Where does the time go?

Has it really been over a week since I last posted? How scary, I can't believe how fast this year has gone and especially the last couple of months. I was married 4 months on the 13th, but actually it feels more like 4 years (and I don't mean that in a bad way). Although I'm still getting the hang of the new name.

Speaking of husbands, mine got laid off last week, along with about 700 colleagues. Unbelievable - that's twice in about three years, not counting when one company he worked for got bought out by another one (which has just gone bust) and took most of the staff along for the ride. He had an interview today for a major software publisher/developer and it would be great if he got the job, but I have my reservations. I think it's no coincidence that all the companies he works for end up in adminstration; in fact I think he does it deliberately. Whether it's out of malice, boredom or some other agenda I can't work out, and he denies it. Anyway, I particularly like this company's games and would be more than a bit miffed if they also ended up bankrupt so perhaps it's best if my lovely husband stays clear. Although they're not a three letter acronym, like the last few have been, so perhaps they're safe.

What have I made this week... well as it's Christmas, I've been making presents, and giving them away before remembering to photograph them. So I don't have a decent photo of the lacy scarf my friend Em got, nor the beaded bracelet. But I do have a photo of the soap I made for some workmates. It's Christmassy-scented and has gold glitter inside - yum.



In the background there you can see some little crocheted ducks. I received these yesterday as part of an angel package for a Sanrio swap on Craftster. I got a massive haul of stuff from RhymeswOrange, who is awesome, but these little ducks are just so sweet, the more I look at them the more I love them. I need to find somewhere permanent to put them - I want to put them in the bathroom as they match the shower curtain and walls but I need to put up a shelf. Here's a better photo.


I've also been doing a bit more painting. I did a couple of landscapes straight out of the book Paintbox by Frank Clarke, which I really like even though the author has a truly terrible shirt on the front cover. Mine don't look quite like his examples but I'm a total beginner, so I'm not beating myself up about it. I enrolled in a watercolour techniques class for the new year - three Sundays for six hours at a time - and I'm really looking forward to that. Here's my two landscape efforts so far:

(That second one looks very pale in the photo - it's less washed-out looking in real life.)

And here's my paintbox and brushes. I love the palette when it's all messy, I wish I never had to clean it.


I accidentally bought yet another watercolour book, but I've hidden it amongst the others in the hope that my husband won't notice. He was shopping the other day and bought me two books from one of the cheapo book shops in Walthamstow, which was very sweet of him, but one of them wasn't for beginners/idiots like me so that's for a bit later on.

Right, it's after midnight and I'm off to bed. Tomorrow's my last day at work before Christmas and we're off to Ireland on Monday, I can't wait!