Not as much as I’d hoped

We thought we’d celebrate the first day since goodness-knows-when, that neither of us had anything in our diaries and there was no builder or decorator expected here, to go to Bristol to visit the Eric Ravilious exhibition.  I’d read a report here and was keen to see these pictures first hand.  My hero was perhaps a little less enthusiastic but is always amenable to a reasonable suggestion, so off we went.

The Damien Hirst “Charity” installation on the front of the building is a real conversation piece, isn’t it?  His studio is not so far from here and I was driving past one day when this huge figure was being moved out of the workshop and into a large truck.  Of course, we had no idea what it was at that point, but soon recognised it when it turned up somewhere or other in an exhibition shortly afterwards.

Anyway, what of the Ravilious exhibition?  Well, sad to say, we were both underwhelmed.  Whether my reaction was affected by the luscious prints of Peter Reddick in the gallery preceding “Going Modern/Being British” it’s hard to say.  Certainly, that lovely airy space filled with the most glorious woodblock prints was in stark contrast to the dark and rather dreary atmosphere of the gallery where the Ravilious paintings were shown. Perhaps I’ve seen too many reproductions of the watercolours used as illustrations in books?  I don’t know. But for some reason or other, neither of us reacted as positively as we’d anticipated and I left feeling rather more equivocal about his work than I had when I began.

Not at all the usual outcome of a gallery visit!

Never mind.  We enjoyed being out and about, somehow managing to walk uphill on the way to the gallery and then again returning to the car park – how? 

I made a book

I get occasional emails from Jessica Sprague, because I’ve done one or two of her online classes and rather enjoyed them.  One of the recent emails was about a new series of lessons about working with a Silhouette or Craft Robo, as it used to be called.

I received my machine as a birthday present in 2010 and love working with it.  But I’ve never really explored its full potential, I’ll admit.  Still, the email about the class came as I was busy with other things and I forgot all about it.

Last week, however, a new email arrived, about a “next steps” class and this time, I thought I’d go for it. Reading the class notes though, I was reminded of my own failings – you know, the bit about “wanting to do everything perfectly and preferably in the next five minutes”.  Maybe I’d better do Class One before diving into Class Two?

As it turns out, I’m glad I did.  I scooted through it pretty quickly, since I was actually familiar with most of the functions and the processes.  But not only did I learn one or two tricks, I also increased my confidence about getting the machine to do exactly as I wished, to place the designs correctly on the page and to avoid some of the nasty surprises that have characterised some of my efforts.

The final project, bringing together all the processes we’ve learned during the class, was a book.  OK, perhaps I didn’t really need another little book of familiar photographs and suchlike, but it was a useful way to collate all those samples and rather satisfying to create.

In particular, I was pleased with the concertina spine, created using a piece of card cut and scored using the Silhouette.  Though I’ve made similarly constructed books before, I was glad of the precision the machine brought to the process and even though the end result is only 99% precise (user error?) the completed book is quite pleasing.

Rather than cross post my photo of the day, get a different look at the finished book here

The days fly

I wonder how many blog posts begin with some reference to the fact that it’s been a while?

Easter was lovely.  Edward was home and we spent the weekend relaxing and enjoying his company.

We had an 87th birthday to celebrate, too.

On Tuesday, I drove south and met with colleagues to prepare for a workshop on Wednesday.

And lest you think that I always travel in Mandarin Oriental style, I offer this photograph of the Exeter M5 Travelodge.

We went out to dinner, though.

Michael Caines restaurant at Abode, by the cathedral was delightful!

The ladies in Exeter the following day were delightful too – and great fun to work with. 

Back at home yesterday, we celebrated 32 years since we plighted our troth.

It was a beautiful day and yes, just a little windy!

Yes, the years fly, too.

Who knew?

In the last few months, I’ve read in several places about how, in the current recession, ownership of nail polish is following the trend of lipsticks.  I was particularly conscious of the sorry state of my own nails, being amongst well manicured American women on holiday and thought that, if there were a convenient nail salon in my village, I would probably be a regular, too.  Doing my own nails is a hit and miss affair, usually demanding just a smidgeon more patience than I actually have. 

But though I love to see well painted nails, I’d draw the line at some of the extravagant designs which I came across whenI googled “Nail Art” this morning!  You see, I’d been perusing my Pinterest page, because a pin of a mosaic egg i posted this morning has created rather a lot of interest and I’d had loads of emails from Pinterest informing me every time someone else repinned that link.  I was curious to see what else people were pinning, and I came across this…

Yes, those spotty nails in the picture have a link to a blog and I simply couldn’t resist taking a closer look.   Sure enough, A Girl and her Polish is a blog full of ideas for the most amazing nail polishes, my favourite being the Cadbury’s Mini Egg nails!!   I spent a happy hour admiring the meticulous artistry of the blog’s author – wow, if only I could achieve that level of finish on a plain nail polish, I’d be happy, but stamping?  dotting?  stripes?  Who knew such things were possible, even on practical, short nails as well – not just on talons!?

Clearly not me!

But I’m not really tempted to do this Hello Kitty design nor go for the extreme French Manicure look either.

Clearly, I’d also need to expand my current collection, which consists of two bottles of Lincoln Park after Dark and the nearly empty current toe colour of choice.  Oh, I  also have a bottle or a weird green polish which looked like a good idea when I tried it in Sephora before Christmas, and a silver one which gave my Hero the heeby-jeebies when I wore it.

Sigh.

You know, I have a sneaky suspicion that “nail art” will remain one of those things I simply admire on other people, that I’ll be the one to buck the trend and forego the spots, the stripes and the marbled finishes.  Perhaps I’ll  simply go for pale pink, for neutral or plain, conventional colours.  But I’ll enjoy following those blogs for a while, for sure (and I do so love those spots!!)

Happy Days

Not really full of sunshine right now, since the weather has turned rather more seasonal, sadly.  But we have much to appreciate right now and haven’t really needed high temperatures to enjoy them.

Last weekend, on the way back from Hull, I bought the most spectacular bunch of tulips and they continue to brighten the garden room and bring a delicious scent too.  The flowers are huge, the stems very long and sturdy and I think they are easily the most marvellous tulips I’ve had for ages.  (Marks and Spencer Autograph, if you’re interested)

Thankfully, the builders are now finished (well, almost!) the roof is back where it should be and the house is looking (and feeling) like home again.  It’s good to be here!

Not only that, but the doorbell rang on Monday afternoon and who should be standing there but a young man with a bucket in one hand and a ladder in the other.  After months of searching for a replacement window cleaner, our neighbour came to introduce our new best friend – and my goodness, hasn’t he done a grand job!

Last evening, I did a fun craft workshop for a local WI.  It’s always good to be amongst friends and last night was no exception – the “bag bling” they made looked pretty, too.  The details of my project are actually on the NFWI website, if you fancy blinging up your own bag, by the way!

This morning, I went shopping.  Nothing unusual about that, except for doing the shopping like my Mum used to do – not in a supermarket.  I’ve written here before how much I enjoy pottering about the local shops and if I had the time, I would always choose to shop like this.  A little chat about the weather in the butchers, a jolly queue in the warmth of the bakers, a bit of banter with the girls in the greengrocers and a bit of reminiscence with Octavia in her bookshop.  I returned to the car with armfuls of shopping once or twice, but came home with everything on the list – presents for a new baby (Peepo and The Baby’s Catalogue, by the Ahlbergs), a birthday gift (can’t tell you that one because it’s a secret!) and chocolate for Easter.

Best of all, about an hour after I arrived home, so did my Hero, bringing Edward with him.  We’re gathered in and ready for a family weekend at home, looking forward to spending a couple of days relaxing together and catching up on things.

 

Wishing a peaceful Easter weekend to all,  Chag Pesach Sameach and happy times with your friends and family, too!