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 An elderly lady, who is an old family friend of Mr You’s, gave me a couple of rolls of old transparency films that were taken by her 1st husband in the 1940’s. He was a QC in the war trials in Japan after the 2nd World War. He had lots of photo’s from this time, but apparently he had one very rare one of the Japanese Emperor at the time, Emperor Tojo, whom I’m told it was forbidden to photograph. I love old photographs, and have a small collection and loads of books. These were a real treat. I didn’t see the Emperor, but there are lots of wonderful photos of their experience in what was obviously a very unfamiliar land. Taking a holiday in a foreign land (or having a baby I’m told) always reignites the photographer in people. Snapping shots of buildings, shops, merchandise, clothing, food, etc, that are all strange and new to what we know as commonplace.  I remember my sister and I being terrified as young children being surrounded by a busload of snap-happy Japanese tourists. We both had very fair skin and very light blonde hair, not to mention my little sister was the cutest little thing you’ve ever seen. They accosted us (in a friendly excited way) at a lookout and took turns having their photo taken with us. Our Dad had to calm us down and explain why they were so interested in us. (It made sense to us, our Mum would often point out people of other nationalities and say “Look, aren’t they beautiful!”).  I learnt a few things that day. I learnt I could never be a celebrity, and I learnt how lovely it is that different cultures think of one another as beautiful. I’m aware this isn’t always the case, but it should be. Anyway, these photos are so interesting. Not only are they a snapshot of another culture and the wonder of someone experiencing it for the first time, but also of a time gone by. There are more to look at here.
 My Illustration Friday attempt for " robot". When I’m stuck on a topic, really stumped for ideas, I ask Mr You for suggestions. This week his robot suggestions included both, - an arse rowing a boat = row-butt - and a baby’s bottle filled with fish eggs = roe-bot As interesting as those ideas are, now seems as good a time as any to reveal the blueprint for my concept robot fish. Don’t ask me why. We both thought an illustration of Shakira’s awesome robot dance / bellydance combination from her new video clip (the one that goes”Shakira! Shakira! Oh Oh My hips don’t lie”) would be hard to beat. But quite frankly, I’m not sure I’d be able to do that special dance justice. We love Shakira! We love her in that way that you love a reality TV show that is sooooo bad it crosses from terrible to brilliant. The first time I fell in love with Shakira was while watching her dance in the “Whenever, Where ever” video clip. I loved that soooo much that each time it came on the telly I mimicked all those special moves, and can now perform them on request… should the day ever come. (fact!) Don’t get me wrong, I think she is beautiful and has the most delicious figure. I prey each night that she is actually making up those songs and dance moves in a cheeky tongue-in-cheek manor. If that was the case, I think she and I could be best friends til we die. Shakira! Shakira! Shakira!
 'Tea Bag' book bag is now on ebay here. 'Autumn Stripe' bag is now also on ebay here. Eeeeeek. How exciting!!!  Mind you, I'm also a bit nervous to tell you the truth. I'm not worried about parting with them, it's just that strange feeling of not knowing if they'll be going to a "good home" that makes me feel unsettled. You should have seen me trying to sell my first car, 'Little P' (who's name evolved because of the numberplate, not anything to do with my own flossy-p child spawn). He was a daggy granny car; a golden 1982 Holden Gemini. He would have been labelled a 'bomb' if he hadn't been so well loved by the granny who owned him before us. Honest to God, the granny who sold it to my sister left a tissue box on the back dash, a bag of knitting in the boot, and told us that “'Betsy' likes a full tummy” (or "put fuel in the car you twit" in laymen’s terms). But much like me, the granny obviously felt little ease passing the keys to my then teenaged sister. My sister passed “Betsy” on to me and Betsy became Little P, aka ‘the golden chariot of fun and adventure’ (said in a gameshow host voice – HEY, I had to make the granny car seem cool okay). Arhhh, good times, good times. Daily water and oil top-ups, long rides without heating or air-con, and not to forget the pungent smell of car exhaust that stayed in your hair for hours after a drive. But there was a great stereo and a giant set of speakers that my sisters dodgy male friends had “given” her and installed, that made up for it all. I loved that car dearly. The day came when I sold Little P. The teenaged boy with a fistful of banknotes had me concerned. He had a nice face, but his dad let slip that this was his 3rd car after crashing the first 2 while speeding. I chuckled nervously as I mentioned that this was the perfect car for him because it couldn’t manage any speed above 75km/p/h. The deal was made and they drove away together. The only thought that stopped me crying (worried sick that Little P would end up as scrap metal within months) was the hope that this boy would kit Little P out. I dreamt that one day I’d see him all hotted up, with airbrush flames up the side, white leather interior, fat tyres rimming expensive silver wheels, cruising up the road, preceded by the deep rumble of a fully-sick engine, and a classy trinket of some kind dangling from the rear-vision mirror. He deserved all that, and more. Onward and upward Little P! Rock on!
We have a new pet. He's a stray, he turned up at our house over night and hasn't left yet. He has long legs, soft dark brown fur, and big shiny eyes. Oh, and he's about 6 inches wide!  (Any advice on removing a very large spider from inside a house will be highly welcomed. Failing that, I'll also be accepting good pet name suggestions)
 Yes-sir-ee, on a roll I am. Here's the finished tea bag book bag, (complete with soft flanelette lining and pretty red ribbon). I'll be putting this on ebay this coming weekend. I'll let you know where and when in case anyone is interested.
 You won't believe it, I've finally finished something I began! I know I know, this is big. I present you with my freshly completed "Striped Autumn Bag". Taa daaaa. And what's more, I'm on a roll. I'm also puting the very very last finishing touches on my long awaited "tea bag" this very evening. I'll post photo's in the next day or so. Now I have to decide what to do next; ebay? Try out etsy? Mind you I have grown quite attached to this bag and may have trouble parting with it. 
Did I ever tell you about the time I learnt how sticky humble pie can be? This was years ago, I was at work (in an old office) where we didn't have a kettle, so making a cup of tea required boiling a cup of water in the microwave oven. Not uncommonly, someone had left their forgotten cup inside the microwave. As I went to lift it out, the whole microwave plate came out with it. My boss had a habit of adding honey to the water before he boiled it, but then left the microwave on so long that the honey-water (like French nuclear tests in the Pacific) exploded all over the inside of the oven, all the water had disappeared, leaving the cup strongly glued with radioactive super-powered honey to the microwave plate.
(At this point I'll just point out that I don't work at Myth Busters).I tugged and tugged, but couldn't get them separated. It wasn't the first time this had happened, and I was growing more and more annoyed as I wrestled with what looked like an unimaginative contemporary sculpture. My patience wained. I precociously stood there waved the contraption above my head, caught every ones attention in the office, and called-out something oh-so witty that now escapes my memory, (probably something like "So who's the genius honey bandit, eh?!"). I'm not sure I even finished my sharp-tongued repartee before there was a strange sound (like a drawn out fake armpit fart), the honey lost it's battle with gravity and the plate came unstuck. With one hand still waving the cup high in the air, I fumbled to catch the falling plate with the other. The guys in the office, who had only just turned around to see me drop something from above my head, smear myself in honey as I juggled to catch it, and then have it smash to the ground and shatter into a kazillion tiny pieces, must have been wondering what the in the name of slapstick-stooges was going on. The whole scene ended with me contemplating one of my top most embarrassing moments, while painstakingly trying to pick up the kazillion tiny pieces of honey-smothered glass, (which had now miraculously regained it's super-powered adhesive strength). Arghh. Although to this very day I still get twitchy in the company of a microwave oven, I am lucky to report no long term effects have hindered my love for honey or tea! 
" Gronk said...
But Does she love her rocket a little 'too much'? ;) " Hahahaha! I knew that would happen. Let’s face it, you’re all thinkin’ it! As Mr You put it, “Its unavoidable. No matter what you do, anything with no arms, going forward, is going to look phallic.” My solution (in a weird way) was to draw a boy hanging onto the rocket, but it seems he looks more like a girl… or does everyone just have a dirty mind? Anyway, let’s not psychoanalyse it too much... please. Instead, I’ll turn my fantasies to some great artworks I just found that I really really really want to have hanging on my wall. ShooFly’s amazing knitter paintingsand Anything from PencilPusher
 My Illustration Friday attempt for " speed".
Now our guests have gone home. It was nice to have them stay but also makes you so very aware of how much work children are, and how piles of clothes, crumbs and the odd boogie smeared on the wall is sometimes impossible to avoid. The 5 month old baby was really really easy compared to the 9 year old boy (even the mother said so). He's really very sweet and well behaved for a 9 year old boy, but as boys will be boys, I spent quite some time today un-doing the knots he had tied in the tassels on my cushions.
 We've had house guests staying this week, Mr You's Sister and her children came to visit. They stayed in our front room (our EQ or Entertainment Quarter where our computers are) so I haven't had access to my computer for days. Jumped online today and there's so much catching up to do! So many exciting things have happened while I've been away (from the online world) this week. Having said that, lot's of exciting things happened in the outside world for us this week too; Mr You's birthday, celebrations and entertaining visitors. Yesterday we took them to the Royal Easter Show. I haven't been since I was about 12 years old, and Mr You has never been, so it was as exciting for us as it was for the visitors. We went on rides, got showbags, ate fair-food, tried a few sideshow games, looked at the fruit displays, craft and quilts and art, and of course the farmyard animals. I always love the cows with their giant gentle eyes and eyelashes to die for. This year, however, I fell madly in love with the alpaca's. There were some highly refined looking ones that sat like ladies with poofy up-styled hair, enjoying high tea. But the best ones were the dishevelled shaggy ones with long ratty fringes that were begging to be dressed in floppy rasta beanies. The baby ones had those cute squooshed-flat profiled faces, that are so popular in the baby world for all species. I used to want a lamb (stuck in a perpetual state of lambness, never to grow into a sheep), but NOW, with their cross between a lamb and a camel goodness, I want a baby alpaca!!! Desperately. 
Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday Mr You-oo Happy Birthday to you. Hip Hip Hooray!
 My Illustration Friday attempt for " spring". This poor little illo was done in such a big fat rush, it really didn't get the time and devotion it deserved. Sorry little Spring illo. Maybe I'll redo you when we get to Spring. I'm back at work this week and am wondering where I found the time to do all these extra after-work activities before. How did I squeeze them all in? I seem to have lost my momentum. It's Autumn here and right now it's all about remaking the bed with thicker blankets and pulling my scarves out from where they've been stashed away for so long. All you lucky Northern Hemisphere people are doing the very opposite. Lucky Spring people!
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