PROCRASTINATION

" Don't think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It's self- conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can't try to do things. You simply must do things." - Ray Bradburg

I need to adopt this attitude everyday. And I'm trying. Life is slipping away while I whine and procrastinate.

Most times I think I'm a nut or most certainly not the norm. I'm always trying to make myself do things. I wonder why. Maybe this is my answer.

"The creative person is both primitive and more cultivated, more destructive, a lot madder and a lot saner, than the average person." Frank Barron

I'd like to believe this is me.

Glyn (my sister) came to visit for a few days at the beginning of the month. She came to give me a hand, some moral support and to visit our Mom. And spend some relaxation time with us. It was great having Glyn here, I wish we had more time together. While she was here, Glyn bought one of my recent necklaces and chose black buttons for a button string necklace.

I love this necklace, I was really pleased with the combinations and of course the pendant which I made.

I'd  made a button necklace for Rochelle, (I forgot to take a picture so Rochelle will be sending me a pic) and have laid out the design for Bronwen's. Today I must just do some of it.

I laid out 84 necklaces on Thursday last week for Sylvia, she wanted to have a good look. Unfortunately, just before she arrived we had a power failure, so Slyv took four home on apro, as she couldn't decide by candlelight. The power was off until the next morning at nine. Not pleasant. I'm now cooking dinner a bit earlier, so if we have a power failure at peak time at least the suppers cooked. Rich hates take-a-ways at the best of times.

I haven't packed the necklaces away yet. I want to sort out some for Joce's salon. We haven't had any displayed for more than a month. We've been a bit distracted with Si being in and out of hospital. He comes out today, after a deep vein thrombosis, which we are told is common among cancer patients after radiation treatment. Si had fifteen sessions of radiation.

The front and back of Joce's jersey are finished, the back front of Claire's jersey is finished and I'm busy with the neck opening on the front. This jersey has a hood. I've started a jersey for Liam with Scottie Dogs on the front. At this stage I'm not sure what to pick up and what to put down.

Wimbledon starts on the 20th and then all I'll do is knit, as I love watching the tennis grand slams.

I'm sitting in the sun at my laptop and am loath to leave, but there are things to be done.

Fading Hydrangeas

 Fading hydrangeas in the garden.







A bird hide at the coast on one of our holidays ages ago. I remember the day and weather so well. The storm over the sea was very threatening but it was such a calm place to be. Bevan painted this from a photograph Rich took. Oil on board.

Bird hide at the coast

I've always wanted Foo Dog bookends but of course could never afford the real thing. Woolworth's had these recently and I just couldn't resist them.

Foo Dog bookends

FOOD FOR THE SOUL

I seem to lacking food for the soul. I think the tough times we are going through at present, are wearing me a bit thin. I know that there is always someone out there having a worse time, but when you are in this space it's hard.

I haven't been able to get much jewellery made and seem to be hopping from one thing to another, not really actually achieving anything. Without sounding too whiny, I'm finding all these household chores a real grind. I'm even getting really irritable about it, it's really soul destroying work. You've hardly done something and it needs to be done again. There is definitely more to life than housework.

Soo, I took some pics about two weeks ago, early in the morning, of some of my favourite necklaces that I'd made when I was starting out. I was so disappointed with the pics, that today, I took some more but I'm not crazy about them either. I'm going to have to work on techniques, as the pics aren't showing the jewellery off, they are much more "jewel" to the naked eye.

Spring

These pictures with the blueish tinge were taken in the early morning in the shade, in the garden.  I was so disappointed with the photos that the mood for writing about when they were made and the inspiration behind then vanished into thin air. 

This one was inspired by spring (I think) and the business of the design appealed to me.

Tuareg Dream

This one was inspired by a web site I went on when I first started wanting to make my own jewellery. It was a site that showed beads and jewel from West Africa and the surrounds. They made sourcing the beads sound so exciting. I bought the amber beads from a chap in Johannesburg who said he came from the Sudan, but I'm actually none the wiser. It's copied from a design done by a Tuareg nomad.

Monied, because of the coins and keys.  The silver bee pendant was bought from a bead shop, that has now unfortunately closed. She used to keep really special beads and pendants but said that there was not much of a market for her choice of goods.

What's Left is made from beads in the stash that I love and then matched up with complimentary beads.

Monied

Steel Bee

What's Left

Here are the same necklaces, photographed in the mid-afternoon and on grey scarves.

Rambling On

I am a daydreamer, a compulsive shopper (I hate this about myself), a romantic realist (if there is such a thing), a book and magazine junkie, probably a TV addict and I fancy myself as being NOT a run of the mill granny.

I love gardening and miss our gardener, who has been off injured for about a month. The garden is more fun when he has the place all tidy and I can potter.

I've not had any perfume for about a year now. I removed the samples from my daughters magazines, not before she has looked the mags though and ignored the samples. I tried 212VIP by Carolina Herrera. It's gorgeous, it reminded me of my working days when I always had perfume to wear.

I need to go and help Joce with Liam now. Si is back in hospital as he has a large (long) blood clot in his one leg. Apparently cancer patients can suffer from this. So, his in hospital while they get rid of the clot. He should be home tomorrow. Joce has caught a cold and is not feeling so hot.

More another day. Crazy writing to myself like this but hopefully it's therapeutic.

A BIT MORE OF THE CRAZY STUFF

A few Sundays ago, Joce decided we needed to eat breakfast alfresco on the patio. Poor Si, he found it a bit chilly as one can see. He ate as fast as he could and then closeted himself in the sunny sittingroom for the rest of the day.