My cards have gone AWOL - again!!!!! :(

Kirsty Wiseman has been collecting handmade cards for some time now, to be sent over to our soldiers in Afghanistan, so that they have access to something nice to send home.

My brother was in the first Gulf War with the RAF and, although he wrote to me lots, he said he didn't send many letters home to mum because there wasn't much to say that wouldn't just cause worry. And there is a limit to how often you can just fill a page with small talk. So I can understand that having access to some blank cards would help them keep in touch, let alone sending something nice home for birthdays.

So! At the beginning of April I completed 10 cards and sent them off to Kirsty. It was a busy day at the Post Office so I didn't pester them for a 'Proof of Posting' slip. I had tons of Easter cards to weigh and the queue behind me was muttering. So I thought, ah, it'll be all right.

WRONG!!!! The package never arrived :(

Undeterred, I double-checked I had the right addressed (yep) and made another eight cards and sent these last Friday. This time I sent them "First Class, Signed For". I thought that the glaring big orange sticker that this put on the front of the package would help steer it in the right direction, if the other one had just been lost, and put off any thieves, if the other one had been taken.

Today I checked the tracking number at the Post Office website. AND rang them. Guess what? They don't know where this one is either!

I asked them to investigate and they said they can't until 19 days have passed, so I have to wait till 14th May, then fill in a form. When they've got the form, then they'll look into it.

I am so annoyed! I know stuff does go missing by genuine mistake, but to me this is too much of a coincidence- two parcels to the same address in under a month gone missing????

Earlier this year someone online very kindly offerred to stamp up some images for me and sent them, first class. THESE never arrived here!

So now I'm afraid I'm rather convinced that somebody in the Colchester area sorting office is being very dishonest, and is skimming the post for packages that might have something valuable in them, i.e., anything that looks like it could have a gift inside.

Although he spent most of his working life in the Royal Navy, my dad worked as a postman for a few years in the 1960s. I have 'postman' under 'father's occupation' on my birth certificate :) I'm sure there was a time when this was a friendly, respectable job. Certainly you could trust the post. It's a sad sign of our times that when you send something now, even if you pay to have a signature the other end, there is no guarantee it will get where you sent it if it looks like the contents might be of interest.

))))SIGH!((((

Well I hope they get there eventually. But at least this time I remembered to photograph the cards first :) although they weren't as nice as the first batch, as I was rushing this time........

I made them all using just 2 stamps :(Oh! Hullo, Dilly! Fancy seeing you there!)

They were coloured with my Pro-Markers and most were decoupaged a wee bit.
Here you can see what I mean, with the middle section of the design double-layered.They were all lined inside with heavyweight white cartridge paper to make them easy to write long messages on.

Matching envelopes, too, and each sealed in a cellophane bag.WAAAHHH!!!!!!!!! I hope they turn up :(


*** *** *** *** ***
UPDATE!!!!
*** *** *** *** ***
They've arrived!!!!!
Horray!!!!!
(But I wonder what happened to the first lot....)

Fidel the Library Cat

This story and picture are from today's BBC news site. I've copied and posted it here because it made me smile and didn't want you to miss it :)

Fidel

Fidel, an eight-year-old black cat, turns up at Deal library almost every day while his owners are at work.

He spends the day on his favourite blue chair, only leaving the building when he sees his owners arriving home.

Staff say they have never tried to encourage Fidel with food and even used to put him outside when he first began to visit them, but he always came back.

Heather Hilton, district manager for Deal Library, said: "Fidel certainly seems to like coming here and he's very popular with our customers.

"I think he's a bit of an art critic too because we sometimes see him examining the pictures on the gallery wall," she added.

A spokeswoman for Kent County Council which runs the library said Fidel was such a "dedicated customer" that he sometimes arrived before staff and could be found waiting at the front door.

Fidel is a rescue cat, whose owners chose him from a local sanctuary after he was found abandoned in a flat in Deal.

I want to go to Deal library!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And NOW I have SAND in my pants.

Had the appointment with the ENT doc last week.
Went for (1) the labrynthitis that my GP said was causing my dizziness these past 7 weeks, and-
(2) why has my hearing on my right side been reduced for years- GP thought it might just be sinuses, even though I can breathe fine. I can't pinch my nose, blow and make my ears "pop". They just won't clear. And on the right side it really affects my hearing.

So!

Imagine my shock when, after 90 minutes in the clinic (plus 75 mins in waiting rooms) I discover that I actually have a disease called Otosclerosis, which causes progressive hearing loss.

Otosclerosis- you know those three tiny bones in the ear, and one of them is called the stapes or "stirrup"? They vibrate and this sends soundwaves through to your inner ear-???
Well in this condition they harden till they just stick fast and don't move, hence the deafness.

AND!!! As though this wasn't enough!
- this describes the first stage,
The SECOND stage is when the disease goes into the INNER ear, in which case it actually interferes with the nerves, and how the sound messages are sent along to the brain.

The test for this is with a tuning fork- he made the fork vibrate then held it in front of me and asked WHERE I heard it- to my surprise it sounded like it came from over on the right of me. He carried on putting it in different positions and asking me where I heard it. It was so weird, but I heard it from other directions most of the time, not from where it actually was. (No wonder I can never tell where helicopters are!!!)
The worst one was when he actually touched my head behind my left ear with the fork, and I heard it over on the front right.
So! I was positive on this test, meaning the disease has already got to my inner ear.

Then I had a hearing test-
VERY pleased that my left ear comes up as within normal range. But VERY shocked my results of my right ear- I knew that it was mostly low sounds I can't hear too well as I have noticed this with music; no bass in the right ear, always tinny. But in the test some low noises I couldn't hear on the right till they were at 40 decibels.

The tester also did another test for the spatial hearing. She produced a chart that showed a particular pattern that the ENT doc said confirmed otosclerosis in the second stage. I've since googled it till the cows come home and have at times found examples of this chart with just the same pattern on it. On a positive note I am really pleased to have found a doc that knows his stuff!

SO now I have an appointment in May for a hearing aid fitting! And then another appointment with the ENT doc re the dizziness-

Oh yes! The dizziness! It wasn't labrynthitis at all! SO just as well I got the referral to the ENT as the GP was wrong on that. Wish I hadn't taken all the stuff he gave me for it then, hurrumpff hurrumpff....

The dizziness was something called BENIGN PAROXYSMAL POSITIONAL VERTIGO. This is what it is-

you know that bit in the ear that coils round like a snail's shell? (Cochlea?) Well! A tiny bit of calcified matter had broken off and was floating about in the liquid in this bit. So! The ENT did a procedure called The Epley manoeuvre which means he lay me down till I went dizzy, holding my head in his hands. Then he turned my head right, back, up, down, left etc etc, steering the little bit of matter out of the coil. And it worked! The dizziness has gone! Amazing! Wonderful to see someone who knew what to do!

Mum has very little hearing in one ear and her dad was the same, and yes, otosclerosis is genetic. I've emailed my siblings to let them know....

You can have the gene and not develop the disease, and different things can spark it off. One thing that can is having a virus. This fits, as I can trace my hearing loss back to the late 1980s when i had a bad head cold that made my ears blocked and itchy. My GP back then didn't give me anti-biotics, so maybe that was because he thought it was part of the cold virus and not an ear infection. But since then my right ear has never felt 'open'.

The ENT said my ears were clean, nothing to block them and ear drums are normal. SO it isn't a pressure thing. He doesn't think my Eustachian tubes are working well though, so he's going to test them when I go back.

This last week I have been in shock and upset at the news, and trying to imagine losing my hearing. Mum has been sympathetic and supportive. We have had a laugh about it- with her it is on the left and with me it's on the right. SO I said, we better make sure you always sit on my left in future or we'll both be sitting there going "Ay? What? What you say?"

I just didn't need this news on top of other stuff, which have been stressful too. I have been on the floor with big belly-sobs, so low and upset. I feel like I am disintegrating inside lately. I wish I could go somewhere on my own for a bit and just rest and watch the world go by. I really need to get away on my own and clear my head. Which is odd, really, as I feel so lonely.

Award :)

Just popping in to say a big thank you to Jenny of Jenny's Little World, who has given me this lovely award :)
The text of the award is as follows:

The Karma Award: These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers.

I am meant to pass it on to 8 other bloggers! I'm afraid I can't do this, as (1) I don't want to leave out any of the blogs on my list or my followers because they are very special blogs. It would be different if I only had to pass it on to one person, but once you get numbers like 8, that's more of an exclusion exercise and might cause offence to those left out! (2) I'm also a little reluctant to because some bloggers openly prefer not to receive awards and tags. This would exclude several people I'd love to give this to!!!

So basically, if you haven't had this one and would like it, please feel free to take it and pass it on! My regular readers, for example, all deserve it and I'm not just saying that through bias :)

Thanks again, Jenny! (DO visit her blog, btw, it's lovely!!!)

Cat Therapy

Things are smoothing out, gradually, I think....
Big thanks, everyone who has emailed and left messages.
It really helps y'know :)

*** *** *** *** ***

I've done a little pootling in my favourite subjects, namely cats and doodling. This time I've produced smaller cards. And I seem to be veering towards the simpler look at the moment, which I'm finding really appealing right now. Maybe because my head is so jumbled I need the page to be blanker!!

Anyway, as these are smaller (89mm -or about 3.5- inches square)I have put them in my online shop in packs of two. Here are a few examples. If you click this link you can see more pic's at the shop.Meanwhile here is Fluffy:Even though her kidneys are registering as OK now, the vet has recommeneded we stick to the Renal Formula diet because of her age (16). But she isn't eating very much at all. She has a few mouthfuls then just walks away. We even try to feed her from our hands, coaxing her and encouraging her. But after a few mouthfuls she just isn't interested. I've ordered a different brand of food for her, which should arrive today. It's still a premium renal formula but it's meant to be extra tasty for cats who aren't eating. I hope it works. She has lost LOTS of weight.In this photo (above) you can see how thin some of her fur is. This is where it had become matted and they had to thin it out and even did a little shaving!
(I love it when cats sleep on their brains like this. Did you know there is a tradition that this means it's going to rain?)

And here is her brother Scooter!
HE is doing SO well. He is her littermate, so also 16. He was diagnosed with FiV a few years ago. This is the feline version of HIV and spread by scratches and cuts in fights with infected cats.

When he was diagnosed the vet told me to have him put to sleep, if only, he said, to save Fluffy from the risk of infection. But I couldn't. How can I sacrifice one cat for another? Well it is years since and she is still free of it. And he is great despite having about 4 teeth and arthrititis. He has a limp at the moment: it comes and goes. But he is an enormous, butch fella, really strong.
He will cuddle only when HE wants to, and he isn't a lapcat. He prefers to sit alongside you.
He loves to be stroked, especially around the ears. When he has had enough he will push your hand away. But if you stop too soon he will "Tap tap tap" at you to carry on. Somtimes this may involve tapping your head or your face, if you are asleep in bed. And if that doesn't work the claws come out. He's very cheeky. I love them both.

Off for a while....

I am going to my mum's for a little while. Something happened here and I just can't be around for a while.

Take care all. Don't worry. See you soon. ish.

Oh, and try this: Kitty Bellys :)

A Beautiful Mind

It's been like a roller-coaster, these last few weeks.

First, there was my partner investing in a franchise, then meeting Julie (nerve wracking before, wonderful during!!) the trip to Lincoln, then home for Easter, then to Mum's for a few days... and for a couple of days this week I completely crashed!

It began Tuesday, while I was still at mum's; I felt myself really slipping downwards. I said I was tired, made a few excuses and took some time out up in her spare room, catching some sleep. We got home that night and I took one of my "emergency blue pills". These are trifluoperazone, for when the bi-polar zig-zag pushes me a little too far either up or down.

Wednesday night I sat up, on a diet of diazepam and chocolate muffins :)

Thursday morning I felt better, but gradually wore down through the day. So I took another catnap. Then I had an email from an old school friend, Josephine, asking to come up. I explained how I felt, and she said that I needed "a dose of silliness" and prescribed herself and her 10 year old daughter, who promptly arrived Friday morning :)

I didn't feel up to it, and wanted to defer for a few days, but focused on what nice things I could get for them to eat. I made a chicken and bacon pie and Luvbug bought banoffee pie and doughnuts. In the afternoon, with full tummies, we all went off to a garden centre and chose plants for our respective gardens.

I have no idea where this one came from. Then in an email Julie very kindly suggested that maybe it was the number of things I'd had all at once- this labrynthitis virus that I'm still fighting, a trip away from home, worrying about Fluffy, worrying about my partner, .... all sorts of things. Yes, I suppose so.

*** *** *** *** ***

Scary bits............

Photo taken from my back, upstairs window a couple of years ago... it was a great storm!

It's hard to descibe how it feels but imagine your brain telling you that you have too much stimulation around you, and so you have to go and lie down for a few hours in a quiet spot. The longer it takes to go and do that, the worse it gets, until it becomes a physical pain, like a belt tied tightly around your forehead. The inner tension slips down to your chest and feels like an empty vacuum. You start to go "zombie-fied", when even finishing a sentence is mentally exhausting and painful. Sleep, sleep, rest. Then try to distract yourself when you wake up, don't just lie there. Do something till you have to rest again. Takes a bit of willpower to get up and do that though.

This time the flunk brought with it the more disturbing, hallucinary symptoms. I saw shadowy shapes running past the window, heard what sounded like a group of people chattering behind me, and the non-auditory but "sensory" things, these are the scariest- feeling someone walking into the room, turning to say hello and no one is there. Or feeling watched. Or not being able to get out of bed because of that child-like conviction that SOMETHING is on the stairs.

I always tell myself it isn't real, it isn't true, and make myself walk past it. Or occasionally run. But what makes it difficult is that it doesn't come when I am feeling at my worst. It comes when I am calm and thinking that the ill phase has gone or is passing- so these things take me by surprise. Just as I am pootling about my day, I see or hear or sense something that isn't there, and it is always threatening, mocking or evil....... never mind. Another week and I'll be clear, I'm sure. Just have to pace myself now.

I watched A Beautiful Mind again the other week. That film always gives me courage. Look at what John Nash lives with, and look at what he's achieved. He doesn't have bi-polar, he has schizophrenia, but he copes by just letting the hallucinations be, and just ignoring them. My mind doesn't play anything like the tricks his does, but then my brain can't do anything like the maths he does either :)
But his story always gives me a bit of strength: to know you can have a normal, even successful life despite having a mind that does odd things at times. I find myself thinking, well if he can do it, so can I.

I realise that some people will see my decision to post about this as a little risky. And yes, I have lost at least one friend over this thing. But the only way to counteract people's fear of this is to say exactly what it is and what it does. If people can't cope with that, ok, I'll understand if you want to keep away. I'm not hiding it though. I'm not sure I can. So the more people understand the inner workings of it, the better.

Also, maybe someone out there has the same but can't put it into words. They can point at the screen and say to their loved ones, "Look, read this."

Happy Easter, everyone...

This is my favourite time of year. It's brighter, a little warmer, the flowers are appearing and the days are getting longer and longer. Today, out in the car, we drove past lambs and tiny rabbits skipping around fields. All the colour and warmth of summer is ahead. When I look forward at the moment I see lush green trees, brightness, walks in the park without a coat, cups of tea enjoyed outside. It isn't hard to see why Easter has always given me an enormous lift, with or without the religious attachments.

Luvbug and I will be home this Easter, for a change, We are usually at my mum's. But after the Lincoln trip I thought a few days at home would feel better. We're going to mum's on Monday. Instead of an egg I have a box of rum truffles for her- her favourite. Or one of them, anyway :)

These photo's were taken by Luvbug inside Lincoln cathedral. Isn't it lovely to see the expanse of floor, with the dappled, coloured light from the windows, without the usual rows of chairs in the way?

I'll post more photo's of our trip another time. Meanwhile, I hope you have a lovely Easter.

Update on Fluffy

I'm still in Lincoln, but rang the vet today. Mum took Fluffy in this morning to have her X-rays and sort out her fur.

When I discovered they were keeping her in overnight, I naturally thought the worst. Maybe 16 was too old for a cat to go under general anaesthetic?

But I needn't have worried, as they explained that this was just a precaution. In fact, they did a blood test before putting her under, and discovered- to everyone's amazement- that her kidney function is now registering as 'better than normal'. Previously it has been down, and she has been on an especially sensitive, strict, renal-diet for over a year now. Well it seems to have done the job.

The X-rays revealed no tumours and no kidney stones. This was an enormous relief! So why the elevated calcium???

Here's the bad news; the vet said that she has the worst spondylosis of the spine that he has ever seen.

This was a huge surprise to us, as Fluffy shows no symptoms.

Typical symptoms are: stiffness, unable or reluctant to climb or jump e.g., onto a chair, clawing or clubbing of feet and difficulty walking, pain and yelping in pain.

In contrast, despite having at least 2 beds, Fluffy's favourite spot is one of the armchairs. Note I don't say what part: she just OWNS this particular armchair. She jumps up on it and curls up (surely you wouldn't do that with a stiff spine?) or sits on the arm and has a wash. She loves being groomed (surely you wouldn't if your bones ached) and jumps up onto the back of the chair and yeows to ask for a brush.

Anyway, so, me and the vet were equally stunned with surprise to know she not only has this degenerative arthritis of the spine, but she has the worst case he has seen.

Regarding her hair, the nurses have managed to de-knot and de-matt much of it with combs, so only a few shaved patches! We were worried about this, as Fluffy IS quite vain. When it's windy she faces into the wind and looks so angry at it, for daring to displace a few hairs.

And so poor Fluff is sleeping over night at the vet's.

They are quite good about this. Whenever a pet is staying in, a member of the team will stay overnight in the flat above the surgery, and check on the pet now and then. So Fluff is in the safest hands right now. She has her own den, heated, with a nightlight nearby too.

They are keeping her on fluids overnight so that the anaesthetic is continually flushed out of her system. This cares for her liver and kidneys. It's great that the kidney function is back, wonderful! But the raised calcium could still be dodgy on her liver. Overnight on a drip will prevent her getting dehydrated too, I suppose, as at home she might just sleep it off and forget to get up for some water.

No. I'm no so worried about Fluff. I'm worried about Mum!!! She is nibbling her nails down, worrying about poor Fluff! I have spoken to her on the phone a few times and told her, try not to worry, especially as Fluff is probably fast asleep!

She picks her up tomorrow.

I am in Lincoln till Thursday night but I'll call her again tomorrow and make sure all is well. I sure wish I could give them both a hug!

As for me, I am eating so much! The company has paid for our hotel, including breakfast, lunch and dinner, so we are making the most of the a la carte menu. Scrumptious! Lincoln has enormously steep hills, so I thought we could have a long walk after dinner and work some of the food off- then Luvbug produced a cake from his pocket, which he'd sneaked out of the hotel! So there I was, climbing the steepest hill of my life, snaffling a fondant fancy. NOT quite the effect I had in mind! LOL!!!

A Christening card, worries for Fluffy.......and off to Lincoln we go!

My second stitched card.......


I didn't expect it to be half as difficult as it was; it took a whole evening!
I made it for one of the girls next door to us. She is 12, and had been asking to be baptised, and so she was, last Sunday.

*** *** *** *** ***

Falling over in public...!!

I'm still battling the labrynthitis! It's getting better. Sort of. I have fewer dizzy spells but they are longer and 'stronger' when they come.

On Friday I actually fell over in town when one took me completely by surprise. I was VERY low afterwards, in tears, because no one came to help or to see if I was ok. It was market day in Colchester, so very busy. There were people standing by and others walking along. I was tutted at because I was obviously in someone's way, down there on the pavement, slumped next to the bin that I'd just hit my head on. But not one person asked if I was ok. Even if it was because they thought I was drunk or something, surely they could have asked from a 'safe distance'???? It hurts because I know that I would help, and have done in the past.

This sort of incident makes me feel like 98% of people in the world are ignorant bastards. It makes me feel like it isn't a world I want to be in. I had shaken it off by this morning, luckily. There have been times when the downer would have lingered much longer.

*** *** *** *** ***

Off to Lincoln, and meeting a blogger...

We're off to Lincoln tomorrow. My partner has bought a franchise and we're off to the company's head office Monday to Wednesday. Because it is 3 1/2 hours' drive away, we're staying Sunday and Wednesday night, too.

I've been to Lincoln a few times before, as my dad lived in a nearby village, Metheringham, for a while. I shall enjoy walking round the cathedral again- apparently our hotel is very near to it, so I hope the weather stays mild so that we can have a few evening walks there.

There is a shop there called Omnipuss Art- the clue as to why I want to go there is in the name! It's also a stockist of artwork by Lea Goldberg- click on the link and have a look at her gallery!
And of course, I have already searched online to see where Lincoln's craft shops are :)

The big highlight of the trip for me, though, will be stopping off in Grantham on the way, to meet Julie!!!! It isn't very often you get to meet a blogger friend in 3D!! I am excited, happy and a bag of nerves, all in equal quantities!

We're taking the laptop but I'm not sure if I'll be able to blog. Maybe! I'm going to take my pencils and watercolours with me and see if I can do a picture or two in the evenings.


*** *** *** *** ***

Fluffy at the vets again :(

On Tuesday, please think good thoughts for Fluffy, as she will be going under a general anaesthetic again. This time she'll be having X-Rays to see if she has any tumours.... her calcium levels are high, and sometimes a tumour is the cause. I had a horrible dream recently in which the X-Ray revealed not one tumour, but lots of little ones, which were inoperable. I woke up heartbroken and the feeling lingered for ages....

Fluffy on Saturday, in her new birthday bed! Can you tell which end is where????

Whilst sedated she is going to have her fur de-matted, which will involve some shaving too. In all her 16 years her fur has been beautiful, silky soft and knot free. Over the last month it has gone matted and dry. We've no idea why....

At the same time, she has become suddenly even more friendly than usual and seeks out laps and cuddles. This will make it even harder for us if the news is bad on Tuesday.

Please keep things crossed for her...

*** *** *** *** ***
Have a good week, and see you when we get back!!

A card for Gill, and memories of working in London...

A quicky for Gill, someone I worked with in the early 1990's. She commuted to London all the way to Worthing. Actually, she still does it! We keep in touch via Xmas and birthday cards, and the odd email. Some of them very odd indeed :)

Inside...

....and the envelope:

We were at an investment bank called CIBC, near London Bridge.
We were in the stockbroking bit, doing settlements. This section had previously been an independent broker, but like many other small firms, it swallowed by a big bank.

There was an enormous gap between how broker staff worked and how bank staff worked. For example, we had always done unpaid overtime- if you needed to get it done, you stayed and did it. It was expected, in fact, it was written into your contract. It lead to a 'work ethic', if you like, but even under pressure the cameraderie was second to none :)

To the bank, though, if you did overtime this meant that you had messed about all day. Overtime meant you were doing something wrong. Having outlooks that were poles apart like this meant that brokers dreaded being taken over by banks, as we had very little respect for them! The saying was, that 'banker' was Cockney rhyming slang ;)

Some of us rode in the London to Brighton Bike Ride each year. The bank insisted that T-Shirts with 'CIBC' on them were worn. So we told people that it stood for "Canvey Island Bike Club" (rather than Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce).

On the ride to Brighton our team took the train from London Bridge and were on the beach setting up a barbecue long before anyone else arrived :)

When the Stock Exchange arranged for a rounders league, our team turned up in jeans with a crate of Becks Beer, while the banking section came along in team-liveried shorts and tops, doing group warm-ups. Ugh! They make me gringe just to think of it. LOL!!!!

It was fun for a while but once CIBC had our business and our training and procedures, the entire department was made redundant en masse.
-A pattern repeated many times.

In 1992 I had three redundancies. I had 5 over the course of my time in the city, 1986-1997. Hence I feel for those being affected this time around. Kind of ironic that it's the big banks who are feeling it bad this time. I can't say 'good!' because some of the brokers swallowed up are still in there, somewhere.

It's a shame that the big banks were ever allowed to take over the small brokers. One that I had worked for, Kitkat & Aitken, had been trading since the early 19th century. Then along came the Royal Bank of Canada and snapped us up..... within 4 years no sign of Kitkat remained. No notice was ever given for redundancy. I began work on a Friday as normal, and got my P45 at lunchtime. Some people found their redundancy notices on the doormat when they got home from holiday.

Banks got too big and therefore too powerful. A lot of people suffered along the way, and look what it led to.....

Thanks to people like Gill though, I still have good memories of those days :)

Another new stamp from Switzerland!

..... yeah I know, but I couldn't resist him. He's called Draco and he's a Whiff Of Joy dragon!!

In the above photo, the one made into a card was water-coloured, the other was done with my new Letraset ProMarkers. I did the scales on this one by colouring him pastel green, then going over this with the blender, then splodging dots in a darker green quickly before it dried. The effect looks like fuzzy felt. Click on the pic's and enlarge, to see what I mean.

I made that second one into an Easter card!
"Please can I have an Easter card with a dragon on it" wasn't the easiest request ever made but I really like the result!
I've trimmed the wings with a clear Sakura sparkle pen so that they shimmer. Pity it doesn't come out in the photo...

I think he's very cute! I'm glad I found him as I know so many people who like dragons!!

Easter is coming...

My first batch of Easter cards is ready for sending. I know it's early, but some are going abroad...
Close ups:

Still more images on the conveyor belt.....
...some cutie Whiff Of Joy images, too....
Basically, if I have your address (e.g., from the Xmas card swap- goodness, that seems an age away now!) then you'll be getting one. I hope you like it. If you'd like one but know I've never had your address, email me and I'll put one in the post to you too :)
(Emily, this includes you!! I'll be sending one to my sister, who lives near Adelaide, so I can always send another one to Oz at the same time!!!)