Peterborough Artists Open Studios

This year, 2008, the Peterborough Artists Open Studios event is in July once more. I'm exhibiting at this event again this year at my friend Prue's studio in Artherstone Avenue.

http://www.paos.org.uk/index.html

DATES
28th - 29th June Meet the Artist Central Park
5th - 6th July Open Studios Weekend 1
12th - 13th July Open Studios Weekend 2
19th -20th July Open Studios Weekend 3

I bought this plump sweet juicy fig from the Market in Granville Island Vancouver. I had to eat the fig before the painting was finished!!! just too tempting..............
Although this painting is on the PAOS website the painting now belongs to 'Pants' in Canada! I'd like to do another 'fig' painting but I can't find figs here that big and plump.

And More Rain

Yes, it the Spring Bank Holiday weekend and yes, it raining.

Well there's a surprise!

Yesterday we sort of got lost, out in the middle of the fens, looking for a car showroom that has the make of cars we wanted to view. Well, not lost really, we just took the scenic route! Of course we did. Well we were born and brought up in the area so we couldn't really admit to being lost! We would have been OK if we had gone there directly but we didn't, we went to Spalding first, then attempted to get to the place from a different direction and across country on those long narrow fen roads. The problem was our usual 'navigation aid' the war time radar tower just past Crowland has been obliterated, all traces of it removed! It all to easy to lose your sense of direction on those roads especially when the suns not shining and the typical fen landscape looks like this......................

Never did get to see those cars. The showroom shut at 4pm we were right near it by 3.55pm so we gave up and went home for a cup of tea!

It's all Doom & Gloom!

It's not been a good week.

Last weekend I had to fight with the computer resisting my efforts to go wireless. After two long session on Saturday and Sunday with tech support guys at AOL I finally managed to get my computer and the laptop to go wireless with a secure network.

The central heating boiler has died on us. No heating, no hot water. We'll just have to use the immersion heater and extra sweaters! until the end of the month.

Things started to go pear shaped again on Monday. First I arrived at the swimming pool with no costume to swim in so instead of rushing back home I had to buy a new one from reception. Oh well a back up suits no bad thing.

After lunch we decided to go over to Spalding cemetery as it would have been Ma in Laws birthday. I picked flowers from the garden for the stone as I always do and collected together cloths and scrubber to give the stone a clean after winter. The memorial stone for Ted and Grace sits under a row of majestic horse chestnut trees that are in full bloom at present. The winter and spring had not been kind to the stone this year and it took us both a good half an hour to get it as clean as we could manage. I was glad of the heavy duty rubber gloves I threw into the cleaning bag at the last minute. The roosting pigeon are not fussy where they Poo!!! It looked quite presentable once more by the time we has finished and the pretty selection of spring flowers from the garden looked really cheerful. She would have approved of the flowers but I'm sure our cleaning efforts would have come in with some comments.

Then, to our dismay we discovered the butchers we like to buy our best ever Lincolnshire sausages from is shut on Mondays.

Tuesday, started reasonably well until lunch time when I began to sneeze. By mid afternoon I had a rip roaring summer head cold. My computers showing signs of sickness as well!

Wednesday, I'm dying and live through a haze of soggy tissues and paracetamol. I missed my nail appointment. Me and the computer are getting worse. Dave had to arrange to get the car an MOT I'm to ill to bother. I really need the central heating on the weathers much colder too.

Thursday I have to miss the last session of my Life Drawing class. I thought it wouldn't have been fair to inflict my virus on a nude model. I real shame though as I was enjoying the classes and getting back into drawing again. By the evening, I think I might just survive. The computers a real pain though. It's the graphics card once again.

Friday I'm beginning to feel better. I've had to cancel my Physio appointment, Sean's mechanic friend arrived early to fetch the car for its MOT. We cross our fingers. Crossed fingers wasn't enough. It's failed big time this year. The cars got corrosion cancer and needs major surgery with a welding torch. It's bank holiday weekend and Gary the mechanic is away with his family for a whole week. Oh dear how can he be so inconsiderate!!!!! No car for a week or more.

Saturday I'm feeling much better. Computers still sick and the picture keeps breaking up. We take the car out for a last run before the MOT actually runs out. We look at several car show room for a replacement before heading off to Spalding for our order of lincolnshire sausages.

A trip to Springfields to find some replacement sandals for me is unsuccessful. There's a surprise!

On a brighter note the clematis by our back door is looking wonderful. I love that rich colour of the big blousey flowers. My runner beans are beginning to poke through. We spent some time getting the bed and support poles ready for then. Then the fight with the slugs and snails begins. We've not got so many frogs now days. The snakes either eaten then or scared them away.

Rain Rain Rain

It's rained almost nonstop all day now. I really hope we're not going to have a repeat of last summer. I remember early on last year we were being told via the 'rags' that we would have a scorching summer. It turned out dismal and wet. I read in the paper yesterday that a scorching summer was predicted once more. Oh well, we'll see. We could do with last weeks hot weather repeated in this coming week though. The Lido opens for the summer season next Saturday. It's only a week for it to warm up now as it's only just been refilled after it's annual clean out and repaint. It's temperature today was just a shivering 14 degrees. Too cold yet for me to swim in! I'm not that brave. I was driving into the city center this afternoon to pick up 'Himself' from work. It was raining heavily the visibility was not good and some of the street lights were on. It's amazing how many motorists ignore the law that you need to drive with headlight on when it's raining. I counted seven taxi cabs without lights. You'd think those drivers would know the law! Two other taxi's, minus their drivers, were parked with most of the cabs on the pavement and one was over three quarters onto the path with its nearside wheels on the double yellow lines. There would not have been enough room for a wheel chair or a Mum with a buggy to pass. Don't they know this is illegal as well and they could get a £500 instant fine! Oh well that's my 'grumpy old woman' moaning done for the day! But.......... taxi's have bugged me ever since my stolen purse and documents were recovered by the police in a taxi cab glove compartment. That and the way they cut you up in traffic! Just as well I have a bus pass now!

Carnivorous exotica

'Himself' has always been fascinated by weird plants. It use to be the cactus family but over the last few years it's been the carnivorous group. Each year he would buy a fledgling Venus fly trap, nurse it along through the summer and groan when it died over winter. Then one year we went along to the Hampton Court Flower Show. In the marquee their was the stall with it's owner that put us right. Carnivorous plants need rain water! Tap water poisons them. They also need a special compost with no nutrition. Since then we've had these three plants for several years now. He brought these home from one of the Plant Charity stalls the English Nature office use to have each spring. The Sundew has grown really big and quite likes being dropped in the pond each summer. The gnats the fly around the pond stick fast to the gluey stems
Even the sarrecenia are growing bigger this year than they have done before. 'Himself' use to amuse himself by feeding them bluebottles. Now they just feed themselves.

A impromptu biology class. Jason shows Grace the gruesome contents of the sarracenia's trumpets and explains how the plants feeds. She's impressed but grossed out!

Sunday in the City

Last Sunday Morning we headed in to the city. Not a place would normally head for on a sunny Sunday morning but we needed to visit M&S to exchange some clothes.
After parking we found we had actually arrived too early so opted to have a coffee at Le Petite Four in the open air seating area in Bridge Street. Sitting there in the sunshine shaded by the London plane trees lining the pedestrian street felt as if we were on holiday. It took great will power not to order a one of their delicious buttery flaky croissant.
This part of the city center was rebuilt during the 1930 when the street was widen to cope with the motor car. In the 1990's the motor car was eventually baned and it became the pleasant boulevard it now is.

Caitlyn meets Daisy

Last Sunday afternoon the sight of a snake devouring one of my large goldfish didn't bother Caity one little bit but this 'oversize stone' that suddenly move when she touched it sent her into a panic.Gently we introduced the two of them and Caity soon became confident enough to feed Daisy with dandelion flowers. So confident that we had to watch carefully to make sure Catie's fingers didn't get into Daisy's mouth. She's no teeth as such but her gums are sure razor sharp as I can testify to when shes chomped on my unsuspecting toes!

Drama in the Garden!

It's been a funny day. High grey cloud stubbornly refusing to disperse. Spit spotting with rain and a pleasant gentle breeze. It's been quite warm as well with temperatures about 20 degrees. A very quite day, despite 'Truckfest' across in the East of England Showground. There's usually some noise that drifts across but not today. Well not much anyway. At 3o'clock the old Lancaster Bomber flew over to do several 'fly pasts' over the Showground. I was in the garden with my camera in hand. No pictures though. It was low and a little far over and the trees obscured it.

The garden's been a hive of activity today. I think the robin feeding chicks somewhere. He's been fetching food all day long and he soon took all the meal worms we put out for him. Other birds have been feeding and courting rampantly.

The heron flew over but never had a chance to attack my fish in the pond today as the crows hassled him and saw him off with a great deal of cawing and squawking.
A different squirrel appeared in the garden this morning. This ones older and bigger. He soon decided the squirrel proof bird feeders were a piece of cake to crack.

I chased him off several times before he got the message. Squirrels have already chewed through several of our bird feeders before they've been caught and chased off.

The fish have been swimming lazily around the pond and have even started to spawn. It must be getting warmer.............................................................. They never saw Hissing Sid appear!

Arrrgh.........................He caught one of my big goldfish!!! Several times bigger than his mouth.

It went in head first. Poor fish. Never stood a chance.
Sid never let up . It took him over three hours to stretch his little mouth around the poor fish and swallow it!
Going, going.................
Gone.

Last seen Sid was heading back up the stream to his lair behind the water fall with a very full bulge in his belly. I hope that satisfies him for a few days now.

May Flowers

May seems to have brought some warmer weather and true to the season the garden is becoming a colourful canvas. My Acer Brilliantissimum has begun leaf out into this beautiful salmon pink colour. I first saw this tree in a garden of a house I was visiting some years ago so when I saw one in the garden center I bought it. We trim it to this lollipop shape every autumn to keep it small and to keep its shape.

The leaves begin this wonderful colour and as the season develops they turn to a yellow and eventually to green.
The aquilegia's or 'Grannies Bonnet' are beginning to open their flower buds. This deep purple one is the first with many more to come. They self seed and pop up all over the garden and if I'm not happy with where they are I dig them up and move them.

The rockery's looking really good this year. I ripped it all out last spring, renewed the soil and grit and replanted it. It's paid off this year, although I expect the ants nest right in it's center will appear once more. I've been fighting them for years now and they always win. It's a bit of a nuisance when I need to stretch over to week as they all swarm out and attack me!
This clematis macropetala is a picture with it's nodding purple/blue blooms. It's the first one out in the garden . Well if you don't count the winter flowering clematis Cirrhosa Balearica. It's lovely lime green flowers with purple speckles cheer up the bare fence in December and January.

I love these colourful bushy plants This ones bright orange and I have another purple one. They belong to the wallflower family but are an evergreen bush. At the moment I can't for the life of me remember their name. Oh dear 'senior moment'

A little bit of Frustation

Well himself has his birthday laptop out of the box now. That's as far as its got though. I suspect I'm going to have to set it up properly for him. He's a bit frustrated now because he can't get online yet. I have to get a new router and set the system up for wireless. I'm finding the technology a little more difficult and I'm having to take it all slowly. The trouble is the more I read about it the more confusing I'm finding it. Help! I may need it yet!