One Day at a Time…..

Coffee….. because its better than starting the day with a glass of wine? Not really how I feel, but it is important to have a flippant response to some smartass telling you that you drink a lot of coffee…. and its better than the option of telling them to f*#k off, or that they dress and/or smell like a hobo… and no I am not in a bad mood… Just in a very good mood and trying to avoid the world noticing and coming to spoil it…

Kids seem to have settled into school again, other than a brief meltdown by my daughter when she found out she wasn’t in a class with her friends… She had already sent me packing by the time she discovered this…. but luckily my ex-girlfriend was there to give her hugs till she calmed down, she also helped her find a girl she did know so the tears were short-lived…. It is strange to live in a small world and an even smaller town… but I am grateful she was there to help…. I would thank her, but I know better than that…

Today actually went… School run…. house clean…. car load of rubbish to the tip…. coffee with friends….coffee by myself and a quick sketch…. back to house… more cleaning… car load to charity shop… afternoon school run… food shopping… dinner making… child amusing time…. bit more sketching…

…. and tomorrow I have more stuff to donate to charity, lots more stuff…. I would like to claim complete altruism…. but the object of the game is a clutter-free life and a cheaper moving cost…. but I have no problem with altruism having a selfish component, if there is a reward I am much more likely to become addicted to it…

and speaking of addictions… it is now Day 8 – analogue cigarette free…. and 3 Kilos lighter…. walking back up to 20 mins a day…. must remember to drink more water!….

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Footloose….

You can choose your own version… Footloose and fancy free or the  Lose your blues, everybody cut footloose… Either way works for me… I am in a blissfully good mood tonight…. I am just making a quick blog update (this one) and then I will have a cup of green tea that is brewing in the kitchen… No a lot of time for drawing today… I did try to do a  quick realistic portrait sketch of my daughter, it started realistic and quickly went the other way….. The story of my life 😉

on the bright side she always recognises herself, when I draw a picture of her…  My cup of tea is ready… So I am off , to kick off my sunday shoes…..

Just like Mood Ring, in my head….

What colour are my eyes? Depends on the weather and what mood I am in…. It was one of those things that irritated me growing up…. It seemed just another annoying thing that made my life difficult, and not just because it made filling in the eye-colour box tricky… I think it mainly annoyed me that I could go from being blue eyed and interesting through green and into a muddy grey in a space of a few hours… I know it seems like a weird gripe… but I think I just wanted to blonde and blue eyed, due to some western children’s book vision of attractiveness…. but now I am older and covered in battle scars and tattoos, and my blonde hair has gotten darker (except for the grey bits), I barely even remember about my eyes, unless someone else mentions it…

 

Good weather or a good mood….

Now I am just glad they work, and my hair is still there…. and those around me can use it as an early warning system for stormy weather…..

 

Bad weather or a bad mood….

Both pictures taken on the same day, and you will have to take my word that there is not photo-trickery…. I mean why would I bother….

…..or there and back again….

Just had one of those magic days with the kids… Technology free Sunday has its trials, but also great rewards…. The first reward was my daughter informing a guest that it was “Tech Free Sunday, which follows Pants Off Fridays!!!”… Hmmm luckily it was the vicar she was telling….

A day of bad old movies and popcorn and those cordial filled ice-blocks shaped like a pyramid that you need to open with scissors… and conversations…. not just chats, but proper discussions about worries and anxiety and the future…. Sometimes I forget how damn clever these children are, and even on occasion perceptive…

I have been treading pretty carefully with discussions about moving back to the mountains where they are involved… A balancing act about making them feel included in the decision and causing them undue anxiety… I have settled into the role of information point… When they have a question, I try to answer it as honestly and completely as I can… Today was an eye opener…. over 2 hours of talking about good and bad points, questions and issues… Some of which I hadn’t even considered… and even a moment of revelation for myself… My little Miss 6 (going on 30) asked me why I liked the mountains? As we had already discussed proximity to hot chocolate and the ability to wear cute hats, I felt I should probably give her a proper answer… Which is what lead to a very personal discussion with a small child, a very perceptive small child…

I slowly explained that I felt more like myself in the mountains, more accepted for what I do…. That here in Bathurst people tend to judge people by the money they make and the job they have, and that drawing pictures and selling bits of furniture didn’t count… My daughter hugged me and said she understood, which was sweet, but she says things like that… It was what she said next that made the difference “I really do understand dad, I know that Nanna (my mother) thinks you don’t have a real job, and that must really hurt… and being an artist is a real job in the mountains”…. Yes, there were tears, from me… and another hug from her… and we talked for another hour about all the pretty dresses I used to find for her in the mountains, and trips to cafes and how she missed wearing hats… and her friend Holly… and hats…

She is now harassing the cat, with attempts to make it wear a ribbon… and I am left in a stunned silence at my perceptive little girl…. Yes I am moving back to the mountains… Its not perfect, but I didn’t feel as judged and left wanting as I do here in rural New South Wales… My ex-wife never liked the mountains, maybe because it was my thing… Maybe because a high paying job doesn’t “buy” respect like it does here?…

 

So as my house de-clutters, my head clears… The move from the mountains last year was one of those mistakes that maybe had to be made… This time when I move it is not running from anything, or hoping some magic new place will cure all my woes… I am simply moving back to a place that fits me, you can go home again… you just need to figure out what home means…. and as my daughter pointed out, It would be better to be somewhere where people like what you do… Well yes I agree, it would….

How to Collect Butterflies…..

Same rules as collecting anything else…. Right place at the right time…. I kind of like them all stacked up like this… A nice little geometric sculpture….

The BKF chair was designed  in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1938. The partners of the group were Antonio Bonet, Juan Kurchan and Jorge Ferrari Hardoy, so the chair was named “BKF” after them. Hans Knoll recognized its commercial potential and added it to the Knoll line in 1947.

The hairpin table next to the chairs was a pot plant holder, till I took the top off with an angle grinder and painted it black…. I am just looking for a nice round piece of timber to make it into a proper side table….

Maybe one day I will live like this?