Sir Elton John's the man!....and another self-portrait

the exciting news i mentioned in my previous post was more to do with, bradley, my eldest son.  last week, he won (via a radio competition) front row tickets to see SIR ELTON JOHN in concert when he tours australia in november!!!  FRONT ROW TICKETS!!!!  needless to say, brad is super excited!!!

i acknowledged brad's big win with another pen sketch in my journal

pencil free sketch using pigma micron pens in large moleskine sketchbook

i was extremely nervous touching only my pigma micron pens to the page being that it was a person i was drawing but i was determined not to use a pencil or eraser.  brad said i got a good likeness so that did wonders for my confidence in using only pens to sketch.

pencil free sketch using pigma micron pens in large moleskine sketchbook

week 20 in the 52 weeks of me 'self-portrait' challenge found me in the studio placing a canvas on the easel.  the finished painting will be for my bedroom but i've been wasting a lot of time umm-ing and ahhh-ing deciding what to paint on it. 

i haven't been feeling the best since the weekend and, as i type, a migraine is looming but i've taken some pills to keep it at bay....i hope.  i'm going to rest as soon as i've published this post.

i hope you're all having a great day or evening whichever the case may be.

~ love, light and peace ~

At last some pen sketches....and another self-portrait

GEEZ, it's friday already?! 
the days just seem to fly by lately.

i've been keeping busy with crochet, sketching and reading...

....and repairing our insinkerator waste disposal unit!

YEP....it's amazing what i have learned being a solo parent over the years.

last week, a glass fell off the drainer and shattered in the sink causing bits of glass to fall down into the waste disposal unit.  YIKES!  VERY carefully, i fished out what i could with my bare hand and, yes, i did get cut up a little and had glass splinters for days afterward BUT i couldn't just leave it in there.

pencil free sketch

using pigma micron pens in large moleskine sketchbook

after fishing out all the glass from the top section, the waste disposal just hummed and wouldn't work which meant some finer pieces of glass had obviously reached the innards of the unit under the sink.  OH NO!!  definitely NOT my level of expertise....or so i thought.  thank the heavens for GOOGLE!  after some research, i found a site that gave me some info on how to clear a jam within the unit itself.  it involved using a very large screwdriver which i used to manually crank the motor back and forth until i could turn it a full 360° freely.  i was SO relieved when i turned the waste disposal back on and it worked......YAY! it was a simple and effective fix that saved me a lot of money because i'm sure i would have paid quite a bit for a tradesman to come out and do the same thing. i have to say i was feeling quite proud of myself.

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recently, brad and i finished watching DVD episodes of 'the darling buds of may' which starred david jason, pam ferris and catherine zeta-jones to mention a few.  it was a TV series which first screened between 1991 and 1993 and followed the lives of the larkin family who ran a farm in kent, england.   the larkins are such a close-knit, caring, happy and fun family that they almost make you wish you were a part of them, hence the mention in my journal.

pencil free sketch
using pigma micron pens in large moleskine sketchbook

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i'm terrible for procrastinating on what subjects to sketch...so much so, that i waste time and end up not sketching anything at all.  so now i'm trying to just pick a subject and go with it before i talk myself out of it.  the belt below is the one i always wear with my jeans.  boy, oh boy, that braiding certainly had me confused but i managed to do okay in the end which proves that mistakes can be rectified when drawing directly with pen.

pencil free sketch
using pigma micron pens in large moleskine sketchbook

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my self portrait (below) for week 19 was a bit of a fluke actually.  the bright morning sun was shining through my bedroom window which obviously confused the camera causing this ethereal effect.  i had no idea either that i was sitting centre of the window frame behind me.  it just all worked out without even trying.

in meditation

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 i have some exciting news to tell but you will have to be patient as i have a sketch to do for it first.

so for now, i will leave you with a pic of cody...this time on my pillow which is one of his favourite places to be.  i love him so much.

it looks like we are going to be in for a rainy weekend....

...what's the weather looking like in your neck of the woods?

~ love, light and peace ~

i'm still here in the land of the living

hi everyone!

WOW! i can't believe it's been so long since i last posted!
thank you for the emails and comments of concern.
it's nice to know i was missed.

michelle and alex moved house over the easter weekend so we were all busy helping out.  we then had a lovely barbecue lunch on easter sunday at their new house.   everyone had such a great time and we also painted some ceramic easter eggs that beau brought along.  the paintbrushes supplied with the kit were useless so we used cotton buds to paint the eggs......so accuracy and perfection was not high on the agenda.

from L to R - Aaron's (youngest son), Mum's, Brad's (oldest son who is legally blind), mine, Beau's (second eldest son), Alex's (son-in-law), Michelle's (daughter) and my Dad's.

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amidst the busy schedule, i have been managing to take a weekly self-portrait

WEEK 16 - my shadow self

WEEK 17 - i enjoy relaxing on my bed in my pj's with a good book and a glass of red wine
Btw, a wonderful book which had me in tears more than once.

WEEK 18 - here i am wearing my new flannelette pj's which were a gift from aaron for mother's day.  i hope all you mums out there had a very special mother's day.

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as some of you know, i've been undergoing some medical tests lately some of which have revealed a problem or two.  i'm now on the waiting list for some surgery but they tell me it's nothing major to be concerned about so that's a relief.

on top of that, an x-ray revealed some erosion in my right hand which explains the pain i've been coping with for ages now.  i am being tested again for rheumatoid arthritis which may well be the reason for my painful feet too.  i was tested for rheumatoid arthritis over a year ago but it was clear so i guess it's a waiting game to see what the blood results reveal this time around.  for now i'm on daily anti-inflammatory medication which the doctor says will be long term.

still more tests to go but i'm trying to keep a positive frame of mind.

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my granddaughter, mikayla, is growing and maturing so fast now.  she's just over 5 months now and so beautiful! a sheer delight to be around.  michelle and i took her for a stroll in the pram the other day and i snapped the following pics.

one minute....awake

the next minute....asleep

i have been sketching a little here and there but will leave that for another post

i hope you are all enjoying a beautiful weekend!

~ love, light and peace ~