Weekly Challenge #311

Hello and Happy Monday to you all!

I hope you've had a great week.
We've been having more tummy troubles around here, with first Artoo, then myself, then Chewie - and finally B-rad falling victim to a "Yucky Tummy" as we call it.

couch cuddles

Hopefully we've made it through the worst of it and the yuckies are behind us.

my little journal-bug

 Artoo and i seem to be getting back into our habit of journaling at bedtime.  I'm so glad he enjoys doing this.  It was something i tried with Chewie but he never really took to it - but Artoo loves to write about his day and look back on his life so far.  We call each entry "Awesome Days" and he writes about 5 things that happened that day that were awesome.  Start 'em young, i say.

My little Earth Angel 

As we get closer to Earth Day, Artoo's grade one class has been assigned a list of goals to check off to become a better Citizen of Earth and join the Green Team.  So we've been talking a lot about turning off lights when leaving the room, and recycling, and using reusable water bottles and grocery bags.  On Friday morning he checked off the last item on the list which was picking up 10 pieces of trash in the neighbourhood.  He was so excited to be a part of the Green Team, his teacher took a picture of him and put it up in the hallway.  So proud. 

my goofy boy

Both boys have been so excited to have nice weather again.  Chewie has been riding his scooter to and from school each day, and playing outside in the yard and riding bikes with friends.  It's been so nice to have them outside. lol.

Me and my mama

My mom's been gone for over a week - she and her mother and a few of her brother's have been in Europe.  She spent the last week in London, and then went to France on Saturday to attend the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.  There were over 40,000 people in attendance there, i'm told.  

And i believe going to Vimy Ridge was on my mother's bucket list.  And while I would have loved to have gone too, i had to settle for getting up early Sunday morning to watch the Live Stream online.

My Great Grandfather Joseph Arthur Horne fought at Vimy Ridge and was wounded when a grenade exploded at his feet.

It's with mixed feelings that i learn about the history of that battle and place.  All my life i've been inundated with images and movies about World War I that to realize that actual real life people, my great grandfather in fact, experienced those horrors was very sobering.

Joe Horne as a dapper young man

Some of the journal entries from his time in the War are very chilling and sometimes graphic.  And he writes about his injuries from the grenade blast and how he had to crawl over 30 feet to the trench where he slid down into inches of water and mud and wounded, dying, and dead soldiers where he waited 30 hours before they were able to get him out.

Joe Horne as a older gent

Chewie asked me why i was so interested in the ceremony on Sunday morning, so it gave me an opportunity to tell him about HIS ancestor who fought bravely for King and Country and for the liberation of France in the Great World War.  He listened with dish-plate eyes and i could see he was calculating in his head when i asked him: "What would have happened if he hadn't seen the grenade, or hadn't moved in time, or hadn't been rescued...."

I think he understood.  He gave me a big hug.

Weekly Challenge #311: "Circle Square String Theory"
First of all, i want to say thank you to everyone who came by to watch the live stream last night.  If you'd like to be notified when i'm streaming all you need to do is create a Twitch account (It's free) and give my channel a heart to follow and receive notifications.

Also thank you for the comments of congratulations regarding the live streaming, and to those of you who have messaged me on instagram, facebook, or through email to tell me you have enjoyed the streams.

This is all still very new, and i'v been practising the streaming all week - trying to iron out the kinks and trouble shoot the lighting and the sound and whatnot.  My moderator Tara has been a bazillion times helpful (She's awesome sauce) and so far i plan to keep streaming the way i'm doing it.  I understand that when i am streaming may not be convenient for those of you who live across the pond or farther, or even for those of you who live on the eastern seaboard.

I have been asked many times if i plan to record the sessions and/or upload them to youtube.  For right now i don't have plans to do that - i'm still feeling out the reception of the live streams.

Please keep in mind that at this point in time: this is the time and the method that works best for me.  I am simply turning on the live stream at the time i would be writing/creating my challenge anyway and letting you all peek.  It's the end of the week, the kids are in bed - and this is when i can (and have) committed some of my time for my blog.

This blog is not a very lucrative paying gig - aside from the few bucks i make from ads and the generous tips from some lovely people.

I invest hours into my blog and my instagram/facebook/mosaic/twitch social media platforms because i want to continue to connect and share with all of you.  But this is not a job - it's my art and my passion.

While i would really and honestly love nothing more than to be able to accommodate everyone, everywhere, it's just not possible.  Thank you so much for your patience and your understanding.  And now, the challenge.

This week's challenge is a string challenge where you are to use a Circle and a Square in some form for your string.

My finished piece

For my tile i traced the outside of a roll of washi tape, and then traced the inside to get my circles.  For my square i simply traced around a Bijou tile.  

You can take this in any direction you like, you can use MANY circles and one square, you can use many squares and only a few circles - just make sure you use at least one of each.  You can also free hand your circle or square if you want, or if you don't have access to things to trace.  It's all good.  

I had a really great time doing this tile - for my background i used some Black Gesso before tangling over top of it with a white gelly roll.  If you have access to some black gesso you might want to give that a try.  I find the white gelly roll pens love black gesso.  ;)

have a great week!

And if you're on the Zentangle Mosaic App or Instagram - i'm @iamthediva - come on by and follow me, and i'm going to be using hashtags on the app for each of my weekly challenges. So if you're game - use the hashtag #DC311(Diva Challenge #311) for your tile this week! You can also search in the app for people's contributions to the challenge by clicking on the hashtag from inside the app, or using the search function. 

If you have a blog or host your images on line (like on Flickr or Picassa or Pinterest), add the site-specific URL where your tile is posted to the linkey machine below! Don't forget to link back here so that others can join in the fun! (if you don't know how to find this, you can see my half assed tutorial here) Also, please feel free to come back often and visit the links of those people on the linkey machine - don't forget to leave a comment or feedback, everyone loves feedback. ;) 

If you love the challenge as much as i do, please consider leaving a tip (tip jar in the side bar).  I write this blog for free and have no plans to make it a paid for service in the future.  Buy me a cup of coffee, or a new Micron pen!! Click the tip jar on the side for a monthly tip, but if you just wanna throw a few bucks my way THIS LINK will give you a one time option.    A very big thank you to those who have kept me in hot cups of joe. ;)