Mad Hatter's Tea Party

Candace is having a Mad Hatter's Tea Party (here) and I made a hat. Now I have to admit that my hat is probably more suited to a Garden Party or a day at the races, but here's the thing - the original hat that I conceived and planned never made it past the two-dimensional draft on paper. It would have been constructed entirely from toilet paper inners, a 188-tube engineering feat. (To be precise.) But my visionary attempt at surpassing all previous efforts, at becoming a Truly Mad Milliner Par Excellence, would simply have taken too much effort and time. Hour upon hour of painting, punching holes, threading through wire, shaping ... no, I don't think so!

So I made this one - took me 10 minutes flat. Old straw hat, a bit of tulle, a piece of fabric from an old Indian skirt, and lots of fabric flowers and pins.

Happy Mad Hatter's Party everyone! I hope Candace will post soon and bring something to eat, because I'm starving. And I'm feeling a bit conspicuous in this pink and green outfit, with all these flowers, so very much not me. Is that a bee I hear buzzing around my head??

Weekword: Browse

Anne chose this week's word. For other participants, see her blog, frayedattheedge. Have a great weekend all! I will be browsing a few blogs, browsing my bookcases to decide what to give to charity, browsing through the programme at the play tomorrow night, and perhaps browsing the rails for some new summer clothes!

Absent

The car guard usually sits on this upturned milk crate. But today he was absent.

UPDATE: From the comments it seems that the ubiquitous car guard is a curiously South African phenomenon. Here is a short explanation. Some car guards are appointed by local businesses to look after cars in streets and parking lots. (We do have a lot of crime, including the more petty kind such as car break-ins and car thefts.) Other car guards (probably most) are self-appointed. Yes, it may be a glorified form of begging, and I am not sure what a car guard will actually do if someone breaks into my car (in most cases, nothing, I suspect, and I do not blame them - why become involved and possibly risk your life for a few measly rand that you may or may not get from the car owner?), but I guess they can act as a deterrent. A little bit like locking your front door when you go out - it makes you feel safer, and prevents a chancer from just walking in and helping himself, but it is of course useless if someone really wants to break into your house. This is my take on it - the car guard feels that he has a job and I feel that I am helping to support someone. It annoys me very much when locals say that car guards should get "proper" jobs - there are very few of those around here. Proper jobs, I mean.

The Power of the Other

I really enjoyed reading your interpretations of my previous art journal page. I call this one The Power of the Other after these two words popped out at me from the text on the page. Let me know how you interpret it. Again, I had something specific in mind as the page developed, which is really explained by the title!

Summer doodles

Summer is here! 31 degrees, sun shining, what more can I say?

PS Anne from Frayed at the Edge will be choosing the new Weekword for this week. Leave her a comment if you would like to play along!

Weekword: History

A (quick) History of the World - mine. Starting at the top with grandparents on both sides; my mom, a student teacher, meets dad, a dashing fighter pilot in WWII; me in high-chair and as a toddler, the littlest of three sisters. A brother was later added to this ménage. Unfortunately this union (my mom and dad), no doubt a romantic and happy one to start off with, did not last. Such is life. The rest (from toddler to now) is not included - it is not history, it is my life.

For other participants, see:
Linda Sue, Sarah, Leenie , Anne, Valentina, Aris, Aimee, Esti, Alexandra, Veja Cecilia, Nicky, Sarah the jeweller (who is having another amazing giveaway of a beautiful pendant), Line, Cindy and Fruenswerk!

Weekword - update

I'm late! I'm late!! I am working on a project, and in the midst of this did something very naughty: I slipped away for a few days, partly to visit this place, which is indeed part of my personal history - my dad grew up here:

So I am not at all ready for weekword yet. I hope to post mine on Sunday evening. In the meantime, here are the other participants:

Linda Sue, Sarah, Leenie (possibly), Anne, Valentina, Aris, Aimee, Esti, Alexandra, Veja Cecilia, Nicky, Sarah the jeweller (who is having another amazing giveaway of a beautiful pendant), and Line. Also Cindy!

Have a great time visiting their blogs. See you a little later!