www.flickr.com

This is a Flickr badge showing public photos from BlythesWideShut. Make your own badge here.

Sarah Jessica Sock Monkey

Given that I couldn't submit my original sock monkey to Month of Softies, I made another; determined this time that it'd be a girl sock monkey.  So Sarah Jessica Sock Monkey was born.  Pictures are available on my flickr site.  Her name arises from the very Sex in The City dress that she's wearing.  I think she's kinda cute.

posted by: blytheswideshut at July 31, 2005 21:50 | link | comments |

just a bit blah

My sock monkey efforts have not really been very successful.  In fact, of late many of my sewing efforts have ben somewhat unsuccessful.  Part of the problem is that I've allowed my sewing and creative space to become cluttered, disordered and messy, and when I've actually sat down to do some sewing my mind has been elsewhere and this has resulted in less than perfect results.

However, the two sock monkeys I have made are very popular with the kids.  Smartie and Blondie love them to death, and the green one is a particular favourite.  After much begging, I have promised them a sock monkey each for their birthday.  Great, imperfect sock monkey production line.  Yay. not.

My obligations to the tax department are breathing their hot and unsavoury breath down my neck, and it gets worse as each day passes.  I have vowed to myself that I will tidy my studio tomorrow night, and complete my tax return on Sunday.

Well, that's the plan anyway.

Lately I've been pondering my role in the Australian and more specificaly Brisbane Blythe community.  I can't put my finger on what it is that is making it so, but I just don't seem to fit in.  Of course, my first instinct is to say my weight.  It's always my first port of call when there's blame to be laid, but honestly, this time I think it's only part of the problem.  At present I really just want to withdraw.  Blythe is something I love in and of itself, I don't need a group or a board or anything like that, in fact the meets are more stressful than they are fun.  Jonathan is fun, and I'll keep up with him, but I don't think I'm going to bother with going to any more meets.

I think my period's on its way, I always get a bit down and blah like this just before...

I'm also dreading tomorrow.  Plumber arrives at 7:30am, and no water or toilet after this time, until about 4:30pm.  Nightmare.  I just can't be bothered with it all at the moment.

posted by: blytheswideshut at July 28, 2005 22:42 | link | comments |

rock lobster

Well, Sock Monkey...but rock lobster sounds better really.  Finally a project for Loobyloo's Month of Softies that I wanted to make, a sock monkey.  Now these sort of creepy, vaguely ugly stuffed toys had lived in the dim recesses of my memory...but were brought to the fore when Claire posted them as the July project for MOS.  I made one on Wednesday, and desperately wanted her to be a girl...but in the end he's a boy.  His tail - once sewn up, stuffed and attached looks like a penis.  I kid you not.  He had giant, Mick Jagger lips and he's really rather obscene.  The kids think he's a riot.  He's a bit too risque for the delicate sensibilities of the MOS crowd, so I'm going to make another one this weekend.  I'm not going to steal a pair of Scott's socks to use this time either...I'm going to Target to get some project specific socks tomorrow.

Photos of my first attempt up on flickr soon.

posted by: blytheswideshut at July 15, 2005 14:53 | link | comments |

Yesterday

I took the kids on a little outing.  We caught the citycat  from the ferry stop at the end of Oxford St in Bulimba, all the way around to the stop in the park at West End.  It took about an hour and the kids had a ball.  Smartie and Blondie were with me, and they really got into it.  The lovely ferry attendant even gave the boys a die cut cardboard city cat model kit for them to make. 

When we got to the park we were greeted by an enthusiastic and friendly golden cocker spaniel.  He followed us on our walk to the playground and stuck to me like glue for the remainder of our morning.  Clearly on a little wander from his home, I rang the number on his RSPCA tags and reported that I'd found him.  Then I called the owners and left a message.  Scott wouldn't let me bring him home to look after him until he was claimed...he correctly suspected that the dog and I would bond irrevocably...and on the off chance he wasn't claimed I'd want to keep him.  So we dropped him off at the RSPCA, and the owners picked him up that afternoon.  I got a lovely call from the little girl who had received the dog (named Sam) for her 8th birthday on Saturday.  The kids and I were pretty happy that things had turned out ok.

Scott voluntarily went grocery shopping as well.  Wonders will never cease.

posted by: blytheswideshut at July 12, 2005 12:18 | link | comments |

tomato chilli jam

At lunch today I had a rather nice savoury muffin served with sour cream and tomato chilli jam.  The jam was rich, dark, savoury and sweet and ever so slightly hot all at the same time.  Yum.  I bought some to take-away...and had some with my steak at dinner.

My studio is now completely mine.  All instruments except for my cello are gone.  My other desk is here now, and it's all about me now.   I'm happy.  But it's cold up here...very chilly.

It was 4:30am this morning before I could get to sleep.  I was just up all night wide awake.  When I eventually made myself go to sleep it was a real struggle.  I slept fitfully, waking often.  The muppy kept stretching his legs and trying to push me out of bed - I blame him for my bad sleep; what little I actually got.

We had lunch with Kevin & Tracy on the spur of the moment.  I'm never very good when arrangements are sprung upon me, but it went ok, and at least the cafe was nice.

I'm feeling a little flat at the moment, have been all week.  Babies are playing on my mind.  I spoke to the International Adoption section of the Department of Families on Friday and they basically said that "yes" they'd received our expression of interest (in Sept 04), but that the earliest we could possibly expect to be invited to test our eligibility would be early 2006.  It seems a number of "couples" have already been through the process, and we just weren't selected this time round.  Three groups have already gone through, with another two to go by the end of this year.

It's hard not to feel dejected about the whole state of affairs.

posted by: blytheswideshut at July 10, 2005 22:32 | link | comments |

top hat and cane...

Today at Hungry Jacks I saw a person in a top hat, punk style leather jacket carrying a cane ordering a jnr whopper.  He asked for lemonade with his meal.  He looked so hardcore, yet his order was so...not hardcore.  It was kind of cute.

He sat down with his assortment of friends and they discussed how cool War of The Worlds was, and how much Tom Cruise sucks.

I dyed a white top purple today, with moderate success.  It took quite a while, the colour didn't come out exactly as I thought it would...but when I compared the final result to the colour on the box, it was almost identical.  I sort of had in mind this quite dark, inky purple...but instead it's a more sedate dark lavender. 

I cannot bring myself to wear white clothes - apart from the fact that I think people who wear white clothes look like they're either going to bowls or that they're glowing, I just feel very "obvious" in white.  But I bought this brown top awhile ago, that is so comfortable and looks so good, that I went back to get another one, and they only had black or white left.  So I bought the black one, and two white ones.  I have dyed one purple, and I'm going to dye the other one navy? or dark green? or maybe even a sort of latte coffee colour. 

I'm sort of really bad with clothes, completely lazy and unimaginative.  If I find something I like and is comfortable for everyday wear, then I just buy a whole bunch of them and wear them until they fall to bits.  I have about 10 black t-shirts, 10 grey t-shirts, 4 of these tops described above, and in winter I just wear jeans, and in summer I wear cargo pants.  The end.  I wear Birkenstock clogs all year round and about 1/2 the time in summer I wear Dr Martens sandals.  I am boring and lazy. 

People in Brisbane don't dress up at all - for anything!  It's been so easy for us to just drop our Melbourne way of dressing and just go "Brisbane" in our dress habits.  I have mixed feelings about it, but continuing to dress as Melbournites really made us stand out in any crowd.  Overdressed, buttoned up, black clothes, accessories, ties, nice shoes that sort of thing.

I wish Trinny and Suzanna would descend upon me and give me the "What Not To Wear" treatment.  Because I'm with the kids at home, I have to be comfortable, but also presentable - I can't lounge around in tracky-daks and ugg boots - the parents would go mental.  I also bought 4 identical dark blue t-shirts, I'm hopeless, there is no hope for me.

posted by: blytheswideshut at July 09, 2005 23:37 | link | comments |

I can't believe what happened in London yesterday.  It all feels closer to home now, somehow.  New York is always like a mythical city to me, so far away from my reality.  But London...London is much closer to my world.

Fare thee well, Londoners.

posted by: blytheswideshut at July 08, 2005 10:32 | link | comments |

not good at updating

By the end of the day, when I've got time to update...all the things that I have to say, and all the things I've done have evaporated...and the lure of sleep, a warm bed and a good book beckon.

We battled the Kmart toy sale today. In the quest of consumerism, plastic, and empty boxes.  It was hell, and we barely escaped alive.

The kids have been all up and down this week, my two sensitive souls have all kinds of stuff going on at home, and it is wreaking havoc on them.  Tummy pains, bad moods, tears, fighting, lying, story telling - all sorts of behaviour never seen before in these two.  Unfortunately the parents are largely oblivious, preferring to blame the child - rather than taking steps to investigate and find out how their child feels. Heaven forbid they should spend some time with their child, interact, experience and invest a little time and emotion...it's amazing how the mind and spirit of a 3 year old can be healed with a little TLC.

I'm a bit down today...it affects me too when my little troopers are wounded in the battle of life.

Three postcardx missives sent today.  One participant had an interesting link, to postsecret.com - which is a whole other dimension entirely...fascinating stuff.

I want it to be the weekend. NOW.  This weekend is all about me.  I am locking myself in my studio on Friday night, and I'm not coming out until Sunday night...except to eat and use the shitter.

I hate using the phone.  I'm changing my phone number, and I don't think I'll tell anyone.  Send me a letter if you want to contact me.

Last Friday night (July 1, 2005) we saw "My Summer of Love". I really liked it.  Too bad we went to Balmoral (which is a shitty cinema anyway), but the film was completely ruined by a group of about thirty, 16 year olds who came in late, sat right down the front, and proceeded to play musical chairs, talk and chat freely and loudly, SMS each other, accept and make phone calls on their mobile phones, and get up and down to go out to the candy bar - not without loudly enquiring "Anyone want anything".  I was really annoyed.  It was a quite enchanting, thought provoking film, with well drawn characters, and an interesting story...see it at a cinema where you know it will be fairly quiet...so you'll be able to concentrate.

posted by: blytheswideshut at July 07, 2005 23:05 | link | comments |

Template by motime.com