all in a green letterbox

{In the garden.}

Best intentions have flown the coop. I believe them, my best intentions, to have flown somewhere in the direction of the coast. If you should chance upon them, do send them home.

I had intended to pull together a 'thank you for the snail mail’ post late last week, but it wasn’t to be. I had intended to thank you all for your generous comments in regard to the thirteen Sweets Party collages created in honour of Wendy’s birthday, but that didn’t eventuate either. Nor did my thank you to Julie for nominating myself, and Louise, for a Thinking Blogger Award (and in such fine company as Cally, Camilla, simply photo and Lisa). I had intended for a great many things last week; it’s been one of those weeks. It’s been as slippery as an eel, and it has disappeared before my very eyes. Trying to trap smoke in your bare hands, a salmon swimming upstream… it’s been all of those things, silly but true.

Last week didn’t so much lump past or chug along, it raced along at tremendous pace. Large and fantastical hammer & daisy orders have been placed (one for no less than 1,000 A7 scribblers all individually made by hand with different fabric covers), and artists’ books have needed their finishing touches before moving on to their new homes. All exciting big things, but big things which have left me with little blogging time (both the reading and the posting).

I have however been busy penning imaginary posts in my head. I had wanted to share with you all a book I am currently reading, Dreams of Speaking by Australian author Gail Jones. Into this beautiful novel I have plunged. I have forged a friendship with Alice and Mr Sakamoto, and now I am looking at xerox machines (Chester F. Carlson “was a man passionately at odds with the world’s brute singularity”, p.24.), telephones, cinema screens and cellophane (invented by “Monsieur Jacques E. Brandenberger, a Swiss man with a hefty nose, a large moustache and an imperious mien, (who) was one day seated in a restaurant when a customer at the next table spilled wine on the tablecloth”, p.16.) in a whole new light. All these modern technologies, all those lights in the city, neon lights and brightness, inventions and machinery.

I had also planned to take you to Heide with me on the weekend. Here is the cat house and the kitchen garden you would have seen were you there.

{From the cat house...}

{to the bottom of the kitchen garden.}

{From Abigail.}

Snail mail? Yes, here is another thing I had intended to share. From Abigail, my sweet horse chestnut studs I had ordered. They arrived and I have three times leapt the moon.

From M (who now owns this), two postcards singing out to be used for collage arrived unexpectedly. One of the old harbour, Newlyn, near Penzance, the other of George Square, Cenotaph and municipal buildings, Glasgow. I’ll show them to you soon, and with their new additions. They make a fine pair.

From Briana came Player's cigarette card (Bactrian camels, Indian ox, Snow leopards, alpacas and Klipspringer antelope) memories perfect for future small scale collages or perhaps just for the adoring. Wrapped in all manner of finery it seems that it is a prerequisite for all those with a blog to be excellent parcel wrappers.

{From Briana.}

From Fliss, speaking of brilliantly wrapped packages, arrived further snail mail on the front of which her son, Max, had drawn the path the parcel was going to take… from Queensland to Melbourne by plane, from person to person, giver to receiver. Inside, a penguin handmade friend to call my very own. In a trade for a print, a green penguin with floppy orange paddles for feet and a handsome, dare I say, bewitching face (yes, I am smitten)? Isn’t he marvellous?

{From Fliss.}

And from Frips in Belgium, escorted the long distance by a tassie devil on the envelope, paper ephemera and other stamped and folded delights... hand drawn and inky cats, ATC invitations, polar bears and a clipping which reads: "Un tirage sur presse lithographie". How generous, no?

{From Frips.}

♥ Thank you, Abigail, M, Briana, Fliss, and Frips. You’ve kept me more than happy with your mail. I am grinning ear to ear.

And now before I flee, five blogs I would like to nominate for a Thinking Blog Award (it proved hard to whittle it down to a mere five so apologies to the many not listed here. If there were no limits on the amount, I’d have listed you all and then some. From A to Z, from 3191 to the very end)…
micasa - for the collections, the groupings.
bugheart - for the polaroids, for the bugs.
sprink - for le camping in a field in East Sussex.
true nature - for those Montevideo grabs in word and photo.
the glass doorknob - for the observations and little views.

Please, play along if you choose and it takes your fancy.

Le rules: "If you are nominated and decide to join in you should reveal the original source, say who nominated you (Julie), nominate 5 blogs which you read that really make you think and finally display the thinking blogger logo/button" (technically minus the badger friend below... though I've never be one to adhere to rules).

See you Friday when I plan on bringing Friday Five Senses to the treetops once more (though please understand, my best intentions don't often come to fruition).

{P.S. We've also opened an etsy store... xo}

Comments

[louise]

That cat enclosure is awesome. I think Omar and Olive and Misha would adore it.

[liz]

i am new to this blog and your beautiful art, but hooked nonetheless. you write so beautifully just as you make art so beautifully. i'm glad to have found another inspired place to spend some time!

[lottie]

grache, where does the time go? I too have a head full of posts - I am right there with you, with the best of intentions, with thoughts and words and photos, with ideas for blog evolution and development but time, she is in short supply and by the wayside it all goes. and you're very sweet to nominate me - what wonderful company to keep!

[shari]

i'm beyond honored. thank you gracia. you have made my day. :) love your photos...and your fabulous snail mail. those earrings are gorgeous, and i SO want to read the gail jones book. if only it was available in the us..xoxox

[jen]

i love your kitchen garden polaroid and your new earrings! i totally agree with your nominations~wonderful blogs.

[christine]

Your earring by Abigail are beautiful and suit you perfectly. Greaat blog nominations.

[Tiffany]

Sooo much wonderfulness seems to be spreading 'round you (despite the days slipping by).

It's funny, I just learned about Bactrian Camels in a newspaper article! It was about the difference between Bactrian and Dromedary Camels. Very interesting...so much I didn't know!

Tiff*

[simple me]

hi Gracia,

love that first photo and the one with the soft sun kissing your face. lovely!

well you have been busy, so busy with those large orders, and I know so well what you mean by the week disappeared before your eyes.

congratulations on the award. you really deserve it! :)
have a wonderful and more relaxed week.
ciao
xxx

[true nature]

you are the sweetest! (and so pretty too...xoxo)

[risa]

i've seen those chestnut earring on abigail's site many times but i've never actually seen them on a person. now that i have i am totally smitten! they look perfect on you! and all of that other mail! lucky lucky you. :)

[wendy]

such great words for time slipping away, like trying to hold water in your hands...beautiful images.
lovely things in the post too!!

[Anastasia]

those earrings are gorgeous!!!
the grapes sure look good!

[comfies]

leaving the best for last: an etsy store! yay!

[maditi]

congratulations on the new etsy store, the big orders, all the beautiful presents, the fabulous polas and the thinking blogger award :)

thanks for nominating micasa - we must be the most minimal blog thinkers around ;)

[julie]

More treasures so well deserved and your blog choices are excellent!!!! Congratulations on your etsy store too - love visiting :) xxx

[Marieke]

Congratulations on the Etsy store - and the nomination too! I have missed visiting you! Such treasures all around xxx

[cruststation]

Congratulations on your Etsy store and the large order at Hammer & Daisy. Wonderful treasures all around, Abigail's earrings look lovely on you. Hooray for your 'Thinking Blogger award' you deserve it so :)

[amisha]

congratulations all around... the thinking blogger nom, the enormous hammer + daisy order (1000 journals! wow!), and the etsy store! i am so so happy for you.
those earrings are lovely on you too... what a beautiful pic of you and your sweet rosy cheeks.
xo

[Katherine]

Wow, what a lot of goodies, great to see Abigail's earrings 'in situ'.

[gracia]

A cat enclosure to rival all others, isn’t it, LJ? Omar and Olive would love one like it… you’d better set to building now that they have seen it.

Thanks, Liz, for swinging by my trusty blog, and for all your kind words. I’m new to yours, too, and love it also.

Ah, Lottie, time she is in short supply… at a little before 5pm I am wondering were my Wednesday went, and for that matter, the whole first half of the week? Yikes!

Hi there Shari,
You’re most welcome… I love to swing by your blog and accompany you on walks. That you and Tom feast so well on delicious snacks and treats also helps. I’m loving following your watercolour adventures too. And I will post you my copy of the book by Gail Jones just as soon as LJ and another pal of mine has read it… I think you’ll really enjoy it. And thanks for the books from Marsha (so exciting to receive!)… we caught up today and I have so much to share with you, and with everyone.

Thanks, Jen and Christine. Still very much besotted with Abigail’s earrings and I am already thinking of saving up for another of her pieces. They are beautiful, aren’t they? Hmm… must stop fingers from wandering across to her etsy store where there are way too many temptations!

Hi there Tiffany,
I know very little about camels other than the basics… they are such marvellous, grumpy looking even-toed ungulates, aren’t they? One hump or two, I love ‘em both.

Thanks, Paula. I’ve been a little swamped of late with things to do, but thankfully they’ve all been of the interesting and enjoyable kind. We’ve yet to make much of a dint in our hammer & daisy order, and I’ve already lost a handle on this week as well, but all in all, things are chugging along merrily.

Thanks, Jenny, Anastasia and Risa. Smitten? Yes I am. I love wearing these earrings. And you can also angle the earring so that its shape runs up the edge your ear, or down (like in the pic above). Beautiful little gems they are!

Lovely things, oh yes, Wendy. My penguin from Fliss is currently resting alongside a woolly Peter Rabbit from Kenana Knitters ( http://www.kenanaknitters.com/index.htm ). I picked him up for a song here: http://www.shweshwe.com/ and could not resist taking him home with me.

Oh, yes! An etsy store, Comfies, Maditi and Crust Station. I’ve avoided etsy a little (so many tempting handmade delights to be found), but I have finally relented. Since setting up this store of ours I have purchased owls from Craftpaca ( http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=8886 ) and I plan on snapping up one of Paula’s bags next time they become available ( http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6217442 )… you have to be quick, they move so quickly.

Thanks, Julie. I love to visit your blog for the very same reasons. I enjoy being able to amble through the streets of Tel Aviv with you, and until reading your blog, I never knew watermelon could be enjoyed with fetta.

Thanks, Marieke. I’m enjoying catching up on all your adventures as you explore San Francisco and more. Happy honeymoon!

Thanks, Amisha. Still so many scribblers to make, but they make such attractive piles around the house. Little towers, forty to fifty notepads high, dotted all around the room amidst piles of fabric to be cut and cardboard boxes everywhere. A busy little den it is!

A whole heap of goodies, Katherine, and I still have a few more to share with you all too. And, were I you, I’d put in an order for a pair for your birthday. They are wonderful to wear.

see you, g xo