I am not a huge rugby fan. & rugby, she's not hot, really, here in the Low Countries. But husband is South African, so I get... contaminated, every now & then ;)
Just this morning, apropos of nothing much, I got this image in my head: a dog lives in the center of the Universe. And it barks and bites. Not a comfortable image to start the day with. For all sorts of reasons, better left undisturbed ;) But then I saw this:
I love watching the All Blacks perform the Haka!! I can't even begin to explain how this sets fire to my insides, so I won't ;) But I've decided to play this for myself, first thing in the morning, for as long as the dog refuses to wag its tail & do a happy dance!
Showing posts with label web finds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label web finds. Show all posts
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
reminders
Due to an army of tummy bugs on the rampage, making our house their home for an extended layover, I'm going to keep it simple. No home-grown fun today... Just some things I stumbled upon. Some things that I could use reminding of, on a more or less regular basis.
On Keri Smith's blog (author of 'Wreck This Journal', a.o.), from her Rebel's Manifesto, this one so speaks to me:
care not for the opinions of others. they are based on their own thoughts and fears.
And she posted this, a while ago:
Love that! Nicely in line with The Artist's Way, the old(ish) classic I'm working through - when I'm not running to you-know-where!
I still don't think of myself as an artist. But that's okay; I'm not sure being an artist is - really - what I'm aspiring to be. Then again, it might be. But for now, I just want to be more creative, daily. And it's working, mostly! But funny thing about the above? Substitute the artist-related words for life-related words and it makes just as much sense! Mostly. If you want it to. Well, you know what I mean :-)
These are things that (can) get in the way of being honest, authentic - as an artist and a human being. Not the be-all-end-all, but a good start for thinking!
I'll be pondering them. You know where...
On Keri Smith's blog (author of 'Wreck This Journal', a.o.), from her Rebel's Manifesto, this one so speaks to me:
care not for the opinions of others. they are based on their own thoughts and fears.
And she posted this, a while ago:
Love that! Nicely in line with The Artist's Way, the old(ish) classic I'm working through - when I'm not running to you-know-where!
I still don't think of myself as an artist. But that's okay; I'm not sure being an artist is - really - what I'm aspiring to be. Then again, it might be. But for now, I just want to be more creative, daily. And it's working, mostly! But funny thing about the above? Substitute the artist-related words for life-related words and it makes just as much sense! Mostly. If you want it to. Well, you know what I mean :-)
These are things that (can) get in the way of being honest, authentic - as an artist and a human being. Not the be-all-end-all, but a good start for thinking!
I'll be pondering them. You know where...
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
bumps
A couple of weeks ago, I tumbled onto Sara's blog, FULL HANDS. She writes about incorporating bicycling into her daily family life. Reading and clicking around a little, I got the impression that cycling is pretty much an alternative lifestyle to many Americans, and there seems to be a thriving community of people on bikes connecting through blogs!
Pretty cool to read about, and at the same time so alien to me! Over here, in this flat little frog country, everyone (apart from the newest immigrants) learns to ride a bike early on, and most of us stick with it throughout life. In many instances, it's much easier to grab the bike than to go by car, and this country is geared to cyclists - to the extreme! You'll find bike lanes and separate paths almost everywhere, and riding a bike is - pretty much - as safe as walking the sidewalk (I guess I have to add that walking is quite safe here, too).
Now I'm an oddity in my own right for not knowing how to drive a car - but that's a different story :-)
On Sara's blog, I read this post. It's not so much about riding a bicycle, although the author of the excerpt - Joe Kurmaskie - is taking cycling to a whole nother level, even for a weathered Dutch girl like me! But what he writes about raising children, exposing them to the elements, so to speak - that is so true, and really touched something!
There is no way for children, or adults for that matter, to experience only the good. To protect yourself and the people you love from all possible mishap means you'll miss a lot of beauty, too. Besides, there is no way to stop bad things from happening altogether...
When I read that post, my punchline was going to be about Squirt taking a nosedive over the side of the couch, and quite possiby swallowing my nose stud. As you do. About how I didn't imagine Kurmaskie was talking about those particular life experiences, per se.
And then, life happened a little, again, and the post didn't get written. Until today. When Squirt fell down the stairs; backwards to start off with. Top to bottom, hitting all 13 steps on the way down. Ending up with two bumps, bruises and a friction burn on his forehead and chin... And thank the little angel on his shoulder, that was all. Well, that and a severely shocked mamma. Who can't get over how unbelievably stupid it was not to close the perfectly fine baby gate for whatever, whatever reason! And who really doesn't want to think about how much worse this could have been...
Resulting in the - not so much punchline, more like stern warning that there is a lot to be said for experience and against overprotection, and I agree. But not taking basic measures to prevent calamity from happening is plain stupid. No one can argue with that!
Okay. That wasn't funny. At all. I'm going to get me a cup of coffee and try to get the shakes to stop! Squirt was checked over by a doctor and pronounced 'fine'. He's sleeping off his own hangover of sorts - probably deciding when it might be safe to trust the female parental unit again... ;-)
Pretty cool to read about, and at the same time so alien to me! Over here, in this flat little frog country, everyone (apart from the newest immigrants) learns to ride a bike early on, and most of us stick with it throughout life. In many instances, it's much easier to grab the bike than to go by car, and this country is geared to cyclists - to the extreme! You'll find bike lanes and separate paths almost everywhere, and riding a bike is - pretty much - as safe as walking the sidewalk (I guess I have to add that walking is quite safe here, too).
Now I'm an oddity in my own right for not knowing how to drive a car - but that's a different story :-)
On Sara's blog, I read this post. It's not so much about riding a bicycle, although the author of the excerpt - Joe Kurmaskie - is taking cycling to a whole nother level, even for a weathered Dutch girl like me! But what he writes about raising children, exposing them to the elements, so to speak - that is so true, and really touched something!
There is no way for children, or adults for that matter, to experience only the good. To protect yourself and the people you love from all possible mishap means you'll miss a lot of beauty, too. Besides, there is no way to stop bad things from happening altogether...
When I read that post, my punchline was going to be about Squirt taking a nosedive over the side of the couch, and quite possiby swallowing my nose stud. As you do. About how I didn't imagine Kurmaskie was talking about those particular life experiences, per se.
And then, life happened a little, again, and the post didn't get written. Until today. When Squirt fell down the stairs; backwards to start off with. Top to bottom, hitting all 13 steps on the way down. Ending up with two bumps, bruises and a friction burn on his forehead and chin... And thank the little angel on his shoulder, that was all. Well, that and a severely shocked mamma. Who can't get over how unbelievably stupid it was not to close the perfectly fine baby gate for whatever, whatever reason! And who really doesn't want to think about how much worse this could have been...
Resulting in the - not so much punchline, more like stern warning that there is a lot to be said for experience and against overprotection, and I agree. But not taking basic measures to prevent calamity from happening is plain stupid. No one can argue with that!
Okay. That wasn't funny. At all. I'm going to get me a cup of coffee and try to get the shakes to stop! Squirt was checked over by a doctor and pronounced 'fine'. He's sleeping off his own hangover of sorts - probably deciding when it might be safe to trust the female parental unit again... ;-)
plans
It has been quiet here, again, lately. Busy busy busy? Yes, that too. But admittedly, after spending a lot of time looking at other people's blogs again (I did say I've been busy, didn't I?), I'm having another Blog Identity Crisis. The whole 'what do I want to share' thing. And I haven't settled it. Yet. It's ongoing and subject to evolution.
But I have signed on to an online photography workshop! Which will give me another chance to get busy with image, neglected a little, of late. That is, when I don't count the pictures I'm always taking of Squirt. Which I don't. For art-ish-tic purposes at least.
The course will start on the 20th of March, this Saturday. So hopefully, soon, this blog will see more posting. Purposeful posting :-)
But I have signed on to an online photography workshop! Which will give me another chance to get busy with image, neglected a little, of late. That is, when I don't count the pictures I'm always taking of Squirt. Which I don't. For art-ish-tic purposes at least.The course will start on the 20th of March, this Saturday. So hopefully, soon, this blog will see more posting. Purposeful posting :-)
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
school
A link to this video was posted on the Inside Out FaceBook page, and I have just watched it. If you have 20 minutes, watch it, too!
From TED.com: "Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity."
I've never thought about it much, but he makes some valid, thought-provoking points. Also, he's pretty funny, and the video comes with subtitles in 38 languages ;-)
From TED.com: "Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity."
I've never thought about it much, but he makes some valid, thought-provoking points. Also, he's pretty funny, and the video comes with subtitles in 38 languages ;-)
Monday, January 25, 2010
chowder
The first - amazingly intense - week of my four-week e-course Inside Out by Shannon is over. To be accurate, the second week started today. But I'm still dealing with the fallout from week one. No small matter.
Remember what I said about anticipation? I've come to realise what it means and why I do it. It feels good: anticipation. Like the world could very well be your oyster! All you have to do is: get up & get it!
Which is where I'm stuck. Right before 'getting up'. Scared the oyster is just a mirage. Or it really is a bad clam & gives you acid. Or you can't open it. Or you can, but find out you don't actually like oysters. See, I don't know this. I never tried one... OR, you get up & get it, you paint it really nicely and hang it as a decoration and it starts to smell, after a while!
As long as you just anticipate - enjoy the idea of it & what you could do with it if you decided to act on your desire - you're safe. Nothing ventured? Nothing spoiled!
'Nothing gained, either', you say? True, I suppose. But who really wants a smelly painted oyster taking up wallspace?!
See, this is why I need to do this course! I like safe. But I also feel a really deep need to find out if it could work, me & oysters. Find life-changing revelations, or simply for future reference.
Here's to week two!
Remember what I said about anticipation? I've come to realise what it means and why I do it. It feels good: anticipation. Like the world could very well be your oyster! All you have to do is: get up & get it!
Which is where I'm stuck. Right before 'getting up'. Scared the oyster is just a mirage. Or it really is a bad clam & gives you acid. Or you can't open it. Or you can, but find out you don't actually like oysters. See, I don't know this. I never tried one... OR, you get up & get it, you paint it really nicely and hang it as a decoration and it starts to smell, after a while!
As long as you just anticipate - enjoy the idea of it & what you could do with it if you decided to act on your desire - you're safe. Nothing ventured? Nothing spoiled!
'Nothing gained, either', you say? True, I suppose. But who really wants a smelly painted oyster taking up wallspace?!
See, this is why I need to do this course! I like safe. But I also feel a really deep need to find out if it could work, me & oysters. Find life-changing revelations, or simply for future reference.
Here's to week two!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
squirt, revisited
By popular demand ;-)
I heard someone call his little girl 'squirt' a long time ago. I can remember who it was, and where, although not quite when, but I won't bore you with the details. Or reveal myself as the soap addict I really am. It struck me as cute. I never looked it up, but took it to mean something similar to 'chick pea' in its endearing form, 'shorty', with a bit of a naughty connotation.
I have recently found out that googling 'squirt' will not exactly lead you where I, in good conscience, would send you to look. Now don't say I didn't warn you ;-)
Googling 'squirt synonym' will get you closer to the truth - here are results from thesaurus.reference.com
Main entry: child, definition: very young person
Synonyms: anklebiter, babe, bairn, brat, cub, kiddie, lamb, little one, minor, mite, moppet, nipper, small fry, sprout, squirt, tadpole, toddler, tot, tyke, urchin, young one, youngster (and that's after I've taken the liberty of omitting some!).
Obviously I take offence to definitions containing phrases like 'person of little or no significance'. And I can't find proof for the slight bit of naughty. But since I haven't found proof to the contrary either, just consider it attached for this blog's purposes, okay? ;-)
I heard someone call his little girl 'squirt' a long time ago. I can remember who it was, and where, although not quite when, but I won't bore you with the details. Or reveal myself as the soap addict I really am. It struck me as cute. I never looked it up, but took it to mean something similar to 'chick pea' in its endearing form, 'shorty', with a bit of a naughty connotation.
I have recently found out that googling 'squirt' will not exactly lead you where I, in good conscience, would send you to look. Now don't say I didn't warn you ;-)
Googling 'squirt synonym' will get you closer to the truth - here are results from thesaurus.reference.com
Main entry: child, definition: very young person
Synonyms: anklebiter, babe, bairn, brat, cub, kiddie, lamb, little one, minor, mite, moppet, nipper, small fry, sprout, squirt, tadpole, toddler, tot, tyke, urchin, young one, youngster (and that's after I've taken the liberty of omitting some!).
Obviously I take offence to definitions containing phrases like 'person of little or no significance'. And I can't find proof for the slight bit of naughty. But since I haven't found proof to the contrary either, just consider it attached for this blog's purposes, okay? ;-)
P.S. Incidentally, Squirt is also the cute little turtle in 'Finding Nemo' - courtesy of Google. I must have known once, but forgot. When you consider that a turtle/tortoise (one word in Dutch) is the only animal Squirt wants to acknowledge by name these days ('patta'), his nickname is an apt little coincidence :-D
Friday, September 4, 2009
etsy
I designed and ordered this stamp for - well, pretty much all my papercraft projects :-) I'm well-impressed by how it turned out! & it's only an inch in diameter! & it wasn't even very expensive at all! 
I recommend this Etsy shop if you have any stamp needs! And I recommend Etsy in general if you are looking for an original gift idea, handmade by someone else (or you could shamelessly copy. Although I would never come right out and recommend that in black on blue in public, of course. Let alone that I would ever do such a thing...)! I also recommend Etsy for you to browse in a lost moment, just to see what people come up with and create! Love the concept of this online marketplace!
& no, I'm not getting paid by Etsy. Honest to your Higher Power, they don't even know I blog.
& no, I'm not getting paid by Etsy. Honest to your Higher Power, they don't even know I blog.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
itch
Paper is more my scene than fabric, really. Well, not when it comes to what to wear, so much ;-) But when it comes to crafting, I feel much more comfortable posting about my paperwork; I'm a Paper Girl!
I'm using all kinds of scrapbook-like techniques when working on Baby Boy's photo book (which is probably why I have only just finished his first month...), but I'm too cheap to buy all kinds of bells & whistles. You can spend several paychecks on what's out there - it's unbelievable what they come up with; new stuff every day! I do enjoy looking around online & 'real life' craft shops for ideas, but to be honest, I don't even want to buy most of the embellishments that are available. I enjoy creating my own. I suppose you could say I'm actually scrap-booking ;-)
A couple of months ago, I discovered - all on my own! - that newspaper covered in acrylic paint is really cool to work with. You can see the print shine through if you don't lather the paint on too thickly. I used this flower, and others, in a collage, in BB's photo book and on a handmade card.
A few weeks ago, I sort of felt like I should make something again, as opposed to drooling over what other people get up to. Surfing the net, which is how many creative plans get conceived over here, I stumbled upon this beautiful newspaper snowflake garland tutorial. Don't ask me how I got there, suffice to say, I was spending too much time 'shopping around' again (trust me, you can c
lick-read-click your life away quite easily) ;-)
I'm not much impressed with my photographic skills on this one, but I do like how this little project turned out (click the picture to enlarge, you'll get a better look that way!) :-D
I'm using all kinds of scrapbook-like techniques when working on Baby Boy's photo book (which is probably why I have only just finished his first month...), but I'm too cheap to buy all kinds of bells & whistles. You can spend several paychecks on what's out there - it's unbelievable what they come up with; new stuff every day! I do enjoy looking around online & 'real life' craft shops for ideas, but to be honest, I don't even want to buy most of the embellishments that are available. I enjoy creating my own. I suppose you could say I'm actually scrap-booking ;-)
A couple of months ago, I discovered - all on my own! - that newspaper covered in acrylic paint is really cool to work with. You can see the print shine through if you don't lather the paint on too thickly. I used this flower, and others, in a collage, in BB's photo book and on a handmade card.
A few weeks ago, I sort of felt like I should make something again, as opposed to drooling over what other people get up to. Surfing the net, which is how many creative plans get conceived over here, I stumbled upon this beautiful newspaper snowflake garland tutorial. Don't ask me how I got there, suffice to say, I was spending too much time 'shopping around' again (trust me, you can c
lick-read-click your life away quite easily) ;-)But it was time, I felt the itch - I decided to celebrate Baby Boy's first official word by creating a newspaper garland with sheep, hearts & stars, along with a matching card :-)
I'm not much impressed with my photographic skills on this one, but I do like how this little project turned out (click the picture to enlarge, you'll get a better look that way!) :-D
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