it's more refined.

For the person who asked, no, I don't have anything for sale on the web at the moment. I am thinking about it and the best venue to use [ online auctions, own site or via an online gallery] I have opened a gallery online at artwanted.com/antikva and will also put finished pieces up there.

I'd been stockpiling for an exhibition which has been cancelled as the business has now closed :-(  As that work was specific to the exhibition theme I don't know what to do with it, except enter them into a few competitions maybe. It's a bit too different and intimate to go online though I think.

Yes, I have sent art overseas. Some of my works are in the US and Monaco and a couple are in India. I can't send any vellum pieces overseas due to mad cows roaming the world. For the last year or so when I do use vellum, it's kangaroo vellum and from the legal cull in Queensland. I used to use other vellum but there were some problems.

The company I use  manufacture the vellum for drums using a traditional method. I only need to prep it a little more with pumice powder and elbow grease than if I bought it from an art shop or imported it and it is also a little cheaper.Mainly I use Arches Aquarelle Hot Press with a minimum of 300gsm.

I use gouache [ Winsor and Newton or Talens] with watercolours and watercolour pencils. I used to make my own paint from pigments but apart from cost factor, when I was on chemo I wasn't allowed to use the toxic pigments. Yes, some paint has toxic pigments in it but it's easier to remember not to lick your brush or not drink your paint water than having to worry about inhaling the dust accidentally.

Then again, I sometimes pick up the wrong cup, so far though, my brain has managed to alert me in time that it's not hot, therefore can't be coffee *g*

I usually use the watercolour pencils as the base to get the colours down. All of my work has indigo in it somewhere. I only use W&N's watercolour version of indigo though.

I use loose leaf or transfer gold, silver and platinum from William Ashcroft in Oakleigh. I prefer loose leaf to transfer.  

I make my own gesso and glair if I am using traditional materials, especially if it's on vellum. I use a modern version based on pva glue if I am on my all modern materials kick.  

That's about it. If anyone wants more info, email me :-) antikva at gmail

Now, I really am going to get some sleep.

'Avagoodweegend cobbers!

 

Hearin' - Shut Up and Drive : Rihanna

Readin' - Before I Say Goodbye: Mary Higgins Clark

TGIF

Sorry if this is a bit like follow the bouncing ball....

The baby has mild Congenital Torticollis, so she's going to see a paediatric physio. Well, they did think she was headless when eldest was 35 weeks and sent her off for scans. She starts while her Mum is off  house hunting, so I have to take her.  Should be fun.

Hopefully by then we'll have kicked the illness bug that seems to have taken up permanent unwelcome residence in the house. Oh yeah, plus the 2 adult children + hanger onerer who  think they live in a fully serviced hotel with on call staff for free. [Can you tell I'm just a teensy bit cranky]

Anyway...

I am not game to say too much about WSBK this weekend except Wheeeeeeeee!

Bathurst is also on, so that will keep me occupied until Sunday night.

Anyway...

We're going to Phillip Island for the V8's at the end of November, then back down in January to watch testing. Motogp is testing there Jan 29-31, not sure what dates for WSBK testing yet, last year it was the 1st or 2nd Jan. I'm tossing up whether to buy  Super Advantage Plus tickets for WSBK in March then hubby asked if I wanted to go a race overseas.

So now I'm waiting to see what happens and who is where and what series. I don't know but I don't think Max Biaggi is leaving WSBK yet, although that might just be wishful hoping on my part as I like the live WSBK atmosphere better. Not even paddock rumours are being helpful LOL so I'll just have to wait patiently for something official to come out.

Oh, I also found out that Dogbait has just retired! He's definitely a Cats fan and knows how to celebrate a Cats [Geelong] win in fine style ;-) go say Congarats and feel much envy :-)

Anyway...

I'm outta here, so I can try and get some decent sleep.

ummm.

Great racing in WSBK this weekend. Max Biaggi won the first race, 2nd in the 2nd race and slots back into 2nd in the Championship with 2 races to go.

Who was the new guy on Fox presenting WSBK last night? No, not Kevin Magee. The other one.

Meh, who cares, I'll just call him Dick from now on. Apparently it's fine for Troy Bayliss* to say something about the chalk and oil on the track but Max is complaining?  Why do they always do that? What a crock. 

So, the town I was born in won their first premiership since the year I was born. Yeeha! Go Cats! Took them this long to recover from the shock of me being born there! LOL

And to top off the weekend, our adopted team in NRL [ we follow the Cowboys normally of course!] won as well.

Bub is doing well. Spitting image of our youngest daughter and pretty much the same adorable sunny disposition too. Ok,mild sarcasm happening with that last sentence.  She literally yells if she feels ignored, I can hear her yelling from upstairs, doesn't cry, just voices her opinion on being left alone. Loves Eyeore and watches bike racing with me. Just sits quite happily on my lap watching the bikes go round. For some reason she likes me to sing nursery rhymes [ No clue why!] her current favourite is The Wheels on the Bus and Hickory Dickory. And, no. No public performances Thank you very much. Yes. I am *that* bad at singing.

She's staying with me all by herself for a week next month while her Mum nicks off to find a flat/house. Eldest is getting a video phone so the baby can talk to us when they move.

I'm starting to feel a lot better, still a bit *meh* but I actually did stuff today. Like grocery shopping and washing the dishes that noone else had bothered to while I've been sick. I've finally finished the antibiotics

I'm thinking tomorrow I'll be well enough again to start working on a new piece.

Someone please,please shove a sock in both the Warnes mouths. It's starting to sound like professional victimism** promoted by media. It's not like it was a shock.

Luvyasalllongtime *g*

 

* I'm not bagging on Troy, just the commentators.
** Is that a real word? I can't be stuffed looking it up:-)

Vertical

I am really back this time :-)

'Cept I must go and survey the damage the hubby, kids and cats have done downstairs while I have been horizontal for a few weeks. LOL

I know I'm getting  a new dishwasher because I heard the ranting and raving when hubby couldn't get the door open and he freaked cos he, well, might have to *eek* wash dishes BY HAND! ROFL

The door is a little fussy about how it opens ever since a small child used it to stand on while helping me do dishes.

Back later!

Pity Party is over!

Nearly back to 100%.

I've been on antibiotics and a different pain medication since Friday. All the swelling etc is nearly gone in all my joints. And I've been in bed since then, doing nothing but reading, watching tv and sleeping. And I still managed to break a nail!

Hubby went to the V8's and took the kids.

Granddaughter was bought in to spend time with Nana in bed along with her 2 brothers, who were down for the weekend.

No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

GS2 [4 yrs old] kept patting my arm and saying "Poor Nana" LOL He kept telling his Mother he needed to have a talk with Nana and sneaking back in to keep me company *G*

So cute.

 

Readin' - A Little Death : Laura Wilson

flaring and venting

Not a very happy lil vegemite at the moment. A minor flare since I had the flu has turned into a pita one [ and me too] the last few days. Not a lot of options drug wise as they've all been recalled. I'm very tired and very sore. I'm turning into a big whiny sooky la la today. 

At the moment I can't walk as even the soles of my feet hurt along with all my joints.  Can't paint because my hands are really swollen [which is probably more the reason for the emotional meltdown] I can't sit for long either, so can't surf the net much either. It's taken me several attempts throughout the day to type this. Pretty miserable git aren't I? sorry. I try not to let it rule my life but at the moment I've just reached *that* point.Tomorrow I'll be past it and be ok again.

The cats are feeling sympathetic & have been hanging out on the bed with me :-)

And there is nothing worth watching on tv either.

Anyway, enough whining! 

Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow and be able to start moving around again. Or, at least be able to do some painting.

Eye of the storm

Yes, I'm still cranky.

But.

Anyway.

So, I decided to move all my portfolio images to my picasaweb storage for now. 'Cept of course, I uploaded all the images without descriptions. *sigh* ROFLMAO that's just the way my week has been though. I just can't find a gallery/portfolio solution that I like.

This morning my network croaked it, so had to crawl around under the desk & other furniture looking for the bit that was unplugged to fix it. Turns out that wasn't the problem. It was the router having a caniption, must have felt unloved, so after I hugged it all better and told it what a special job it does and how important it is to me, everything was back to normal. Well, as normal as it's ever going to get if you're in my sphere.

I've [sort of] finished my site redesign but haven't got off my lazy arse to redo the blog portion yet.  In the meantime... heh. Sorry, yes, I just slapped myself for you.

Chased all over the place looking for mylar or some kind of drafting film in between the youngest daughter having a trauma with VCE. She has a really high workload with 3 art based subjects and the stress got to her. Solutions have been found however and worse case scenario will mean 6 months at Tafe then Uni.

Still no luck with the drafting film though.

We rearranged my studio again. Got a smaller top for my drafting table and hubby is making me a new paper storage thingy [up to A2 size] similiar to map drawers but will have a special drawer with a lightbox in it as well, so that it can slide away when I am not using it.

We've also been investigating financial options when hubby retires and have been seeing financial planners and getting all the ducks in a row. He's been offered a couple of jobs, so it's just a matter of working out moving dates, house hunting etc. He's a bit freaked out about becoming a civvie again. 

 

Readin' - Catching up with the news.

Hearin' - errr, some rugby song the players are mumbling singing on the telly.

Like a kid in a candy shop!

Hit the Art shops today, got a beautiful kolinsky sable brush kit.  Ahhh, happiness. They were really cheap too, I quickly went to the counter and asked if they were wrongly priced, but nope, they were on sale as a kit.

WOOHOO!

I had enough left in the budget to buy 6 tubes of Talen  gouache to test  *G*  I like AS but some of their colours seem  a little out of whack [ red is a bright pink] and they had defective tube caps which they were a bit rude about when I rang to get replacement caps. They already knew but hadn't passed the info onto the shops but expected them to just replace them.

Anyway, the reason I went was because I am road testing gouache and gilding on wet media acetate and Durar-lar. I've read a lot of the Colour Pencil Artists are using this and apparently it holds ink and watercolour. So, i'm going to see if it works. I prefer a smooth support, the smoother the better.

I like experimenting LOL  I have an unformed idea in my head about using totally modern materials to reproduce some illuminated manuscripts. Using modern materials will bring down the cost substantially as vellum is really expensive.

I'll do some as Art Card size, so if you like one when I put them up, email me and I'll send it to you. First in, best dressed :-)

Tomorrow I am off into the city in my quest to get the matte version as today I could only get the clear version of the wet media acetate.

Other stuff has been percolating along nicely.

Hubby bought me a Nightwish tshirt and a new handbag, wonder what he's done wrong? LOL Nah, it's cos I had a bit of a meltdown with all the adult kids crap piled up higgeldy piggeldy furniture and personal belongings we are storing. I am not a mountain goat.

I start with a new physio tomorrow, he's done some research on PA and how it damages the joints, so fingers crossed.

 

Hearin' - When You Were Young: The Killers

Readin' - everyone's blogs :-)

Everyone cover their ears..

I am about to start shrieking.

Well, probably screaming first, but shrieking will set in once I lose my voice.

I.am.pissed.off.

I'd tell you why but that would only make me even more frustrated and angry. That's not a good thing. It takes awhile for me to burn but then I'm like a phosphorous flare that wipes out everything within range.

Not. happy. Jan. or whatever the hell the officious twits name is.

HA! twit must be in the spell check now as it doesn't have the little red underline telling me I can't spell or use fake words.

Oh.

Fair Dinkum Citizenship Test

I found the following citizenship test at

The Age in an article by Catherine Deveny.

She does have a point about the new citizenship test. You could test 99% of Australia's high school students on it and they'd fail miserably. Although I'd hope her last paragraph before the test part is meant tongue in cheek, although it doesn't come across that way. If not, then I guess I know which recently resurrected jailbird she'd vote for.

Anyway....

It's time for a real test that requires real Australian qualities.

LANGUAGE

1. Do you understand the meaning, but are unable to explain the origin of, the term "died in the arse"?

2. What is a mole?

3. Are these terms related: chuck a sickie; chuck a spaz; chuck a U-ey?

4. Explain the following passage: "In the arvo last Chrissy the relos rocked up for a barbie, some bevvies and a few snags. After a bit of a Bex and a lie down we opened the pressies, scoffed all the chockies, bickies and lollies. Then we drained a few tinnies and Mum did her block after Dad and Steve had a barney and a bit of biffo."

CUSTOMS

1. Macca, Chooka and Wanger are driving to Surfers in their Torana. If they are travelling at 100 km/h while listening to Barnsey, Farnsey and Acca Dacca, how many slabs will each person on average consume between flashing a brown eye and having a slash?

2. Complete the following sentences: a) "If the van's rockin' don't bother � b) You're going home in the back of a �

c) Fair suck of the �

3. I've had a gutful and I can't be fagged. Discuss

4. Have you ever been on the giving or receiving end of a wedgie?

5. Do you have a friend or relative who has a car in their front yard "up on blocks"? Is his name Keith and does he have a wife called Cheryl?

FOOD

1. Does your family regularly eat a dish involving mincemeat, cabbage, curry powder and a packet of chicken noodle soup called either chow mein, chop suey or kai see ming?

2. What are the ingredients in a rissole?

3. Demonstrate the correct procedure for eating a Tim Tam.

4. Do you have an Aunty Myrna who is famous for her tuna mornay and other dishes involving a can of cream of celery soup?

5. In any two-hour period have you ever eaten three-bean salad, a chop and two serves of pav washed down with someone else's beer that has been nicked from a bath full of ice?

6. When you go to a bring- your-own-meat barbie can you eat other people's meat or are you only allowed to eat your own?

7. What purple root vegetable beginning with the letter "b" is required by law to be included in a hamburger with the lot?

CULTURE

1. Do you own or have you ever owned a lawn mower, a pair of thongs, an Esky or Ugg boots?

2. Is it possible to "prang a car" while doing "circle work"?

3. Who would you like to crack on to?

4. Who is the most Australian: Kevin "Bloody" Wilson, John "True Blue" Williamson, Kylie Minogue or Warnie?

5. Is there someone you are only mates with because

they own a trailer or have a pool?

6. Would you love to have a beer with Duncan?

The people to be granted citizenship are the ones who call it a crock and cheat.

 

Someone should turn it into a meme and tag all Aussies ROFLMAO

Blood Red Moon

and no, Iam not talking about the eclipse :-)

Right now I am REALLY glad the youngest is a male. Because if I had another teenage female to get through *that* phase, I would run away from home.

Don't tell me that males do the same thing, I wish to cling to my naive belief that boys are easier to raise than girls.

Hearin' - Bat out of Hell : Meatloaf

Readin' - Velocity : Dean Koontz

Friday's Feast One Hundred & Fifty Seven

Friday's Feast 157

Appetizer
Say there�s a book written about your life. Who would you want to narrate the audio version?

Me

Soup
Take the letters from your favorite kind of nut and write a sentence. (Example: Perhaps every avenue needs understanding today.)

Cashew : Can anyone see him eat worms? LOL [sorry]

Salad
If you could go back in time and spend one week in another decade, which decade would you choose?

80's for the music

Main Course
Name a song that brings back memories for you.

You're the Voice - John Farnham  [ no,not the kind of memory you're all probably thinking!]

Dessert
Do you prefer to wash your hands in cold water or warm water?

Warm

 

This week was interesting, but so far the good interesting outweighed the bad. Son nearly got run over by a car driven by a brain dead idiot  woman on the school oval.  Mind you, not the part where parents are supposed to park OR where any vehicle is supposed to be.  I'm wondering how the hell she got her licence because the very next day she repeated the speeding entrance, almost collecting another car in the process and then narrowly missing a walking parent.

I rang the school and apparently so had others, not only about her nearly hitting the boys but because she flew in when she got there. This year for some reason has been really bad for such incidents caused by careless driving and lazy parents who let their small kids run around and/or wander through the car park by themselves or parents parking past the allowed parking area. 

Anyway, I went to get hubby's birthday present and scope out Fathers Day presents for the Fathers. Got hubby's and as we wandered into Big W there was this guy sitting there with a stack of books. I thought, hey, he looks familiar!  Aaah. problemo solved!  Max Walker signed 2 boxed sets of his books to each Dad, let us take photo's and had a bit of a chat. Son was a tad annoyed that he missed out. I'm reading my Dad's set before I mail them.

Then as D2 and I were waiting for D1 and the baby to turn up we saw Lisa McCune wander past with her kids. No, we didn't hassle her but it was hysterical watching people do double takes as they realised who she was LOL

I am still working on the redesign, I'm deciding whether to switch to wordpress for the blog side, Won't have to change my blog addy but each platform has it's pro's and con's. Maybe i'll toss a coin LOL 

 

Anyhow, 'Avagoodweekend and don't forget the Aeroguard! Luvya's!

Hearin' - On the verge of something wonderful : Darren Hayes

Readin' - How to hypnotise chooks : Max Walker