Horse and some dried plants.

I'm creating a drawing a day, for two years, just for the art of it.
This is yesterday's and the day before.
Horse and some dried plants.
639 days of drawing done 92 left!
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My daughter

I'm creating a drawing a day, for two years, today is day 635.
Today's drawing is my daughter; ethereal, passionate, imaginative, beautiful, I can never do her justice, but I enjoy drawing her anyway.
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Curtains for my campervan with fairy lights attached.

I'm creating an artwork a day for two years, just for fun, the longer I do it the more I bend the rules - sorry!
Yesterday's is the design for these curtains and today's is all the sewing. Design and creation. Curtains and a hanging storage pocket thing. The fairy lights are for my daughter's bit.
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Rose

I'm creating a drawing a day, for two years, just for the art of it.
Today's is a rose.
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Sunflower

I'm creating a drawing a day, for two years, just for the art of it.
This is yesterday's.
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Campervan and boat

I'm creating a drawing a day, or two years, just for the art of it.
This is yesterday's and the day before.
Some of my drawing has been real works of art, these are just the doodles on my planner, where I'm trying to work out how soon we can leave to go traveling.

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Lilies drawings seven, eight and nine.

I'm creating a drawing a day for two years, just for the art of it.
At the moment I'm drawing these lilies every day until they die.
Here are lily drawings seven, eight and nine.
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Lilies drawing six

I'm creating a drawing a day, for two years, just for the art of it.
At the moment I'm drawing these lilies every day until they die.
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http://www.youthforhumanrights.org

Lilies drawing five

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it.
At the moment I'm drawing these lilies every day until they wilt.
This is today's drawing. Drawing five.
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Lilies drawing four

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it.
At the moment I'm drawing these lilies every day until they wilt.
This is yesterday's drawing. Drawing four.
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http://www.youthforhumanrights.org

Europe in a campervan, "I love it when a plan comes together?...I'm...ish!"

So selling my camper took a turn for the worse. I planned to blog about the whole adventure honestly (while trying to be entertaining) for my friends to enjoy, but I seriously considered leaving this out. I'll leave out the names instead. I usually have a strict policy of not sharing any bad news in the public domain but somehow it seems to me that I should share my complete adventure, ups and downs, and hopefully, over all, you will judge it good news.

We sold "Winter" I walked round her and pointed out all the little old vehicle eccentricities, we had talked already about how she needed her radiator fixed pronto, and that had been taken off the price. We smiled, shook hands, they drove off happy with Winter purring along.

On the way to her new home she overheated and produced smoke. The buyer went ballistic, he wanted his money back now, saying : "it was not his van, he was going to call the police and say there was a van outside the house with no tax and insurance, he was going to take us to court..." You've never seen so many CAPITAL LETTERS and exclamation points in an email!!! It was very upsetting, and I'm a bit pathetic when it comes to being threatened, reading it made my hands shake.

Tim is a bit braver than me, he did the  gentleman's thing and took my phone for a while! They probably don't have a legal leg to stand on as we put all the faults in the listing or told them, but it's hard to know what they would try to prove as they will give no specifics, just a list of faults I showed them and threats. We call ebay and the police, (to find out what happens if they carry that threat out) they both say they are not interested, we sold the van, they took the vehicle, end of story. We discuss blocking the calls and leaving them to cool down and ether fix or re-sell Winter. Tim feels he should help them.

We called the lady who had offered the asking price if I would let psyco-buyer down. (I wish I had not been so high on my integrity.) She still wanted "Winter" yes, she fully understood it needs the radiator fixed and can overheat till its fixed. More could be wrong too, we don't know as the new owners have not taken it to a garage, just left it in the street and attacked us (turns out they left it in their street 100 yards from a garage).

Tim found out where Winter was and met the lady who still wants to buy her there to view it. She had to bring her two pugs and there five puppies, which were too little to leave all day! They dropped Tim home and we all got to see the puppies! :)

Other people from the list of people interested would all still like it. Her new owner calms down and is ok. All the people interested need to know what it will cost to fix her, Tim books her into the nearest garage. He spends a whole day helping them to re-sell Winter.

I now feel so threatened and cowed that I just want to stay home and hide from the world forever, preferably in bed, but I think we would all regret that. Also I keep wondering if I did something to merit all the furious threats, I know she needed fixing and I had a long chat with him on the phone about that, he told me confidently he had the friends and skills to do it. I told him I was no mechanic.

I decide I have to continue as if my heart was in it and wait for my courage to catch up. So Jasmine, my mum and I go for "Sparkle" the very non-sparkeling van which is more right for us because it has four seatbelts and is ready to go. We take five trains to get there and my mum and I take turns to drive her back. My daughter was traveling 12 hours without complaint, bodes well for taking her all over Europe. Sparkles seller is a brilliant chilled out, alternative sort of accountant! Have you ever even thought of a hippy-accountant! You should meet one, they are awesome! He really likes our plan I tell him "If my kids grow up and want to be like everyone else that's fine with me, but I want it to be an informed choice, not just something that happened to them, that's the backbone of my travel plans." 

Sparkle runs just as well as Winter always did for me. But she's not got the above cab bed, so she's much less rocky and wind resist-ish to drive. Oh! And the power! I'm in love with having a 5L engine, hang the petrol costs, it's so nice to have so much, get-out-of-trouble extra there if you want it. Frankly, sitting on the left and driving on right hand side roads sucks!!! I'm going to prefer driving her in Europe for sure. Sparkle has nothing inside but a bed seat and lights, and one 12v socket (that's the cigarette lighter sort) We are going to fit a second battery and an awning. Then we will get all plug in separate things, plug in cool box, plug in kettle... You get the idea. It's going to be more camping-ish, less little-home-on-wheels. We will be able to park and drive her closer in to cities and use her more like a car. We will not have running water, it's a trade off.

The next day Winter's buyer is back to making threats. We are going to have to tell him, "It's your van, you bought it, drove it off and we told the DVLA, we are helping you because we feel sorry for your bad luck, we sold her in good faith, running fine with an oil leak and a radiator leak both in the listing and discussed with you, if you don't stop sending threats we will have to stop helping you find a new buyer."

In the meantime I'm trying not to let all the hate and threats stop me feeling pleased with Sparkle (I'm going to have to put something that sparkles on it to make sense out of my daughter's name for it).

Hopefully these people will calm down if they get a new offer for Winter once we know what she will cost to fix.

I'm so wishing I'd said yes when I was offered the asking price and pick it up today, if only I'd known how vindictive the person I was keeping my promise to would turn out to be.

I had planned to say "I love it when a plan comes together" because Sparkle is the van used in the new A Team movie but it's not really where I'm at right now. I am pleased with my classic American campervan.

Lilies, drawing three.

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it.
At the moment I'm playing the game of drawing these same lilies my husband got me, every day until they wilt.
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Lillys project drawing two

I'm creating a drawing a day, for two years, just for the art of it.

This is yesterday's.

I'm going to draw these lillys my husband got me everyday until they perish. The final collection of drawings should be interesting.

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Lillys still as buds

I'm creating a drawing a day, for two years, just for the art of it.
Today's is some Lillys my husband bought me, still in buds, I could draw them every day at different stages untill they wilt and start to perish, in different styles and media, what do you think?
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Crazy orange sacky things!

I'm creating a drawing a day, for two years, just for the art of it.
Today's is these lovely plants. The sun is shining, my son is sleeping and my daughter is backing berry pie with my mum, it was so nice to sit in the garden and draw, from life, that I nearly over worked my picture, just to be there longer!

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Bye bye Winter, Europe in a campervan

Europe by Campervan:

I'm lying on an air mattress surrounded by so much stuff. How can we still have so much when I've been giving it away every day single day for a month? It's been sneaking off and multiplying clearly. After 22 hours of intensive cleaning, and I know not how many sorting and giving away stuff I've given back my house keys, we are rent and council tax free and homeless, on my mum's floor.

So the news is good, we have sold our previous camper "Winter Dolphin Magic" (I have a romantic streak as wide as the Nile and a nine year old) and got a fair price for her! Few! Turns out I could have got more if I was an arse. The whole thing was a roller coaster of raw emotion.

She was no good to us because the law has changed and you can't add rear seatbelts any more (I'm a researcher but I tripped up here, I can't stress enough, don't just do research, do ACCURATE research!) but the list of jobs was getting a bit daunting too - she needs some love.

Well we listed her and got a storm of interest, cool surfer dude turns up first, I pull up at the same time as him and the radiator starts leaking down the street!!! Cool surfer dude heard me swear, those who know me will know I hardly ever swear! So we get a quote to fix it, bring down the price, get a temporary fix and edit all the listings to include the new problem.

The camper garage told me it's worth £5,000 but I get a series of calls saying it's worth nothing from chancers, and offers for £900. I start to freak out, I've spent a lot of Tim's money on it and then my step dad got it serviced and four new tyres, what if I've wasted their hard earned money. Just when I've taken to waking at 4 in the morning and making contingency plans, we get a good offer and say yes. Then I get lots more interest! Several people say "I'll give you the asking price and come get it today." I told them I had to keep my word. I'm happy it's defiantly worth what I've sold it for. I phone the people who have bought it, they are coming in a few days. They are perfect because they are a couple (no seatbelt problem) and he was once a mechanics apprentice, he's still friends with them and can get her fixed up, I'm very straight with him about what needs doing and what's good too. I tell him I'm getting higher offers now, but I'm keeping my word. We get on. After the phone chat he put the rest of the money in Tim's account!!! They don't have any van, paper or keys!! They just trusted me! Goes to show - you get the treatment you dish out!

Now what? Well I've fallen in love with an American Beast that Jasmine wants to call "Sparkle!!"

It has four seat belts (built with four). I say beast as it's a 5L engine, my pervious camper was a 2L engine for a two ton vehicle, this is smiler and more than double, it beasts along!

Remember the A Team? It's their van but longer. In fact it's the one used in the new movie but not the original series. Now we have to re-edit our stuff to fit a smaller van, oh! Help!

However, we will be able to get closer in to cities, cover more ground faster, it's not so high top, so it's less rock-like-a-boat to drive. It's also totally un-rusted and apart from a service sound enough to take on a two or three thousand mile trip tomorrow. Oh and it's right hand drive? Left hand drive? Europe way around!!

I have a question, so you have heard of a learning curve right? Why is it all my life I seem to set myself up to go up the learning CLIFF, straight up? Please can someone point out my comfort zone on the horizon so I can at least head that way one day? In the meantime, wish me luck driving a wrong way round van all the way home on Friday! :)

Three plant studies in pen and marker

I'm creating a drawing a day, for two years, just for the art of it.
I've just moved out of my house and got very behind.
These are the drawings for the 8th, 9th and 10th September.
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Swan and reflection

I'm creating a drawing a day, for two years, just for the art of it.
Today's is a swan and reflection.
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Bird of prey.

I'm creating a drawing a day, for two years, just for the art of it. Two awesome artists are doing it with me! Ros and Shirley.
Today's (yesterday's) is a bird of prey.
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Van

I'm creating a drawing a day, for two years, just for the art of it.
This is the day before yesterday's drawing, oh! The behindness of me!! And I keep drawing vans, sorry!
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Horse and more "van cab bedroom designs"

I'm creating a drawing a day, just for the art of it, today's and yesterday's are an horse and van cab bedroom designs. These designs are for a little removable bed and curtains in the cab of a camper for my daughter if we have to get a van with no "upstairs" over cab bed. I like inventing things, I've done it all my life, only about 10% of them work really well. My mum invents things too, and both my Grandfathers perhaps it's a learned behaviour. I used to tease my mum for making crazy "Heath Robinson" things, I wanted everything manufactured and sleek. Since having my first child I imbraced the inventing things gene, the day I realised she would be safer sleeping on my bed with the bedguard I invented than the flimsy-too-short things you can get in the shops. I've included a Heath Robinson drawing so you can see what the joke is about.

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Heart doodle and campervan hammock designs!

I'm creating a drawing a day, for two years, today's is day 611!
This is a doodle and some designs to create a hammock"bedroom for my daughter if we buy a campervan that doesn't actually have
A bed for her! There isn't all that much choice in our price range and she wants something really amazing to replace the map ceilings in her above cab bed space in the camper we are selling. Sad to sell but it needs a little love, and we are out of time to do it.

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