Mince pies and stollen

Posted on December 26, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Christmas, Cooking, Covid, Dinner, Food, left overs, Life, Mince pie, Safety, stollen, TimeLeave a comment

It was just me and my hubby together for Christmas, but that means no pressure to get all the trimmings done! I haven’t made a trifle yet, I will probably do so for New year’s day. We had a £3.80 chicken for our Christmas Dinner (a medium turkey crown in sainsburys was £27.90!) We had a few beers and I made pigs in blankets to go with the chicken. I also roasted all the veg including the sprouts. There are plenty of left overs for sandwiches today and I don’t have to think about turning a turkey into a stew and a curry later in the week. The one thing I miss though was having a party with my sister, but I’d rather make sure we are all safe.

Owl keyring

Posted on December 25, 2021December 26, 2021 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Black ink fine line pen, Christmas day, Design, Fun, keyring, Life, Owl, Sketching, TimeLeave a comment

I was keeping my hand in drawing even though it was Christmas day. Funny what you find to draw. I was doing the cooking so I could have drawn the food, but I was not doing the main meal till later on Christmas day night (If that makes sense).

It meant I could either draw or watch TV. But you can only watch so much TV. If it wasn’t so cold and wet and windy I might have been going out for a walk. But there’s always tomorrow. My hands are always restless and ready to draw, sometimes are better than others but you can’t beat drawing and sketching.

So what to draw? I was given this owl keyring as an extra Christmas present, I might just use it as a decoration though, its got coloured stones glued to a gold coloured body and I think they would soon detach if I carried it around. I have a mobile hanging in a window and I might try and attach it onto that? Next question is should I colour it in? I quite like the simplicity of black and white, so for now thats how its staying. I might work on it in photoshop. Not decided yet. anyway I’m posting this at 5.30am after yet another sleepless night. Aches and pains and whirling thoughts. I know I should not be looking at screens, but its either this or watching TV news…

Midnight hour

Posted on December 24, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Carols, Hark the Herald, Life, Memory, Midnight, Music, nativity, Seasons greetings, Thinking, TimeLeave a comment

As the last few minutes to midnight tick down I wish I was at a midnight service for Christmas. There isn’t one this year, and it makes me sad not to be able to go. It’s the carols that really get to me. I think Hark the Herald Angels sing is my favourite. I remember being in the school choir. I wasn’t very good, I think they used me for volume!

Stay safe this festive week, and kee well. No doubt I will add to this blog tomorrow… I don’t think it will be very exciting though!

Panto hat

Posted on December 22, 2021 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Design, Fun, Hat, History, Life, Pantomime, Pattern, Photo, Spode, Teacup, Theatre, TimeLeave a comment

This large papier mache hat was made for out pantomime a few years ago, it was about a meter wide. Painted to look like an old Spode pottery design. With roman or grecian patterns round the cup. I wish we could be certain that the pantomime we are rehearsing at the moment. This is a photo I found on my phone because I’m trying to clear off some of them to make more space, but I’m keeping this one.

What is it?

Posted on December 22, 2021December 22, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Christmas, Claws, Crab, Life, my mojo, Painting idea, Present, sea life, Time2 Comments

I think it’s a crab eating a shell? I want to do a painting of a crab as a late Christmas present. Basically I didn’t get my act together in time for a birthday present and then I promised to do it as a Christmas gift, and now look what’s happened! It’s been a hard year for me physically and mentally and I don’t seem to have the capacity to do things like I used to.

I must stop moaning and get on with things. But if you get a Christmas card off me in mid January, let me apologise now! X

MAILER DAEMON, failure notice?

Posted on December 19, 2021December 19, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged address, Computer, Confused, Email, failure notice, Mailer Daemon, Time, WritingLeave a comment

What does mailer daemon even mean? When you send an email to a company after they have given you a SPECIFIC email address, you copied it down twice, then it comes back with a failure notice? Is it that they want you to fail, to think it had gone through and they are dealing with it? So annoying! What to do? I went online and found an ‘info@’ email address. I have forwarded the email there. I hoe it gets through. I included the email address I had been told to send it to. Let’s see what happens?

Leafy

Posted on December 18, 2021 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Life, Mirror, Pattern, Photo, Poem, Poetry, Rhyme, sad autumn, seasons, Sing, Spring, Summer, Time, WinterLeave a comment

Oh for autumn

Gone away

Not to be seen

For another day

Plants die back

Leaves fall down

Winter comes

And freezes the ground

Warmth has seeped

Away from here

Brilliant sun

No longer near

Frosts and fogs

Are here this year

To chill your bones

Cold winds you hear.

So come back autumn

Come back spring

One more summer

To make me sing.

Finished at last

Posted on December 14, 2021December 16, 2021 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Animal portrait, Art, Commission, Dog, little, Painting, Sweet, terrier, Time4 Comments

This took a long, long time. I can still paint but shaking isn’t helping. If I put things on the easle it’s a bit better, but sometimes I have to hold the painting to add details, then if I try and paint my left arm and hand shakes and the canvas wobbles. So I have to redo things. I wish I wasn’t getting old. Painting means such a lot to me. Then typing, the phone wobbles side to side as I stab at the keyboard. Thank goodness for predictive text! Anyway I hope this little dogs owner loves this painting, she’s been really patient. X

Lights switch on

Posted on December 12, 2021December 14, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged angels, Children, Christmas lights, Fun, Happy, Kings, Life, nativity, Photo, Santa, shepherd's, Time, WinterLeave a comment

Before and after, the local Christmas lights switch on at the top of our hill. Everyone counted down and then… The gentle lights came up on the Christmas tree. Not overwhelming but restrained and pretty. We ate a mince pie that were being handed out. The local brass band played the carols and people sang along. As the Carol service continued children took their places as characters in the nativity. Two tiny. Little girls were the angels and there was a flock of shepherd’s. Well done to the organisers who created a warm welcome despite covid. X

Art box

Posted on December 10, 2021December 13, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Found, Fun, Life, Lost, Pencils, sketch box, thirty or forty years, Time, Watercolour2 Comments

I thought I’d post another picture of my old art stuff. I’ve certainly collected a lot of art equipment over the years. The pastels have dried out but the pencils are still OK. The watercolours are a bit old and powdery, maybe I can use them in a painting.

Ask me how old they are? I think twenty or thirty years old? Certainly not when I was at college, but not long after that.

Where is the box now? I think its upstairs somewhere. This photo was taken a year or two ago. I have a tenancy to find things, then put them somewhere ‘safe’ again. Which means I’ll probably not see them for another ten years! Life….

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Time