(no subject)
Item's wobbly tooth came out on Saturday night - we didn't notice until bathtime, when I saw the gap in the middle of her lower teeth. And, just like Lola in Charlie and Lola, she was distraught. Unlike Lola, she was unmollified by the idea of going to sleep smiling so the tooth fairy could see the gap.
She ran to the washing up to see if it was in her supper bowl, the toilet to see if she'd eaten and passed it (!), and looked all over the floor everywhere she'd been that day, to no avail. To be honest, it could have fallen out at any time in the previous 24 hours.
She was nearing meltdown, so The Boy and I did something a little unethical and sneaky. We looked around for something small, hard and white. My first (impractical) thought was sweetcorn kernel, painted; The Boy's was aspirin, carved. In the end I found a bit of I-don't-know-what in the desk drawer: hardened old Fimo, perhaps? It shows that it pays not to clear out old drawers too often.
Item was in the bath: we showed it to her, and confirmed that it fit right in the gap. The Boy whipped it away before she could explore it too much - thank goodness she wasn't too curious - and said it had to be wrapped in tissue and tied up so it stayed safe. The dear girl wrote a note to tell the fairy which pillow it was under.
In the morning, there was a pound, wrapped in the same tissue and fastened with the same hair bobble "because", as I said, "fairies are very strict about recycling".
Whew, thank goodness we got away with it. Now we only have to worry about if we find the real tooth.
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It was Sketchcrawl on Saturday. It was the most "successful" yet, thanks, I reckon, to my increasing number of local pals on Twitter, and the fact that I put a Google map of the route together, so people could wander off but still rally at set points. We had about 11 adults in all, and three kids.
Item stayed for the first three stops, and I think this cramped my style somewhat. I've noticed that, even if the Boy is on full parental duty, some maternal part of my brain can't allow me to relax into drawing when she's nearby. That's my excuse anyway. You can see my sketches, none of which I'm especially happy with, here. The first 6 are from this time.
I'm full of excuses apart from Item having been there: I was also a bit tense, having organised it, over whether everyone was having a good time. Then, an hour didn't seem long enough in each place, but that might be in part because I took an absolutely enormous sketchbook.
I may not have come away with any fantastic drawings, but I did meet some excellent people, including a couple I 'knew' from Twitter and their son and daughter. Item got on very well with the latter, while I really enjoyed the parents' easy company.
Two illustrators came along from the life drawing sessions and they were also great company as well as inspiring artists. We all ended up in the Fortunes of War pub, a little earlier than intended because although it was mainly sunny, a few drops of rain fell while we were on the seafront and it started getting chilly. Local artist Linda Boucher, whose studio we were in front of, lent us what must count as the campest umbrella in the known universe, a pink, raffia-fringed affair. But the lure of beer made us move on anyway.
Next Sketchcrawl will be in colder weather, so we'll have to think about warmer locations.
She ran to the washing up to see if it was in her supper bowl, the toilet to see if she'd eaten and passed it (!), and looked all over the floor everywhere she'd been that day, to no avail. To be honest, it could have fallen out at any time in the previous 24 hours.
She was nearing meltdown, so The Boy and I did something a little unethical and sneaky. We looked around for something small, hard and white. My first (impractical) thought was sweetcorn kernel, painted; The Boy's was aspirin, carved. In the end I found a bit of I-don't-know-what in the desk drawer: hardened old Fimo, perhaps? It shows that it pays not to clear out old drawers too often.
Item was in the bath: we showed it to her, and confirmed that it fit right in the gap. The Boy whipped it away before she could explore it too much - thank goodness she wasn't too curious - and said it had to be wrapped in tissue and tied up so it stayed safe. The dear girl wrote a note to tell the fairy which pillow it was under.
In the morning, there was a pound, wrapped in the same tissue and fastened with the same hair bobble "because", as I said, "fairies are very strict about recycling".
Whew, thank goodness we got away with it. Now we only have to worry about if we find the real tooth.
---
It was Sketchcrawl on Saturday. It was the most "successful" yet, thanks, I reckon, to my increasing number of local pals on Twitter, and the fact that I put a Google map of the route together, so people could wander off but still rally at set points. We had about 11 adults in all, and three kids.
Item stayed for the first three stops, and I think this cramped my style somewhat. I've noticed that, even if the Boy is on full parental duty, some maternal part of my brain can't allow me to relax into drawing when she's nearby. That's my excuse anyway. You can see my sketches, none of which I'm especially happy with, here. The first 6 are from this time.
I'm full of excuses apart from Item having been there: I was also a bit tense, having organised it, over whether everyone was having a good time. Then, an hour didn't seem long enough in each place, but that might be in part because I took an absolutely enormous sketchbook.
I may not have come away with any fantastic drawings, but I did meet some excellent people, including a couple I 'knew' from Twitter and their son and daughter. Item got on very well with the latter, while I really enjoyed the parents' easy company.
Two illustrators came along from the life drawing sessions and they were also great company as well as inspiring artists. We all ended up in the Fortunes of War pub, a little earlier than intended because although it was mainly sunny, a few drops of rain fell while we were on the seafront and it started getting chilly. Local artist Linda Boucher, whose studio we were in front of, lent us what must count as the campest umbrella in the known universe, a pink, raffia-fringed affair. But the lure of beer made us move on anyway.
Next Sketchcrawl will be in colder weather, so we'll have to think about warmer locations.