England...

(Arlington Row in Bibury)

My head is still buzzing from all that I have seen and experienced... I loved England, it was everything and so much more than I expected it to be. It is nice to be back home but I miss Stuart's Aunt and Uncle who we stayed with and the other family members who were always popping in for visits or to come and take us on trips, I miss them all very much and I appreciate their hospitality and everything they did to make our stay so perfect. I miss the English houses, the brick and stone, rows and rows of the same style house butted up against narrow roads. I miss looking up and always seeing a plane or trails left from planes marking the sky. I miss the feeling of being on the other side of the world, being so far away from home was such an adventure.

(Ben was obsessed with reading the safety procedures pamphlet on each and every plane)

Soon I will post a diary of our trip with more pics, but for now I have a bit of work to catch up on.

ONE more sleep!!!

I don't have any paintings to post today so I thought I would post a pic of Ben's eye, I really love this image. I would die for some of those impossibly long lashes and I just love the soft colour of his eyes, a kind of slate colour. If you look closely you can see our kitchen bench and windows just to the left of his pupil. I said to him the other day, "You have beautiful eyes" and he said "I know".

I have been going through a few of my picture books, I love kids picture books and have a whole stack of them... anyway I have left three of them on my desk as inspiration for when I come back to mix in with thoughts I might get while I am away. I can feel something brewing in my brain, an idea is developing and I don't want to scare it away. So I thought coming home to a clean art table with a few of my favourite inspirational things waiting for my return might get me back into the flow of things.

By the end of today I think we will have most things sorted for our trip... when Ben woke this morning he said to me "is it today mummy" I said "one more sleep"... a big smile spread across his face and he was silent for a while. I think he can comprehend the significance of one more sleep as apposed to 9 more sleeps.

Thanks to everyone for their well wishes for our trip and I will be back soon with lots of pics and stories.

Godspeed to me... I like the word Godspeed, I think if someone wishes you Godspeed, it must be a very important journey indeed.