Wherever I Hang My Hat.....

Nearly Christmas

It's Friday night again !! What a week. The weather has turned wet and cold. Brrrr. But still milder than average. On to the news.

Mum is up and about - still slow, but she is getting there at last. It's been a bad couple of weeks for her. I hope we don't have a repeat of it !!

The kids are all fine. I haven't seen Fi all week, but Ben & the kids have popped in. Tim is here every day. They are all doing fine.

Sean & Shell are OK. Sean is back on full duty. He was on light duty for a couple of weeks after his plaster cast was removed - but it back up to full speed now. He did 2 night duties - ending last night. Now he has 4 days off. But he's working tonight. The town, Wantage, has a Dickensian evening every year at this time. All the shops stay open till after 9pm, shopkeepers and townsfolk dress in Victorian clothing, and there is all sorts going on in the town centre. The Fire Dept will be there is full force, so Sean is on duty for a couple of hours.

I spoke to Terry this evening, and they will be here on Sunday. I'll get all their news then and pass it on.

It's Jason's birthday tomorrow, and mine (and brother Terry's) on Sunday so we'll be having a birthday tea. I should get some photos then, and I'll put them up for everyone to see.

What have I been up to ? Well...cleaning, cooking, looking after kids, etc. etc. Nothing much. And painting.

Friday Night and All's Well !

Where has this week gone ?

Let's get the reports on the illnesses out of the way first ! Mum is about the same - weak and slow - but as she says "I'm bloody breathing aren't I !". Well...yes..she is...barely. But she's geting there. Slow and sure - that's her. Like a tortoise.  Meg is much better - still coughing, but bright and cheery. She didn't go to Nursery school at all this week - just spent her days with us. I think it did her good not to be out and about.

Roz - glad you're knee is improving. What is it about this family and knees ???

Everyone else is fine. Shell went for another scan this week. Look at that beautiful baby ! It is 8cm from head to bottom - between the 2 x's on the image. It's lying on it's tummy.

I haven't seen much of Jason this week - but Tim is here regularly. He's sleeping here tonight. He's at the school fete at the moment - he'll be back just after 8pm.

The weather is turning nasty. It's very wet and windy at the moment, and we're supposed to have gale force winds tonight. Brrr.

I've been painting - what else is new.

Back some time over the weekend.

Quick Post

Just a quick one tonight. I am really tired.

Mum is still not well. I had the doctor out again. The chest infection is no worse, but I wanted him to check her out. He says we need to give it a bit longer for the antibiotics to do their job. So, she's lying in bed, sleeping most of the time. She sends her love to all.

Everyone else is fine, and I'll add more when I have more time. I'm off to bed in a minute. Can't keep my eyes open.

I did another couple of paintings - one a day - that's my quest !!!!!!

Weekend Over

We had a quiet weekend. Mum is still in bed - but the antibiotics are starting to work, thank goodness. She's feeling a bit better today and might be up tomorrow.  I was ready to call the doctor again yesterday - but we gave the antibiotics another day.

Everyone else is fine. Sean was working this weekend. His plaster cast is off, and he's back on light duty.  Shell went for her scan yesterday, and they said she is 12 weeks pregnant (we thought she was about 10/11 weeks), so I'll be changing the little calendar thingy at the top of the page. Below is the first picture of our new grandchild - how exciting !! He/she is 5cms long.

Tim played football today - and they lost. Great disappointment for him. I'm sure he played his best though. Jason was here bright and early today - he was on his paper round. So he had some breakfast and then carried on. This house makes a good pit-stop !!!

I did a couple of little paintings yesterday. This is one of them.

 

Back when I have more news.

A Wedding Announcement.

Can't believe Wednesday is over and I haven't updated here !!!

Sunday was great day. All the kids were here. And yes kids, I DO put almost every photo I take on the Internet.

Terry & Jo are back from their holiday, and had a wonderful time. I'll upload their photos into an album later tonight. And they announced that they have set a date for the wedding !!!! Woohoo !!!

The date is 1st September 2007.

Can't wait. That calls for another counter at the top of this site. I'll add one in a minute. I can't remember the name of the venue - so Terry if you read this - tell me the name in the comments.

Tim was sick on Monday - he had a bad Sunday night - vomiting. So he spent the day on the settee here, and felt much better when he left.

Sean had his plaster removed yesterday - so we had Meg for the afternoon. His hand is very stiff. He went to Gym for the first time in a while today, so I'm sure he'll get his hand back to normal in no time.

Other than that - everyone is fine. Tim & Jas have been around. It's getting colder, but not too bad yet. But it's pitch dark by 5pm - can't stand it ! I've been painting every day - here are a couple of the latest.

And what a sunset we had on Sunday night. The sky was on fire !!!

Back with more news tomorrow - if I can find any.

Saturday

We had a lovely day today. Mum & I picked Fiona up this morning and we went shopping - nothing fancy, just groceries at the Co-op !! But the weather was beautiful. Bright sunshine - crisp air, and not very cold at all. Lovely. Mum is feeling much better, and the temptation to shop was too much for her !!!! She had to come along ! We also had a good root in the charity shop, and found a few interesting things. I've been looking for little things to paint because I've started to sell paintings online at ebay. So I picked up a few little bits and pieces.  The one below is a little ginger jar, and the painting in progress is below that. The painting's not finished, still very wet. I'll get it finished tomorrow.

Fi & Ben came for the afternoon - Ben was watching the rugby. Then they stayed for supper - pizza and Mum's famous pea soup. Delicious. We've just watched X-factor - love that programme, and I'm off to bed soon. Exciting stuff eh ? I said I was going to find something exciting to write about !

Painting Happily Along !!

I have been painting all day - bliss !! Of course, I should have been cleaning, washing, ironing, cooking - but no - that's not fun. I'll show you the painting in a minute, when I get the news out of the way. News ? What news ? Same old...same old. Not much exciting happens around here. It's just life - that's all. I found the first few lines of this poem online - wish I could find the rest of it. It is so apt. It says

Has someone seen the life I planned?
It seems it's been misplaced
I've looked in every corner
It's lost without a trace.

Good eh ?? That just about describes it !!

Mum is getting better...slowly. She was up almost all day - just had a rest this afternoon. I'm sure she'll be back to normal by Monday. She's taking cough mixture. Basil is fine - very busy working. I haven't seen the kids at all today. Sean and Shell are taking the three of them to a fireworks display tonight - so I'm sure they'll have a great time. It's going to be a loud weekend - and it's started already.

Here's the little painting I did today, only 7 x 5 inches, oils.

I'll have to see if I can find something exciting to report over the weekend !!!!

Little Paintings

I have been doing some little paintings - one a day, and I'm going to try and keep it up. Great practice. They are all Oils on canvas, and they are all 7 x 5ins. I'm on number 4 already.

Ethnic Beads

Unpeeled

Wooden Bangle

Eggs

A Weekend in Preston

We had a lovely weekend. We went to Preston on Friday afternoon to fetch Mum. They got back from Canada on Wednesday - they had a wonderful time !! So...we had a quiet weekend with James. We didn't do much at all - never do when we are there. It's a time to relax !! We got back home today, and the kids came round this afternoon after Tim's football match. Guess what - he got Man of the Match - again !!! Is he a great kid or what ???

Everyone is fine here. The kids go back to school tomorrow after a week's break. I think they are as glad as the parents ! Jason is working very hard at his paper round - so he'll be up bright and early. We put the clocks back last night - not nice. It's going to be dark by 5.00pm - ugh !

I took this photo of Meg on Friday - holding her portrait. Too cute !!

After Church this afternoon, Nat Mienie & Karen came to visit. It was really great to see them. Thanks for coming you two !!

Cold & Wet

It's rained on and off all day. Painted this last night. 12 x 12inches in oils.

 

Update on Pots

Not finished yet !!!

Friday Again !!!

Where do the weeks go ????

Nothing much to report tonight. I've finished Meg's portrait, just waiting for it to dry. I bought a great frame for it. I'll show you when its framed. I cleaned the house from top to bottom today - hurry up and come home Mother !!!! I'm exhausted. I never saw Meg today. The problem with Sean being at home means I don't get to see her every day. Mind you, I'm sure Sean's bored to death.

We had rain all last night, and parts of Oxfordshire were flooded again. One village had 20 houses flooded. Some of them were flooded only 2 weeks ago. They'd just got cleaned up and down came the rain again. What a shame.

Timmy has just left. He went to Youth Club at the church across the road, and Ben has just picked him up (9pm). Basil is watching Rugby, and I am browsing the Internet and painting at the same time. I started a Still-Life last night, and I'm just finishing it up. Here's the photo I took last night. It looks much better at the moment, but the light is no good for a photo.

That's it for tonight. G'night !!!!

Update on Meg's Portrait

A Portrait of Meg

All is well here. Not much happening. I'm painting a portrait of Meg. Slow going, and each layer is taking a while to dry. Progress pics below. Still a way to go.

I had to make changes to her lips - they weren't right. I've altered this just to bring up the colour a bit more (now it's a bit too bright !!). I'll show a photo when it's finished in a few days.

Friday Tomorrow ???

Where does time go ?? We had torrential rain yesterday - unbelievable. Floods all over the place. Oxford was flooded, and many villages around here. Not us luckily. The temps are very mild tough, for this time of year - about 18/19C. It feels quite mild.

Basil's knee is still bad, but better than it was. He went for a scan on it today, and will see the consultant when the results are in. It may be the cruciate ligament, or torn muscles. He's getting around a lot better, but it is still very swollen. He went to London today to one of the film studios. They want him to be a guest on a reality show -  as a panel member who will give comments on the show. They will let him know soon. Exciting !!! Ben took the day off to drive him there, and also drive him to the hospial for the scan.

Everyone else is fine. Sean is still not able to do much. He and meg came on the bus yesterday for lunch. She had her sleep here, and then I took them home later.

The rest are great, except Shell who is suffering from morning sickness - shame. Terry & Jo are on their holiday. I'm sure they are enjoying themselves. I don't expect to hear from them. Hope they are taking loads of photos ! Haven't seen Jason, but Tim is fine. Not very good at timekeeping though. A watch from me is on the Christmas list.

I've been painting - surprise ! The first colour layer on the nun - a very light layer to begin with. The colour will deepen with each layer.

I also started this one of men out of work - Irish workmen. I'm busy with the clothing - then I'll do the hands and faces.

So that's it. Boring !

Painting all day !

I managed to paint all day - lovely. It was a lovely day, beautiful sunshine with a nip in the air. Not cold though.

Tim came round for 10 minutes this morning - a flying visit. He was going with his friend to the leisure centre to swim, so came for his costume (which, of course, he had left here).

Basil has watched rugby all afternoon - natch ! We'll be watching X factor in about 10 minutes. It's getting exciting.

Here are the progress pics of the painting. She's a stern looking nun !

When this dries, the colour goes on. Wish me luck.

A Quiet Day and Painting

I had a quiet day. It rained all day - yuck. Sean is at home, so he sorted Meg out today. I missed her. Tim came this afternoon for an hour before Ben picked him up.

So...I spent most of the day painting. I finished the Cezanne copy (not a good photo).

And I started a copy of one of the old Masters, Velasquez. It's s full figure of a nun, but I'm only doing the head - in oils on canvas.

Progress shots (also not good photos). It's hard to take a decent photo of a painting at night. It needs to be done outside, in daylight.

The last photo is really bad - there is no yellow in the painting ! Must be the light I was under. More progress when I paint again - hopefully tomorrow.

Wednesday over and out !

It was a bright, clear day today - but cool.

Sean went to the specialist this morning, and they have set his hand in a permanent cast - not to be removed for ay least 5 weeks. So he won't be fighting fires in the next month at least. It's not hurting him too much, but it's awkward with only one hand, and he can't drive.

Meg was so sweet today. We went to school on the bus, and she posed for me before we left (with some of the babies, of course).

Too cute !

Tim came late afternoon. He's fine. I haven't seen Jason since Sunday though.

I also managed another hour on the painting - still not finished. I'll try again tomorrow. It's not a good photo of the painting. I'll try to take a better one when it's finished.

Can't believe Wednesday is over. Where do the days go ? Lottery draw tonight - keep your fingers crossed.

Rain, Rain - and poor Sean !

It's been raining all day - wet, wet, wet ! And it's getting colder. The temp tonight should be about 5C - c..o..o..o..o..l !

Sean and Shell are still on leave, so I haven't had Meg for the last 2 days. It's really quiet without her. But she is back tomorrow. Shell goes back to work in the morning. I'm sure she doesn't feel like it - and she has to tell them she is pregnant. Sean was supposed to go back to work tomorrow night - but plans have changed.

A couple of weeks ago he had a game of golf, and really hurt his hand. He thought he had pulled muscles. It has been aching ever since, and the pain was getting worse so he went to the Doctor today, who sent him to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford for x-rays. He went for the xrays this morning at 10 am. Well - it took all day to get sorted out, and he phoned at 3 asking us to fetch him as he's not allowed to drive. His hand is broken and in a temporary cast. Tomorrow he has to see a specialist, and they will decide what to do with it. So Basil dropped me at the JR, and I drove Sean back in his car. He had a really long day and was very tired. Looks like he won't be at work for a while. We'll know more after tomorrow.

Just had supper - fish, and Baz is enjoying Judge Judy on TV. I started a new painting today. It's not finished yet. It's a copy of one of Cezanne's paintings. I'll try to get it finished tomorrow.