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.