Jean’s Dino Extravaganza!

Saturday saw Jean's fifth birthday and it was dinosaur themed!

I haven't got all the photo's yet but here are a couple to be getting on with

Mum made Jean a triceratops outfit from Sew a Dinosaur a book I picked up in a charity shop It is a fantastic outfit and came out better than in the book (she made some adjustments!).

We had dinosaur biscuits Jean made!

And a Dinosaur and Volcano cake!

Jean announced that I am the Bestest Baker in the whole world when she saw the cake

We also had volcano cupcakes!

Food wise there were also over 90 dino cupcakes with either flintstones or jelly dinosaurs on them! And dinosaur shapes sandwiches and little dino chocs me and Jean spent three days making!

Me and Jean also made Hama dinosaurs as decorations

Jean also decorated lots of cardboard dinos as decorations These also appeared in the Dino make and do along with stickers and cloth party bags for the kids to decorate!

We had a pre-historic safari where we found a mother load of dino goodies (even if the kids didn't believe that Alaric was a real trail leader especially once Rob turned up in his National Geographic gear!). There were a few party games and the Land Before Time I, II and III for the kids to watch in the evening

I was a little bit behind with putting the food out and forgot I had made Jelly and ice-creams for the kids but think it went well Jean liked it anyway

Dino-Art

I'm 'live-blogging' the process of produce my next piece of Palaeo-Art on Salaric Craft.

Palaeo-Art

Recently I found this intresting guy on twitter called the Flying Trilobite who is an artist inspired by science - I really liked his drawings so followed him.

Anyway he then tweeted about submissions for palaeo-environment pictures and lo! I found Art Evolved and their time capsules full of palaeo-art!

Anyway it turned out the next time capsule was palaeo-environments and they wanted pictures along that theme. Unfortunatly it was very close to the deadline and I wasn't sure how to entire or if I could - even though on a later inspection of the site I saw all the instructions in plan sight!

Anyway I basically only manage to get a quick biro sketch done which wasn't composed properly or anything!

My topic was an Upper Ordovician benthonic community - yep you got it - basically it was another of my seascapes

Anyway its here if you want to see it I'm in the middle bit of the time capsule.

Of course being me the first thing I did was sit down and read a few chapters of various palaeo books I just happen to have lurking about

Anyway I am really excited about this as I've been searching for art and science cross overs The next time capsule is on the Therizinosaurs which I think are like beaked dinosaurs I think! I need to do a bit of reading up on these - at the moment the only book I have that mentions them is my Vertebrate Palaeontology book :/

Sorting things out

I'm currently sorting things out for a fun weekend of family wedding and meeting up with people - there have been a few hicups already ie getting the wronge weekend for the wedding in Al's diary and concequently issues with his dad's visit!

A friends just had a baby so I'm bring some things down for her as well and have made the wedding presant and card.

I have also been sorting out paper work and my craft supplies and through talking to the local arts and craft people have been instilled with the idea of selling the cards I've been making.

Generally I've had people saying I really should be displaying my art work and things but I just don't know how to do this and have no money to join anything or hire galleries etc...

As Alaric said in hind sight giving up the art classes and writing group to go back to my course right at the point lots of things fell to pieces for me (Alex dying, mum's last lot of cancer and the realisation that we had miss understood/miscalculated money issues plus the situation with being stuffed by my main client) was a bad trade off.

I'm not even sure if I blogged back in the autum that one of my pictures was on display locally thanks to the art teacher.

This is leading me to thinking though - I love science and geology and feel it is part of me but it is easier with pain flare ups and tummy stuff to be at home writing, making websites and doing arty things - but what will make me happy?

I have never react well to having to choose between the two Art and Science. They are not even distinct in my mind but then I have a slightly odd take on things and veiw it all as creative.

I want to try and finish at least the first year of my course but it means more money we don't have but on the other hand if I don't we loose that money already invested in it.

And then the art world is so uncertain - publishing is going through the mill at the moment - big changes the industry are failing to cope with and so traditional avenues are closed but I have noticed new ones opening up - but I am beginner at this game and have no idea how to muscel my way in.

I interact with an extended communitee of writers on twitter but mainly we discuess our kids and the like. I also have science friends on there and a healthy dose of computer people and a few arty crafties but this is only making my dissusions harder.

I am all of these things but modern society doesn't really allow for Jack of all trades especially one who has intermitent health. And so by not choosing I risk achieving nothing.

But I don't think I can choose - my life feels unbalance when I do not have a mix of things.

And at the same time I feel that the house and Jean are priority - I get sick even for a few days and the house descends into chaos and I can not really allow this and so I feel an instinct to nest build until it is all easy to maintain with out me looking over everyones shoulders all the time.

I started this post thinking I was going somewhere and that I had sorted part of my life out but realised as I was writing it that it is all still open questions and discuissions to be made.

The Dr pointed out that I was one person and one person only - I am trying to take this into account with what I plan to do next.

A talk on giving talks

I went into college on Monday and met up with my friend David for a coffee before the lecture which was nice even if I was being a bit a flake - and his supervisor appeared and he felt too guilty and went back to work :/

It was odd being around the IC campus once more it was like being transported back in time about five years but into a parrallel universe where everything was just slightly wronge - like the walkways gone and is now in the libarary and there is a cafe in the the libary - why oh why couldnt they have had that when I was there - thats what me and Ella always said it needed - that and 24 hr access!

Anyway I then headed over to the UCL campus and turned up to the lecture room and panicked that there where undergraduates in there with microscopes and the like doing some petrology.

But then Martin turned up and we went in anyway - talking loudly and scaring all the little UG's away

Then Franky turned up and a girl from another course (Chemistry related I think) - the lecture was on how to give our 15 minute talks next week - first off eeeek eek eek - what do you mean next week? Panic! - then - wow they actually managed to give an hour lecture on giving a fifteen minute talk :/

At the end we found out that we really are down to 3 - the other moon girl has left and one of the other guys has changed to a PhD.

That is one hell of a drop out rate - maybe its the part time thing - we all have other lives and this is the thing we 'fit-in' when it is really a full time thing in itself.

I feel abit said that we are down to three - and I'm still not properlly registered :/