RIP Nemo

Nemo died this morning.

I think Geoff was more sad than I was -- I've seen them come and go......its up to Sushi and Red to re-populate the elongated vase they live in and hopefully have a few more friends in a few months. Slim chance.....

Perhaps the fame of being on my t-shirt design was too overwhelming for him and he decided to off himself by tangling his little fins and fishie neck into the fake plant that takes up 15% of their water space.

Or perhaps fish just never were meant to be famous....although, there was Wanda. Wanda had a whole movie named after her. Wonder how she offed herself.

Line Fish

Nemo, Sushi and Red are my only pets...my goldfish and I have been trying to get together

a) some personal work
b) a project involving my beloved fish
c) a kick-ass t-shirt design....

I will be entering this design into next month's competition on http://www.springleap.com/ - I am really looking forward to putting work forward for myself instead of clients the whole time :)

Most often at a restaurant there's the 'line fish of the day' - I've even promoted 'line fish' even though I cannot eat fish so had no idea what it tasted like. I've always liked looking at fish though...they are increadibly graceful and beautiful as they swim and their fins and tails move with and through the water...

We have the most beautiful view of the harbour from our balcony...fishing boats coming and going with their 'catch of the day'.

I've always felt a bit sorry for fish. I especially don't like the sport of spear-fishing because I feel that it is unfair on the fish. If they bite on the bait off the end of a fishing rod line, there is less chance that the 'right fish' will bite as well as that I feel the fish has a choice in a strange way -- like a chicken being hit by a car - unlucky to have chosen to cross at that moment.....Shark catching without throwing back is the roadkill of the sea. So sad. Such a waste.

Anyhow: This design is called 'Line Fish' --- it could also make a really cool print! I look forward to posting further designs really soon :)

Anne Boleyn

I got email from one of my dearest friends yesterday with this one-liner:
'...you look like Anne Boleyn in the Tudors... look her up!'
So, as anybody would, I popped onto Google Images and found her (image on the left)....
I know that often people do not have a realistic view of oneself...one might see oneself as 30% fatter....rate oneself as more beautiful / less attractive than someone else...
More than being pale skinned with brown hair -- and all the usual features (nose, 2 eyes, 1 mouth), I know that I do not look like this person....

I sent a bunch of question marks with a link to this picture and got back: 'Ha ha ha, no. The TV series called the Tudors.'

Now THAT's more like a compliment! :)

Friends...

Geoff's cactus, which we saved a number of times from certain death, has been flowering for the first time in years.....definately worth the wait!

I'm feeling rather low. Even thought I'm feeling exhausted, I don't really think it is sleep depravation....not really sure why these things creep up on me for no apparent reason. After effects of the procrastination dragon? Who knows.....

Geoff announced that the fish were awake this morning - ' O'FISH'ALY ' :)

I thought I'd introduce them to this blog:


I make a half-hearted attempt to slay that dragon...fight the urge to climb into bed and sleep the day away in bliss of dream-land's adventures...but it is a beautiful day.

Settling In

We have been in our new flat for about 3 weeks now....what an amazing place! It is finally starting to take shape and we are finally starting to feel like we belong in it.

I have been working and sick and working and then finally we decided to go to my Mom and Dad for the weekend to really chill out and be looked after and do an amazing visit (as always) and get fed WAY too much by my Mom....

Parents are great. It is so amazing to know that these 2 amazing people are thinking of me all the time....looking forward to every second they spend with me...talk on the phone with me...LOVE what I do... These 2 wonderful people, (that my siblings and I refer to as 'the parental unit') are living their lives and loving one another after so many years of marriage :)

They just bought a C-Kayak.....we went with them to take it on its 'maiden voyage' as they refered to it as...we met them at Little Brak River (where we spent most Christmas holidays with loads of family -- waterskiing....playing...covering ourselves from head to toe with river mud while the parents drove the boats and fished and the grandparent generation got sozzled on G&T's....what fun!)

The have a red version of the one above....what a fun thing to do together! ...and so they enter into a new era of activities :)

Because its been work work work I have not been finding time to look for as many cool things as I did a few weeks back....some stand-out items are as follows:

....Lovely stitches to incorporate into Miss Molly goodies....I need to get a book of these... or find a website that has lots of step-by-step examples :)

...here is a nice idea for lighting solutions for our new place......make my own instead of stressing about where to find the perfect thing!!!

And here are a couple of fun site links to bookmark:
http://www.naughtysecretaryclub.com
http://www.pieofthemonthclub.org/

And a great resource for great links:
http://www.supernaturale.com

New Home

My Love and I are in our new home...the movers came on Tuesday and moved everything down the road to the new flat. Its not the first time I've moved house to just up the road...Finally today (Sat) we have 2 rooms that are functional: Kitchen and Bathroom.....and what a nice bathroom it is! Lovely old fashioned bath...I've rolled my white towels into my white-washed shelves and taken out loads of Body Shop goodies given to me on numerous birthdays and Christmas' and popped them into our over-the-bath activity device for fun times in the bath. SO exciting to get in and decide what to use :)

It has been FREEZING cold and windy since we moved in....the odd lovely moment when the wind does a brief calm-down is so nice....we have sun streaming in all windows in the morning....so beautiful. So warming for the house and for the spirit.

On Wednesday I was having tea on our new balcony and a rainbow started appearing from the lighthouse and spread its way right across the sky to form a complete bow...Rainbows always make me think of Sunday School so long ago....when Noah had been on the ark with all the animals for 40 days and 40 nights and it stopped raining, a rainbow appeared to remind him that God loved him. It was so appropriate in my head-space - such a sign of hope and new beginning that I was quite touched this beautiful symbol - assuring me that everything is going to be fine.

Yesterday and today, 3 whales played and splashed so close to the surfers right off the reef that our balcony overlooks. Welcome back to the sea-dwelling giants!

Geoff and I had our first night cooking at home last night...I made a soy mince, lentil and Mexican Tomato mix pie...he poured us each a glass of wine and we sat -- on too-high chairs and a pick-nick table, 2 candles and a bunch of boxes -- in our lounge....after which we put a mattress on the floor, got out my mini TV and video machine and watched 'Me, Myself and Irene' snuggled under the duvet. What bliss to be with my Love in our new home :)

.....
And other than that I have just been feeling sensitive and truly exhausted after the moving and work piling in and stresses of painting and packing and moving and unpacking and sorting and deadlines and the cold that goes with Winter.

I was reminded with such clarity today about how precious our soul-mate is. No matter how grumpy and bad tempered one gets: quiet, deep consideration for one's partner is imperative to maintain. A lasting, loving relationship with Geoff is the most precious thing I have in my life. We want to go into forever laughing together, crying together...a sanctuary for one another. I love him so much. I love our new home and us together in it.

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