Eek, its that time of year again - past the solstice, heading to the 25th and towards a new year. Better post my yearly online greeting then :)

Its been a challenging tiring year and I've not done much art or painty stuff at all, but did manage to play with some watercolours the other night to create something suitably seasonal.

I don't have enough brain to work out how to post the image here though, so I'm afraid you'll need to click the clicky link and head to my (equally neglected) art blog, Art is Blue..

There's been a resurgence of interest in lj over on facebook of late, everyone all nostalgic about the old days here and the cool people, except all you cool people are still here, which is lovely. And so big hugs to everyone, and I hope you like my painting and appreciate the wish.

Winter Wishes

Oh, that's odd. Someone removed me from their friends list and I'm assuming its because I'm not active, so I went to their non-friends-locked top post to say "Hi, I'll miss you, sorry to have not been around etc" and it says I'm banned from commenting there. Is this something new lj has added to prevent folk from annoying those who have unfriended them? Not had that happen previously, but its been a while.. I'm assuming its nothing I've done personally, as I've not been around. I do like this person. Ho hum.

i aten't dead, just feels like it just now. Mum ill, then dad ill, then mum did her back in, now dad's a bit better but I've used up all my energies and am currently exhausted, pretty much on bed rest right now. And one day I'll return to LJ but I'm trying to keep my screen time limited, put all my online courses "on hold" months back, and I'm not even playing my fave online game on my tablet just now.

So hello to anyone who still follows me on here and yeah. Not a good year in oh so many ways.. *sigh*

As last year, my seasonal wish is in the form of actual artwork - have recently taken up pastels and am enjoying learning how to do pretty skies and blending the colours together with my fingers. Its pretty much fingerpainting for grown-ups, so ideal for this big kid also.

I'm not on lj much though active on facebook but yet again, want to say am still here and alive and thinking of everyone at this time of year.

Please click through for the image and text
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Last year I did many free online courses via Futurelearn and Coursera and the same is planned this year. I'm already enjoying the Rolling Stones course, a history/development of Hollywood cinema and one about England in the time of RIchard III, but this week saw the start of the Futurelearn Introduction to Dutch.

I can't say Dutch is a language I've ever really considered learning (with the caveat that nearly all languages are fair game in the abstract as I love learning new tongues), partly because I can pretty much read it enough to follow along, by pretending its sideways on German. The course is pretty well structured thus far though, very clear dialogues and moves quite fast but gives a good grounding in grammar as well. There's handy links to an online grammar overview, and as well as the in-course quizzes that are standard features of Futurelearn courses there's a link to a thing called Quizlet that drills you on the things learned  (pronouns, regular verb conjugation and to be/to have to begin with). I'm enjoying it, although my brain was getting all 'splodey about halfway through so the week's work clearly needs to be done in several sittings..

Dutch is a new language on DuoLingo apparently, so that'll keep me happy if I am truly hooked on Dutch. Oh and I also gave babbel.com a go, as it has been advertised on tv a lot of late, and I like that format a lot, but not enough to fork out a monthly subscription for it, sheesh!

How taking on Dutch as this years language (I usually get language "cravings" round about Feb/March) is going to fit in with the fact that this years language was supposed to be Latin again, after a long break from same, remains to be seen. They're very different though so I shouldn't get them mixed too much..

How to lure a hobbit into posting... :)

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
"Looking awake and alive, good start!"

2. How much cash do you have on you?
Er, about £9 I think, i try to keep around a tenner in my purse but usually pay for things with my card.

3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR?
D'or - french for "of gold"

4. Favourite planet?
This one, oddly enough.

5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone?
My mum, cos not many people call me and I was likely in the shower at the time

6. What is your favourite ringtone on your phone?
The Who Won't Get Fooled Again, I don't change ringtones often so "favourite"' is a bit misleading, My old phone had GnR Sweet Child of Mine and the one before *that* had The Doors Light My Fire..

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In honour of my birthday (and this is honestly not a call for more birthday greetings, I should point out), I am posting. Woot, and indeed, ooh.

So yes, the 25th was my birthday and i am sadly no longer the answer to life, the universe and everything a la Douglas Adams but a more boring 43 *pout*

Last year I really got into my art and this year even more so, I've started a new online course called Paint Happy from The Secret Hermit which is based around acrylic paints rather than the watercolour I'd been having a go with previously, and I'm utterly hooked both on the paints and on the various ideas springing from just playing around rather than settling down with a specific image in mind.


PaintHappy playing

Thus my main present from my parents was a trip to Hobbycraft last week to poke through their many shelves of nifty arts and crafts stuff and buy lots of little things to play around with. I was there for 2 hours and ended up spending some of my own money too but that's ok because it was great fun and I got some fab things:


stuff wot I bought

Despite trying to keep within budget I was doomed when I found they had nearly the whole range of Decoart Crafters/Americana acrylics, small pots of many fun colours, much more to pounce and pick and go ooh over a proper display than pick them up piecemeal from Amazon as I had been doing.


birfday haul

I also got a mini mannequin to bend and twist to my evil whims and draw from, some stamps, some shiny diamante stickers, some plain papier-mache or something boxes you can paint on, oh and tons of things. And as there's a M&S at Aintree I got lots of tasty food as well. Oh and a birthday cake, well, just a victoria sponge but we added fresh strawberries and it was very nice, just enough for 3 generous slices (that's a dinner plate in the photo in case it looks titchy)



And i got a lovely handmade card and a letter from ganimede, a book on the history of stationery from tanngrisnir and a fab pagany pendant with a tiny blue sketchbook and matching pen from the darling diddler, along with a Starbucks gift card so I can sit there somewhere in town drinking caffe mocha and doodling and sketching away, I like that idea!

Thus far this year I have mainly done art, had fun with fountain pens (my new obsession, so many amazing ones from China & some gorgeous coloured inks to be had), done housework (mum's been very ill, poor thing..) and been out a couple of times though hopefully I can go out more. Oh and my penpal Qi took me out for lunch the other week which was a great treat, tasty food and company is always the best way to spend an afternoon!

I've got an art blog if anyone wants to keep up with what I'm doing there, some of its even quite well done... :)
Art is Blue (wordpress).

And maybe I'll post here again sometime before Christmas, no promises though...

Ah, its that time of year again, when I actually sneak in here to say 1) I aten't ded and 2) share some seasonal love with everyone. Previously the tradition has been an online card with a photograph and some music composed by moi but despite the shiny new computer I got in February, I've still not quite got round to retrieving things such as html programs and source graphics from the drives..

Not to worry, for this year I has discoverd ART and have been happily drawing and even painting thingies over the months: seemed logical to therefore draw my own image to mark the season. And I can put it in this post to save you clicking through, ooh. No music, sorry, pick your own mental soundtrack to said image as preferred... :)

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Yes, not my idea of a suitable seasonal gift, got cellulitis in my leg again, ick. Felt so ill & shivery & sweaty on Wednesday night I thought it was flu until my leg came up bright red, hot & shiny next day! At least having had it before I knew what it was, got the doctor straight out and the antibiotics have kicked in already..
Just need to rest & sleep a lot & drink tons of water. Luckily we're all sorted for Giftmas bar a Tesco turkey trip on Monday so fingers crossed I'll be able to cook (and eat!) the festive meal come the 25th.

Edit: mood is supposed to be "calm" but that bit of the app is ropey, still, "cacc"'ll do.. *g*

Hello, hello, is this thing on? Hoping the app will let me go back to posting here, fingers crossed at least