Downtime…

Downtime…

Hi there

Thanks for popping in. Wiped out today. After our virtual Open Days, I could do with a week off! We usually go on holiday about now! Not this year! This week we’re off to Hawaii on a Shac-Shack Tour! That’ll be fun. Sometimes the memory is as good as the real deal. Sometimes it’s even better. Certainly a lot cheaper!!

Speaking of holidays, you know I finished that Wasgij jigsaw the other week? Have a closer look at it. It’s actually pretty funny…

I think I’ll crack open my new one this evening – if I can keep my eyes open!! A jigsaw is the quintessential switch off for me. Not work related. Just an innocent pastime, intended far more for the process than the end result. And when it’s done? Finish it, take a couple of photos, then break it up and put it back in the box. Mission accomplished. Not to complete the jigsaw, but to spend a goodly time not thinking about work. To me, working on a jigsaw is like being asleep when you’re awake.

Tomorrow we’ve got a special one hour show on HOCHANDA.com. The long awaited Geisha and Let the Sun Shine in stampsets and Groovi plates are being launched at 1pm. Here’s is a little peep of what’s coming up demo-wise.

I do hope you like them! The Happy certainly hit the spot at the weekend.

We don’t launch the doodles often, but when we do, you love them.

Thank you. There’s also a Happy Hour at 7am if you’re up early!!

Gotta stop. My eyelids are heavy. Maybe it’s time for Wynken Blynken and Nod…

Love and Hugs

Barb xxx

37 thoughts on “Downtime…

  1. Looks like we might get the heat to go with being in Hawaii. Looking forward to doodle show. Sleep well you deserve a rest.

  2. Love the wasgij! The Geisha demo reminds me how beautiful she is, and how much fun it was trying to draw her in the SHAC-Shack, great memories.

    Have a good rest
    Claire

  3. Your samples are simply stunning.
    I am enjoying visiting Hawawi this week. I am fortunate to have visited when I was 15 for 2 days on our round the world trip. We spent time in Wikiki, and when you were talking about the pineapple fields it reminded me of seeing them from the window of the bus tour we took. I still have the jewelry we bought there, a necklace made with shell fragments. After 2 days in the heat, it was then on a plane to snow in Wellington NZ. Very surreal to be on the beach in the morning and later in the day making footprints in the snow!
    Thank you for the happy memories you are bringing out for me. Need to look for the photos again.
    Hope you feel more awake tomorrow.

  4. Thank you to all at the Clarity Team for the virtual open days which I am sure were appreciated by all. Fantastic schedule for the TV this week.

  5. Thank you for today and the weekend. Off to get to grips with using a ruler, my photographs today are cock eyed!

  6. It does look great and funny your wasjia puzzle. Never tackled one without a picture to go by, only on my tablet. Hard going I should imagine. Yes have a good rest tonight Barbara you deserve it. See you tomorrow at 10 am.xxx

  7. Hi Barbara,
    read your blogg today. So good. I like the stamps en the Geisha figure so much but I just payed for an order which soon comes my way, for about 120 pounds and that is a huge amount of money for me.
    Thank God, or better thank you for learning us to draw the geisha so that we can do it (all for the process and not for the result, haha) and then send it away to a loved one. Dear Barbara thank you for all of your time you are spending with us in the shac shack. thank you for learning us to draw and to color in. And for your stories and knowledge birds, plants, countries and live in other parts of the world. I am so happy to have met you online and with you’re Claritystamp.com.
    I like the jigsaw puzzles from wasgij and van Haasteren just as much as you do. Funny and always there are little hands in the picture on the most strainge places, and there a chark somewhere.
    today you had a big head age. I hope you took your rest this afternoon and I hope it is over tomorrow.
    Bye for now and I’ll see you tomorrow again in Hawaii.
    Goodnight from
    Yvonne Pel from Sweden (and former Dutchie).

  8. Well never had that before. My comment is waiting for approval? Didn’t think I said anything untoward! Just a thank you for today and the weekend. Trying to get my photo frames less out of kilter

    1. Happened to me a few times. I think a comma instead of a dot in the address or a missed letter which went un-noticed might be the culprit. I now type more slowly and check before I press send.

  9. Love that Geisha. Looking forward to seeing the demo.
    That Wasgij would have driven me nuts, takes a special mind set to fathom it. Well done for completing it.
    Hope you have a good night’s sleep and wake refreshed in the morning.
    Night night. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
    🍒🍒🍒

  10. What a fabulous stamp the geisha set this is! It’s also a reminder of the wonderful time spent with everyone in the SHAC SHAC! I guess it’ll just have to make its way to me! Love to you Barbara – you’re a wonderful woman with a bottomless heart! Xxx

  11. Loving Hawaii. Raining here in North Wales tonight hope it will be better in Hawaii tomorrow. Have a good nights rest and will see you in the shack.

  12. Hi Barb, night night Barb!!! An early night sounds about right, what the doctor ordered. I may be heading for one myself, again… Me no likey this too much time sleeping/dozing, not used to it, waste of being alive time, in my opinion. Sorry I didn’t get round to another wee, not so wee, spend at the weekend, but I’m sure I’ll make up for it soon when I’m back in gear… Glad everyone is liking your doodle stamp sets. I’ve got the bird feeder one as I did complete that one with you so it has meaning too. I think the flower one with the banner may just be heading my way too for the same reason. I hadn’t heard of wasgijs until you showed us yours. Another possible of jigsaw types for me. I never managed to join you this morning, I think I was in the shower washing my hair at 10am! No easy on my arms, especially now my hair has grown beyond manageable length for me!!! Talking of hair, I was having a wee chuckle at my grass earlier. Remember my volunteer came and chopped the extra long grass right down to shaved straw? It’s now looking like the DIY lockdown haircuts you see on telly and social media, the new tufty look!!! Hawaii would be way too hot for me anyway!!! I heard a very strange noise this morning… A plane going overhead!!! Not low flying thankfully, I don’t get those here, my autism couldnae handle that. They used to start putting the wheels down overhead here, well that’s what i was told the noise was anyway. Every single time without fail, when I heard that my heart would be in my mouth thinking a plane was about to crash… Fortunately they seem to have changed flight path a year or two ago so it’s just normal plane noise now. I guess, depending on which camp you are in, it means the economy is starting to open up (positive), or, incoming folk are bringing their germs into oor country (negative)!!!
    Hope you have a good sleep, and happy dreams, love you xxx

  13. Hope you sleep well. No wonder you are exhausted. Love your jigsaw. I used to do them till I got a couple of kittens who snatched pieces and ran off with them! I only have my girl left now and nowadays she would just lie on top of it if I did it on the table. It’s a non-starter really. See you in the morning. Hx

  14. Feel guilty your giving up your time for us and exhausting yourself. Please take as much care of yourself as you do of us.
    My husband loves those Wasjigi puzzles. It’s how he de stresses.
    Those stamps look fantastic and bring so many wonderful memories.

  15. I hope the headache is better & you get a good nights sleep. I was sent this today & love It, hopefully you all will too. See you at 10 tomorrow.

    An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.

    One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

    At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

    For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water..

    Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

    But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

    After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.

      ‘I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.

    The old woman smiled, ‘Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side?’

    ‘That’s because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.’ 

    For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.

    Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.’

     Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

     You’ve just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

     SO, to all of my cracked pot sisters, brothers and friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path! 🌺🌻🌸🥀🌼💐🌷🌹

  16. Im not surprised you are tired Barbara, you have been working so hard. I really can’t explain how lucky I feel that I came across the Shac Shack all be it a little late. It’s brought so much enjoyment to so many likeminded people. Feel like I have a new network of friends, not to mention revisiting a much loved pastime- art! Your tuition and methods/style, has really captivated me. I have even started a new craft in Groovy and look forward to seeing what I can create with my new purchases made in the openday sales – thanks for your generosity with discounted prices. I hope I can one day attend a proper open day and get to meet you and some of my new Clarity loving friends. We have quite a bit in common – when you talk about your childhood and your German English mix. I always bring food back from Austria when I givens my suitcase went missing for 2 weeks in extreme heat, well you can imagine what I found when I opened the case!

    Love a jigsaw but once I start one I have to finish it.

    Hope you get a good nights rest and see you at ten tomorrow to continue our tour! Looking forward to some beautiful flora – love a bit of gardening so looking forward to doodling tomorrow.

  17. Have a good rest Barbara you deserve it. Thank you for the virtual open days that was just brilliant. My clarity stash is growing. I am looking forward to tomorrow morning. Take care. Hugs xxx

  18. Hope you get a good night’s sleep. There was a lot going on over the weekend,hope I have kept track of most of it. Have not done a jigsaw for ages might have to borrow one from my daughter-in-law , she has loads. X

  19. Hello Barb, thank you for the lovely blog posts, offers and prizes over the weekend now it’s your turn to rest, sleep well.
    I’m looking forward to tomorrows show as I loved the geisha doodle and the flower one too, guess they’ll be dropping in my basket. Jackie x

  20. We love Wasgij puzzles but we haven’t done this one. For those that haven’t tried them there is a picture on the box lid & you have to work out what the people are looking at. Normally some of the people appear in the puzzle but from the back view or flying through the air. Great fun – look out for them in the Charity Shops when they open as I reckon there could be few floating about the country after lockdown.
    Looking forward to the shows tomorrow although I think I will be watching Paul on rewind after we have been to Hawaii !! See you on the beach at 10 x

  21. Aloha! -Love the new Doodle stamps!
    I’ll be quick before you nod off.! I hope the weekend was a huge success for you and I can imagine how exhausting it all was and then with everything on top too. Have one of your special hot drinks and an early night. Forget today and only think about tomorrow when its here!
    See you in Hawaii tomorrow! X

  22. Love a good puzzle, had a favourite one when I was growing up with mice in a corn field all dressed up for a harvest party. So sweet…Probably still have it somewhere, it was a huge 500 pieces which was a lot when I was little. Xx

  23. Hope you feel better soon. I guess the orders are only the first part of the process so Clarity will be busy packing those on top of a hectic TV schedule for the week and flat out work to prepare the magnificent Open Day. I hope you can relax soon. Perhaps it is time to plan the best staycation you can imagine? Rent a kiln and some expertise from your teacher for a week off? Install a trampoline? Get six people a day round for garden parties? Anything really to ring the changes with Dave and have some fun. Set the Shack some homework or let everyone have a rest the same dates. You have built up everyone else but now need to do it for yourself.

  24. I am sure that you will be asleep by now and I hope you sleep well. After such a busy weekend, you deserve it. After all that, you took us all to Hawaii this morning too! I so enjoy these trips and if today is anything to go by, it will be a fantastic trip.
    Thanks Barbara and see you tomorrow. I am an early riser, so will be watching at 7. Hugs. Annette. X

  25. Hope you get a good rest full night. Well watched this morning yes said I cannot write but been having a play and quiet pleased with practice remember did love doing bubble writing well watching on tv for more detail the tomorrow will do me frames and Aloha so loving drawing don’t given anymore. Look involved forward to the stamps or do I go for groovi May be both want to get stamps so can do stamped image and drawn in book for lock down memories need to finish me geisha need to do rest of picture see you in morning xxx

  26. Hope you get a good rest full night. Well watched this morning yes said I cannot write but been having a play and quiet pleased with practice remember did love doing bubble writing well watching on tv for more detail the tomorrow will do me frames and Aloha so loving drawing don’t given anymore. Look involved forward to the stamps or do I go for groovi May be both want to get stamps so can do stamped image and drawn in book for lock down memories need to finish me geisha need to do rest of picture see you in morning xxx

  27. I’m still colouring my hummingbirds 😊
    Need to make time tomorrow to finish them off xx have a good sleep see you tomorrow on Hochanda x

  28. When your body tells you to sleep listen to it! I so enjoyed joining the open day weekend virtually, but I’m sure it involved a lot of work for everyone- thank you all x

  29. Memories.
    I have been to Hawaii on a few occasions. My favourite island is most definitely Maui. Resorts and beaches to the west, volcanos And barren land to the south, incredible rain forests to the east. You can travel through the different seasons, around the island in a day. Incredible experience. Thank you for bringing me back. I too am a Jigsaw fan, it’s my winter sport! One of our beautiful SHAC SHAC doodles would make a fantastic jigsaw?…?? Just a thought. See you at 10 pencil in one hand cup of tea in the other. You guys are my lifeline, thank you. Xx

  30. Hello Barb, love the puzzle, really funny, watched the show on Hochanda, the Geisha stamp set is brilliant. Want to try catch up on many of recent Doodle sessions, and then start on the Hawaii ones. Bx

  31. Thank you for a wonderful weekend. I loved the virtuality. There is no way, with my and hubby’s health issues, that I could attend an “real” open day. And to cap it all I won a prize – thank you so much – just the kick up the backside I needed to get me back into my Parching.
    Thank you Barbara, Grace and all the team at Clarity. I hope you manage some downtime xx

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