Banham Zoo March 2016

Mum and Dad came to visit at the weekend. As ever, it flew by far too quickly and seems a bit like it didn't actually happen but on Saturday we went to Banham Zoo. It was really cold and a lot of the animals were huddled up or being kept in their houses but I think we saw almost all of them. I didn't take as many photos as I normally would because I was being super careful, worried my battery would run out. Because it has a screen instead of a viewfinder my new camera goes through battery quicker than my old dslr and I'm still figuring out how much use I can get from it in one go. I'm going to get a back up one so I don't end up not using my camera for fear of running out of camera. Anyway, it was a really good day with the snow leopard and tiger talks being the highlights. Getting to see them so close was a real treat. But also this donkey. He was pretty cool.





They have a lot of different owls at Banham, I especially like the great greys, they remind me of wizards. Like, maybe they used to be wizards but reached a higher level of understanding and turned into these super majestic owls because human bodies just get in the way. I dunno, that's what they make me think of.





I loved this guys hair. He was so tall and fancy.






These Victoria crowned pigeons are so pretty but every time I got down to take a picture they wandered off. What a tease.



Look at her toesies sticking through the fence ^_^ The snow leopards are so beautiful. I'm so very glad we went back to see them for the talk.
I also took a few bits of video which I strung together here.


I'm so pleased I can do video now, that donkey makes me laugh every time. I hope you had a lovely weekend too ^_^

Fan Art Friday ~ Mulder and Scully

There are a whole bunch of things that I've never seen/played/read but should have. Not because other people say it's something you should read/watch/play but just because I would clearly love it. Things I really want to see/watch/play but just for various reasons have never had the chance. People who like things I like also really like these things. I'm sure I like them too, I just can't be sure, you know, having never actually seen/played/read them. Like Zelda, I liked Zelda. If something was described as similar to Zelda I'd see it as a good point. I'd never played or watched someone else play any of it. A while ago I got Ocarina of Time for my N64 and every time I sit down to play it I'm like 'oh man, I was so right. I knew I liked this!'. X-Files is one of those things. I'd never seen it but knew I liked it.



Before the new series aired on UK television Will saw that they'd played some older episodes which were then on the on demand player so I finally got to see some X-Files. And oh man, I was so right. I knew I like this! I watched as many of the on demand episodes as I could before they were taken down, watched the new series and then a channel I actually have (only freeview round here) started showing all episodes starting with the pilot! It's awesome, I love it so much. It's kind of fascinating having seen the new series too, knowing a bit about how the characters develop and where the main story arc is sort of headed and that I'll get to see that episode where Mulder wakes up from an attack singing the Shaft theme tune again before too long.
I want to make fan art friday a fairly regular thing and thought this was a good place to start.

And in case you don't know what episode I was referring too:

Campfire Tattoo

Last weekend the wonderful William used his day off to make my ankle cuter. In the long run anyway, it's currently bruised, a little peely and weird but hey, that's tattoos. Before I'd had any I was always prepared for how much it would hurt getting it done (and then it wasn't quite so bad) but I'd never heard anyone mention how annoying it was to heal. I think washing it the day after is worse than getting it done in the first place. I hate it. Healing tattoos hurt me a lot, Will doesn't seem to notice his but he grew up on a farm so he's hardier than most, like a cow or something.



He drew me a little campfire based on a sketch I saw in his sketchbook, changed to my picky specifications and with added sparkles. Having a tattoo apprentice for a partner sure is handy, picking a good tattoo artist is so important and I kind of had that process done for me. I know he's clean and is good at drawing/designing, cares a lot about the craft of tattooing, is friendly and will do the best tattoo he can every time. Which as far as I'm concerned is a pretty damn good tattoo, especially considering he hasn't been doing it all that long.





I recorded a vlog while I was there. You might notice there's lot's of prep type bits and then it drops off a little until he's finished. That's because it hurt and I lost interest in anything except staying as still as possible and trying not to cry. Ankles hurt. Yes, I'm a wimp but I sit good so you know, at least I'm helpful.

One Second Every Day February 2016

February was pretty lame. I missed a few days in the middle without even realising, I think because February was so rubbish I didn't even realise days had passed. Hopefully March will be more fun.

Vlog ~ Rummaging 23rd Feb 2016

We had a day out on Monday rummaging through as many second hand shops as we could get to. Saw a lot of awesome things, including this Mickey Mouse phone, the handset is his backpack, but only bought some Batman: The Animated Series stickers that I found in a box of cards which is awesome but I still have some Christmas money burning a whole in my pocket so we'll have to head out for another rummage soon I feel.

















There is a new (to me anyway, maybe it's been there ages) supermarket that we came across and it sells all amazing looking stuff and has a coffee bar/grill cafe that looked really good. Labels and packaging that isn't from this country is one of my favourite things. I don't know if other countries are better at packaging or if it's just the not having seen it before aspect but supermarkets with imported items are always fun. Will definitely be going back on a day better suited to food shopping to actually buy things.



Can you believe Burger King weren't doing milkshakes!! What's that all about.
I took the opportunity of a non work day to have a go at my first 'proper' vlog. I really enjoy videoing stuff so far and I think looking back at videos as well as everything else I keep and blog will be great. The talky bits are very awkward and I haven't quite figured out the camera yet but I'm learning so surely they'll get better. Maybe?



And here are some photos of the shiny so you get to see Two-Face in all his colourful glory. Stickers are the best.

Picture Party ~ Line Camera Edition 001

I take random photos of food and my face and stuff and play with line camera a lot more than my instagram would maybe have you believe. It's not that I don't want to share the everyday type pictures but I don't want my work to get lost in a bunch of them. I often forget to take wip shots and when I do I'm a lot more conscious of it being a 'good' photo because I need my work to sell itself so I end up not sharing the work photos I do take. I'll work on changing that and here are some photos from the line camera folder on my phone. I don't know why but I always think 'I'll take a photo of myself' when I'm at my most scruffy/grumpy/tired or whatever. It makes for beautiful photos, I'm sure you'll agree. If you don't already follow me on instagram I'd like it if you did ^_^

Shop Update ~ Don't Tell Me To Smile

Just a quick post to let you know the 'don't tell me to smile' patches sold out in my etsy so I've made a bunch more. I re-drew the skull and like them more now (I liked them anyway) hopefully you guys will still like them too. I've just finished listing them and there are a few in my folksy shop too.
Happy new week folks ^_^