My Art Education Continues...

It is Monday today and, so that I am not gadding about everyday of the week and leaving John home alone, I asked Sheila if I could continue with my art lessons on a Monday so that next week when my Greek lessons commence I can go straight from art onto Greek.  Fortunately Sheila didn't mind so my new regime started today.  We will probably ring the changes once in a while and get Sheila and Klaus up here - I cant expect them to feed me every week - delicious though it is.

Anyway before I went off to Sheila's I got washing out and on the line and decided that I should give my sage a bit of a haircut.  We have let it flower - it is probably not the best thing for it but the flowers are so pretty and it attracts the hummingbird moths that I love.  John had the bright idea of putting the cuttings into water and any leaves that I removed I put in a bag and have put in the freezer so that I can use them in cooking or let mum have some if the sage plant I gave her doesn't survive.

Herbs do really well up here - I guess that is why when the gardens up here were planted there was a proliferation of sage, thyme, bay and lavender.  There is also an abundance of the variegated lemon scented geraniums but they have been left to get a bit woody so they are past their best.  I am going to take some cuttings and see if I can bring some new ones on.

On the subject of gardening we have been looking at the front garden and think we will remove the pathway in the middle and that will give me more space for planting.  We had been thinking about decking the area where we have the table and chairs but John has been down to the woodyard today and priced up wood for building the carport, decking under the gazebo and decking at the front and it is going to be quite expensive.  The alternative is to slab but it is going to be one hell of a job getting the areas level and then you still seem to get weeks coming up through the slabs, plus if one cracks then it is a bit of a sod to try and replace it.  There are decking companies here so we might just get a quote to see what their costs are.

While I was out 'enjoying myself' John decided that he would, along with going to the woodyard and doing our food shop, tackle the job of increasing the external waterpipe so that we can use the sun to heat more water for the outside shower and then dump the excess into the swimming pool.  I hope that, if he plans to have a shower today, he checks on Chivers' whereabouts because when I left this morning I found him lying in the shade directly under the spout!

Chivers has been a little bit under the weather the last day or so - we are not sure if he has been eating lizards or gecko tails or had a fur ball because he was ever so slightly sick last night - those of you who know John will know that bodily fluids are just not his thing!

So back to my art - I am currently working on a piece in Sepia - this is all very new to me as you only use five shades.   I had no idea what to do - the sepia study that Sheila has hanging on her wall is of Kent with water and beautiful old buildings.

I decided I would try to recreate (with a bit of artistic licence) a photograph of East Portholland which is where my Dad grew up and this is the progress I have made so far.  Those of you unfamiliar with that particular piece of Cornish coastline wont know how accurate (or not) I have managed to make it but I know my Dad and I can just hear him saying "those houses never had rectangular windows".  I am hoping to make even more progress next week because I would just love for my Aunty V to see what I have done when she is over here visiting from Canada.  I just hope she will think it is "frickin' brilliant" - her words, not mine!

 

After a couple of hours of close up work your eyes begin to ache a bit so our '10 minutes to lunch' call from Klaus is most welcome.  He is such a lovely 'gentle' man and his cooking is brilliant - today he told me it was leftovers - I can assure you that his leftovers could grace the table of many a restaurant!  We had a pie that comprised roasted vegetables and lamb in a tasty gravy topped with mashed potato and something which made it all crispy crunchy on top - delicious!!!

I walked home from Villa Knipps taking the bottom road - my progress was monitored by two of the local dogs, all voice and no trousers - in fact I think I was in more danger of being licked to death looking at the black dog!!  This route takes me along the main road and then I turn up the hill opposite the Droushia Hills Taverna.  This is a bit steeper than you realise - particularly when you are walking in flip-flops!  Still this must be good for the old heart surely getting it pumping!  On the subject of exercise Mum, God bless her, had her first dip in their swimming pool today - I said she must be a nutter!!! Their pool is always a good 10 degrees warmer than ours but it is still quite early.  I can't see us using ours for a few more weeks at least, today it was still only mid 60s!

John was just finishing off the water pipe job when I got home and he had also seen Simon Cowell at the farmer's union and got some fairly lethal stuff for the drains.  We are going to give it a go and see what happens - failing that we will be looking for some road kill to put in there.  You think I am joking - well apparently not!  Look it up on the internet! Oh and thanks Klaus for the advice on the venting pipe!