About time!

Well, where have the months gone? Once again life has gotten in the way of art. It has been such a busy 6 months but I don't feel I have an awful lot to show for it. The kids have all settled into school, my DH now has a job and my health has stayed good so I guess there really is something to show for that time though maybe not as tangible as I might have wanted.

Thanks to everyone who emailed or spoke to me about my MS. It has certainly been a year of reassessment of my life and priorities. I had my last doctors appointment a couple of weeks ago and my MRI scan was clear of any new lessions and the existing ones were a little reduced so I am presuming that is good news. The MRI was a bit daunting this time, I was expected to be in there for an hour and a half - eek! I never thought I was claustraphobic before I had an MRI but having gone through the first one (and subsequent ones) I was not looking forward to this one. It took less than an hour for which I was very thankful.

Noah and I went to the zoo as our last outing for the year. Next year he will be in full time Preprimary. I will miss him heaps and even though he talks non-stop when he is at home I get cuddles, kisses and zurples whenever I want. He really wanted to see the snakes, the penguins and the elephants. I wanted to see the otters (could have stayed watching them for hours). I wanted to get more photos but we had so much to see in a short space of time that I kept forgetting to get the camera out. I couldn't resist the Meerkats though. This fellow below is the lookout.

How cute are these guys! It was a bit hard at first to work out what was in the hole and even to see them all there in the shade vut they were right up next to the barrier so I could get a good shot

Can you guess what this is? Aussies will probably be able to pick out that it is a Tasmanian Devil asleep on its' back. It took a while to spot it and figure out how it was lying. It is one of the hardest things about going to the zoo in Summer, all the animals are either asleep or hiding to escape the hot sun.

No, it is not a real lizard (Perentie) but Noah was still quite apprehensive about climbing up for a pic.

The week before the combined Kindy/Preprimary classes went to the childrens' playground at Kings' Park. I hadn't been there in a number of years so it was great to go there again. One of the teachers brought some little bottles of bubbles which were a great hit with kids and Mums alike. Noah still doesn't quite have the knack but he tries!

How is this, can you tell what it is? A face made from plastic railway tracks. Made by Noah. and all by himself, no help from his sisters or brother. Budding Picasso huh?

And lastly some art by me. The arty_oz Yahoo group is holding a 1-4-1 Christmas swap. This is for my partner. I hope she likes it.

This was for a combined church ladies dinner that I attended. We were all asked to bring a $5 gift to swap. The blanket cost me $5 but it was a little boring. I cut out and needle felted on some oak leaves then hand stitched the veins of the leaves. I was quite pleased with the result and the lady who picked it was very happy too.

We are in holiday time now - yay! - 8 weeks of sleep-ins. Maybe I will even get time to get back into creating. I haven't got a whole lot planned for the time, maybe a trip to Aqua (which I will always think of as Underwater World) and to the Dinosaur exhibit at the museum, mostly just bumming around and being happy I don't have to drive up the hill twice a day to get the kids to and from school.

I hope everyone stays safe over the holidays.

Ky

Been a while

and it feels like I have been to there and back (you know where!) Where I am now is sooooo much better though. It is really good to have my art mojo back as well as my health. The kids have also started 'real' school at a local Christian school (Armadale Christian College) they are loving it and so am I. It is nice to be just a Mum again instead of a teacher as well. It was alot of work and although it was worth it I am glad that they are in a good school at last.


One benefit of the kids going to school is that I have volunteered myself in the art class one day a week. I am cleaning up/out the store room at the moment (which is right up my alley) and helping the kids where I can. I am doing and extra half day this term as the teacher wants some extra help with a year 10 project. I am also doing a day a fortnight in the canteen. the first day was an experience let me tell you. I don't think my feet have been that sore in ages and I was absolutely stuffed at 2pm! It was a great day non the less and I am looking forward to this term too.


Noah started Kindy last term too. here is a pic of him in his way to big uniform. It is a size 4 but still has quite a bit of room for growing.




We had to give greyhound fostering a rest for a while too as I couldn't drive but we are up and running again. So far we have had Tiger,

Sophie

and Destiny.

Someone said to me the other day that greyhound fostering is the recession busters answer to pet owning. It doesn't cost anything to foster a greyhound, GAP provides everything, food, muzzle, lead collar, bed, the lot. All you need is love and a couch - for the greyhound!

I have managed a few art projects over the last few months. bellow is the page I am doing for this years Collaborative book for the arty_oz yahoo group. Yeah, I know - pink, so not my usual colour.

The next is a page for Ness Henry for her House Book themed 'Fabric'. Quite a challenge for me as fabric gives me nightmares. I decided to get my needle felting tool out and try out a pattern from Betz White's wonderful 'Warm Fuzzies' book. I had a hard time sending it off actually as I was so pleased with the result.

The next pic is of a 12' x 12' canvas project that I did with a class in mind for Scrap It Flaunt It. It had a Vintage Valentine theme.

This is a 6' x 6' canvas project for SIFI though this time from their Design Team pack. I used the techniques I learnt from Audrey Underwood's She Canvas Class for inspiration.

This last one is also a canvas but 8' x 8' this time. The first piece of art I have done for my self in ages, too long in fact. I did it over the July school holidays. It was very satisfying and therapeutic. I find myself coming back to Asian themes when I get time to play.

It really is good to be able to create again. For a while I didn't have full function of my left hand and even now have slow days. This is a result of Multiple Sclerosis which I was diagnosed with in March this year. It took a quick trip to hospital for that to happen as I am told the specialists usually wait until your second episode before they make it official which can be years for some people. For me it happened within 4 months of my first episode. Thankfully I am almost back to 100% again. As I said I sometimes have trouble co-ordinating my left side and I don't know if that will get any better. I am on a treatment that means injections every two days which was quite daunting to think about at the beginning but you soon get used to it and it is very easy with the injection device, stings like the dickens though! Strange as it may sound, I feel very blessed to have gone through what I have so far. I can see God protecting my family and me all the way through and I know He has a reason why my life has taken this path. The timing of everything has been incredible. My DH lost his job the week before I went into hospital and was off work all the time I was recovering. He has had some off shore work along the way which has payed the bills but otherwise he has been home to look after the kids and me. Global recession? Maybe not!

I think I am caught up. Memory loss, especially the last few months worth, is a problem for me too, so it could be that I have forgotten something that I really should have mentioned but that is at least something to save for another post.

Take and keep creating,

Ky

And The Winners Are ...

... ?

There are about 910 other blogs with the same (or very similar) titles today. Yes, it is time to draw the winners of the the One World One Heart blog giveaway. Are you excited? I am! I went and visited all 910 other blogs and they were all so different. Some I left comments on, some I didn't, some had content that interested me, some didn't, some I am going to visit regularly, some I will check once in a while, but all were wonderful just because they got involved with Lisa's great idea of making the blogging world a little closer.

Ok, enough of what I think, to the winners! Not alot of science was applied here. I printed out the pages (all 39 of them - thanks!), randomly picked a page, closed my eyes and took a stab. These are the 5 winners names.

Bec


Stacey


Melanie

AlwaysInspired

Congrats everyone!!! I will be contacting you very soon.


Thanks to all 240 of you that left some really lovely comments. I would loved to have sent you all something special. I can't wait for next years event now. Can we hit 1000 participants - I would love to think so.


Take care,
Kylie

One World One Heart

This wonderful event is on again. The idea of Lisa Swifka from A Whimsical Bohemian is now more than 500 strong. I have visited each and every blog to date and have seen some really great talent, I even put my name down for a few of the prizes. Not many Aussies in the bunch so to bolster our numbers I have decided to jump in too. Here is what Lisa has to say about her idea ...


"The original idea behind this giveaway event was to bring bloggers together from around the world who may never ordinarily meet. It closes the gap of the blog community and enables us to interact, discover new and wonderful people, and in the process possibly win a prize or many prizes along the way."


It is easy to enter, just add your comment to the end of this post (and ONLY this post). Easy huh? You don't need a blog, you don't need to be part of the giveaway and anyone, ANYWHERE can enter. You need to leave your comments by midnight, February 12 to be in the running. Please include some way for me to contact you if you are the winner. I have 5 prizes to giveaway for 5 winners.


1. 50+ handmade ATC sized backgrounds.




2. One handmade button bracelet. This is not the actual one but the only one I could lay my hands on for a pic!

3. A selection of 100 pages of text including dictionaries, music sheets, ready reckonners and foreign language. The pic below is not a true reflection of the variety or quantity.

4. 3 canvases - 10 x 10cm, 10 x 15cm & 4 x 6cm.

5. 50 x 1m lengths of assorted fibres. No pic and I probably won't get around to one before the cut off date but it is pretty self explainatory don't you think?!

Ok then, off you go and leave a comment! And don't forget to have a look at all the other wonderful blogs in the Gypsy Caravan all listed on the main site.

Thanks,

Kylie

COMMENTS NOW CLOSED, THANKS!