New paintings and regular art updates.
Views of the pear tree. They are getting bigger and a small branch has broken off. The sun was out again today although the wind is coming from the north and cooling things down. My hanging baskets have just started to wilt a bit since we hot this dry spell. I’m watering them, but the coll nights and the big gaps in the new fence are making the yard a bit cooler. The time will come when everything dies back. I’m pleased though that I’ve found a small courgette on one of my plants!
Hubby and I, helping in the local allotment. We are helping a community project clear a couple of old allotments of weeds so they can be used for growing produce. It is slow going to get rid of so many weeds. We are trying to take out the cooch grass and convolvulus (bind weed). However we are leaving some flowers like poppies in situ. I wasn’t feeling well today so I only managed a bit of work. Its going to take a while to get on top of it. Hopefully by next spring it will be planted up and ready for a good summer of growth. One thing that is already there are apple trees with masses of apples on them. We were allowed to take a few home with us.
Digital drawing of a cat that I drew a few years ago on sketchfu. I drew a series of these about the adventures of this cat. I imagined him getting up to all sorts of tricks, balancing on washing lines, chasing goldfish, stealing steaks from neighbours kitchens. I don’t know where the other old drawings went. I have had to change my computer a couple of times when it crashed so they may be lost for good.
I really need to save things to a seperate hard drive, the trouble is I have so many images, I don’t know how to store them….
A few months ago I cracked our bathroom sink when I was dusting the bathroom cabinet. I’d knocked an ornament off it and it landed in the sink causing a spiderweb of cracks.
We just had it replaced. I wanted something with edges at the sides to stop water flowing over and onto the floor (hubby likes to splash water a lot). I decided on a square sink with sides, but I didn’t realise how big it was going to be! I laughed when I saw this. It could be a font! Anyway it’s OK, it works, it’s not bad. It’s just a bit big…..
Why do cats like sitting and or lying on things? This is a blue carrier bag with a couple of fish on it saying save our seas, I think he just likes it because its soft. He also likes the washing basket, my rucksack, a cardboard box or two, the arm of the settee, and especially my hubby’s clothes when he’s got undressed ready for bed. The cat sleeps wherever he wants.
Keeping himself clean
Soft and shiny fur
He likes to be seen
It makes him purr
Sharpening his claws too
That’s what you have to do.
When you are a black and white cat.
Not too thin, not too fat.
Just lovely, friendly, neat
with neatly washed feet x
After twenty four hours and over 13000 votes Penkhull’s flag finally won out over Tiree in Scotland by 51.5% to 48.5%. So very very close. I couldn’t resist going on twitter every few minutes to check what was happening, through most of the night! It’s silly but I’m very proud of our little village in the city.
The flag institute who ran the poll was amazed at the number of votes that were cast. The lead swapped backwards and forwards between us and Tiree. A wonderful feeling to have actually won!
I live in Stoke-on-Trent and the village at the top of our hill is called Penkhull. It was mentioned in the Domesday book and was a Royal Manor from 1086 to the time of Edward the Second. It is a village in a city and people like it so much that they had a competition to design a flag.
The flag has a golden Cockerel symbolising the weather vane on top of the church steeple. It stands on a blue ground which is for the blue of Spode, the old pottery firm in nearby Stoke-upon-Trent that manufactured ceramic products including the willow pattern pots that became synonymous with the factory.
The yellow oval and lines radiating out are for the road around the village green and the four roads each leading downhill from the village.
The green is to show that is a green place in the middle of a city. The whole design was approved by vexillologists (no I didn’t know that word before the competition) from a charity called the flag institute.
So why am I up? Penkhull is taking part in a competition being run by @theflaginstitute on Twitter. It is in the #WorldSeriesOfFlags and is up against the golden rays of barley from #tiree in Scotland. This is the final. I have not been able to sleep since I saw that Tiree had got ahead of us in the final they are on about 51.8% and we are on 48.2%? Something like that. Its very even between the two places.
Don’t know if I can get back to sleep…. The vote on Twitter ends at 11am. I think I’m in for a long night.
Leaves leave
Leafy loss
Trees shiver
Bare branches shake.
Wind blows
Northern ice
Frost burns
Firey colours
Through your crown.
Here today
Gone tomorrow….
Gold, red and green….
Brown
Mulch.
My friend Martha Kennedy just wrote this blog post and I think it’s an awesome idea. I’m going to suggest my hubby has a go!
Mallaband-Brown