This and that, ici et la.

I am still alive. I am still in slacking mode too (could you tell?).

I've had some nice shifts - very busy, laughably busy, but great for teamwork busy, where we're all so pulled in every direction we just shrug and laugh and pull together. BYO sense of humour, really. Its been good.

At home I've just been running errands, cooking a bit (winter roasts on the menu a lot lately, mmmm). Phone calls to back up our daughter as she starts a new job placement for technical college. Eating delicious bread she bakes at college!

Eating w-a-a-a-a-y too much chocolate. It is a separate food group, right?

And also spreading the joy of Wild Women! I got a package from Artchix this week, similar to Artgirlz with more spare parts for my lovelies. I have been trotting them around to all sorts of places with me, I just love them. Woman and Polly have each been worn for outings and were much admired. Bluebell (previous post) has been sent to her new Mummy, who gasped at her name and told me that bluebells were really significant to her and how did I know? Aaahh, the universe works in mysterious ways! I also gave Bluebell's Mum a kit to make her own WW, which was received with much glee. A future pleasure present indeed.

I caught up with one of my oldest friends who I haven't seen for a good natter (or even a short natter) for ages (she lusts after a WW brooch for her upcoming birthday too). We ate Italian biscuits over coffee by the fire, then I dragged her to her computer and showed her the online world of fabric shops....I hope she forgives me....meanwhile the economy may experience a temporary surge!

And because I have had such a creative week, I also dropped in on my old church craft group the 4Cs - Creating, Care and Compassion through Craft. I just love this bunch of women. I am the youngest by far, they are all old enough to be my mother, but they accepted me with open arms when I was a busy, busy SAHM with wa-a-a-y too many committee duties who needed a creative outlet. It is always so good for the soul to walk through that door and be greeted like a long-lost favourite daughter! Many hugs, lots of chat and laughter, news, gossip, catch-ups, who's got a new grandchild, its great to see them. Sometimes I even get to sit down and do some craft too! We bounce off one another, and seek second opinions from each other, and lead and follow and share so much. I made this WW there this week. Her name is Serenity. She is on the same needle felted merino and cotton muslin base as Bluebell. With some ribbon from a new WW kit that arrived this week. She looks mellow and serene, just drifting and sinking back into a midnight and purple haze and watching the dragonflies meander through the flowers. Her hands are open to the universe. Last night I sat watching So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD - I love that show) and I just need a hand stitching project. So I needle felted a new base with silk, merino wool and cotton and fussy cut a new WW, leaving the beautiful new textured base to be seen much more than any other WW I have done. Does she look more wild? She's got presence I think. Her name is Dowager. I just know she's seen a bit of life and sorrow, but has a wisdom from it. She's crowned with it. I'm really taken with her. Her colour haunts me, I dreamed of her last night. Call me strange. Another section of her background has a landscape quality to it, I have trimmed it to a pleasing shape and will explore embellishing the surface. Mmmm, it feels really good to be exploring a new technique.

I am also quite keen to get my Etsy shop up and running. I am creating way too much stuff to be sensible, so might as well bite the bullet and stock it up! Would I get any customers? I don't have that many readers to send there....oh well, I can but try. It feels a bit fraudulent to consider myself as Etsy worthy, but the point of Etsy is to provide an avenue for the small creator. I buy stuff from there and absolutely LOVE that it is a one-off. Let me know what you think.

And in final news, well, old news, this time last year we were in Paris. Yes Paris. Pinch me. God, it was pretty bloody fabulous, even though it poured with rain for the first 3 days, it was Paris people!!!!!! Notre Dame, gargoyles spouting rivulets of water, the Metro, the Louvre (a very cropped picture, removing the CROWDS of people around her)getting ripped off by a gypsy con-artist by the Seine, the Eiffel tower - Oh God it was all stunning. We stayed in a bijou hotel near the Luxembourg gardens, and walked and walked, and trained and bused, and ate and ate, and museum-ed and gallery-ed and took so many photos 'cos they let you! OMG! I would go back in a heartbeat.

I'm a lucky girl.