Art...

After several weeks without Art I was going this morning and I have almost forgotten what I am doing!!!  The picture is nearing completion but as I started it so long ago some of the early bits will need some retouching.

This has been a challenge to get the feeling of dimension and this is where, when I look back at my earliest work, I think i have improved the most.

I have no idea what I will tackle next - a lot may depend on where Sheila and Klaus are going to be living because now that they have secured a buyer for their house they are busy in search of their new home, I know they want to stay reasonably local if they can find the right rental property and this is what they are focusing on at the moment.

Sheila has been working on a picture which I am guessing is an illustration from a children's book.  She has done similar in the past and I think they have proved to be popular.

It was lovely to spend the morning with Sheila - we worked quite hard bearing in mind that we had such a lot to catch up on.  They both seem to have an extra spring in their step now but obviously they aren't going to be 100 percent happy until the sale is completely finalised and they have found their new home.  Fingers crossed neither of these things will take too long and of course I hope they will be living relatively nearby - Droushia will not seem the same without them.

I was pleased to learn that the new owners are cat lovers - I think Sheila said the lady had her own but that she didn't mind the small colony of outdoor cats which have attached themselves to Klaus and Sheila, which is good news for the cats at least!

I called into the cemetery.  It is the second anniversary of Dad's passing tomorrow and I wanted to take the trough from the bottom and plant it up with the Dianthus that Mum has bought.  I will rescue the succulents that are in there and put them somewhere in our garden.

Mum is coming up and we will all go to the cemetery together and then we will go for lunch and raise a glass to Dad at Fitos - he would have loved that.

Getting the trough out wasn't as easy as it looked and it is attached to a drip tray which was full so I got a bit wet when the final yank prized it free.

I had driven right up to the grave because I wasn't sure how heavy or dirty the trough might be.  The approach to the grave is absolutely sodden and I spent the hole of the journey home showering sods of mud as I went.

I was a bit concerned because I hadn't seen Little Dog or her remaining puppy either on my way to Art or on my way home but John put my mind at rest because he had gone down to see Rob and had spotted her.  There is now another dog (a bit like a Beagle) hanging around so we need to make sure, if we put down food, that the right dogs get it.

John and I went down to the woodyard this afternoon to get the remaining wood for the conservatory project.  We managed to get most of it on the roof bars but John decided he would go back down early tomorrow morning to cut the tongue in groove so that he can bring it home safely.  We shall be able to crack on with that job once we have a day spare.

We called into the Farmer's Union building and grabbed a bag of compost - probably the most expensive we have bought but it saved us going back into Polis and getting one.  We used to use the Union all the time when we first moved over - it is the Polis equivalent to Miles Hardware (which readers from Yeovil will appreciate).  It was a right old Aladdin's Cave and was managed by a man with trousers hoisted up under his armpits like Simon Cowell.  The Union is now half the size it used to be as the other half of the building is now used as a store for Latchi Watersports.  Anyway back home I cleaned up the trough and planted it and we decided to put shingle on the top to keep the moisture in, the weeds out and the cemetery cat population at bay.


The weather deteriorated badly today and by early evening it was absolutely hoofing it down - so much so that John had to go out and pump the pool out at one point.

As we have plenty of wood we are continuing to burn - it is so much more cosy at night anyway and the cats really appreciate it.  In fact we couldn't get near the fire.  If you look at the photo quickly Minnie looks like she has sprouted devil's horns but if you actually look closely it is the edge of the ham-stand that is behind her!!

Chivers was doing his Greta Garbo impersonation and was 'wanting to be alone so had taken up residence on our bed.  The strange thing is that when we turn in he gets up and goes into the lounge and the other three then jostle for position on the bed - Charlie sleeps at my feet, Boris between us and last night Minnie decided to sleep on my head - the good thing is she only stays for a short period of time and then gets too hot and goes into the lounge to join Chivers.