It is Monday and after a disturbed night's sleep due to heavy rains (so much for Mum's prediction that we weren't due any more rain) we are struggling to shake off the feeling of 'jet lag' due to the clock change. I was all at sixes and sevens and ended up leaving a little late for art whilst John got ready to go to Emba and pick up Jane and John and take them to the airport now that their extended holiday is over. Wishing them a safe journey and I will see them soon when I return to the UK for a wedding.
I drove to Art this morning as I was running too late to walk and the weather was looking threatening at times so I didn't want to get wet on my way home. I called in to see Dad as I always do - more to check the state of the ground around him as we had had a lot of rain last night. His plot was ok but surrounded by a moat of rainwater. I do hope that they are able to start on his surround soon.
I enjoyed working on my latest project - this is a clematis flower which is fading - a bit of a strange composition but I liked the colours in the original which was by Julia Trickey and which I found on the internet.
On the right is a print out of the original which I am using as my reference and attached to it are all the colours which I think I will use to create the final picture - even though there doesn't appear to be many colours it is amazing how many you use to get exactly the shades you require!
I have my fingers crossed for Sheila and Klaus that the viewing they have on their lovely bungalow will go well - although I do say so with mixed feelings as I love my Monday at Art and having them as neighbours in the village.
We were having Di and Rob over for cheese and biscuits this evening - we wanted to squeeze in an evening before we start to have a string of visitors. It was a chilly afternoon and in the lounge it was even more so.
That being the case John decided to light the fire which will probably be the last time this year and not before time. We had a brief visit from our neighbours Gregoris and Theodora who were over this way for the bank holiday and wanted to check on the state of their house. We had warned them that they had some damage caused by the weather - no-one seems to have escaped unscathed this year so they were not unduly disappointed and having warned them already were prepared for what they saw. Dora asked me how George was and it reminded me that I hadn't spoken to him and Pam recently so decided to give them a call. George did the typical man-thing of passing the phone straight to Pam!! George is making progress and is hopeful that he will be well enough to come out in the Summer - fingers crossed this will be the case. Whilst we were on phonecalls we realised that John had not received a single piece of paper relating to his pension payments since he left the Navy in 2011. He was being paid so that was good but we realised the letters had not been forwarded when I had made arrangements with the Royal Mail and it was only now after 8 years we had thought about it - fortunately we managed to find a phone number and a nice woman who made the changes there and then - I had expected John would have to provide confirmatory paperwork and at least his signature in blood before they did that. Time will tell if it happens - we hope so! We also hope that the HMRC were telling the truth when they said they had approved John's request to have his Naval pension taxed over here for the next 5 years!
The weather has hammered my freesias, knocking them to the ground so I have cut them and put them in a vase so at least we get to enjoy them for a while. I am a bit annoyed though that where one bloom touched the wall it actually removed the paint - bloody hell who would have thought that?? I have also noticed that when John did his impromptu acrobatics the other day (ending up with the bed breaking his fall and the ladder breaking) a chunk got taken out of the wooden Dado rail we have at the top of the panelling. This year's list of maintenance is growing daily - deep joy.
So as I said we had Di and Rob over for cheese and biscuits. It doesn't look like I had gone overboard with my portion but this photograph was taken before we started and Di not only had her eyes firmly shut but also her mouth - Di I do apologise that this is not the most flattering photograph I have ever taken of you. It does amaze me that although we see each other relatively frequently we are never at a loss for something to talk about and before we knew it, it was fast approaching midnight!!! It was a really nice evening - we were grateful for the fire as it made for a lovely warm atmosphere and John is convinced that Oak is the way to go when it comes to burning!
I drove to Art this morning as I was running too late to walk and the weather was looking threatening at times so I didn't want to get wet on my way home. I called in to see Dad as I always do - more to check the state of the ground around him as we had had a lot of rain last night. His plot was ok but surrounded by a moat of rainwater. I do hope that they are able to start on his surround soon.
I enjoyed working on my latest project - this is a clematis flower which is fading - a bit of a strange composition but I liked the colours in the original which was by Julia Trickey and which I found on the internet.On the right is a print out of the original which I am using as my reference and attached to it are all the colours which I think I will use to create the final picture - even though there doesn't appear to be many colours it is amazing how many you use to get exactly the shades you require!
I have my fingers crossed for Sheila and Klaus that the viewing they have on their lovely bungalow will go well - although I do say so with mixed feelings as I love my Monday at Art and having them as neighbours in the village.
We were having Di and Rob over for cheese and biscuits this evening - we wanted to squeeze in an evening before we start to have a string of visitors. It was a chilly afternoon and in the lounge it was even more so.That being the case John decided to light the fire which will probably be the last time this year and not before time. We had a brief visit from our neighbours Gregoris and Theodora who were over this way for the bank holiday and wanted to check on the state of their house. We had warned them that they had some damage caused by the weather - no-one seems to have escaped unscathed this year so they were not unduly disappointed and having warned them already were prepared for what they saw. Dora asked me how George was and it reminded me that I hadn't spoken to him and Pam recently so decided to give them a call. George did the typical man-thing of passing the phone straight to Pam!! George is making progress and is hopeful that he will be well enough to come out in the Summer - fingers crossed this will be the case. Whilst we were on phonecalls we realised that John had not received a single piece of paper relating to his pension payments since he left the Navy in 2011. He was being paid so that was good but we realised the letters had not been forwarded when I had made arrangements with the Royal Mail and it was only now after 8 years we had thought about it - fortunately we managed to find a phone number and a nice woman who made the changes there and then - I had expected John would have to provide confirmatory paperwork and at least his signature in blood before they did that. Time will tell if it happens - we hope so! We also hope that the HMRC were telling the truth when they said they had approved John's request to have his Naval pension taxed over here for the next 5 years!
The weather has hammered my freesias, knocking them to the ground so I have cut them and put them in a vase so at least we get to enjoy them for a while. I am a bit annoyed though that where one bloom touched the wall it actually removed the paint - bloody hell who would have thought that?? I have also noticed that when John did his impromptu acrobatics the other day (ending up with the bed breaking his fall and the ladder breaking) a chunk got taken out of the wooden Dado rail we have at the top of the panelling. This year's list of maintenance is growing daily - deep joy.
So as I said we had Di and Rob over for cheese and biscuits. It doesn't look like I had gone overboard with my portion but this photograph was taken before we started and Di not only had her eyes firmly shut but also her mouth - Di I do apologise that this is not the most flattering photograph I have ever taken of you. It does amaze me that although we see each other relatively frequently we are never at a loss for something to talk about and before we knew it, it was fast approaching midnight!!! It was a really nice evening - we were grateful for the fire as it made for a lovely warm atmosphere and John is convinced that Oak is the way to go when it comes to burning!
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