Fox on a Boat

I thought I'd go for a brisk walk in the park, but it was raining as I left the bank. Life here is definitely a lot different, but what else is there to expect? I need more paperwork to open up a 'real' bank account - the card I have only lets me use cash points. I can't pay for train tickets online and it's not practical. I'll need another proof of address. "Even though I already gave you one to open my first account?" I ask. The answer is yes. Well, I suppose it's just one of those things. My appointment is for Friday. I'd planned to go to the park after, but now I'm just not in the mood. I'm not particularly bothered about the light rain, but it's changed the atmosphere. I go to the library instead, and find it closed. This is the point where I feel very much away from home. I have no 'usual hang out place' here. I could even hop on a bus - they are free - and just go, but it doesn't have the same appeal. What i...

In the past two weeks, I've gone back to painting in acrylics, and produced these three new paintings of lighthouses. The first one I am quite happy with, though of course it could always be improved. For the other two, I had set myself a small challenge. I only used a palette knife to paint, and I only used two blues, black, and white. I'm not entirely happy with them but I was glad to have worked on a new technique. -- To read specifically about my year abroad, please visit my side blog here.

Heart shaped mini pillows at the Alsacien Market As some of you already now, I am now living and working in France, and will be blogging about my experiences on a separate blog, right here . I finally have my first post up, so feel free to go and have look - I've also posted pictures of the towns I'm visiting!

Learning to make loops and bands... in leaps and bounds.. (I couldn't resist). I gave in and joined the loom band craze.. Of course, I already knew about them before today (I try to stay up to date..), but hadn't really considered getting involved. My friend's little sister was into it, my younger cousins were into it... It seemed fun, but I thought about all the hobbies I already have, and how I neglect some of them for ages, and decided I just didn't really have time to add another one! Until today. I was busy packing my clothes for my upcoming move. As we were emptying one of the suitcases, out toppled a few bags of bands. It was all too much for me. I had to open a packet and try the craft for myself. After a couple of minutes on the internet, I started my fishtail band. And, oh, is this stuff addicting! And fast! I finished my first band very quickly, and moved on to a second. With mum, we then went to Orpington's Hobby Craft to restock our crafting s...

Hi all.. Sorry for my rather long silence - soon I shall back to blogging, hopefully regularly. In fact, I've got a new blog coming up (on the side - this one will still exist, too). My other blog will focus on my travels and my experience teaching English to little French kids, so stay tuned! I now have three blogs - this one, the main one; my Lost in Linguistics blog about my language learning journey; and now, my travel/teaching blog. I will do my best to keep updating the main one regularly, but will also post travel and language specific posts on my other blogs. Will provide links as soon as my first post is up!

Mi-Juin et rien - blog vide. Et maintentant, j'ecris en Francais? Pretentious poetry drips over me.. shin shin to . I don't even know what this post is about. I can't stop listening to Desire's Under Your Spell thanks to someone.. I'm under my own spell. Mon esprit a le besoin d'etre ressenti sur papier.. well.. screen. I'm muddled in languages. Last night I heard muddled Japanese as I tried to fall asleep. Arabic filters through during the day. aaaaaayna al samaka? I hear with the intonation of the teaching program. No one would talk like that, but the words are like a song. I'd like to think this post is like a complex poem, but it's mostly my rambling thoughts.. hey, that can be art too.. I will go back to normal soon. I have a post about places coming up, and their magnet effect on me... Yes.. places that keep me... under their spell. Un cercle complet? Is this what it means to be human? Taste first with your eyes, then with ...

...Sorry about the title, but I couldn't resist. After all, "en mai, fais ce qu'il te plaît". Now here's the problem, right now, right here. I can't do what pleases me, because I'm out of ideas. I'm a little sick of poetry (gasp! Did I just say that?) - yes, and let me explain, in the best way I can. I did not mean for this blog to turn into a poetry blog, but, slowly, it seems to have become so. Of course, a month of poetry did not help take this blog away from that path. I love poetry, I really do, but there's also so much pressure involved when everything suddenly involves poetry - am I reading enough? Should I keep writing? Submitting? Am I talking about poems well enough? I basically need a break from all that, all the pressure and 'not good enough' feelings. I may still write poetry for myself, of course, if I get ideas, but I need to get away from the entire publishing idea, and be less involved, at least for a while. This bl...