"Come on, step out of your cage. There's a whole twisted world out there."

 There is something incredibly relaxing about sitting with my headphones in, sewing of an evening. Which is why I'm all over Opeie's new interest in puppetry. I'm looking forward to making some random characters next but this weekend was spent making an Alice Angel puppet from Bendy and the Ink machine. The puppet was fairly easy to make until I got to the hair, if I'd have had any myself I'd have probably pulled it out. 

After I'd finished it Opeie made a pretty cool video for the channel. Check it out Here!

“Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is.”

 

I love that every time we go for a walk Opeie picks up an object to take with him to photograph  Sometimes it's a toy and sometimes it's something he has created, whatever it is though he wants it photographed in a tree, in grass, next to a mushroom or on moss which to me always says a lot about how he feels about nature and being outdoors. Today was Yoda's turn for the star treatment.

“Learn something new. Try something different. Convince yourself that you have no limits.”

 

It kind of felt like 2020 was going to go out in exactly the same grey and stagnant way that it has been festering the entire year. I know I shouldn't moan, we're all going through this but having a mass of other rubbish thrown in to the mix was making this year one I was desperate to put behind us. Even without the lockdown madness this time of year has been a testing time for Opeie, shrouded by a mix of emotions and upset. I tried so hard the last couple of years to make 'Christmas' fun again but with no joy, so this year we talked and said 'no more!'. If this year has taught us anything it's shown us what is actually important and also what ever we decide to do (even if it doesn't fit in with other peoples views)... its okay. 

So instead of 'Christmas' this year we have decided to have a celebration of our favourite little creatures 'Beetles', With the build up being filled with beetle related creative activities to decorate the house 'our way'. We've been busy doing all sorts but my favourite thing so far has been decorating the wall in the LEGO room with a series of hanging beetles. This really got us pumped about the upcoming festivities.

What has really made this for me is how much it has taken the strain off of Opeie and has given him the chance to see the end of the year in a different light. This morning he said 'Dad, I'm so excited about Beetlemas!'... and that is all I needed to hear to feel like we are taking control of 2020 again.

"Sometimes brightening up the outside of your store is just the thing to perk up business, yes?"

Day 126:

Conversation in the house recently has been heavy on the Animal Crossing. Since picking up a copy of New horizons a couple of weeks ago Opeie has been busy building his island and creating and it has been so much nicer hearing about that rather than Fortnite. While he was having a chat with his friends yesterday I decided to build him Nooks Cranny. His smile when he came off the phone and saw it was contagious and leaving the build empty means that that smile can continue tomorrow when we are building the furniture together. Another win for those amazing bricks.

"Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway."

Day 125:

I love it when Opeie shows me a picture he's found on the internet and says "Can we build this?". Mainly because it means an afternoon of sitting down with the LEGO and working something out together. Its rare that he ever wants to add Technic functions into builds but this kinetic cowboy build by Tankybrick had really got him excited. So we watched their video about 50 times to try and work out the functions. After building pretty much the entire thing no matter haw many times we watched the video we couldn't work out the final piece that got the horses moving as the video wasn't very clear. After a stressful 30 minutes or so of trying all sorts of different elements we finally cracked it. It definitely wasn't the same piece, and the horses the finitely don't run as smooth as theirs but overall it came out great and ended up being a fun afternoon building with my bestie.

"You're gonna need a bigger boat!"

Day 121:

I have been so rubbish at writing and taking pictures since my birthday and I really need to get back into the rhythm as it was doing me the world of good mentally. This week has been lush hanging out with Opeie, painting and playing LEGO. Opeie is loving his LEGO photography at the moment so we've been putting a lot of time into that. Hopefully these pictures are all going towards something amazing. Watch this space.

"Forget the past; look forward to the future, for the best things are yet to come."

Day 113:

Every year for as long as I can remember my birthday has always felt like just another day of the week, this year was different though. There was a feeling in the air that I wasn't expecting on the build up and as it got closer I felt myself feeling all warm inside. Opeie had been busy doing some top secret prep for weeks and my unexpected warm fuzzy birthday feeling was definitely coming from their excitement. By the time the big day came today I felt like I had already had my birthday twice over because of the first two days of the three day celebrations.

You know you are on to a winner when not only do. you receive a thoughtful toy from your childhood but also new patches for that magical toy (which are always battered because of their age). And Opeie couldn't be any cuter, knowing exactly what to get me because he is so bloody awesome. By the time we were ready to head out I was feeling like a princess.

As we drove out of the road to start our journey to Lake Vyrnwy, I spotted pictures of myself all over the place, Opeie had clearly been having a blast getting ready for today. I liked to think that everyone one on our road thought I was a young dad but now they all know that I'm a crusty 40-year-old.

Lake Vyrnwy was a little busier than we expected but we found a quiet spot to have a picnic and a good stomp while Opeie took photos for his next comic. On the way home all I could think about was that delicious looking backed cheese cake that Opeie had made. Today was perfection, it was so nice to have a clear head for a few days. Hopefully next year the world will seem a little calmer. 

"Don't ever, never say we're through, We gon boogaloo"

Day 112:

Day 2 of the birthday celebrations has been awesome and I'm feeling so loved. It's a shame I don't turn 40 every weekend.  I woke up to coffee and breakfast in bed again, more lovely presents and then we backed up the car to the river in Jackfield, opened the boot, dropped the seats and lay in the back drawing. I feel like Ive already had my birthday twice over and its not until tomorrow. I've been treated like a princess. I'm currently banished upstairs and I'm not allowed to go downstairs until tomorrow, I have no idea what those lovelies are up to.

I was so chill today that I didn't even think to get my phone out to take a picture, so here's a song instead.  

"Change, like sunshine, can be a friend or a foe, a blessing or a curse, a dawn or a dusk."

Day 106-110:

I've really not felt myself over the last few days so I decided to skip a few days, I've not felt very inspired and if I'm honest 'getting through the day' has been as far as I have got. I feel like this whole Covid thing has changed me and some of those changes I really don't like. I think part of this unmotivated feeling is because of the news, I do my best to avoid it but for some reason a few nights back I ended up sat in bed reading and the ridiculousness of this country hit me hard. I'm hoping for a relaxing, creative few days to get me out of this funk. 

On a plus note we found another female Lesser Stag beetle, which made us both smile.

"Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hand of time."

Day 104:

For many of us the last 100 or so days has forced us into seriously changing the speed in which we are living. Ive always been fairly chill but I've seen the people around me have to adapt to this new way of getting through the days. I had high hopes for the lockdown period, I was going to learn new skills and pick up things that I had put down a long time ago, and although I definitely have learned some new skills and have tackled some new projects, this time at home hasn't been as productive as I had invisioned because of concentrating on our emotional wellbeing. I lay in bed tonight thinking about how much creative fun we have had, I have really been empowered by the things we have been doing and Its been awesome watching Opeie get into his drawing too, I've been putting a lot more thought into how his home education is going to be going from this point and I'm really excited to see where it goes.

"Create with the heart, build with the mind"

Day 103:

Opeie has been all smiles today because he has built one of his favourite teddies. Jonathan (or pinky butthole as we like to call him) has been a mobile pillow for Opeie taken all over the house for him to lie on. As he is so loved Opeie decided to immortalise him in bricks to show his appreciation. I bloody love LEGO!!!

"Passion surprises. One doesn't search it. It can happen to you tomorrow."

Day 101-102:

Yesterday seemed to fly by and I didn't take a single photo so I'm lazily adding these two days together. Last year we visited Attingham park a few times around this time of year in search of the Lesser stag for Opeies photo collection of found beetles. Each visit we came away with some photos of some interesting new beetles but sadly never the Lesser stag. As we walked home yesterday through the woodland near us, we turned over logs looking for beetles and there she was, sitting there waiting for a photo. I love how things like this can really make our day and we can now cross off Lesser stag from our list. Next up... we still haven't found Opeie's favourite, the elusive violet ground beetle.

"Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties."

Day 99:

The plan for today was to go for good stomp around snail beach, we made pizza and wrapped it up for lunch but when we arrived the weather just didn't want to play ball so we drove a little further up to Stiperstones and dropped the backseats so that we could sit in the back of the car and paint. Before we could start painting though Opeie asked whether we could do a drawing activity he had created where we design products for a supermarket based around themes. I love things like this as you end up drawing things that you would never usually think of drawing. 

"The toad, without which no garden would be complete"

Day 94:

When I popped out in the garden last night I saw this little cutie quickly disappear under the shed. Tonight when I walked outside they were obviously feeling a little braver and came over to say hi. Our garden is only really small but backs on to an undisturbed piece of land with a stream so we get all sorts in there. The frogs always freak when I pick them up but this little dude happily sat on my hand for a photo shoot, my toady encounter really made my evening. 

"When one has not had a good father, one must create one."

Day 93:

Fathers day has always been one of my favourite days of the year and this one was lush, I got breakfast and coffee in bed, a lovely card and most importantly lots of cuddles. The weather wasn't great but we managed to find a spot by the river in Jackfield where we could park, open the boot and paint in the back of the car while it thrashed it down, perfection.

"The art of photography is all about directing the attention of the viewer."

Day 91 and 92:

Opeie has really been getting into his LEGO photography for his latest comic idea. He's been in the garden with all sorts of kits and bricks creating scenes for each picture and its been so lovely to watch. As I really wasn't in the mood to write yesterday I decided to use two of his photos for today. I can't wait to see the finished piece, its starting to look really interesting.

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

Day 90:

Homeschooling (in our usual way) went out the window pretty quickly when all this crazy started. For most of us the days have all just merged into one big oddity, Ive lost all track of days and time and in my foggy head I'm now stuck at 'before Corona (BC)' and During Corona (DC). It's get harder and harder to motivate Opeie in the way I would have BC because he misses his friends so much. So I now just fully focus on what makes him happy. His latest idea for a comic has been keeping us busy in the LEGO department, focusing on set designs and letting our brick creativity flow. This should be a pretty awesome project, stay tuned.

"When you're near My heart starts beating faster The world starts moving slower And I just freeze"

Day 89:

It was another one of those none photo days today, enjoy the song.

"The more violent the storm, the quicker it passes."

Day 88:

Last nights awful lack of sleep meant that when I got up I just wanted to get out. At times like this I feel so claustrophobic and I just can't breathe. Opeie and I decided to pack a lunch, books, and sketchpads and head to Titterstones (our own peaceful getaway). The weather wasn't great but we drove up as high as we could get, opened the boot and listen to the thunder, it was pretty beautiful. 

I hope these storms pass soon (all of them).

"The essence of pleasure is spontaneity."

Day 86:

Ever feel like you are living Groundhog Day over and over? I wake up some mornings thinking 'well here we go again'. I'm so used to being spontaneous, jumping in the car and driving wherever in search of adventure, This whole lockdown thing is slowly sucking the life out of us. So In order to combat the ever growing rutt we are trying to add a little crazy back into our life. With the weather looking like it's turning a little, we decided to bring the trampoline indoors and use it to build a den in the LEGO room. It's partially filling that void but we are definitely desperate for our lives back.