yikes!

random photo of buttons

my head is about to explode

I cannot think nor do much of anything

and of course, my to-do list is massive

I leave early Thursday morning for the States

however, my passport hasn't come back from the embassy!!

I sent it off to get pages added

and miscalculated how long it would take

now I have been spending the last few days with

a stomach full of acid......worrying

I have spoken to someone in the embassy twice now

and they have said it will be with me tomorrow

and if it isn't?

aaaarrrrggggghhhh!!!!!

I know, it is totally my fault

once again a product of my not getting things done

got.to.stop

I am flying into KC to stay with my mother - and then she and I

and a few other family members

are going to Mexico for a week

I am really hoping to spend a good portion of my time

emptying out this head of mine

it is so cluttered......and noisy

I think some people are good with that

I am learning it stops me

stops me from doing things

distracts me so much

I cannot settle anywhere

with anything

am not too thrilled with being away from S for so long....

my main purpose is the few weeks I will be staying with my mother

we will be tackling all the cupboards, closets, boxes, drawers, shelves, etc

that are completely filled to the brim

donating, selling, keeping - clearing!

I think it will make us both feel really good

altho, I think there will be some emotional moments

a couple of scenes of my desk....which I am leaving in a terrible mess!

and the unfinished bird I was supposed to finish before I left

wait..what happened?

I didn't mean to have such a long pause between blog posts!

just never.........took the time

have been busy doing non-creative/paying design jobs

but have also finished a piece that I am submitting to a local show

(which I probably now have jinxed by mentioning it)

a couple of weekends ago S and I went to Budapest. I have wanted to go there

for years!!

such a beautiful and elegant city

lovely, lovely Art Nouveau buildings everywhere

you had to keep looking up

sometimes the most amazing part of the buildings were the tippy tops!

below is a wall of tiles and statues in the hall of the thermal baths we went to

I was quite intrigued by the wings coming out of her head!

Parliament in the background........so ornate!

this statue was so beautiful

she looked so modern

it is Queen Elizabeth, the wife of Emperor Franz Josef

such a delicate statue

this was a man in traditional Hungarian dress playing some sort of instrument -

I couldn't get closer to take a better photo

looking from Pest over the Danube to Buda

such stunning scenery; its hard to take a bad photo!

it was actually sunny and even slightly warm today

I actually sat in the sun a bit

I am still going to do a collage from the items I took from the collage box

a label for onion chutney

and finish another bird I have started

it's only Monday - so I still have a chance!

hope you are having a sunny, creative day too

and thank you, thank you, thank you for coming by!

__a

Alice

I wrapped up the collage box and have sent it on its way to Monika

I will now get to work on that collage

but first.......I have another date night tonight!

(Monday, we went to a private preview party at the National Gallery and then dinner at Terroir)

My lovely S. somehow got us tickets to the new ballet, Alice in Wonderland at the Royal Opera House, which we will see tonight.

The Gala preview was this past Monday.

the shows are all sold out

but we were able to get a pair of tickets........probably in the clouds

so.......for Valentine’s Day, I gave S. these French mother of pearl opera glasses;

I am sure we will need them!

the sun is shining, but boy is there a strong, arctic (or Siberian?) wind blowing!

hope it is at least shining where you are!

__a

collage box

I signed up to be included in a collage box swap through LaWendula quite a while ago.

The box just showed up!

I have never done anything like this and thought it would be an interesting way to

challenge myself with new materials, etc

dopey me didn’t realise how much paper would be involved

uh.......I know.......what else would there be?!

I think I was thinking there would be all sorts of different materials

fabric, ribbons......

but, of course, most collagers (if that is a word)

would be using all sorts of different papers and things

anyway; this is what I found in the box

so, the deal is now I take 12 pieces out of this box

and put in 12 of my own

below are the things I took out

and here is what I added!

thought I would do a mixture of fabric and paper

there’s also a bit of bark, which I thought might interest someone

(upper left of photo)

a green feather, button, and a fabric heart

hope the next people to receive the box find

my things interesting

at first, I thought I was just taking things out of the box

and using them however I wanted

but upon reading the rules a bit closer;

I am to make one collage with all the bits I chose from the box

this might be a bit more difficult

only because as I chose things, I was thinking of using them

in several different projects

I can also add other things to the piece

this should be interesting

something different for me to think about and work with

have a lovely weekend

and thanks for dropping by

are you there Spring? It’s me, Anne

well, looky there, it’s already Thursday!

and what have I done this week??

nada

ok; a tiny lie

I have started on a bigger piece - and yes, it is yet another bird........

the deadline for the submissions are Monday

and frankly, don’t think I’m gonna make it

silly goose......had MORE than enough time!

oh well

things I HAVE done this week?

been to bootcamp......in my third week

it is really hard, but am so glad I started it

now, if all my effort would manifest itself into actual weight loss;

or even better;

easier fitting clothes.......

today, I inexplicably bought orange nail polish and lipstick!

what the.......??

must be the pollens in the air

oh, and yes; have started taking allergy medicine already;

a bit early, isn’t it?!

need to get some local honey and start in on that

I got a mystery package in the post today

well, I know what it is.........or where it is from

but

you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see what is inside

and what I am going to do with it

and where it will go next

all will be revealed!!

and hello to my new followers!!

how exciting!

thanks for joining

and to all you commenters - thanks to you too!

see you tomorrow

hope the sun is shining where you are

__a

valentines

I finally finished a couple of heart pieces to put in the café next door

almost missed my deadline!

they take so much longer than I think they will......

but I like they way they came out

hope everyone else does too!

I am going to try and maybe do a couple more

maybe make them less elaborate (if possible) so they won't take so long

it is a grey and rainy, rainy, rainy day today

boo

and now.......back away form the computer, Anne - and get to work!!

so much to do.........

so little focus

thank you to each one of you that takes the time to come by my blog - and especially to leave a message

and a BIG HELLO to those of you who have recently started “following” my blog

welcome -

really appreciate all of you

__a

that is so nice!

I had the most amazing thing happen the other evening!

I came home and found an envelope had been shoved through the letterbox; addressed to the homeowner

At first I thought ; "oh no, we have annoyed our neighbours"

but then again, we aren't the ones with the screaming toddlers (both behind and next to us!)

then I thought; maybe someone wants to buy our house and were leaving their details

I opened it and here is what it said:

how nice is that?!

I had the biggest grin on my face for the rest of the evening

the funny thing is; I have only done two displays

the first one is the photo of the cyclamen at the top of my blog

the other was the scene I did for Xmas (below)

our house opens right up onto a small alleyway

a pretty popular throughway into the centre of town

there are only 4 houses on the street

(can't really call it a street.......but you get it?)

anyway - I thought it would be nice to put something

in my window, for people to look at as they go by

but I was starting to get a bit discouraged

noone seemed to pay any attention

until I got this note!

someone has noticed

so, of course, now I have to come up with something

for the next display! no pressure.........hahaha

I got the go-ahead from the café

they'll display my valentines - so am working on them

have almost finished the first one -

I hope all my US friends are keeping warm and watching out for ice

and to everyone; I hope for you a creative and inspiring weekend

__a