Noticing different things without a car...

Things have been a bit different around here this week without the use of our car. It broke down last Friday and after the initial chaos it really hasn't been too bad. Getting teenagers where they needed to be straight after it broke down was quite a juggle with a few phone calls made and I'm very grateful for the friend who came to the rescue. Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!! 

Since then though I've enjoyed not getting in and out of the car so many times a day. It's taken a bit of planning as I can't quickly jump in the car if I don't have something. I've been very appreciative of online shopping so I'm not having to lug bags home. I've also been able to relax at home a little more as I haven't had to pick people up, drop them off etc. A lot of what we need is within fairly close walking distance so that's good.

My six words for this week - 

Noticing different things without a car. 

This morning I went to poetry group and really enjoyed the walk to the train and the 5 minute train ride. It struck me how wonderful it was to notice a lot that I wouldn't normally get to see. The pelican that glided down to the water and made ripples as it skimmed the water. The reflections of birds in the water. The flowers poking up over someone's fence. The autumn leaves everywhere and especially the lone one that slowly floated upwards, twisting as it moved through the air. 

When I walked through the alleyway close to home I could hear some parrots and then saw them in a tree above. I managed to get close enough to get an alright photo with my phone.

This is a six word Saturday post. To see how other people describe their week or part thereof in six words go to www.showmyface.com. 

The Diva's Weekly Zentangle Challenge #216

I'm back again for The Diva's Weekly ChallengeThis week's task is a Use My Tangle one as it is the first week of the month. The tangle is Brella by Canadian Bunny Wright. 

I found this one a lot of fun and will post my first attempt (after a little practice in my sketchbook). I think I'm going to like using this pattern many more times, and especially playing with direction and size. 

Shadow Shot Sunday - May 3rd, 2015

Just two leaves left on the tree in the front yard. 

This post is for Shadow Shot Sunday. See other people's photos of shadows at www.shadowshotsunday2.blogspot.com. 

Treasure found lying around the house...

I often wish that my daughters were better at putting things away. My eldest daughter (18) often has a project on the go. The latest was to teach herself how to crochet, which she did amazingly well, making a cat toy which was really cute. Often she leaves the materials out rather than taking them to her room or packing them away. This annoys me but then every now and then I don't mind. Like the morning I was doing a bit of tidying and came across this picture of Max from Where the Wild Things Are on the couch. 

How gorgeous! She had asked me to pass her the figurine the evening before (see http://kyliesconversations.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/shadow-shot-sunday-october-5th-2014.html for photos of Max and some of his wild friends) and a tin of pencils. 

My six words for this week - 

Treasure found lying around the house

perhaps when you least expect it (another six!)

Over at Kate's blog you can see how others describe their week or part thereof in six words. 

Tangle with J-K-L

This week for Diane and Carolien's Weekly Zentangle challenge the task is to tangle with patterns beginning with J, K and L. Using patterns only beginning with those letters is okay as is adding other patterns if you want. I decided to use one pattern beginning with each letter. As soon as I saw Laced I knew that was the one I wanted and Knightsbridge is one I like quite a lot and have drawn before. Jetties was one I hadn't done before and decided to give it a go. Getting that round shape takes some practice!

I wasn't happy with my first attempt and decided to try again. I'm much happier with the second one but I'm a little scared to shade it and not sure whether I will. Interestingly though, the few people I've showed them to have preferred the first one. Which one do you prefer? 

If you would like to join in the fun go here. 

I am the Diva Weekly Zentangle Challenge #215

It's a fun challenge this week at Laura's blog. I've been joining in for 5 weeks now and this is my favourite so far. 

The task this week is to draw a labyrinth to use as the string and then tangle it. Laura has posted a couple of links about drawing labyrinths and I found them a great help. It took a bit of planning and I used an eraser a couple of times trying to get the labyrinth drawn on my tile.  Hint: don't start too high or you'll run out of room at the top. I ended up deciding to have the labyrinth at the bottom of my tile. 

Once the labyrinth was drawn (which was fun to work out) it was a lot of fun deciding on patterns and the actual tangling, especially when following the labyrinth, was very relaxing. 

Diva-dance with Rain

I went outside earlier today to get some photos for Shadow Shot Sunday. There were a few shadows around and I attempted to get a shot of some on some of the big leaves growing in my backyard. Unfortunately though the shadows can't be seen in the photos - they were quite faint. 

Diva-dance is the tangle for this week on the Square One: Purely Zentangle and I decided to give it a try using the leaves as inspiration for the string. It also seemed fitting to combine it with Rain due to the raindrops on the leaves. 

Here's a photo and my Diva-dance with Rain. 

Not quite sure whether I like this one. It has inspired many possibilities though!

The Diva's Weekly Zentangle Challenge #214

A circle to represent the earth, a tree as a string and a tangle named River. 

This one is for the "Amanda Day/Earth Day (Round 4)" challenge over at www.iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com. 

Tangle with G-H-I

I'm back again, participating in Diane and Carolien's Weekly Zentangle Challenge. This week the task is to tangle with patterns beginning with G, H and I. You can use only tangles beginning with those letters or add other tangles if you wish. This week I have stuck to one tangle beginning with each of the letters. The tangles I used are Golven, Hollibaugh and Indy-Rella. You can find out more about the various patterns at www.tanglepatterns.com. 

I had a few quite similar attempts at this one and I'll post the last one. This is the one done with my new Sakura pen. I was excited yesterday to find the art supplies shop nearby sells them. Unfortunately they didn't have the 01 in stock which I really wanted but I've got a 005 and an 02 for now. Yay! And so happy to have a nearby place to get them. I was going to go to a shop much further away but thought I'd pop into the nearby one just in case. So glad I did! I also got an impromptu demonstration of shading. Now to practise! 

I think I would prefer Tipple (or another circle pattern) instead of Indy-Rella but that wouldn't fit the challenge. I love how the ideas come for more tiles come when working on one. 

Shadow Shot Sunday - April 19th, 2015

I missed Shadow Shot Sunday last week as there wasn't much sun at all. That's not a problem this morning though. I need to pull these plants out before they get much bigger but in the meantime here's some great shadows - 

To see other people's shadow shots go to www.shadowshotsunday2.blogspot.com.