the tortoise and the hare ~winning~ nothing else matters

the other week I was a little bit tired when I did my benches

felt as slow as a tortoise, as I slowly, but surely, pushed the bar up

normally I do a comfortable 3 sets of 4/5 reps on 60kg now. I've built up to that and I usually get 3 clean reps and a couple extra with my spotter.

It's always good to have someone strong to spot me

to wheek the bar up when I am struggling...

here I am struggling....

had one of my fav Metallica songs on - 'nothing else matters'

you can just hear it in background above my panting

did some declines next

I now do 3 sets of 8 reps on 60kg easily, then about 3 sets of 4 reps on 70kg, with at least 2/3 reps clean per set

...slow and steady wins the race....

eh, but that day I was only on about 85% strength, so em, I tried my best

...better late than never....

and since I was not up to par, my spotter had his work cut out for him that day!

- so here's the bar being wheeked up....

(always good to get some negative reps in, dontcha know how beneficial they are? :  )

and then 24hrs later I was surrounded by heavy metal of another kind....

I flew across the North Sea to Norway, to bask in the Scandinavian sun and have a wee break from all the Scottish rain

aah, I'm only joking! it's been pretty good in Scotland so far with some nice sunny days

but it was good to be in Stavanger again! catching up with family

and because you can't take the metal out of this girl -

I spent 6 days hard training in 'bears' gym - THE best hardcore gym for serious training in Stavanger! - Bjorns gym!

and best of all - they had Metallica playing! 

omg!! omg!!! how happy was I?!!

many thanks to Lloyd for being totally awesome : ) and Benjamin too!

let's have some more Nothing Else Matters eh?

was nice to be back in Norway

went for a wee run around in my brother's rr

love driving the range rover! so much fun! like a tank and it can go as fast as a hare!

talking about fast - there are alot of Trans Ams in Norway. My fav car ever! They have a few ta clubs over there

and I was so hoping to see one, or two, or three - I'd seen one the week before in Scotland on the coast road to North Berwick - ha ha, that was SO exciting!!!

but the only old car I saw was a Ford Mustang

Bears gym was 2.5km away, so I ran there and back every day

was nice, ran by a wee lake, Mostvatnet, was chased by hungry mallards with tiny babies and hungry swans, then up and down a couple hills, past lots of beautiful and elegant Norwegian homes, across some busy roads, up 4 sets of steep steps, then finally made it to the gym in one piece

(*yes, I did get lost on my first day, yes I did run an extra 1km trying to find my way there and home again...)

~ never ran in those purdy shoeses though, they are my stepping out heels

as in stepping outside anywhere

love them so much! 

then on the first day I got back from the gym I was so exhausted after my *extra excursion that I flopped like a tired hare on the long summer grasses of my sister-in-laws beautiful flower-filled meadow-like garden

amongst the dandelions and wishes and.....

and dozed in the evening sun

~it was blissful~

normally the grass and dandelions are kept in trim by the tiny furry lawnmower

little Tomas - my Norwegian heart! eating his heart out

but a few days before I was to fly over, he decided to fly to heaven

and so not all the dandelions were kept in trim

and some had turned to wishes

I was so looking forward to seeing Tomas again. 

We got on so well together. 

I bribed him, er, I fed him nice things and he let me pat him : ) 

I loved stroking his fur, feeling his tiny heart beating thru his warm skin, looking into his soft black eyes, listening to his rustlings late at night

I had made him a little heart shaped fleece blanket the year before and often sent him edible presents, and on my birthday this year my brother took him out of his inside home (sometimes it is referred to as a cage by others, but not by me), and Tomas sat on the dining table eating tasty treats when he skyped me happy birthday and my nieces were dancing gangnam style in the background (yeah, they had a birthday party for me on skype :/

and whenever I see dandelions, and wishes, I think of my little prince Tomas

and whenever I see things fast

taking things slow

I remember to enjoy the moment ~nothing else matters~

spotted these fast things being slow in a gallery window 

feety grooming is a time consuming and pernickity process

and attention to detail is what matters

they are on my wish list now

well, one is anyway

made by Kjersti Olsen and sold here Galleri Amare 

and then as I was walking up the street, smiling away to myself, after looking at those hares I happened to glance to my left, in between two large buildings, and saying hello from a far wall were a couple of bigger hares !!!

ha ha ha!

that made me smile big time!

I've seen some interesting art on buildings before, but I reckon these rabbits take the cake 

sooty and sweep?

it's good to see fun and beautiful art

nice to appreciate it

even better to enjoy a cup of tea and some cake, or biscuits, as one does the appreciating

whether of a tiny sculpture, 

building graffiti,

or even on oneself.....

yeah, yeah, what can I say?

7 going on 17

isn't she beautiful

my youngest niece

who demanded that I apply some make-up to her, since I am an artist

and now I am a professional make-up artist to small humans under 10 (yup, her 2 wee pals wanted made-up too) and she is now a professional model for all things Ness and tigers

my watercolour hare is now nearly finished

only got the whiskers to go on

was nice to paint him

he's a young buck

and he's waiting for the sun to come out, after getting a wee bit wet in the morning rain

painting takes it's own time

no matter how fast you want to go, 

time dictates the pace

and me n watercolours - it's slow and steady

was nice being in Norway
totally loved bears gym! totally loved all the metal big time, never seen so many eleiko plates in my life! *sigh* and a full set of eleiko dumbbells *sigh* and 4 racks!! *sigh* 
yup, was good

and loved seeing my precious nieces and beautiful sister-in-law

and soaking up the Norwegian sun - got a little bit of a tan infact

winning ? 

losing ?

slow ?

fast ?

as long as you are enjoying yourself, then in my book you are winning and ~ nothing else matters

so loving snow deer

can there ever be enough love?

or deer, or hares, or snow? (preferably all together)

I do so love printed fabrics with beautiful images of deer

especially in blues, greys and browns - my fav colours, 

which remind me of the viddes in Norway  ~ it is so breathtakingly beautiful to be on the vidde, I have never felt so at home (um, was I a reindeer in a past life? :)

an Arabella bag is on her way across the pond

complete with faux fur collar and a North American Whitetail

and faux fur ruffles on the rump

with straps adorned with fluff, tweed and ribbon scraps

and ofcourse a tail! 

what self respecting rabbit would not be complete without a white and black tail?

some deer have made their way into my home early this winter

every year as soon as the xmas cards come out in the shops I usually buy a pack of the ones that I just can't live without

12 cards is more than enough for me

3 on display in my sitting room, and em,

9 that will be stashed away for a few more years

last year I think I sent 3 cards (late), it must have been January by the time I got around to sending them

hmmm, not that there is anything wrong in that is there?

(dates are WAY over-rated)

and no, I am not the type of person who waits to see who will be sending me a card before I send them one. Last year I got a few cards, I am sure it was more than 5 (maybe it was 6 at a push) and that was including the free church one that is always put thru my letterbox just incase I have had a bad year and need to find solace in god. Nice to know it/he/she is always there for me :)

I'm a 'Universe' girl myself, and send my love to the stars actually

the stars never judge me, they always shine their light on me and every night, without fail they are there for me

sparkling and glistening and twinkling as I admire and appreciate them

I so love looking up at the ✻  stars every night ✻  ✻ 

okay enough stargod stuff -

here is the fabled Bluebird of Happiness!

well, er, this one will definitely be bringing happiness

I rustled it up last night for my little Norse princess who will opening it on xmas day

every day will be a happy day for her :)

(hey! ~ she has me as an aunty!) and I take my aunty duties very seriously! 

1. make my nieces feel good every day

2. make my nieces laugh by doing funny and stupid things

3. make my nieces happy by giving (aka - making) them anything they want

4. let my nieces get away with hell when they come to visit me

5. spoil them rotten :)

did I get all the main points in??

so, just waiting on some snow coming now.....

(and xmas cards :)
email me - shall give you my add.... and I promise to send one in return, as long as you are not from a church..

the Midnight Sun Vs Tropic of Capricorn

Autumn is here, again, the days are getting colder

and the sun is getting weaker, day by day 

some beautiful crystals catch the brightest rays, as do the eyes on the smallest hare 

nearly every day I am blessed with the sun shining brightly on me as I work at my desk

and that's a good thing, because I have grown to LOVE the sun more and more

when I was tiny I lived in Zambia for 5 years

growing up in the bush just a bit above the Tropic of Capricorn

surrounded by crocs, snakes, antelope, zebra, eles, lizards and every insect imaginable ~ and the insects in Zambia are the size of small antelopes!! I kid you not

and every day I played happily in the scorching sun, as it beat down on me, relentlessly

- but I was a kid - and kids don't really mind the searing heat, nor notice the bright rays,

well, I never seemed to mind. I was as brown as a berry in all my photos and my hair was nearly, well, it wasn't my dark brown now that's for sure. I was gonna say blonde, but I don't do blonde...  ....mmm, it was *sunkissed*

anyway, it's a long way up North, up here in Scotland with her snow and mountains, from the Tropic of Capricorn!

and the sun, whilst very hot in summer ~ if you lie as still as a lizard on a rock ~ just never seems as omnipresent as in the tropics

it's not ofcourse, I think I was being a little wistful?

but after Africa I then did the rest of my growing up in Outback Australia, in the Northern Territory - again, just above the Tropic of Capricorn

in the hot, hot stiflingly humid tropics of tropical Darwin,

and boy oh boy was it hot and humid all year round!! took me a few years to acclimatize unlike the dry heat in Africa 

and then after all that sun I needed a respite so I came back to Scotland to the grey, and clouds, and rain and fog 

and saying something about the sun being over-rated.. blah blah blah...

- and it wasn't just a fog lying on the land here, it was a fog in trying to understand the locals. Now that was hard!! 

I could hardly understand a thing anyone said, they spoke so fast, with such thick broad accents and really weird strange words. They thought I was taking the piss at work, because I kept saying 'excuse me?' every time they spoke to me, as I didn't have a clue what they had just said!

Hmmm what can I say? perhaps I was not as Scottish as I thought I was? Obviously not!

My most Scottishest word had always been 'aye' (yes)

(but i only used to say that when i lived in Australia....)

and if someone here says 'aye right!'  

it does not necessarily mean 'yes, okay' - it is local banter for 'what rubbish/your kidding/get away wi' yersel ya wee....'

anyway, back to the sun!

Wesley loves the sun shining in, and all day long he will follow it around the room, to bask in the warmth

he's a little sun-bug :)

just as well I have South facing windaes.. oops! sorry, I meant windows

(seriously, I do not talk with much of an accent or use the local banter, I promise)

and my delicious cups of Lady Grey tea are kissed by the autumn sun

so pretty!

always makes me think of the midnight sun, this fading winter sun does, sitting low on the horizon, not giving too much warmth in all it's brightness

even my little fountain seems to be doing a better job?

though it is really very beautiful when I go out to feed the squirrel and sparrows and other beasties

there is something rather mesmerizing about the sun at this time of year, that's for sure

the birds get to tuck in to some mixed seed from their Norwegian bird house

hmmm, perhaps it is rather Scandinavian eh? it did come from my sister-in-laws over in Norway

and em, so did their purdy little water dish. 

It's got 2 permanent water drinkers on the side. Often I see blackbirds standing in the centre taking vigorous baths after I've washed all the leaves out and refilled it.

Glad I got it home in one piece, inside my suitcase... the things you drag back home from your holidays eh??!

(and don't even ask me about the huge 1.8m steel-enforced cardboard tunnel I carted back from Norway for Wesley...!) (oh, alrighty, lying about the steel-enforced part, but it is construction material tunnels and I had to get the guy next door to cut it in 2 with his huge professional circular saw, and even then it was still too big to get in my suitcase ha ha!!) (the things I do for my rabbit eh?)(Wes turned his nose up at it infact)(sorted! sarcastic self-effacing adj.)

alrighty then, the sun is still shining, and the little squirrel that I feed every day comes scurrying across the branches to me when I put some nuts and raisins and sunflower seeds down for him (or her).

it is a rather small squirrel - this year's baby infact and the other 2 siblings have not made an appearance for quite some time, so I could be fattening up just the one tiny beastie

- fattening up to get thru the long winter months ahead I mean. Though I do feed the squirrel every day, so by next spring this little mite will be a huge bundle of fat I reckon?

the little squirrels I make are not so fat

still, that's not an issue,

they don't need to fatten up for hibernating as they will be spending their time on your Christmas tree

amongst all the pretty little sparkling winter suns

oh, okay, xmas tree lights then 

- I was only trying to add a bit of sparkle to the image

I've become rather attached to Achilles since I made him, in all his unkemptness, and sort-of innocence

and I really do love Adore as well

she really is a very beautiful little hare

such a gentle appearance

shall have to give her a tough persona with softened edges, to carry that kind of cuteness off then 

so, that's decided then - these 2 hares are mine

I think they are meant for each other infact? what do you think?

she adores him, he does indeed adore her....

... though no-one is saying anything...

hey?! what's this?

put the lights back on!

okay Wesley :) 
perhaps we should be considering a sojourn in the Tropic of Capricorn then?


Midnight Sun Vs Tropic of Capricorn - I think I will have both, thank you!