Callie update

She's had all her jabs; put on a kilo and when she wants something [food, toy] she will Sit! for a few secsonds.

 Mostly she pees and poos out doors but when she is greeting us she gets excited  and piddles in front of the door, so we have to make stepping stones of the newspapers, which she then endeavours to chew to confetti.  She loves to cavort thru the house with me chasing behind and finish off the cat food.  Gertie is not amused, but Daisy sits back and studies her with nervous attention. Today Gertie brought in a dead? mouse to show who's boss.

If the weather holds we hope to take her Walkies.  So far she has only been as far as the garden and church yard, can't take her too far as she gets tired and is too heavy to carry far.   As the exhibition at Snape closes tomorrow and I have no commitments in August except to my nearest and dearest I declare summer to have started.

- Self Portraits by Textile Art Group Suffolk artists on display at their Annual Exhibition "Echoes" The Pond Gallery, Snape Maltings. - Entertainment - iwitness24 Suffolk

- Self Portraits by Textile Art Group Suffolk artists on display at their Annual Exhibition "Echoes" The Pond Gallery, Snape Maltings. - Entertainment - iwitness24 Suffolk

If you click on this site [above] and see the pics and then vote for it, [check vote box] it pushes it up the list of viweings so we get more publicity.

Echoes at Snape Maltings

These trees evolved from some work we did with gesso and fabrics dragged thru it. The resulting ridges reminded me of trees, which i stitched until they revealed themselves. The result is good in that it takes me away from trying too hard with accuracy and not so good as the background wasn't stretched and is a bit uneven, not enhanced by the blue sky inexpertly added at the end.  On the whole tho it looks OK

Dancers

I have been exploring this theme in my Textile Art for some time, often using similar templates of  joyous women. 

My women are generously curved, proud of their centred gravity. They are sensuous, celebrating their sexuality and each other;  they refuse to be judged as sex objects. 

Waving not Drowning

This piece echoes Stevie Smith's poem. A dance of togetherness and the trust that when a woman is in distress [drowning in her sorrows], there will be friends to support and save her.

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Dance for your Life

Shows women, stitched into Mud Cloth, strips, hand woven and dyed in Mali, sub Saharan West Africa. 

Mali is one of the poorest countries in Africa and is in such a dangerous state of unrest that our government advises against all travel to the country at the moment.  Women and children always suffer in times of war, which is why my women are dancing for their lives, in their imagination.

But the echoes of hope are fading

sufficiency

Went to see a local exhibition of City and guild machine embroidery students. This piece was probably Best in Show. Big and bold and well executed.  There were some nice fabric sketch and sample books too.  Came away without buying anything, so I must conclude I have everything I need!

barging by

 We've lived here a long time without going to see the annual Barge Race. 
Apparently boats need the tide and so it always seemed to start at the crack.  Yesterday it was at 10.30 so we could potter down and gaze fascinated at about 20 barges whittering about in the wind.  Tacking I believe you call it, I only have dim memories of Swallows and Amazons to go by.  Ransome lived in the village when he was writing the first one [and not being a spy or whatever].  Have no idea if anyone won.

 We stood for about an hour in the sun and the wind, except when I slumped to the grass demanding a shooting stick, seriously, I can't do this standing thing for long these days.  Father's discs were dicky, so I reckon mine are too.  Had to have a nap when we got in, shaming.

 Calpurnia remained in quarantine in the conservatory, unashamedly sleeping off her breakfast. We feed her 4 times a day, very simples tho, just dried food and warm water.  She is getting longer! Today her whole face appears above the barricade.  Her teeth are like needles and like any baby everything is explored by mouth, including fingers.

dispatches [poo,wee and love]

We set up a run on the grass so Callie can get some sun, next door provided a sunshade, all very lovely.  Like a toddler [very] Callie is only happy in company, eating or asleep. 
Today it is cold wet and grey, I may put her outside while I clean the conservatory tiles before mother arrives.
 It can feel irritating at times to suddenly be tied to a small shouty demanding creature that just has to look at you to make you feel guilty for even having a negative thought.It is another month I think before she is allowed out and about and has the opportunity to discover the wide world as her potty. 
Think of the troubles that will bring. 
The cat basket finally finds a fan.

ecco femina

This is the winning painting of the BP portrait award this year. It makes me flinch, but if there were more such around I think we would all have a more realistic and happy idea of what people look like .  She has a lovely face and is agreeing with me I think.
I didn't do Latin.  We had to chose between Art and Latin at my school, probably wise choice in my case as I am hopeless at languages, so do correct me if you wish.

sewing instructions

 On Friday we went to Colchester to the new oddly shaped, bronze roofed gallery, to see an exhibition of South American stitching.  Only half a dozen pieces, bold and slightly intimidating, rather like the gallery, which otherwise was largely empty. Had the requisite Roman Mural under glass and some contemporary sculpture.  Most disturbing a grey pile splodged on the floor, which proved to be the atomised remains of an aircraft engine. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
The walls all slope outwards, very tall and white,  of course nothing can sensibly be displayed on them.  Also a cafe, bit bleak in it's middle class understatement.  Point one to the S Americans.  The loo was interesting in that the sinks were merely a communal slop[e]ing, plastic, flat surface,  tap water slides away down to a grill at the far edge.  Not seen the like before, but maybe they are already last years sensation in London.........

 The Embroidery Posse relaxes replete with culture.

The Vanity of Small Differences: Victoria Miro's fourth solo exhibition with Grayson Perry opens

The Vanity of Small Differences: Victoria Miro's fourth solo exhibition with Grayson Perry opens

better angels

Mother is 91

Well a while back in May, but we were away, so finally took her out to lunch in Grundisburgh where she polished off a huge pork chop with rhubarb and apple mash, then sticky toffee pudding.

We wandered over to the village church afterwards, where mother gathered detailed information as usual.  The 14th century wall painting is of St Christopher carrying Christ across the river.  Old guy told us that is where the name came from, "Christ over" but even he admitted it was possibly a dodgy derivation. The hammer beam roof has angels if you look carefully.

Best news is we have found our next puppy.  It is over a year since Hattie died.  Gert and Daisy are well settled so in 2 weeks we hope to add this little black pudding.  She is in Norfolk with her mum and 7 brothers and sisters. We had to go to Norfolk to find Hatters so this is a good omen.  Mother a collieX and father a drug sniffer labrador.  Mum is called Tiber, and as we have been on the Med. trip we are looking for a Italian name; Hattie was named after Hathor the Egyptian goddess to remember our Nile trip. 

So far we have thought of Florence and Rubicon............

This lady is our sole evidence of the Jubilee, as apart from watching the Flotilla and not watching the Concert, we didn't take part.  Very un-English, chose to watch Andy Murray instead of going to the village fete and scarecrows. Found this posh bird still waiting for us as we walked through the woods.

 Lots and lots of foxgloves in the woods, birdsong, Spring smells -  very English.

 "They" are going to resurface the Main Road through the village, so "we" were informed that they will do it over night and redirect the traffic down our lane, with the aid of traffic lights. Never before!  "We" that's the royal "we" and doesn't include us, rose to their middle class heights and pointed out that the young people are doing their exams and there is no way they can be kept awake at nights with noisy mechanicals.  The event has now been postponed to October. Hopefully by then we will have persuaded the cats to don their tin hats and remain behind the barricades.

story time

We got back from the trains from Barcelona at 11pm and then stayed up till 2 watching the Eastenders omnibus which was on for some strange reason on a Saturday morning. Sometimes I do think my life is just in my head, why should an hour and a half of Eastenders be on just when I couldn't sleep.


The Cruise was an experience.

We went with Gre*t Railw*y Journeys - and they weren't;  first class, but cramped and long, with no luxuries. Our Tour "manager" was fun, she had no sense of direction, organisation or basically - brains. But she was very sweet. There were 16 Brits in the party, quite an experience in itself, and they named her Walter Mitty. She certainly believed she knew all these foreign languages, but didn't, and any situation was met with confidence collapsing into confusion, but she was very  friendly.

 Chewing gum mosaic in Livorno [presumably tourists visiting Juliet balcony- wasn't she fictional?]

The ship was huge, mostly Americans. We didn't dress up and eat with the Brits each night, or anyone else, as there were many restaurants and we just went to the relaxed one. Several different menus available each nigh served by very smiley crew, easy to put on weight. Two swimming pools, hot tubs, library, and the blessed relief of a cabin with a balcony so we could sit out in the sunshine and marvel at the blueness of the waters.

Rained in Dubrovnik, who thought we would ever go to Croatia, Venice was as gorgeous as ever, Greek island variable [500steps up a cliff on a mule on Santorini was a highlight -came down on cable car, can't make up my mind which was more frightening] mount Etna was -interesting, mostly black cinders and Pompeii was as ever.

Read so many books and went to the movies once on the boat [My w/e with Marilyn] spent evenings watching films on TV, much like home really. Only Fox news, CNN or BBC world news [which isn't].

Thought I would never sleep with noisy air-con and waves and engine………….but after initial hysterics and Kwells I settled down.

Quite a lark really, very tiring [poor old girl] and now I am home and hit the Jubilee, oh dear.

trains and boats, no planes

 Long corridors on ship were very scary, I kept imagining them filling with sea water.

 Hours on trains actually makes me appreciate planes.

We were on 4th deck, Crows Nest deck was on 11th level.  Fortunately lots of lifts, they changed the carpet in the lifts every day, they reminded you which day it was, like a tufted calendar.

cruise views

Scarlet woman

I have painted my toe nails, so it is definite we are going on holiday................shame to leave the garden behind, but I am hoping to see Pompeii and Etna and lots of sun...............

Video 47

write this

tigger

An exciting day as I had to go and see if the aches in my boobs meant the cancer had come back.  Hint - cancer doesn't usually ache. Anyway as you can understand it was a tense time until it was pronounced that I have instead - Costochondritis.  They are not sure what this means, it seems maybe just inflammation of the rib cage, which affects the nerve ending right along the breast.
Nothing to be done, just wait for it to go away, and maybe get him indoors to lift the coal scuttle in future.
Now I am bouncing around with stray adrenaline. A
Already told the Open University to shove their degree, as their tutors are always MIA.  Mine claims her Broadband keeps going down.  I think she is trying to avoid my story.
I wasn't going to carry on after I have finished this course anyway, just wanted to learn how to tell a  story, which maybe I have, a bit.  This last assignment, if tutor doesn't set fire to it is the start of my first novel, 4000+ words
 I have no intention of trying to get it published, as if I could, I just like writing.  Which is why i do this blog.

riots in the countryside

This is the best our fritillaries have ever been. We first saw some in a farmers field and thought they were so lovely, we bought some seeds some years back. The farmer was having an Open Day to show them off, more exciting than we expected as it was a wet year and most of the visitors cars had to be towed out of his yard with a tractor because of the mud. All the plants and trees seem to be doing exceptionally well, unless this is their last hurrah. We saw a cotoneaster [I think] hedge today up the lane that was a total riot of acid yellow flowers, the magnolia has been wonderful, mother's cherry tree is covered in blossom and the all the gardens look gorgeous, can we please use our hose now? when it stops raining of course.

Altho it is quite dry here, it certainly isn't the drought they claim, and we have had rain every day since then any way.

When it does rain we have been playing magnetic scrabble, not very well but it does take some of the boredom out of the kitchen work.