making

Last night at about 11pm I found myself up alone, huddled near the Aga in the kitchen to keep warm while painting these. I don't know why. There really wasn't a why, just a have-to. I don't know why I had-to either of course. That goes without saying.

I mean who needs a glass jar with a fantastic lid-topper? Why, everyone! That's what I convinced myself of. I even stumble tripped around the boys dark rooms in order to hunt out more plastic objects to glue and paint. It stands me high in the wholesome department that I could find only wooden animals, don't you think? But not really. It's more of a reflection on our lack of animals, say you were looking for knights, horses or superheros, you could find basket upon basket of the hulking moulded plastic lumps. I did not dare glue those in case I woke to crying children (Felix). I hesitated over the hessian sack load of green plastic army men (you know the ones, everyone knows the ones) thinking one would look pretty good painted hot pink and glued to a lid, no? Perhaps even to store the rest of the army? The boys are colour blind so I might have been able to get away with it... luckily though I spied a trio of plastic snow leopard cubs for my crafting freakery. So I super glued the plastic animals to the lids and then acrylic painted the whole of the new lid. They are pretty cool, I think. I saw these online a while back, not sure where, but probably pinterest.



My favourite is the pig, since it's more rubber than plastic and buckles and twists 40 degrees when you twist the lid, disco pig.



I was also forced into making glitter play dough by The Beauty, but thankfully not at 11pm (it's all about the glitter rather than the playdough). I could stuff the glitter play dough into jars for kid-gifts maybe?



Also in the making yesterday was mackerel omelette with watercress and rocket: delish. It's been ages since I made an omelette and as usual they are now my new favourite food (for the remainder of the week at least). Last week it was stew with chickpeas, so probably everyone in the house will be glad that I have moved on.

Felix is coming on so well with his reading and writing I treated him to a cute French exercise book. Despite being a black and white picture he is sure this is a red squirrel; who he favours over the grey, since everything sad, lonely, extinct or overlooked is his favourite thing at any given moment.



I bought myself a ball of yarn, and I have not for so long it was *necessary*. Sometimes it really is. I will forgo something else this week for that wool, maybe cheese. Which I think does not suit me in any case. The pot scrubbing brush was a lucky find, mine is splayed like a ten year old toothbrush and I was very excited to see another I could buy, after periods of distracted searching. Excitement over a vegetable brush, and plastic animals glued to lids. Welcome to my world.