Agricultural Show people

Today was a lovely day, warm and sunny, John and I went over to Yankalilla to have a wander around the Agricultural Show, the first of our district shows. I took lots of photos and did some sketching in between meeting friends and buying the odd geranium, a gorgeous pale pink ragged flowered one.
These people took my eye, I dont know where the child was that should have been in the pusher but I loved the plants that were there, geraniums, statice and kangaroo paws.
I am not very good at people so have been trying to practice them.
Came home to a late lunch and a new foal. Our grand son is busy mowing paddocks for silage so John was keeping an eye on him. Watched the Grand final of the football match in between doing a heap of other things, I wasnt fussed who won but it was a good close match, won by one point.
This is Australian Rules football, like no other football in the world!
My daughter and grand daughters came home to tell me that the galloway hack had gone Supreme hack of show so they were very pleased with themselves.

Road sign

This is the other road sign that I like, although for some reason the background has come out more orange than yellow. We dont have any like this around they are up in the Adelaide hills.
I was up very early this morning as I had to have my 4 monthly blood test, best to get in early as no breakfast until after and today I had to shop so not until about 10. 30 when I got home. Boy was I hungry by then.
I have organised my youngest grand son Will's Birthday present so that John can post it next week while I am not here, I made his card and also made the card for my friends 80th, boy from 8 to 80 what a difference.
Busy busy today, suddenly at about 3 I felt very tired. I am still having to get organised for Monday. Fancy finally going back to the school where I spent 12 years of my life and as I left said I would never return. I dont suppose I will know it.
My garden smells just heavenly at the moment, the purple crab apple is flowering now and I had to move the hose from under it and oh what a lovely perfume.
Not much time for drawing, although several backgrounds got painted.

A grid

Well this is a sort of grid, somethings didnt quite fit into their allotted spaces, I sat in my sitting room and moved from chair to chair looking at some of the many things I have and drew what took my fancy. It was great fun. I think next time I will colour it but I didnt have time to do that. I am not sure if I need to explain them all but the wavy thing in the middle is a carnival glass bowl of my mothers, there is a clock, a cheese dish, a cushion, a hanging lamp, a japanese doll,, the handle on our wood stove, a pair of bellows and an embossing stamp machine. Oh and books and the door on one side of a chinese cupboard and the fire irons.
There are lots more things in there, it is a big room but is now rather more cluttered than it was with my mothers stuff as well.
I have been busy doing mundane things like washing and cleaning, no fun at all.
Made a necklace for a friends 80th Birthday, hope she likes it, couldnt think what to give her.
The Japanese wisteria is smelling very spicy as the day is warming up.

Wisteria and a bracelet

I havent posted for a couple of days, on Monday we went to Adelaide all day, saw my mother, John saw the accountant and we both came home tired.
I think we both have hay fever, I know I have which is stopping me from enjoying my garden but I had to take this photo of the Japanese wisteria that is growing over the ornamental plum by the back gate into the house. I have never seen it have such long racemes. It is paler than the normal wisteria, I bought it as white which it is not, and it is later than the other shorter fatter one, I love them both. I had trouble trying to photograph it as there was a lot of shade one way and sun the other. The garden, if you dont look at the weeds, is really spectacular at the moment. I just need to find the time and energy to get at it.
Last night was beading, the last for 2 weeks and I finished this cuff bracelet, finally, I didnt much like it while I was doing it but really like it now.
John was on the computer for most of yesterday and so my time would have been last night but I wasnt home so that is why I have now finally got back to blogging. He has just left for a meeting.
Looks as if my hopes for a small car have been dashed once more this time, well I shouldnt say this time it is always, the weather and no money and its all the wrong moment. I have to say I wasnt at all pleased as I actually thought it was coming out of John's sitting fees but I guess we have to eat. I love this farm and my house and garden but with another bad year looming sometimes I wish we earnt our money another way. Too late for us at our age, people keep asking if we are retired. Huh!! I think if we can hang on we will go out in a box.
Bad bush fires in the Sydney area over the week end and that is another worry as I think we are heading into a long hot and dry summer. Sydney is a long way from us but they should not be having bush fires in September, normally after Christmas.

A to Z journal RR

I spent most of today doing my journal page for Connies A to Z journal RR fom another list that I am on.. All painted my inspiring thought was Portal, did it all then discovered that two pages back there was another Portal on pages that had stuck together, so Port came in as well. That is the problem with some of these journals the paint glue becomes very sticky. So there is a Whoops card stuck in as well that you cant see.
Any way I had fun doing the bricks in acrylic paint and then cutting out the cirle and painting in watercolour the little port scene with the flowers on the back of the circle done in Pitt pens.
Amazing how many techniques one can use.
The grandchildren have gone home and so has the howling Spot the dog. They had a lovely time making sushi (Pen where are the ingredients) having early lunch (Can we have soup?) and making hot lemon drinks. I didnt get any of the sushi they ate it all. Oh well.
Thier mother came home to collect them and brought the photos she had taken while up in the desert country 3 hours west of Alice Springs. The flowers were interesting and lovely. I would love to get up there one day.

EDM Challenge Favorite shop

I went over to Pt Elliott the other day, which is a neighbouring small town on the coast and the old main street is full of these fascinating cottages that have been turned into shops, I am not sure if the one on the corner is really on quite such a slope but the road goes up and down and the impression is definetly of slanting cottages. This one I find dangerous to go into as it has all sorts of "stuff" from old lace and threads to new material, books second hand stuff, you name it they have it.
These little cottages are very typical of the style built I think around the 1880's in all the old areas of the south coast towns.
Several Coffee shops and one a friend of mine lives in that was a shop but is now their home with the porcelaine dolls she makes and the wonderful chocolates he makes as side lines. Their garden out the back although tiny is a delight.
I have to say that where I shop normally is a large shopping complex devoid of any character at all.
If I had to retire I would think about living in this small town, but out the back in the new area it is not so nice.
I think there are spelling mistakes all over the place in my blogs, sorry Virginia but what can you expect from a slightly dyslexic whose mind runs on faster than her fingers!!

First foal for the year

This is what I saw when I went for my walk this morning, our first foal and not the one I was expecting, two more have waxed up so I guess they will foal either tonight or tomorrow night. This one is a filly and the first foal for this little Welsh Section B mare. She will go grey like her mother eventually. It is always exciting to have the first one, then you hope that the rest will have them safely.
I used to be up every 2 hours watching to see that all was well but inevitably they had had them inbetween my 2 hours and if there is a problem I would be too late any way so now I get up at dawn and check that all is well.
I had a very quiet day apart from that as my torn muscle in my side kept me awake most of the night, sitting wasnt very comfortable and so I sorted out my beads which meant I was standing for most of the time.
Grand children arrived off the bus and I think their mother will be home late tomorrow night as they left Alice Springs this afternoon.
Gale force winds but very little rain. Not good for our pastures.

More photos from the garden

I am tired and havent much to report, no drawing done so far today and I feel guilty, should I? Probably not but I still do.
My side has been annoying me, and I didnt sleep well last night, nothing new but I went to see a friend and she gave me some Salvia ungularis for the garden I have had this for years and suddenly that and Borage disapeared, we had a coffee and a chat, and I then collected my dolls from Wendy that had been exhibited at the dolls and decorative arts fair.
The dogs are still screaming at each other, but thank goodness not at night.
Still no foals, one mare I was up during the night to see but she hasnt yet, probably tonight when I dont want to get up.
This is the plum tree in the orchard taken from over the wall in the walled garden. I think I should have cropped this photo a bit!

The Anchorage

This is one of the last Guest houses left in Victor Harbor, there used to be quite a lot but one by one they have been bulldozed.
Luckily this one has been turned into a succesful restaurant/coffee house with fascilities for small conferences and rooms to stay in right on the sea front.
Such a shame that the rest have gone but most were not built very well and had salt damp, this one may too but somehow, probably because of its situation has survived.
My favorite place for coffee and consistently good meals. The railway line is at the back so at weekends you can watch the steam trains go by as well.
Back to winter conditions today, freezing cold and drizzly rain and so the fire has been lit again.
I am having a sort of quiet week this week, doing the garden and a few indoor jobs, stupidly I pulled a muscle in my side yesterday pulling weeds.

More Spring flowers

I picked this lovely vase of pear blossom this morning, the flowers are just gorgeous and then as I was wandering around I saw this lovely grouping of wisteria and arum lillies and bird of paradise flowers, yes and some weeds as well, oh well. I havent got to that bit of the garden yet.
I spent a couple of hours weedng in the walled garden this morning before the rain came in, lovely rain, not a lot but at least it helped where I had put sprinklers.
So hot the last few days and now cold and windy.
I am having huge amounts of problems with the dogs, the bitch in season has been trying to get out, the fox terrier is trying to get in and so has the male pug, One on one side howls, the other on the other side howls and she barks! At least I now seem to have them all confined where I want them. The extra male dog which is my grand daughters dog is not what I need at the moment. I am getting quite good at finding the odd bit of wire mesh and wiring it together.
I did draw the sleepy lizaed but he is on my other blog (see Links)

EDM Challenge Bread & Sleepy lizard!

First of all here is my newly baked loaf of bread, done in my breadmaker and not perfect! Its top slanted a bit, but then I do add things to my bread mix that are not listed in what I should put in it, like physelium husks and rolled oats because we like a white bread mix but I pander to my cholestorol. Not the best sketch but adequate.
The other photo is of the sleepy lizard John and I found on our walk on Sunday, he had newly shed his skin and was walking along purposfully. They are giant skinks with blue tongues that is one of their defence mechanisms, pretty pathetic really, they open their mouths wide and hiss and you pick them up from behind their heads and they are gentle and lovely and I have never been bitten by one. I used to keep them as pets when I was a child, they are about a foot long and really only want to mind their own business. As John said a mini dinosaur. Lovely things.
Today I caugaht up with things, weeded and cut back in the garden, no husework of course unless you count a load of washing, dishes done and a swept floor or two.
Picked some lovely flowers, some flowering pear, flowers from the elm and some freesias. The wisteria is in full bloom and smelling wonderful but it was very warm and humid today but with unfortunatly no rain. So every hose has been on and in a 2 acre garden that is a lot. Luckily the springs manage to keep up.

Sunday walk

Well I have just uploaded photos and chat that was supposed to be on this blog onto my sketchbookand walking blog, and no sketch on that or this one!!
Must have been the extra 1/2 glass of white wine I had tonight, no red as it was fish.
Any way it was a wonderful day for a walk, far too warm but delicious just the same, big rolling swells coming in and the surfers out in force, I was trying to catch the white horses on the top of the waves as the wind caught the break, not always succesful. This shot was taken from the beach, the others (on my other blog, see links) from the cliff walk.
We are so lucky to have this within minutes of home, and a decent coffee as well minutes from here.
I spent the rest of the day in the garden which needs it desperatly, so no time to sketch, and too tired as well.

Unfinidhed test piece

I didnt have much to put up today so I scratched around and found this bit of fabric that I am working on, basically it is a sandwich of scraps of wool under some black chiffon, over a piece of painted bondaweb on a piece of panne velvet. I am embroidering a few knots and then, well I am not sure, possible score back with a soldering iron, shiva stick, zap with a heat gun. No decisions yet.
Today we were up early after dinner last night and me with cramps in the legs all night, to Adelaide and the Native Orchid Show, wonderful smell of the native epiphitic orchids, I bought a couple but some of mine are as good as i saw today, but would love one or two of the newer crosses that are out. We then went on to the Peugot dealer to test drive their little deisal hatchback, a lovely car to drive and not with the feel of a small car, but with the season turning pear shaped perhaps not for us.
We went back to McLaren Vale and had a light lunch and I sketched a shed out the back in the car yard, it is in my http://penny-withmybootsandsketchbook.blogspot.com Oh bother it isnt highlighted, why doesnt it do that or does it do it when I have published my post? Any way its is in my links.
Very warm wo we called into Pirramimma to get a flagon of port and some lime cordial, an odd mix but there you go.
Home and I had a small sleep, to catch up on what I didnt have last night.
Walked and fed the dogs, fed the chooks and watered the pots and put on hoses.
Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon followed fresh asparagus out of the garden and a glass of white wine. Easy and good.

The old road

This is the old Back Valley road where I had been walking. Lovely trees and the track winding through them. I went into Victor this afternoon and did a painting in there which is on my other blog, see the links, but one painting was enough for today as I am still feeling pretty tired and I have to go out to a rather boring dinner tonight. Not even sure what I will wear, pants I think.
We have had to move ponies around, mares due to foal, those going in with the stallons. Oh someone asked if I painted or drew them, no I am hopeless at them so I dont even try. I suppose I should then eventually I might get them right.
Oh Jake is in the foreground of this photo, I dont think I realised he was there, and that is probably about where I saw the snake, coming back tho not the way the photo is taken.
Well I had better walk the dogs and feed them and the chooks and think about what exactly I have to put on. I cant get enthused.

Beaded and embroidered dolls

I am making a few more of these little dolls to sell and finally got around to getting them photographed.
I havent been fealing very well today, put together a small modular stack and it smelt rather funny and I hope I havent got a nasty from it. I have felt giddy and sick since getting it done. Of course it could be anything, some sort of new wog around. I have two of my grandchildren tonight so I am supposed to be fealing fit and well.

Bracelet

Last night at beading this is what I made. Very speccy and very easy, they may become Christmas presents for my granddaughters.
Today I drove to Adelaide to see my mother, she was feeling rather tired and was on her bed when I arrived. I think the cast on her leg is heavy and awkward to move. I stayed with her until her lunch was ready and then visited Paddy who gave me soup for lunch and then headed down to Bunnings to buy some plants, more than I meant to get but things are really very expensive these days. They didnt have the seedlings I wanted but I did get some Thai mint which I have been meaning to get for ages and replace the borage I lost in the dry weather last year.
From there I drove on to Spotlight and bought some more bead findings to make more bracelets.
Home collecting the mail and that was about it. No walk tonight I am too tired.
A few spots of rain as I was nearing home.

Urk! snake!

This morning I again walked along the old road with Jake, this time with my camera as yesterday I really liked the play of shadows on the old track, not quite so good this moring as there was a bit of high cloud but on my way back as I was mindlessly thinking of not much when I saw this black snake, he was very shiny and newly out and about, they can be quite agressive at this time of the year and after I had taken his photo and backed off he lifted his head and flattenned it out a bit like a small cobra. Not a very big snake but big enough for me. I was glad Jake hadnt seen him.
I hav good intentions today of doing all sorts of things but have been inside trying to work out how to use Xandaprint with my textile stuff. it doesnt seem to work as I think it should.

Normanville again

I took this photo yesterday when we walked at Normanville, we had to cross the Bungala river (well that is what it is called and this is it). I didnt even get my feet wet as there were some odd sand bars we could jump to.
Dont you love the way the sand has been eaten away the ripples on the water and the sun glinting on the sea.
Sometimes I think I may be a better photographer than draw/painter.
Today was another lovely Spring day, I went shopping and came home with (more) pots but the seedlings I was looking for were not in. Bother, so I will plant the lettice seedlings in some hanging pots instead.
I pulled some weeds, planted some plants and did a huge walk down the old road. Came home and have been trying to get some textile stuff worked out, not sure how it is going and if I like what I am doing but it maybe ok.
If you want a sketch there is one on my boots and sketchbook blog in the links.

Normanville

Today John and I went walking over on the Gulf coast of the Fleurieu Peninsular, where as a child I spent a lot of my time. A stunning day after the last week of cold weather and rain, blue sky and blue sea.
I found lots of shells and a few cowries and took photos.
We came home and on the whole had a slow and pleasant day, a bit done in the garden, so much is coming out in the garden now.

Spring Flowers

Time I dont seem to have a lot of, yesterday cleaning the house and organising for our local Mayor and his wife for dinner, it does help that they are friends but I still had to clean the house and think about a decent meal for them.
Today I raced up to Adelaide, not to see my mother but to go to the Cloth Doll and Decorative Arts exhibition and take up the biscuits I had made. I had a lovely time buying a few bits and pieces and seeing friends.
Then drove home to listen to my football team win their match. Hooray as they had been in a bad patch. Finals fever is upon us.
So I sat and sketched this vase of flowers that I had picked for the table last night, I think these are the last of the daffodils and some freesias and some white large scilla, I am not sure which scilla but they were called Spanish ones when I bought them. I must look them up. The vase is a lovely two tone modern piece of glass from my mother. Pen and pencil.
I was looking for some Salvia Ulginarus ( bog sage) but couldnt find any but in one nursery that I called into I found an Astelia Silver Spear, a New Zealand plant I have admired in the gardens over there and as it was reduced stifled my cries of glee and brought it home.
Luckily a friend has some Bog sage I can have, one nursery told me it was a weed, maybe but I love it in my wild garden and some how I had lost it.
I am re reading the book of letters between Christopher Lloyd who died early this year and Beth Chatto, I met both of them when they came out to lecture in Melbourne and that was my 50th Birthday present, nearly 17 years ago now, and although I never got to Great Dixter John and I did get to Beth Chatto's wonderful garden. You would never think my garden was in the Open Garden Scheme now but I do get enthusiastic at this time of the year.---so do the weeds.
Great news too that a pony I still own but is leased out today as a yearling Welsh Section A won her class, was Junior Champion , Senior Champion, Supreme A and then Supreme Welsh at our Royal Show. Champagne with dinner tonight.

Spring is here

This is a photo of a corner of the garden, with some added pots that came down from my mother and the elephant and cupid. This is what you see when you drive up and get out of your car. In another week the geranium maderense will be out and absolutely spectacular. The prunus behind was in full flower and the lemon is covered in lemons and the tree with the hanging posts is a Red Cedar, a Queensland native which is going through its dropped leaf stage. I dont know if they do this in Queensland but down here because of the cold they do, This one doesnt get as affected by frost as the other one we have, I think this one came from a more cold tolerant area. The hanging pot on the left side has a native dendrobium orchid in it, also about to flower.
The big green shrub is a rose, my most favorite Lamarque which will snother itself in creamy white blooms smelling of lemon.
This is all to make me feel less depressed after spending time with my mother yesterday. She was fine, the place is lovely, its just that oh gosh is that I may come to.

EDM Challenge Draw your work space

I am always running out of time at the moment, racing around to see my mother etc etc. Thought life should slow down.
I drew this yesterday, it is where my painting is done at the moment, in my sun room, but soon it will be too hot to be there so I may have to go out onto one of the verandahs.
Big wide windows looking out onto a terrace with wrought iron and roses and trees and the orchard.
Inside I have a folding easel and a folding table fighting with the succulents that come inside for winter.
I must add that there are large squashy chairs and magazines and it is gorgeous in winter but facing north is far too hot at the height of summer.
No time to do it in water colour but I may have another go at it another day.
I went back to beading classes last night, the first since last summer and perhaps I should have been going all winter as we had the best rain since April, 19 mm and it was very wet and wild with gutters overflowing everywhere out there. Wonderful, at least it extends our season by at least 2 weeks and if we are lucky we will get more and get through to October before we start drying off.

Street scene

I am trying to paint street scenes. I can now see that the building in the foreground is leaning and John was quite rude about this, I told him I was trying to be a naive painter! Actually I quite like the bright colours but it does look pretty primitive.
My little mare did really well at the Royal, a 6th, a 3rd and then in the leading rein she worked from 6th to 2nd in a huge class. Very pleased with her and other ponies with my Rivington prefix did well as well maybe we will sell more ponies!
It has turned cool again after the couple of hot days and a bit more rain is forecast.
I am still making fabric beads, I think they will be an on going thing.

Film Ten Canoes

Last night we went to see the Australian film Ten Canoes. Set in the Northern Territory it was a funny sad story with wonderful visuals and a story that we could all do well to take notice of.
While trying to think how I could include the visuals without infringing anything I remembered our tree near the end of the valley. In the Ten Canoes they were making canoes out of the paper bark tree but here our local tribe used the bark of the red gums. The tree in the photo didnt actually have a canoe taken from it but two quite large containers taken from it possible for slinging a baby or just as a carrying container or even more probably shields.
If you can get to see this film it is well worth seeing.

Oscar

This is Oscar looking rather contemplative, sitting on the chair at the table while we eat, he always likes to join us. His nose is put out of joint a bit at the moment as Spot is here and he sometimes comes inside too.
Today was a very quick visit to Adelaide Royal Show, saw my pony get a 3rd and one we bred get 1st, then a quick wizz around but in the flower pavilion John began to feel unwell so isent him back to the car and I quickly looked at chooks and dogs and then we headed for home. had a quick salad at Whalers for lunch and headed home.
Where we proceeded to do not very much. Wonderful.

Fun beaded fabric beads

Some where I saw these beads and thought what fun they would be to make, so I am making lots of them, not sure what I will do with them but they are fun to sit and bead on at night.
What a day! Up at 2 am with Celina telling me she had an ear ache, no medication what to do, so I gave her a panadol and then lay awake half the night worrying if it was too much, she is 9, any way all was well so it was ok and in the morning no problems with it.
Up early to get lunches done and them on the school bus, with a phone call to say that one of Tabby's Cob mares was on the wrong side of a fence and stressing, so John and I had to get in quickly, to discover her in an impossible paddock full of heaped up fill which I found impossible to negotiate with a dicky knee, we had to cut two chains, the first one ok, the second needed a heavier bolt cutter than we had so John had to go and find a better one leaving me with a stressed out mare who kept bumping me with her head, my shoulders and hips now ache.
On top of that for the first day of September we had a raging north wind and high temperatures. First day of Spring Huh!!
Well all was well but the day seemed to get worse, and I got more achy and John went to bed!
So I thought these little things looked bright and cheerful.
I think I have had 1/2 a glass of red wine too many!!
On an even more chearful note my little Welsh A mare was 6th in her novice class at Adelaide Royal Show, tomorrow we go to see what she can do in her open class.