August!

How has summer been treating you so far? Here in DK, children will be starting school again soon, in other countries I know August is the big holiday month. Do you have plans or did they already happen?

Still very few days above 20Ā° here, 15-18 and rain is mostly the norm. And I’m not just imagining things, I read recently it’s been the coldest, least sunny July in close to 40 years. I’ve yet to complete all the bush and hedge trimming, but will be getting there soon in fits and starts. My legs are as white as sheets, so I doubt I’ll bother whipping out my new shorts and skirts even if we do get the odd warm day, it’s just easier to keep winter gear at the front of the shelf, as well as kinder to prospective viewers. Every year I fall for the temptation to get a few lighter items, mostly they never even have the labels off. When will I learn? Yes, I have delicate skin that shivers in the slightest breeze, what can I say.

As a result quite a few planned outdoors craft projects are getting cancelled this year, that really bugs me the most, but if you need quiet and dry for things to work (such as hanging up sheets of handmade paper), it’s not really just a question of dressing correctly. Nothing to do for it. It’s a bit sad to be pining for next summer already, so I try not to. šŸ˜‰

July has also been a setback for my exercising, I just couldn’t seem to muster the same enthusiasm even after my brain fog lifted. You’d think 7-8 months would be enough to program a habit, right? Planks are already down to half time, incredible how fast we lose muscle while gaining it takes forever. Anyway, for now I’ve decided that cutting down trees counts too, since I can barely move for days afterwards. I like to begin my day by splashing water in my face for instance, very messy when you can’t even bend over the sink..

Any successes to report then? Or revised, super exciting plans? Even just a tiny finished project? Well, I haven’t been idle, but it’s not time for any big reveals either.

  • Found some fiber board pieces with old blobs of paint on them, excellent opportunity to play with texture after adding more blobs. So I began adding all sorts of stuff to various canvasses, some more succesfully than others. I also found out that we have a handheld gas torch which I’ll be experimenting with shortly to distort paint layers. Because creme brulee just isn’t half as much fun, which is probably why the torch lived in the garage.
  • Last third of 12 meter black warp can finally begin, after that I have a green wool yoga mat to weave, although I’m debating just one more colour for my clothes collection that I’ve been hiding from you until it’s done.
  • Only one plant flowering at the moment, the Dahlia I put in a pot by the front door – but she does it rather well! Maybe next year I can redo the garden, if my back ever gets back to normal that is.
  • Since a lot of my paintings have gone haywire around mid-project and deserve to be gessoed, I’m taking a break and just prepping recycled material, such as the 4 large framed (and very faded) photos I found in a thrift shop. They are now covered in interesting textured paper waiting for paint, then I’ll paint the frames in a matching colour and reassemble the lot. Technically I need matte boards ($$) if I use acrylics, or they will stick to the glass, or, I could venture into other mediums which I don’t have much experience with, such as watercolour or inktense blocks, and that could be a big fat waste of materials now that I’ve A. schlepped them home and B. prepped them so carefully!
  • I haven’t yet processed the nettles I picked last year, but that didn’t stop me from picking new ones yesterday. This time I’ll try retting them fresh, then I can do the others after.

Thunderstorm afoot – better click the button and turn off PC. Last time our power was cut by a direct hit.

9 thoughts on “August!

  1. Dine nƦlder har det ligesom mine, og jeg er ogsĆ„ pĆ„ vej efter nye šŸ˜‰
    Vores strĆøm gik ogsĆ„ i tordenvejret, godt jeg havde lukket og slukket lige som dig. Du tar altsĆ„ nogle sinddsygt gode billeder af dien mange projekter. Det er sjovt og inspirerende at kigge pĆ„. Tak.

    1. Thanks sweetie. šŸ™‚ I’m still flailing a bit, trying out so many things or thinking about trying them because I don’t have the physical space to set up ALL the experiments, but I hope it will somehow come together at one point…

        1. Interesting thought! Like looking into a pond and seeing not only yourself but also another world. I wonder if that would be possible…

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