October 31, 2005

Happy Halloween

Thankfully a change of mood from my previous post as I am feeling distinctly better. I think we all need to reach a low point before we can pick ourselves up and feel positive again. Thanks for your kind words and understanding (both on here and on twobluelines).

Today I decided that I would go to the Halloween Festival at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. I was kinda hoping there would be some indoor activities as it was probably the worst day to be going out, with the torrential rain as it was. My friend Susan volunteered to go a long with us for a day of fun too. Just to set the scene, this museum consists of a village and surrounding rural buildings reflecting the life and times of ulster people in the 19th century, or thereabouts. Little houses with basic furniture, tiny rooms and open peat fires, complete with village bank, shop, printers, farm, church etc (just on a totally seperate note - aaaahhhh I have just seen a mouse scuttle across my floor!). I have to say I thought we were a bit mad at first, as we had to walk to the village through the houses, totally unprepared for the weather conditions - Emily had her halloween witch costume on, Susan had to wear one of Emilys dressing up hats to keep dry (which I just happened to have in the car!), Ems wellies fell off, into a puddle, which filled with water (luckily I had spare, although not suitable boots) and we spent the rest of the day with our freezing, soaking clothes stuck to us.

We had a great time! We watched a man at work in the printers and he produced this letterpress ghostly poem. This image doesn't do it justice. I just love letterpress and I could've stayed there all day creating. There is something so lovely about the indentations in the page and the uneven printing of the ink. Emily made a bat and we sampled apple pie and elderflower juice. We even got cabbage readings! Although mine was completely off (that's my reading and not the cabbage!).

Then for a lovely hearty lunch. I positively feel much better now. Tonight we are going round friends house for a curry, so the day hasn't even ended.

Posted by Maxine at 04:41 PM | Comments (1)

October 26, 2005

Too Much Going On

I haven't been much in the mood for blogging this week, I have even been skipping past all the newsfeeds I religiously read. Sometime I feel like there is too much going on in my head and in my life for me to focus on anything well. That's why I start so many projects but only finish some of them (again I will mention this website, which I have been attempting to finish for what seems like years now). Part of it is due to my new life as a parent. can I still call it new if Emily is 2 now or should I be a well adapted mommy by now?

IF things are going ok and she is in good form then everything is hunky dorey. But this week she has been the naughtiest ever, so unbelievably defiant. At first I thought she was still cranky from being ill last week, then I thought that maybe we were entering the 'terrible twos', but she has been refusing food a lot too so its impossible to say. I wish she could just tell me she felt unwell, or that she is feeling a bit grumpy. Hmmm, the world of a toddler is impossible to truly understand, you can only do your best to work them out and help them feel well and happy.

So I am out of steam this week. My friend just booked a holiday to Egypt and I felt like somehow stowing away in her case. I dream of a tranquil place. A place where I can get a break from my head, lie and look at the sky, get pampered and forget about everything. I love being a mom most of the time, but right now I just want to run far away, somewhere I can sit and all I can hear is the ebb and flow of the sea and the soft wind in my ears.

Sorry for the rant. I am sure normal service will be resumed soon.

Posted by Maxine at 06:45 PM | Comments (1)

October 20, 2005

Illustration Friday "Cold"

Brrrrr.

Posted by Maxine at 09:46 PM | Comments (2)

October 18, 2005

Self Portrait Tuesday: Self Documentary

Today I woke up feeling yuck. So I am amazed I managed to do do spt this week, let alone crafting with Emily!

Posted by Maxine at 05:56 PM | Comments (2)

October 17, 2005

CS Lewis Mural Progress

I have been meaning to keep more of a diary than I have managed on this mural. Partly to see the ongoing progress of it and partly to work out how long something like this actually takes. Its very hard to estimate the timescale of something like this. Mind you, we have had an open deadline, which means we could spend more time than is probably necessary - if that makes sense!

Well as you can see it is coming along nicely. Pictured above in action are myself, Susan and the Revd Christopher Woods. I Have to take more pictures of the kids working on it too. Its a great project to work on and I am really enjoying it, as well as it being a great experience. I totally want to paint murals all the time now, there is something really satisfying about working on that scale. Hopefully the pics will give you an idea of the size of wall and what we are trying to achieve. The two doors, we have incorporated as the wardrobe doors which is working wonderfully. In fact last time I looked in one of the doors (which is used for the drama supplies) I actually noticed a fur coat! How spooky is that? It just shows that its meant to be.

Posted by Maxine at 09:19 PM | Comments (2)

October 13, 2005

Couch Potato

I wish I had as much energy and motivation for working on my craft projects (all lined up neatly in my head, waiting to see the light of day) as I have for lying on the sofa with a big cup of tea, a cosy blanket and the Tivo control.

Part of me thinks its the onset of autumn, with the dreary weather, chills and dark nights. Sometimes I wonder if I was a hamster or some such animal in a previous life, with a need for hibernation until the happy springtime. Hmmm...

I suppose I can't feel too down on my self. I went to help out my friend Susan last night. She was working on murals for the City Hopsital and her deadline was brought forward by three or four weeks, so I thought I better lend a hand. I actually felt quite energised when I got in late last night. I have also been working on the CS Lewis mural today, which is coming along nicely (photos soon). The deadline is not as scary either - we just need to have it finished before the film is out in December.

So I'm not a bad couch potato (who I am kidding?!).

Posted by Maxine at 09:47 PM | Comments (0)

October 11, 2005

Self Portrait Tuesday: Self Documentary

Ok, so last week I completely missed the point and instead of doing a self-documentary series of three images I did just the one. Sorry about that. This week I have got it right!

I am realising more and more that I am a total hoarder and that hoarding is not always good. Every morning I look in my wardrobe and have the 'what shall I wear' dilemma. It seems on first glance that I have tons to choose from, but really it is years of clothing clutter that I can't bring myself to get rid of. I don't know why I have a problem with letting go of stuff, some kind of irrational fear I guess.

So today I decided to do a wardrobe experiment. This involves clearing as much stuff out as I can bear and putting it away somewhere. If I don't think about it in the next few months it is going to charity. I desperately need to clear the clutter from my life, in the hope that I will instil some peace and tranquility (difficult with a 2 year old but you can but try).

Posted by Maxine at 01:27 PM | Comments (1)

October 10, 2005

Illustration Friday "Lost"

This makes me a little sad. Maybe its because she has a special blanket, just like Emily and it makes me think of Emily being lost, a most unbearable thought.

Posted by Maxine at 02:04 PM | Comments (3)

October 05, 2005

Tree Bag

I finally finished this bag last night. It is the first time I have appliqued in this way and the first time I have added a pocket on the inside. I am really quite pleased with it. Although there are a few mistakes, which I learnt from straight away, but I put this down to sewing at midnight instead of being in bed. Also it might help (future reference to myself) to make sure I have enough of the same colour thread.

Note to self: work on product photography

Posted by Maxine at 10:09 AM | Comments (4)

October 04, 2005

Illustration Friday: Float

Just a quickie this week cause I am finding it hard to keep up. My house is still full of balloons from last weeks celebrations. Maybe it should be me floating instead of the sheep...or maybe that is wishful thinking.

Posted by Maxine at 12:42 PM | Comments (6)

Nearly forgot

In the birthday madness of last week I almost forgot to mention that I received my port2port letterpress postcard. Thanks Mav! It even arrived on the morning of my birthday, great timing.

Amongst all of the lovely goodies I received was a yearly subscription to Readymade from W. It also came with a t-shirt and badge. What a thoughtful and fantastic gift to get - I will be celebrating my birthday 6 times over the next year: each time my mag comes in the post. I am already getting lots of ideas and inspiration from it.

Posted by Maxine at 10:36 AM | Comments (1)

Self Portrait Tuesday: Self Documentary

If there is one thing you should know about me, its my total tea addiction. The first thing I do in the morning is get myself a big cup of tea. The only one saving grace is that I have now switched to decaf, so I don't feel so bad about my consumption levels.

Taking part in Self Portrait Tuesday has made me think about my Lomo. I haven't taken any photos in a good while now, I must get back into it.

You can see some of my Lomo pics on the Lomography site or Lomoisland.

Posted by Maxine at 10:16 AM | Comments (1)

October 02, 2005

Birthdays Galore

Phew! What a week! The last week in September is always mad for us, with a birthday every day but one, its busy and expensive. As well as other friends and family members it was Emily's 2nd birthday on Wednesday and mine on Friday. We also had family staying with us over Emily's birthday, which was great, but did increase the madness of the week!

So, as much as I would've loved to get posting before today, I am afraid it was either feasibly impossible (with the computer stashed away for a couple of days) or I was far too knackered to even watch TV let alone use my fingers to type. Hopefully my energy will be restored this week.

The theme for Emily's birthday was a Teddy Bears Picnic. So as you can see I made a teddy invite, and I also made matching party bags using the same images and brown parcel paper. It was a challenge finding teddy relating goodies to go inside the party bag (call me a snob but there was no way I was going to buy those party packs of various plastic toys, which would end up straight in the bin) but I think I made it in the end. I managed to get little teddy bears, teddy stickers, teddy chocolate lollipops and mini Pooh Bear books. I also attempted teddy bear cakes, which seemed to go down quite well (although I was slightly concerned with the amount of sugar in the topping!). All the teddies came down to play and everyone had a good time. We took a few digital photos (plus aps ones which have yet to be developed), they're not the greatest but at least its a record of the days events.

Now the birthdays are almost over for a while (another 2 this week aaah!), I can start to concentrate on other things.

Posted by Maxine at 07:27 PM | Comments (0)