New paintings and regular art updates.
He came in, asked for a love, sniffed our boy cat. Thought about getting on my lap. Then he walked over to the settee, kicked a toy mouse for about thirty seconds (holding it with his forepaws, kicking with his back legs), then his eyes closed and he gel fast asleep!
Meanwhile my boy cat watched proceedings but remained inside a cardboard box we’ve given him to curl up in. The girl cat is lying over the radiator on her cat tree.. What happens next?
Poppies germinate in disturbed soil so when the First World War came to an end they sprang up in ‘Flanders fields’. This then became the iconic symbol for armastice day and is used as a way of collecting donations. Paper flowers are sold in shops and by volunteers to raise money for the Royal British Legion charity.
Poppies come in a variety of forms, among which are the common poppy, probably the ones that grew in the fields after the war. Welsh poppies, oranges and yellows. Californian poppies (I’m not sure they are the same plant as I think they are called Escholsia? not Papaver). Oriental poppies, which are grown in some places to make opiates. Himalayan blue poppy (mecanopsis) one of which I managed to grow last year. Then also different garden varieties, perrenials and annuals.
My favourite annual poppy is Shirley. Lots of variety of colours from pale pinks and whites to deep reds and with different shading, also the perrenial Patty’s Plum although it’s colour tends to fade. I also love painting them….
Double ‘O’ gauge Station with a green LMS ginty engine, 060. Model, night time view.
It’s just on a small piece of board but it’s got two platforms and an engine shed waiting for trains to enter for repairs and maintenance. Behind the platform stand beer barrels waiting to be loaded. This would be a small country town station, perhaps in Devon, although LMS trains would usually be found all over the country and were used for shunting local freight, acting as pilot engines that ran in front of main engines to assist them on steep sections of track. They were also engines for passenger trains. With the 060 wheel set up (no leading wheels, six main wheels and no trailing wheels) they could get round twisting tracks easier.
The board is too small to have moving engines, but it’s an idea of how a station would have been set up in the past.
Look on any shelf in my house and you will find either a cat ornament or a cat picture or painting. Here is a little cat ring holder, sent from a friend in America, and a birthday card someone sent me. I liked it so much I framed it. Sorry I don’t know the artists name. The little toy car is a spectrum persuit vehicle? From the captain scarlet and the mysterons TV series of the 1960s. The background is my bookcase with a few novels. I liked the colour combinations. I enjoy taking photos of everyday objects…
Todays #bandofsketchers prompt was sweet so I drew this pomegranate before hubby ate it. I only had about twenty minutes to half an hour as I was going out for a walk straight afterwards. Trying to represent the seeds was hard. I had thought of cutting it into quarters but halved was easier and I managed to get a nice curved feel to the outside of it. And it was sweet.
Black fineliner and permanent markers.
Wore a hole punch as a hat…. Sat on my bookcase, surrounded by books. ‘Goodbye Mr Chips’ is one of them. What would they have thought of each other? Stern, disciplined, sometimes cruel. Were nort the characteristics of Mr Chips!
This ceramic Toby jug is based on the Spitting Image version of Maggie Thatcher. I also have a (slightly cracked) egg cup of her. That was because I used it as a candle holder.
No I was not impressed by her callous disregard for the poorest in society. Nor her attacks on the Miners and her introduction of the poll tax. So why have I got her? She was a present off a Potter who made her. She makes me laugh, to think about the ideas she had. At least she’s gone now.
Old crumbling bricks
And concrete.
Metal plate
supports the wall
Holds it all together
Crumbling industry
Industrial archaeology.
End of an era
Death to a way of life.
Father’s and mother’s passed skills
To their sons and daughters.
Now they are lost.
Forgotten
Shuttered and lost.
Clay and dust.
Ooo dear, suddenly buzzing round the front door was a huge wasp, it must have snuck in when I put the milk bottles out. It was big. A queen? I don’t know, perhaps my fear made it seem larger. Boy cat, in his cone of shame, was bouncing up and down by the door, reaching up to the letterbox. He looked very comical in his buster collar, but I was worried the wasp would get scooped up by it!
Then I saw it. It was up on the glass above the door. But I couldn’t reach it! My hubby took the glass I was holding and got a bit of paper, quickly covered the wasp and I opened the front door. Off it flew.
I can’t tell you what species of wasp it was. All I know is it seemed to have a large stinger. I hope it finds somewhere to go, but not in my home.
X
Another friend and her son have tested positive for Covid19. I haven’t seen them for months but I’m very worried. Both are asymptomatic at the moment, I hope that continues. I just wish people would be careful…. Just a sneeze or a cough can spread droplets that land on door handles or chairs or plastic packaging. I had to fend someone off yesterday because she tried to hug me! I felt so close to going in for a hug, but I made an excuse about my sore shoulder. Everyone needs to be so careful.
X
She was searching for the keys for the back door…
She had let herself in the front door with a key she had found in the street. It had just been there, in the gutter. Perhaps fallen from a pocket? The address was stuck to it with a bit of sellotape. She wondered why and pondered if the person it belonged to was forgetful….
She decided to try and find the house or flat it was from, so she looked it up on her phone. Success, only two streets away. She would go round and drop it off.
A few minutes later she was outside a large, smart house. Set back in a large corner plot. Bushes and trees and a neatly trimmed lawn. She walked up the gravel drive, her feet crunching so loudly she was certain any occupent would hear her coming.
She knocked on the big blue door. And gazed through the frosted glass to see if she could see movement. But nothing but silence greeted her.
She knocked again, should she post the key through the brass letterbox, or wrap it in some paper from her bag and leave a message?
There was no reply so she pulled the key out of her bag. But she looked at the door lock. Why not? She knew she was being nosey but…. She lifted the key and unlocked the door. ‘Hello’ she called loudly. ‘Anyone home?’ No reply again…. She walked further in, looking around. A marble floor, beautiful paintings on the wall. Swag curtains on the windows, made of blue and green velvet. That was just the hall! Gradually she explored the downstairs area, reception rooms, beautifully decorated and furnished. A dining table set in a plush dining room. Each more luxurious than the last. She passed admiring glances over the fully fitted kitchen. An island! How did people afford such luxury?
Suddenly she heard the front door slam… She hadn’t locked it, whoever was there would have noticed that. ‘Who’s here?’ came a loud male voice. She stood still and silent, the shout came again, louder now, exploring. Heavy footsteps running upstairs. Now was her chance. She ran into the utility room where she had seen the back door. Keys hung on a board together with a Swiss army knife. Scrambling she tried to find the key to the back door. Keys fell, crashing loudly to the floor. ‘Who is there? ‘ Louder, closer, feet rushing. I’ve got to get out, anywhere, maybe I can hide in the back garden or find a side gate? She thought in a panic…..
Outside, running. Towards the gate. Feet running after her, he grabbed her wrist. Thrust the knife blade towards her throat. ‘Who the hell are you?’ he screamed in her face…..
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