enough now.

I'm not going to let things bother me as much any more. I'm going back home for Christmas tomorrow and I am very much looking forward to spending time with family and friends.

Then when I get back it'll be almost moving day and we can escape!

The photo above is one Rosie took of her wall when it was at it's worst (and you can't get much worse than that). And the postcard is one I picked up from the Sukie xmas sale and shows what life will be like in our new house: tending to the "garden" and being surrounded by colourful flowers!

Old house bad. New house good.

2009 bad. 2010 good.

seasons greetings!

I've now achieved everything on my Christmas to do list and feel very much in the spirit of things. The festive corsage has been out on display and I've wrapped all my presents (apart from one, which i'm REALLY hoping the postman delivers today!).

I've sent most of my christmas cards too. I went with a pigeon theme this year (who would have predicted?!):



Merry Christmas to you all!

packing up

Moving day is swiftly approaching.

I have calculated that I only have to spend 8 more nights in my room of doom.
That is a good thought!

grizzly bear

I'm annoyed with myself for getting annoyed.
& for thinking too much.
& for caring.

you crack me up

On Friday night me and Yumi made some crackers to take back home for christmas - we tried and failed to come up with festive jokes (there was one new addition though which I can take no credit for).
But we had fun filling them with surprises - although I'm not sure my grandad is going to be too keen when a handful of dried pasta explodes all over his Christmas dinner.

Good making!

let's make christmas treats

Last night we visited the open studios at New England House and picked up some treats in the Sukie sale. Then we all gathered at Yumi's for a christmas making session.

We were planning to make crackers but failed due to lack of joke inspiration. Instead I made some gift tags (thanks to lucy for the reminder) and cut some robins out of paper.

I also found my mini wooden christmas tree yesterday so put it up in our living room! (Hopefully it'll distract us from the damp patches).

nearly christmas

Things still to do:
• Hand out my cards.
• Buy presents (I tried yesterday but felt rotten so had to come home to bed).
• Have some mulled wine/cider.
• Eat a pile of mince pies.
• Find some festive cheer.

Things done:
• Heard some carol singers (outside the pub opposite my house yesterday...I'm not sure how well they were received).
• Listened to a christmas cd.
• Made my cards.

Maybe it's time to put on my festive corsage and be merry.

winter treat / warm feet

I'd like to thank Miss Okuda for donating me the warmest socks I've ever put on my feet. Lovely! I'm planning to put some leather soles on them so that they won't get worn away.

On Friday Yumi also taught me the art of gyoza making - yum yum yum!

meow

Two reasons why I'm looking forward to Christmas.

how does your garden grow?

I'm excited about the thought of having some outside space at our new house.
I'm also planning a garden for a bookshop window display at the moment.
Plants and trees and honey bees.

she sells silkscreens from the sea shore

Just put some of my piano key screenprints up in my etsy shop.
There are a few different colour combinations so do have a peek!

storm clouds and sunny skies

Just when we were thinking this house hunt was going to be impossible we stumbled across a spacious palace of a flat around the corner and said yes within the hour.

Quick decisions make me nervous, but then again so does everything, and I feel very sure that this is a good decision.

No more sleepless nights worrying if the storm is going to collapse our roof.

No more wiping my ceiling and walls with a tea towel.

And no more mouldy kitchen cupboards.

New year, new house!

Above are some treats I prepared for Rosie's birthday at the weekend.
A birthday card with help from my favourite new book & a teapot cake (see it post-decoration here).

We had an AMAZING time at lucky voice on Monday, followed by an awful couple of days filled with rain and house viewings (and the aforementioned pigeon incident). Blue skies are here now though, and I hope they're here to stay.

hit & run

Yesterday I saw a pigeon get hit by a car.

Things have reached an all time low.

la bibliothèque

I got sent a new library card with my winning design on yesterday. The colours haven't come out that well but it looks quite nice now it's on a proper card.
There are also 7 other winning designs to choose from so pop down to the jubilee library and get yourself one today!

feather stitch

I'm knitting myself some legwarmers.

location location location

It looks like house hunting is going to be trickier than I thought. I think we're going to have to compromise on space/cost/location but I'm not sure which way I'd rather go.

Today I looked at 3 places - one was lovely but had a funny bedroom setup, another had a lovely neighbour but the flat didn't feel as friendly, and one was just AWFUL!

I'm sure we'll have more luck next week.

a cherry on top

I just ate a particularly large bakewell tart and now I feel rather ill.

I think it was worth the discomfort though, just like many things are.

Today I made some christmas cards.

Too early? I don't think so.
Whilst making them I discovered the 's' button on my typewriter is a bit hyperactive.

Which led to a lot of mistakes, and me beginning to think I was spelling christmas wrong altogether.

how very apt

I got a nice surprise in the post today, courtesy of Derek. THANK YOU!
The above page seemed particularly appropriate.

clothes horse

I think I want to do a dressmaking course. Does anyone know of any good ones in Brighton?

out with the old

For some reason I seem to hold onto all kinds of odd items because "I'm sure I'll put them to good use one day".
These old pyjama bottoms are a prime example - nice fabric, but ripped and pretty useless. I'm sure I'll probably never use the fabric for anything else so why are they taking up storage space which I don't really have?

I must change my ways before I end up like Mr. Trebus.

Everything I own is slowly being ruined by the dampness of my flat anyway...which is top of my fix list at the moment. I've even booked in a house viewing for tomorrow - though I'm secretly hoping it is worse than my flat so that I feel better about my situation.

basket case

Sometimes people deposit things in my bicycle basket when I leave it parked in the street.

Most of the time the gifts are crisp packets or empty cans of special brew (what a treat!) but occasionally there is a more interesting item awaiting me...

I think a whole cucumber was the oddest of the bunch, but this picture I found on Monday comes a close second!

Yesterday I discovered it was a gift dropped in by my friend Vicky when she parked up next to me, so it is less of a mystery now. But still a rather nice find.

as good as a rest?

Things need to change, and improvements need to be made.
I've written a list of things I need to sort out, but all attempts to fix things have been thwarted.
Yesterday I posted a letter which may help with one problem (when I say one problem I actually mean MANY problems).
But my hopes are not high!
Today maybe I'll work on something lower down the list...

Or failing that I might just move here:

eyes down

I played bingo last night.
They didn't do the traditional bingo calls though. A disappointment indeed.
Though someone did wolf whistle when number 11 was called out.

whoosh BANG

Hooray for fireworks!
And hooray for Jane Asher.

still here

I also just noticed that I first posted on this blog 3 years ago today.
That's a lot of geeky activity for one person...

pros and cons

good things
• new kittens (unfortunately not mine)
• peppermint tea with honey
• bingo
• planning a window display

bad things
• damp flat
• stomach pains
• leaking boots
• slugs and mould (a by-product of a damp flat)

It's not all that good.
But it's bonfire night tomorrow so that'll be a treat!

more pumpkins

A selection of other pumpkins from our pumpkin carving evening:


Good skills!

venus fly trap

I think I find the costume making to be the best bit:



Credit to Rosie for the pictures.
And credit to me for finally figuring out how to make animated gifs. Expect a lot more in the future...

12 pumpkins and an acorn squash

Happy halloween!
On Friday we hosted a pumpkin carving evening at our flat.
It was a grand old time. I carved a Tom Selleck pumpkin.


I hope you all had a ghostly good time!

one for sorrow

and GO!!!

I've got 12 animations to do in 16 days.
The race is on.

what happened?

I'm sure I used to have more fun than I'm having right now.


At least I'm getting a lot done.

hello alan

Kindly created & donated by Tyler.
I am most pleased.

cook-alikes

At the weekend Rosie and I (but mainly Rosie) made these face cakes for our friends joint birthday celebration. Derek's was especially easy as we based it on his Wii character.

Our dream is to one day get paid to prepare for parties. So if anyone out there is in need of a party planner we have the following skills:
• Cake-baking
• Decorating
• Costume-making
...and many more.

Party themes are our dream!

happy hands

...because I knitted some winter mittens.

happy feet

...because I finally found some shoes that fit.

baking & making

For the first time in ages I've got some free time without the worry that I should be doing MA work. Unfortunately time rich = money poor so I'm trying to be as productive as possible with minimal spending money.


On Sunday I baked a birthday cake (with the guidance of Rosie, as I was fearful of another biscuit style cake disaster). It turned out delightfully though and got eaten within about 5 minutes of being presented, phew! Maybe I'll experiment with my baking abilities this winter. Yesterday I got my hands on a Jane Asher party cakes book which I'm very excited about!


I've also been doing a spot more knitting and am halfway through mitten no.2 - which I'll hopefully finish off tonight. They look a bit like they are custom-made for Barry Manilow's freakishly long fingers but they seem to fit me ok (maybe because I have man-sized hands...)

Nice things have been dropping through my postbox this week too.


Firstly, a lovely gocco print from Jen which I was very excited to be the recipient of. I've hung it up in the kitchen and it's quite a treat. Thanks once again Jen!

And today I received the most pleasing pigeon photograph from Simon. A very sweet treat indeed (especially as I was fearful of my results arriving today).

On Friday I also received an amazingly BIG bunch of flowers (luckily not posted through the door). No one ever gives me flowers so it was a very nice surprise. They are sitting in the kitchen looking impressive.


I feel spoilt.

Especially as I also now have a wii fit to keep me busy. Defined calf muscles here I come! Today it told me I was a muscle legend for doing some lunges (I don't believe it, but it's a good confidence boost). Though it does mean that we'll probably have to keep the curtains in our lounge drawn most of the time from now on for fear of people in the pub seeing us hula-hooping.

A small sacrifice.

I now have an afternoon of invigilating ahead of me. Do pop down if you're around.