No, I'm doing SOME work, honestly!

Still being subject to the "GREAT CREATIVE BLOCK" of the summer, I've turned to doing things like tidying my studio, cleaning my house up, spending some more time with my horse and designing some new kits for BeadAddict - here's one - the pieces are done as you can see, I've even made up the kits and I'm currently working on photos and instructions.  This one will launch on the 1st July (with a fair wind behind it...) and more to come...

Braver than brave

This is Oscar from Jersey who came to grief last October under the blades of a combine harvester whilst snoozing in a field; in a terrible state, his human rushed him to his vet who had read about state of the art prosthetic limb surgery. Oscar was referred to Noel Fitzpatrick, a veterinary surgeon in Surrey who agreed to make him the first subject of his ground-breaking plans to fit mechanical implants into bone.

The three hour, £4,000 operation was a world first; his new paws were developed by a

Cheshire Show 2010

Today I spent a beautiful sunny day at the local Cheshire agricultural show, where the country-loving population of Cheshire congregates to show off their cheese, their cakes, their flowers, horses and their goats, amongst other things.   As I know my horse is already the best in the world, we decided not to enter anything to give everyone else a chance of winning something (hah!)

The first tent I went into held pigs.  I didn't stay in there very long.  I think you can imagine.

I watched a carriage driving class with breathtakingly smart horses, drivers and little lightweight carriages - the chap pictured driving this beautiful horse is 82 years old.   82, wow.  I wonder if he does his own grooming and mucking out.   Why did I wonder that??  Anyway, when all 5 participants arrived in the ring I knew he was going to win, his turnout was so perfect I couldn't fault it.  And I know nothing about carriage driving.   The only thing was, the class took so long to judge I began to lose the will to live, so I went for ice-cream and came out of the food tent half an hour later to find he was driving round showing his red ribbons, but then, maybe he'd been doing that for half an hour, I don't know.

I attended this year with an eye towards perhaps taking a stall in the craft tent next year.  Uh-uh, I don't think so.  I was so disappointed.  Wouldn't you think that the Cheshire show would concentrate on crafts local to the area?   There was an abundance of mass produced junk jewellery, crafts which had been imported from places across the world (where presumably they can make it cheaper than we can here), and just general garbage that no-one would want.   The few really good crafts-people in there were just about overwhelmed by the abundance of - basically - crap.   I felt truly sorry for them.  And the tents were so hot I thought I was going to die within about 8 minutes of going in, and then I felt sorry for everyone.  

I fell in love with the goats.  I have to get a goat or two, true, they stink, but they have great characters.   So I have decided to keep a herd of pigmy goats in the back garden - I wonder if the neighbours will mind?  Mind you, with some of the parties that some of our neighbours have until four in the morning followed by free-range shouting and arguing for a couple of hours, goats would probably be a neighbourhood blessing.   And in case Fran, my neighbour down the road is reading this, no, its no-one actually on OUR road, if you get the picture.    And Fran, you wouldn't mind me having goats in our garden would you??  Bang go those roses, though.

This picture is of a young woman who had a most beautiful goat, she did tell me what it was - I may be wrong but I think a 'blonde Jersey' was what she said, though it may be that the goat had just eaten a blonde jersey.   I'd like to know who this goat's hairdresser is.  I wonder if he's cheaper than my hairdresser.

To be fair it was a lovely day.  I bought two sunhats because it was so hot I felt Iike I had  sunstroke (maybe I thought I had two heads by then, which does suggest I actually HAD sunstroke); I also bought a cherry pie which went straight into the freezer after reason set in when I returned home and I realised 32 degree heat is not the time of year to be eating pie. 

A lovely day.  I'll probably do it again in five years or so.

Finding a Spark with a Creative Block

(Disclaimer: Before you get excited, these photos are of OLD work, long gone...!) Sometimes I don't make a thing.  Not so much as a pair of pliers picked up, and though I have visited my felting wool regularly (so it doesn't feel neglected), I have no desire to make anything right now.  
Creativity is frustrating at this time, because obviously, no creativity is going on.   I find this happens when my balance is disturbed, and recent events - moving my horse from his long term home and the bad feelings surrounding it seems to have done that.   Sometimes balance can be

Blue, making a flipping nuisance of himself again....

As everyone knows, this is Blue.  Blue loves to run up the pull out stairs to the loft (and then hide), he loves to drink from the toilet and he loves to sit in boxes, any box he can find.   He IS a pain in the derriere but we wouldn't have him any other way.....

And the Winner is....

The winner of my May 'Win A Necklace' competition is Susan from Coventry - congratulations Susan, your necklace made with Murano glass, Swarovski crystal, sterling silver and seed beads is on its way!