Out with the old and in with the NEW!

Happy New Year! It's the last day of 2008 and with less than 3 hours to go, I'd have to say the highlight of my day has been... a butterscotch and pecan pudding! Well, I'm not the butterscotchartgirl for nothing! I'm seeing the New Year in with my lovely tv, a glass of fizz and a smile x

My highlights of 2008

Meeting Monika in Majorca
It snowed
LA
My new pumpkin frock
The swans are back
Big valentines bouquet
Affordable Art Fair
More Monika in Majorca
No phone, broken phone, more broken phone!
Storms, champagne and Chelts racing
Rococco gardens
Best present ever – my new mini
HDVin Cambridge
Badminton Horse Trials
Tate Modern
Westonbirt
Dancing with Jack & Ginger
HDVin Chelts champagne
Brasserie Blanc
Sex and the City
Bath pigs
Beaufort Polo Club by royal appointment
A very special visit from the Szabo's!
Prescott Hill Climb didn't make a 'mug' out of me
This entry is for all you 'others' who think they should have got a mention! ;-)
The Merchant of Venice
Who burnt the tuna?! Mmm, should have had pork instead!
My new Dyson
Mauger Modern Summer Preview
Art, art and more art
Combine Harvesters photoshoot!
Paris
Rodin Museum
Endearing charm of Monet's Garden
A Winter’s Tale in the freezing rain - doh!
A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Midsummer gorgeous people
The Duchess and the Dork
Derbyshire scrapping weekend
Wuthering Heights... zzz
Family day out at Bewdley Safari Park
Beauty & The Beast
Heavenly outdoor spa
Jack's tour of Oxford and the dinosaurs
My botanical painting course
The delectable SK and her cabbage cupcakes
The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe
Romeo and Juliet ballet
Westonbirt Enchanted Christmas
Paddington station!
X-rays at Frenchay A&E!

Christmas Baa Humbug!

If Santa doesn’t bring you the red Ferrari you’ve had your eye on all year or doesn’t sing ‘Diamonds are a girl’s best friend’ as he gleefully slides down the chimney with a ring and a rose between his teeth, it’s really not that bad. He’s just slightly preoccupied, ‘Ho ho ho’.

Some people set themselves up for a fall at Christmas. Others, like myself, have fewer expectations so when something untoward happens, I’m actually happier than most. My positive frame of mind always gets me through sticky situations, regardless of how challenging they might be!

I’m always surprised by what routes my life takes. The twists and turns give me a chance to learn even more about myself. Life is a journey of discovery and the more chances you have to learn, the more rounded a person you will be. Not that I’m going to be any where near ‘rounded’ this Christmas. It’s the leanest year ever for Christmas fare. No turkey dinner, no Xmas pud, not even a sausage on a stick! But that means I won’t spend the entire month of January trying to lose those extra few pounds. I will join the gym fat-free and have a head start on all those over-fed forty-somethings!!

2:20am, Christmas Eve, all is quiet and not even a mouse is stirring in my apartment. And the reason I know that is that I am not there! I am at the A&E department waiting for x-rays. See what I mean about expectations? You weren’t expecting that one! Going back into the office on Monday may have seemed like a good idea at the time. Unfortunately, not only did I pick up my Christmas cards and catch up on work, I also picked up a bug! My cough disturbed whatever mending my ribs had been doing these past two weeks and although I’ve never been stabbed (and don’t wish to be thank you!) I could only imagine this is what it feels like. Never one to grumble, not even a tiny winge, I do however know that when I start getting really upset with something or someone, it’s time to act.

By 6am, I had had two x-rays and the diagnosis was luckily, I don’t have any serious internal damage but I do have chest wall injuries and most likely fractured my ribs. So it is pain killers for me this Christmas, yippee!

My life is never that simple and my system doesn’t like drugs of any kind. It knows what it likes and kicks off when it doesn’t like what it gets. Oh what a Christmas Day I have had!! I’ll spare you the details, but as my friends decided I shouldn’t be alone in my own apartment, I found myself alone at Lisa’s apartment, she is staying with her parents. Needless to say I’ve had a quieter Christmas than a Church mouse. I was not well and in bed by 9:30pm.

So back to my expectations... A girl should expect the best and as my expectations for Christmas are reasonably realistic, I’m really not that disappointed. To be honest, I’ve had some cracking pressies including a Nintendo ds with brain training! How could a girl be unhappy with that?! I’ve had a beautiful charm bracelet, some delicious smellies, a gorgeous one of a kind necklace, so you won't catch me complaining. In a short while, with a bit of tlc, I will be fighting fit and my skydiving antics will be a thing of the past!

Then I’ll just have to find another way to get my thrills?! Roll on 2009!

6 steps to building your own Christmas Tree!

This close to Christmas then the shelves were going to be bare so we had no choice but to buy the equivalent of a lego tree which came in bits! All credit to Rich and Jess who came down especially to take part in this challenge and have skillfully managed to put all the bits in the right place. As you can see, it needed a woman's touch to get it just right!






I have to say that it feels great to be back home. It feels as if I've been away for a long time. The thief of time has stolen 10 days and left me with bruises and a kindly reminder of life's fragility. Whilst I've been convalescing, the world hasn't stopped turning so it's almost Christmas. I can start smiling again because I have a twinkling tree and lots of Christmas cards from all the special people in my life.

All I want for Christmas...

If you can complete the lyric, you know what kind of week I've had! If you're reading this then you most likely know me, but may not be up to speed with what I've been up to these past few days. Crashing my way through life would be the best explanation. If I believed in fate, I would say that someone was looking out for me. We have choices and paths that we can take in our lives. I was determined one way or another to take a particular path on Thursday evening. Looking back, and I'll never know the reason why, but there is a reason why I wasn't supposed to be in Charlotte Street at 5:30pm.

So here's my story. I was supposed to be at the opening of the Nick Woolff Gallery on Thursday evening in London at 5:30pm. I got as far as getting off the train at Paddington. I wasn't feeling quite myself, having been out for a meal the previous evening and not slept well. It seems I must have eaten something that disagreed with me. Two out of three girls, including me, had stomach pains during the night, but I had made it into work and at the last minute, decided that I felt well enough to go to London.
I arrived early into Paddington so went and bought myself a lovely new black cardigan and two lovely new scarves. At this point I'd like to say that I'm just glad I didn't choose the white scarf! If you're brave enough to keep reading, you'll soon discover why. I'm not prone to dizzy spells, hadn't had a drink but somehow I lost my footing as I went to get the tube. It was just after 5pm and I remember thinking I shouldn't go down the first set of stairs as it was rush hour and there were a lot of people coming up at this point. So I voted with my feet and took the second set. I remember seeing two guys coming up the stairs and I think I got as far as the first landing, then in true 'anna fashion' (never one to do things by halves!) I skydived down the second flight of stairs!!
@$%!!*&**$#!!?&**@!
Time never stands still but there are moments in life that the memory just can't recall. Perhaps it's the shock, the fear or just a protective mechanism? I must have slipped because I fell head first from the landing down a complete flight of stairs. I remember there being nothing in front of me as I fell. No people, nothing and having nothing to grab hold of either. I clearly recall being upside down and feeling my face crashing on the ground. My body and mind weren't sure what was happening but as I lifed my head and put my hand to my face, there was blood pouring from my nose. Not something I'll forget in a hurry!
I could hear a man's voice asking if anyone had any tissues, any water? I was still upside down at this point and just felt totally helpless. There was a guy kneeling down beside me trying to mop up the blood. He asked me "Can you sit up? You need to sit up' but I just couldn't move. Two guys picked me up so I could sit at the bottom of the stairs and I remember the blood pouring from my face and wondering what I had done. I was picked up and sat against the wall as a paramedic arrived. A guy from the station and two policemen taking details and it was at this point I realised I might have broken my nose!! My teeth were hurting, I could feel a cut across my nose, blood still pouring from my face and I was shaking with shock.
It's the little things that I remember. Like the guy in the suit who looked so concerned. The policeman who asked my age, then laughed. He'd reported the accident saying a woman aged between 30 and 40 had slipped on the stairs. Woo Hoo! It's a macabre thing to remember but they put a cone by my blood at the bottom of the stairs. I remember it because it was sitting by the wall when K80 took me back to Paddington the next day. There it was... 'my cone'.. mmm!
They decided to call for an ambulance and it felt like a scene from Holby City! Crowds of people passing by in the rush hour. It must have looked like I was being arrested as the policeman took my arm to help me up the stairs onto the concourse where the ambulance was waiting. Although I was very shaken and still bleeding from my nose, I was just grateful that someone was looking after me. St Mary's is just two minutes from Paddington. They took my blood pressure, 'Very good'.. I did question it because I was shaking and obviously in pain. 'You have the blood pressure of a 20 year old!'... there's always a silver lining.. ;-) so the next thing, I find myself sitting up on a bed in a cubicle in their small injuries clinic.
It was really tough to be on my own. It highlights the fragility of being single. I'm not a fan of hospitals, but who is? But the 45 minutes I waited on my own were the hardest. It was so good to hear Liz's voice and I was just so thankful that she lives in London and could come to help me. There's a 4 hour turnaround in A&E and I was there for the entire 4 hours! I felt bashed and bruised but amazingly, no broken bones. They glued the cut across my nose, gave me a tetanus and told me I could go.
Leaving the hospital was an enormous relief and me & Liz got a taxi back to her place.
It's now Saturday night and I'm staying with a friend in Chelts. I feel lucky (well I would, wouldn't I?!) lucky that I haven't broken any ribs, my wrist or an ankle. I have however got a significant cut across my nose, which has taken a blow across the bridge so I'm developing two horrendous black eyes! Every day a new bruise appears and I'm not a fan of mirrors at the moment! I have a red painful strip down the centre of my face where I must have hit the ground. Lisa took me to the emergency dentist today and the x-ray shows no root damage so whilst I've chipped one of my front teeth and they hurt, I'm hoping they are ok. My knees are bashed, I have three bruised fingers, an enormous bruise developing above my knee on my left leg and yes, it's going to take a few weeks before I'm fully recovered.
Lisa has been looking after me a treat. I'm so glad I have some great friends! Dom bought me chocolate, though I've lost my appetite and eating isn't easy at the moment. I'm taking it steady, letting go (which isn't easy!) and just waiting for my body to heal itself. The worst part is not being able to go out. Polite people are telling me that I don't look that bad, but I don't believe them. I'd frighten small children at the moment and to be truthful, if I saw someone with bruises like I've got, particularly a woman, I'd think they'd been beaten up! If you don't believe me then when I was in the dentist's today, three people sitting in the waiting room waited until I'd gone in to see the dentist before they asked what I'd done. 'Had I fallen down the steps of the pub last night and was I drunk?! mmm, hence, why I would like to hibernate until the spring. x

Read the signs..

Can you read the signs..? Life can be pretty confusing and at times we all need a map to get us to where we want to be. That's unless you have a sat nav and even then, it doesn't always take you to where you expected to be. Life can offer us so many choices. This way, that way, road closed, no entry, no right of way, it's easy to get lost. Does it matter if you do? That depends on whether you want to be somewhere or just anywhere. If it only ever offered us one choice, life would be dull. We inevitably though have to make decisions or life has no purpose or direction. If you're lost you could always make your own sign like these. Fun, aren't they!

Lost and found..

or found and lost x there's nothing more beautiful than nature. There are so many hidden secrets just waiting to be discovered. Delicate petals, a stained and worn stone, the shape of a newly formed leaf.. what man can create anything this amazing? x

Happy First Day of Advent

Today I opened the first window on my advent calendar and out jumped a tiny Lindt chocolate reindeer. 25 days of entertainment courtesy of the lovely Ginger Claire.. thank you sweetie x Do you remember having an advent calendar as a child? It always felt as if Christmas was just around the corner when the Advent calendar, along with all that glitter, was taken out of the Christmas box. The same calendar was brought out year after year. There was something very nostalgic and traditional about the "coming out" ceremony and there weren't any chocolates in sight. This evening I shall have a cup of coffee and enjoy my first chocolate. I'll be thinking about Liz and K80 in NYC and hoping that Liz is feeling better and having a fantastic birthday. Lots of love from mum x x

Westonbirt and my first sprout of the year!

Today I got there at last! Where you might ask? I went on a mini adventure to Westonbirt. It was the first weekend of their Enchanted Christmas light spectacular. It is always lovely to spend time with mum and dad and despite the chilly weather, we had fun. I booked Christmas carvery for the three of us and it was very welcome after our walk in the woods. One day I'll get my season ticket. Then I'll be able to go more often when there aren't any queues... x We spent the rest of the weekend looking at photographs and building our family tree. That's another great adventure!

Mistaken identity...

Having been little miss bump yesterday, I thought I'd have a bath this morning. I decided to throw in one of my cupcake bombs and really wish I hadn't. They might look sweet and even smell of tropical islands but don't be fooled. I think it's birdfood masquerading as a bath bomb! This sweetly looking concoction dissolved in the bath to leave a very scummy circle of oil with what I can only describe as bird food floating on the surface. If I didn't have aches and bruises, I would have loved to have skipped the bath in favour of a shower. I can only assume that being dipped in birdseed & oil will give me the complexion of a goddess and make my skin feel as soft and supple as a peach! It hasn't yet but here's hoping.. ;-)

fallin...

1 grazed forearm
3 bits of fruit thrown up in the air
1 laptop (caught safely, phew!)
5 painful ow’s
2 bruised elbows
1 double somersaulting phone
1 tear shed
1 sore bum
1 painful grimace
7 shocking swearwords “oh xxxxxx”
2 cd cases sprung open
3 cds rolling across the carpet

things to be thankful for..

1. I don’t appear to have broken anything!
2. I wasn’t carrying a cup of tea
3. I already know how stupid I am!

Thank thursday for nurofen x

Coconut dreams...

Sometimes, something can happen that you weren't expecting to happen, when you least expect it! It's just like flipping a coin. Life is full of surprises. On Monday night, I was combining my love of chocolate cakes with a desperate need to tidy my studio when I came across my tatty old recipe diary. There, between the dog-eared pages of my little notebook, I found one of my favourite recipes. The world famous and absolutely scrummy chocolate coconut slice. So on Tuesday evening I made it for the girls at work. They seemed a little surprised at my domestic goddess status. NOTE to self > bake more often. It's good that you remember the great tastes of your life. I remember my grandma's plated apple pies; my mother's chocolate cake; my father's stuffed cabbage and his less than lovely caraway seed soup! My first sticky toffee pudding at Goblets wine bar, my mother's fairy cakes that always used to escape all over the baking tray; my very own sausage nutty plait (don't ask!) and a pantry of other ideas. I'd been thinking about the recipe that morning, then just as I was tidying up that evening, I found it. So without further ado, here it is...

To celebrate "Happy Thanksgiving Day", I'm leaving this recipe in ounces. I also made twice the amount to fit into a fairly large baking tray. If you want to make less because you have less friends than I do :-) just use a smaller tray.

Delicious Chocolate Coconut Slice
You will need
4 oz plain chocolate
4 oz desiccated coconut
4 oz granulated sugar
1 egg
handful of glace cherries

Here's what to do
Preheat oven to 170°C, 325°F, gas 3.
1. Mix egg, sugar and coconut together.
2. Melt chocolate in a bain-marie.
3. Grease and line a baking tray.
4. Pour melted chocolate in the tin. Spread out and leave to cool.
5. Put coconut mixture on the top and press down lightly.
6. Decorate with cherries cut in half.
7. Bake till golden brown.
8. Leave to cool then cut and serve when cold.

All the girls in the office tried it and seemed to love it! What's next week, I wonder... mmm

ps and if you want to use those brightly coloured glace cherries - go ahead! Mine were the 'oh so naturalle' cherries that made me feel healthy just looking at them. Glace cherries must be one of the most sugar-packed, syrupy sweet ways to eat fruit that I know. And interestingly, all the girls in the office chose a slice with a cherry! Maybe they'd lost theirs!

I love great quotes!

I appreciate that quote are very personal. What inspires and moves one person, will turn another person to stone. I was sitting this morning browsing around the site 'lovefilms' to create my "wishlist" of delicious dvd entertainment when I came across this great quote. There I was just enjoying the short clip of film when "ZAP".. it was like one of those lightening moments of inspiration. Have you ever had those? When you hear or see something that triggers a reaction in your brain. It's like igniting a spark that is powerful enough to light up a room. Okay, I've lost you now, perhaps it's just a 'me-thing'. Anyway, this quote is from the film "What a girl wants" and it has just stuck in my mind ever since.

Why are you trying so hard to fit in, you’re born to stand out

As humans, we love to belong to something, anything, someone, because we are essentially sociable creatures. Those who yearn for solitude are quite rare and their behaviour is fundamentally extreme. We are all guilty of changing our behaviour to 'fit in'. We've all done it and turned into someone we don't recognise. it's a fact that over time we may discover that we don't recognise ourselves any more if we continually strive to align ourselves with others. Great people have one thing in common, they stand out from the crowd. Some do it for the sheer greatness, the fame, the glamour and the notoriety. Others are more humble and stand out for more noble reasons. My very wise mother says "moderation in all things" which is such a sound piece of advice. It doesn't mean be a blancmange of a person and sit on the fence. It doesn't mean be indecisive and have no opinions of your own. To me, it means set your goals, reach for the stars, stand out from the crowd but with respect for everyone you meet. Some people will look up to you to learn from you. Others will look down on you and they aren't worth the time or effort. Stand out from the crowd and be yourself. Most important of all believe in treating people right, being happy, smiling through all life's challenges and never be happy with 'average'. I'm off to check those school reports.. ;-) x

Fabian Perez

Born in 1967, Fabian Perez started painting at the age of 9. He grew up in a small city outside Buenos Aires. Edua, his mother, was the creative force in his life, with his father, Antonio Perez, the inspiration for many of his paintings. Now living in LA, Fabian was in Cheltenham today to launch a fantastic exhibition of his work. I really like quite a few of his paintings but as always, the originals are very expensive because he's already an established artist. I went along to the gallery with Dom & J. We had a glass of champagne and a pleasant hour deciding which we liked the best, which were framed to our liking and which we'd buy if we could afford one.

Mamma Mia!

Here's my early Christmas pressie from Liz! I got home and there was a package sticking out of my letterbox. Just a plain white box and the only clue were the words 'Mamma Mia' written on the side of the box. This great package gives me 4 months of dvd entertainment, woo hoo! I can rent one dvd a week, how exciting is that?! Everyone who knows me will tell you that I'm a BIG rom com, chick flick fan. I also enjoy adventure movies, crime thrillers and period dramas. I've started to write my wishlist then I'll sit back and wait for them to drop through my letterbox.

A busy day at Origin towers.

it's been a weird day really. Early morning meeting and I never learn. I walk in and walk out with another job to do! They'd be lost without me and that's no lie. Lunch was crackers. I had a strange deja vu, groundhog moment because I had had crackers for breakfast too! Sorted out the newsletter for my new project, craftbubble this afternoon, set up my Strictly Come Crafting challenge and then went to Loch Fyne to meet Dom and Lisa. Dinner for just £11 including 2 courses and a glass of wine, how good is that. We had a good gossip and I was back home for around 7:45pm. Tv is rubbish tonight so I've been catching up on my mail and I decided to get back online ;-) x

A view from the city...

If I lived in the city, I'd love a view like this one. It's very different to mine and I'm not planning a great move, but it's interesting to wonder just how different life would be. No driving at the weekends, more walking, more noise, less friendly neighbours parties! I was just wondering...

Saturday night is cocktail night.. !

And the best cocktail has to be a lemon drop martini! All the way from Vegas and mixed to perfection by my own fair hand, my contribution to this evening was a small glass of this quite sharp, tart concoction. Why? Because we're just practicing for our Christmas cocktail party in December. The evening would see us sampling 9 cocktails in total and voting for our favourites. In that way, we could make sure we got exactly the right mix of shaken and stirred for the real thing. Here is my friend Dom & J making their Mahito, which is another one of my favourite cocktails. Lisa did us all proud by serving up a yummy homemade curry followed by delicious Eton Mess. I have to say that I missed the last cocktail due to having gone to bed early! Note to self > don't lift heavy furniture on your own because you're likely to hurt your back, doh! So, I missed the verdict. At the end of the evening, the votes were added up and guess what, my favourite cocktail is also everyone else's favourite! It came top, along with the Mahito... ha ha.

Oooops...

No, I haven't got abducted by aliens, fallen down a crafting pothole, been eaten by the biggest butterscotch-loving ducks and neither is there trouble at mill! I've just been a bit busy, distracted, overworked and yes, enjoying myself far too much doing stuff!

Back soon with pics and stories... x

Pudsey fun at Hobbycraft

Oh we had such a lot of fun last weekend with Pudsey. We even raised some money for The BBC Children in Need appeal. This wonderful bear with his big padding feet really makes everyone smile. Here are the girls creating the Quick Cards Big Card. Not an easy task but they were attempting to break the record for the world's biggest greeting card. We have yet to see if the Guinness Book of Records will accept the evidence but it was worth it just for the entertainment factor. The guys from the Royal Mail were amazing (pics to follow!). They arrived at the show at 6pm. They'd made a wooden frame so we could deliver the card to another hall. Of course, you can't post a card without a stamp so they'd also created a BIG franked stamp especially for this challenge. We're not talking about a small card here. Our BIG card was 12 x 4.5 metres!

Pheasants on the run..!

Not your average sight I'll admit! I am driving up the country lane and come face to face with about 10 pheasants feeding in the road. Of course, by the time I have grabbed my camera and got out of the car, they've started to disperse. I guess I'm not what they were expecting to see either! It's one of the joys of not living in a town or city and something I value very highly.

Obama.. makes history...

Today Obama made history.. and I'm a happy bunny too! Take 1 swan, 1 gentleman, 1 girl and what do you get? BIG H.. for happiness. No matter what happens from this point, my heart is a little happier x

Thank toffee it’s the end of Monday!

The tell tell signs of two toffee meringues! There’s nothing like a 3 hour meeting with online after a lunch of meager crackers to make you crave sugar in a seriously BIG way. The sight of my wicked toffee meringues sitting on the desk when I got downstairs was just too much for me. Two toffee meringues gone in less than two minutes! All I can say is that they were twoolly YUMMY!

Flying lessons

Mum and dad appeared to have flown the nest and left the 3 cygnets to fend for themselves. It's a great place to learn to fly and although they're still mainly grey, these ugly ducklings are starting to lose their colour and turn a majestic white.

31 steps to a Green Goddess!

Take a number 4 round sable brush, some good quality pressed paper, a few paints and lots of concentration and what do you get? My Green Goddess painting is copied from one of my favourite books on botanical painting. I decided to concentrate on the techniques so I copied the drawing then followed each step to take me from a basic sketch to the finished painting. Thanks to Marie for this idea! x

All the World's a Stage...

There are the players who love performing and there are those who prefer to be part of the audience. Which one are you?

I love people who are comfortable in their own skin, or other skins even - animal prints included! I love the fact that they enjoy being themselves and perhaps that is because I am one of them.
Here are 3 of my new botanical buddies on our last day. We were asked to display our work so everyone could see what we'd achieved. This was our 'show and tell' session where we realised what a staggering amount of talent there was in the room. I would never have imagined that 8 'budding' botanical artists could produce paintings to such a high standard. Every painting says something different about it's artist.
Here's the lovely Marie with her stunning red flower and her orange. I have managed to miss off her gorgeous green kiwi dissection, which believe me, looked so juicy you could eat it!
Here is the effervescent and bubbly Sarah with her 'bloom-ing' grapes, her orange dissection and last but not least, that shiny apple! You can see just how proud of it she is. It's so realistic it literally rolls off the page. I'm hoping I can be as good as these two one day!

So what have I learnt...?
1. I have learnt how to paint a Viola and a Fuchsia leaf. I admit that doesn't sound much but believe me, there's a lot of technique involved in those two small paintings.This is the start of a new adventure and I've learnt that it will be a long road to perfection. As Susan Hillier, our tutor would say, practice, practice, practice... !
2. I learnt that veggie isn't always best - I will always be thankful that I chose the pork over the oh so charmingly wrapped cabbage parcel! It must have been chef's night off!
3. I also learnt that I don't want to be a Hardy-ite - not today, not tomorrow, not ever! More on that later...
4. That I love writing, particularly when it's to someone who inspires me... x

A 100% record...

I have a theory about keys and hotels. I really dislike keycards. You know the ones where you have to swipe the card through the key lock. You stand outside your bedroom, holding your breath, waiting to see if the green light will come on so that you can open the door. Give me an old fashioned key any day. If a hotel has a key, that usually means it's my kind of hotel. It also means that I'm going to love the room and enjoy my stay there. So far, my theory works every time and this week has been no exception. I know Dillington House isn't a hotel, but it does have old fashioned keys to all it's bedrooms. Here's my lovely big bedroom.

Back to school..

Here's where I've been hiding these past few days.

Spot the difference..?

You might be wondering why I'm asking this question? After an evening trying to master the art of painting violas, I was starting to wonder if I was on a Disney painting course! My dear sweet-faced violas looked more like Minnie Mouse Ears than pretty little flowers. Drastic action was needed. A few words with the tutor and she was sitting at my desk explaining what I should do.

VOILA success!

After a day of practice and hours of meticulous study, I now have 3 glorious violas painted to perfection. Not these, doh, they are a photograph ;-) I'll take a photo tomorrow. I have awarded myself 11 out of 10 for stickability! 5 out of 10 for my painting because there's always room for improvement. If I want to become a botanical artist then it's not going to happen over night. It's about practice, practice, practice. I always loved drawing and it's been great to get acquainted again with my 2B pencil. Watercolour is about technique and mastering the skills involved in watercolours is certainly a challenge. It's about colour, composition, creativity and lots of enthusiasm. I also have a desire to succeed which makes me very dogmatic in my approach. Even the tutor has commented on the way I've just persevered. I don't need a perfect painting. What I do need is to feel I'm improving and can succeed sometime in the future. This wonderful house is fabulous, it's more like a 4 star hotel. The food is amazing, homecooked and plentiful, the people can't do enough for you, the estate and house are very beautiful and it's just the perfect location for any course. It's the tiny touches that make the difference. Like the way the lights dim after I've switched them off in the studio, to give me time to get to the door to lock up. The bucket of very large umbrellas for you to use if it rains. And what happens when all the brollies have been taken back to the house on a rainy day? Someone refills the bucket again when it's stopped raining so you don't have to get wet. The towels in the bathroom are wonderfully white and fluffy and when I returned back to my bedroom this afternoon, the bowl was full of fruit. Not just a measly pear and a banana. An orange, apples, bananas, kiwis and pears! I'm going to book another course here asap because it's just fabulous, darlings!!

Bits of me.. or me in bits.. !

Next time you're having a bad day, here's what to do.. posterize yourself! You can look so coooooooool too and soooooooooo much better posterized!

Lady of the Manor..

Here's 'home' for the next few days! A warm, cosy room, some excellent grub and a couple of pots of paint are all I need to have a good time this week. This botanical painting lark isn't easy and my first attempts at violas are pretty dire. They are such sweet flowers but trying to convey their delicate beauty in watercolours is easier to write than they are to paint. This place is superb. The gardens and building are well kept and even the theatre, where the budding artists are hard at work, is lovely. I was last to leave this evening so i got to lock up and keep the key. Better not oversleep then!

Splashes

I never realised my paintboxes held so many memories. Every time I open a box, my last painting is splattered all over the lid! I bought my tiny paintbox to take away on holiday with me. I remember painting fields and trees in Devon with Robert and the children. My new paintbox is much smarter. It's one I acquired at a course in Hereford. Today I'm preparing for this week's adventure. I cut a leaf off my cyclamen so I could make a few marks on the paper. Author's and artists alike will tell you... a blank page is always very scary! I didn't feel the need to finish it tonight. I was too distracted by a tasty roast chicken and the strictly come dancing results. It can be tomorrow's challenge.. ;-) x

My Picture Postcard

The view from my window is like a picture postcard. Every day the view changes and at the moment, the stunning autumnal colours of the trees are creating a stunning backdrop to the water. I feel so lucky to be able to live somewhere surrounded by such beautiful scenery. I could have chosen an apartment in Cheltenham or had a city life and I'm sure that would have been great, but in a totally different way. This view is better than any garden and particularly at this time of the year. It's like being on holiday in the Lake District, in Scotland or New England, but I'm not on holiday - I'm home and that feels so good.