First art stall (albeit very small ;)

So following on from my painting of my local church being used by a gospel choir to promote their concert, I have been offered the chance to display my painting of Brutten Church at their event on Sunday. I also have the chance to sell a print and a few cards which I have made. I am very excited now, although I have been assured there is very little chance that I could sell anything as everyone is always very eager to get home after the event. But even so, it is nice to have my art out there for people to enjoy. And you never know, they might even take away a business card for a future commission.

Legoland rocks!

We went to Legoland in the Herbstferien and it was great. It was only a one and half hours drive, with a little complex route through Austria which feels like you are not actually going anywhere, but we arrived relaxed and excited to get going.

We stayed in a barrel, which was so surreal. And very cosy. The park itself was perfect for our girls, aged 7 and 9. I'm not sure it would tick all the boxes for older teens, but then again, myself and Graham had a ball. The rides were fantastic - full of surprises. The girls took a Legoland driving course and even got a license! (Poppy informed me that some 'didn't get a license at all!) We had dinner in a castle, with fabulous service and food.

The details are fantastic, with little lego men doing stuff around the park, getting stuck in cement, getting lost up pipes, appearing in unexpected places. Very funny. I heartily recommend a trip if you've not been.

My painting has become a promotional campaign

A painting that I made of Brutten Church has appeared all around the village and surrounding villages (including on street side posters!) as part of a promotional campaign for Dubendorf Gospel Choir which is holding a concert in the church on Sunday (20th)

It got me thinking that I can create art that people want. An opportunity I should be able to use to start a little art business. Although Gray is very well paid, with the high cost of living here we are constantly a little worried we haven't got a financial 'buffer' for when those unexpected big bills come along (and a few are looming right now as Gray's back problem has resurfaced)

The choir has suggested that I bring my painting along on the night of the event so they can tell everyone a little about the artist (me!) behind the picture they fell in love with. I'm also hoping to get a bunch of business cards printed this week (I would have got them done yesterday but the printers in Winterthur are closed on Saturdays!) and perhaps a few high quality prints of the picture printed out for people to buy at the concert. I need to update one of my other blogs just to feature my artwork so I can add this to my business cards. Phew!

But for the first time I'm feeling hopeful I can do something creative which will actually earn me a little money too :) I'll keep you updated with my progress (or not!)

Here is the flyer featuring my picture which went to hundreds of homes:

Don't forget to Check 'Em!

Mary Berrys by Chris O'Hara

I think that by a certain age most of us have been horribly touched by the monster that is breast cancer, whether it has affected us, our family or friends.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and once again Breast Cancer Care is promoting the importance of checking your breasts regularly - as the sooner breast cancer is discovered, the better the chances of a complete recovery. This month the charity has come up with a fantastic idea for putting this important message across with the aid of London’s Seed Animation Studio.

A new sassy thirty second animated film has employed the talents of 26 international artists. Entitled Check ‘em, each animation director was given the brief to create a film that visualised a cheeky euphemism for breasts and lasting no more than one second. From ‘Brad Pitts’ to ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘bazookas’ the film asks for people to check their breasts, 'no matter what they call them.'

“The end result is a playful and diverse collaboration that promotes the importance of checking for breast cancer,” says Morgan Powell, creative director at Seed Animation studio. “I was bowled over by the response from the directors who were really supportive of the cause and donated their time to spread an important message.”

Enjoy the film here.

My daughter changed the world today (in her own little way)

My 9-year-old daughter was having problems at school with a boy called Marco. Marco is a 12-year-old in her class. I was a bit unsure about the way they mix the ages in classes when I first arrived here but am now convinced it’s a great idea. Poppy’s own age group of girls can get quite clicky and bitchy at times and she now finds solace in the older friends she has made in class which is lovely.

But she didn’t like Marco. She said he was very mean. She mentioned Marco's 'nastiness' again over the weekend and when I questioned her further she admitted he was mean to most people but ‘especially’ mean to her. And on further questioning the meanest thing she could remember him saying is that she is ‘rubbish at gymnastics’ (I had to stifle a giggle here because my daughter has become opposed to sport and activity in general, much to my despair) I said what did you say to that? She said she blew a raspberry at him. I said ‘Do you think you could have responded in a better way?’ She said ‘no’.

So I had a little think and tried a different tactic. I talked about Marco and the fact that he had been kept back from progressing to secondary school last year. They seem to do this quite a lot in Switzerland - holding a child back a year if they are not ready to progress. But of course it can be tough on the child involved, especially when they are left behind in primary school.

I discussed how Marco might be feeling and challenged her to try and make Marc smile once this week. She guffawed and said in an exasperated tone, ‘Mum! That will be impossible!’ I just smiled and said, ‘Just keep a lookout for an opportunity’

And do you know what? She arrived home yesterday LUNCHTIME grinning her little butt off, yelling up the stairs (we live in a third floor flat) ‘Guess what? I didn’t just make Marco smile – I made him laugh – TWICE!’

Then later at bedtime she said, ‘Marco has changed somehow.’ I said ‘For the better?’ She smiled and said ‘Yes!’ Before I turned the light out I said: ‘Poppy you changed the world today.’ And for once she didn’t argue.

Super healthy, easy - and yummy - lunch for hungry chops

It is a never-ending challenge to come up with healthy, nutritional meals for picky eaters, especially for energy packed lunches that aren’t too siesta inducing when the kiddies have to return to school in the afternoon.

To be honest, I had run out of ideas. And as a last resort I handed over Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Veg Everyday cook book to my daughters (aged 7 and 9) and challenged them to pick one thing out to try the following week. The reason I chose this particular book is that there is a large photograph of each dish, and lots of child friendly type easy to cook dishes inside.

This actually worked really well – they soon picked a dish each that they liked the look of. And today I cooked my eldest daughter’s choice – Steamed Veg with a hint of Garlic – she liked it because it looks ‘really green’ in the picture. And boy did it go down amazingly well! I cobbled together a steamer from a colander in a large pan with aluminium foil covering any holes poking out over the top of the pan.

Steamed veg is the business. Veg is incredibly flavoursome cooked this way and of course you are getting a mixture of fab nutrients to boot. I’m also fast coming round to the idea that everything tastes great smothered in garlic butter – I mean, what’s not to like! And what a success it was. The whole family cleared the entire dish off – from daddy to my youngest!  It was yum.

This is a dish I wish I’d discovered when my children were at the finger food stage – it is perfect for tots and little fingers.

Recipe:

• 400-500g green veg (I used green beans, broccoli, cauliflower and a generous helping of frozen peas)
• 25g butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 fat garlic clove, crushed
• salt & pepper

Prepare the veg and steam over boiling water until just done (tender but still a little crunchy) While the veg is cooking, heat the butter and oil in a saucepan over a low heat. Once melted, add the garlic. Cook very gently for a couple of minutes, letting the butter fizz slightly but taking care that the garlic doesn’t colour. Remove from the heat. Toss the steamed veg in the garlicky butter and season. En guete!

At last I have found an alternative to Truprint (and a malfunctioning printer)

I'm back! What a wonderful Summer I had. I hope yours was just as good x

My eldest son will be 18 on Saturday. 18!! Where did the time go? Anyway, I wanted to produce him a special photo album featuring every year of his life. But there were a few problems with this. Firstly, my printer is malfunctioning so I cannot print them out myself. And secondly, I have, as usual with these things, left it to the last minute so cannot do my usual Truprint order delivered to my mother-in-law who then forwards them onto me, due to the limited time available.

I know, this is pretty poor, having lived here in Switzerland for nearly three years now. But what with everything else, the photo situation has taken a back seat. And I haven't needed pictures within a deadline before so my previous way worked.

So, having a few days to get 60 photographs printed (I got carried away and now have 3 or 4 pics of each year) I had two options – to use ifolour (http://www.ifolor.ch/en) which has been recommended to me on many occasions – and the website looks suspiciously like the Truprint one – or use the photo machine at Winterthur Bahnhof. I chose the latter and was amazed who well this worked! You can choose English, upload your images from anything – memory stick, card, etc – or even Bluetooth them, which I did! Ok, I underestimated the length of time needed to print out 60 photographs and missed my bus (it took nearly half an hour) There were a couple of negatives - the machine, for some reason, didn't give change - so you need to be careful and have the right money available - and it didn't accept card payment. But for me, this is something I can live with for such a great immediate printing service. And the pictures turned out great! 

Now, when friends and family visit, I can instantly print out a few mementos of their holiday on the go, from by phone without having to fret whether the printer will work when I get home or if I need to buy another pack of outrageously expensive printer inks. 

By the way, the cost was 50 Rp per photograph. Bargain. If you're not printing out a life's worth of images for your son's 18^th birthday that is...