Perseid Perfection

Ok, so I may be a muppet. But it was worth getting out of bed for at 11pm last night to stand in the garden in my dressing gown craning my neck at the sky. Mr B & I only stood out there for around 20 minutes, but we saw approx 1 shooting star each minute we were there. (Thank you Evening Standard for the photo!) I'm definitely going to make a note on the calendar for next year!

The sky itself was crystal clear. I've seen clear skies before, mostly over Wiltshire when we've done events here, but last night was the brightest and clearest I have ever seen it, I think. We could see satellites coming from various directions (must have been perfect timing because we saw about 6!) and the Milky Way was just beautiful.

All say ahhhhhhhhh.

Ok - like they say on the advert, here comes the science part. For those that are completely unaware (and I'm sure there are a few), last night's meteor shower was the Perseid meteor shower. Every year, between July 24 and Aug 24 (or thereabouts) we pass through this meteor shower which is caused by debris from the Swift-Tuttle comet. It has a 130 year orbit of earth, and was last seen in 1992. Last night was the peak of the shower, and they were predicting up to 100 meteorites an hour. I wasn't quite foolish enough to stay up long enough for the whole light show, as the best part was probably around 2am. (I DO however remember waking up as a small child aged about 8 and seeing this exact same meteor shower from my bedroom window towards the east and the crack of dawn. Why do I remember it? Because I'd just read The Great Glass Elevator and was amused to consider that they could be Vermicious Knids.... although I knew exactly what I was looking at through my window. It is an image though that has stuck with me all my life, it was that spectacular).

One point of note - the Swift-Tuttle comet is considered to be the single most dangerous object to humanity. It is reckoned that it will impact with Earth in around about 2000 years, give or take a century... ulp!

Nobody pass out....

.... but here's a second post today! ROFL

I thought I'd give you a quick update of the last month, as I've been a bit remiss in posting of late.

First up was (and for those of you who spotted it via Twitter, well done!) Relay for Life. A fun and interesting and EXTREMELY tiring 24 hours of walking around a racetrack with Elvis. Yup. Elvis. Mr B was he. Ok yes I know. Elvis was taller. Shhhhhhhhh!





We then spent 9 days at Bentley Wildfowl Centre and Motor Museum, doing "Robin Hood" as is our usual wont in summer. Not next year though - next year we're doing "Australia". Quite literally in fact.

I have over 300 photos from our week and a bit at Bentley, and it's hard to choose between them all. So here are possibly my top five. Well, they might not be, as I'm sure my favourites will change as I ahve a chance to go through them all properly and edit and crop and notice all the little things that make each picture unique.

WOYWW week 62

Helloo thar!

It's What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday and here's a shot of my desk. There's not actually an awful lot on it at the moment, as I'm still moving into our house - two months after moving date. Well, I say moving in but what I really mean is "unpacking boxes". I share my craft room with the home office and music room. It's a tight squeeze and has caused a few strops all round as we try to work out the best use of the space, but I think we've done it!

My desk is tidy at the moment. I've been told it has to stay that way as Mr B doesn't like clutter and can't work in a mess. He's a teacher, so I'm happy to oblige as the alternative is for him to either spend all his time at school or the local library. A tidy space is also probably going to encourage me to spend more time at my desk anyway.

On the desk are my storage containers for miscellaneous items and my eyelet/brad "collection", along with a handy brush rack that is super useful as a tool caddy. The spice rack on the left normally holds all my EP jars, but at present is home to a couple of items that are definitely out of place.

Actual work on the desk is minimal - eagle eyed readers may spot an item of bunting for a swap on UKStampers but that particular flag I'm unhappy with so it's going to be changed. Ho hum. As the weeks pass, I will include pics of the room around me so you can get a feel for my crafting space....



And here, for good measure, is a gratuitous shot of the garden from the craft/office/music room window!





I'm afraid I've only managed to get around a few of you guys this week, and not been able to leave comments due to time constraints, but I'm loving your work spaces ladies! (and gents...!)

Time flies when you're having fun.

And ain't that the truth?

Six weeks have just flown past in the blink of an eye, and they've been a fantastic six weeks at that.

I've moved house and committed myself to a new relationship with the most fantastic man ever. And I mean EVER. I'm doing my level best not to regret my life and my choices up until September of last year, because if I'd done anything different I wouldn't be here now, head over heels in love with the bestest person on the planet. And he is a dude! OK, so he's not tall, but he is definitely dark and handsome (swoon) and I love him to bits. He treats me with respect and kindness, values what I have to say and thinks I'm beautiful. And tells me so everyday. He knows the value of manners and kindness, and says I'm his missing piece. That we complement each other perfectly and bring out the best whilst tempering the worst. Hear hear, I say!




I know what I'm doing now is right though, because everything has been relatively easy - from explaining to my ex that I wanted a divorce, to selling the house and moving on; things have just slotted into place as if they were meant to be. So I'm content and happy and the world is turning the right way. I hasten to add that things hadn't been right with me and the ex from day 1, to be honest, so the new arrival in my life just made me make a decision I'd been mulling over for a few years. He wasn't responsible, and all three of us (!) know that! It's all been very amicable and we both get along with my ex (kinda handy really as we're all in Wolfshead doing events this year!)

Unexpected side effects of this relationship are a 9 year old who I adore and she me likewise, and the prospect of retraining and going back to my old teaching degree. I'm being shown what it's really like to be a teacher, and whilst I do regret not completing my B.Ed when I started it 20 years ago, I sincerely believe that the time was not right and it now is. At least I'm seeing what it's like to be a teacher warts and all. The long hours and the endless marking/preparation. It's not all class reading and extensive holidays you know!

I'll be back again soon with an update on the Wolfshead year - keep checking, and I'll get here eventually.... LOL

Two and a half months - and a whole new life....

Wow.

I knew it had been a while since I last posted.

I didn't realise it had been quite so long!

The world has truly turned on its head for me - and I'm about to embark on the next step of my life journey. I really feel excited about what the future holds for me now, something I haven't felt for a long, long while. I'm considering my future in quite a serious way, too, rather than just being frivolous and wanting to have fun. I need to sort myself out so I have a more fulfilled life, and if that means changing my career, so be it.

I'll try to get back here to post again sooner - but for now this will do just to let folks know I'm still alive. After all, it's been two and a half months.... plenty of news to tell, just not quite ready to tell it yet!

That fork...?

I'm taking the hard road....

Fork in the road....

I find myself at an interesting point in my life right now.

I'm getting close to a fork in the road. Up ahead of me, in the middle distance, I can see this fork.

One road is pretty much the same as the one I'm on at the moment. It's safe, it's easy to travel and it's dull. Did I mention it was safe? It also is very constricting, like travelling down a dark passage where you can see the sky over your head, and birds flying but you can't get to them, except at occasional breaks in the rock wall either side.

The other road is open on all sides, and the scenery is fantastic. In the far distance, I can see a friend of mine beckoning me on, telling me there's all sorts of fun stuff and happy times ahead, but to get to that point I have to traverse the most difficult, unsafe and awkward road going. Full of potholes. And sharp stuff that I'm definitley going to catch myself on and hurt myself. There's going to be tears. I'm going to need both hands, so will have to travel light and there's no safety net. But the promise of the further road where I can run from side to side in freedom has a great allure.

Now, which road do I take?

Decisions, decisions.......

Scenery photos!

Well, as promised, here's a few pictures of the scenery I've been working on. The photos aren't brilliant, because the work has been done to look best on stage under stage lighting, and camera flash just burns out the dark bits and highlights the light bits, but you get the general idea! It's also pretty difficult to get pictures of the set while you're still painting it, with crew getting in the way (hence the step ladder!) and once people are on stage, especially if you're a cast member yourself. I might be able to get a few more done at some point in the next week, if not, I'll have to buy the professional pics!

Basically, the panto is Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, and what you see below are a couple of bits (the sunset cafe, and the arch) from the market place in Baghdad scene, and then the balustrade inside Ali's palace at the end.




This is what the balustrade looked like before I started on it....



and then when I'd finished....




and then on stage with the backcloth:



I have to confess that I had absolutely nothing to do with the backcloths - they were all hired from a professional scenery company in Newport, and they are absolutely fantastic!

More photos soon I hope!

Time flying.....

Well, it's all been busy busy busy here at Morti Mansions. We're in the final throes of Panto rehearsals (I'm in Ali Baba, in case I hadn't mentioned it before), and this weekend is being spent setting the theatre up ready for the final rehearsals this week (up till now we've rehearsed at a local hall) and finishing the scenery. I've discovered a new talent - I've never painted stage scenery before, but have found out that I have a knack for it. Well, at least I think everyone else thinks so - what else is one to think when the stage manager and the Director come up to you and ask your opinion and your assistance on a tricky item? I don't think I've done anything particularly clever or special, but they seem to! Can't quite figure that one out! Tomorrow I'll take my camera and get some photos, and you guys can let me know what you think....

Craft wise I've not reported much, so I ought to do so, shouldn't I?

I've had four CJs cross my desk over the last couple of months. One I have yet to do anything to, as technically it should only have arrived today. The first one was my own, the second belonged to Magickdiva (Fi) and the third to T Ann (Tracy). The last one which I've yet to do is Happy Daze's (and for the life of me I can't remember her name right now without going and checking... LOL). It's another UK Stampers CJ, and this time, rather than picking a colour AND a stamp, it's just one stamp. Although you can use others...

First up was my own , and I picked a rather ornate key... I'd go into more detail, but I did it back in November and I've slept since then. So you'll have to make do with pics...

First up, the front cover...


Then the first page...


and the rear of the first page...


Next up are my pages from Magickdiva's CJ. She chose a lovely Christmas tree where the shape of it is made up from Christmas greetings in several languages. Fi asked us to journal about our favourite Christmas memory; mine is tinged with some sadness, as it was the year our cat died on Christmas Eve, but in my memory is a great sense of light and brightness, as if it was somehow special that he passed away then. OK, so I was only 3, but I will never forget that particular Christmas Day.







I basically tore paper to use as a mask for hills, and french blue cats eye chalk ink, some holographic embossing powder, and some Stamp Tapestry stamps for the firs at the top of the page.

Lastly is T Ann's. Tracy is a novice stamper, so provided us with a stamp of some ornate gates, and asks us to do a technique, explaining the hows, whys and wherefores of what we've done, so she can use it as a record. I think it's also a really inspiring way of seeing what different things can be done with one stamp. I'd hate to be the last person in this CJ though, having to think of something that the previous 11 haven't!!!

I won't go into great detail as to what I've done - click on the picture of the writing and it's all written there for you!








Whew! Mammoth post that. I hope to get back here soon and blog some more. I've got numbers to make for the 40 thieves, plus invitations for the "party" in the panto, and on top of that, 110 Wedding invitations and 60 orders of service to do. Some are needed like, now, and the Wedding invites are needed ASAP (middle of Feb at the VERY latest! Ulp!) but the Orders of Service aren't required until May 22nd. At least I have a bit of time for those, eh?

TTFN!

Goodbye '09, Hello '10....

Well, there it was and here it is.

Happy New Year to you all! I hope you all have had a great Christmas, and haven't over-indulged too much? This she says, stuffing yet another mince pie in her mouth because they need using up and it's an after lunch treat!

We spent Christmas here, as usual, and the folks came to see us. Mother announced that Christmas next year is at her's in London. Eek. Not too daunting a prospect other than wondering where we're going to walk the dogs....safely.

Santa was kind to me in '09, bringing me a Bind It All, and various other craft goodies along the lines of Cosmic Shimmer products and Paper Artsy stamps, all of which I look forward to playing with this year. I've spent a couple of days bushwhacking my way into my craft room which became a general dumping ground while we redecorated the lounge and dining room. I can now see my desk, and once I move the pile of magazines off my chair, will actually be able to sit down and do some work. Top of the urgent list is a CJ which must, nay WILL, be done today, so I can post it tomorrow. I then have some pink beads to make for a certain someone which I promised months ago. I haven't forgotten! I also have to make an altered matchbox for one of my friends who seems to be acquiring dead bees. Sounds odd, but go with it for a moment. She doesn't actively collect them, nor does she keep them, she just seems to find them. Don't ask me how. So I promised to make her a "B" box. LOL.

Well, must run. We are, in theory, taking the decorations down today, a few days early, because the weather is cold and dry and ideal for removing the outside lights and packing them away, and He Who Must Be Obeyed suggested that it would be a good time to do the tree as then we can put everything away in the loft at once and have done with it. Bah Humbug I say....

PS. No news from Dr Geek yet.........