Link Up Party for August!

Welcome to August's Scavenger Hunt Link up Party !  

Are you ready? 

Then let's get started - just add your name and let the party begin :)

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August's Scavenger Hunt Photos

Sometimes I wonder at my own 'finely tuned procrastination' ... any hoo, a mere six three hours before I normally schedule my photo hunt post ... I am sorting it out....now still.

Tea

I am - and I may have hinted this before - a tea drinker. Didn't used to be until I decided to go cold turkey on coffee swapping roughly ten mugs of coffee consumed daily for equally copious mugs of tea instead.

And the image? I have an art journal that I start each working day with. I write a word, a sentence, a thought or a vitriolic tirade then spontaneously paint over it. I find it both cathartic and stimulating in one go. I had just made myself a mug of tea in the studio and as I squeezed out the tea bag I immediately started 'painting' with it across the page. Then using a goose feather quill I'd attempted to create a while ago - dragged my 'tea-ink' outwards in tendrils and twirls. I also deliberately landed my mug on the page, showing no respect for the paper as I created the tea stains. Later, once dried, I doodled the word tea and decorated that, whilst drinking another mug (of course!)

Time

This time last year - I had the embryonic beginnings of my studio - wow - twelve months has just melted away by the magic of this one photo. An absurd mix of 'only a moment ago and yet a life time away'.

Isle

Of Gigha (pronounced - Gear) Beautiful little blue jewel in a blue sea.

Fairy (Glen)...

...in Skye is a magical place. There is definitely an 'air' to it - otherworldly and intriguing. We have been twice and each time I have felt a presence and I know others have done too. Watching over the glen is the enigmatically named 'Castle Ewan' that, with care and following a narrow path, can be climbed. I chose to watch from a safer ground level as Himself and Youngest scaled the tall flanks. I would like to return. Someday.

Flour

I could not find the image I had in mind however as I was trawling through my years of photos - I came across this one - nothing remarkable or amazing - except it is -  to me. They are Youngest's hands making ginger biscuits and I can remember that cold February day where we had been snowed in and we resorted to baking to keep young minds and young tums happy.

My own Choice

Most of this month's images are from my archives however, this next one was from last Wednesday and I just love it.  Whilst working up in the walled garden, where we were relocating the compost bays, we found a couple of HUGE frogs. Coincidentally the National Trust Rangers were hosting a forest school day in the garden so Eldest and I quietly rounded up the frogs as well as other unsuspecting insects and bugs, taking them up for the forest students to meet. Interestingly enough - it was the girls and the mothers who took more interest than the lads and dads ... any suggestions why? The girls held the caterpillars and beetles and stroked the frogs while the boys firmly put their hands behind their backs and just looked!

Phew - managed it! Now off to set up the link up page and then - bedtime! (and it is still before midnight - just!)

The colours of autumn

I am aggrieved resigned to the fact that autumn has now joined the party and summer's decided to quietly leave the room.

Woodland fungi however are rejoicing and have appeared as profuse as stars at night.

A detour through a coniferous woodland yield yet more yellow mushroom clusters.

Heathers are now flowering, turning the hills a shade of smokey blue.

Bracken fronds, in places still in summer finery, have  been ousted by crisper bronze hues.

Even a lizard appeared dressed in autumnal shades when found basking in gentle afternoon sunshine.

Lighting the fire today was the final step in accepting the season's changing,

outside is dank, wet and has been all day.

The cats have claimed their 'rightful' place in front of the hearth, toasting their furry tums.

So it seems that summer has been superseded by the season of soups and thick socks.

Sigh.

Love grows here

Thank you every one for your lovely comments and positive feedback for my little books and I am rather happy to say I have since been invited to take part of a small fayre, with them, at the end of next month - I better get making and introduce them to the world!

On a different note - thought I would share some photos from last week at the walled garden (a favourite holistic place of mine) - I am lucky to volunteer with some other wonderful ladies who feel the same way as I do.

Even in the rain, the garden glows in jewel colours and exudes a wonderful calmness. 

This final photo I can not take credit for - it is from the National Trust facebook page.

..."Our walled garden is awash with colour and alive with pollinator activity.
See if you can spot any colourful, bee friendly areas when you’re out and about this weekend! "...

National Trust Yorkshire Dales

Just a short bit of waffle today - have a good week and hope you get to spend time somewhere you love.

Sun between the showers

Bathed in a welcome ray of sunlight after a few days of (necessary) rain and (dull) cloud - I have just finished another mini book.

I can not explain or believe the pleasure it gives me creating these little creatures. Each one I have completed has found a home rather quickly so they must be sharing that happiness too.

I blame the fudge

Autumn has been seeping in - I am not ready for her, I am still wanting to play with Summer.

I have already 'written' this post a number of times ... in my head, as you do when you have one of 'those' nights. They are (fortunately) infrequent reminders of my previous sleep pattern of 'not sleeping'.

Any hoo - not sure what triggered it but it went something like this ...

I was awoken by the rather loud discussion going on in my head. A one sided one on an unusual topic.

I was - no, my brain was debating in great depth how a Roman toga was worn.  I lay there incredulously as my head was trying to work out if the fabric came over the shoulder forward and wrapped around the arm and wrist or if it went backwards like a cape ... my brain then shouted down that was silly and said no ... forward and over the arm.

It was at this point I actually opened my eyes and I could feel myself frowning at the ridiculousness of such a debate - of COURSE it came forward and wrapped around the arm - jeez it was never worn as a cape.... I physically jolted my head at my own duplicity - I had just allowed myself to get involved in a debate with my brain about the dress sense of a Roman Senator at .... I raised my head and squinted at the clock ... at 1.30am in the morning.

Gah.

So I shifted until I was comfortable, attempted a couple of well worn mindfulness relaxation techniques to quieten my brain and send me back to sleep.  However, in the background I could hear a new conversation ... I stopped my calm breathe practice to listen in on what my brain was chattering on about now.

Qin Shi Huang.

Yup. Him.

Who? oh - let me introduce him to you, my brain knows him well and recalling the raging debate the ol' grey cells were having last night about him - not a fan, nope not a fan.

Qin Shi Huang was a Chinese emperor, he of the terracotta warrior fame, was not keen on intellectuals and chose to persecute them in all ways nasty.

Once again I was almost tricked into joining in this discussion but managed to stop myself becoming fully awake and getting all shouty with myself over the rather mean ways of this particular emperor. I squinted at the clock again.  2.40am.

Hmm. I thought I would help change my brain's over enthusiastic need to have what was now turning into a university challenge/Radio 4/the History Channel type full on rant, by nipping to the loo.

As quietly as possible, I bumbled around in the dark, kicked a shoe of mine, almost stumbled into the bathroom, did what I had to do, bumbled back and equally quietly slipped back into bed. Only to have Himself growl ... ?can't sleep then?

Apologetic squeak back, I tried again.

Quietly, almost insidiously, my brain began to write a list of jobs.  Labels, varnish, turps, tablecloth ...turps (said that one), paintings, wrapping paper, labels, varnish, turps (hang on said that), tablecloth - stop ALREADY HAVE THAT ON MY LIST... turps, labels, varnish AAAARGH. I opened my eyes and seriously considered getting up and physically writing down the six words that were spinning around in my brain which seemed to be delighting in creating a helix style list of them repeating and repeating and changing their colours and rolling them around and.and.and.and .......

... then as I was slipping into blissful unconsciousness ... a light flashed on outside. I sat up and saw through the curtains that an outside sensor light belonging to a neighbour had come on.  Without even hesitating my brain had me leap out of bed stride over to the window and peer out. Yes, the light was on ... who had triggered it??

I stared - watching for banditos or burglars only to see a...cat...trot...by. 

Hmmm - I recall this has happened before. Best get back into bed before Himself grumbles again.  This time he just sighed. I tried to avoid looking at the clock but my eyes were being as wayward as my brain and snuck a look - 3.20am ...

Quiet meditative breathing and shushing of an argumentative brain continued for a while until I finally dropped off.

Until ... Himself leapt out of bed and gave me a rather firm shove as he did - the alarm should have gone off about 20 minutes earlier - oh.

Suffice to say, my brain is now very quiet - probably having a siesta and I am dragging myself around purely fueled by coffee and bloody mindedness.


Any you?
Are you a candidate for the 'can't sleep club'?

Oh - and the title? well, I scoffed a couple of pieces of Eldest's home made fudge and as delectably delish as it was - it felt too rich and probably too late for my own good.  I suspect my brain was on a sugar bender..... sigh.

casual blather Friday

With one or two exceptions, I have been bare foot most of this week. 

(I love it.)

We have had rain. 

(happy garden.)

I have been bitten by some uninvited flying insect with enormous fangs over night. 

(Not keen on enormous fanged winged beasties.)

I'm waiting in for a parcel, 

from a company I don't recognise for something I can't remember specifically ordering... 

although this has happened before - there are four in the family and only one of us orders nice things,
 the other three order car parts and engine-y type items 

and I suspect that is what I am waiting in for. 

(An MG car fender arrived yesterday ... from California) so - it could be AnYtHiNG!!  

(I shall report back.)

I've been talked into attending a show in a couple of weekends ago. 

Had said I would go initially, then thought about it - realised don't really have sufficient stock - 

well, I have plenty of paintings however, 

they are not suitable for this kind of outing - 

so changed my mind. 

Now, against my better judgement I have stepped into a space created by another dropping out. 

Now this week and next will be filled with lots of creativity 

as I make smaller affordable pieces of art. 

Never mind - good excuse to 'play'. 

(Goes off to get glue and paper and scissors.)

I am discovering or rather being gently reminded 

that I am lucky to be part of a tribe of arty folk 

who are fierce and protective and sharing and kind. 

They are above all, teaching me that there are decent people out there 

and that they are worth searching for. 

(Have you found your 'tribe'?)