I'm in love....

... with my new sewing machine!! I am just SOOOO excited! I've never had a sewing machine, although I do have dim memories of using my grandmother's...

The woman in the local fabric store assured me this 'basic' model is foolproof, and after playing with it for an hour or so yesterday, I did indeed manage to get it to make stitches! It has a simple dial on the front where I can select from 22 stitches. The cool thing is, though, you can stretch or condense each of those 22, so in fact there are many, many more!!!

What I want to do is incorporate fabric into paper collages and paper into fabric collages, all with fancy stitching, and I think this machine will be perfect!

AND I found another little fabric store in town teaches quilting classes... ooooHHH my gosh, the possibilities are endless....

I've been tagged...

... by the luvverly Mrs Nesbitt... so finally - here are my answers:

40 Questions & Answers
1. What is your occupation? I'm a freelance copyeditor and proofreader.

2. What color are your socks right now? Green

3. What are you listening to right now? Damien Rice O - I LOVE that guy's music - a true Irish poet!

4. What was the last thing that you ate? A Terry's All Gold choccie from the box my lovely daddy gave me for my birthday :o)

5. Can you drive a stick shift? Is there any other kind of car???

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? This is my favourite question! I'd be sunset orange

7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My friend Brenda in Santa Barbara - she called to wish me happy birthday

8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Most certainly - Mrs N is a sweetheart :o)

9. How old are you today? 43 + 1 day!

10. Favourite drink? Freshly brewed coffee for elevenses

11. What is your favorite sport to watch? FOOTBALL!!! Is there any other sport????????

12. Have you ever dyed your hair? Of course!!!

13. Pets? Soon to be one little kitty from the RSPCA rescue centre

14. Favorite food? Chocolate - is there any other food???????

15. What was the last movie you watched? Nick took me to see Fractured last night - really excellent!!!!!!!!!

16. What was the last book you read? Currently reading The Sound of Paper by Juila Cameron and LOVING it!!!!!!!

17. What do you do to vent anger? Yell into pillows

18. What was your favourite toy as a child? My Petit typewriter - I'd sit at my desk clacking away for hours - I loved the sound it made and how it made me feel like a real writer...

19. What is your favourite, fall or spring? Impossible to choose

20. Hugs or kisses? Lots of both

21. Cherries or blueberries? Cherries

22. Do you want your friends to leave you comments? Yes please :o)

23. Who is the most likely to comment? My blogger friends

24. Who is least likely to comment? My non-blogger friends

25. Living arrangements? Renting a bungalow in the loveliest location - open fields with ponies behind us, small green where the kids can play out front

26. When was the last time you cried? Yesterday at all my lovely flowers, pressies, cards and emails...

27. What's on the floor of your closet? Boots and winter sweaters

28. Who is the friend you have had the longest? Michelle - we shared a paddling pool aged 3...

29. What did you do last night? Delicious birthday dinner followed by a movie - then got home in time to see the second half of Match of the Day :o)

30. Favourite smells? Lilies, roses, freshly mowed grass, the ground after it's rained, my kids after a bath, freshly brewed coffee, chocolate, baking bread...

31. What inspires you? Pretty much everything

32. What are you afraid of? Spiders, something happening to the kids

33. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Plain

34. Favourite dog breed? I'm not a doggie girl

35. Number of keys on your key ring? 3 keys and 5 keyrings with photos of the kids and things they've made

36. Number of years at current job? 15 years

37. Favourite day of the week? Every day

38. How many states/countries have you lived in? Singapore, England, Kenya, England, California, England...

39. Favourite holidays? Every visit to Santa Barbara

40. Ever driven a motorcycle or heavy machinery? A motorbike was the only way to get around in Kenya

What a life!!

Who would have thought this little one - born in Singapore in the 60s to a 19-year-old mother and a daddy only two years older - would grow up to study at Oxford, take herself off to Kenya a la Karen von Blixen, meet her American hubbie, live in California, study for the ministry, lose four babies, mourn her mother's passing, then return to a small town an hour away from the village she grew up in to raise her two healthy children, close by the friend she went to Brownies with and the friend she shared a paddling pool with...

Phew!! What a busy 40+ years!!

Now I wonder what she'll do in the next 40????

We can't do much about the length of our lives, but we can do plenty about its width and depth.

Evan Esar

New goodies!

Oooh, look at these yummy postcards and initial tags by Anahata Katkin!! I just can't wait to start playing with them - and sending them to friends! The images are just so vibrant and powerful. Sadly, Anahata only ships to the US, so I bought these goodies from a new favourite online shop Small Studio Productions. No, I'm not on commission, but Ginny does sell some scrummy things! And her art zine Observation is STUNNING!!!!!! Truly as inspiring as Teesha Moore's Art & Life and Studio zines - and for those who know me, you'll know there is indeed NO higher praise than that!!!!!!!

Feeling scared...

... and vulnerable...
My bank details have been stolen and someone on the other side of the world has been spending my money...
Thankfully my bank is on to it, and the money will be reimbursed - eventually - but I feel so shaken. How they got the details - who knows!!!
Suddenly the worldwide web - which I usually see as something glittering and glorious binding unseen friends together - is scary and alarming...

What can we say...

...after the tragic events in Virginia??

We can only offer up our hearts and prayers and let others know our thoughts are with them...

Birthday giveaways

Finally I've got myself organized...
Here are the wee goodies I'll giveaway at the end of the month to whoever's name comes out of the hat...
Sorry the scan's aren't great - still no camera!
The top pic is of a 4x4 canvas I made. The central image is one I bought from a dear friend, Fran Burras, last year - finally I've done something with it!
And the book is one I made last year and finally got round to adding decoration to. It's totally blank inside for scribbling, doodling, writing that great masterpiece...
So if you like the look of these wee things, just leave a comment before the end of the month and I'll put your name in the draw!
Giving away goodies truly is as much fun as getting them - I think I'll do this every year on my birthday :o)

Rendered speechless - AGAIN!!

Look what came in the post today!! My FANTASTIC hippy swap goodies from Lisa Oceandreamer - OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! All packed in the loveliest paisley bag were handmade peace earrings, hippy beads, wonderful painted cloths, a CD of FUNKY music and THE scrummiest smelling incense sticks!!
And look at that mail art - no wonder the postman had a BIG smile on his face when he handed me the package :o)
Bless you, bless you, Dear Lisa!!! You have made one not-so-young hippy SOOOOO happy!!!!!!!!
And to round off a perfect day I have JUST finished a batch of three manuscripts I've been editing all week - just in time for me to take over from Nick in taking care of the kids for the rest of the Easter hols - Hooray for me :o)

Such beauty!!!

Now was I not THE luckiest winnder in the Spring Giveaway last month?!?! Can you believe there are TWELVE stunning spreads like these in the GORGEOUS altered book Gemma sent to me?!?! Click on the pics for a closer look :o)
I am SPEECHLESS - which as my family will tell you - is nothing short of miraculous!!!
Sadly my camera is in the shop being repaired, so all I can post are these not-brilliant scans, but they give you a flavour of this BEAUTIFUL piece... And to wrap it all off, it came in its own funky box, so I can keep it safe for ever more.
THANK YOU is just not enough Gemma - HUGE HUGS are winging their way across the ether :o)

Throw some paint!!

This is my desk calendar pic for this month - I LOVE this quote!!
April's always a fun month for me - birthday on the 28th and wedding anniversary on the 29th.
So I thought I'd have another wee competition (I can't wait till Lisa Oceandreamer's next big giveaway in May!!)
Just stop by and say hello to me sometime this month and I'll put your name in the hat...
No idea what I'll give away yet - but it will be something I've thrown paint at :o)