Writing in the ad breaks

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I want to write tonight but there are a couple of really good films on, so I’m writing during the advertisement breaks. The films are on a channel where the ads get longer and more frequent as the film goes on. It becomes increasingly irritating because just when you get to an interesting bit… It breaks….. Grr.

Actually I’m missing the film now because I’m writing, but that doesn’t matter. I’ve found putting words down in a blog enthralls me. It might not be a great blog, but it helps me sort things out mentally. The cat is sleeping next to me. Twitching as he dreams. It’s nice to just relax….

Outside today

I went out with Urban sketchers today and was at an old farm near Eccleshall to draw. I took a few photos. I need to take good pictures of my drawings.

The day was grey, overcast with great rushes of wind that you could hear soughing through the trees. Starting far way you could hear it rushing and pushing the tree branches. Rooks were flying and calling in the air, scooting about and apparently enjoying it. We even saw a murmuration of Starlings flocking in the distance.

I sat on a white metal garden chair, strong but cold. I ended up folding up my scarf to stop my bum going numb with the cold. Within a few minutes I was shivering and then I got used to it although my hands started to go numb with the chill. Luckily there was hot tea available. It was very kind of the artists that live there to let a crowd of about twenty urban sketchers come round and draw everything from trees to stone dogs.

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Westport lake visit

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Late visit to the lake for coffee and oatcakes. Then took half a bag of Swan, duck and goose food for a short stroll round the small lake. We were mobbed by  Canada geese who got a bit aggressive, and one bold Swan who stepped onto the bank in front of me. I threw a handful of food onto the ground and it pecked at it before the other birds got a chance. The pigeons were not as lucky as the food was in large pellets. I tried to break them up a bit but they were to hard to split. I probably should have thrown more in the water but when you are being mobbed it’s hard not to give in and throw it down quickly.

As we walked round the lake I noticed the path was muddy and it looked like it has washed over the pathway at some stage recently. In the field by the children’s playground a large pool of water stood waiting to drain away. Buds were starting to burst on the smaller scrubby trees, bright green against the black and grey twigs. I also spotted something like dandelion (coltsfoot?) yellow ragged flowers, just a cluster of three below a group of trees. Coots and moorhens were also on the lake together with mallard ducks. The sun that had been shining all day had gone behind the clouds and only peeked out as we walked back to the car. Low and bright, dazzling us as we drove away.

I saw a face in the wood.

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Literally!

I was looking at some pine wall cladding and saw this. I know it’s my imagination, but it does look like a face doesn’t it? Especially the brown eye side….

Looks like a sad Ent, hoom, hoom…. He’s waiting to go to his Ent-moot (see Lord of the Rings book). Don’t be sad little Ent!

Rocking horse

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Another of my digital drawings, and variations by using filters.

I tend to try different filters to see what the results are. Can you flip the image? Change the background? Alter the hue, colours, brightness, contrast, size, sharpness, solidity, edges.. Make a change, if you don’t like it click the back button, or save it and put another filter over it. When I had photoshop I used all sorts of filters that I don’t have now. But what I have on this small phone is so much more than I had on one of my early smart phones. You just have to try it out.

Jigsaw clock

Argh! My hubby got a clock as a Christmas present, for age 7 and above. It didn’t really have instructions and after half an hour of looking at it he asked me to help. I managed to put the major bits together ( it’s meant to slot together). But like a furniture kit, there are a lot if bits left over. I also think it needs glueing because a lot of it is a bit loose. It’s made of balsa wood and a few bits have snapped off! It has a little pendulum, but it’s only pretend.

It does have a real electric clock inside, with proper fingers etc, so if I can wangle it together we will have a useful clock. Tick tock……

Tidying up

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We use a warehouse (old, small, with hardly any facilities) next to the Trent and Mersey canal for our art group. Most weeks we do art, pottery, painting, drawing etc. Thus week we had to clear out the kitcgen/store so that it can be demolished and rebuilt as a kitchen and a disabled toilet next to it. So we had to clear a lot of stuff out, including a lot of clay. This is only half of the stuff. It was quite heavy to move. I was going to take it away in my car but compromised on storing it in the building. It’s pleasing to be able to do something physical for a change.

Cats dream

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Quick watercolour I did on a postcard for a blind auction for charity a few years ago. You had to submit pictures on cards so they could be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

I did a few and enjoyed doing it. Just creating off the cuff pieces. I don’t know how well they did, but I didn’t get any of them back..

Here are a few more, just quick, bright and cheerful.