Just to demonstrate how business focused Katryoshka really is I have finally submitted Emma's hand painted chopping boards onto Etsy THREE MONTHS after she wrote the preview post. You can catch up on that here. Wish I could say I have been doing much more important things but that would be a bare-faced lie. So to make up for being so slack I have put THREE items handmade by The White House Farm Muse onto Etsy including a delightful Russian doll beach stone and two canvases. All items feature her signature white doves, just gorgeous!! Kat x
I had taken the picture below in anticipation of writing a Getto Hen update. The last one which you can catch up on here, spoke of her five new babies that she was raising alone, roosting wild and protecting them from the many countryside predators. Since that post two chicks went to my Mum's house (only to turn out to both be cocks, she has them on freecycle as we speak). Another chick mysteriously disappeared and that left the two pictured below, living wild with their mother, the now legendary Getto Hen. Alas the night I took the picture Alpha Male and I awoke to the sound of a chicken crying out at about 5am. He panicked that it was one of our Jersey Giants and I felt immediate relief as I had shut them away safe and sound the night before. He proceeded to look out of our bedroom window and saw a huge male fox staring back at him. The stare out continued awhile until the brazen animal ran away. Then next morning we found lots of brown feathers and sadly Getto Hen only had one chick left. Incidentally the remaining chick is a cock so he will no doubt join the gang of wild cocks that patrol the White House Farm estate and get wild chickens like Getto Hen continually pregnant. Kat x
I am quite obsessed with videoing everything and anything at the moment. Alpha male gets very cross when I nag him for his i-phone but when you gotta do it, you gotta do it. We have had a lovely weekend as my Dad and brother have come from sunny Southport to visit White House farm. Two peas in a pod, its great to spend some quality time with them and share the fun things you have in common including drinking bucket loads of tea, listening to obscure music and generally having a Northerner's gossip about who's doing what, certainly time well spent. We were in The Croft yesterday and as the sky was so moody I couldn't help myself. The track on the video is one I made a while ago when I first started playing around with recording myself and my keyboard. Its still one of my favorites, Kat x
If there is one complaint I have about living at White House Farm its the SPIDERS!! I don't mean to sound ungrateful, I know I am lucky every time I wake up and look out of the window but dam, the eight legged visitors around here are of the large variety. Only this morning I was downstairs trying to make a disco for the kids when I closed the curtains and discovered the largest cardinal house spider I have EVER seen! It was obviously female as they are the larger sex in the spider world and it came complete with a couple of scary looking fangs. I tried to stay cool in a pathetic attempt not to pass on my fears to my kids but they had me sussed when I jumped two feet in the air as the cheeky thing tried to make a quick get-away. I am proud of myself that I managed to do the glass and card method of removal, at least there is no lingering murderers guilt afterwards but I know this is just the beginning of the 'spiders coming in for the Winter' season and this mornings creature will be the first of many attempting to inhabit White House Farm. Now begins the daily argument with Alpha Male as I try to insist on the bedroom windows being closed at night (to keep out unwanted creepy characters) and he demands they remain open as he always too blooming hot!!!! Kat x
The electronic music genre Dubstep happens to be very hot with young Britain's at the moment. Listening to people talk about the scene reminds me of my clubbing past and heady nights spent in Liverpool's Cream dancing to Dave Clark and the like. Queue inspiration for a dubstep track with the usual Katryoshka ambient twist. I downloaded some free dubstep samples from Music Radarand used Audacity to mix them and record my vocals. Audacity is also free to download and all you need to record yourself is a cheap microphone from somewhere like ebay. I don't think I am particular drawn to the industrial sound of the dubstep genre, my roots will always be funk and disco like the track I posted here. The video idea was straight forward in theory and involved me lunging Albear whilst videoing him. Not quite as simple as I expected but ever obliging Albear played along bless, Kat x
Aonother month and another prize draw video. Just plucked another lucky winner out of the tin and its MOON RAE! Well done, just let me have your address please and I will send you your bespoke handmade bolero, congratulations!! Kat x
Yesterday I offered my daughter some 'mummy time', a response to her asking me who I loved best, Albear the horse or her (spending too much time faffing around one thinks). Happily we have both realised the best way to spend this is by her assisting me in making her a toy. Our recent 'mummy times' have involved me drawing out paper rag dolls and her colouring them in after we all became inspired by the old Raggy Dolls cartoon below. However, this time Anya decided to upgrade the project and requested a full size Rapunzel rag doll. Next thing Quin was insisting I made him a 'robin' rag doll at the same time (Superman is out and Batman is in). They harassed me until bedtime and then as soon as my foot stepped out of bed this morning I was frog marched down to the sewing machine and told I wasn't allowed to move until I'd finished both dolls. End result was a rag doll that looked more like Cindy Lauper circa 1985 complete with short, spiky fringe and the 'robin' doll who The Muse instantly rechristened as S+M doll, what else are Sundays for! Kat x
Because my time is in demand today I have chosen to re-list a few items at the Katryoshka etsy shop instead of adding new pieces. The items include an interesting acrylic on wood painting by The Muse of a black Madonna and child, an unusual asymmetric satin, silk and cord dress and a hand painted and embellished crucifix. Kat x
Today began as a strange day after I was awakened this morning to hear my horse and his new pal had escaped out of their field and were running around freely. Thankfully all ended well when they heard the call of breakfast in the air and returned with us safe and sound. I thought of writing a White House Farm weather blog post about how dry the land here had been this summer but instead I have made yet another stop-motion experiment on my way home from feeding a friends horse. Please note the dry grasses in The Croft and the non-existent grass, we need rain!! I also apologise in advance for the stained mattress, on warmer days it's on the grass hidden under a throw. I also included a short tour of a very unfinished Circus Van and the dovecote where Emma houses her Birmingham Roller Pigeons. I will post some details about these birds later as they have some very interesting flight techniques, Kat x
There's always something new, the next big thing, what may it bring, a gentle kiss or a vicious sting.
I know I should stop but why, I might try and then fail and die, exhausted from the too much sleep and a lack of chase and the grinding pace of the relentless race,
pushing and rushing around my mind, now I know that's not kind, who ever really is sincerely,truly, genuinely, wanting the best, forsaking the rest,
giving the most and putting you first, don't be alarmed by my unsociable thirst for strife, after all I'm always a wife and a mother, sometimes a lover,
Fuck my heads sore, from this temporary downpour, but it's done the job, wait there's still more, peace and war,
that's me at least while it prevails, there's spare love for sale, inside of this home, or on the telephone,
where deep in the night, I might just invite, some parasite to call me up, and have a wank,
and drink some gin, and let me in to his dirty secrets, hey there friend let's here you whine, I have all the time,
but not during the day when seconds count a large amount, too much to do, but an elastic glue is holding me back, from where I'm going to,
If only I knew, how to get help to be more like you.........................
Here is a short film of our visit to Sierra de Montanchez, August 2011. A personal highlight would have to be when The Muse declared 'Who will carry me up this mountain?' and to her surprise Alpha Male threw her over his shoulder and off they went! Thanks to all those who were present and helped to make it a holiday to remember, hope we get to catch up soon, Kat x
This is a stop motion film I made with the kids whilst on holiday. It was supposed to be an enjoyable mornings entertainment for all involved but with a grumpy supporting cast, power crazy director and a superman with a heights phobia it soon descended into minor chaos. Nevermind, the kids survived and I keep telling them, now the sky's the limit!! Kat x
The daughter of The Muse has a new baby and thankfully its of the four legged variety, please allow me to introduce Albear's new friend Diesel, a Gyspy vanner yearling (yes, he really is as cute as he looks). You can check out Camille's blog here for more details on how that relationship develops and if your not familiar with who Albear is within the White House Farm animal contingent you can get to know him better here. His training is going well but I guess his background means he will always have a bit (or a lot) of wild in him and a new friend is certainly bringing out his inner stallion, (that's putting it mildly!). Kat x
Here is the first project I completed while visiting the Extremaduran region of Spain. See the proposed project here. Nothing like a bit of hardcore sewing to ease you into a new routine and environment, Anya loved her until the eyes fell off, Kat x
Just a quick blog, the Quail has developed a sock fetish while The Muse has been away sunning herself. Here is the proof, sat on Emma's kitchen table on top of Jasper's socks. If your not familiar with who he is click here, Kat x
Hello everyone, I got back yesterday from two wonderful weeks in the sun. We had a fantastic time with Alpha male and my youngsters plus The Muse, her family and the cornish cousins. Being a newcomer to Spain I am defiantly enchanted with the rural, rustic environment and will be posting various projects I completed out there inspired by my experience. Also I have badgered Emma to write the blog about our actual stay as I do so love her way with words. I am also thrilled to discover our blog has been awarded a couple of awards by loyal follower LUCEWOMAN athttp://lucewoman.blogspot.com/. If your not familiar with her blog you should be as her ability to put a spin on her daily life is hilarious, frank and moving all at once!
As is the custom I am passing these awards on to three of my favourite reads and the first blog I have decided to pass these awards on to is http://www.finca-al-manzil.blogspot.com/ as that's where we have just stayed for our Spanish experience. Pippa and Manfred allowed us to gatecrash their home for the two weeks and from the artwork to the amazing book collection, all of our rabble felt we were staying somewhere really special. Secondly I would like to award http://erosonfire.blogspot.com/. So beautiful, poetic, intense and emotive I love dropping in from time to time to be inspired. Lastly I think I'll choose my Mums blog, http://managingautismblog.blogspot.com/ as even though she is only getting started it will document her move from established special needs teacher to specialist foster carer, an interesting journey indeed. Well done to everyone, I appreciate having such a varied selection of blogs to read and inspire me and I would like to extend a special thank you to Lucewoman, I am lucky to have a follower who I equally admire for who they are and their unique way of living and looking at life, THANK YOU!! Kat xx
