Finally found a way to finish off the seahorse. The first photo is the real colour and the second photo shows the detail a bit more.

It is hard to show the right colour. The closest you get to it is the closeup picture and the colour of the ribbon. There has to be a better way to take these shots, I have used natural filtered light, sunlight, flash etc.

This is some of my Doodleart. It is also me at my most free with expression. I am too much of a perfectionist so the colouring of this one was very hard for me. For some reason I have this obsession with mirror imaging.

One of my favourite Doodleart pieces.

Lest We Forget

ANZAC

Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.

April 25th is a public holiday in Australia and New Zealand. Initially it commemorated the landing of the ANZACS at Gallipoli in WWI. What is now known as ANZAC Cove was the place where 8,000 Australian men lost their lives.

ANZAC Day now commemorates not only the men who fought at Gallipoli but also the men and women who have been involved in wars since, such as WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the list goes on.

And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda is a song that follows a Diggers (Australian Soldier) journey at Gallipoli and subsequent years after it. This particular version is sung by John Williamson. It is not that clear for those of you who may struggle with the Aussie accent, however the images say it all. There is another video that is very clear but for some reason the person who created it has put a lot of images showing Canadian photos and the Canadian Flag. Don't get me wrong here, the Canadian Soldiers deserve as much remembrance as our own, its just that a song that was written to commemorate the ANZACs doesn't quite fit with the Candian images.

In one verse at the end there is a line that mentions "the young people asking what are they marching for," and I am proud to say that this no longer happens. Yes those from WWI may no longer be marching but their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren have taken up the march for them proudly sporting the medals of wars gone by. We say Lest we forget. I am proud that this generation of young Australians are doing their up most to never forget.

I was only 19 is another song that is sung by Redgum. It is based on the Vietnam War.

If you want to find out more about ANZAC Day click on this link.

They shall grow not old,

As we that are left grow old,

Age shall not weary them,

Nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun,

And in the morning

We will remember them.

Lest we Forget

Playing

I finally sat down and had a play with the new pigments that I have got. I started of with the green one. It didn't turn out like I had hoped but it is okay for a first try. I even coloured the leaves. The butterfly is clear plastic that I painted over and shaped.

This seahorse is my favourite. I have used micro beads in it as well. You can see them shining in a couple of the photos. The Seahorse itself I embossed first. This is on single sheet of canvas which I frayed the edges of. Not sure what I will do with it yet but it may end up on a journal. I am thinking of trying to sell some of my items in an Etsy store. It has been a dream of mine to do art and crafts as a profession but I haven't really the know how on how to start up.

Blog Entry 100

It is hard to believe this is my 100th entry and it's taken me just over a year to do it.

Today's entry is dedicated to Nikki who went back home tonight. Before her mum arrived we had one last game with her tire. Tess as usual would chase Nikki thinking she was up to no good. At one stage when we were having a break Tess unknowingly walked near Nikki's tire (which in Nikki's book is a no no).

Nikki beginning to pounce on Tess for her tire

Tess not sure what the heck is going on

Tire rescued ... time to play again

Being ignored so I will let myself be known

After a while there was a knock at the door and small voice saying "It's just me!" I couldn't get to the door because Nikki was jumping so high she got in the way of the door handle. Who could blame her excitement though. Her mum was on the other side.

Much to Nikki's chagrin mum stayed and chatted for a while when all Nikki wanted to do was get in the car!

Dogs are funny creatures

Until Nikki came to visit, Rambo and Tess could not be bothered with chasing the birds out of the back yard. In fact there could be 3 doves walking brazenly around on the lawn and the dogs wouldn't care less.

Enter Nikki!

Apparently yesterday a huge black crow sat on the fence and Nikki started barking at it. It swooped down and flew close to the ground for the width of the yard, tormenting her. Of course she took chase and Rambo and Tess chased after her.

A couple of minutes ago I heard a commotion outside. Started by Nikki and backed up with the occasional non committal bark by my two. I looked out the window and this is what I saw:

At the back of the yard between two big trees, there is a play fort up against the fence. I wouldn't call it a cubby house because it is no enclosed. On the fence was a huge black crow. I am sure it was the one from yesterday that had come back to torment Nikki further. Due to the position of the fort Nikki could not get directly below the crow so she ran from one side to the other barking as she went.

The crow looked like it was enjoying a tennis match and had no inclination of leaving until it was bored. Rambo, being the man of the house (and the smallest) put his two barks in and that was enough for him. Tess however has deemed herself the family guardian and watches Nikki like a hawk waiting for her slip up in a moment of weakness (that will never come) so she stayed to watch. Occasionally she would bark but she wasn't even looking at the crow most of the time.

Even when I went outside, the crow still stayed watching the silly little dogs (he wouldn't have been laughing if they knew how to climb the forts ladder steps). I just found it rather amusing that despite their differences, for at least 2 seconds there all three dogs were working together in unison to rid the backyard of the dark foe.

Little Visitor

Ok not talking about being sick this time, however I will say that dehydration is a wonderful thing. This time last week I weighed 101.5kg and now I weigh 98.2kg. I wonder how long it will take to go back on?

Also before I forget, my wonderful Colour Swap Pal has given me the link to her blog. Just click on Lillian under my favourite blogs to get to it.

On Wednesday night Michelle dropped Nikki off for a 5 day visit. Rambo was fine but Tess had her nose out of joint and kept growling at her the whole evening. She was determined to remain the alpha female.

As soon as Michelle left Nikki sat at the front door waiting for her to return. Every now and then she would come into the lounge room with us but as soon as a car went by or a door slammed she was at the front door like a shot.

Then she would let out a little cry so mum took pity on her and let her up on the chair. Sorry Michelle damage done. She loves that chair now. I even caught her on it last night!!! :)

NIGHT 1

Listening out for my mum and ready to pounce.

If I crane my head around the corner I might see the door where I came in.

Emotionally exhausted to wait anymore. I will just make the most of this warm lap I am on.

DAY 1

All the dogs were left alone in the backyard for at least 4 hours while we had to go out. In that time Nikki learnt to stand her ground with Tess rather than run away. This is a good thing as it is about time Tess got taken down a peg or two.

We also played with her tire tonight. Does this dog have energy or what! If you could capture her energy and plug it into the main power switch of your house you wouldn't have to pay for electricity again. Tess kept getting in trouble the whole time we were playing because she thought Nikki was attacking us. Tess kept going for Nikki's little tail. No biting but slobber left. She would then get told off by me, Nikki and mum and walk away in a mood to sulk somewhere and growl under her breath. Like I said she needs to learn to socialise.


DAY 2

Mum stayed in bed all day. I think she has my flu now. Nikki kept her company, Mainly because from that vantage point you could see the street and there was just the off chance that her mum might come for her.

I can't see her yet!

Give up. I'll adopt this one.

She lets me sleep on the bed.

Little Miss Princess Tess is shoved to the bottom of the bed but this is where she usually goes.

Meal times are interesting. There are three dogs with three different types of food but suddenly everyone wants what the other is having so they all get a mix.

Is that mine? Are you sure?

Well that was yesterday. This morning Nikki tried to come into my room but that is Tess and Rambo's domain. Rambo couldn't care less but Tess lets her know she still owns one room of the house at least. Consequently Nikki has never been passed my door until I called her in this morning. Tess had her nose out of joint again (might need plaster soon). Tess stayed up close for a cuddle and I made sure she got all the attention. Nikki was just happy to sit.

It got worse

A couple of blogs ago I mentioned how my Dr thought I had whooping cough. Well the last two days I have worked the afternoons from home. The antibiotic that I was given is not working. Last night I barely slept. I could the Dr's Surgery first thing and begged them to book me in as my next appointment is not until Monday. They phoned me back and said 11:30. By this stage I was cold and shivering, my body aching, my cough killing my head and making me throw up.

I finally saw the Dr around a quarter to one. She took my temp and it was over 39 degrees. She made me take my jacket off immediately (nasty). The blood work for whooping cough came back negative so she sent me off for a chest x-ray to see if I had pneumonia. We went straight back to my Dr with the x-rays and she said they were clear but it look like bronchitis. At the same time she thinks that I have also contracted the flu - not a cold but the real thing.

Mum came with me which was great considering she is sick with a head cold. The Dr instructed her that if I got any worse over the weekend then I was to be taken straight to emergency. Nice!

By the time we got home it was 3pm. Mum had been speaking to a friend of hers on the phone while I was being x-rayed. At 10 to 5 she phoned up and said she was bringing some soup over. It was so yummy. It was an Asian soup with lamp chunks and veggies. I could barely get through it but it was nice.

Pressie's in the mail

I received my colour swap gift in the mail today. It was lovely. I got some really nice oriental paper, some buttons, some felt lettering, some face cream and two little fishes dangling on and oriental designed cord. I love it. It means I have no excuse anymore for not doing my Korean album. Thank you to my secret FSC3 pal I love it all.

I also received another parcel of fabric that I had bought so it was a nice double mail drop. I promised Ruth that I would start back into some quilting so I went and purchased some gorgeous Thai cotton. The photo's really don't show the sheen of the fabric much but they are still stunning.

Always a Reason

I hate being overweight. Why?! Well the obvious reason is that I want to look good. I also want to be healthy and right now my health is really frustrating me. In the last year I have:

1. been diagnosed with major depression (now on really good drugs so that really helps),
2. been diagnosed with a low thyroid (which can also explain the depression)
3. been exhausted to the point of sleeping every spare second of my time (even in the toilet at work if I couldn't focus on the computer) and now have a cpap machine which I am still trying to get used to.
4. had my jaw ache so much due to clenching it in my sleep that I needed a mouth guard which made my teeth really sensitive and can't wear with the cpap anyway
5. had an extremely itchy rash on by boobs and belly which could not be explained and went away after 5 months
6. have contracted whooping cough over the last month (apparently it is becoming more common in adults even if you were immunised as a kid)
7. and last but not least I KNOW WHY I PUT THE WEIGHT ON last week. I was rubbing my shin today and left a dent in the skin. My mother who is a nurse immediately said that it looks like I have water retention (oedema). On the bad side it's - great one more thing to worry about; and on the good side it's - well I know why I put weight on last week then.

I just want to be healthy and stop getting the weirdest ailments. I want to be able to exercise without coughing up a storm, I want to be able to run around and enjoy my life as skinny woman.

Quite often you hear the saying "in every fat woman there is a skinny woman trying to get out." I saw a variation of that a month or so back which I like:

In every skinny woman there is a fat person trying to get in.

So that is my gripe for the day.

ON A GOOD NOTE:

I went to a demonstration of some fantastic paint mediums that can be used on almost anything from pottery to paper to fabric. You need to go take a look at Vivian's Blog as it shows what you can do with this stuff. It can be soft and subtle so that if you paint over patterned paper you can still see the pattern; or your can make it thick and blobby to add texture. She uses so much stuff like gauze and chicken wire etc. She is actually now on the design team for the product which is called Luninart. If you go there it will tell you more about the product and you can see what others are doing with it. I personally can not wait to have a play however I have so many other things I have to get done first that it is on hold. It's going to be sooooooooo much fun though. :)

An Aussie Afternoon

This afternoon we went to a friends place to see her native animals. J & D own a stock feed store not too far from us. It is on a huge property. J looks after injured native animals. Mum took along one of her friends whose parents are out here from China. The parents can't speak a word of English but really enjoyed themselves.

Blue kangaroo.

Wallaby

Wallaby

Red Kangaroo having a lovely scratch. Talk about great ab strength.

A red kangaroo and a grey kangaroo. The grey is called Delta and she likes to give hugs if you scratch her under the chin.

Two reds

Not sure what this kangaroo is but he was a real poser.

This is while he was eating and the next photo is just after he tried to eat the camera

A baby wallaby that is being hand reared.

This Sulphur Crested Cockatoo was a real attention seeker. If our attention went to one of the other animals he would thrash about upside down on a branch trying to get us to look. As soon as we looked at him he would quiet down, stand still and say "hello!"

He was the biggest poser for photos. He preferred to be on someones arm or shoulder and he was put in a tree he would break branches off it (including lemons).