Monday - no art...

No art today as Sheila had an appointment with someone medical and no belly dancing either as the numbers are dwindling so even though Diana and I are willing it looks like the class will fold soon which is a shame. So John and I had the day together and I have a number of signs and pictures that people have asked me for so I thought it would be a good opportunity to get one with them particularly as the weather was not too good.

Louise has asked me to do a doggie sign to fill a space in her garden so it needs to be quite large - I have sorted out the wording and sorted out the wood and have decided that in order that it lasts I will burn the lettering into the word.  The only trouble with burning is that it stinks and gets right down your throat so I can only do a few letters at a time.  I said, after I did the signpost for the Brewery, that I would not do something that onerous again but really want this to last and I know she is not in a hurry!

There are four lines to the wording so siga siga (slowly slowly) and I should get it completed with my lungs intact!!!  Anyway now I have made a start I can just pick it up as I am passing except that the pyrograph tool get bloomin' hot so that limits how much I can do at any time.

I called round to see Elena this morning - I needed to return the plates and platters that I had borrowed for the birthday celebrations on Friday.  Our neighbour Andreas's horses are out in the fields over by the old goat farm.   Anyway, I was pleased that to find that in spite of everything Elena was feeling a bit more like herself today and we talked about doing some more work on her cookery book and, providing she continues to improve, organising a garden tidy so that events can be held there in the summer.

It is so lovely that Elena's children appreciated coming to our house on Friday and Amoura had made a card to thank us for having them - I remember how much I used to moan about having to write thank-you cards, not appreciating how much it means to the recipient.  So I applaud Elena for continuing this tradition and applaud Amoura for her artwork and her sentiments - that girl will go far!!

Driving back home it is lovely to see that there are still wild flowers in evidence.  We still have a load of wild poppies flowering around us.  John and I were only saying the other day that the flowers this year are over much earlier than they used to be - had you asked us the best month to come to the island we would have said May because the wild flowers are out but actually by now they are almost over.

The weather today was not good but not anything like as bad as forecast which was storms and hail.

We had some grey clouds and a little rain but that was about it.  It was enough to keep us indoors for the day but actually that was really quite nice and John loves it when we have a day together plus I didn't have to go out for belly dancing and we had food left over from the weekend for us to eat tonight and tomorrow night so it was all quite stressless as everything was under control and could be ready as soon as we wanted to eat.

We have a number of jobs we want to complete in and around the house before it gets too hot so John is tackling the tiling of the conservatory on Wednesday and Thursday with Bassam. This means that we have to empty it and get rid of the carpet that we moved from the lounge.  I hate that carpet - I think I must have been nursing a hangover the day we chose that colour - it is so bland!  Anyway with the iffy weather we couldn't afford to put the furniture outside tonight so will hopefully be able to do it tomorrow - it is only for a couple of nights but I really don't want the tub chairs to get a soaking.  This move has caused the cats a great deal of angst as their normal sleeping places have gone.  Anyway if all goes well by the weekend we can start to put everything back and it will be an opportunity to sort the lining out on the curtains and be a bit ruthless about what returns and where it goes.

Even though I did not have art with Sheila I did do some as Kate has asked me to do another butterfly sign and I thought I would do this one on a canvass.

This is going to be three dimensional with the wording on a separate canvass which will be attached to the bigger canvass which has the swipes of colour and then there will be a number of butterflies added to it.  The paint has been added quite thickly and will take a while to dry completely so it shall continue with it in a couple of days' time.

All in all quite a satisfying day - I have wanted to get on with the signs for quite a while but just haven't had the time and John was happy that the conservatory is going to be ready for the tiling on Wednesday.

Our reward for a day well spent was to watch a couple more episodes of The Five accompanied by a bar of the chocolate that Debra brought for us when she came over.  My favourite is still the lime and chili but I am always willing to try something new.

Chivers kept me company - bless him he is clearly much better at Yoga than I am - just look at the way he twists his body and manages to sleep quite happily!!!

Relatively early night for us tonight - early start tomorrow!