reporting back

I think it's going okay. Only one or two good head-donks. Nothing unusual there though!

And I managed to get my sketchbook out... and drawn on. Miracle.

A second draft of the (possible) cover for my (in progress) children's book. I'm thinking I'll ink it and then try my hand at water colours as that seems to be a popular medium for children's lit. I have a gorgeous set of water colour paints and they've barely been used... and never successfully.

Update on the babies: both asleep. Have been for almost an hour. Amazing.
And when they were both awake, they entertained one another. Amazing.
Wouldn't go quite so far as to say that it's easier with two, but perhaps that the whole is lesser than the sum of its parts. Does that make sense?

Going to sneak down the hall and check they're both still alive. Hopefully me knees don't click and the doors don't creak... would be such a shame to wake them.

experimenting with other people's children

Usually thursday is Painting Thursday, but paints are volatile enough with one baby crawling around and pulling himself up on the furniture, reaching for the paint water or pallette, knocking the easel feet around... Today I have two babies in the house! A friend is working - finishing of the work hours required for her qualification and trying to decide if continuing in a part time capacity is feasible with an infant... tough call! I have her darling little girl from 9-4ish. So perhaps, if the two babies sleep at the same time I'll get out the sketch pad.

Louis has been down for 2 hours now, and he could do another hour and a half, or wake any minute. Who knows? Maria is in the porta-cot in my bedroom, sporadically pitching a half-hearted cry down the hall at me, but sucking her fingers in between, and still lying on her back... sounds like going to sleep to me. So now's my chance! Bought a new (giant) sketch pad last week so I thought I'd sketch up some of my children's book illustrations. First, will finish coffee while it's hot, while I have the chance. Any second Louis could wake, and in doing so startle Maria out of her going-to-sleep... and I could lose all chance of 5 minutes to myself.

I'm thinking looking after two babies at once is probably a good idea before contemplating getting pregnant again. Certainly could be an interesting day.

failure to nap

So much for the nap. I left my spot in the sun, but before I reached my bed, I heard darling Louis crying. He was all blocked up and miserable, and wanting milk... And then is was lunch time and I had a visitor coming. Louis had gone back to bed but then woke just as the visitor left...

He went down for another nap before 4 (he has lots of short naps when he's got a cold) and I went to bed but couldn't get to sleep, needed a drink of water (all blocked-up and sore of throat myself)... and then Mum arrived, returning some mending she'd done for me. She was kind enough to leave me to my sleep-attempt.

I finally nodded off and then Louis woke at 5! I must have got 5 minutes or less in the end. For all that!

Frustrating. Very.

The other use of days

Free friday was in fact frivolous friday, and was followed by stupid saturday (weeding the damn garden, silly argument with husband, and rugby game) and snotty sunday (sick baby)... then must-i-move? monday.

Why? Computer games. Clocked "Braid" and then started on this old game called "Flight of the Amazon Queen" which I was getting really sick of but just finished an hour ago.

Managed to summon some self-control and got a little writing done yesterday morning... but then mum came over and there was soup to be made, a sick baby to comfort, mending to be done and hot drinks to consume (with delicious vanilla bean & choc dipped melting moments - thanks mum!)...

Today is quickly fading from a reading wednesday into a resting wednesday, as I now have the baby's cold and ache all over. So I think I'll go back to bed and get in a nap before Louis wakes up. Thank god he's sleeping is all I can say. Not as well as normal, of course, but still some.

Here i go a-napping. Yay!

flying about

We are back from a flying visit to the North Island: up on Saturday, back on Sunday, and in between Louis got to play with his cousins and grandparents and uncles, and an aunt too!

It was lovely to see him enjoying family he rarely spends time with, and nice for us too. Got to catch up with in-laws, and in-law in-laws, and had a sleep in!

The cousins had a bath together, followed by bedtime stories with Opa...

Oh the cuteness. And the mayhem. One baby is quite enough for the meantime. As I write this, it is 4.43pm and Louis is asleep (yippee). A batch of his babyfood is in the oven, baking, and my novel manuscript is printing - ooh, it's stopped. Stupid printer always mis-feeds. But then, we got it for $5 on trademe, so can hardly complain. 65 more pages to print and then I'll be on the hunt for a large envelope.

Louis spent the morning with Gran (the one who lives in town, not up north). I went to a breakfast meeting, then stayed put in the same cafe all morning, writing and character-profiling for new novel draft, until my lunch meeting. Went to get Louis, and was greeted by huge grin from head-butting baby, closely followed by coffee and fresh home baking - having a baby in the house made mum feel domestic or something... rarely has that effect on me. Although, something did, I guess, because I came home, put Louis to bed and then went to make a batch of baby food, except the pot I wanted was dirty... so I did all the dishes! How very unlike me.

Is it the promise of Downton? New season première is our entertainment this evening. Want to sit and watch it in tidy, clean environs, with lovely glass of chilled pear cider and something nummy and nibbly. New episode of Castle is out tonight too. Hurrah! I have become a tv addict.

Admitting you have a problem is the first step.

Now that I've taken the first step I'm going to sit down and recoup... and watch some telly.

Well, not right now. There's nothing on at ten to five in the afternoon. I could play some more of that silly time-bending computer game I started yesterday. Might keep my mind off the little earthquakes I keep feeling (or thinking I'm feeling). It's windy and our house creeks. When the printer finishes a page it makes the computer desk shake. Realised on the weekend, away from any need to be on edge, that I am ON EDGE. Stupid earthquakes. Even stupider than stupid printer.

Housework Monday, Writing Tuesday

Housework Monday has been and gone. The oven is clean! The kitchen floor, and the kitchen above it, is washed. The lounge is vacuumed and laundry hung out to dry. The fridge and fruit bowl are stocked for the week.

And now it is Tuesday. Yippee! Housework Monday sound like a drag? Yep. But that's the idea. Housework Monday is what gives me writing Tuesday, reading Wednesday and painting Thursday.

I came up with this plan a couple of months ago. I stuck to it for about a week, maybe two, before I got totally absorbed in finishing editing/rewriting my novel. Reading and painting went on hold, as did some housework (but who really cares about that?), until the blasted novel was finished.

Reading and painting have been reinstated into this rhythm of life. I'm a fan of the rhythm. At some point I'm hoping it incites another passionate lapse, and I will become totally absorbed by another writing project or painting.

In fact, the timing is a little predictable. November is not so very far away, and November brings nanowrimo, an international writing frenzy.

In the meantime, I have the easel set up in the lounge and Louis is yet to pull it down on himself. (Success!) A giant blank canvas is glaring at me. This afternoon I am going on a photo-taking mission, in search of subjects for this blank canvas. I want a silhouette of the port hills, the line of the summits. I will drive out to yaldhurst and then around the back of the airport. That should give me plenty of angles and options.

A few daffodil photos, and early cheer as well, though I'm sure I could get those, from any angle, with a google image search. Couldn't find the port hills on google though. The more popular picture is the southern alps, taken from the port hills. Plenty of those...

Looking forward to painting thursday. Last thursday was fantastic...

It inspired a painting friday...

And a dabbling saturday...

between reading Edith Shaeffer's 'Hidden Art' and 'Art as a Way of Life' by Ann O'Shaughnessy & Roderick MacIver.

What's the rule for Friday? The house usually needs vacuuming again and then there's the dishes (from writing tuesday, reading wednesday and painting thursday... yuck.) but Friday is the rule-free day... so whatever goes. More 'goes' if I've done the dishes early on, because then I feel free to work and create, unfettered by the 'should'-monster, who looks something like this:

(Either one really.)

The 'should'-monster bullies me into procrastination and guilts me out of inspiration.

(Yes, that is the ghost of christmas yet to come, and scrooge, from the muppet christmas carol. These are the images in my head.)

Alright, moving on. Just as soon as Louis is napping and I'm showered/dressed/decent... Writing tuesday, here I come.

Multi-function site?

I started this blog in order to keep all my 100 Days images in one place and share them with others. It's been a few months since that finished and I'm am recycling it; turning it into a blog. So, 'Scenes from a Story' will widen it's view. It will still occasionally glimpse the ever-cute and ever-more-active little Louis, but will no longer be limited to his escapades.

There is more to life than mothering, after all.

There are/is...
- books (the ones I'm reading - none of which I'm very hooked on yet - and the ones I'm writing/editing/planning-for-nanowrimo)
- food. (bit hungry actually, now that you mention it)
- friends and sisters on the other side of the world/country - some of which are coming to visit this weekend! yippee! - some of which I want to skype very soon!
- television shows. (longing for new seasons in way that reflects badly on myself)
- the garden that needs weeding
- earthquakes occasionally.
- sunday school activities to finish organising
- an exercycle sitting in my living room. I could us it. Unfortunately there are no tv shows to watch while on it.

Now I'm really hungry. I think there are some salt and vinegar rice crackers in the cupboard. Good thing we ran out of cheese - might have been quite naughty/greedy otherwise.