Thursday 30 September 2010

Sometimes......

Everyone is perfect to someone, sometimes
Everyone is perfect at something, sometimes
Sometimes, isn't always and it isn't never
Isn't that clever
Otherwise perfect wouldn't be extra special or achievable, sometimes!


So reach for the stars
The moon also has charms
Don't limit your dreams
Propel them like beams
And some might just twinkle and shine
Feel really divine
Sometimes!

By me - aspiring perfectionist, sometimes!!!

Why start a battle when you don't have to!


The ACoLab submission for October is "Your favourite song".  I DON'T have an absolute favourite song so there in starts my own internal battle for which song should win this accolade.   


Do I go back to my childhood and a song which takes me to a time where all my friends used to gather round the tv watching the Eurovision Song Contest (doesn't have the same feeling as it did in the 70's)?  


Growing up, this annual Euro-vision Contest date was one where you bought in supplies of sweets, and cuddled up in front of the TV with your family watching all the countries perform their countries representation, avidly waiting to see who won.


The song I am thinking about was the year that launched Abba from Sweden!  I loved the blue outfit Agnetha wore (funnily enough my Mother-in-law was her double and quite a babe in the 70's from photographs I have seen) and I loved her long blond hair.  I (like many other people) instantly started singing this catchy little number, and every time I hear it I get transported back to my childhood and watching this on the TV, thereon after I quickly think about a holiday with my friend and her parents where Dancing Queen kept being played! So what song is it going to be?

As I have said, I don't have an out and out favourite song, a lot might fight to get there, but nope, they are all being defeated in one way or another.  There are many songs I love, some of which I have shared in previous posts, but one absolute favourite - nope, Nada!  


So how do you depict something that would end up creating your own internal battle of the bands/songs!  Of course, Waterloo by Abba and how better than to depict it with a piece of art which we have bought, a bowl made out of specially commissioned French plastic toy soldiers!  


The white bowl was also great, but the soldiers were of the English Civil War, French uniforms are much more beautiful and then of course there was a great song about it and I cannot think of a great English Civil War song!

So ends my internal and personal battle of fighting to capture one outright favourite song - I don't have one and and why start a war when you don't have to!  Also, this song won the Euro-vison in 1974!



Astro Boy!

Astronaut backpack made in 2008 by Dexter
Dexter has always loved creative stuff, drawing, making things, writing stories, making fantastic jewellery (I am going to do a separate post for displaying some of them because they are really really good and he has even sold some as a result of me being stopped in the street and having them commented on!). 

Astronaut Dexter with his home made backpack 2008

So here are some photos of a couple of years ago when we made a space pack together - Astro Boy Dexter was created!  Making cool things out of junk too can be fun!

To infinity and beyond!
There are no limits to creativity thankfully as wouldn't life be boring.

Want to hear a song, and laugh at the same time, watch this video of Flight of the Conchords

Hands across the World & Sprio; together we make a difference!

Hands united
Last night all the parents got to visit their child's school and see the new classroom they are in and see all the stuff they have been doing during the first term of their new year.  Of course, Anders and I went to see Dexter's new classroom.
Hands across the world tapestry by primary school kids at Dexter's school 2010

The big thing however is that the whole school have been working on an art project which has involved them all making a hand and it being put onto a huge piece of material which will be made into a collage entitled "Hands across the World".  The hands symbolise hands of children working together from all different backgrounds and how if they do things together then they can make a difference.  I was pretty blown away by it, the work and quality of it was just amazing, genuinely.  I think all the parents were impressed by it as it was that good.  It reminded me the process behind people making patchwork quilts either from knitting or making square patches of material.  
Dexter's hand he made for the tapestry

tapestry hands
tapestry hand
Talking about working together, there was also a blind auction on Friday evening to raise money Dexter's school.  All of the money they raised is going to fund getting new play equipment in the playground for all the kids to enjoy.  The event raised £5,000, and Anders and I won a couple of things, one of which was a print of a painting by Mike Turpie (he made and donated it for the event), who is one of the dads of a boy that attends the school.  Here is the picture:-

Sprio print of painting by Mike Turpie
This print of the original painting is of the coffee shop which we all go to regularly as it is in our neighbourhood which is really lovely.  The couple who jointly own it (Paula & Marchello from Italy) with a friend of theirs (Kathleen, a Scot, who married an Italian and lived in Italy where she met Paula & Marchello) also have a son who attends the same school too so this print has a connection to us all and it is great to know that all the parents getting together with their friends and family helped get some money to make play at school even nicer for all our kids.  We are so pleased to have won it as it is really pretty and is depicts something that is part of our everyday life in a really lovely way.

Mike is an expressionist painter, based in Scotland and Santa Fe and here he is in Sprio where we had coffee and I told him that Anders and I had won his donation - whilst he looks like he is saying "get away from me you nutter" he isn't as we regularly chat in Sprio and have a laugh over things that have happened!

If you want to see more about Mike and his works, he too has a Blog Mike Turpie's Art Blog.  If you go over you will see his other works and the little entry where he has talked about our picture.

So a whole lot of kindness and togetherness bundled up and depicted through art.  The print which for us is like a photograph of a place which holds nice memories for Anders, Dexter and I and helped raise money for the school all our kids attend.  This and the art works that the school kids have done make you realise that there is a real sense of working together and belonging, just what being part of a nice neighbourhood should be!

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Wednesday 29 September 2010

Barcelona

That's right, I am so excited, we are going to go there for a few days sometime in the not too distant future (will keep the suspense going for a bit as want you to share this whole experience with us - and why not, we are having to wait after all too!).  So as I have just bought the flights, I thought I would share this with you so as to get you excited too as this trip is on!


Addicted to the sea.....


From a young age he could swim
so nothing else but a sea life was for him.



Inspired by pirates and treasure
to be at one with the sea he thought would be such a pleasure


Adventure was therefore his vice
Losing two arms still didn't suffice


His desire to be one with the sea


He still haunts it and from it will never be free.....



the long road

one of my tales inspired by lighthouses if you want more look up the label for lighthouse!

Tuesday 28 September 2010

Changing Planet....

I love being able to see the world with all its colours
Its opaque simplicity


Its romance and passion


When the blue meets the red the purple sticks in my head



And leaves me thinking of the jade and emerald green, and the wonders still to be seen



which is changing all the time
Just catch some of it and enjoy




Ghost of a lighthouse


The lighthouse which once was so ship shape and Bristol fashion
That could tell tales that would compete with ones from grandest of mansions


The sailor that once stood to attention
was now too scary to mention


Through the lens of the glass things look distorted and different
or is it in the way our mind portrays it?






 

Creating a memory - done!

If you have been following my blog, you will already know the build up to this which started last week http://rmontalban.blogspot.com/2010/09/creating-memory.html  

So here is how the actual memory implantation went (oh, this sounds like we did an all out "inception" inspired thing doesn't it!).  It all started on Saturday morning (I know I said Anders and I were going to wait till Sunday to do this but we couldn't wait until then, ha, ha).  We went for brunch at Urban Angel and as expected Dexter couldn't believe his luck when he started to find the Mini Lego figures!   
Let me in!
I first slipped one under the table in the cafe where we were and he was so excited, at first thinking someone had left it so was going to hand it into the waitress as he is really good and honest that way (oh, we are so proud of him for being so lovely like that).  We therefore had to say that we thought we heard something about a Lego promotion where they were leaving figures around places so perhaps he would be lucky in finding more!  So being happy with what we said he duly ripped the packaging open with such enthusiasm and found the Mexican figure!
Reading the instructions to put together the Mexican Lego Mini Figure
Putting it together.
Look Mum!
He then said, "I wonder if there are more behind the cushions you are sitting on Mummy"!  Anders and I smiled as he excitedly looked behind them but there were none there - awwww.  Anders then said that it was doors open day weekend in Edinburgh (buildings which are not normally open to the public (private and historic landmark buildings) are open one weekend a year), so perhaps he might find others.

We then went along the road I threw one into the basement entrance of one of the flats and then said "look Dexter, I think there is one down there".......

Wonder if there are any down there?

......yep, sure enough there was one - oh was he happy!
Look Mum I found another one!

 After that, Dexter said "I'm definitely going to keep my eyes peeled"!

I am looking out for them!
This continued when we got to Carlton Hill when we were going to see the observatory which is not normally open to the public.  


On route up the hill, I put them under bushes and behind stones when he wasn't looking and he couldn't believe his luck.  He ran around looking high and low shouting with joy when he found one which never seemed to duplicate with any of the others and just happened to be the ones he was after!

They are hidden in the bushes!
When we stood in the queue (there was a really long one for the observatory which is right next to this impressive landmark building),




The views from this point are ones which a lot of people take of the Edinburgh cityscape, as it is beautiful.

Edinburgh cityscape view from top of Carlton Hill
Anyway, we stood in the queue and decided to throw one into a bush near us which made a noise!  Quick as a flash, Dexter looked round and there was one right in bushes to which he said "there is another one, it wasn't there before"?  "Who threw that into the bush, Mum"?  He was suspicious (well you didn't want him to really think this was a Lego promotion did you!!!). To pretend it wasn't me I said, "perhaps there is someone in the queue doing it" which made the people smile who had seen me do the deed!  Dexter smiled, looked at the people in the queue and then back at me with a shy smile wondering if that was the case but not being totally convinced - just the reaction I wanted!!!

Memorial on the wall of the observatory at Carlton Hill
He had started to click, and then as we went inside the building and looked around (both at the observatory and for Lego figures he kept asking me to tell him who was doing it but I resisted telling him, instead I just smiled and told him that his Daddy and I really loved him lots and it made us happy to see him so happy!

Dexter even spotted a heart in the ground and smiled a knowing smile!

View of Edinburgh New Town to Granton from Carlton Hill
These are my Mini Figures found

Look at what I found today!
He had a great day having found a whole stash of Lego Mini Figures and we had a great day watching him get excited and wonder why he seemed to be the only child who found them!

I am so Happy!


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