Just in a minute in..... January

I thought I'd play along with just a minute, hosting by August St.

Reading: Albert and Jacob by Cora Sandel. One of my mum's favourite books, which I'm finally reading. And so far so good.

Listening: Volume One by She and Him, and loving it so much, it's a collaboration betwenn M. Ward and Zooey Deshanel. 

Watching: The West Wing( finally getting to watching it and loving it) It also doesn't hurt that Rob Lowe's so easy on the eye, and  The Ellen Degenerous show. Interesting combination yes, but I'm a total Ellen convert, I love how the show's basically an excuse for her to dance. And some tennis too. 

Making: Always! I'm currently working on a new polar bear.

Eating: Peaches! My favourite fruit. White and Clingstones ones are especially wonderful.

Dreaming: Of all the new bears I want to make!

Vintage craft love

Found this at the oppy. Full of cute patterns, a bear, a baby bear, fox, kangaroo, two gollywogs, a rabbit, dog, a poodle and mouse. I'm especially loving the bear and the mouse.

All it needs is a mouth

O
Two bruises on my knee, they look like eyes donchya think? I thought about whacking my left a few times to make a smile face ( and I sort of tried but it hurt). Anyway I couldn't stop looking at them, and then discovered that you shouldn't look at a bruise too long, you begin to actually understand what a bruise is, and it aint pretty. The weird thing is I can't reminder how I got the left hand one.

My creative space

Playing along with Kirst again

I just couldn't resist this( no I didn't put Turtle there, she was lying there when I got home from my walk this morning). I also feel I could call this 3 of my favourite things. Which are: my bear making, my old bears, and my Cat.
Anyway it's still the couch again, because well as everyone in Melbourne knows it's gotten even hotter. THe couch is also doubling as my bed.
OK enough babble on my couch is
Turtle
Gus and Wilbur my old steiff boys.
And the current polar bear I'm working on, with Polar my old steiff polar helping out.
F0r more creative spaces pop over here.

My creative space

this week i'm playing along with Kirsty's my creative space. My couch is my sort of working area/desk as such at the moment because it's super hot upstairs in my proper workroom. Anyway what you can see is the beginnings of another Nugget for etsy, a reject bear head which I'm reusing the stuffing, Mr Rusty's foot in the left hand top corner and Peter's foot in the right hand bottom corner. Keeping me company while I work and Peter in particular finds the heat really trying ( the jacket has been off all week)

Check out Kirsty's for more creativity.

Exciting stuff!

In case you haven't heard, super special, talented and clever Pip of Meet Me at mikes fame, has put together ( and been working so hard) on one of the Books of Year. I can tell you already it will be one of the most beautiful, thoughtful, pleasure to read/browse/study reads books of all time, filled with heaps of projects by amazing and talented artists/craftpersons. Make sure you get your hands on one, and perhaps to make sure you can pre order it here, or bug your local book shop to get one in.

Rosalie Gascoigne

table of delicacies, originally uploaded by occluders.

I went and saw the Rosalie Gascoigne exhibition at the NGV. I was blown away. It's just beautiful. It's really worth a visit and it's free.

Back yard happenings.

Turtle enjoying the heat and my first lobelia flowers

Nugget

Latest bear- Nugget. All fuzzy and made out of alpaca. Quiet little chap who likes to dot to dot books, snuggling  and bread and butter.

I know I'm neurotic but..

Latest Polar bear, originally uploaded by teddybearswednesday.

 This is my latest polar bear. You probably can't see the difference to the last one I posted but this one is my opinion is much better and he is almost there, I mean there's still a few things I need to change next time but i'm definetly more pleased than the last one. I'm a bit of a perfectionist I know, and a bit of a hyprocrite but not really , he is not quite WONKY enough!

I'm a terrible sop

My cousin Michael and her fiance Michelle ( whose become my friend too) got married on Saturday. It's really lovely when two people you really love get married and celebrate their love. It was a really beautiful sort of non religious ceremony. And I could barely stop crying ( happy tears of course), I think I cried 5 times at least. Luckily I don't wear make up so that wasn't any issue, but when people ask you, " are you OK?" you have to be worried.

 I'm such a sucker for all that love stuff. 

Garden update

First Marigold ( flower) and some rather floppy poppies. I'm not sure if they're supposed to do that? Perhaps they know they've come to the house of wonk.

Celebrity spotting

Guy Pearce en la pelicula Traitor, originally uploaded by MyCine.

I saw this guy at my local shops today ( but he wasn't waving a gun)

A present from Thelma

Isn't she just the best!! She said to me " I've got a little jug for you, I'll leave outside the door, it's just a little jug" SHe failed to say it was a Chicken jug or a Xmas Chicken jug.

Thrifty finds in my lunch break

From top down. 1 Three beer glasses for my collection : another Coopers one ( my fav), one featuring a Polar bear! (gasp) and a plain one

2.Some golden treats 3. two lovely old Gardening books, "Australian Gardener" & " Home Gardening Illustrated " ( though not very much)

4. Little Paddington tin and pull toy duck. 5. Dolphin Ornament.

Some small everyday things I love

Crumpet, originally uploaded by Janet Jellybean.

My breakfast - same every day- fruit ( at the moment a peach my favourite fruit of all, hard and crunchy like an apple) a crumpet, buttery toast and milky tea
That my cd/dvd players says "hello" when I turn it on
Riding my bike
The sunshine
A hug
the warmth of my cat on my bed when I wake up in the morning
My old elecric kettle makes my kitchen vibrate when it boils

Getting my hands dirty

                                             Before ( above) and After ( below)




Both inspired by Pip, and spoilt by someone special finally got me to do something about my garden over the weekend.  I think it was also a combination of finding some of my old garden "gnomes" from home,  feeling I wanted Turtle to spend a bit more time out there ( which she wouldn't  and well how it was looking I don't blame her) to take her mind off  her constant obsessing about food and the fact that I do have a life outside of her, and also the fact that since I smoke I do spend a bit of time out there myself and it was getting me down. 

I have to say that I do love gardening and before I got Turtle, when i was at home, I had a really good garden, which was cottage garden and vegetables all mixed in. I loved this garden so much I mean it was sort of like my baby and it was without wanting to sound vain it was quite good. I  seriously used to  go out and talk to it, and you know what plants really respond. Then I got quite ill and had to go into hospital for some time and when I got out it had all died or gone crazy. I was quite devasted and never sort of felt like going back to it. I didn't want to try to remake something that I couldn't really. It sort of had it's time if that makes sense

Today I planted blue lobelia , white alyssum , yellow marigolds and a california poppy. I really wanted to put some violets and pansies in, and lambs ears too, but the nursery didn't have any.

It doesn't look like much now, but hopefully in the next month or so it will look nice . I'm not aiming for anything spectacular just something a little more homey. Although I am getting quite excited with the idea of a bit of Thelma's Garden of my own.

PS sorry about the lonnngggg post.

Ms Sharon Jones

I was lucky enought to see this lady last night, and she was magnificent.