long time, no blog...

sorry that it's been a bit quiet here lately...

but hey, it was my birthday a couple of days back!
here are the cards that my boys made me...



joe's - on the left there - illustrates the fact that i've got a bit obsessed with the garden of late. i've re-sown the lawn where four years of football have rubbed it bare of grass, and his card shows me being swamped by new growth and covered in the contents of our overflowing compost bin, whilst the boy himself looks on with glee...

eddie's - on the right - commemorates my celebratory birthday visit to fuji hiro, leeds' premier japanese eatery. hurrah for noodles and peanut & red chilli sauce.

anyway, as a result of my birthday [and the wonders of my well-stocked amazon wishlist] i got a whole load of excellent cds which i'm working my way through, and some fantastic books to add to my 'must-read' pile...


meantime, i've finally got the ok for my robot design - here are the final two stages in his evolution - the upper one is the definitive version that was settled on...




i also just did a little job for 'girl & dean' - a little thing for their edinburgh show promotional package, which was cool... [interesting fact: jess from girl&dean can currently be seen cavorting with a randy lobster in a heineken commercial...]

and there are a load of other nifty possibilities in the offing - i don't really want to go into them too much at the mo, mainly because they are still just tantalisingly lovely could-be's. but there's something that might happen with an american publisher who's seen my stuff on proost, and some work with a charity that works with and campaigns for the victims of sex trafficking... interesting and exciting stuff...

lastly - extension news. i've not blogged much about the building work - mainly because there's not always been much news to relate [it's been a very slow, drawn-out process...] - and also because it's been a bit stressful. but now the windows are in, there is plaster on the wall and the electrics work!
next week the floor goes in... there is visible growth on the grass roof... we are beginning to allow ourselves to get bit excited about it all again...