Where January was a goddess, flexing her power to delight and deprive, February was just a lot of damp.  A really February-ish February.  We dealt with round two of chicken pox for little Trix.  She’s normally such a cheerful, brave little soul, but no one is a match for itchy blisters in your bits. She had a rough time of it, no one slept, it is over now.  So that’s both kiddos through the chicken bugs. A parenting hurdle completed.

Last week was half-term here in Scotland, so we had Piglet home all week which was lovely.  The weather was largely pants, but we made the most of it.  He remains obsessed with water – waves, rivers, streams, puddles – so I spent A LOT of the February week waiting beside puddles, usually in the drizzle, while he drove his monster trucks through them. He makes mud roads, flips them, resuces them etc etc. I’m not allowed to simply accompany, I’m supposed to be actively participating in the narrative (although obviously not directing the narrative, lets not get carried away). I could quite happily stand beside a puddle and daydream, ideally with a cuppa, for half an hour. But pretending to care if the monster truck is going to be able to drive through the deep bit without flipping is not my exact favourite thing.  I love seeing him so happy, though. I’m sure once he’s into gaming and door slamming, I’ll wish us back to our puddle days.  

Have I told you that Trix would dearly like to be a cat? She pretends she is a kitten at least 60% of the time. We don’t have a cat, so she fills a gap, I guess.  When she  had chicken pox, she drew purple tiger stripes all over her little body. Felt pen and blistered spots and refusing to bath.  And she’ll only brush her teeth if we remember to call them her miaou teeth.  Last Saturday, we went to a wee friend’s 5th birthday party in Edinburgh. Trix got to have her face painted for the first time.  Obviously, she chose a cat face.  She was dressed as a bumblebee at the time, and the combination was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.  On our way home we took an impromptu trip to the beach at Portabello for sunset.  The first five minutes of kids on the beach is euphoric. Pure glee. They chased jackdaws, ran into the sea (and filled up their wellies), splashed, collected shells, chased their shadows.  Trix sat on a wall eating chips, cat-faced, and all was well in the world.  It was pyjama time by the time we got back to Drygrange.  We washed face and hands as usual. When she realised that I had washed her wee painted cat-face off, she crumpled into my arms and sobbed.  My little kitten.

As for me, I’ve been enjoying my February walks despite the heavy grey skies and chilly winds.  I’ve been watching dippers on the river and tree-creepers in the garden.  Studio time has been a little idiosyncratic but I’ve been making good progress with new products and drawings.  Lots of exciting things to show you soon.  Slower progress on the boring admin (hi, GSPR, the latest EU regulation to bore me to pieces).  

Here’s all my February sketchbook pages as usual: