running

This morning was more running at 6.15am in the dark.  We ran on the roads waiting for the sun to rise, but 40 minutes later it was still dark.  In the end we went off road in the dark and eventually the day broke, hoorah.  The dogs had fun. We are training for this race.  I ran it with a friend last year and it was such fun.  Despite the cold and the pouring rain, it is in such a beautiful area that it was easy to be distracted by all the beautiful trees and moss and mountains, until my Hamstrings seized up. 

Some photos of the area we will run, the family went for a holiday up there a while back which was really nice.

Beautiful and a quite uneven and undulating track.  

today

Today I went for a 2hr 15 min run, up a steep hill and down the other side.  Me, the dog, a friend and her dog.  It wasn't meant to be so long but we got a bit carried away with a new track and got a bit lost, and had to ask some council men in a truck which way to go.  They thought we were quite amusing, two daft women running around in the middle of no-where.
I'm not sure what Mollie (dog) thought of it, she has been doing a bit of running now but not so far, and up such a big hill.  She has had fidgety knickers all evening, so I hope her little skinny doggy legs are not aching.

I must admit that these photos were not taken today, but I am un-willing to carry a camera and while running a big run (for me, I am sure most of the runners where I live would snoof at me calling this a big run).  A camera is too bulky.  Which is rather a shame, as we run in the most beautiful places, and today the sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky.  And we were in the middle of nowhere, but so  high we could see the sea over the other hills.

life drawing

While cleaning out the dust balls from the wardrobe (previous post) I came across some life drawings I had done a couple of years ago.  It was the best class ever, the teacher was brilliant  and had us doing lots of quick furious sketching, painting etc.  Anyway I had a trawl through them and I decided to throw these ones away, so I photoed them and put them on here, dodgy ones and all so they are not gone completely.

 above, this makes me think of a Scooby-Doo monster.

 When I got home from class I would always stick my favourite one of the week on the wall so I could think about it.  This horrified the children and their friends, having a naked lady on the wall, which I thought was funny.

tattoo roses doodling

I had some tattoo books out from the library ( I do like the library) because I love tattoos, I have two really crumby ones I had done in my youth and need covering so I am on the long term pondering about what to have over the top.  Having spent twenty-four years with one bad one I am not keen to spend the rest of my life with another one I do not like.  It seems to be quite hard to find designs that I do, so I am trying to design one myself.  I have a fancy for a really big one, I get all over-excitable when I see some those lovely sleeves on people, well some of them.  Adding to my procrastination and confusion is the fact there are so many different styles that I like, could end up like a dogs dinner.  The traditional, hearts, anchors, ships.  The new skull style.  I quite fancy something girly like a piece of old granny china.  Japanese designs, waves, blossom.  The beautiful Pacific big blooms.  Oh My!

Three rose designs I like at free fashion updates.  I like the traditional rose look.

Nice Japanese cherry blossom and waves at J Spooner

 Also love these Traditional  American style and the old Sailor style tattoo.

these three from nordic-tattooists-a-their-drawings.  The heart is so cool.

Roses. butterflies, blossom, Japanese clouds.  Am I allowed to mix it up?  All ideas that I have consistently loved for a long time.  Important I think.

mehndi sketches and doodles

Following on from my post about mehndi, I did a few sketches, of the different elements that make up the designs, and then played around with them.

I need to play around with scale a bit more, I need a new black felt pen or three, mine has run out of ink. And I need to do lots more, not all dolly faces!  I shall get the news print out.

where am I?

I have lapsed into some sort of twighlight world of listlessness.  I am doing things but have nothing created to put on this here blog that are worthy of showing anyone.  Will pull my socks up and try to do better!  I have taken the dog for a sprint around the park in the rain, tidied the kitchen and am putting off the rather unpleasant chore of dealing with the dust balls lurking under all the shoes, boots and crepe paper (yes crepe paper) at the bottom of the wardrobe.

 I inherited it from someone lovely, and I have run out of space in the kitchen cupboards, so it is in the wardrobe (on my husbands side, of course).  I think the graphics on the wrappers are so pretty, especially the colours above.

my Fly shoes.  I do wear these quite a lot.

This heel always feels so high to walk in, I am not sure how other girls cope with those really high thin heels.

I have had these for about 10 years, but they are so pretty, but feet shredders, not for much walking.

my sisters wedding 3 years ago, nice but high.

5 years

6 years, vintage looking, v pretty.

I think I was pregnant with nine year old when I bought these.

 I think I have no shoes until I get them all out, its a bit of a sorry collection and I never wear any of them really, I live in my birkenstocks and trainers in the summer, I am a sorry excuse for a woman really I know.  But they are in there covered in dust if I should ever feel like making an effort.  I do have a couple of pairs of nice winter boots!

fab cakes

I can bake a cake that  you can eat and taste quite nice, but mine would never be allowed into a cake competition.  I  look in awe at some of the a creations some clever cloggy people have come up with and day-dream.... (about eating them mostly).

above from100 layercake 

I love the big flowers. Jen Huang?

cake at little zosienka who also do beautiful illustrations.

 I'm sorry I have no link for this above, please let me know if you do.

above and below outrageous cake on rag-pony 

twirling betty

twins

Two more dog dollies for 10 year old twins (non-identical).  This time I made the template a bit wider as the last one was almost impossible to turn inside out, it was so skinny.  And I used different material which was also better to paint.

 I used old t-shirts for the ears, they have curled up at the edges and wont iron out flat, so try will something else next time?

Table cloth dress (I love the scale of this red dress and think I would like one.) and precious garage sale find material with old lace. Victorian jewelry book in background.