Flying tonight?

No, it’s a twig from a tree projecting from the side of a photo. When I duplicated it and mirrored it I got two birdlike objects, some stunted tree shapes, and the silhouette of the fence we were walking past. The sky had a wonderful glow, purples shading to red and then glowing golden orange. It was so clear, like crystal glass. So many ways to play with photos and come up with something new.

What to do for New Year’s Eve.

I guess we won’t be going anywhere this New Year’s eve. And yet that’s not a bad thing. Usually we visited friends to get away from the noise at the pub across the road. They were always rowdy and played very loud music that had such a loud base beat that it shook the house. Dum dum ddiiddi dummmm.. Each year seemed to get worse. I didn’t complain because that’s what people do.

So what shall we do, we might go for a walk in the afternoon if it’s not too icy. I think it would be nice to find our scrabble set, or a chessboard. I do sound like an old fuddyduddy, but I just want to be cautious. Virus news is that the infection is escalating. I’d rather stay in and be safe….

Monochrome today’s prompt

I almost forgot to post today’s prompt for our #bandofsketchers group. The category was Monochrome. I decided to draw a few Christmas presents in black and white. Is that duochrome?

Anyway I tried to draw the calendar we got for 2021, a cat moneybox, a synthetic pearl necklace with a mother of pearl pendant, and a book on Art and Illustration.

Walking in the snow

Went for a walk locally with my hubby on the flat because I’m a bit nervous of falling over on the ice. I fell and pulled a hamstring a few years ago and it was very painful so I’m cautious on hills….

We walked 4.43 km in the wet snow and ice, equivalent to 2.75 miles. In my case that’s over 7000 steps. We did walk on the road for part of it because it was to slippy. I might try and find my snow chains for my shoes…. Photos of hubby and sunsets taken near the local allotments in Stoke.

When life gives you lemons

When life gives you lemons

Leave them to rot

Forget lemonade

I like it, not!

When life gives you lemons

You know its getting sour

Your feeling down

And your temper is dour.

When life gives you lemons

Have a good cry

Remember that all of us

Are born to die.

When life gives you lemons

Make something nice to eat

Pancakes with sugar and lemon

Really do taste sweet!

Hyacinth

Hyacinths bulbs growing in the kitchen. I’d like to say I had grown them myself, starting them off in a cool dark place. But no, they came from a local supermarket that sells plants. Sometimes the plants from there are a bit dried out, or even diseased, but these are flowering nicely. A gift from my hubby.

The pink colour is good against the white snow and evergreen trees in the garden and the mixture of houseplants on the windowledge surrounding them. I’d love to comment on the scent but I lost my sense of smell in an accident years ago, so I can only pick up a faint aroma….. Still, they do look lovely.

That basket

I said I would post again about this hanging basket. I’m afraid the frost a couple of nights ago and minus 3.3°c put paid to the begonias, but some of the other plants are still going. Now they are covered in snow and more is forecast over the next few days…. I will see what it looks like whan it’s thawed a bit……

Low barometer

This was probably the biggest drop in pressure that I’ve seen on my barometer I have two electric ones that measure the pressure too and they were actually reading 962 and 958! What a drop! The gold coloured marker was what the reading was twenty four hours before. Something like 22 millibars? The result was a three inch dump of snow over the Midlands and south of England and Walesby. More snow is due tonight, but probably in the East and up in Scotland. Might be fun over New Year….

Fuzzy trees

Yes I’m playing with images again. This result seems almost like a sepia victorian image. The image is mirrored four times. Streetlights glow orange in the semi darkness. Because the snow had only just fallen all the twigs and branches were covered in a frosting of snow. Like it has been sprinkled from a sugar sifter. Castor sugar, not icing. It also looks like brocade or lacework. The contrasting lights and darks give it an antique feel. It’s surprising what you can make of a tatty photo of a snowy garden.