Random pics

No mini's today.......I really must get cleaning.

So I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos with you from our travels.

Cayucos, California.

My first visit to the US and my first night here.

Is it any wonder I went home, sold everything I owned, quit my job and moved back here.

Santa Monica Pier









Malibu Beach












San Francisco.

Alcatraz at night...that was one cold boat trip back across the bay but there was no way I was going inside and missing that view.


These are all pics of places local to me here in California but keep watching...it could be your town next :-)

Actually, it could be quite interesting to see what I took photos of where you live...we tend to miss the beauty on our own doorstep !

Sacred Lotus Pond

Finally, a day without interruptions and I managed to finished the sacred lotus pond.

OK so they are water lilies but the Indians call it the Sacred Lotus which I think is a much nicer name :-)

It measures about 4" long tip to tip and about 1 1/2 inches wide. The base is a beautiful and delicate crackled finish.

It is difficult to see the 'water' in the photos because it is so clear but I promise it is there.

I partially sunk some of the leaves into the water and the others I sat on top of the water. These are not glued on...I figured I'd leave that to the person that got this so she can decide where to place them herself.

I am really pleased with this for a first try which is unusual for me...I think it is really pretty.

I will be making more of these both in this style of pond and others that I can find or make. I will make them for sale but custom order only. I think I may also offer to make individual flowers and leaves so people can buy them to place on ponds they might already have.

Hope you all like it :-)

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Well 2 posts in one day from me....that's a first. Now i can spend the rest of the week vaccuming and mopping...not that I want to you understand but we have friends coming on Saturday so I ought to. Nothing like inquisitors to make me clean...surprised Mick hasn't cottoned on to this yet :-)

Not my usual pretties !

Well the lotus didn't get finished yesterday...best laid plans and all that....so I thought I'd share some pics of what I was playing around with a few weeks ago.

These plants are very much outside of my comfort zone but I do think I could have fun with this.

The making of them is no different to making any other flowers. The main problem I seem to have is that my imagination just doesn't flow very well in the 'spooky' direction so coming up with ideas is hard for me.

Also, I am in the habit of trying to make my usual flowers look as realistic as possible and I am struggling to let that go with made up plants like this.

I know they don't have to look real because they don't exist but I still find myself thinking in this way. Perhaps it'll just take practice.



Anyhow, this is my floozy plant.

She has been around the block more than her fair share and is a bit of a man eater. Very rough round the edges and definitely more wrinkly and dead than not but she still puts on her biggest smile in the hopes of attracting something.....anything.

You know the kind I talk about.....past their prime but still sit around the bars looking for the leftovers after all the young chicks have taken there pick....that's her !

This is Drax.....# 1... because I need to have another go with this idea.

I wanted his leaves to be vine like and fall in a cape like fashion. I think perhaps I need to go with larger leaves. I also wanted the leaves around his head to stand up like a collar. The idea is there I just need to change the design.

And this little plant is based on Audrey 2 from Little Shop of Horrors.

This was the first 'odd' plant I made and I had the most fun with this one. Probably because I could just copy and idea that was already there rather than think of my own :-)

The coffee can is not identical to that in the movie but very similar.

I will make a more grown version of him soon but wanted to start with the baby one.

He now belongs to Nikki now.

Where we live.

Well, the sense bunny did come and slap us so we stayed at home last weekend after all.

We had so many things to do about the house. We keep ignoring because we choose to go off and play instead so we decided to stay here and get them all done.

So.... the grill is spotless, plants, veggies and seeds are planted, we have shelves to put our outdoor speakers onto and the bike is sparkling.

It wasn't all work and no play though....we did go check out some of our local places.

I shan't be taking 3 days off from the computer in a hurry again though...it will take me all day to answer the emails that came in.

So no lotus pond piccies today....it is nearly finished so I should be able to post them tomorrow.

In the meantime here are some piccies from where we live. We are lucky that our immediate area is so pretty there is no need to go more than half a mile down the road :-)

Lake Perris....I could walk here and I should....but I never do.




Downtown Riverside. The Mission Inn, the old Courthouse and the Chinese Pavilion.

Such a beautiful town and I should have explored it before now.

Martin Luther King statue...such a wonderful work of art.
His entire body had carvings in it.

I shan't' bore you all with my photos but if anyone is interested in looking at more pics of our travels around America please feel free to visit my album here.

I keep them all on myspace as it is just simple to have them in one place for family and friends to see.

And I'm off...again !

Just when I get back started :-)

Mick thinks we need a vacation....after the last few weeks he is definitely right but we are already planning on a small to middling size trip in the general direction of new Mexico before the end of June.

He, however, thinks we should go somewhere this weekend.

Me, being as irresponsible as he is tends to agree...any excuse for a trip right :-)

So, unless the sense bunny comes and slaps either of us this afternoon I shan't be back till Tuesday.

Not too sure where we'll end up....we have covered pretty much everything within a few days drive in the southwest already.

Hmmm...wonder if there are tickets available for Santana in Vegas for this weekend.

Raring to get going !

Well things are almost sorted in my little corner of the planet so I should be back to normal in the next week.

It will take me a little while...or maybe a long while even to catch up but I will get to you all.

I see I've gained some new followers while I've been away..... a big welcome to you all.

Does that mean I am more entertaining when I keep my mouth shut :-)

Hopefully, by next week I'll be able to finally sort out my workroom and I'll be sure to post piccies. I have to say it is going to be fab.

In the meantime I'll leave you with a little picture of what I've been working on since the foxgloves.

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The national flower of India....the sacred lotus.
It is said to symbolize spirituality, fruitfulness, wealth, knowledge, illumination and purity of heart and mind.

Sounds so much more beautiful than water lily huh :-)

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Oh and it is my birthday very soon so watch this space for a birthday giveaway !

Short break

Hi everyone

I am so sorry your emails have gone unanswered and comments unposted but I am unable to blog just now. Thanks for the awards....sorry I can't pass them on at the moment.

Hopefully I'll be back in a week or two.

Jayne xxx

Barking mad

I really must be. I knew this would take some time but I've been at it all weekend and still haven't emptied the the room.....ack.

It wouldn't be so bad if we were moving in to a new house but once the new furniture is in I have to move everything back in.

It hasn't escaped my attention, nor Mick's but really how can someone who make such tiny things as I do have so much. I seriously need to be ruthless about what comes back in here.

And, apparently, one of Micks objections for moving the workroom to the bigger room was that within 6 moths I'll just have crammed that room as full...he has a point :-)

Anyhow, my back is sore and I need to sit down so I thought I'd show you all some pics.

These are my desks. The one on the left bends around the corner and is about 7 feet long one way alone. The little one I might put in the bedroom for bill paying, doing taxes etc. There is nowhere else for it to go and the filing cabinet is in there anyhow do it isn't as if I will be ruining the ambiance. Mick wants to set up another computer in there....obviously 2 pc's between 2 people is not enough.

This is Micks lab bench...it is a beast of a thing. and it took 5 guys to carry it into the yard.

And that isn't all of it....the thing on risers on the right here fits on top. It has it's own 2 tube fluorescent light fitting on top...and 20 electrical outlets :-)

All of that computer stuff is Micks....I think he believes one can't have too many computers but that is all going to recycling.

And here is where I am at...still a long way to go but getting there slowly.

Every little drawer, shelf, nook and cranny has to be emptied :-(

Mick is taking tomorrow off so we can get it all into the house. All the furniture is so big and heavy that we have to dismantle it and reassemble it when we get it in here.

I might be back in a year :-)

Soooooo....whats' next.

Actually, while I was waiting for my paper to arrive I have been working on something else which I'll share pictures of soon.

It is something I never ever thought I'd be called to do but some of the blogs here got me thinking and I have really stepped out of my usual comfort zone.

In the meantime I have lots of other things to do...a complete redo of our workroom for starters.

Mick's company recently closed down the branch where he worked and have transferred him and the other engineers to a larger facility 60 odd miles away. The new commute sucks but what can you do….at least he still has a job.

Anyhow, due to the fact Mick has broken his back more than once, he has problems sitting for a long period of time. So the company bought him this ‘super duper orthopedic, ergonomic, won’t cause back pain chair.’ worth around $400.

He went to pack it up to take with him and was told he couldn’t as it didn’t match the color scheme in the new building. Excuse my French but WTF !!!! I thought he worked for a medical company not Martha Stewart. Even the fact that he is an engineer, works mainly in a lab and won’t be in view of any members of the public didn’t change their minds and they are going to buy him a new chair.

The good news is that I am now sitting on the aforementioned ‘super duper orthopedic, ergonomic, won’t cause back pain chair.’ :-) When he bought it home I was expecting to see this fluorescent lime and pink colored thing that would clash with their color scheme. And after all of that, it is very boring neutral beige / grey color…give me a break guys.

It is pretty comfy I have to admit. I still haven’t figured out what all the levers and knobs are and to say it is adjustable is somewhat of an understatement.

Anyhow, as it transpires, the company are not taking anything with them. Can you believe it…..what an obscene waste of money….now I understand why medications are so expensive. And it makes me wonder, if this company is doing this, how many others do the same. Scary to even think about it.

So we are now the owners of a whole bunch of stuff. Desks, workbenches, shelves, filing cabinets, chairs, enough stationery to last me 2 lifetimes and a ton of electronics stuff that I have no idea where we’ll put it let alone what it does. Mick and his buddies are out there with a UHaul right now.

It is all hugely expensive, top quality stuff we are getting and I would have much preferred that they took it with them and laid off one less person with the money they would have saved :-(

Still, if we don’t take it, it will end up in a dumpster and I guess it goes some way towards them no being paid any extra to travel more than 100 miles extra a day. Still just seems really wrong to me.

But now we have to figure out where to put it all. Our workroom is the small second bedroom. I have thought about making this our bedroom and using the master bedroom as the workroom…big patio doors, windows, skylights the lot…it would be fab and where the rules that say your master bathroom and closest have to be off the bedroom you sleep in :-) But, alas, this little room is so tiny I doubt we aren’t able to fit the bed and 2 nightstands in it and still be able to walk around it all.

So, for the next week or so we have to sort out and move things around. Mick cleared me out more space in the garage so some of my stuff will go in there. Between all my bits and pieces and all of Mick’s electronics and scientific equipment we have so much ‘stuff’.

The thought of sorting and moving all my stuff is more traumatic than making foxgloves but it has to be done and I need to start before he gets back this afternoon :-)

I’ll be back with my new work soon !

Foxgloves.....all finished...really :-)

Oh my goodness.....I cannot believe I have finally finished these foxgloves.

This has been a journey of sheer frustration, a lesson in patience, many temper tantrums, and yet I came out the other end with a huge amount of learning and satisfaction under my belt.

Had I been making these for myslef or just to list for sale I'd have given up long ago. I am glad I was making them for Nikki simply because it pushed me to finish something I would otherwise have wimped out of.

Right now, I cannot make up my mind whether I am sad to see them go or glad to see the back of them :-)

These have so consumed my every waking minute for these last weeks that I feel kinda lost now and am not sure what to do with my hands...I am sure I'll find something....maybe housework even...that'll please Mick :-)

For my first attempt I am fairly pleased with them. Will I make them again ? I have no idea...at the moment my answer is definite NO. I do have 3 partly finished ones here which I planned on keeping but whether they'll get finished is another story.

Anyhow, here are the photos. You may notice the colors look slightly different between the pics. This is just due to different lighting conditions. it is so sunny here that outdoor pics are difficult yet indoor pics aren't lit enough. Also some of the flowers have got knocked out of place slightly as I was moving them to take pics...not that they all should be in perfect position...each flower is wired and can be moved however Nikki chooses.

It was difficult to show all the detail. Each flower is spotted inside. Each stem has the remnants of blossoms that have dropped off leaving nothing but a bit of leaf and stamen. Each stamen was cut from fine thread, painted and tipped. Many of the leaves are caterpillar chewed or dying off.

And there is a little detail in there that I've not mentioned..perhaps someone will notice it :-)

Hope you like them Nikki.

Thank you to everyone who has followed and supported me on this journey...
I have truly appreciated ever single comment.

Jayne
xxx

Foxgloves...final pic !!!!!