Blog

Recently I was given an assignment to create a mixed media tag for the Prima Blog.  I love creating with flowers, gesso and coloured mists, you’ve seen me do a lot of that in my work recently, but I decided it might be fun to do it in a ‘white’ or a ‘pastel’ mixed media kinda way.  And so I got creating.

Any excuse to get out the paper and paint, right? 

Enjoy your week,

laters

Today I discovered a few things. 

Firstly, it is not summer anymore.  I can no longer get away with hanging the washing on the line at 2pm after being to busy to hang it out all day. 

Secondly, the summer sun has shifted.  In it's place is the oh-so-welcome autumn sun that streams in Jacob's windows during the mid-morning. 

The last thing I have discovered is that even after repeating the performance three days in a row, I still don't seem to have figured out the risks of going in to "just watch Jacob's fish for a moment",  because it's the third day in a row I have fallen asleep on his floor. Which leads me to number one and why I was too busy to hang out the washing, really. 

I have had great intentions of more blog posts all week but in all seriousness I'm crazy busy, thanks to Autumn Escape, which is in just 3 weeks.  I start at 5.15 in the morning checking emails from the USA before I go to the gym, and I barely leave the computer til 10pm at night.  I'm lucky I'm a work-from-home Mum and have time to do all the family stuff inbetween, like hanging out the washing and sleeping on the floor, but at the moment I seem to be living with the ever constant  I-must-do-a-blog-post-today thoughts inbetween forgetting to hang out the washing I guess. 

And so today I am gettin' a blog post done.  It's nearly 6pm and there is no dinner, but right now I need to get rid of those thoughts and show you a project that went up on the Prima blog the other day.  That's the way it works, right?

Happy Easter wishes to you all.
Laters.

 

And it's actually Friday.  Which is cool because
a) writing a Five for Friday post on a Saturday doesn't really cut it and
b)I missed Friday.  We should have Friday more often. 

1. This week it's all about organisation. 

I am in the final weeks of organising Autumn Escape.  We have some huge plans which are taking lots of fiddly creating.  We have big ideas which are taking lots of emailing, researching and purchasing.  Lucky I love this role because really efficient organising is key right now.  Which is not reflected in the last minute dinner organisation every night.  I swear I am the queen of 20 minute dinners.  One day I will find balance in being able to organise things all day AND being efficient enough to feed my family before 9pm at night.

And see, I wasn't even organised enough to have a photo of an unorganised dinner. 
Instead you can be blessed with a photo of what my lounge looks like at the moment.  Around all 4 walls. 
No wonder my family don't get dinner.  I can't find my way to the kitchen.

2. I walked that marathon.  

No, I don't mean I walked 42km around and around trying to find my way out of my lounge in order to get to the kitchen.  I mean I walked 42km for Relay for Life two weeks ago.  So proud of my team MotivateMeNZ, which were an amazing team of 19 men, women & kids.  Of the 19 of us, 8 were kids and 7 of us completed more than marathon efforts.   Just about everybody completed close to it.  More importantly though we raised nearly $3000 for the cancer society.  And that's pretty cool.

Proud?  Yes.  Abby even walked, ran, worked her heart out to do over 10km, which was a huge effort since temps down at the showgrounds were well up over 30 degrees on the Saturday.   
(Another separate post next week about relay – so proud of what we acheived, I must share pics!)

3.  I will not let go of summer.

I know, I know, we need water.  It's crisis point.  And I truly want rain for those that need it.  But for a girl that can't handle even the mildest of New Zealand winters (I hear all the Canadians telling me to harden up), this summer has been glorious.   A month ago, when I should have been planting brocolli & cabbage, I got all stubborn and planted more tomatoes.  Yes.  They are thriving.  No, I will not let go of summer yet, no matter how loudly the autumn crickets chirp at night.

Cherry tomatoes.   These will keep winter away, right?

4. I can't wait for Easter. 

Which is a little hypocritical really, because on one hand I'm asking for summer to stay, but on the other hand I'm closing my eyes really tight and wishing that Easter would be here already.   Especially when I get emails with the subject title "I will not be responsible for what happens if you open this email" and get a link to this recipe:  Cadbury Creme Egg Pudding.  Ya see, people know I love Creme Eggs and while some would be ashamed that their addiction is so widely known, I am a proud Cadbury supporter.  Bring on Easter.

And thank you for linking me up to this recipe, Lynda.  I opened it up, read down the ingredients and thanked the Lord I do not have Almond Meal in my pantry.

Goodness help me. 

5. What happens on tour, stays on tour. 

Except when it's this:

 Clearly I was the pourer of drinks for everyone else.

and when it's this:

And actually it's not as bad as it looks -
This pic and all the hilarity that followed was taken during a moment of fun, not even caused by drinking. 
I know, right?!  I only had 2 drinks the whole time I was away. 
This is the new Nic.  The one that is never drinking again, like ever. 
Just goes to show what fun can be had purely in the name of awesome friends.

And the non-drinkingness of that moment can be proven by this pic, taken on the Sunday morning.

Yea that black dot is me. 
And yea I went to the bottom of that hill on purpose. 
And yea I ran back up it again.  Just enjoying that summer weather a little bit more.

5. And lastly… because we all love Prima.  …

Because Prima is one of New Zealand's favourite manufacturers. 
Because the idea of four teachers, classes in mixed media, layouts and other gorgeous stuff is pretty exciting. 
Because Prima sponsored goodie bags and the famous Prima PRIZE patrol is enough to get the average scrapbooker in NZ giggling like a 40 year old on a trip to Wanganui after one glass of rum, we are bringing ArtVenture to New Zealand shores.

Prima ArtVenture is open for registration - click here for the link. 
And so far half of Australia is coming along, will you be too?
(otherwise I'll have to adopt an Aussie accent and my attempts at that are never pretty)

Stay tuned for announcements of teachers and until then, enjoy the last of summer.
Laters.

 

 

So proud to be bringing Prima ArtVenture to New Zealand..we'll be presenting it in true AE style!
Teachers to be confirmed within the next week or so…

Lots of interest in this special event supported by one of the US largest manufacturers.

Register Here…

Places are already selling fast, will you be there?

 

 

 

The calendar on the fridge is full with scribblings of the daily happenings in the Howard home.   Three kids and two businesses makes for a busy home.

So things I discovered this week.

 

1. It’s fun having a house built across the road. 

My office faces this building site.  I see everything but the tradies can’t see me.  I see them working all day in the sun, I see them walk in and out the portaloo.  I see them blockade their workmate IN the portaloo with strops and wood.  And I hear the laughter.  My favourites are the scaffold guys, those guys are FUNNY.  They laugh and sing and are the happiest people out. On those days I make sure I don’t even go out to get my mail because I don’t want them to know I’m here, I don’t want their laughter to stop.

How lucky am I to have this view of the portaloo and rubbish skip all day?

2. I am walking a marathon.

Goal: 105 laps at Relay for Life this weekend.  It’ll be 42km.  It’s a big call.  I get breaks in between if I want, but it’s still a big call.  Temps are meant to be 26 degrees, no wind and baking. 

42km.  That’s a lot of walking and probably a lot of kilojoules walked off.  This is why today I give myself permission to browse Pinterest.  I give myself permission to type in the word ‘yummy’ and browse all the gorgeous food I usually try and avoid looking at.  And when I half naked picture of Channing Tatum appears under the same said search phrase, I shall look at that too.  You know, because I can’t help if he turned up when I search ‘yummy’.  Bad luck for me.

I could have placed a pic of Channing Tatum here but… actually I don’t know why I didn’t.  Peanut butter choc chip dough vs Channing Tatum.  Hard choice. 

3. Skin cancer can hide.

I have just returned from a yearly check at the skin specialist with Paul. 
I am clear.  In fact the doc said I am blessed with lovely skin and the words “textbook mole” were used.  Cue laughter from Paul – and actually the doctor joined in.   Lucky he’s a lovely guy.

However, the doctor took one look at Paul’s chest and said “There is cancer”.  I couldn’t see it.  The lesion is big enough to require surgery and Paul has been warned the cut will be 4cm long. 
Go on, try and spot the cancer. Look closely because the education you get from this pic could help you find these lesions on someone you love.

Try and find the skin cancer that will require surgery and an incision 4cm long to get it out.

I’m betting you probably picked the spot either on the bottom left or bottom right of the pic.   Nope, those are healthy skin pigmentation.  The cancer is right at the bottom of the v-neck tan line (See pic at the end of this post).  It’s a reddish looking blemish right in the centre of the pic.  It’s about as big as my little finger nail.  While this cancer is not a serious aggressive threat (It is basal cell Carcinoma, the most common type), it rarely moves throughout the body, this is still a malignant cancer and it needs to be removed.  Ironically my hubby is super-vigilant about sunblock.  He sunblocks his face, ears, neck etc every day, but has only just in the past year or so started wearing v-neck polo shirts for work.  He isn’t in the habit of sunblocking the ‘v’.  These cancers usually turn up where the sun damage has occurred.

Please share the link to this pic, we usually think we need to go see a doctor about suspicious spots, but sometimes they don’t look like we expect them too.  Would you have picked this as a cancer?

 

4.  Another leaf, and a thanks.

Thank you so much for the comments of support and love that you sent after my post at the start of the week.  And you know, generally things are great.  I have a fabulous family and we are very close-knit.   Everyone has rough times and I’m lucky I have an amazing support network. 

One thing I didn’t include in the post was this photo.  I forgot about it.  This little leaf turned up 3-4 days after we found the one in the skip.  You can’t really see it until you turn the washing machine on.  Try and imagine how I felt one morning as I threw the washing in the washing machine, throw the powder in, push the buttons one, two and then start and blip, blip, blip and up popped the light behind the little screen and there was the heart.

Very unexpected.  This one might be coincidence.  It’s the tiniest scrap of leaf that is actually still on the washing machine a month later – it’s cute huh?  Coincidence or not – it gave me a smile that day.

 

5. Finally. A kit.  Just about.    I have a limited amount of kits for this class (taught at ArtVenture, California) on the way.  The kit is the class taught over in the USA, without the frame.  I expect these to be available for purchase around Wednesday next week.  Email me and let me know if you want to be on the newsletter-list to hear when this kit is available for purchase.

 

 

And that is all.  Five for Friday, all wrapped up – don’t forget to get up close and personal with your loved ones tonight, those skin cancer spots are harder to find than you imagined, right?

Laters.

Recently Paul & I had the most amazing find.   It’s been about 7 weeks since Paul’s Mum passed suddenly, and Paul and his sister Lesley have been going through the house and sorting everything.  It’s a heart-wrenching job, especially when the passing was so unexpected.   Paul & Lesley are finding things they haven’t seen since their childhood.  It’s bittersweet I guess, as they find each thing that reminds them of their Mum.

I’ve not been very involved, not knowing really what is precious or sentimental, but I have been around once or twice.  The first time I went around Paul had just shown me a few precious things he had found when I looked around at the huge rubbish skip I was leaning on and there in the middle was the tiniest thing catching my eye.  I leaned over and picked it up.  A very small item, flat and incredibly fragile, I passed it to Paul and said “Oh my goodness, what were the chances that I would see this?  I have no idea where it has been for the past 75 years, it must have fallen out of a book or pile of rubbish that was thrown in the skip.”  We both expressed our amazement at finding it.  Once a possession of Paul’s Dad, where had it been all those years? What were the chances I’d find it, unbroken, after 75 years of being hidden and then thrown away?  

 

Paul’s Dad was an amazing man.  Real salt of the earth.  He lived his life in nature’s arms,  he had varied outdoor jobs such as working for the Conservation Society, introducing and protecting wildlife, and he spent years in the mid-50’s establishing the Milford track and building huts in the area.

He was also a writer.  His parents were blessed with lengthy letters full of details of his exploits in the South Island.  He wrote home every week and we now have huge folders of his writings – we are lucky.

A few of the many letters we have, written by Paul’s Dad in the 1950’s.  I sometimes wonder if these belong in a museum, outlining in detail the ‘old days’ of cutting and building the Milford Track in the South Island.

 

He was also an amazingly creative man.  He carved wood and bone – pieces like this fish-hook necklace have hours and hours of his clever hand-work invested in them, from the gentle weaving of the braid to the clasp that holds it closed, to the wooden carving itself.

 

Paul’s Dad, Peter, a framed photo in our home with one of the wooden pieces he carved. 

So notable was the quality of Peter’s work, that he was commissioned to hand craft a walking stick for Nelson Mandela when he visited in New Zealand in 1995.  The walking stick, crafted from stick to presentable piece, was gifted to Mr Mandela by the New Zealand government.  

I told you he was clever. 

Paul’s Dad passed away in 1999, a very short battle with cancer took his life, Paul was only 26 years old and we’d only just had our first baby 10 weeks prior.  Paul was devastated.  Paul is the baby in his family, youngest of 4 siblings by many years, he had been his Dad’s shadow growing up.  He is lucky to have uncountable memories of days, nights, weeks spent in the bush, hunting, fishing, learning, studying plant and wildlife and just hanging out as fathers and sons should.

 

We had a rough few years following Peter’s passing.  A first-born son with extra needs, losing Paul’s Dad, moving house several times, working a full time job plus building spec houses after work and at weekends to try and get ahead took it’s toll.

One weekend Paul came home from work and told me he’d had a visit from his Dad that day.  It was a hot day.  He’d been building a house on a new subdivision, not a tree for miles. Taking a break, he leaned on the bonnet of his ute, tipped his head back to take a drink from his water bottle.  As he tipped his head back he spotted a speck in the sky.  Barely noticeable at first, Paul watched the speck as it floated around and around and got bigger and bigger.  It took a few minutes before Paul realised it was a leaf and he continued to watch it as it got closer and closer and eventually dropped on the bonnet of the ute, right by where Paul was leaning.

 

There were no other leaves in the sky.  There were no trees close by.   The leaf wasn’t even typical of a tree common in the area.  Paul picked it up and brought it home, knowing it was a message from his Dad.  

“ I’m with you.  I know it’s tough.  You’ll be OK”.

 

That was the first time Paul felt like his Dad was still with him.  It’s happened a few times since, always at really trying times.  Always when we feel like things are too much and often when we feel like we are at the end of our tether.  The leaves always turn up in circumstances that can’t be explained easily and each time they are unexpected.   

 

A few of the leaves we have collected from Paul’s Dad over the years.

The past few months have been some of the most trying times I’ve had since those dark days of the late 90s.  The very sudden passing of Paul’s Mum while I was in California working.  The shock of being on a longhaul flight home when 12 hours earlier I was at a Mexican restaurant and everyone was fine.   Knowing my husband was at home having to  (with his sister) notify family, organise all the funeral arrangements and deal with our 3 children who had just lost their grandmother and I wasn’t there.  Getting home and dealing with family, a funeral and all that goes with it.  Shock setting in at the months of preparation for the work I was meant to attend in California going to waste.  The financial strain of having to leave that work and on top of all that, one of our kids becoming incredibly unwell.   Really unwell. 

And so it happened.   During a quiet moment a few weeks back, kids at school, Paul at work, I sat on my couch contemplating an incredibly emotionally taxing event the evening before.   I remember shaking my head to myself and wondering what on earth I was going to do next.   I literally shrugged my shoulders, thought to myself “I just don’t know what to do” and at that point I looked outside and I said out loud “Where is my freakin leaf now, Peter?”

And then it dawned on me.

That item that I had found in the skip?   That one that was so precious and so old and must have been hidden for years, only to turn up unscathed on the top of the skip for me to notice that day?

 

A leaf.  A leaf written on and preserved by a 7 year old Peter for me to find 75 years later at one of the toughest times of our lives.

 

He even signed it.

We get the message.  “ I’m with you. I know it’s tough. You’ll be OK”.

it’ll be OK.

laters.

Again.  Depends which part of the world you are in.  It’s Friday in California.  Which is lucky since the office staff are still at Prima and I’ve been catching up on work I didn’t get done yesterday.

Because I was too busy looking at these:

 

1. Fish.

When Jacob first wanted ‘a guppy’ I said no. 

“I’ll end up cleaning out the tank” I said.

“It’ll die of neglect” I said.

“Just let him get the freakin’ guppy” Paul said.  “Let him get it out of his system”.  

And that conversation in which one guppy and a tiny tank featured, has now turned into this.

This is only a close up of part of Jacob’s large tank.   He has 3 other tanks as well. 

And who is the biggest watcher-of-fish?   Me.   When work gets too hard, when I get stuck on the same sentence over and over, when I’m tired after too much writing or feel like standing and staring into the pantry, where do I go?

I sit in Jacob’s room and watch the fish. 

Angel Fish are freaky little things, did you know?

2.  Tomato Relish.

Since Paul’s Mum passed away in January, the honour of the summer bottling of relish has apparently been passed down to me.  I had a list of at least 3000 things to do yesterday, but Paul had written “Make Mum’s relish” at the top of it.  I am now the official Howard maker-of-relish.  I have discovered two things. 
a) a crapload of sugar goes into things like this and
b) the look on hubby’s face when he walked in the door and smelt that relish was worth it  “Reminds me of the smell of home when I was growing up”.

That part has to be priceless, especially so soon after his Mum passed away.

Homegrown tomatoes made into relish.

3. Four Pics, one word

– the single most frustrating yet addictive app ever.

Well, since plants vs Zombies that is.  I don’t do apps.  Well I lie.  I do the frustrating addictive ones. Like this one.   Cool thing about this is that there are 4 of us playing, and it’s educational.  We are racing to clock the game.  I hate it but I love it. 

Paul hates it.  The man can’t watch any TV without someone shoving an iPod in his face and saying “What’s this one?”

This one is ‘blubber’ for those of you that couldn’t get it.

 

4.  This week Braden became smarter than I am.

I remember the exact moment that I looked at Braden and thought “You have just right now surpassed me in brain power, you are officially smarter than me”.

When was this moment? 

When Paul asked Braden “What are those little things at the end of your laces called?”  I laughed internally and thought to myself, ‘like they have a name?”

“Aglets” Braden answered casually, as he walked by.

You are freakin joking me.  Those things have a NAME?

He is officially smarter than I will ever be.

 

5.  I can do good things with my art.

Artwork is good for many things, much of it is good for collecting dust in my home but this especially made piece is great for fundraising. 

This is one is special in that I currently have it on Trademe, waiting for that amazing business looking for a tax deductible way to make a donation and willing to bid it up to big dollars.  Anyone have connections to one of those that they could send the way of my auction?  Anyone wish they could donate to the Cancer Society but this time might get something in return?  

Please bid my auction as high as you can afford to – it’s tax deductible, and you get this piece of art sent to your door in return. If you win.

 

Along with this, I also have a gentle request to those that have not done so yet, please support me in the Relay for Life by donating to the Cancer Society via my fundraising page here. 

If you are anything like me, you might think “I should do that” but you don’t always. 

I know in future I will.  Because it’s so hard to raise funds, I’ve never driven so hard to try and make money for a charity before and I’m busting my ass here.  Please if you can spare a few dollars, visit my fundraising site and pledge some money. 

Relay for Life is in just one week.  I have one week to meet my goals.

And eat lots of carbs in prep for walking a marathon.  Am I right?

Just let me think I’m ri
ght.

Laters.