Today is really yesterday

[ Should be 28th]

I lost a whole post because my laptop overheated and shut down. Which, I should have known would happen as that has just been the kind of day I had.

So.. in random order....

My drafting table flung me, several glass items, all the clay I was using, a pasta machine, vise and various other painting and gilding items through the air this morning. I ended up covered in clay, glue, paint water and glass shards. I mean I usually am covered in paint, bits of gold and clay but not in such great quantities.

The drafting table's counter balance thingy or something equally as technological became unhinged. Much like it's owner did shortly afterwards when she realised that all the handmade buttons and beads she had just made were covered in glass. *sigh*

And no, I did not have shoes on, so had to sit there and wait until DH arrived back from his run to retrieve me. Yes, he laughed, but only when he thought I didn't know.

Of course, because I now have millions of tiny cuts similiar to paper cuts, it got very hot here and I felt like I was being stung by a million bees. So I cut my losses  and went shopping. Handbags! Shoes! Airconditioning! All at the same time! Bliss.

Youngest daughter passed her VCE and graduated. I know for sure because we went to her graduation tonight. I was so happy I almost hugged the hag who made our life a misery earlier this year. Almost. I didn't though. I am not THAT nice.

Aforementioned Youngest daughter turns 18 tomorrow. Her friends are taking her out to lunch and on a slurpy trail, which means she'll be on a major sugar high. Her sister is making strawberry daiquiri's for her birthday dinner. Which means I'll be as pissed as a parrot by 7pm and snoring 10 minutes later. [ You know I'm joking, right? LOL ]

Her sister is making the daiquiris because she begged me to let her organise D3's birthday cake and then forgot. Which I didn't know until 10-30 tonight when I remembered to ask her. The baker couldn't do it tonight as he finishes early but they will do it tomorrow. Phew.

I'm off to bed. Nite.

Best laid plans...

It's going to be another 4-6 weeks at least before the MOTH retires.

I am not a happy camper.

I think my head is going to explode.

I'm back

Interesting last couple of weeks I must say. Must be something in the water. Isn't it amazing the things that crawl out of the woodwork when they think someone is vulnerable.

Noone is afraid of you. Slink away.

Anyway, enuff of that effwit....

Funniest thing that happened though is my husband squished me with the car LOL Idiot! Accidentally of course, but hey, I get bonus stuff when he's feeling guilty! hehehe

New laptop I think. He only got my knee caught in between bumpers and it was the crappy knee anyway, but I'll run with it *g*  Although, he asked me if I wanted to go to Europe next year and see the pretty paintings and meander to a few motorbike races at the same time. Why, yes, I would! So, maybe.

This would be the idea :

August 3   Great Britain  Brands Hatch*    
August 24     Tba  Tba   
September 7    Great Britain     Donington Park*  
September 28     Italy          Vallelunga    
October 5     France          Magny Cours* 

 

I'm making pretty shiny things at the moment. Might even sell some. or not. I might keep them for me. I guess I better get off my lazy arse and take some photo's of what I have been doing. Otherwise, I have no reason to blog. LOL except make poor unsuspecting cyber travellers wonder how I manage to function in RL.

Luvya's all!

For all the search engine people...

Supernaut's official Myspace page is here

Gary Twinn's is here

Mine is here LOL [ *pout* I'm starting to feel left out!]

I really only use Myspace for musician updates, very convenient.

Wax is on apples to make them shiny and look good in the supermarket so you buy them.

Waxing without wax eyebrows is called threading or plucking *g* Threading hurts more than waxing and slightly less than plucking in case you wondered.

I don't know a place in Townsville that does threading. Your best bet for getting your eyebrows waxed there though is the Willows or Stockland or somewhere like that.

Without Wax means Yours Sincerely according to some definitions. The idea is that the latin sine [without] cera [wax] is the origin of the word Sincere, however that's also disputed by some scholars and dictionary putterer togetherers. It is also based on Roman/Greece sculptors who covered flaws in their products with wax. So basically without wax means no flaws *g*  

Yep, that's me. No flaws. Just kidding. It was my smartarse response to someone who was being a pita and it just kinda stuck.  I may change it at some stage though as I'm a female and that's my birthright.

As for some of the others, the photo's are mine. I took some and my daughter took some at Phillip Island. None were stolen from other sites.

I am tired, granddaughter is in bed so I am going as well.

Nitey Nite!

Naming Day

The granddaughter has a new name officially bestowed upon her by Nana...

 

 

Stinkerbelle

I am verrrrrrry tired!

I forgot how tiring looking after a baby 24/7 is! even if the Mother left me a Nana cheat sheet.

hehehehehehe. yeah. she did. So funny! No, she knows I know how to look after a baby, she has a routine already and I don't want to accidentally change it.

Actually, she's a very easy baby to look after, I'm just out of practice of missing sleep and settling fussy teething babies. I'm glad I had mine while I was younger though. If I'd had my first now, they'd be an only child!

Not to mention all the extraneous crap parents buy these days. I'm gobsmacked at all the *stuff* that is supposedly necessary these days.

Can't have a bath  without checking the temp with a thermometer.

The dummy [ errr no, not me] has to be a special one like a freaking venus fly trap and snaps shut if it's dropped. Of course it was not designed to be easy for idiot grandparents to re-open. I had to read the Instruction book 3 times to get it open again. I should have just given it to the 5 mth old, she'd have got it open again in 2 secs I'm sure.

The bath has to have a ramp thing so the baby doesn't drown. Geeez. Whatever happened to testing water temp with your wrist, holding the squirmer in the crook of your arm and by one leg while you dunk them.

The pram has to be assembled like it's a bike bought last minute on Christmas Eve with a bolt missing. EACH.TIME.YOU.USE.IT.  It doesn't just flip open and it's in 2 pieces. Refolding and disassembling the bloody thing once you got it open and reassembled the bit that holds the baby to the bit that rolls along is just as bad as getting the thing together. You just about need and engineering degree to work it out. Not to mention lots of lego building experience as a child.

I ended up standing outside the bank for 30mins holding the baby. She had a lot of pensioners fussing and making kissy faces at her the whole time. I wasn't game to sit down at the footpath cafe tables next door in case one of them clonked me over the head with their handbags and ran off with her.Bet you think I'm joking!

It's a wonder the change table/bath combo can't bath and change the baby by itself. Although, trying to lift a wet wriggly naked kid out of the bath and flip the change table part back down over the bath while flipping a towel on it to prevent said kid sliding off the plastic cover is definitely an interesting experience.

Toys require more battery power to run them than your average car. Not to mention that they all have to be educational rather than fun. Although it's definitely educational at 2am in the morning when Nana wanders past and sets of the music of the movement activated toy.

She's going to have an extensive vocabulary by the time she's 6 mths old *g*

And please, don't get me started on the capsule/car seat thingymajig.

Back in the olden days.. ROFL
I used to bath all of the kids in the kitchen sink more often than not until they were old enough for a bath tub or shower. Right height for me so I didn't break my back bending down to them. Throw some dettol or betadine on and wipe it down. Simple.

I do have a dishwasher though, so may not have done it if  I didn't.

The pram was one piece that you opened and closed by foot and side clips. When they outgrew it, you bought a stroller that *amazing* worked the same way.

The change table was a mat on the floor or table.

Baby capsules were capsules. Car Seats were Car Seats, neither of them were designed by NASA engineers as these new one's appear to have been.

No batteries were required in toys until they reached at least 2 years old and even then, generally only 2 were required.

The only crying she's done in the 2 days so far, was today when she was assessed by the paediatric physio checking her neck muscles and while she showed me the excercises she needs to have done to correct the problem.

Apart from that, she's been perfect. She even chucked up on Grandads side of the bed LOL

Speaking of which, I can hear my bed calling me.  Oh wait...no. It's not my bed. I forgot to turn off the bloody music motion detector toy!

'Avagoodweekend Mateys! I'm going to *g*

 

Hearin' - baby snores via the monitor complete with lights and battery backup

Readin' - Baby Instruction manuals for pram, bath, car seat and toys.

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.