keeping things simple

just me

[soniabigcheese]

This is a pinned post to introduce myself

I've just turned 60 ... (that's a huge milestone - for me personally) ... female widow, my interests are listening to music, doing silly crafts and pondering new ideas but never get around to completing anything

I play Sims Freeplay and love travelling

I use this account to log memories and the usual moans and groans

If you're not comfortable with any of this please kindly move on ...

And please do not follow me if your only goal is to have a go at me in the PM system, you WILL receive an instant block and if you still persist you WILL be reported without fail

MY blog ... MY rules, and don't invite me to any communities, especially those run by a self appointed tumblr police person, who shall remain nameless, I will choose them myself

[soniabigcheese]

Facebook memories ...

[soniabigcheese]

Here's an excerpt from an old story that I plan to resurrect , which had been gathering dust for many many years

Not Thunderbirds related

Enjoy ... that's if you want to - no pressure

🧶🧶🧶

It didn't help with the chilling breeze wafting through the workshop, her hands felt numb, as the fleece slipped through her fingers

She felt bone tired and had to rest, but, the order was for a high quality blanket and she will damned well complete this order

The baby was wailing, unsettled. Sighing, she grabbed a rag, threw it over the infant in the hopes that this rag could keep her warm

Neither did it help that she was on constant alert, fearing seeing her husband's pockmarked face and sinister sneer

Eloise was so in over her head

An excerpt from a slightly historical story that I started many aeons ago but had to stop

The setting? In one of the colonies, I had to take a few liberties with a few inaccuracies along the way

The inspiration? An Amiga game called Colonisation. In a nutshell you have a choice of 4 countries in a bid to set up in the New World

England

France

Spain

Netherlands

Each with a unique skill or power or whatever

In order to do trade back home, you must find raw goods like ... beaver fur, sugar, cotton etc.

But beware, the trading prices drop significantly if you sell or trade too many items ... the raw goods could also be converted into higher quality items

Beaver fur = fur coats

Sugar = rum

Cotton = blankets etc

And yes, I did mention wool ... not quite sure when sheep were imported, ill have to do more research

So, you get the whole idea of how the game works and why it inspired me to write

[soniabigcheese]

Just a little heads up folks

And this from a few prior experiences

No matter how noble your cause and beliefs are, and how 'good' you think your friend is, and you will run to the ends of the earth to defend them

Trust me, they WILL turn against you in a heartbeat

And it will hurt

Just saying, that's all

[soniabigcheese]

Morning folks.

Today is dedicated to 'getting things done'

Packing my collection in some boxes and finding someone who can help take them to the auction house, ready for next Tuesday

So, this is my absolute last call ...if ANYONE is even remotely interested, just PM me

I would happily travel via train and meet anybody halfway to hand some items over

Thanks to everyone signal boosting my posts I truly appreciate the valiant effort, sadly, they're not reaching everyone in the Thunderfam ... or at least here in the UK

Despite it all starting here in the UK, I am disappointed that there isn't any more interest

Sonia signing out to make a start packing

And for the record, this is NOT a stupid ploy to get attention as some may think, but a genuine plea for anybody who would like a few items from the collection

[soniabigcheese]

More travel scrapbook stuff

Ignore my handwriting, it's crappy

Love the positive stickers

Just two more excursions to go and the scrapbook will be completed!!!

[soniabigcheese]

Did a bit of weeding and tidying up the front forecourt of my house.

What a challenge ...

Trying to sweep old leaves away, for them only to be brought back by some light breezes

Tempted to weed the planters in the back, check my shrubs .... pretty sure one of them is dead, so, out come the secateurs to trim it further for ease of packing it into bags ... and maybe do some watering?

I should be looking for more plants to make the back yard pretty and colourful, as well as more decorative stuff like growing frames for my climbers ....honeysuckle etc

[soniabigcheese]

Misfit Market goodies

Cakies galore!!!

And can you tell that I love yellow, especially sunflowers?

[soniabigcheese]

Wow, quite humid today, despite a teeny tiny nip in the air, visited the wool fayre as well as the Misfit Market bought a few goodies

But resisted temptation to get more yarn, instead I opted for a cross stitch bookmark kit

The marquee waa quite warm, as well as the bus journey back home, it felt like a blooming sauna!!!

[nattousan]

ok so, I approached my local library with a proposal to donate a mural as a way to A: build portfolio/gain practical experience and B: give back to a beloved public institution. The director was very enthusiastic about it and i've been working on it since the beginning of March. Come with me as I endeavor to paint what is in all honesty an excessive amount of birds

I wanted the birds to look like they were actually in the space so first thing after doing the draft was to do a lighting study

after that I covered the walls in letters in lieu of a projector/vr headset bc i have neither of those :) Then i take a picture of the section of wall and superimpose the lineart over top of it so I can pencil in the lines

et voila

and that was a whole week on it's own so next comes the paintin' >:)

[nattousan]

and now, the birds

Birds 1 and 2/14: Red Winged Blackbird, Male and female, Agelaius phoeniceus

[nattousan]

Bird 3/14, American Robin, Turdus migratorius

[nattousan]

hoo boy, ok *out of breath*

GIVE IT UP FOR BIRD NUMBUH 5, THE CANADIAN GOOSE, Branta canadensis!!!!

this guy took me about 4 days to completely finish, all of those freakingk coverts were a bear to render

[nattousan]

speaking of obnoxious coverts:

bird 5/14, Bluejay, Cyanocitta cristata

the friggin stripes almost got me chat, i may not make it

[nattousan]

Madam....

[nattousan]

birds 6 and 7: American Goldfinch, Spinus tristis, male and female

pleasantly simple to paint! next is the flickerrrrr

[nattousan]

*melts into goo*

BIRD NUMBER 8, (yellow shafted) NORTHERN FLICKERRRRR, Colaptes auratus

genuinely made me start questioning my sanity around day 3, it's half the size the of the goose, WHY did it take me 4 days to finish??

nothing but pain and suffering, i'm sure hope the next bird will be much easier and with FAR less barring :)

[nattousan]

in other news, I am losing my mind hairline

[nattousan]

SHE'S DONE!!

Bird number 9: Red-tailed hawk, Buteo jamaicensis

my chains are broken i am FREE. although i did have a great deal of fun with this, the barring on the wings itself took me like four days and i am READY to move on

this was a week and a half of continuous work so please excuse me for getting a little emotional in the bg 🙏

[nattousan]

*does a little jig*

BIRD NUMBER 10!!! The Male Mallard Duck, Anas platyrhynchos

the male and female ones are gonna be posted separately bc they're taking a lot longer lol but yea! super happy i was able to capture the iridescent green of the head, i found metallic green and blue paint at a craft store that really made his head POP. it looks better in person i promise

ALSO!! As this is the 10th one, BIG announcement. The end is in sight!!!!! I plan to finish within the next 3 weeks and there will be a small dedication ceremony/ unveiling happening at the library to commemorate its completion on the 16th of May. If you live in the Western New York region and want to check it out for yourself shoot me a dm!

Also thank you everyone for your kind words and support throughout this whole process, it's been a genuine treat thinking there are potentially thousands of you out there cheering me on while I paint this 🥹

[nattousan]

aaaand another one bites the duck,

we're movin right along with bird numero 11!! The lady Mallard!! Anas platyrhyncos

the 16th is looming in the distance so i'm trying to get thru these as quickly as i can so i can have as much time for the GBH as possible. i still need to do the names next to all of them so i've got about a week and a half to finish everything which is GREAT because i have adhd and nothing gets my ass in gear like a fuckin deadline, let me tell you

[nattousan]

power couple that they are, here's bird number 12 and 13,

the Northern Cardinals, Cardinalis cardinalis

and NOW that they are complete, ITS GO TIME, in the next five days (library's closed for mother's day 😭😭) i need to have the GBH fully rendered, the names of the birds vectored, weeded, masked, applied to the wall, and then painted, plus additional cattails throughout. I may be able to get away with just getting the GBH done in time for the unveiling and then just have the names and cattails added later, but i'm gonna really try to get it all done in time. BUT, i have a plan. Part of why i take so long on these is because i really am just figuring it out as I do it lmao. there have been many a time where i am sitting on top of the ladder googling "how to paint birds" but I think if i take the time tomorro to do all that figuring out how to approach it beforehand, this will go a lot faster. I may also recruit some of my artist friends to help with the placing of the names... hrmm we'll see.

Anyways, shout out to the librarian who tracked down exactly the thing i needed so i could figure out where to place the highlights in my birds eyes, ur the real mvp

[nattousan]

thanks for the reminder, kid

[nattousan]

at long last, we've reached the end...

Bird number 14 out of 14,

The Great blue heron, Ardea herodius

thank you to everyone who reached out or got excited about this project, it genuinely gave me the fuel i needed to keep going. In total, the 480+ total hrs it took me to cover this wall pales in comparison to how long its expected to spend on there, hopefully imparting a sense of beauty and love for the natural world to the next generation and here's hoping i'm only getting started with these.

i'll see y'all soon :')

[soniabigcheese]

Absolutely love your journey, and how you brought all of the birds to life!!!

[lenle-g]

Captain Scarlett commission for @hyperspacegryphon <33

[janetm74]

OMGOMGOMGOMG

[idontknowreallywhy]

Holy moley at first I thought it was an ad for a live action remake…

Wow!!

[mariashades]

That is incredible!

[womble1]

Oh my god! I love it, I must devour it whole. I love those credit stills in captain scarlet, and this just hits the exact same spot. Perfection

[soniabigcheese]

Wow! @lenle-g you have surpassed yourself, most definitely

Well done!!!

[soniabigcheese]

In a bitch mode

Why?

Not a clue

Meh, who cares ... whatever

[soniabigcheese]

Currently trying and failing spectacularly, on my fantasy novel, which is 30 years in the making ... and currently gathering dust in a folder in the spare room, as well as my travel scrapbook, although I'm doing much better with the scrapbook - only two excursion photos left

Meh, whatever

Miami shopping centre

Kennedy Space Centre (I took far too many photos of that place and quite a lot of the same things)

[yviisxo]

rest in peace to this diva

[soniabigcheese]

Rip

[soniabigcheese]

Latest crochet project

Using balls of yarn from freebies that knitting magazines used to offer

These ones are from past Christmas edition magazines

Not tagging anyone because I don't wish to make people feel forced amd obligated to reblog

[soniabigcheese]

Facebook memories

Before this was coloured in ... love Alan's profile

[soniabigcheese]

Last shout out to anybody interested in some of my Thunderbirds collection before it goes to auction

Still available are the following

Mini action figures in a lunch bag with a very used and worn water bottle, which will probably need a good wash/rinse out

Large Thunderbird 2

Large Thunderbird Three

Barbie sized Virgil Tracy wearing his Jaws Of Life and the Mechanic - both need some TLC

And thats it, you've already seen the photos, both the large TB2 and TB3 are fully functioning - need batteries

Here's more photos

Feel free to signal boost