I Want To Ride My Bicycle

Let's be very clear. I am not a bicycle girl. 

I fell off my first bike when I was seven, split my lip open, had stitches and was completely traumatised by the experience (obviously still am, it's one of my first memories). I hardly ever got back onto my little green bike (in fact, we gave it to the neighbours) and the past 30 years haven't seen any change on that front. 

Husband has been using bikes as his main mode of transport forever and has tried to get me excited about bikes over the years but to no avail. It's only since our kid has been learning to ride that I've realised two things. One, I'm not a very good role model if I'm too scared to get on a bike. And two, it's lots of fun! 

Add that to that the fact that Toronto is full to the brim with cyclists and the cutest darn girly bikes abound, coupled with some beautiful spots to cycle with your family. That is probably the thing which put the final chink in my "I'm not really into biking" armour.

For now, we have a borrowed boy's bike for Husband's use. There was a little window of opportunity to hit the park after school yesterday and we grabbed it. It's been a wet week so we have to make the most of the sunshine. Poppet is looking forward to us buying her first Canadian bike this weekend (we've been too busy so far and the weather hasn't helped) so she took her scooter instead. And boy, does she love to scoot!

We hit the park and went to see the animals at the zoo. Yes, the free local zoo which the government has stopped funding after over a hundred years. Nice. But that's the type of government which is in power at the moment in Ontario. Is it free, is it working well, is it part of the community, do you enjoy it???

Well, we're gonna cut it's funding. So there.

The reindeer are growing new antlers, the lama's baby is growing fast and the wallabies are frisky. It's always a great outing and only a couple of blocks away. Don't worry, we're pretty sure the local community has figured out how to save it with lots of donations coming in and possibly some sponsorship ahead. Phew, the alternative seemed to be to offer a home for the bison and peacocks and goats in neighbourhood yards instead. I would definitely have dibs on the emus!

 But hang on, what's that I see?

Yes, it's me. On an honest to goodness bike! With Poppet giving me words of encouragement along the way. It was so much fun, though still feels very weird and clunky. And for sure, a girly bike will be the way to go. After a hip replacement, it was comical watching my attempts at climbing onto the bike. Getting off was ridiculous! A ladylike bike (hopefully with a cute little basket on the front) will be something to get our hands on before the holidays. For now, I'll practise on the other one and see if I can force myself out onto the road eventually. But I've got my eyes on this one...

image via here

Scared much? Absofrickinlutely. Riding a bike in public is probably one of the scariest things I will ever force myself to do. I'd rather try expatting in another foreign country first, maybe somewhere really foreign where the don't speak English. Even somewhere incredibly hot and humid. Oh wait, I've already done that, we lived in Brazil! 

Hell, if I can speak Portuguese and deal with humidity for 90% of the year then I can get on a damn bike.

I shall just feel the fear and do it anyway. I say that to my kid all the time but it doesn't mean a thing if I'm not willing to show her how that's done. And now I've said it in a very public forum. You'll hold me to it. 

Won't you.

Something Blue

I've been working on something new.

And waiting for some decent light to take a photo of her.  But it's been decidely wet and overcast for days now. Oh well, you work with what you have.

Introducing Anouk. 

Her first outfit is a little French so we decided to come up with a suitably French name for her. Poppet is very happy to have a new dolly of her own (I've been promising for months!) and is keen for me to come up with a dress design and some more accessories too.  Anouk is part of the re-launch of the Rainbow Girls range. I hope to release a series of dollies in lovely rainbow colours and hopefully an extensive wardrobe to boot.

This is still a work in progress but I thought you'd like to see what I've been up to...

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

No Laziness In Sight

Today's effort was quite the opposite to yesterday's laziness. 

I'm still feeling blocked, sinuses now, but mostly better.  I'm surprised that we slept last night. Our landlords had a soiree outside into the wee small hours (never understood people who have the stamina to entertain on a Sunday night knowing they have to work the next day, I'm such a square). We must have been tired to sleep through it considering the state they left the yard in. I don't begrudge them their bit of fun, they're quite lovely and generally very quiet. Though how they could leave the mess there all day and concentrate on other things is beyond me (neat freak). Fortunately we don't share the yard with them, plus it was a wet day so I didn't have to venture anywhere near theirs either.

Poppet had a playdate after school, so I felt justified in spending the first three hours after dropping her off cleaning the house (the floors were so gross!) instead of working. Then I just had to tackle our only teeny-tiny storage cupboard as it has been driving me nuts. This poor cupboard has to handle our tools, our tax and paperwork, plus my business paperwork and packaging, crafty bits and bobs, shopping bags and backpacks and other miscellanea. Quite the challenge! But always very satisfying when it's done (did I mention I'm a neat freak?) 

 And then it was time for lunch and some social media nonsense, plus some emails before I could finally start work at 1pm. I enjoyed working today, listening to the latest Kermode and Mayo film review on my Ipod (getting excited about Prometheus, going to see it this Friday night). I did some rough sketches to get started on those giveaway Poppets from a few weeks ago.

Then cracked on with some cutting. I really like cutting especially the felty bits, and sewing. It's probably the stuffing that really bugs me so I try to break that part up or rent a really good movie to keep me distracted from the monotony and the RSI.

Thought it might be time for some Xmas Poppets. No?

Hope your Monday wasn't too shabby. 

Very Lazy Day

We had plans today but we cancelled. We are still so tired, phlegmy, headach-y and sore throat-y. A day in pyjamas required. Instead of a shower at 6.30am I had a bath at lunchtime, read some magazines and took my time. Poppet built a fort in the bay window and spent half the day there with her ipod (listening to Narnia audiobooks, yay!) and some jubilee colouring I found online. Husband chilled out on the sofa with his laptop. We had the Queen's tour of the Thames on the tv in the background. There was some lunching, some skipping, some dismay at the damage the wind did to my lovely salvia plants overnight (boo!) and a small walk down the strip for some fresh air when the rain stopped.

Then we made an effort and went to see "Pirates" which is such a funny and deliciously layered animation. Loved it so, not really surprised by that. We are huge Aardman fans in this house! A bite to eat near the cinema, home to play with the neighbour's cats and now it's time for Poppet to get out of the bath, head to bed and read the final chapter of "Prince Caspian".

The view from the deck is lovely and green, but the wet weather has returned for now so we can only get out there occasionally. Still, it's lovely to be surrounded by such enormous trees. We have lots of little birds who visit us and manage to escape the neighbour's cats and their claws.

Crochet will be the only other effort I make before bed. I started the dang blanket a year ago, you can read about the beginnings of it here. And it's only developed to cot-size in that time. Need to crack on before the next winter!

I'm So Dizzy, My Head Is Spinning...

Like a whirlpool it never ends...

Remember this song?

This week, my head has been spinning. As I've been a little sick and more likely to sit in front of the computer than the sewing machine, I have been trying to be productive anyways. Social media has been the flavour (blogger really wants me to spell that 'flavor' but I can't turn off my Australian spelling!) of the week. This means Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus, Blogging. 

Frankly, the very notion of all of these things makes my head spin and smoke come out of my ears. I still use a Filofax and a pencil instead of any form of computer/phone-driven calendar (and I'm sticking to my guns on that one, old school!) and I rarely use my phone for the internet at all.

But I need to learn this stuff as it's the 'meat' in the sandwich for any successful online business. Or the 'eggplant', if you're a vegetarian like myself. I think it's pretty safe to say that I've cracked Facebook, even with that stupid timeline-thing driving us all crazy. There will certainly be challenges ahead now that it's a public company, and paying for likers to see my posts is something I don't have a fixed opinion on yet. But Facebook has yet to offer me that 'option' so I will cross that bridge when I come to it. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you are blessedly un-addicted to Facebook, unlike my sorry self.)

image via here

Twitter exists in the dark recesses of my mind. I got as far as linking Facebook and Twitter to each other so I didn't have to constantly update on both but that's just laziness so I've spent this week trying to interact with peeps on twitter and to actually use the darn thing. Watch this space (I'm still pretty daft on that one).

As far as the blog is concerned, I'm trying to generally write more. It was fun doing the Photo A Day thing, as I had to post daily, but I think it became a convenient way of posting without actually writing anything. 

So now, I'm back to trying to formulate sentences (more steam out of ears at this point!). I also need to tidy up the appearance of the blog and add a lot more links to other blogs and other generally mind-numbing (to me) business.

Pinterest is a lot of fun, I've been pinning away pretty little pictures and sources of inspiration for months now but I've not been interacting over there at all. I finally organised my boards this week to make them more coherent and will be trying to comment and take more time with that particular form of social media to make it more meaningful.

And Google Plus. Dang, I am slow on the uptake on that one. And I'm not the only one. There are a few solid pioneers out there (mostly in the US) who are using it regularly but the rest of us are silently hanging out, if at all. I think it has great possibilities to rival Facebook eventually, so will continue to play and lurk until I can make a decision. But hey, you have to be in it to win it, don't you?

To aid and abet my social media week of nonsensical craziness, I've been madly listening to podcasts, reading E-books and following newly discovered blogs on the subject. If you are interested in reading/listening to any of it feel free to message me for more info. 

The brain isn't coping and the steam coming out of my ears could wilt spinach! 

This song is also appropriate...

Well, its the weekend and we are having people for dinner. The challenge ahead is to maintain a social media presence and actually get some damn work done! (and maintain a household and friendships and exercise routine) I know I keep asking around but if anyone really does figure out how to make a clone, please let me know!

Have a nice weekend, I think I've really earned the glass of wine I'll be downing this evening...