It is the start of a new week and the weather forecast for the foreseeable future is much more like we would expect for this time of year. This new week brings about the start of a new picture for me. When we were down at Yiallos the other day I bumped into Marion and David - she has long admired the pictures that I have done and she asked me if I would do one for her. I said if she could get me a photograph of something by the end of yesterday I would have a look. She sent me a picture from a holiday she had had in Australia and although it wasn't brilliant quality I found other photographs of the same beach on the internet and have cobbled together something which I hope I can recreate.
I always go and visit Dad on a Monday. Some of the flowers which we put on his grave for father's day have taken a hammering so I threw one lot away and tidied up what remained and dead-headed the others.
We have a little chat - and I tell him what has been going on.
If the little church is open, which it generally is, I normally go inside - not least because it is cooler. I am not a particularly religious person but I do recognise the comfort that a place like this, with it's peaceful and calming atmosphere can bring. I ask the powers that be to look after my family and friends wherever they might be and then continue on to Sheila and Klaus's.
Both Sheila and I are working on new pictures. The subject matter for my new picture is one that I have tackled previously but a long time ago and when I did it before my inspiration was a painting and not a photograph and a poor quality photograph at that. You normally start your picture by using a black and white photocopy of your original and some carbon paper and marking out some key points which help to ensure that perspective and proportion are kept true. Due to the technical nature of this picture it took me the best part of the morning to put in my key points - opting to more or less recreate the picture using the carbon. There is good reason for this - I cannot seem to 'do' straight lines and there are an awful lot of them in this picture! Anyway because this is for someone specific I won't post too many pictures on-line as I really should let them see the finished article first.
As we were getting ready for lunch (one of my favourite's as it happens as Klaus had made meatballs with a mushroom gravy/sauce and what he calls potato pancakes and what you might call rosti although he reliably informs me they are two very different things) I took a good look at Sheila's orchids which seem to thrive in her care. My favourite is the white one with purple spots which looks fabulous and would, as she rightly points out, make a great subject for a picture at some point.
My afternoon was spent firstly cleaning out all the food cupboards - not scheduled but John had seen something which may have been little ants or may have been those weevil things that take up residence in dried goods - either way they were to be evicted and it was a good opportunity to check exactly what we had and what needed eating up or throwing away.
The shelves are like something out of Sleeping with the Enemy and John is a happy bunny - he loves and shelf that can facilitate his man looks.
Once this was done we turned our attention to the front garden at George and Pam's which probably has a number of Japanese snipers living in it because they do not know the war is over. It is so overgrown it will take several green bins to get rid of what we pull up or cut down. I know that George and Pam like to have some colour in the front so we are hopeful that if we cut things back now it will have grown back sufficiently by the time they come out which is usually in August some time. I worked my fingers raw - literally - and it is my fault because I don't like working in gloves. There were some spiky things with almost invisible spikes that lodged themselves into my fingers and which I know will cause me serious gyp in the morning. Before and after photographs shows progress so far - who knew there was that big old spiky thing - it was completely hidden.
I always go and visit Dad on a Monday. Some of the flowers which we put on his grave for father's day have taken a hammering so I threw one lot away and tidied up what remained and dead-headed the others.We have a little chat - and I tell him what has been going on.
If the little church is open, which it generally is, I normally go inside - not least because it is cooler. I am not a particularly religious person but I do recognise the comfort that a place like this, with it's peaceful and calming atmosphere can bring. I ask the powers that be to look after my family and friends wherever they might be and then continue on to Sheila and Klaus's.
Both Sheila and I are working on new pictures. The subject matter for my new picture is one that I have tackled previously but a long time ago and when I did it before my inspiration was a painting and not a photograph and a poor quality photograph at that. You normally start your picture by using a black and white photocopy of your original and some carbon paper and marking out some key points which help to ensure that perspective and proportion are kept true. Due to the technical nature of this picture it took me the best part of the morning to put in my key points - opting to more or less recreate the picture using the carbon. There is good reason for this - I cannot seem to 'do' straight lines and there are an awful lot of them in this picture! Anyway because this is for someone specific I won't post too many pictures on-line as I really should let them see the finished article first.
As we were getting ready for lunch (one of my favourite's as it happens as Klaus had made meatballs with a mushroom gravy/sauce and what he calls potato pancakes and what you might call rosti although he reliably informs me they are two very different things) I took a good look at Sheila's orchids which seem to thrive in her care. My favourite is the white one with purple spots which looks fabulous and would, as she rightly points out, make a great subject for a picture at some point.My afternoon was spent firstly cleaning out all the food cupboards - not scheduled but John had seen something which may have been little ants or may have been those weevil things that take up residence in dried goods - either way they were to be evicted and it was a good opportunity to check exactly what we had and what needed eating up or throwing away.
The shelves are like something out of Sleeping with the Enemy and John is a happy bunny - he loves and shelf that can facilitate his man looks.
Once this was done we turned our attention to the front garden at George and Pam's which probably has a number of Japanese snipers living in it because they do not know the war is over. It is so overgrown it will take several green bins to get rid of what we pull up or cut down. I know that George and Pam like to have some colour in the front so we are hopeful that if we cut things back now it will have grown back sufficiently by the time they come out which is usually in August some time. I worked my fingers raw - literally - and it is my fault because I don't like working in gloves. There were some spiky things with almost invisible spikes that lodged themselves into my fingers and which I know will cause me serious gyp in the morning. Before and after photographs shows progress so far - who knew there was that big old spiky thing - it was completely hidden.
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