Tuesday 31 July 2012

The art of doing one thing at a time

For the past nine months or so I've been dealing with some health issues that have affected my day to day life in some interesting, and also annoying, ways. A fairly protracted bout of Glandular Fever (insert joke about pashing random people here - go on do it - you know you want to) led to some crazy food allergies and what could potentially be Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. While I'm still unsure about the diagnosis, the fact remains that life is different from how it used to be.

Sometimes these differences manifest themselves in good ways. For example, I don't seem to need to wash my hair as much these days. SCORE. I also have a damn good reason for staying at home on the couch when it's cold and rainy outside, and any normal person would be doing the same, fatigued or not. I've learned how to say no - simply because I've had to. As a born people pleaser this is a particularly hard lesson to learn, but it had to happen. I've been met with waves of compassion when I was at my sickest, and been lucky enough to have others share their experiences of being sick with me, and also their advice. 

The advice has been key because in this, the age of Dr. Internet, there have been times when I have felt suffocated by all the information that is available. And of course the subsequent agendas of those posting the information. Take supplements! Don't take supplements! Google searches on CFS and which treatments are the best are really a dangerous road to go down. I've learned my lesson there (mostly). It seems like instead of making people feel empowered and hopeful, the internet does exactly the opposite. It can create some wonderful forums for wallowing, self-pity and doom-mongering. No thanks.

The overwhelming advice I've received, from both Dr. Internet and Dr Real Life, is that pacing is key. It's taken me a while to really take this on board and apply it to all aspects of my life. For a while, I thought it was just about staying home and not socialising as much as I used to. Cut to me, sitting on my couch with the television on, my laptop in front of me and my iPhone beeping away at me, making sure I was up to date with all my Words With Friends games. And I wondered why I was going to bed each night feeling wired and my energy levels were plateauing, if not getting worse.




If only life was this, right?



I was chatting to a good friend recently, and she mentioned that these days companies and workplaces are focussing less on multi-tasking and more on doing one thing at a time. That this was a new trend, in how we work and live our lives. This got me thinking - when do I ever do one thing at a time? When does anyone? And how would our lives change if we did? We all fear that drop in our productivity, but really, how much does multi-tasking actually help us, other than to make us feel like we're on top of things, but in fact we are constantly stressed and overwhelmed. For so long, being so busy and doing a hundred things at once was seen as a badge of honour and a sign of importance - maybe we're finally letting that go?


Interestingly enough, people who multi-task aren't any more efficient than those who don't, according to this blog post, that Click Training and Consulting kindly directed me to as I was writing this very post. Thanks internet - maybe you're not so bad after all.

So I'm trying something new. When I sit on the couch to watch a movie, I just watch the movie. It surprised me how difficult that actually is. No laptop and no Words With Friends.  When I spend time with friends and family, my phone stays in my bag and that time is devoted to them. Writing this blog post right now is all I'm doing. My phone is in the other room and the TV is off. At work, I write my "to-do" lists and work through them systematically, one thing at a time. 

When I remember to do these things - suddenly I feel like I'm in control, like I'm managing. Am I magically cured? No, probably not. But I do feel like this un-multi-tasking business has its perks. Plus, I'm more than happy to let someone else win the busiest person competition - it's not a title I'm particularly interested in, thanks anyway.










Interested in reading more about doing less? Check out this post from Sarah Wilson. Actually, check out her blog in general. It's pretty great.






Monday 30 July 2012

A Bookmark a Day

Pass the Parcel by Bob's Boutique.
Picture from Lark's on line store.

I should probably change the name of these posts as I am not exactly posting a bookmark a day. Any suggestions? I'll have to think on it for a while.



Anyway, today the bookmark, picked at random from my unsorted bookmarks, features a cute product from a cute shop that caught my eye once upon a time. A Handmade Pass the Parcel sold by Lark. They are actually made by 'Bob Boutique' and are available from their own site too. They might be a bit extravagant for a run-of-the-mill kid's party but they maybe a lovely idea for a gift for a special friend or a shower tea?




Sunday 29 July 2012

Perfect Pop Songs

When I don't know what I want to listen to - usually on the train in the mornings, when my brain is still fuzzy - I turn to the shuffle songs function on my iPod, and let technology lead the way. After all, the iPod knows. Trust me. Put shuffle on after you've had a particularly hard day, or if you're wrestling with an emotional battle, and magically the songs that you need to hear will appear. 


The other morning my iPod (I know some people name their inanimate objects, but I've never been able to do that...) gifted me with a handful of my all-time favourite pop songs all in a row, lifting me out of my Monday morning blues into a happier frame of mind. The songs in themselves are all pretty different, and it got me thinking - what is it that makes a perfect pop song? Is it something tangible that we can analyse - tempo, key and chord progressions - after all, everyone loves a four chord song right? Check out this illuminating Axis of Awesome video from the Melbourne Comedy Festival in 2009 if you find pop music at all mysterious. Warning - some of the language is a trifle warm if you are at work or have small children around who like to repeat things.


In spite of those  four chords though, the fact remains that there are plenty of people with a guitar and four chords (or three chords and the truth - sorry, couldn't help myself) who never get an album deal and never make it to number one, or create that song that makes everyone hit the dance floor ten years after it's released. Yes, it has been 10 years since Rock Your Body by Justin Timberlake. I KNOW, RIGHT? ...Actually, I take back my incredulousness. I just watched the video clip again, and the whole thing is so deliciously early 2000s, right down to Justin's diamond studs and the beat box interlude. (I'm sorry, I just can't say "noughties." I've always hated that word. It's like the worst kind of Dad joke.)  Ah well, it was a decade that took a while to find it's feet, style wise. But that's another post, for another day.


The other thing is, you might read this post, and decide that I've hit my head on something quite hard, because all the songs I've chosen are absolute rubbish. Just because a pop song is considered a hit, doesn't mean that every single person will like it. So even with the magic of those four chords, there still has to be something about it that connects with people at an individual level. 


The first song that put a smile on my face that morning, as it always does, was "Dammit" by Blink182. Apart from all those high school memories that this song brings up - here's what it is that makes it a great song to me:


1. It is SO much fun to sing a long to - even when you don't really know the words, as evidenced here on a recent road trip. Again with the language - sorry.


2. If you are fan of playing air guitar, or air drums, then you can really get into it.


3. It's a song that demands a physical reaction from the listener, you don't just let it play away in the background. You participate. 


Song number two, was "Magic" by B.O.B. featuring Rivers Cuomo (the singer from Weezer). While this song doesn't have the emphatic bad language, or the potential for enthusiastic air instrument playing, it was pretty much my happy song for the entirety of 2011. It is guaranteed to improve my day, and I'm fairly sure it has inspired some pretty spazz dancing. Have a listen if you're looking for an energy boost - plus, Rivers Cuomo is pretty damn cute in his sleeveless parka vest. Just saying.





The third song for today, is probably not so happy - nor have I ever danced like a spazz to it, although upon reflection I probably could - but it is again a song that demands a reaction from the listener. To me, Paramore are all about energy - and if you have a look through YouTube at any of their live videos, you will see that front woman Hayley Williams is an absolute powerhouse. Misery Business is one of their first hits, and it's got everything that I've mentioned previously as well as something that can either make or break a pop song - the bridge. Done well, bridges are great at bringing a song back emotionally, or pushing it in a different direction and creating focus. The bridge in Misery Business is the high point of the song, and finishes with a pretty awesome guitar solo that brings the song back around to the catchy as hell and easy to sing along to chorus. 


I'm going to leave you with Swedish pop/dance singer Robyn. She is awesome. She just is.






Saturday 28 July 2012

Where are they now? - Bicentennial medals.

Hey Aussie kids! Where's your Bicentennial Medal?

Image from Museum Victoria website... until I can find my own medal.

Seems they are worth a lot now! With only 3.2 million struck and distributed to all Australian school children to celebrate the bicentenary it makes them quite rare. ;)
Recently on ebay they have sold for $0.99 and even as much as $2.25!

P.S. - Can you tell I've fallen behind with my blog entries? Sorry sis!


Friday 27 July 2012

Cover me:...I don't even miss her.

I was a bit concerned about talking about John Mayer again on Four Letter Birds so soon. I don't want you to get the wrong idea, after all. But the fact remains, that this is one of my all time favourite covers. I stumbled across it on YouTube one day, and must have watched it about 17 times in a row. 


One of the good things about Mayer, is that the musicians in his band are always, always top notch. The first time I saw him in concert, my friend and I were completely mesmerised by his drummer. He was like the energizer bunny of drummers - never stopped, never missed a beat - without being a show pony or the least bit cheesy. The two guitarists in this video are just as good, interesting and watchable as Mayer is - maybe even more so.


Let's face it - he's picked good material to start with. Tom Petty is the business, and always will be. If you disagree, I demand that you go and listen to everything he ever recorded, including with the Traveling Wilburys, right now. And then we'll talk.


Unfortunately I couldn't embed the video directly into this page, but just click through and watch it on YouTube...you won't regret it.






Thursday 26 July 2012

Are you on Instagram? We are!

With Georgia having just been introduced into the amazing world of smartphones, I thought an Instagram post would be fun. For those of you who aren't on Instagram, it's a free photo-sharing program for iPhones and android phones and it's a whole lot of fun. 

Once you take a photo with your camera phone, you use some of the cool Instagram filters to give it any kind of look you want... Or you can be like me, and download a whole lot of fancy photo editing apps and use those instead of the Instagram ones. Or as well as the Instagram editing features. Or you don't have to use any filters or editing effects at all if you don't want to - whatever floats your boat...

One of the things I love about Instagram is that it encourages me to look at my everyday life in a different way, and to think more creatively. The other thing I love is following other Instragrammers from all over the world, and getting a peek into their lives. If you would like to follow us just search for the usernames carolinelt and gtapp and come and say hi!

Here are a few of my favourite Instagram shots below, to give you an idea of what you're in for...

Glenelg, Adelaide


Somewhere on the south coast, near Bateman's Bay



Surry Hills, Sydney






Coloured by Ernie and Bert

Bert and Ernie Style

Wednesday 25 July 2012

Girl Crush: Sofia Coppola

I realised a while ago that what I would really like in life, is to live inside the soundtrack to a Sofia Coppola film. I try to recreate these sonic experiences whenever I can, and my iPod is filling up with albums and EPs from bands like Girls, The Radio Dept and Beach House. 


Of course, living inside the soundtrack would also involve having Sofia's amazingly simple, yet cool style. I've never really understood cool - because caring about being cool, is inherently uncool, right? But not caring about being cool is also kind of fey, and does anyone really believe you when you say you don't care anyway? And knowing that you are cool is also uncool. But if you don't acknowledge it, even though you know it, well - then you're just  a phoney, as Holden Caulfield would probably say. I'm editorialising at this point, clearly. So can you ever be cool, without being kind of uncool?



ANYWAY. Sofia Coppola is cool. She's married to a French rock star, and runs around the world shooting wry yet beautiful fashion campaigns and movies. Somewhere was a treat -Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning were seriously delightful and I've seen Lost in Translation more times than I can count. It's one of my life's ambitions to hang out with Bill Murray in a hotel in Tokyo. I'm even a fan of the much maligned Marie-Antoinette






Sofia Coppola

Tuesday 24 July 2012

Talin

Georgia and I like to have a positive focus on Four Letter Birds, but there are times in life when sadness and grief cannot be ignored or glossed over. Today, I am going to the funeral of Talin - a beautiful six year old boy, who passed away just thirteen weeks after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour. In his short life, Talin touched an amazing amount of people - he was truly an angel.

For the last few months of his life, Talin and his family stayed at Bear Cottage in Manly, Sydney. Bear Cottage is an initiative of Westmead Hospital and the only children's hospice in New South Wales. It provides both respite and palliative care to very sick children and their families. Remember your collection of Bandaged Bears, that you bought every year when you where at school? Well, this is what you were supporting. And you were not spending your hard earned pocket money in vain - Bear Cottage is an amazing place. I was lucky enough to visit there a few weeks ago, and have nothing but admiration for this wonderful facility and the people who work and volunteer there.

If you would like to know more about Talin's story, visit his Facebook page "Talin's Wish." There you can find out about how the community rallied together in some amazing ways to support Talin and his family throughout this time. Especially Talin's Rose - an association established in memory of Talin, to support those in their time of need and raise awareness. 

Brain tumours are the second most common group of childhood cancers - if you would like to find out more visit the Cancer Council website here.


Talin did have a wish - his wish was for everyone to "be nice."



Monday 23 July 2012

Monday Macrame Maybe?



I've ordered the bits and pieces to have a go at making these simple little bracelets from honestlywtf.com. I think I first saw them on Pinterest... maybe... but you all know what I'm like with bookmarks etc. A little bit of macrame on a Monday?

Update - I've actually made a couple and they are quite easy. Cheap and cheerful.

L-R - Present from my sister (from Pandora), present from my mother (unknown), and my two new handmade string bracelets.

Now to find some other coloured threads.



Sunday 22 July 2012

Messy

You may remember, a few weeks ago I reviewed Spoiled by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan on the blog. I used the term "review" fairly loosely, because it was all quite rambling and I'm fairly sure none of my English teachers or lecturers would have accepted it. I guess that's one of the (many) good things about not being at school or university anymore, right? ANYWAY. I enjoyed Spoiled so I was pretty eager to get stuck into Messy when it arrived in my letterbox. 


Being the sort of person I am, I took off the dust jacket to put it in a safe place when I started reading the book, and I was pretty thrilled to find the hot pink book underneath. I absolutely love it when people make decisions like that and take care with the entire presentation of their product - the little things really do make difference. And really, let's be honest, we're not reading Proust here so the hot pink is quite appropriate.

Spoiled followed the story of Molly and her new life with her movie star father Brick Berlin and her half-sister Brooke. Messy, which is described not as a sequel, but as a "companion novel", focusses on Brooke and her attempts to break into Hollywood by becoming a successful "blogographer." (And yes, I will be using that term to describe myself and Georgia from now on). Rather than writing the blog herself Brooke employs Molly's friend Max to ghost write it for her, who with her green hair, non-designer clothing and a mother who happens to be the school principal is most definitely not part of Brooke's usual crowd. The book follows the same format the authors used in Spoiled with chapters alternating between between the point of view of Brooke and Max.

I'm fairly sure you can fill in the blanks from here. What makes these books entertaining and readable is not the originality of the themes and story lines, but the humour and tone with which they are written. I would place money on the authors having adolescent family members - either that, or they spent some serious time stalking teenagers at shopping centres and hanging around high schools. 

Another element of Messy that I particularly enjoyed, was the obvious knowledge that the authors have about how films and television shows are made. Both Cocks and Morgan have worked as TV producers and writers and the attention to detail here really shows - and it also makes you wonder how many of the characters are based on real people. When Brooke scores a movie role in a remake of Nancy Drew, everything escalates and the reader is treated to some of the funniest scenes in the book.

I'm not sure what my next book review will be for you guys - although there are plenty of unread books next to my bed to choose from...we'll just have to wait and see! 






A Bookmark a Day - 'Parenting - Illustrated with Crappy Pictures'.

Today's bookmark from the 'Unsorted Bookmarks' list on my computer is a blog entry on Parenting - Illustrated With Crappy Pictures. It was recommended to me by a friend after she saw pictures of an incident when my toddler decided to draw on the dishwasher. The blog is illustrated with, as the title says, crappy pictures which appear to be done in Paint or some similar program. Very amusing!




Saturday 21 July 2012

A Bookmark a Day - Memory Lane

If you are nostalgic for your childhood toys and Christmases passed then you can take a long trip down memory lane browsing old American toy and gift catalogues  on 'Wishbook's' Flickr photostream. I've bookmarked too many pages that all spark fun memories so it is time to sort and file them. Here are just a few of my favourites. (All are linked from Wishbook's Flickr photostream. Click on the pages to see them larger at the Flickr website.)


1982-xx-xx Sears Christmas Catalog P044
Great skates!
1982-xx-xx Sears Christmas Catalog P2911983-xx-xx Montgomery Ward Christmas Catalog P006
I found a red Smurf tote bag like the one above in an op-shop a few years ago.


The Sears mail order catalogue is something of an American institution. At least that's how I understand it from down here in Australia. I'm not sure we had anything quite like it here. The thick toy catalogues from Toy World or Uncle Pete's were great at sale time but I don't think they compared to these. 


1979-xx-xx Sears Canada Christmas Catalog P232
The Little Professor calculator! I still have mine somewhere.

1980-xx-xx Sears Christmas Catalog P622
Our brother definitely had a parking garage very similar to this one.
1980-xx-xx Sears Christmas Catalog P535
I spotted a mini record player on this page, just like the one my aunt and uncle had when I was a kid.
1981-xx-xx Montgomery Ward Christmas Catalog P394
One Christmas I received the Tippee Toes doll seen on this page. (Unusually, I don't have it anymore.)
1980-xx-xx Sears Christmas Catalog P513
On this page I spotted the Cinderella book with record that I had as a kid. Sing with me, Caroline - 'Work, work, work... I try not to complain... washing, mending, stretching, bending, every day's the same...'


Wishbooks' photostream  contains catalogues dating from the 1940s up to about 1996 so there is something for almost everyone to reminisce about. Thanks go to the person who scanned all these pages in for everyone to see. I'm not sure who they are but I enjoyed the memories.

Bookmarks culled and filed.

Keeping up with it all.

Way back when I was in primary school the beginning of the school holidays signalled clean-out-my-room time. This was mostly self-inflicted. It seems I got some sort of  joy out of emptying my cupboards and drawers, going through all my bits and pieces and then putting it all back again in a neat and tidy fashion. I would throw out a handful of things I didn't want anymore like dried-out textas then sharpen my pencils, alphabetise my books and so on. I didn't have a great deal of 'stuff' back then so it wasn't a major task but I would dedicate most of a day to it.

Nowadays I am not the greatest cleaner or tidier in the world and I do have a fair bit of 'stuff'. I went through a bit of a hunter/gatherer phase around the turn of the century but have slowed down on the gathering a lot now. The last time we moved house (coming up to five years ago) was a real eye opener. So many boxes of fabric, 'things to sell on ebay', memories, 'collectibles' and so on. Too many. And those 'boxes full of stuff' stayed 'boxes full of stuff' for too long. I had to come up with some motivation and some rules to get me sorting, culling, organising and getting real about the stuff-to-space ratio in our home. Slowly I'm starting to realise what works and what doesn't work for me when it comes to cleaning and organising. After a recent chat with a friend made me realise I wasn't the only one with this sort of problem I thought maybe sharing a few of my favourite tips here might be helpful for someone else... and motivating for me.


Here are the things I tell myself about cleaning and tidying, in no particular order. They might not work for you but then again, maybe they will?

1. Nothing should have a permanent home in a cardboard box. Find a place for the things you have in boxes that were never unpacked when you last moved house. If you still want to keep those things but have to store them away for whatever reason try to get a plastic box with a lid and make sure you have a place for that box whether it be in a shed, garage, in the top of a wardrobe or somewhere out of the way. Try not to have the box in view in the house. If you can make space to have a box in the house you should be able to make space for whatever is in the box somewhere out on display.


2. Do you use it? Do you need it? Do you love it? When I'm really stuck on an item in a clean-up I try to ask myself these three questions. I think I got this tip from watching an episode of Hoarding - Buried Alive. If I can't answer 'Yes' to any of these questions then I seriously need to think about letting go of the object in question.

3. The 'Pick Up 5 Things' rule. I'm afraid I can't remember where I came across this suggestion. I think it might have been on an Oprah organisation special some years ago. This one works best for me on a more day-to-day basis. Every time I get up from the computer, the couch or walk through a room, for example, I pick up and put away five things that aren't in their place. If I'm feeling extra motivated I'll change the rule to 'Pick up 5 things and wipe down one surface'. I don't actually do this all the time but when I do it helps keep the mess, created by two untidy adults and one active toddler, down a bit. Sometimes it's hard to know where to start when faced with tidying or a major clean up. Just start with five things.

4. MOOP - Matter Out Of Place. This ties in with the above point. The problem is that to deal with MOOP, everything in your home must actually have a place. If you can aim to have a place for all your belongings and then have an empty shelf or cupboard somewhere you might find you feel a whole lot better in your surroundings. (Easier said than done, right?)

5. Daily email from The Organised Housewife. Recently I subscribed to the daily email from a blog called The Organised Housewife. Daily Tasks are sent to your inbox. Instead of dealing with cleaning all at once these emails suggest one thing to do each day. Breaking it down this way makes it much less daunting. Examples of tasks I've seen in the emails so far include clean your knife block and wipe down the kitchen cupboard doors. The little things do add up to making a difference.

6. Pomodoro technique. I think I first heard about the Pomodoro technique from Frecklewonder's blog. It's a timer system that can be used to help get you through any task at home or at work. I find I use it most when I am working. Check out the Pomodoro website for the details but basically you break tasks down into 25 minute blocks with 5 minute breaks after the first three sessions and a longer break after the fourth. I find it really makes me stay on task and the job feels a lot shorter somehow. There are various Pomodoro apps for the computer or your phone or you can just use a regular timer. Try using it when cleaning or sorting your 'stuff'. It might help keep you motivated.


7. Watch Hoarders, Hoarding - Buried Alive or How Clean Is Your House?.
These TV shows never fail to inspire and motivate me. They remind me of what could happen if I never did anything in the way of cleaning or tidying. I think I could watch these shows all day long.

As I said, these are some tips that work for me. Does anyone have any good cleaning and organising tips to add?




Friday 20 July 2012

Cover Me: ...all my Sunday scheming.

I'm pickier than the average listener when it comes to female voices and I'm the first to admit it. It's a combination of a few things - being a female myself (in case you hadn't realised) and having had a certain amount of vocal and musical training sometimes it feels like a case of too much knowledge being a bad thing. An actor friend of mine can't watch plays for pleasure, and bad singing causes me actual, physical pain. So no, I've never been a fan of TV talent shows. I also think that it's partly to do with the fact that women in the entertainment industry are not necessarily given record deals on the basis of talent. Listening to Rihanna miss each note by a quarter tone is evidence enough of that.

It was popular for a while for female singers to sing in breathy, weak, little girl voices and that kind of singing drives me absolutely bananas. BANANAS. Bonkers. The sort of angry where you start a sentence trying to describe how the singer makes you feel and it just sort of trails off because you're so annoyed you forget how words work. I first heard Beth Rowley when a copy of her debut album landed on my desk, back in my record company days. This was a few years ago now, back when Katie Melua was still kind of a thing, and it seemed like every label had a slightly jazzy chanteuse to spruik. Listening to Rowley sing for the first time, it was so nice to hear a woman sing like, well, a woman.

Her cover of Sunday Kind of Love isn't on that album, but it is on the soundtrack to "An Education." (Sidenote - great movie. Watch it. Carey Mulligan is a delight and Peter Sarsgard is very Peter Saaaaaarsgaaaaaardy. If you know what I mean.) Rowley herself appears in the film, singing the song in a Parisian jazz club that makes me nostalgic for a time I never actually lived in. But, how great would it be if that was the sort of place we went dancing on Saturday nights? You might be familiar with the versions of the song by Etta James or Ella Fitzgerald. Originally published in 1946, it's done the rounds - I for one, am going to be tracking down Reba McEntire's version as a matter of urgency. Reba! But for now, I leave you with Beth's version to enjoy - and I sincerely hope you do. 






Monday 16 July 2012

Picture This - Hold on to your Holga



Unanderra Hardware ManPlastic deer headCOFA corridorSnow domes and Punky Brewster


More than five years ago I bought a Holga camera. The Holga, as some of you will already know, is a low cost, plastic 'toy' camera which takes 120 film. It is known for its sometimes blurry images, vignetting and light leaks. Almost straight away I bought some black and white film and loaded the camera ready to shoot a test roll as I wanted to see whether my camera had any of these light leaks or other quirks. I slowly took photos, some using the built-in flash and some without... not paying much attention to composition or subject as it was 'just a test roll' and then I put the film in the fridge... and... over five years later I finally got the film processed!  It's still quite exciting waiting to find out what is on the film but five years is certainly much too long to wait. I don't have an excuse. It just didn't get done sooner.


I didn't get the lab to scan the negatives as I wasn't sure if there would be anything worth scanning and I didn't want to spend the money unnecessarily. I don't have a negative scanner capable of scanning in 120 sized frames (yet... I've added it to my wish list) so after searching around the net a bit I found someone's DIY method which consists of putting the negs between some glass and placing this in front of a computer screen displaying a blank Word document then photographing the negative and inverting it using Photoshop. (Here is another method using a piece of glass with light behind it.) The results I got aren't perfect as I was rushing to try to photograph them during my toddler's nap time but hey, they've made me want to get some more film (maybe colour this time) and shoot with it again. That said, I am finally getting a new phone in a week or so and I am also looking forward to joining the Instagram crowd. There is room for both analogue and digital in my life.

Georgia


A Bookmark a Day

Casio Hippo Mouth Game!
Bookmarked for sentimental reasons.
I have one of my own. The game plot - a little mouse jumps in and out of the hippo's mouth to brush its teeth while trying not to get munched and avoiding rocks/coconuts being chucked by monkeys.

Casio Hippo Mouth game


My brother had one called Canoe Slalom (I think) and Caroline's was a circus themed game. Were they as good as a Game & Watch? They might not have had the street cred but they certainly kept us amused on long car trips.



Sunday 15 July 2012

Bookmark(s) of the day 3

Pencil Sculptures - I never said these bookmarks were going to be recent or things you hadn't seen before.

Bookmark 3 - Pinned to Pinterest and then deleted from my bookmarks.


And two more for good luck. A tiny knitted record player and a tiny knitted ghost. I have absolutely no recollection of ever seeing these or bookmarking them.

Bookmarks 4 and 5 - The same as Bookmark 3.