Disorganization.

My workroom? Looks like an art supply store threw up. I hate messes. And with my workroom a mess, I don't go in. When I don't go in, I don't make anything. When I don't make anything? I get creatively constipated. And that makes me cranky, people! I just can't get a handle on things. The ribbon? Is totally staging a revolt and taking over. The stamps have gone into hiding, which sucks because if I don't see them I forget to use them. My mom gave me the full set of Nick Bantock inks for my birthday (because? My mom is cool like that. She's an artist too. Yay for me!) But my poor inks are sitting smack in the middle of my table right now for fear of losing them in the chaos.

So what have I done to remedy the situation? Pretty much gone into denial and watched HGTV and Best Week Ever on DVR this morning. Have you ever seen Rezoned on HGTV? Love that show. It's basically about public buildings - usually 50 years old or more - that have been turned into private homes. Blacksmith's shop, fortune cookie company, cap and gown factory, firehouse... some really great spaces. SO creative. The really great thing I've noticed is that many of the people fixing up these spaces aren't the Gen-X'ers you might expect. They're older, in their 50's, 60's and even 70's (the couple who fixed up the steel mold making shop in Pittsburg were so cute.) All these people have done years of work to uncover amazing spaces in which to live. We, on the other hand, have done a year's worth of work to uncover the basic shoebox that is our house. Blech.

Anyway, what else did I watch in my effort to totally ignore the chaos in my workroom? I had another episode of Creature Comforts to watch. I'm totally loving that show. Rusty doesn't get it at all and I laugh myself silly sometimes. The show is on BBC America and is by the creator of Wallace & Grommit (a favorite in our household - that's them in the pic). It's essentially this:

Now, for this BBC America series of nine 30-minute episodes, Park has expanded the concept into a collection of shorts that are airing three per week. The opener serves up the original short along with two other segments. It's unfailingly adorable stuff, showcasing very elaborately drawn stop-motion critters (pigs, alligators, dogs, monkeys, birds) spouting very British observations about life in words culled from the mouths not of voice-over artists but regular members of the public in England. So you have sea lions speaking out against liposuction, a horse explaining that he sleeps alone because of a flatulence problem, a buck-toothed donkey divulging his mating habits and flies trapped in a spider web discussing how they've been there "for two years." It's wonderfully deadpan stuff that finds "Wallace & Gromit" creator Park at his subtly irreverent best. Set the TiVo to grab this one. (Hollywoodreporter.com)

The two dogs (Brian and "Keif" who are brothers), garden snails, pigs, a seeing eye dog, a hamster in a cage and more? Crack me up. The Sharpei doing his impression of Julia Roberts? Ha! The penquin kid asking his mom for money for the ice-cream truck in the middle of her interview? Loved it. The kids' voices are hysterical. And the two old ladies that do the bats? They are fabulous.

Anyway, yeah, didn't do much organizing today. But did get some "non-Dora/Diego/Backyardigans/PBS Kids" TV in while Sean played. But now I'm off to fight the ribbon wars. I'll take a few pictures of "Before" and "After". Unless my camera is stuck under the chaos somewhere.

P.S. (for Linda) This ranks as one of the most boring entries evah. I am, however, adding links to some of the stuff so maybe that will make up for the brutal boringness?