Burning the House Down

Thankfully neither my own house nor even a real one!

I bought a cheap little £1.00 kit that made a small wooden house which slotted together. It was fun to do but, after I'd finished it, I had no use for it and was trying to avoid more clutter in the house.

Claiming process not product, and knowing we were going to light an open fire in the living room that evening, I decided to consign it to the flames.

So here it is being engulfed.

Come closer...

I do have a video of it gradually burning but, you know me and technology, I can't upload it and make it happen.  Sorry. (Does a video make it performance art?)

Bujo - intro and outro index pages

I liked the idea of having an index so that, when the Bujo is full, I can still find the pages I need quickly.

So I counted the pages and numbered them, then put half the index at the front...

(a bit out of date now as it only went up to October when I took the photo) for things that were time-bonded to a month

and the other half of the index (outdex??) at the back for those things that can be done at any time...

Bujo : secrets and photos

Nothing creepy or perverted here... just places I intend to go in London and maybe take photos.

I have taken pics of all the regular tourist haunts and had begun to search on the internet for odd or unusual sites to go to and shots to take. 

Here are the ones that appealed to me... in case you fancy a visit.

If I get to go to them and take anything worth seeing, I promise to let you know!

Back to the Bujo

I kept the back of my Bujo for things that weren't linked to a particular month, so could be worked on at any time.

Here's a sample...

As I find a book I want to read I add it to the list, when I have read it I colour it in.

Shooting for the moon is my page where I write ideas that are outlandish and I don't think I'll ever do them... the weird thing is that I have done two of them because writing them down made me wonder... WHY NOT??? So I did them! Top secret so I can't tell you what they were. (Nothing has come of them yet and may never do... but I did them!)

And here is the page that led to yesterday's blog post on muffins!

Blueberry Muffins

No reason except that it's Saturday, which feels like a muffin day if ever there was one.

I baked these for the men in the family and they didn't last long on the day.

It was a resolution made in my Bujo to do more cooking for other people. 

I'm on a strict FODMAP diet from the hospital because of the sugar types contained in certain foods (which can only be seen under a microscope but there's a handy booklet telling me what I can and can't eat now) and so, because I can't eat this kind of thing, its tended to mean I have stopped cooking some things because I can't eat them. Well NO MORE!!

Here's proof of the resolution fulfilled at least once so far.

The Crystal Tree Revealed

Here, as promised, is the Crystal tree in all its full-grown glory

And it was all over in a matter of hours... then it was all over the mantelpiece in another few hours.

Thanks for waiting!

Growing a Crystal Tree

Have you ever grown a crystal tree?

I think we did it as children many moons ago, multicoloured and took days.

Well this one was green, came with decorations and moved at the speed of light (disclaimer: not actual scientific fact).

It came with these bits enclosed...

and assembled thus:

The sachets of liquid (and glitter) were poured in the dish and soaked up really quickly into the absorbent green tree-paper.

And now I'm going to be really mean and make you wait longer to see the results than I had to. Thinking it would take days, I left it to soak and it took only about 4 hours! I could probably have sat and watched it happen... or time-lapse-photoed it but no... instead I just missed it!

Creepy Seaside Pics

Most photos taken at the seaside are bright, sunny and cheerful.

These were taken in the twilight and are definitely none of the above.

Abandoned kiddy train...

Threat of drowning...

A ride so menacing it has to be kept behind bars after dark...

And Little Amy left high and dry on the shingle.

Star Wars Doodle Book 9: Governor Tarkin's facial hair

"Governor Tarkin... I recognised your foul stench when I was brought on board"

It must be the grooming products he has been using to to turn this...

Into THIS!

A tad Lord Vetinari I think (although I prefer the Tyrant to the Tin-pot-Despot!).

Star Wars Doodle Book 8: Sad Wookie

In the first Star Wars film (the proper first Star Wars film not the new imposter first Star Wars film... oh alright, if you insist... in Star Wars episode 4) Han and Luke got a medal for their services and Chewie, being a non-human, did not qualify.

Hence this face

So the challenge was to draw one to cheer him up and award it to him now...

It seems to have worked. It was hard work changing the drawing to make him look happier, but he enjoyed being awarded the 'Hairy Hero' medal!!

Bujo Recipe Pages

You know those faithful recipes that you have written on a scrap of paper that your family would be lost without? Old faithfuls that make the most delicious something or another?

I decided that my Bujo would be a safe place to copy them into then, if the piece of paper gets lost or covered in foodstuff and illegible (or edible), they are still safe.

Here are the ones I have transferred so far...

The chocolate crispy recipe was one on a cereal packet when I was a teenager and the sauce is wonderful!! Even if it never gets as far as the cornflakes : )


The flapjack one is the one my mum used when we were kids (over 50 years ago) and I still use now.

The soda bread one is mainly from a Lorraine Pascale TV show and has proved remarkably easy to do. Very useful if you have someone yeast intolerant.

I confess I have never made meringues but got this from Kirstie Allsopp's xmas show and intend to try it.

Unicorn Time!

These are some cute unicorns I sewed as Christmas Tree decorations over the pre-season period.

The idea came from a picture on the internet of the one at the bottom of the page (the unicorn with five colours in her hair!).

I made the black one and the five coloured one for my niece, who has been through similar hair colours over the years : )

I Didn't Make Them

Look at these delicious chocolates!

They look delicious but, can you see that they are in fact needle felted rather than edible?

They were in an art and craft shop at Peasmarsh near Godalming where they sell the felting equipment (and many other things) and the label made me laugh...

LOL!

Star Wars Doodle Book 7: Use the Force Luke

Use the Force Luke! Let go your conscious feelings... a Jedi can feel the force flowing through him...

The text says "Luke is practising using the Force. Draw circles to make training remotes".

Circles? Too boring. New Year's resolution Luke... resist the bakery products!

Star Wars Doodle Book 6: Looking Cool 3PO

How to make C3PO look cool...

In case you can't quite read the text, it says "Put some cool sunglasses on everyone and don't forget to trick out the landspeeder."

So here goes!

I LOVE that one!!

Star Wars Doodle Book 5: Jawa vs R2D2

Jawa vs R2D2

Typical Jawa attack: straightforward blaster shot.

R2D2 is not so predictable, has a tiny personal force-field to deflect the attack and sets up a complicated series of mirrors with a laser beam (I know it probably wouldn't work in real life but this is science fiction- like explosions in space where there's no oxygen)!

Result - a Jawa with a slightly singed bottom and that customary squeal we know so well.

One-nil to R2.

Star Wars Doodle Book 4: Tie Fighter

What wings would you draw on Darth Vader's ship?

I'm not sure I met the brief on cool... mind you I happen to think dragonflies are cool, so...

Great hovering power and manoeuvring ability. Not sure about withstanding laser attacks.

Star Wars - A new Hope doodle book 3: Wookie Fleas

Here is the picture before the doodle...

draw what Leia found in Cheewie's fur... and here it is after...

Tomorrow- a Tie Fighter!

Star Wars Doodle Book 2: Vader-Face

Here's another before and after pic from the Star Wars: A New Hope doodle book (see yesterday for details).

Before: Draw the other half of Lord Vader's helmet. The hardest choice is whether you try to be accurate in completing the other half of the picture in the same style... or just have fun.

And After: I chose fun!

You may have thought there were only 2 sides to the force - the good side and the dark side but Darth has discovered a third: his feminine side!

Star Wars: A New Hope Doodle Book!

Have you seen this?

I love it!

It draws part of the scene for you in a really groovy style...

then adds a drawing challenge - in this case "Draw Obi-Wan Kenobi's beard..."

and you fill in the rest: Mr Kenobi with his festive beard baubles!

So much more fun to be had here...

See you soon!

A Taste of Winter Wonderland

Hyde Park (London) in December is transformed into Winter Wonderland and this year it was bigger and more international than ever.

There's Wonderful Weird Wood-guy to greet you as you enter...

Trees and buildings draped with lights...

Rides galore (but bring plenty of money if you want to go on them).

There are sweets and cakes a plenty...

and large cushions shaped like sweets and cakes!

And last and by no means least, in the Bavarian Village there is an extremely creepy giant man with a large ferocious woodpecker attacking his unnaturally blue eyes.

Roll up Roll up! All the fun of the fair!

See you there next year.