Industrial Snow Poetry Walk (by sarah)

Industrial snow showing shape and form and the colours within the monotone, an icy wasteland breathing life and process, hidden in the corners where no one ever looks #poetrywalk #Gloucester pic.twitter.com/GwmbFRvk5L

— Sarah Snell-Pym (@Saffy) March 19, 2018

Sudden Snow (by alaric)

When we went to bed last night, it was raining hard. So I was pretty surprised when I got up in the morning to find the world covered in about ten centimetres of snow.

And even more surprised to find that the awning over the back door had fallen down, blocking it so I had to get out via another door to investigate:

The weight of the snow had been too much, causing the bracket on the left to shear off:

This, in turn, pulled the bracket on the right out of the wall:

And the falling awning crushed our little table:

Jean and I managed to undo the surviving bolts and get it off the wall without further destruction. The wall is undamaged at the left bracket:

But the bricks are cracked where the bracket pulled out at the right, and the mortar has plenty of cracking too, so this will need some work:

Also, our outside light is mangled and just hanging on by the cables, and will need replacing:

The Jan Recap… (by sarah)

It's the end of January so what has gone on in the household snell-pym in the first month of 2017?

For a start there was the end of Christmas, I am still making the last few Advent vids ready for Christmas next year. We delivered presents though sadly not all the presents so we still have a back log!

Also mine and Mary's birthdays - mine involved a coffee, meal and shopping with Al before hospital stuff but we have only just done the proper celebration with kids and friends this weekend just gone which was also Mary's birthday. There was also posh vegan/Gluten Free brunch. Mary has so far played in the Waterstones cafe with her friend Lilly as her party is going to be in two weeks time. We've planned the party and got stuff ready for it.

This includes me working out how to make upcycled unicorn head bands and tail belts and little roll and pop up horses for the kids to make.

My mother was hospitalised so there was a trip to Essex and the adventures of getting home on the train which were unexpected.

DIY wise we have fixed several toys, remounted a coat rack which had pulled off the wall, dealt with networking and upgrading Jean's computer.

We got a telescope - an amazing thing which was a pool of Christmas money instead of presents for Al and Jean and part of mine and Mary's birthdays. We've seen binary stars so far. It was an undertaking to assemble and we now need to build a storage/transport box but it is assembled and being looked through though we've only had like three clear nights!

I've had three lots of testing at the hospital which took it's toll and norovirus hit the household. I missed a theatre meeting about performing a monologue and a poetry recording evening but I am being given second chances at those so that's all good.

I also missed my Krav self defence one off class and a poetry book launch which made me sad but on the other hand I was live streamed reading poetry at Food For Thought.

Talking of poetry I have also been typing up and editing poems from the BOOKCASE (Not shelf) of notebooks I have. The shear number is insane obv. not all of it is usable but a lot is so I have been organising Turquoise Monster and have even started submitting work again (as in 2 poems so far). I've written three poems this month predictable all about Trump. Of course I am doing my poetry writing challenges so I've drafted a good few more mostly not about Trump.

Jan has also been me gearing up for the poetry writing challenge that I host over at Wopo.

I have also designed, refined and created mini poetry scrolls, story scrolls, made bookwallets etc... for blank scrolls for others to write poetry on, personalised pencils and made write your own poem kits, made and put together 100 mini zine surprise pouches, story boarded two more zines, drafted half a short story, edited a couple of flash fictions, tried to write daily on this blog and started on the mammoth task of trying to sort out the Salaric Craft blog.

Also Storystorm - what used to be Picture Book Idea Month has rebranded and moved to Jan. so I have been idea generating and expanding on those ideas for kids books.

Alaric has been making a cufflink holder for the cufflinks I made him for Advent, the girls have been making invites and decorations for Mary's party and we have all been working on the cosplay outfits for True Believers Comic Festival which is this weekend coming. This has involved sewing, sticking, painting, metal twisting, papier mache and buying new wellys.

I had to get a third print run of my colouring book Love: A Stranger Dream made and in general have been trying to sort out The WigglyPets Press.

I have been teaching myself origami and have folded lit. hundreds of things from geometric modules to make bigger things from to little stand up foxes to pretty little boxes.

We've organised things for getting back down the allotment, so just sorting out containers for soil etc...

I've knitted four hats, made an Ironman craft kit, taken the kids to two (not us) birthday parties. Three projects are still currently being designed and refined including mending a rocking horse that is older than me. I accidently made a pair of slippers from an old coat whilst trying to make a portal gun (please tell me this happens to other people!).

Alaric made my laptop usable again (for now) and we had a chicken fatality 🙁 and we had to fix the chicken run and stuff and general animal stuff to sort out. We've got our new electric car and there was pie making!

NB pie was not chicken Al is veggi!

Jean is still at Scouts, Jujitsu, and Drama and Mary is doing her Ballet, both girls are missing climbing but for one of the parties we did get to go "caving". Alaric is still doing Krav and Hackspace each week. Oh and of course we had to do my tax (sobs!).

There were also visits from and too various family.

So that was January - it snowed and it rained and there was scary fog.

Arguments About Coats (by sarah)

Yesterday it was supposed to snow... it mainly tipped it down with horrid ice slushes stinging you every now and then. Jean resists taking her coat to school and has already worn out a pair of school shoes with her daily too and from walks. Her friends parents gave her a lift home.

This morning there was snow.

I considered getting dressed and going with Alaric and taking photos of the common whilst he took Mary into school and going onto Cheltenham for the business networking morning.

But... I gave Jean my hiking boots to walk to school in (her school shoes in her bag). We then proceeded to have an argument about her coat - she doesn't need it - sadly I know of too many snow stories that start off that way and though we are in a town so it is probably going to be fine it might not be... so she left wearing her coat, gloves, hat and scarf. Not sure how much she'll be wearing when she reaches school but she will at least have it with her and that is the important thing! (I think the garden fairy could do with a coat as well and I might have already checked the chooks were ok).

Yes I realise this is not bad snow but that is actually more dangerous because people are blarzae about it and are under prepared when it then snaps bad.

Mary on the other hand was very excited to be wearing coat, hat, gloves and insisted on a scarf. I will now be a fretisical until Al txts me to say they've all arrived safely.

Day 20 – Two Hats (by sarah)

Today's painting was supposed to show that lensing/clarity you get with really clear ice - it did not turn out the way I had imagined but never mind!

I have a three year old who wont believe my laptop is not a touch screen and she likes wearing two hats 🙂 (photo)