Wiggy Tales ...

Sadly this Spring break is not quite living up to the madness of last year's hi jinx

but Matt isn't off until next week so maybe it isn't a total wipe in the mischief stakes yet

and it hasn't been without some bright moments...

we headed out to buy a wig to cover my rather baldy head

not that I am not starting to truly embrace the no hair thing with relish

showers take no time and the savings on buying shampoo and things are amazing

not to mention no visits to the hairdresser

no painty bits in my hair from my rather haphazard painting techniques

it is quite cool and liberating to feel the rush of breeze over this chromish dome of mine

scarves are a snap to cover it up if I feel the need

 but a wig is a good thing when you don't want it all to be as public I suppose

So instead of drawing up these gorgeous roses from my sister-in-law Kris

we headed out to the wig place thingy 

me rather reluctantly I have to say as I just couldn't see me in a wig

but on the way in I got a nice little lift when two head shaven paramedics

gave me the sup nod on the way through the car park

a nice touch of solidarity to a fellow baldy I like to think

not that I didn't have a scarf on in public

but they knew a fellow follicley challenged soul lurked under that scarf

and so I was feeling a bit more positive and before we knew it we were in the store

have to say it was a revelation... a whole row of mad wigs grabbed my eyes and imagination

Sadly Sinus and Phantom dragged my gleeful eyes from the blond dreadlocks

and they wouldn't let me even think about trying on the Elvis wig

they were party poopers of the first order

but perhaps they know me too well and know that the dreads would have been worn with relish

despite it being unseemly in someone who is turning 46 in just a few weeks

but their restraint worked out for the best I suppose

and I got a great little short blond number that looks crazy natural

it even has regrowth ... which was the clincher for me as I have perpetual regrowth

so now I just need to get used wearing the sucker

and keep remembering to leave it up high when I take it off

as the dog is eyeing it off at every opportunity

and if I don't watch it I can just see it ending up snaffled and buried in the garden

So other than the wiggy tale the week has consisted of yet more chemo

a bit of painting of my perpetual water bottle and the dreaded iv stand thingy

not painting up Kris's roses, but I will this week I hope

and doing a little postcard mixed media thing for a swap I am taking part in

I have just shown a snippet as I don't want to ruin the surprise for Amber

I have done little else this week I must admit

but I am going to try to squeeze in some studio time today

and get some paint on the hands

and maybe even get to some of the 5 squillions emails that I want to answer

before this round of chemo kicks in 

happy painting all... xx

The Plus Side Of The Ledger ...

It's not often that I sit down to write a blog post and don't have fun stuff to share

but it has been a bit of a fun free zone this week

not a complete horror fest though 

after all I haven't had fish dreams for over a week

and the weirdest dream I had involves old socks and salsa

which admittedly was quite weird

but all others were in the realm of the normal

and I am pleased that fish didn't feature so it is a plus

Also on the plus side of the ledger 

is a week free of dog snot as Mushu's doggy hayfever has been mercifully quiet

not quite on the plus side is that he has taken to waking me up by licking my baldy head

it is equal parts gross and oddly comforting at the same time

of course would be nice if it wasn't 6am when he did it

and there was some concern that the chemo might leach onto his tongue

but his tongue isn't glowing or anything so we are figuring he is fine

Another plus is that I got into the studio yesterday and finished off this pineapple

I enjoyed doing the one on the left a few months ago

 and we had this gorgeous fresh pine just sitting on the kitchen bench begging to be drawn up and I do love the shapes and spikes and textures

they are oddly satisfying to draw

And this morning I got in and did this little sketch of a lovely teapot I saw online the other day

which satisfied my urge to own it... sort of

well that is what I am telling myself anyway

Big plus side is  that Spring break is upon us and so two weeks of no school run

no uniforms, no lunch boxes and a slave on hand

these are my favourite school holidays usually 

so I have high hopes that some hilarity should return in force

this time last year these holidays were complete madness

Remember Phantom and the lobster/ grasshopper ???

or blood sport board games and Phantom and Sinus ganging up on the dog ???

Now that was a Spring break... lots to live up to this year...  

hoping I have lots more to add to the plus side of the ledger next week

other than a lack of fish dreams... that is just sad....xx

Happy Paint Party Friday ...xx

Some Odd Random Thoughts ...

This week we have rushed headlong straight into Summer

and so maybe it is natural that I have been spending time drawing and painting fruit and veg

and I have been obsessing about a radish and cucumber pickle salad

which is a bit odd as I hadn't thought of it for years, but it has invaded my brain and won't let go

which has led to drawings of radishes of course... 

maybe I need Sinus to head to the market so I can make it up, cure the obsession and move on

and paint up the pineapple and peas waiting on my desk

but it has been a bit of a weird thinking week all round so maybe that won't cure it at all ...

For example I have been dreaming about fish almost every night this week

it started with grilled fish and coconut fish curry

then the next night I dreamt about Phantom's Fairy Godmother's Shelly's incredible Asian whole snapper in amazing detail

then moved onto dreams about goldfish, then goldfish in the freezer

which is a result of a disastrous summer in Florida where we seemed to kill a gold fish a week and Phantom wouldn't let us flush them so they ended up in the freezer

to this day I suspect she was taking them out of the bowl to have a play with them

but last night was the weirdest dream of all

and I dreamt about those little goldfish cookies from Pepperidge Farm that Phantom used to grind up into the car seats and into every orifice but never actually ate... she just liked crushing the little buggers... which maybe explains the high mortality goldfish summer right...

and I woke up with the theme Go Goldfishy from the ads going around in my head

I am almost scared to think where the fish odyssey will go next....

but at least fish dreams are better than the chocolate tragedy that has occurred

it seems that chemo has made all chocolate taste like sand

now I have tried almost every chocolate known to man to see if it is universal

and Cadbury's , Lindt, Purdey's, Hersheys, Maltesters, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, even baking chips are all completely and worryingly weird to eat... it is like the texture is all wrong

I am seriously concerned for mental wellbeing if chocolate is off the table

Add to that the dog is freaked out by my new look and keeps staring at my baldy head

but he is slowly being convinced that I am still me

and even managed to be close enough to sneeze on my head this morning

which was totally gross yet oddly comforting on two levels

one it made me stop humming that Goldfish theme for a moment

and two that it was easy to clean off rather than my normal mad rush to get in and wash my hair to clear it of possible dog snot flyers

mind you I would much prefer he sneezed on someone else for a time... it is still mightily gross

And with that overshare of doggy grossness

I will leave you to ponder your own weird random thoughts this week

I feel a bit of a sneeze coming on so I am off to find the mutt for some payback...xx

Linking up with Paint Party Friday ...xx

Bed Tales ...

Don't panic about the title I'm not taking a Fifty Shades type turn here

which is just as well because I found that book to be one of the funniest things

I have ever read in my life ...I am talking laughing out loud to the point of tears funny

what I am talking about is the fact that I spent most of the last week being half mattress

understandable as the chemo hit that is wasn't exactly fun and giggles

but after almost a week I am finally upright and feeling human

and even got this little painty sketch done in my little sketchbook this morning

so all is feeling pretty right with the world

The week wasn't without some bright spots

my dear Mother-in law Loretta fixed the fitted sheet in my favourite sheet set

so I no longer wake up to find myself somehow resembling an iris coloured burrito

I am a picky sleeper you see and need a perfectly flat sheet on the bottom

I am talking not a ripple because I need to swish my foot to go to sleep

don't judge... we all have our little quirks and foot swishing isn't that weird

Phoebe does it as well which used to drive Sinus nuts when she was little and used to climb into bed with us because we never used to coordinate our swishes

anyway...

the elastic started to go and they kept pinging up and wrapping themselves around me

I couldn't swish so I would have to get out of bed and smooth it all back down

and then when I did get to sleep they would wrap themselves around me like a cocoon

which was also leading to some truly creative exits from the bed

and yes I could use other sheets, but these are my favourites

but Loretta has saved  the day and made the week quite a bit easier

Other highlights are that nothing was my fault all week

no one could blame me for not putting the lid on the milk properly

or eating the last Tim Tam

and I was in blissful ignorance of the state of the house

the weather is truly gorgeous 

and I have had  the smell of early jasmine wafting in on the afternoon breezes

So now that things are back to a bit of normality

the studio has been tidied and it is perfect painting weather

so I am going to cram in as much time as I can working

 before the next round starts next Tuesday

I am hoping to answer some of your many emails 

and try to get some notes and thank you cards in the mail

because I am so blessed by your support

thank you all as always... xx