Stormdreaming....

Happy new year :)

2010-01-07T09:12:00.000-08:00

What the title said! :))

Happy 5th of November :)

2009-11-05T09:55:00.001-08:00

"Good evening, London. Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of every day routine- the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration, thereby those important events of the past usually associated with someone's death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, a celebration of a nice holiday, I thought we could mark this November the 5th, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat. There are of course those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into telephones, and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent. Last night I sought to end that silence. Last night I destroyed the Old Bailey, to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than four hundred years ago a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives. So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you then I would suggest you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament, and together we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever be forgot."

Good Morning :)

2009-10-10T03:06:00.000-07:00

Haven't said hello for a while, damn facebook...

Work From College

2009-09-26T14:09:00.001-07:00

A Sad Day

2009-08-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

We lost Lara today, she had cancer so we knew she didn't have long. It's still a blow though think i'll be crying for a few weeks..

Lara, The Bee, Queen Bee

I'll miss you so much

XXX

Meh....

2009-08-11T05:55:00.000-07:00

I get really sick of the way the government and the world in general likes to have you jump through hoops for their amusement. Why else would they torture their staff and us with their stupid, petty, systems and schemes... Oh well, i suppose it keeps someone in a job.

Sundays....

2009-08-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

I usually hate sundays but today wasn't bad. A couple of friends came over and we walked the dog at lunderson bay. We saw lots of crabs, cows, sheep and a baby toad. The dog has a whale of a time and is currently passed out on the couch getting sand everywhere...

Weather was good, and i'm now absolutely knackered.

What a day...

2009-07-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

Today wasn't all that bad really, just noisy crowed and annoying, so normal for Greenock then.

I'm kind of shocked to read in the papers and goss magazines to day about a woman who at 22 stone, which she got from having a gastric sleeve fitted, has had her benefits cut down so she refuses to lose any more... not to mention that now she is fit for work, she wont because she is going to need time off for fat removal surgery. I know that more often then not the papers and gossip magazines don't give the whole story, but this does sound a bit selfish to me, after all people on basic benefits manage a healthy diet, it's all down to just not being lazy and pigging out on chocolate and crisps. However, since she has had her money cut down, this lady is going to do just that until she gets her money back... personally i'd rather have the weight loss, healthy life, ability to make my own money and sod the benefits....

Being on benefits can be such a crutch, when you try to get off them, they do everything in their power to make it difficult for you, in the end it's just safer to stay in the comfortable little rut that they constantly grind you into. You actually get scared of what happens when you try to go it alone. No wonder so many people are just content with staying on them, no one wants to be homeless...

Life is confusing, and i don't think benefits necessarily help with that. Maybe they should have a class in school teaching kids how to deal with all these things, like benefit, rent, council tax. Maybe if they explained it all and had them understand it better, they would feel more able to deal with it.

new header pic..

2009-07-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

I didn't take the pic, but it reminds me of home so much that i had to have it :) I used to play on that beach when i was young.

Thanks whoever took the lovely photo...

Good Weather...

2009-05-12T06:44:00.000-07:00

Finally, after some pretty intense storms, we have some good weather!

Always in threes.......

2009-03-31T16:07:00.000-07:00

And I'm hoping that this is the end of it. I'm superstitious, always have been kinda, i know that some of the susperstitions that go around are complete nonsense, but some seem to ring true far too often. Bad things happen in threes. When Natasha Richardson passed on, I kinda dreaded what would come next, i knew another public figure was already on her way out, so i thought "ok....who is number 3?"...

Natasha Richardson was an extremely talented actress, my favourite films of hers are "Nell" in which she starred with her husband, and the very disturbing "Handmaids Tale"

Lately she shone in the movie "Wild Child" She had incredible poise....

Not Long after Natasha went, Jade Goody died.I can't help but feel sympathy for what happened to her, and her family. I admit i was one of the people who didn't like her in her big brother years, but grew to a restrained kind of respect for her after watching her documentaries, for all that she was uneducated, she was one smart cookie in the end, and her sons will benefit from her desperate need to make sure they don't live the same life she did. She had balls.....

I found out today that Andy Hallet has passed away.
He was great in Angel, and i would have loved to see him do more, not to mention sing more. He was great, and quickly became one of the most loved characters in the series. Even when he was ill, he would still trudge to the conventions to meet the fans. He was vibrant....

Thats three... enough already.

The reason we don't often get newspapers.....

2009-02-10T09:04:00.001-08:00

Do you remember.....

2009-02-02T04:50:00.001-08:00

I still remember it to this day, and I love it. Had the opportunity to re-watch the entirety recently and it made me realise how much I actually missed good comedy/drama.

Jay Semko's theme song "Due South" , "Possession" by Sarah McLachlan even the music was exceptional..a lot of people don't know that Paul Gross did a few of the music scores himself, well done that man!

And of course, the doggies..:) all of them....what an exceptional show.

Anyone else miss it?

Mwahahahaha...... Christmas present attack!

2009-01-29T04:51:00.000-08:00

This year we were kind of lost with the whole presents thing, neither of us wanted to buy rubbish for each other, and to be honest, most of what was in the shops was rubbish. What came about was a toy crossbow for him (it hurts..*rubs rear end*) which is something I really wouldn't give to kids... For me a glass painting kit....(insert evil chuckle here! )

After assaulting a couple of the household tumblers for practice efforts, I came across a lovely nightlight in the place of supreme evil..(tesco). It's an energy saver so i don't feel bad about leaving it on all night, and certainly don't feel bad about not treading on any of the "her Highnesses" which usually results in yelping/hissing/severely lacerated feet.

Myself, giving the super bright white L.E.D the gimlet eye, decided it was a little too bright for night time ambiance. Actually it was shining through the door like a searchlight..:| Well what else could i do?
Serene blue glow FTW! The paint is Pebeo turquoise vitrail, and the stars I made by taking my punch to sticky back plastic. Peel, stick, paint over, wait a few hours... peel stars off.. Yayyy!!!

Happy feet, Happy kitties, Happy puppy :)

Soap on a Rope (well my old tights actually)

2009-01-29T04:27:00.000-08:00

This year i am aiming to downsize a lot of the things we would usually not think about, so my first step was to recycle all the old bits of soap I have in the house. These involved...

1. Bits of soap that have been used and are sitting forlornly in a container in the bathroom.
2. Bars of soap that are so old they have lost the scent they had.
3. Bars of soap that have come our way from gifts (there's always one.. every year....), Hotel toilets (shamefaced but it came in handy at the time)and funny shaped "guest soaps" that are really only meant for display and smell horrible..

Now myself and the other half are a bit picky when it comes to soap, we like Lush products because our water kinda causes our skin to fall off. So once or twice a year we splurge and buy a load. This however makes me loath to lose even the tiniest piece of it, mainly because it's expensive, and secondly because they are like good memories, i can remember when i got each bit, and what occasion it was for. So the reusing begins....

First grate all your soap into a plastic container, add a little water about 3 tablespoons (we flavoured ours with some leftover vanilla pods steeped to make a strong vanilla tea). Microwave and stir, microwave and stir,adding water as necessary to make a nice thick gloop. Careful hot soap is painful if it gets on your hands! After the soap has reached the gloop stage, and there are no more lumps, leave it to cool until it reaches a doughy texture. Scoop it out and mould it into the shape you want. :) I used old tights to make them into balls, and also to add a little more "squish" to make the hardening process easier. Once they are shaped and in a nice warm place, leave for 2 or so weeks and your done :)

The only problem is that Math thinks they look like testicles.......:(

Framed work

2009-01-29T04:13:00.000-08:00

I managed to pick up these frames from the evil of all evils (tesco). They were selling them off for £1 each, so i snagged a few for experiments...

The actual pictures are undyed cotton painted with gold fabric paint, bronze poster paint and brown artists ink. The puffy heads were especially fun to do as they involved stippling which is always fun :) Serendipity took a hand in the creation, as i was unaware that one of my brushes had purple glitter ingrained in the bristles, so when they catch the light they shine with bronze/gold/purple speckles. Altogether a great result if unplanned :)).

Sootsprites

2009-01-29T03:59:00.000-08:00

If you can't make your plasterwork look neat.. install Soot Sprites (Susuwatari).

These cuties come from the Miyazaki film My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away. I used a hard charcoal pencil to draw the hard lines in them used my thumb and a rubber to smudge and tidy where necessary.

Tennis balls, dog biscuits and a few hours peace...

2009-01-29T03:29:00.000-08:00

If you slit a tennis ball a little way, squish it open and fill it with little dog biccies.. the daft mutt spends ages trying to get them out. Not a hard concept i know, but having just acquired some cheap tennis balls i thought i would give it a go.. cue blissful peace :)

Happy new year everyone :)

2009-01-22T05:51:00.000-08:00

I"m working up to a post.. honestly :)

Bugger....

2008-12-16T05:47:00.001-08:00

Where did November go!!!?

Judy MSc.

2008-10-15T06:01:00.001-07:00

Happy Graduation! :)

eek.. Tagged!

2008-07-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

Tag Rules:
Link to the person who tagged you.
Post the rules on the blog.
Write six random things about yourself.
Tag six people at the end of your post.
Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Ok.. Stiggy tagged me :) and while i want to play, i don't know enough people who haven't been tagged or who wouldn't find it an annoyance and ignore it. So i will post six random things about myself and be done with it :)

1. My hair is naturally Tartan coloured, it doesn't come in a normal colour, cannot be described as anything else, and changes according to the season, weather and light of the day. Often it's ginger, sometimes it goes blonde and others it's just brown. I have chameleonic hair :)

2. I embarrass people I'm around when I'm out with random shoutings of "ooh shiny things" "doggies" and any other silly thing that comes to mind... i can't help it. I'm just naturally twee XD

3.I love water, I would spend all my time by the beach or in the water if i could. Swimming in the Clyde in Feb is nothing to me.

4. I one day hope to get off the radar and grow my own food, brew my own beer and wine and in general not have to go to Tesco ever again...

5. I'm a yellow belt at Karate, and hopefully will get back into training this year.

6. I read as many books as i can get, i have a couple of hundred in the house, and am constantly swapping them for new ones :)

I like to play with graphics...

2008-07-16T15:22:00.001-07:00

Heres one of my early attempts... the dragon is by http://www.strawberrydragon.com/
They kindly gave me permission to tamper with the little guy :)

This was one of my adventures in Dolling.. I was following a shading tutorial.

I also like inspirational work, usually heading a blog or two with them :))

Elouai's dollmaker is great for candy dolls :). This one was on my mindsay for a good while.

I saw a dragonfly today....

2008-05-29T17:31:00.000-07:00

I saw a dragonfly today......
thoroughly delighted, I relished the sight
that nature succeeds against human might,
in urban sprawl, through bottles and bags,
the little thing flew through tall yellow flags,
not far from my shoe, it lit on grass,
to soak up some sun, sparkling like broken glass.
As it went on it's way, I found myself sighing
Nature brings beauty, without even trying,
in urban decay, when we are long gone,
in our tattered leavings, life will go on.

Sunday.. yawn...

2008-05-18T10:59:00.000-07:00

Not much happened this week, not that much happens any week, but this one was particularly boring.
Have been waiting for the other half to finish his Uni work, because once he's finally finished i can get on with things a bit.

Am kinda annoyed, in the last few months aside from Dr Who, i have been watching a couple of programs on TV, one of the was blood ties, and the other is moonlight. You would assume because of the huge fan base that the company who makes these programs (CBS), would make more than one series of them.. i mean, how long did desperate housewives run for? But no .. they suck!

Wasp season is here folks... and the missus is scared of wasps, they seem to like coming in our bedroom window in the morning, so more often than not I'm getting woken up these days with a strangely girlish scream and the duvet getting hauled over my head. I don't blame him, wasp allergies are terrible, but it does not make for a fortuitous start to the morning.

Just in case you feel my blog is all doom and gloom....

Giggles

2008-05-18T10:56:00.000-07:00

Perfume

2008-05-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Beltane everyone!

I want to rant a bit today, unusual for me.. Not!

Perfume, good stuff if you know how to use it right. No one likes a stinky person, in fact history has shown that stinky people get the rough end of the deal when it comes to life...
Children who's parents haven't come to the realisation that a stinky kid will get mercilessly bullied at school will agree with me here, it's not good to be smelly!

On the other hand, perfume, body spray, aftershave, antiperspirant, washing powder, all of these lovely smelly things, should be used with caution... for example, try mixing surf tropical washing liquid (freshly washed just off the drier) with lynx pulse antiperspirant... o-O ....yup.. one big clashing stink!

The perfume industry spends millions working out how to delicately blend perfume so that it subtly enhances the person it wears, making them feel good, and be a pleasure to stand beside on the underground, train etc

All good! :)

And then the douser come along, the people who take a bath in the stuff! The man-tart who has lynx and aftershave, the woman who practically bathes in perfume, has deodorant on, her shampoo also very strong in smell, not to mention the clothes that smell of washing powder, the breath mints/ chewing gum, hairspray, etc etc....

There is no escaping it either, Stink bombs are everywhere! I can forgive teens, i went through that stage in life too, half a can of impulse and my fave perfume on top it! i must have been rank! but i felt better for it. So whats my beef with people who over perfume?

1. it's a waste of perfectly good perfume, and in insult to the perfumers who make it.
2.You will not make friends if you make their eyes water anytime they come near you.
3. (and now to the real problem) It makes people ill... yes i do mean it. I get migraines, and i'm not the only one. My migraines are kicked off by a number of things, strong smells being one of them.

Atypical trip to tesco goes like this.....Walk through the door.. bump into the first perfume crime.. headache starts.. take painkillers that are my constant companion...reach the toiletries isle where a group of teenagers have been spraying all the deodorants to see which ones they want...headache kicks into another gear, start to feel sick....perfume crime goes by again.. sharp pain pang....dash around the shop avoiding anyone who is wearing perfume....get to the cleaning products isle....brace for impact.. run down isle throwing everything i need into trolley while holding breath.. bump into miss smelly again.. nasty pain pang.. now I'm really gonna vom.. dash to checkouts, taxi, come home unpack shopping, get to bed with the curtains drawn and go to sleep hoping the pain will pass....

Nice eh? :)

And all this comes about because 1 person was a bit heavy handed with the chanel this morning..

I'm not against people having perfume, in fact, i practically depopulated body shop this Christmas past because i likes some of the stuff they had, But as i said boys and girls, it's how you use it that counts. Myself, i put a little perfume in an unscented body lotion and that does me for an entire day. I don't carry it with me and douse myself in it every time i go to the bathroom. Lots of people are intolerant to harsh smells, and my tesco description in not an isolated example, everywhere you go you are likely to come across someone or something that just catches you.. you can only pray that the pills help, or that you can get home before you puke on someone, or you pass out.

And contrary to the other half's opinion.. i would get funny looks running around town in a respirator.. no matter how cool they make them.

Lol

2008-04-22T08:03:00.000-07:00

Report lists new 'social evils'

2008-04-20T08:04:00.000-07:00

Report lists new 'social evils'

Dundundun...... Time to panic again people!!!

No seriously.. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7356713.stm

They asked 3600 people to fill in a questionnaire to find out what were today's top 10 evils. Then they went to the minorities and asked them to have their say. This is what they came up with..

The decline of community

Individualism and selfishness

Consumerism and greed

A decline of values

The decline of the family

Young people both as victims and perpetrators

Drugs and alcohol

Poverty and inequality

Immigration and responses to it

Crime and violence

I agree mostly with what they have come up with, and they do admit that a lot of them are interlinked, want a cure? Bring back industry.
I can't speak for everywhere, but certainly here it all went a bit pete tong when they closed the shipyards, unemployed people started looking for hope in the bottom of a bottle, families were so poor they couldn't afford ANYTHING let alone the newest nokia!

So where from the likes of the 80's did we go from poor depressed unemployed diving into the bottle to the social anarchy we have now?

The Decline of the Community
OK, for a start.. what community? are we talking church community, the community defined by all the little gangs (YRT, YGP all that nonsense)?. The simple fact is that communities are for little villages, or social groups. The overall "community" that people wish for wont come back, the population is too high! (yet one of our councillors complained to the newspaper not that long ago that we who do not have children are selfish, and that we need more children..wake up ans smell the nappies people!)
In cities there is no such thing as a community they way it used to be, people are to scared of losing their privacy, in fact people these days are having to learn to ignore their neighbors, because if we are honest about it, we can hear everything they say through shoddily built council flat walls anyway! Community wont exist unless people can trust each other, and with peoples washing getting stolen off their washing lines, grave goods getting stolen to pay for drugs, and a"good kickin" being the answer to most peoples problems these days.. it's not going to happen.

Individualism and Selfishness
Whoa doggy! What are we talking about here?? Individualism is bad? No i don't think so.(conformconformconformthegovernmentisyourfriendconformconform) I am an individual, i think off the beaten path, it doesn't make me a bad, or a socially irresponsible person. In fact, i am more likely to help my neighbors out BECAUSE i don't conform.. being a bad ass gangsta doesn't float my boat, i don't want to seem well 'ard, especially if that means i can't help old ladies across the street if they need it! You can be individual and not hurt society... you just have to know where to draw the line. Now on the other hand, if you mean only looking out for yourself... that comes under the same category. I have found that you have to have some element of this to survive today.. if not follow these simple instructions....

Write "Doormat" on your back
Lie down in any heavy pedestrian traffic area
Sigh and complain about your lot in life.

The line people.. the line!

You know what, I'm not going to go on, because they are all mostly linked. It all boiled down to no hope. People overspending to try and maintain a semblance of a happy life, so their kids don't get bullied at school, so they can feel that their quality of life doesn't suck. Having the newest thing that is shovelled their way because they would appear poor without it, being so cut off from everyone because no one knows who to trust anymore.. It all boils down to poverty.

I hate to quote from Mrs McCaffrey once again, but in her Decision at Doona book, society has slipped into lethargy, kids don't see the point in getting a Job because they spend their life working for what? more work! The rewards are simply not enough anymore and the stress is simply not worth it. So what happens to the socially disillusioned youth? Mrs McCaffrey's book has it that they begin to commit suicide in alarming numbers, not much hope to go on, the last great thrill...

Seem familiar?

19th Bridgend suicide shock
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1065518.ece

Sorry to say people that this was only the case with the highest exposure, so many more happen and we don't even know about it.

How do we fix it? Find safe secure jobs, security for the workers so that they aren't getting exploited, or sacked for the least thing! contracts that last longer than 6 months.. hell! takes that long to sort out the paperwork with the social sometimes!

Give people something to live for, and they will start respecting society again.

Ear defenders my arse!

2008-04-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of The "Times Online"

"Pipe down! Brussels slaps a noise order on heart of Scotland"

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3779828.ece

A attack on not only bagpipers, who spend years practicing to play the iconic instrument, but also on rock bands, brass bands, in fact anyone who dares to make and noise whatsoever....

Have any of you read Decision at Doona? It's an Anne McCaffrey book. Read chapter 2 regarding where Big Caring Brother is taking us.

Myself.. i'm going to ignore it with the contempt it deserves and am looking forward to the summer when the highland games and pipe festivals start up!

3 am

2008-04-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

And boy am I glad I was up!
The moon looks spectacular tonight!

First post over...

2008-04-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

Now to the real business...

Polygamy. I think it's OK!
Don't get me wrong, I'm not for the likes of the FLDS. Some of the stories that come out about them are hair raising, but on the other hand, I'm not one of these people that believes that humans are meant to be strictly monogamous. Whether thats the whole polygamy/polyandry thing, or just eyeing up someone other than your bit of stuff, it's up to your personal morality to decide. Some people are fine with their other half blatantly sizing up the other fish in the sea, and some go absolutely bonkers!!

What I'm trying in my own meandering way to say is... if they aren't hurting anyone, leave them alone! But if they are then do something about them!
The sticky issue is what do you call OK? Is it OK for the FLDS to encourage their daughters to marry 50yr old when they are 18? Personally i don't think so, i also think that what they are doing is tantamount to child abuse. Well what else do you call brainwashing?

Living in a community of like minded people, maybe without the same beliefs or ideals as the"rest of the world" appeals to me, i always was an oddball. i don't care what kind of mobile phone i have, i don't own the latest hair straighteners, never mind visit the hairdresser very often, and to be perfectly honest, the only way i choose shoes or clothes is if they look moderately OK, and are going to last for a while. But if children were involved, i would give them every opportunity to see the outside world, to experience not only the good, but the bad side of life, to grow their own opinions and ideals. Not be so secluded that they mimic the only things they see..

Polygamy, very sticky subject. But when it all comes down to it, what we are talking about here is sex.Lots of people have blended families these days, the breakdown of the family unit is making it more like the old days when the extended family had a larger role in the way families are raised. It's not unusual for kids to have 2 mothers and fathers, they just see them as family. It's when we add sex into the equation that we reach the trouble part, the kids for the most part of it don't see the sex part, and if they do (heaven forbid! ) it's a case of "ewww!!! get a room". In general they don't, and flatly deny that their parents are sexual beings, so unless sexual abuse is an issue, where is the problem?

I guess the problem is that society states that monogamy is the only moral and acceptable relationship. Not being satisfied with only one person in bed is wrong, and dirty.

Am i the only one who's asking why?

Virgin post! Hooray!!!!!

2008-04-19T09:02:00.000-07:00

Some things are just too cute to pass up! :P