My Halloween - food, face, flowers - 2011

Much belated, a few snippets from my Halloween Dinner party:
1. Autumn Squash and a lovely Black Bear brooch from Adadine (guilt gift from Mr P).
2. Facepaint always makes me happy.
3. Oxalis plant in a ceramic raku fired bowl I made in the early 90's.
4. Japanese snacks in a small ceramic tealight holder.

Product love - Apple

One of my early textile designs recoloured in Photoshop on a Mac around 1991 or '92,
with a Cally-fied Apple logo on top to show that Apple made it all possible.

Update 6th October: I was really sad to hear that Steve Jobs died yesterday. Hopefully my original post below says something about the impact he had on my life and work. He will be missed.

I was sad to hear about Steve Jobs resigning his post as CEO of Apple last week.
I feel a bit anxious at the thought of him stepping back and how that might change things at Apple, though he is not leaving the company, just that role and the involvement it required. With PMS raining down on me like a storm it's no wonder I got a bit weapy as I watched You Tube footage of him giving a commencement speech to the graduates of Stanford University in 2005. I'm such a Nerd, I'd have loved a speech like that at College instead of the stuff I often struggled not to sleep through.

He is definitely someone who has literally had a big impact on the quality of my daily life for more than 20yrs. His visions, brought to life, made my work not just possible, but pleasurable and my old Macs are still Iconic objects in my house.

The only Mac I owned but haven't kept is the PowerMac 7500, designed during Steve Jobs absence from Apple and definitely not an icon of it's time the way the other's have been. Thankfully he came back and before long the Mac Cube, then iMac and then iBook were born and computer design has never been the same since.

I've never had a Mac die on me, ever, or get a virus, so they were great value for money even though they were often twice the price of others. They all still work and were only upgraded because they were getting too old to work efficiently with modern software and internet developments. The 7500 was given away after my Cube came but the others live on and have all retained some value as still valid useable Macs or collectors items.


5 Mac's we've each had or shared since 1996. Spot the one that didn't have Steve Jobs involved?

I've added things I was typically working on on each Mac and it's interesting that the newer the Mac the more I work with old designs and pieces from my early college days. At the moment I'm slowly updating 1000's of my old textiles designs and patterns to jpgs and getting them into some sort of order to actually get some of them printed. I'd never dream of doing that without Apple and Adobe on my side.

Apple Mac Love Affair - the early days:
1984: Macintosh 128k
Played with in Macy's
1985: Macintosh 128k
Did my first Graphic drawing on one, was hooked
89-94: Mac LC & Quadra
Colleges, so I'm guessing based on dates and looks
94-96: Mac Quadra, Mac Classic & Mac Colour Classic
All at work or work placements.

My Own and Mr P's Mac's:
1996: Mac Colour Classic
Shared - Ex work freebie soon replaced by the workhorse that follows
1997: Power Mac 7500
Shared - End of line sale - for our Graphics business, lumpy but efficient
2002: Power Mac G4 Cube
Mine - Refurbished ex-display bargain, rekindled my true love of Apple
2007: iBook G4
Mr P's - but I was never off it, what a glossy white delight
2011: MacBook Pro
Mine - Unbelievable Birthday Present, Thank you Bro, thank you forever

I had my first play on a Mac in Macy's in 1984 but never saw one again until the next year when and American came to stay with us and brought his new Macintosh 128k with him (he carried it as hand luggage). It was great, so dinky for a desktop computer at a time when IBM PC's where huge. And it had the mouse, (remember, that thing that IBM said no-one would ever use). I drew a picture of a camel and a palm tree beside of a pyramid (auto filled with brick pattern - mind blowing technology at the time). My first digital image, I loved it. I still have it actually, in a folder somewhere, it looks like it was done on an Etch-a-Sketch but for the times it was astonishing that you could do graphics on a home computer.

When I went to various Colleges they were all to do Art so Mac's were pretty much standard throughout and were in colour by then. It cemented my loyalty to the Mac and introduced me to another love, Adobe, initially through Photoshop, then Illustrator and finally InDesign. It's a shame Apple and Adobe have fallen out, I feel like a parent watching their kids fighting and knowing that the family would function better if they just got along like they did when they were young. Business and ego's tend to spoil a lot of good things.

The Cube and Apple Studio Display were my most exciting purchase. More than I could afford but utterly worth it. My quality of life literally improved overnight. Quiet drive, fast and space saving. They needed 80% less desk space and every inch counted when I worked from home in a tiny flat. As a delightful bonus it came with the new kid on the block, iTunes, and we all know where that has taken us. I couldn't have loved 2 inanimate things more.


My old flat in Edinburgh in 2002, with Apple Display and Cube (peaking in on left edge)

In the past it was mainly people doing creative jobs that used Macs because they were so geared to visual and audio performance and software, but thanks to iPods iPhones and iPads more people are seeing the benefits of beautifully designed things. I am concerned by the frequent and obsessive upgrading which seems incredibly expensive and wasteful but I suppose that's just endemic (right word?) Western Culture these days. I never upgrade until I really truly need to because I can no longer use my existing software.

Anyway, the change in people's buying patterns for phones and music has clearly tempted some to change their computers too (Yay and Welcome!) and I noticed on Friday that the stats page on Blogger was showing something I'd not seen before, Mac OS users being greater than Windows users with 50% of blog visits coming from Macs. Steve Jobs, you are vindicated, good design does matter, people will pay more for the effort to develop it and was/is worth pursuing.



It shows also that Firefox is tied with Internet Explorer. I'm surpriseed so many still use IE but I suppose people like what they know and often use what is pre-installed (hence the Safari users, sorry Apple, Firefox beats Safari hands down for me). I highly recommend you try Firefox if you haven't already. Imagine if people had refused to use Google because it wasn't a Microsoft product?

I have used other PCs in various jobs and they only confirmed for me that the extra cost of my Macs over the years was totally justified and that I never, ever want to use Windows or Internet Explorer if I can possibly avoid it. At Ikea I got my Department buy a Mac (until then I was taking all my work home to do on my own computer in my own time). Suddenly people went from rarely using the Dept. PC to fighting over time on the new Mac, the passion of the convert. Within a year they had to order another to meet demand and have been getting Macs ever since.

I know that Windows has incorporated lots of Mac OS stuff these days and is no longer visually hard to bear, but I still prefer Apple's commitment to looking forwards instead of playing catch-up. I hope they can keep doing that now that Steve Jobs isn't fully involved. Looking after your health is important and hopefully taking a step back will mean he and his forward thinking brain and instincts will be around to keep an eye on Apple's direction for a long time to come.

Solar charger & other power saving items

We had no power yesterday, the perfect day to enjoy the benefits of the new toy I bought (well, he had to pay!) for Mr P's birthday recently, a Solar Power Monkey eXplorer. I was really impressed with the quality and usefulness of my brother's regular Power Monkey when we were in LA, he was able to charge his phone, iPod, GPS and numerous other gadgets from it. The solar one, though much more expensive, has all the same attachments & adaptors, but can also charge from a pocket sized solar panel. He loves it, I love it! It's the best bit of kit for anyone who wants to be greener without giving up their gadgets because it works on lots of things.


Solar Power Monkey with lots of adapters and connectors

It's water resistant and the 'solar slave' will even work on cloudy days or beside incandesent house lights. Once you have charged the Monkey (by solar, mains or USB) just pop it in your pocket (genuine pocket size, unlike some lumpy ones that claim to be) and you have a charge ready even if you are up a hill or on a beach. Mr P uses it to charge his iPod, mobile phone and PDA - all for free.

There are lots of similar chargers on the market but the Power Monkey consistently gets the best reviews and least complaints in buyers feedback. If the connector you need isn't included there's a good chance you can buy o. Given their track record for quality, I am very eagerly anticipating the new Power Gorilla which is being developed to power laptops, and yes, there will be a Solar Gorilla, finally solar power for the laptop, no more guilt... if you can afford it (assuming it'll be much more expensive than the solar monkey).


Freeplay radio Wonder Wash

My old wind up/solar radio used to be my favourite hand crank item, but I finally got my Wonder Wash (washing machine) last month on Ebay. It was touch and go, I noticed Ebay prices were suddenly rising and have since found it it's because the man that makes them is unwell and hasn't found anyone else to fill the orders yet. It uses no electricity and it's easy to collect the waste water for the garden on dry days or for the toilet cistern on rainy days.

I just bought...

On Ebay, isn't it cool? The legs can be folded away - I love this sort of thing! Sink, 2 gas hob plus grill and storage space. I have a new tap already.




I'm so happy, now I can squeeze a kitchen into my house extension so I will have a kitchen with a window! Ventilation, birdsong, daylight and not beside the bathroom. I'll probably keep the original kitchen sink area in the centre of the house to be a dedicated art sink. Happy times, though it won't be done this year, I'm getting it as a Christmas present from my parents.

Red things

Golden tones

Morning: Detail of a drawer Liz decorated for me a few years ago.


Afternoon: Textile sculpture by a fellow graduate, 1994.
It always looks best when I open it in sunlight.


Evening: Sunset through the birch trees last week (click to enlarge).

No scary news

Close up of some tubs that hold sewing things

I've been so sore and so distracted that I missed my own 2yr blog anniversary yesterday. I got a bit overwhelmed there and forgot about blogging, I was amazed to see so many comments when I returned tonight, thank you all!

Thanks especially to Liz who's text today that made me realise I'd not been back on the computer so people were wondering what news I had from the Doctor. After all that worry he told me nothing new, which was a big relief. In fact, he didn't even know why I was there! I had to tell him they'd called me to see him. He repeated what I'd been told on the day, looks like polyps, so on with the biopsy and possibly other unpleasantness. I don't like the sound of 'scraping the womb' eeugh, that makes my legs go wobbly.

One good thing about all this. As many of you know, Doctors like things they can see. Mine seemed so happy about having something visible to focus on that he reacted very well to my telling him I'd not been taking his pills. He accepted they'd done more harm than good and agreed to give up drug treatments. This is a HUGE relief!!! It was stressing me enormously.

Grow your own Goji berries

Images from my sewing room

When my reproductive organs dominate my thoughts I get all feminine and start liking pink. After all my worrying last night I found myself very aware of some pink things in my sewing room which looked nice sitting on my turquoise suitcase (my fancy dress accessories case (false eyelashes, hair extensions, tiaras, elf ears etc). To see why the sewing room is unusable see the chaos here. That was the table, the floor is equally piled with bags of fabric and decades of textile work, lighting sculptures and general vintage haberdashery. It is high on my list of things I'll sort when I'm well again. I love sorting my sewing room, especially sorting my fabrics by colour and tone/type.


One of my thread drawers


I love my clear button boxes

I store some of my buttons in old ferrero rocher boxes, the kind that hold four chocolates. Can't seem to find anyone who eats them regularly so I've run out and have jars and drawers for the most of the collection.

I'm feeling calmer today, the sun is gloriously bright and is making the frost sparkle, it's nicely distracting. I've got an appointment to get my results tomorrow. Fingers crossed a biopsy won't be urgent. I want time to keep getting better so I can enjoy the trip with my brother in March. I'm already feeling more positive from taking all the herbs and supplements instead of the Doc's nasty pills.

I'm also trying some new things that I didn't know about around when I last beat M.E. like Coconut Oil, it is so tasty and is energy boosting. Goji berries too. I'd never even heard of them till last year but was scared off by the price but they are so packed with goodness I'm taking them to get well enough for the March trip. I was trying to find organic ones with no success, then I found Detox Your World which said the 2007 harvest was contaminated with pesticides.

Their Goji Berry page was full of interesting information, like the fact that they grow in UK hedgerows! Not that I've noticed any in Scotland, but they have been naturalised in the UK for 300 years. I'll be planting some of my berries this year, I'll let you know if I have success. Apparently you mustn't pick them by hand, if you touch them they oxidise and go black, so you harvest them by shaking them off and drying them in the shade. One bush can yield 2kg of berries each year.

Ooh, an award!

I picked this from my old photo's as it perfectly reflects how I feel just now... handle gently.

I never planned such a long break from my blog, but I feel like I still need a a little more computer free time so I wanted to let you know, and also to reassure you I'm looking after myself as best I can. Thank you again for all your comments, it's been extra nice hearing from lots of new people as well as those who's regular visits I treasure. I'm doing my best to visit all of your blogs whenever I do put the computer on.

One comment that especially cheered me came from Andrea Tachezy who gave me a 'You Make My Day Award', Andrea, thank you so much, you make my day too, truly.

"You make my day-Award" works like this:
1. Write a post with links to 5 blogs that make me think and/or make my day.
2. Acknowledge the post of the award giver.
3. Display the "You Make my Day Award" logo with a link to the post that I wrote. (Optional)
4. Tell the award winners that they have won by commenting on their blogs with the news.

Here are five that spring to mind as places that in different ways bring a smile, stimulate my thoughts and generally make my day better, I hope they will do the same for you...
Andrea Tachezy
Anna - Twelve22
Heather Smith Jones
Kirsty Hall - Up All Night Again
Mary-Laure - Aurea (only discovered today via her comment)

Lumpy Lapin

Katherine, since you liked the bunny, here are the shots that I planned to use for the card to go with them, but never quite got organised enough to do on time.

"Hmm, what's this for?"


"Aha!"


My plan for sleep has been thwarted. I have in the rain for hours supervising a huge garden and shed clear-out because we were informed yesterday that 'the men' are coming on Tuesday to erect a fence in Mr P's garden prior to chopping down his entire hedge!

The hedge was a key main selling point when he bought the house because it was evergreen and gave him a totally private back garden. With the hedge gone the new house being built will look directly into the garden, kitchen and both bedrooms. It will also look into the only private part of my garden and in one side of my house. We are not happy bunnies.


Roses outside an Edinburgh flat

They're also taking away a metre of his garden and erecting the new fence right up against the patio where there is no soil to put any plants in, unless he digs up his patio (which he won't). Worst of all is that we will lose the little secret passage that joins our gardens together. It's possibly the best thing I have ever made and it meant we could nip between gardens in 10 seconds without going out onto the main road and round the corner (we live on different streets but our gardens back onto each other).

I made a cute little fence for it a few years ago and trimmed the hedge to make space for a small path through. It has been a boon, especially when we have friends over as they tend to go back and forth between the two gardens/houses. If the rain stops on Monday I will take a photo to show before they remove it.


Lovely garage door in Edinburgh

Greeny yellows...

Petrina Hicks: Shenae and Jade found on Artnet


Lyndi Sales: 1 in 11,000,000 Chances
lasercut newspaper and pins
showed (with other gorgeous pieces) at Bell-Roberts


One of my teapots and a rose from next door before the workmen crushed the rose bush!

I collect pale things, rusty things, sea things...

Colour week - yellow

Julie's colour week continues - today is yellow and once again I cannot limit myself to a single photo. No sense denying my true nature! I posted recently on how yellow was my favourite colour as a child.



So much yellow around. Some of it subtle...



Some of it bold...



Some of it utilitarian...



The last two made me think of Lisa and Shari's word this week - routine.
I used to love visiting my Grandpa because he would give me all his piles of loose change and let me sort them into money bags (in the days when they were nice colours). This bag is my memento of him.

And the other photo? That's the scraper for the glass on my stove and the colander I use to sift the wood pellets to get any sawdust out of them, so the stove runs better. This needs done every day I use it and I have a love hate relationship with that routine. It's incredibly satisfying to get it done, but it makes fine black ash dust go everywhere.

Colour week - pink

For Julie's colour week, today is pink.

I have a strange relationship with pink, when I was a kid I hated it. I was a real tomboy and it stood for everything I was not. I still, in my head, think of myself as someone who doesn't like pink, yet my love of the 50's and of colours that look good with turquoise means I actually have a lot of pinks around, even in my clothing. It's a bit like anchovies and radishes, I think it makes life better if you can enjoy and appreciate these things rather than having them limit your choices. And I certainly went wild for the pink tractor (above), at the farm shop.

But Julie, I couldn't limit myself to one pink picture as I simply couldn't choose, so here are some more...



my pink vintage necklace on the one day when we had snow for more than 30 seconds.





The sky is one of the thing I love most about where I live, the sun sets in the west over the hill.
And here my continuing obsession with photographing my pegs, and wooden doors...