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)

Outside, Inside

on the outside...


on the inside (through hazy window)...


On the way back from my Granny in December Mum stopped in Inverary to go to the bank and I finally whipped out the camera for a few minutes. The ventilation grate was a must have for my collection of grate pictures (ha ha, I take grate pictures). The view inside was more surprising, not what I expected to see but truly wonderful in it's way. Something so real about it. It's the kind of photo I feel a little guilty for taking, as if I'm intruding, but I couldn't help myself. No-one noticed, all too busy trying not to slip on the ice.

Much thanks to Kirsty for listing me on her list of 8 Must-read Art Blogs for 2008 (via Dan of Empty Easel). I'm always baffled, embarrassed, and thrilled when anyone I look up to even visits my blog once, so it's really special to have someone like Kirsty rate me in this way. I guess it's not just our Scottish connection, there must be something in the way I rant on incoherently that appeals to some people :0) Mr P says I write like I talk (he was smiling when he said it). See, lots of brackets, I do talk with lots of brackets (lots).

I was planning to post some of her work for my white posts but I've not got my act together yet, so I'll mention now that you can hear Kirsty in all her Scottishness being interviewed by Sister Diane over at CraftyPod. I've so much enjoyed her Diary Project over the last year (though it freaked me that a year had passed) so it was extra nice to actually hear her talk about it and hear her accent, made me feel homesick even though I'm the one living in Scotland and she's living in England. I'm a strange little fish.

I should list 8 must-reads myself, but if you pop by Kirsty's blog she has a great post about should's and I'm trying not to put any pressure on myself this month in hopes of getting some energy back for the collaboration I have planned (!!!).

Oh dear, 5.46am and still no sleep, the gales are driving the rain so hard against the house the noise is impossible to ignore. The cat is snuggled up sharing the heat of the laptop with me. I hope you all have a great day.

Liz-my mobile's been off for days, will text when it's on again.

Tagged - 5 weird/random things

Bibbi Forsman, Swedish ceramicist (whose garlands I love), has tagged me and for once I'm trying to respond fairly quickly. I am still owing 2 previous tags.

Here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

It's hard for me to say which of these is random, and which is weird, or perhaps both? You be the judge.

1. Last night I looked like this...


2. That was my first social outing since the 7th of August. when K was here. A belated Day of the Dead party, I'm a Skeleton Bride. I fell asleep in a chair for 2hrs wearing an old net curtain and my trusty skeleton top, then I got a prize for most ghoulish and went home. Not my usual level of participation but no-one seemed to mind too much even though I've not spoken to most of them in person since I started getting sicker 6 months ago. Later I tried it with a wig...


3. The current temperature in my house averages 8ºc in the warmest area.

4. My hair is long and always gets onto things. When I was at Ikea I used to worry it would get on a cushion and someone dodgy would by it and then my hair, my DNA, would be found at the crime scene!!!

5. I have watched the punk/stationery village* part of The Mighty Boosh about 14 times in 2 days (online).

I'm a real Boosh nerd, I love it in the way you love things when you're in your teens and early twenties, where you learn the lines and bore people by inserting them into conversations. So it's probably a good thing I'm not out socialising these days. I'm loving the 3rd series, the first two episodes have already had gems that rate among my favourites. I watched series 1 on DVD even more, especially the Tundra episode, with the Tundra Rap, a classic. The conversion about the mink coat cracks me up every time. For me the cricket dance is right up there with David Brent's dance in The Office. I love the sweet bits when Vince and Howard have their little chats, and I loved the intro's in front of the red curtain, wish they still did them. I don't like the more aggressive or nasty bits, and some of the songs irritate me, but it's all worth it for the gems which I am hugely refraining from quoting at you :0).
*you can watch series 3 episode 2 online 'till next Wednesday then it'll be shown on BBC3

If they are willing and able, I tag: Mien, Susan (get well soon), Camilla, Christine and Megan,

Tagged 7 things- Jade & Milla

I've been tagged by Milla of Made by Milla and Jade of Spectrescope (click their names to see their response to the 7 Things tag). I planned to blog about Jade in April and about Milla in May so this seems like the ideal opportunity to say a bit about them before listing my 7 things.

Jade Pegler of Spectrescope lives in Wollongong, Australia (coincidence - I nearly went there to do a residency after my degree). I strayed upon her blog by accident a few months ago and immediately fell in love with her work. She uses the kinds of papers that I love working with; creamy colours, clothing patterns, book pages, all intricately layered, folded, illustrated, made into books or sculpted. Paper heaven.


Jade Pegler, Crumpling & Small sculpture

Do you remember me getting excited about Origami Crumpling last year? Well she crumples in an organic, scultpural way that I far prefer to the very geometric perfection that most of the 'technical' crumplers were doing, and she photographs her pieces well. She's another person who's studio space I could spend hours on end exploring and never get bored.


Jade Pegler, work on paper


Jade Pegler, detail from 'The Mechanical Equitant'
See full piece and read more here

Camilla of Made by Milla is a seriously busy person, I've said a little about her before but I don't know if I had pics? The following three are my favourites...


Made by Milla, Self Portrait, Calico, paper, stitching


Made by Milla, St Werb's poster.


Made by Milla, Bluetit screenprint

Milla has her finger in so many pies I don't know how she keeps up with it all. Milla, you probably would say you don't keep up, but I reckon you're doing a pretty well (planning to send you some of my images to order badges in summer). She paints, sews, prints, curates, has an allotment AND she's studying. I'm tired just typing it all. Oh, and she's the only person I know who also likes Kimya Dawson, 'Hold My Hand' is one of the saddest but most powerful and beautifully sung songs ever.

Ok, it's getting late and I have to get this posted before I conk out so here goes. I have to reveal 7 things about myself and then tag 7 of you. The last tag I responded to was 6 odd things where I think I maybe did seem quite odd, so this time I've gone with some simpler things:

1. I'm 5ft 7inches tall and have UKsize 8 feet (Euro42)
2. If I feel sick I watch science fiction to distract my mind
3. I hate wool next to my skin, but tolerate merino for the warmth.
4. I like to lie in long grass in the sun and watch tiny insects going about their business.
5. I'm very shy, but once I feel at ease you can't shut me up.
6. I can't eat first thing in the morning, unless it's chocolate
7. I hate seeing food dribble on people's necks.

That Oasis add where the juice goes all over his face, eurgh, hate it. I freak out if anything sticky, like juice or jam gets on my neck. When I was about 14 I mentioned my dislike to my mum and she confessed that when I was a baby, and she was a first time mum, she didn't know that babies have folds in their skin and it was a few weeks (or more? I must ask again) before she realised I'd had food gathering in my neck crease and it had gone foosty and made my skin all horrible.

Now, since I was tagged twice, I thought I'd give you another 7, this time I'm theming it, 'things I never cease to be amazed or excited by, no matter how old I get'...
1. Seeing big blue dragonflies at a pond
2. Meeting foxes in the middle of the night
3. Watching November meteor showers
4. Playing on tree swings
5. Eating nutty chocolate
6. Finding a major bargain in thrift shops
7. Being listened to and believed

I forgot about tagging 7 of you. I'm so tired, I can't face double checking who's been tagged and who's not, can you tag yourselves and let me know in the comments? I do hope so. Got to get some sleep now. Have a great weekend.

Tagged 6 odd things

sky over the North Sea at Gullane

Finally a response to the tag by Susan at Art Esprit to tell 6 odd things about myself. It was quite hard cause most of them are written on my blog already but here are a few I may have missed...

1. I can fit my entire fist in my mouth.
My hands are not small, so this was a good party piece in my teens and early 20's. Not done it for years now. Someone once saw me pop an entire Belgian honey waffle in my mouth (you know, the big round hard ones with the honey centres, mmmmm). He said I looked like Joni Mitchell and got me to sing the 'Parking Lot' song with the waffle intact.

2. I have an area on my leg, near the ankle called a Maureen.
It's named after a neighbour* I had years ago. Long silly story, but it will be forever called my Maureen. It is a very tender spot that seems to trigger some sort of emotional trauma and I sometimes instantly and uncontrollably wail if anyone presses it, like for a massage (as I discovered during some Shiatsu).

3. I used to shut myself inside a hospital cupboard.
It was the cupboard at the Eye hospital where they kept the stick on eye patches, I loved the smell of them (similar to plasters/band aids) and so, to keep me happy during checkups or before operations they LOVELY lady Doctor used to let me get in the cupboard. This was doubley nice for me as I was super shy and liked to hide under tables so no-one would notice me. I also had a Pirate patch for a short time. It was just another example of my loving all things Piratey. I didn't know then that I'd actually been named after a Pirate Radio station (Cally is only my nickname).

4. I have 4 finger tips like an amazonian tree frog.
They are kind of spatulate, you know, like little pads. I rather like them but it is only on the 2 middle fingers of each hand. I doubt if it is in anyway connected to the fact that as a baby I spent 2 years in Navy wives housing which, it transpired, had been built over toxic land. Luckily we'd moved before I was of an age to play about on the land around the housing blocks.

5. I have 3 kinds of dried animal/bird poo in my spare room.
I have sheep, cow and owl. I know this sounds strange but the cow and sheep poo's are really just grass and are amazing colours. I;d actually like to make a necklace from the sheep poo 'beads' to hang in a frame with an illustration of the area I found it. Owl poo is interesting because when you open them up they often have dozens of tiny tiny bones inside them. Not had time to look yet.

6. I often dream in Turkish.
I learned to speak basic Turkish, in part, from daily trips into the mountains in the South of Turkey with my boyfriend's mother when I was 24. We would take the goats up to graze on prickly bushes each day when he was at work. She spoke no English so we communicated with signs, gestures and doodles in my sketchbook.

We had a lot of laughs and I massively widened my vocabulary. Books and the boyfriend (biggest love of my life) helped with the actual grammar. and though I can't recall much in waking life, it is all still there when I have Turkish dreams and I wake up remember lots of words for a few hours.

* that neighbour, Maureen, was appropriately called 'HOVIS' at school. HOVIS is a brand of sliced bread which used to be small, brown and firm - just like her (she is a big fan of putting on too much fake tan on her already olivey skin).

Tagged

Deco and reflection in Ikea

I've had my first tag of 2007 from strwberrydelight inviting me to share secrets. As you know, I mostly am fairly private about my actual real life but in the spirit of giving, and to make up for not being able to send cards and things this christmas here you are.

5 Secrets for the Land of Blog...

1. I come over Miss Eco Green Organic but when I was going to Kate's wedding in Sweden I felt self concious about my darker blonde winter hair so I used Sun In with a hairdryer to make my 'roots' closer to my summer sun lightened longer bits.

2. I can't remember 6 months of my teenage life, at all. It was when I was living with my crazy Aunt. She was pretty psychotic and had tried to kill me, then she sent my dog away. I got very low then and don't remember anything until I went to visit my parents in LA. I didn't want to come back but my brother was so horrible to me that I did - it's harder to be hurt by someone you love (him) than someone you hate (her).

3. When I was at college I had ME (Chronic Fatigue). I was often too tired to get to and from college so I used to hide from the security gaurds and get locked in overnight so I could work late and then sleep through the day. I've always been more of a night person, creatively speaking.

4. When we were kids my brother and I used to sneak out at night. We just loved walking around our town at 3am when no-one was about. But one time the Police saw us and chased us (we were under 10yrs old). The Police station was beside the bridge that we needed to cross to get home, so I had to put him on my back and wade through the river, up to my waist, to get home. Scary but FUN!

5. When I was older, about 14, I used to sneak out and play on the roof of our High School. Gosh, I sound like such a trouble maker! But it was all very innocent, we liked to rollerskate over the 4ft bumps on the roof. We never damaged anything, or bothered anyone.

Goodness, I hope I don't regret mentioning any of that.

If they would like to join in then I would tag Anna at twelve22 and Christine at Vegas and Venice since I'd love to know some of their secrets :0) But Christine, have you a new home yet? I've no access to my email so I can't contact you, but I hope it's all working out OK. Anna on the other hand is already in her new home, and it's super lovely. If you'd like to see it she has some shots on her blog that have cheered me up recently.

sorry guys I just re-read this one week on, it's a bit heavy isn't it, I'll do a lighter one next month for you.

Me-me 5's

Crafty Bird tagged me last week, it's my first time!

Five minutes to yourself: how would you spend them, ideally?
At this moment in time I can honestly say I'd spend them eating 2 family size tirimasu puddings on a beach or a hill at sunset with the right clothes for the weather, and my childhood dog beside me looking out at the view of land or sea. (and Mr Right could perhaps be walking to the same view point, then I'd consider sharing the tirimasu).

Five bucks to spend right now; how would you spend it?
On the aforementioned puddings! I know, its' so bad but I am having the most unreasonable cravings for them just now. If it was a weekday I'd spend it in a thrift shop.

Five items in your house you could part with, right now, that you hadn't thought of already?
My kitchen tiles, the wiring done by the previous owners, the mineral wool insulation (are you sensing a theme here yet?), all the wood that has nails in it that I will never actually make 'something' out of and finally, my bathroom sink (it's plastic!). All a bit dull but shows you where I'm at and why I'm not making things this year.

Five items you absolutely, positively could never part with in your house?
My photographs, my Apple Mac (except to get a new one), my best fabrics, my art/craft materials and my pallet of sheep's wool insulation. Ok, I do realise that several things on my list represent groups of things but there you have it, I'm a greedy girl who loves her stuff.

Five words you love?
ethereal, aqua, levanter, turquoise, icicle
This word list surprises me because I have real words that I truly love and use but when put on the spot I can't think of a single one.

Five people I tag*
I'm choosing 5 people who have new-ish blogs or who's blogs are new to me, that way I can find out a little more about them if they'd like to join in.
1. Imedagoze
2. Whimsical
3. Sharon
4. Vegasandvenice
5. Paola (ok, not new to me but I'd love to hear her answers)

* I wrote this out earlier and accidentally deleted it, so I'm not sure if I wrote the same people 2nd time around. If I emailed to say I tagged you and your not here then at least you know you were here, and can join in anyway.