so whats 30 months ....

30 months ago (2 1/2 years) I finally completed large oil painting (Challock Wood - oil on canvas) I had started approximately 18 months previously (my art work goes in fits an starts - real life and 'office' job get in the way).

Today...today, I was determined to finally hang it!  Its nicely dry now, and I've had the brass plates, screws and wall plugs for, well, long enough and the drill batteries had both been charged, I might have procrastinated over this, but I am thorough!

This morning I attached the brass plates onto the back of the frame, easy-peasy.  They were just your basic three holed brass plate that I had bought from Wilkinson's some time ago (probably for hanging work during our final year exhibition at university!...I graduated 4 years ago!).  I marked the back of the frame just over half down on each side.

The trickiest part was getting the picture in the right place on the wall - this would have been FAR easy with two people...however, I'm a stubborn, independent singleton, and although I had asked my sister to pop round (she only lives a 1 minute walk away), the weather was a little damp with rumbles of thunder bouncing around, and I'm not the most patient person in the world, so...tape measure, step ladder, pencil and a small spirit level in hand, I set about balancing, holding, straightening and marking where my drill should make suitable holes in my wall.

Being a cautious 'measure twice, cut once' kinda girl, I double checked my marks more than twice... 

Remembering something my Dad had told me, I placed the wall plug against the drill bit and wrapped some masking tape at the depth of the wall plug so that I would know when I had drilled the hole deep enough.

Then, deep breath, I drilled both holes into the marks on the wall...much easier than I expected (dunno why my Dad complains so much!).  Popped the screws through one of the brass plates and into the wall...tightened it a little then repeated on the opposite side. Then fully tightened the screws...et voila!! job done... took less than 30 minutes including tidying up afterwards. 

So, 30 months procrastinating over doing it, less than 30 minutes to complete!  really don't know why I left it so long.

very short time lapse footage of me work on  'Challock Wood'

another time lapse clip....

'Challock Wood' now hangs on my living room wall

phew!!!!! feeling hot, hot, HOT

My penultimate day of annual leave today...and boy oh boy, it was a hot one!!! 

Woke with the lark (I've done this every day whilst on holiday -- shame I can't manage it on a work day when I need to be up!!), and pottered about, packing my lunch and a bottled water in the cool bag, digging out a my huge old throw (which doubles up nicely as a picnic blanket!) and some sun cream, and generally getting ready for a little trip to the beach.

Its on hot summery days like today that I'm so pleased to live where I do - Monday saw me hopping on a train for just over an hour to visit good Ole London Town for a spot of culture and today me, my parents, my eldest niece and my great nephew (god-son) piled into the car  and took a sensibly slow n steady drive down the beach.

We've not taken the godson (he's 18 months old) to the beach in the summer before and he wasn't too sure about it all at first - refused to walk on the sand...then refused to walk on some shells/pebbles and finally refused to dip a toe into a little pool of water (the tide was as far out as it could be!!!) but after his initial reluctance he soon got the hang of it and we all spent the next few hours chasing him around!  Such fun and was a lovely way to spend a few hot hot hours - with a nice sea breeze cooling us down!

one last toe dip in the sea before home time...

Finally got home at 3.30pm and threw open the french doors onto the garden, poured myself an ice cold large vodka and lemonade and sat in the garden marvelling at my pure luck in picking this week to have off work and the glorious weather I'd had...and...even more happy that although tomorrow is going to be my last day off (for quite some time) its forecast to be even hotter!

I've already warned everyone that on my last day off...I'M DOING NOTHING...I'M GOING NOWHERE...just slathering myself in suncream, setting up the parasol and lounging in my garden...

perfect :-)

Race for Life 2014 - Pretty Muddy Maidstone

Ever since our friend Paula got her diagnosis of Ovarian cancer just before Christmas, 'the Gang' have done various fund-raising activities:

Dryathalon in January
Race for Life 10k in February
'Gang' Great British Bake-Off in March
MacMillian Big Night in May
'Gang' Come Dine with me's in January/March/May (these have been fun!!)

and yesterday, the lady 'gang' members took part in the Pretty Muddy Race for Life in Maidstone.

Such a lovely atmosphere, over 3,000 ladies, young, old, fighting fit and not so!, survivors and mourners...all there to Kick Cancer... reading some of the messages on the running numbers stickers was truly heartbreaking and inspiring.

Our set off time was 1.00pm - all of us were sporting some kind of injury and luckily this is a 'fun run' event - not timed, not competitive, just a good excuse for fundraising while getting down and dirty!!! 

I have to say, was the best (most enjoyable) fund-raising thing we've done all year and I most definitely will be more than happy to do it all again!!

happy snap just before going off to warm up!

the best fun you can have on a random Saturday morning!

Random's Mucky Fudderz heading to the end!

hot beverages and indoor play...

What a difference a day makes!

Yesterday I pottered in the garden for most of the day in lovely sunshine.  It wasn't scorching hot, but t-shirt pleasant.  

Today, grey skies, a brisk 'breeze' and by this afternoon, a fine light drizzle had entered the mix too.

Definitely not a day for sitting in the garden doing nothing.  Or so I thought.  My old school friend turned up for coffee, a cup cake and a chat once she'd dropped her mini-me's off at school, and, being a smoker, wanted to sit outside in the garden to enjoy a fag with her coffee!

Once I'd put a jumper and thick cardigan on it wasn't so bad, I also think that two very hot cups of coffee helped too (not so much for drinking but for cup hugging).  Had a lovely gossip (old school friend hadn't made it to our school reunion night on Saturday, so she needed to now who was there and what information I had managed to gather - turns out that she's pretty much bumped into most of them at some point or other at school gates, so there wasn't too much for me to tell that she didn't already know!  

As she volunteers at her children's school (I believe she was on library duty at lunch time and reading duty this afternoon) she wasn't able to stay too long and off she went at 11am.  Lose and baggy arrangements have been made for me to see her one day next week - seeing as I'm still on leave...not too sure if I'll make it...this week has gone so fast and today has been the first day I haven't had much planned...other than our 'coffee morning'!  And I really need to get on with some art work in preparation for doing some paintings for the work exhibition later in the year.

Speaking of which...

Once she left, I dug out the coloured pencils and had a mini indoor play day this afternoon...

calla lilies in the garden (will almost certainly attempt a painting of this image)

al fresco dining - a little reminder of just how lovely the weather was yesterday!

Lazy day...well, almost!!

Thought I would treat myself to a lazy day today...I am on leave after all.

Seems that lazing around doing nothing is something I'm only good at during the occasional weekend - go figure!

Was up dressed and ready to laze by 8.30am...was in the garden attacking the next door neighbours over grown hedge by 9.00am!! (only dealing with the 'overhang' into my garden...which is disappointing as the darn thing is well in excess of 20ft high and blocks out sooooooo much direct sunlight by the time I usually get home from work!  He keeps promising to 'sort it out' ....but, typical man...full of empty promises!!!) 

By the time I'd done that, cut it all into manageable pieces, bagged it all up and then got distracted with some 'tidying up' (weeding pots and cleaning decking and patio),  I suddenly realised that it had gone midday!!! 

So much for lazying around!

The sun came out just in time for me to enjoy a delightful little lunch...when a chilled glass of cheeky white wine is around it doesn't matter that it was just ham & cucumber baguette!  

Sat in the garden and thoroughly enjoyed my 'lunch hour' in the sun...butterflies flitting from flower to flower and bee's busy buzzing around - was lovely!!! 

If only I was able to live like this always, beats sitting eating a boring ham sarnie with a tepid coffee at the office desk any day!!!

cup cakes n flowers...

My oh my!!! so much for taking it easy on a 'staycation'!!!

Was up with the lark again this morning, and all ready for a morning out with my Mum. 

Off we popped to the garden centre - to buy the plants we didn't get yesterday.  I had a list, modest requirements to turn my boring and bare garden into something a little more summery. On my list:

2 x medium size pots

2 x white hydrangea

3 x calla lilies

lavender

Hanging basket

What I actually bought:

2 x medium size pots

2 x white hydrangea

1 x mauve/purple hydrangea

1 x calla lily plant (with 5/6 lilies in)

2 x white patio roses

1 x buddleja (small mauve)

1 x leucanthemum 'freak' (large 'daisy' like plant)

1 x impatiens giant (large busy lizzy plant)

did a very rough add up and was expecting a bill of approximately £100 (well, the garden is completely devoid of anything living), so, once my 'privilege' card discount was applied and a 2 for 1 offer on the pots, I was very pleased and happy with myself when the bill came in at a very modest £88 !!!! 

Just about managed to cram everything into the boot and back seat of my Mum's little car!!

Unloaded everything, and because I was up so early, and exceptionally organised (why I can't do this on a normal working day beats me?!?!), my Mum and I sat in the garden with a well earned mug of coffee and some cupcakes that I had rustled up this morning before we went out!

I then spent the rest of a dull and sporadicly light drizzly afternoon planting most of my goodies up.  The only thing that stopped me was a lack of suitable size pots! (but...luckily I know where I can get some on offer!!!)

before the trip to the garden centre....could it be more dull & uninspiring?!

Goodies all rowed up and ready to be planted

one patio rose and the 'daisy' plant in their new pots

calla lilies & the buddleja - lilies are my most favourite plants/flowers

mauve hydrangea in my half barrel

the white hydrangea's either side of my french doors

 well earned cup-cakes :-)

now I just need the glorious weather we had last week & yesterday to return so I can sit in my garden and enjoy it!!!

Summer leave - day 1

Annual Leave has started with a busy day. 

First thing this morning, once the troops had arrived (my Mum, eldest Niece and my godson), we all piled into my car for a little shopping trip to Canterbury.  

First stop of the day, The Marlow theatre were I bought six tickets for, what I'm expecting to be a rather fantastic and fun-filled night of singing and revelry at, Sing-Along-A-Grease!!!  can you imagine just how much fun and laughter this is going to be!!! not one of us can hold a note but we sure can belt a song out!!! I already feel sorry for the rest of the audience!

Once they were safely packed away, off we trotted to the large Art supply shop - Chromos Art Supplies - which is sadly closing down.

The supplies in there were very hit and miss as you can image with a Closing Down Sale, and I had a sad but brief look around (an Art Supply shop is not the place for an impatient eighteen month old).  The few bits and pieces I got (3 pots of Screen Printing colours, 2 brushes, a sponge brush, 2 meters of acetate, some silver & gold foil) rung up to £30 - £35 as they had already been reduced by 50% - so I was almost speechless when the lovely man on the till told me that as of today, everything had 90% off and so the total payable was £3.50!!! I was speechless...gave him £5 and told him to keep the change - which he refused.  He told me that they are staying open until Saturday.  I will almost definitely be making a return trip during the week...there was a large variety of pencils/pastels/paper that I want to take a proper look at and I have another 'artist' friend who is on leave this week who may well be interested.

We then had a slow and steady pleasant drive home and stopped off at the local garden centre (my garden is an empty shell of a garden, bereft of any foliage and flowers!) - we all had a 'free' hot drink curtesy of some vouchers and then had a pleasant mooch to see what plants were looking their best.  Being unable to make a purchase (there was nowhere left in the car to put any plants or pots....my Godson's buggy had taken up all the boot space that was available), a mental note was made of what I wanted (its going to cost a bit...!!!) and then we took the Godson round the corner to see the fish in the aquarium - he loves them!

Once I'd dropped everyone back home, I headed out into the garden, and enjoyed the last bit of homemade chocolate cake and a pot of tea for one...with a few art books to while away an hour or so....

afternoon tea in the garden...a perfect start to some well earned annual leave!

and so it begins...

Two whole weeks of solid, unbroken, long awaited and eagerly anticipated Annual Leave!!! This is the first time in four years I've have two weeks leave in something that vaguely resembles Summer, and surprise surprise, the weather has been less that pleasant this weekend.

As per usual, I'll be enjoying a bit of a 'stay-cation' - I'm determined to go abroad one year, but still trying to pluck up the courage (and money) to go on my own.

I've lots to busy myself with on the home front anyway - handmade cards and some paintings I want to complete for an exhibition to be held at work in November.

I've already completed another handmade card - and have another two to make during my holidays.

'Thank you' card made for my Mum to post out - inspired by a floral design on some fabric I have.

And I've already completed one painting for the exhibition for work:

Echinacea - oil on canvas

All in all, its been a busy 'creative' couple of weeks and I'm looking forward to having a bit more of a relaxed time in the studio.

The annual leave creativity took a bit of a 'baking' turn today - something I've not done in a while - and my eldest Niece asked me to bake 18 cup cakes for her friends baby shower tomorrow - even though I say so myself, I make rather delicious tasting vanilla cup cakes, and as I know the Mummy-to-be (for nearly 10 years) these cupcakes will be a little baby shower gift from me to her... I hope they all enjoy them - I've certainly enjoyed 'tasting' all aspects of them...from the batter mix to the icing!!!  have to say I'm a bit 'sugared' out at the moment!!! 

18 glorious, lip-smacking tasty baby shower pink cup cakes.

Happy Sunday everybody and roll on tomorrow and the start of annual leave proper!!!