Sketches

Have posted a new album on my Picasa Web album area containing some conversions from photos into sketches. They have been produced using a filter called Impressionist that used to ship with Frontpage 97, 98 and 2000 (the full copies only). It is so wicked, I came across it by accident whilst searching on the web and then found a really useful site called http://www.retouchpro.com/ which have some good tutorials and forum advice on how to use it. I've only just started to scratch the surface of it, there are loads of options to tweak but I like what I have seen so far. It'll keep me occupied during the winter evenings ;-)

Also on the retouchpro site is a video tutorial by "Swampy" which shows you how to deal with the bland skies that we so often see in this country and which frequently spoil an otherwise good photo. Thanks Swampy!

Tattoo and Ear Piercing Update

Once again yours truely has successfully healed another tattoo. The paw prints have settled down a treat and the flakiness etc. has gone leaving a wonderful enticing picture. Looking forward to seeing what Ben has sketched out for the next one, will most likely call into town sometime this week to get this one checked over and see the sketch at the same time.

My jewellery finally arrived last Saturday from piercing.org, these are the threadless labrets for my ear rim piercing. I had borrowed one from my nostril piercing to help eliminate the trauma caused by my winter hat but obviously the gauge of the nostril labrets is too small really. Glad I purchased the taper pin to help fit it and it took some encouragement so perhaps the hole had started to shrink already. Anyhow finally got it in and so far so good, the back of the labret is larger than for the nostril labrets but not too bad, popped in the gem end this morning so have a matching pair for this evening's do at the Country & Western Linedancing club. Here's hoping the labret works out OK over the winter months, I really like the rings but they get squashed by my winter hat and end up making my ear really sore and I don't want to have to retire it as I really like it and I've got this far with it. It'll have been done 2years this coming April but it's one of the most traumatic piercings I have had to heal. By comparison my nostril piercing was a walk in the park! Still no pain no gain as they say. Though the tattoos are by far easier to deal with both for healing and afterwards, there's nothing to get caught up on clothing etc. Think I will stick to them from now on!

Xmas Group Photo

Here we all are celebrating this Xmas!

From the left is:- My brother Darren, Moi, My Dad and Stepmum Allan & Margaret, My daughter Julia, My brother's partner Jo (and bump!) and in the chairs in the front row my nans, Alice on the left and Florence on the right.

My brother brought along his tripod so we could all get in the photo which is cool, took some test shots to get everyone looking in the same direction and not blinking mid-shot but we got there in the end ;-)

Second Tattoo

Well here it is the second tattoo all done and dusted. It's quite sore at the moment, presumably because each paw print is quite small and dries out quickly so have resorted to placing some clingfilm over it to help the Bepanthan keep it moist. It on my lower right arm for those of you who can't tell where it's placed and the photo doesn't help with that. Looking forward to really seeing it once the redness and the raised effect that is normal for a new tattoo have resided. I managed to heal the first one OK so fingers crossed I can manage it again with this one. Watched it being done this time and it was pretty cool, the needle is so small you can barely see it and there's no blood which is what I was concerned about, just ink which he constantly wipes away. It also helped to see which ones had been done 'cos then you know more or less how long you've got left to breathe through the pain! The guy I go to is very thorough and checks the design out for gaps etc once it's been washed off and let me tell you that distilled water feels good after the heat produced by the tattooing. Anyway have left him sketching a design out for the next one based on some thoughts and sketches I had obtained (sketch courtesy of my email pal Amber - many thanks!). Will wait a bit (famous last words) before getting the next one but still got a few more after that up my sleeve.

Ear Rim Piercing

Why is it that this particular piercing is the bane of my life? I know I was a tad impatient with it whilst it was supposed to be healing but boy am I paying for it now! The sudden change in the weather to something approaching the Arctic Circle has had me reaching for my woolly hat with the end result that my ear rim piercing is now thoroughly ticked off at being constantly disturbed. It's formed a kind of blister on the back which bleeds when provoked and so I've had to hastily order a 16ga threadless labret from the company that supplies my nostril jewellery and in the mean time wear my spare 18ga nostril post. I'm beginning to think I may have to save the circular barbells that I love so much for the summer months when my ear will not be disturbed by irritating headwear. The company I buy from also do a rather interesting nostril ring and their CBR's are made from a softer titanium which means they don't need those opening pliers in order to be able to fit them. I shall most likely order one of each in the New Year to see what they are like, get the CBR for my ear and the bent ring for my nose. I'm not convinced that I will like any ring in my nose but as long as I order one that is smaller than the last one I purchased, which was way too big, it's got to be worth a try. There aren't many sellers out there for the threadless jewellery which is a real shame as it's the most comfortable I have ever worn, mind you the guy I deal with at Piercing.Org is always very prompt and helpful which is great as I ask rather alot of questions. Anyhow lets hope when this labret turns up that it solves my winter hat blues!

Lights for Love

Here's a photo of my daughter Julia putting her star

on the tree at the Lights for Love service. We went along to mark the 20th anniversary of my Mum's death this year (30th November 1987). The service is organised by the Wisdon Hospice, you make a donation in memory of a loved one and as my Mum died of cancer my brother and I thought it would be a good way to remember her. The photo on the right is my brother's star on the tree.

The service was held in Rochester Cathedral and it was a very busy evening, we had to sit on the sidelines for the service which mean't we didn't see much of what was going on, but we all lit candles and then transferred the flame to ones that stay lit in the Cathedral. Our words of remembrance were listed in the book which will be on show until the New Year.

All in all it was a very peaceful evening and I am glad we chose to do something different this year.

Wolfy Tattoo

Yay!!! The wolfy tattoo is finally healed after about 6 weeks, so the information I read about it taking up to 45 days was pretty much on the nose. I bought some of that Aqueous Cream BP from the local chemist and it seems to like that alot, it's non-greasy but stays in the skin well so that it doesn't dry out. Now I can wear sleeves for the first time again in 6 weeks ;-)

The second tattoo is booked and I'm so looking forward to seeing the end result. It should finish off that arm quite nicely and be halfway healed before I go back to work after the Christmas break.

Talking of which I still haven't got around to putting up the decorations yet, think we'll wait until next weekend, we won't have many more days at work/school then and so it should feel more festive.

Second Tattoo Booked

Well there's no going back now, the second tatt is booked for Wed 19th December at 10am, Ben is doing it again as he did such a good job last time and put me at ease, well as much as one can be comfortable whilst being tattooed. Looking forward to getting it done and thus finishing off that arm. Then it will be on the the others given time, want to let these two settle down first I think, have a break from all the caring regime that follows tatts and piercings. Be good to show them off proper over the summer and hopefully as I've booked off almost three weeks over the Xmas break the second one will have settled down by the time I return to work. I'm kind of a work in progress at the moment, sounds weird doesn't it? What I mean is that there are several tattoos I'm thinking of getting and will gradually add them one by one. Patience is not one of my virtues so the process isn't likely to take too long, in fact I had said I would wait 6 months before getting a second one, but about 6 weeks on I'm gagging for more ;-)

Another week in Paradise

Here we are ready for another fun filled week in Paradise! My new career as a planner is slowly getting underway, its mostly piece-meal jobs as the moment due to my lack of knowledge but I am slowly learning and making copious notes along the way ;-) It seems to involve lots of meetings and “tree-hugging” bonding sessions with fellow planners but hey who am I to argue???

Still mulling over the future tattoos, mainly one for my daughter, something to represent our relationship. Its hard to define it into a picture, harder still so that its something I want to wear on my skin for the rest of my natural. Still I’m sure I’ll get there eventually, there’s no immediate rush and I have several other projects to do first which are easier to define.

The tribal wolf is pretty much there in terms of healing, it gets dry fairly quickly if I am wearing sleeves which at work is most of the time. My skin is pretty dry most of the time so am thinking that doesn’t really help, looking forward now to getting the lower arm done, not relishing facing the needles again but needs must as they say and it really is such a small amount of time relative to the enjoyment of seeing your skin adorned in such a way. I have definitely gotten the bug as they say and although I was gonna wait 6 months before doing anything else, above all else I am not known for my patience. Besides it best to try and fit the sessions in to coincide with time off of work so that I can leave it exposed to the air for as long as possible and to give it the TLC it needs in the first few days/weeks. The paw prints are hopefully gonna be booked in for the 18th December and if I can get Ben to do them so much the better, was well impressed with the work he did on my tribal wolf so hoping he’ll be able to do the rest of them. I guess it depends on their leave and what they might specialise in.

Looking forward to the Xmas break but not until I have sorted presents and cards, it's all a bind really when you are busy working. Might have to rely on gift vouchers this year, let people get what they really want. My daughter gets easier as she's happy with money not that it buys much what with her expensive tastes ;-) Once I've got everything done I'll be happy to sit back and enjoy the festivities but until then ...

Second Tattoo

Am considering having this as my second tattoo, to go on my lower right arm starting about half way up and curving up to my elbow (on the inside of my arm). Might treat myself to this at Xmas as then I'll have time to let it heal before I have to return to Paradise. There are others planned of course, whoever said tattoos are addictive was right but at the moment apart from a little Eeyore on my back between my neck and left shoulder I cannot decide what to do with my left arm yet. I am swaying towards a dedication to my daughter but until I am absolutely sure I won't get get anything in haste. Still lurving the wolf on my right top arm, hence the desire to add in the wolf tracks to kinda finish it off. Was a tad concerned about tattooing my lower arm but then I thought hey at my age who cares :-)

Piercing & Tattoo Update

Spent some time yesterday trying out some nose pins that I bought in Claires at the weekend. Wondered whether the L shaped ones would be any better than the threadless labret that I’ve been wearing for ages, I wanted to test the waters so to speak before ordering any extra balls for the labret. Well I tried the bioflex nose screw I bought ages ago first, got it in but then had a devil’s own job to get it back out again. So cut the rounded end off to make it more L shaped and tried that, but after a couple of hours my nose started to feel sore on the inside so ended up boiling the labret to clean it and re-inserting that. Its definitely the most comfortable thing I have worn in it so far, so took the plunge and ordered two more ball ends in pink and blue to match my ear rim circular barbells, then a second full labret in blurple (blue/purple mix) and a gem end in plain polish with a black CZ stone. Then went to another site in the USA again to order a couple of seamless rings for both my ear rim and nostril. They are supposed to be made of a softer titanium that allows you to twist them open for fitting, a bit like wearing a BCR without the ball attached. Think these are maybe made of niobium which is also anodised similar to the titanium, so went for the colourful “oil slick” style. Hopefully they will be easy to fit and I just fancy trying a ring in my nostril piercing. If they fit OK I might get another pair but postage is a tad steep, it’s the equivalent of ordering a third ring so will have to go easy. Mind you the exchange rate is pretty decent at the moment so although it looks a lot in dollars, in pounds it is far more reasonable. My ear rim prefers the rings but as I have ordered a spare labret I am tempted to try it in my ear and see how it feels, if it seems OK I may just order one for my ear rim too, although that would work out a bigger expense. Could just order a blurple one to match my nose, that way I have a matching set all round :-)

This piercing lark is an ongoing expense whereas at least the tattoos are a one off cost. Talking of which mine seems to have healed pretty good, still have to apply moisturiser but that’s to be expected. I read somewhere that they can take up to 45 days to fully heal, but got the tattooist to check it over on Saturday and he was well pleased with it, as am I. Will have to have a serious think about other tatts but am keen to get some more at some point. I just feel at the moment that I need to have a rest from piercings and tattoos, give me chance to catch my breath and really decide what I would like next time …

Tattoo Update

The tattoo is healing well now, almost reached the end of the second week and it's stopped feeling sore when it's covered up. Bought some Vaseline repair balm at the weekend as I couldn't source their Dermacare version and that seems to be pretty good so far. Can't see any damage to it so it shouldn't need to be touched up at all but gonna get it checked out all the same, it's all part of the package if you see what I mean. Really happy with it and have received a favourable response from most people about it. Showed it off at the Country & Western club last night but as I often wear temporary tattoos I'm guessing that most people think it's fake. Once they realise that it's there every week they'll soon realise it's the real deal.

Been considering other designs for my right arm, looked into line drawings of Eeyore, my favourite Winnie the Pooh character and a passion for me after my wolves. There's also the Chinese dragon or tribal which I also love. The chaps seem to have a half sleeve usually which looks pretty cool but whatever I choose, if I have a second one, has got to be like the wolf, something that I can live with for the remainder of my natural and not something that I get fed up of looking at. It's a serious business this tattooing...

New Tatt

The new tattoo is healing pretty well I think, it's getting less uncomfortable when I have to wash it and put the cream on and provided I leave it uncovered it doesn't really notice at all. Trying to cover it with a sleeve is something else, it still feels sore like really bad sunburn so hoping that will ease off before Monday when I gotta go back to work.

Having a look at the other tatt designs I have wish-listed on Tattoo Johnny, I think a tribal looking dragon on the other arm might go well though I won't have anything else done for a long while yet. Think it would be better to choose a complimentary design for the other side rather than something that's gonna clash. I still prefer to see the black only tattoos as opposed to the coloured ones and my skin is quite pale so colour would really stand out I think.

Anyway there's no rush to decide anything, I'm still basking in the glow of having got my "wolfy" done and that'll keep me going for ages yet ;-)

Yahoo!

Here it is folks, my long-awaited tattoo! Isn't it gorgeous? I am sooo proud of myself that I sat there and didn't flinch or anything. Yeah it hurt and in places quite a bit but it was so worth it, I love it already!

This was taken just after it was finished so it looks quite red, just completed the first wash and got rid of the excess ink and covered it in Bepanthen which comes highly recommended. Really looking forward to it being completely healed which hopefully won't take anywhere near as long as my piercings.

Getting Nervous!

Well the tattoo is only a few days away now and despite my excitement the nerves are beginning to kick in now! I've read so many different bits about them on the internet that it's difficult to separate the truth from the crap. I know the place where I am going will advise me on aftercare but it doesn't hurt to be prepared and to know what's normal and what isn't. At least they heal much more quickly than piercings so it should look pretty good after only a short time - fingers crossed ;-)

Think the not knowing what it feels like is the most worrying part - it's always fear of the unknown that gets us in a state. I just keep thinking it can't be THAT bad otherwise people would never have more than one...

Gonna take my little camera along and ask him to take a photo of it for me before it gets covered up, then I can show my folks. I'm already thinking about what I could have next so not expecting to feel sooo bad that I wouldn't go back for more!

I shall reveal all after Wednesday - wish me luck!

Tattoo Booked!

Well I am one step nearer getting the tattoo, it’s booked for a week this Wednesday at 11am! Took my design in and they’re going to produce a stencil from that, opted for a size of 3.5 inches square in the end as that seemed to give the best compromise between size and detail. Was worried that if it blurs at all over the years it might end up looking non-descript. Will no doubt feel nervous on the day, but I’ve booked off three days as its over half term so I can chill out at home. Think it might need some initial pampering which will be easier to do if I’m off work. Am really excited about it now, it’s going to look so cool, think I will take my little pocket camera along and see if he’ll take a photo of it for me before it’s wrapped up then I can show people ;-)

Tattoo

While Julia got her belly pierced the other day I made enquires about getting my tattoo done. I can use the design I got from Tattoo Johnny which is good, just trying to finalise the size as if it blurs slightly after a while I still want it to be recognisable. Am thinking I might have to size it up to about 4 inches square to keep the outline intact but equally I have to make sure it still fits OK on my arm - decisions eh?

Done some research on the internet about getting them done, I know it's gonna be painful up to a point but am determined to go ahead, they reckoned it'll take about 1/2 hour to do provided I sit still so think I can manage that ;-)

Sweet Sixteen!

Here's a photo of my daughter and her beau celebrating her 16th birthday - Happy Birthday Julia ;-)

She got her belly pierced on the actual birthday itself, something that she's been gagging to do for absolutely ages. Took her along to where I get my piercings done and she's now the proud owner of a double pink jewelled belly bar! And no tears either which I was quite pleased about. Am sure like most girls her age she's now got a list of must haves as long as her arm but first things first, gotta get the belly healed first!

Another Weekend Over

Another weekend flown by, what I'd like to know is why can't my weekends last as long as my working week seems to? Spent some fruitless hours yesterday afternoon trying to copy data over to my daughter's new laptop, the old one is running XP and the new one Vista, which I just can't get to grips with yet. Tried the files and settings transfer wizard and then gave up and transferred them onto an external drive by hand, still got to actually get them onto the new laptop as she'd come home from town by the time I got that far and was using said machine.

Anyhow on the work front I am about to move into pastures new after almost 25 years as a software engineer. My current project is winding down and I've decided I need a change to boost my enthusiasm for going into work every day. So...I'm off to be a planner! They are crying out for them here in Paradise and so hopefully I'll be happily ensconced over in the towers before Christmas. It's quite different from anything I've done before but hopefully I'll get the hand of it eventually. A couple of our people have already moved over and for the most part seem to be enjoying it so fingers crossed!

First Look...

Here's the first look at my new niece or nephew! My brother and his better half Jo are expecting their first baby in Feburary next year and he sent me a couple of scan images of the new addition to our family. This was the better image as you can clearly see it's spine and little fingers - sweet or what? Looking forward to the new arrival, it'll be my Dad's second grandchild and he's made up about it and I get to be an Aunty proper.

Congratulations Darren & Jo!

The Young Photographer!

Here's a photo of my gorgeous daughter using my camera while we were away on holiday, she keeps saying that she wants to get into photography so lent her my Canon 300D for our trip to Paignton Zoo and here's a sneaky one I took of her using it. Managed to drag her along to the camera club I belong to and she's slowly enjoying that (I think!) and she's done some B&W developing at college as part of her Art & Design course. Chemicals and all that darkroom business aren't for me though, would prefer sitting in front of Photoshop with a cup of tea :-)

Nose Stud

Had some success this weekend with the nose stud and my attempts to get the ball end out of the threadless shaft. Wanted to prove to myself that I could do it before buying any more ends as I didn't want to have to visit the piercer every time I fancied a change ;-) Anyhow I've managed to do it once so have emailed to find out what price the plain ball ends are and have decided to get some to match the circular barbells for my ear, they seem to look quite cool as a matching pair. I've also managed to source some seamless rings on the Tonguestuds website which might make a change from the circular barbell. The site says they are easy to open without needing pliers or anything so hope they are right!

All in all the nose is healing really well, the four months are almost up and am down to bathing it once a day now. The hardest part is over so it'll be investigating the tattoo next, my daughter is off to get her belly done in a couple of weeks so can hopefully find someone to have a chat to then about it.

AV Competition Night

Pretty hacked off this morning, our camera club had its first AV comp last night and I had hoped to do quite well in it. My shows tends to have some unusual slide compositions which I think makes for a more interesting viewing than slides continually come up on screen dead centre. However the judge was obviously more in the “less is more” camp and didn’t really appreciate my efforts along with the techniques I had used also on some of the slides, painterly effects which makes a change from a straight shot. Although the club is all about photography I’m not sure that AV’s come strictly under that category, to me they are more about being entertaining. Anyway the one that won it I have to say did nothing to float my boat at all, just lots of photos of these groups of monk statues from about a zillion different angles. Then having told us what makes a good AV, the judge shows off one of his that broke all the things he said we should do! It will make me think twice about entering again, do I produce something with I find aesthetically pleasing and accept the fact that it wont get more than a public viewing or do I produce something that will please the judge but that goes against the grain of my creativity??? I think several of the members enjoyed what I produced and maybe that’s the whole point, pleasing judges can be a futile exercise as they all have differing views about what is good, you are in a lose-lose situation from the start.

The Wedding Photos and Other Stuff

Finally finished off processing the wedding photos this weekend, compiled a slide show using Proshow Gold, and added some music to it courtesy of Mr Walt Disney ;-) Thought it would be very Claire! Created a VCD for them to play on the TV and then put all the photos onto various DVD's so she can have a play. Used the slideshow to create a screen saver and PC executable file so all in all a job well done. Bought a lovely beech effect frame on Saturday with two revolving photo holders so have printed out four of my favourite shots and will leave it on her desk for when she gets back to work. Think they are back now from Canada so am dying to see the photos from their break but expect knowing them it'll be a while before they are ready :-)

My baby is also off on two weeks work experience for the next fortnight, wonder how she will get on. Her first week is at a local school doing Art & Design, and her second week will be at a photographic studio doing all sorts of things. In fact we had to go over on Saturday for a brief interview and I found the chap a very interesting person to chat with. Loved his Wi-Fi gadget which sends his photos from his camera to his computer within seconds of pressing the shutter - brilliant!

The Wedding!

What can I say about the wedding other than it was a very emotional day. I’m normally a bit of a cold fish when it comes to weddings having done the divorce bit but the speeches almost had me in tears. It was a long day for me as “official” photographer, I got picked up just after 12 noon and didn’t get home till almost midnight, lots of running around and changing of camera settings but it was quite an experience. Can’t see myself repeating it mind, people are not my forte, apart from candid shots, but hopefully the bride and groom will think I did a good job ;-) RAW is a good option for anything as important as a wedding and it gives you plenty of scope for adjustments, I’ve run off a few B&W ones too as they are quite classic for weddings, eliminating the colour seems to highlight the emotions instead. I certainly take my hat off to those people who do wedding photography for a living, they certainly earn their money, I was very stressed beforehand but once I got started I think I began to relax a bit. Our planning of a list of wanted shots went out the window in the end, I didn’t know anyone there apart from the bride and groom and so didn’t know which group shots were which so in the end we went with the flow and I let them decide which groupings they wanted and just clicked away with the camera. Fell in love with the cake, it summed up the bride to a tee, it was very untraditional and covered in all her favourite Winnie the Pooh characters, she wanted a relaxed and laid back kinda day and I think that’s what she got. They are off on honeymoon now soaking up the stunning scenery in Vancouver giving me time to process the shots, in between juggling a million other PC jobs!

Sore Ear ...

Bought some body jewellery in Claires today that I thought might fit my ear rim piercing, it's the right gauge and all but a tad on the small side and so have managed to completely p*ss it off by trying various pieces in it. Then the little "beach ball" plastic ball I had on my black ring broke so have opted for the black spikes instead. Its the first time I have worn them and they look rather funky but maybe not so suitable for everyday, time will tell... Might have to change into something more subtle for this wedding at the end of the week, we'll see.

The nose piercing seems to be OK now though, the trauma of changing the screw for a stud seems to have worn off and it's healing nicely. Have left off the almond oil today to see how it goes without it, I try to make sure I don't put too much salt in the water and rinse off properly as well. Later on it will need a shorter bar but these threadless pieces are amazing, very comfortable and hopefully it will be easy enough to change the ends, haven't tackled that one yet, got to wait until it's really healed up before I poke it about any more. Still it's been 9 weeks already, hopefully by Xmas I'll be able to get the shorter bar and maybe a gem end to wear in it over the Xmas Festivities :-)

Torquay

Hi, just back from our week away in Torquay. Here's a quick snap of the two of us, taken by my daughter Julia as she's the expert in taking self portraits ;-) The backdrop is a public garden in Dartmouth, just one of the places we visited whilst we were there and for once its sunny. They call it the English Riviera but I think this summer meant it was as wet as everywhere else has been this year. The hotel we stayed in was like something out of Fawlty Towers, in fact I'm sure Basil was based on the owner of this place. He was so miserable and didn't make us feel at all welcome, more like an inconvenience! I would definitely go back to Torquay but not if it meant staying in the same place. We visited the Bygones Museum, Torquay Museum (on the rainy days), went ten pin bowling and popped into Paignton Zoo as our optional tour got cancelled at the last minute :-( The coach took us to Plymouth (good for retail therapy), Brixham, Dartmouth and Slapton. The driver was a right scream and made up for the miserable hotel bloke and our waitress Karley was really nice along with the cleaning staff. Still as usual we are glad to be back home, nothing beats your own bed and loo seat! Still got a second week off so will dodge the rain and find something to do. Lets hope it brightens up for the wedding on Friday. While we were in Torquay we also went to the theatre to see That'll Be The Day, an excellent rock 'n' roll show that we can thoroughly recommend. You can visit their website at (http://www.thatllbetheday.co.uk/) Its well worth a visit if its at a theatre near you.

Thursday's Thoughts

Piercings are funny things, one minute they are all calm and serene and ticking along nicely, the next they are tetchy and crying out for extra TLC! I guess its all too easy to bump them or catch them accidentally and that usually sets them off again, unless they’ve been done for years that is. Its funny that the studio’s give you a sheet which mentions a relatively short time span for the healing process and yet in fact this time is more like the INITIAL healing period not the whole thing. I’ve read that it takes about three times the length of time they quote as the healing process is in three stages. There are times with mine when I wonder why I did it, and then I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and fall in love with them again ;-) I read on someone’s post that they didn’t really know why they got their nose pierced but that once done it felt like they were complete and I knew exactly what they meant. Perhaps it stems from our desire to make ourselves seem unique, as children we find security in being the same as everyone else, we don’t want to appear different, and yet as adults we strive to put our mark on things around us and “be different”. Perhaps its also a touch of the shock factor, at least for some piercings and their placements it must be, but each to their own is my motto.

I’ve had some marginal success with trialling my tattoo design too although the adhesive on the tattoo paper is a tad irritating given my sensitive skin. I really like the design so think that’s what I’ll go for, size wise it’s more or less a square image so I think I printed it at about 2.5 inches square which is quite a good size. It could maybe be a tad bigger but then my arms aren’t that big so don’t want it to dominate that area and I need to be able to at least hide it under a T-shirt sleeve if necessary.

Teenage Mums?

Sat and watched part of a TV programme last night about teenage mums. Was shocked that several of them have more than one child under the age of five and yet they are still children themselves. Surely in this day and age of openness about contraception and the morning after pill it is unforgivable for these girls to have one child they don’t want, to have more than one is just plain stupid. I wonder if they harbour some sort of romanticised view of what it is like to have a baby, assuming it will be like their role plays with baby dolls, dressing them up, walking them round in a pram. The reality couldn’t be farther from that if you tried, they are demanding your attention and energies on a 24/7 basis and these girls have no concept of what it is to be a mother. The sense of responsibility I felt for my daughter when she was born was overwhelming and I was 26 years old and she was a planned and much longed for child. I cannot imagine what these girls are subjecting themselves to at such a tender age. Since the birth of my daughter I have found myself divorced from her Dad and being a single parent is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I relied heavily on family support to allow me to continue working and so support us both financially but to find yourself completely and utterly responsible for their upbringing is a serious challenge for most grown-ups let along a young girl. It saddens me also to think that they have thrown away any chance of a good life for themselves and the children they have brought into the world, they seem content to look forward to a life struggling on benefits and relying on the state to keep a roof over their heads. Surely by now the young women out there have more aspirations for their futures than this?

Pashley Manor

We finally made it to Pashley Manor yesterday for the "Lily Time" event. Never visited there before but can thoroughly recommend the place. It was just beautiful, lots of different garden areas and wonderful statues and wood carvings, although some of them were too "modern" for me!

We were blessed with good sunny weather which, for our summer so far, was nothing short of miraculous. There was a gentle breeze to stop us from completely flaking out and we headed for the shade of the car park for our refreshments, choosing to take a picnic rather than eat there. The terrace however was a very pleasant place to grab a welcome cup of tea late afternoon before heading home.

Have posted the remainder of my shots on my Picasa Web Album, have a look if you get a chance.

Tattoo Design...

Played around with the tattoo designs last night, printed out a sheet of temporary ones to try out using the tribal wolf design. Decided on a size of about 2.5 inches square which is not a bad size to start with. Trouble is the temporary tattoo paper ends up like a plaster stuck on your arm which makes it feel a little uncomfortable and I managed to make it wrinkle up which made things worse. Gave me an idea though as to what it might look like and that’s the idea, to try it out before getting it permanently done. The other design is a minimum of 5 inches long which I think will be too big but will try it on another sheet and possibly make the tribal one a bit bigger. It’s hard to judge the size on your arm against that on paper hence the temporary tattoo paper. Did have an idea of trying to make a stencil using the line art version and let my daughter paint it on with body paint, as she’s the arty one!

Have attached a pic of the tattoo anyway – any thoughts?

Another Weekend Gone

A bit more of a relaxing time this weekend, managed to fend off the retail therapy by going shopping after work on Friday which left me the whole weekend to just chill out and potter around indoors. Had a few chores to do as usual but also found some time for me which is always good to be able to do. To be honest particular times of the month aren’t good for me if you get my drift, and so its difficult to find any energy to do anything other than veg out. Had a bit of a play with some RAW photos taken at a windmill last week, a friend of mine is getting married there and I have been asked to do their wedding photos. The lighting is not ideal but no worse than the average church and at least I can use flash if I am careful not to be a nuisance! Quite looking forward to the challenge, wouldn’t do it for anyone else mind, people are not really my sort of subject, but it will be good experience. Still haven’t had the chance to get this tattoo practice sorted yet, I really want to find some time to print out some test sizes and make up a sheet of practice tattoos so that I can work out just the right size and location for it when I get it done. Think it’s definitely a case of when and not if anymore, I will just have to “grin and bear it” if it’s a bit painful, plenty of people go back time and again so they can’t be THAT bad!

Willesborough Windmill - http://www.willesboroughwindmill.co.uk/

Ease Period Pain - http://www.magno-pulse.com/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=49

A New Nose Stud!

Well against everybody’s good advice, I took the plunge last night and actually did it…changed my nostril screw out for an ice blue threadless titanium barbell. It looks very cool and it doesn’t seem to have traumatised it too much either. That’s despite my hands shaking so much I looked like an alcoholic desperate for their next drink!!! The screw came out fairly easily but it was harder to find the inside of the hole even using the insertion guide, without that I think it would have been impossible. But once the guide was in place the barbell just clipped on the end and I pushed the whole thing back through my nose thus leaving the opening of the barbell on the outside which is where the ball plugs into. All in all it took just a few short minutes. At least now I don’t have loads of metal peeking out from my nostril, you can barely see the end of the barbell and length wise, allowing for the fact that its still healing, it’s perfect :-) Later on I’ll be able to change the ball for a different coloured one or get one fitted with a gem, various colours are available although personally I prefer the clear diamond look, it goes with anything. I might even change my ear barbell for the ice blue one I have so that they match, for now anyway, as I want to wear the black spiked one while we’re on holiday, think that will look very funky. Will have to lavish some TLC on the nose for a while till it recovers but it seems pretty good so far all things considered.

Links for the websites selling the barbells are here : http://www.piercing.org/shop/nose.htm or http://www.anotherhole.com/store.php?crn=280&rn=397&action=show_detail or http://www.kolopiercing.com/index.php?cPath=94_289

I can thoroughly recommend the bars and was well impressed with the prompt delivery from Piercing.Org. The barbells also come highly recommended in various piercing forums probably in part due to the fact that the front ends can be changed easily without the need to remove the whole bar. They are also delivered from Piercing.Org already autoclaved which is handy.

Retired Folks?

What is it about retired people who feel the need to go back to work??? Here in Paradise we have people who have left and are now back doing “short-term” contract work which seems to last forever and I wonder if that will be me in 15+ years time, will I be so sad that I’d rather stay at work than enjoy my hard earned break from the daily grind? I sincerely hope not, I’d like to think that I’ll have enough hobbies and be comfortably off financially to enjoy pursuing them. My mother-in-law “retired” recently and I wondered how she would cope being at home all the time, I shouldn’t have been surprised then to learn she has gone back to full-time work again, despite not having the best of health. I just cannot comprehend why people want to stay on when they officially reach retirement age, from where I’m standing right now I want to go early, sod staying till I am 65 years old! I enjoy my photography and pottering about with my photos on the PC that I cannot imagine not being able to find things to do to occupy myself when I can finally jack my job in. Like most people I work to live rather than live to work and after almost 25 years of it so far I am sick of it. My Dad and several other people I know enjoy retirement so much and fill their time so completely that they end up wondering how they managed to fit in going to work ;-) All I can say is roll on retirement, that or win the lottery!!!

Weekend News

Another fun-filled weekend over with! Spent Saturday doing some retail therapy with the daughter as per usual, till she went off bowling with James and his folks for his sister’s 9th b’day. Then had a nauseating evening at Country listening to a band called Swing Commanders. Don’t get me wrong, they were excellent at what they did, very talented musicians, but their style was very much not my thing, too jazzy and after a few songs they all seemed to sound the same. Not a country band in the true sense of the word although they seemed to go down well with most people. Then I spent yesterday catching up on the garden, it badly needed mowing and weeding so despite my dislike of gardening in general I got out there and now it looks tidy and presentable again. Spent a little time surfing the web, reading the usual forums on tattooing and piercing and posted a couple of queries. It’s always good to seek other people’s advice about things and I posted my first tattoo query as I am seriously thinking of taking the plunge over the winter months. Hopefully I’ll find time to have a practice run with this tattoo paper I bought so I can gauge the design for size and location etc. I’ve been so tied up lately with this KCPA Comp that I’ve hardly had time to do anything on the PC that hasn’t involved spreadsheets et al. Still hopefully I’ve got a few weeks to just chill out before my holiday and catch up on my own stuff for a change. Did manage to order the blackline cones for my barbell and a threadless barbell for my nose which I may well fit before we go away. I know it’s probably a tad early to be changing it but think this design will prove to be more comfortable than the screw is now. Sometimes my nose feels a little tender inside and wonder if the screw moves about too much. Anyhow back to the daily grind…

Nose Piercing News ...

Recently my nose piercing has been feeling a tad uncomfortable at times, I believe the technical term is “pissy” ;-) For those of you out there who have any piercings you’ll know that it’s something that seems to happen to all piercings at some time or another and is usually their way of saying they aren’t happy about something. Because it doesn’t look as though anything sinister is going on I’m not that worried about it. I’ll just have to continue with the sea salt soaks and wait for it to settle back down again. I’ve gone back to doing them twice a day again as per the instructions, it’s amazing to think that the studios are usually right all along isn’t it? Keep mulling over the possibility of changing the nose screw before my holiday, currently it’s made of titanium and I wonder if the bioflex material would prove more comfortable as it’s flexible (the clue’s in the title!) and it worked quite well in my ear, but not sure if I have the nerve to do it myself or whether to ask at the piercing place to see if they would do it. To be honest it’s probably too soon to be thinking of changing it regardless of the reasons behind it and I’ll end up regretting it like I did my ear. Ideally they suggest waiting for 6 months before changing the jewellery for the first time but I am so damned impatient. That’s why, up till now, I haven’t purchased any jewellery for it, if I haven’t any indoors I can’t be tempted to do something stupid! As I want to order some cones for my ear barbell though, I could order the bioflex screw and then hide it at work so I’m not distracted by it at home. My daughter would probably kill me if she found out I was thinking of changing it, she moaned so much about my ear that I had to do it when she went out. Hang on that sounds like a role reversal, it should be ME moaning at HER for going behind MY back ;-)

Weekend Doings

What a weekend! Managed to get to the Kent County Show after all despite waking up at 7am on Sunday to the sound of heavy rain and thunder. Fortunately by the time we left home it had stopped raining and apart from a few drops around lunchtime the day was very hot and humid. Only downside to the day being a distinct lack of sleep the night before due to my nose piercing being rather itchy and me being paranoid that I would scratch in the night and pull the screw out. Was disappointed that we didn’t see the wolves this year or Titan the robot, I believe he was there but with the crowds we must have kept missing him, the wolves I’m not so sure about. It’s such a large venue that it’s difficult to be sure you’ve seen everything. Got some photos though so am pleased about that, even Julia used the camera this time which is a bit of a first. She keeps saying she wants to get into photography and is studying it as part of her Art & Design Young Apprenticeship scheme at college. I think James enjoyed the day, at least he’ll have enjoyed spending it with Julia, despite the fact that he was nursing a pretty banged up elbow after a run-in with some slippery shoes :-)

Friday 13th ...

Well what can I say, Friday the 13th again ;-) Today just so happens to be my ex-father-in-law’s birthday, imagine that, having to have a birthday on Friday 13th. Mine falls towards the end of the month fortunately so I don’t have to suffer other than to go into work unless I book the day off which is what I usually do as there’s nothing worse than working on your birthday. Hoping the weather picks up over the weekend, really want to visit the Kent County Show on Sunday if it stays dry and it’ll probably be Retail Therapy tomorrow with the daughter as usual. That is definitely the No: 1 female pastime ;-) or at least it is in our house. Thing is between now and then I’ve got stacks of competition CDs to process so I’ve got a tedious afternoon ahead of me. At least work packs up early on Friday so come 1pm I’m out of here!!!

Near miss...

Had a near miss last night whereby in a moment of absentmindedness I almost pulled my nose screw out, fortunately my brain kicked in at the last minute before any real harm was done but it goes to show how easy it is to do something stupid when we are not really thinking. I also changed my barbell in my ear rim for a straight one after ages of wearing the circular ones. They tend to feel the most comfortable which is why I stick to them and they look more obvious which I like but thought it was time for a change. In my naivety before getting my ear rim done I thought that when body piercings had healed they would be just like normal lobe piercings, how wrong can a girl be? After much trawling through various forums on the subject and from personal experience, it transpires that body piercings are a whole new breed of animal. They are happiest when they are left well alone which means not changing the jewellery several times a day and finding the “right” material for the jewellery, mine does not seem to appreciate steel, and of course trying to get the size right too. All these things apart from type of material, are of course immaterial in terms of normal earrings. Apart from a time when plastic earrings were all the rage years ago I’ve never found anything I couldn’t wear in my ear lobes. Though obviously they have been done for more years than I care to mention whereas my body piercings are a new and interesting addition to moi. Lets hope if I choose the tattoo pathway it is an easier journey ;-)

KCPA Digital Comp

Have been snowed under with entries for this competition since I got "volunteered" to help out! Why do people always leave everything till the last minute??? It's time consuming enough as it is just entering all the data and checking the images let alone having a stack to do each evening. Let's hope as the competition matures we will learn how to stream-line it!

Still there is some good work this year which makes up for last year, thought the entries were, for the most part, very unimaginative. Still I guess it's each to their own ;-)

Works Open Day 2007

Hi here's a quick snap from the Open Day held at my works this Saturday. Needless to say it's of my gorgeous daughter and her significant other, James, standing near an old aeroplane which was part of the static displays. All in all it was a good day, the sun was shining for the first time in ages and they put on a good show. It was well attended which was nice to see and everyone seemed to be having a good time. It was expecially good for James whose just spent a week there doing work experience. Think Julia is too arty for a work place like mine ;-)

Another entry from Paradise!

This is where I seem to be spending most of my time, how sad is that? Still it pays the bills as they say :-) My daughter's boyfriend, James, is here this week on a weeks work experience and so far it seems to be going rather well. They have found him something absorbing to do which is not easy given the students lack of experience and the short time they are here. But it gives them a taste of the real world and that's important when they spend most of their time in the cossetted world of school. Not sure what my baby will want to do for her weeks experience when she does it next year but it sure isn't going to be software engineering ;-) She's into all things arty, a bit like her Dad, so she would be bored stupid here. Not that they don't have illustrators etc here but that's not her thing either, illustrating for company brochures and the like.

Am sitting here hoping the sun finds it's way to the UK soon, it's been so wet for so long now. Keen to attend the Kent County Show next weekend as per usual but it's no fun in the rain
:-( It's a fantastic place to spend a day out, lots of farm animals and stalls selling all sorts of things. I like to take the camera along and snap away as usual but as it's mostly outside it can be dismal in the wet weather. Here's hoping summer is soon on its way!

Update on my piercing.

It’s almost two weeks now that my nose had been done and I can’t believe how well it is doing. It gets a quick sea salt soak in the morning and a more thorough soak in the evening when I’ve taken my make-up off and so far so good. I made the mistake with my ear rim of thinking that because sea salt is a natural product, cleaning it more often would help. Let me say now that it’s definitely a case of less is more. The extra cleaning dries your skin out, and mine is prone to being dry at the best of times, and it goes all red and shiny. Needless to say the instructions I got given from the piercing studio clearly states washing it twice a day but then let’s face it who ever reads the instructions for anything??? Must also learn to be patient with it, probably changed my BCR on my ear too early and it made it take longer to heal. Just wanted a barbell in it ‘cos it kept getting caught up, something I haven’t found with my nose as it’s a nose screw and quite discreet. Anyhow so far I’m really glad I had it done, these things are always far easier than you think they will be, wonder if I’ll be saying that about a tattoo someday ;-)

Photo of Paradise!

In case anyone was wondering what Paradise looks like, here it is. This was taken earlier in the year when we had snow, not my favourite kind of weather to be out in. However we have a Winter category coming up in the new seasons photographic club competitions so I thought I would wander outside at lunchtime to see if I could get find any inspiration for the competition :-) Thought the “old world” sepia look rather suited this image, makes the place seem more interesting than it is! Did find some suitable subjects for the competition but can't afford to show them off here until they have been entered into the competition, wouldn't want to ruin my chances ;-) I don't do too bad really, won a shield and a cup last year for the Imagination Trophy and Panel of Four and this year held onto the Panel of Four cup again. In fact I won 1st, 2nd and 3rd, how embarassing. You can never really tell what the judge will go for on the night unless you have seen them before and get a feel for what they like to see. Personally I think likes/dislikes should be left at the door, it's technical ability and composition that count but they are only human after all, at least that's what they keep telling us :-)

Nimrod MR MK II

Known as "The Mighty Hunter", this is the aircraft whose software I work on.

The team has been in existance for 20+ years now and obviously people have moved on and new people have joined. I've been on the project for about 15 years which is the longest I've worked on any project before.

It's a magnificent aircraft and I get a thrill every time I see it fly, which sadly isn't too often as it doesn't often give performances at airshows. I have been lucky enough to have been on board it a couple of times whilst it has been in the hangers, I am not comfortable enough about flying to go up in her unfortunately.

The other aircraft I love to see fly is the Harrier, I'm not really into airplanes but that is such a different sort of aircraft that I enjoy watching it. The last time I saw one was at last years Farnborough Airshow, it was the first time I had been and it was a pretty good day out despite the changeable weather.

My New Piercing

Here's a quick snap of my new piercing, cool or what? It was pretty easy to have done, didn't hurt anymore than having my ear rim done and for you women out there it's a breeze compared to giving birth ;-)

Think this will be the last piercing I get as I can't think of anywhere else I'd really like to get done. I have my lobes done twice and my right ear rim and now my left nostril. Am thinking of a tattoo though which would be really cool if I'm happy to live with it forever. I'd really like a wolf on the top part of my right arm, nothing too big or anything. I really love wolves and can't see that changing so the design isn't a problem it's just the permanence of a tattoo that has to be thought over properly beforehand. At least a piercing will close down pretty well if you decide to "retire" it at any time in the future, a tattoo is not so easily disposed of. I'm also a bit concerned over the pain bit too, a piercing is over so quickly compared to a tattoo but I guess if you want something bad enough you have to be prepared to put up with a little pain. It can't be that bad otherwise some people wouldn't be covered in them!

Piercing

Hi,

Thought I'd share with everyone the fact that I got my nostril pierced last Friday :-) This is my second body pierce, had my ear rim done just over a year ago, not bad for a 42 year old ;-) Next thing could be a tattoo but need to be 110% sure first.

It didn't hurt as much as I thought it might, no worse than my ear rim. Needless to say I got it done at a professional body piercing studio, wouldn't let anyone near me with those piercing guns, not even my lobes. In fact both my lobe piercings were done with needles 'cos that's all there was years ago, now I'm showing my age!

So far it seems fine, got to get back into the habit of salt water soaks but hopefully it'll heal OK and I might be able to treat myself to a new piece of jewellery for Xmas. Ice blue titanium being my favourite at the moment.

From Paradise...

It’s been a long day here in Paradise again, why does the time sometimes drag so much? The sun is shining outside not that I can see much of it from where I am located, sitting here still feeling a tad chilly so no summer T-shirts for me yet ;-) Realised my summer holiday is still ten weeks away, that seems like a lifetime at the moment, summer will have finally arrived once the school’s are out in July. Trouble is Easter was so nice weather wise that we got spoiled and now that it should be warm and sunny it’s taking ages to get going. At least I’m not a hay fever sufferer, mind I’ve got a cold that doesn’t seem to want to come out properly. It’s a pain really as I keep thinking about getting my nostril pierced and I don’t want to do it yet if I have to keep blowing my nose. I keep researching on the internet about it but I guess at the end of the day it’s about biting the bullet and just go for it. My ear rim is pretty much healed now although it took the best part of a year to settle down, mainly ‘cos I’m too impatient and kept changing the jewellery! Have now decided to keep a circular barbell in it made of titanium which seems to keep it happy most of the time. It’s easier to change it when I want to, the BCR’s are a pain to do without pliers and besides reaching my ear AND being able to see what I’m doing wouldn’t be easy. Well soon be home time, roll on Friday :-)

Lazy Weekend

It's been a quiet weekend really, most of the time being spent catching up on all those chores around the house and garden that never seem to be fitted in during the busy working week. Also been a bit of an emotional roller coaster, too much time spent dwelling on a past person I would really rather forget about, still I have these moments from time to time.

Still fighting what seems to be a losing battle with my ISP over slow broadband speeds, I thought computers were supposed to make life easier, why then do they seem intent on filling my life with hassle, be it at home or at work ;-)

I'm sure life was much simpler when we weren't at the beck and call of a mobile phone and snail mail was the only way to communicate long distance. Don't get me wrong, I'd be lost without my PC but sometimes using one just does my head in.

Still it's back to Paradise again tomorrow for the start of another exciting working week, roll on Friday!

Back from Paradise

Back home from the daily grind. Had to face another phonecall to my ISP to try and chase them up about my slow broadband. Seems everyone out there is experiencing trouble with the high speed broadband business. Desperate to move to a company that will hopefully be able to provide me with the I deserve

Paradise

Had to post a quick note to mark today, as they reminded me on the radio this morning that it's the 05/06/07. A date that obviously only comes round every 1000 years and where am I? In paradise, my nickname for that four letter word WORK ;-) Trouble is with bills to pay etc. etc. there's no avoiding it so gotta keep this short.

Bluebells

This is one of my bluebell shots, manipulated of course (!) in Photoshop. It was taken in my garden with my new 60mm macro lens, wicked to use but getting depth of field just right is not easy.

Haven't had alot of opportunity to use it yet but am hoping to use it more when we go away this year.

I enjoy tinkering around in Photoshop to see what comes out, some obviously look better than others ;-)

Can make some useful entries for the Imagination Trophy Competition held by the camera club I belong to, Invicta CC.

Luna

This is Luna, she's the wolf I sponsor at Wolf Watch UK. I've not been fortunate enough to visit her yet but I've been sponsoring her for a while now as my brother started it for my 40th birthday, what a gift!

I'm not sure what it is about them that I really love, maybe they remind me of my dog Max who was a Shetland Sheepdog and so had that sort of long muzzle look about him. He passed away a few years ago now and I really miss him. Would love another dog but working full time makes that impossible for now, roll on retirement ;-)

First Post

Or should that be Last Post ;-)

Just trying to get this up and running so bear with me for a bit, time is very precious at the moment so will do what I can when I can. Check back in a few days and hopefully they'll be more.