On a wing and a prayer

Time for a catch up I thought! Thank you for all the good wishes which I've passed onto Heather and Graham, they are much appreciated.

I was really sorry to miss the Craft Barn Extravaganza weekend and it sounds like it was as much creative fun as always. Neil Walker kindly agreed to take over my workshop at very short notice and came up with his own take on creating three canvasses using my Doo Lally stamps. From the pictures he's posted, it looks as though everyone enjoyed themselves on the class and put their own spin on what they made.

I've been up to various things over the last two weeks. I've been at Heather's quite a bit of course and spending rather a lot of time on buses (or waiting for them!) travelling to and fro. I also had my first stint as a Sidesperson at church...it went well....I didn't trip up or drop the collection plate anyway! I also caught a bit of Poulton's annual summer gala which was blessed with a lovely warm and sunny day. The streets were completely filled with people lining up to watch the various floats, musicians and dancers.

 I've been getting a bit more work done in the garden too of course, although it's actually been a bit too hot at times and I did fall asleep on my bench the other day and woke up after an hour! Guess I must have needed the rest! My biggest successes of the green fingered variety have definitely been of the edible kind....

 .....and everything is growing really well in the greenhouse....er....sorry....conservatory. I don't get too many visitors so I'm happy to use it for growing things in rather than entertaining. The tomatoes are scaling up the bamboo canes and, apart from one, I grew them from seed, so am especially pleased with those. On the left is the one, solitary green bean plant that germinated and on the right is a courgette. I have several of these outside as well, but the one indoors is fast becoming a monster - those leaves are over a foot across! Tara quite likes hiding in the mini jungle that has invaded her space!

I took delivery of a very nice box of tricks last week as you can see....

 .....the Spellbinders Artisan Explorer, lots of Media Mixage bezels, dies, foils and Ice Resin. The little machine has high pressure rollers so you can emboss metals as well as cutting. It's very dinky and it sticks to the work surface with a suction pad......I tested this on the coffee table and could actually raise it off the floor by lifting the machine!

I've been busy working on some pieces, making my usual mess in the process too of course!

 I'll show some close ups of what I've made when they are finished. I'll be demonstrating the Media Mixage range along with my stamps and various inks etc when I'm at Dainty Supplies in Washington, Tyne and Wear on Saturday. I'll be there from 10.30am - 4.30pm, so hope to see some of you there.

I've also finished the canvas that I was working on. A sneaky peek......

....just of one corner! The canvas, which I've entitled "Nature Girl" is now on my Etsy site, so do pop over there to see the finished painting. I hope to be adding a few more items to my shop very soon.

Tomorrow I am going to spend most of the day with Heather, but this evening I'm going to a cheese and wine event, organised by the husband of the Curate. There is going to be music as well as a magician and an undisclosed cabaret artiste....no idea what yet! 

Oh yes, I had a lovely, unexpected email from someone that I used to know quite a few years ago when David and I ran a gallery. We lost touch, so it was great to hear from him. John's an incredibly talented artist who specialises in painting aircraft. You can find his work here and I'm sure you'll be impressed by his attention to detail. 

On a personal note, Saturday was the anniversary of David's funeral. So, all of the first year anniversaries have passed now. I really don't know where the last year has gone - some things seem so much longer ago and others are as fresh in my mind as they were at the time. I've mostly taken each day as it's come along, which is exactly how David preferred to live. Some days have been much harder than others but I've come through them one by one and learned a lot more about myself as I've gone along. I try not to worry about the future and have decided that the words that our Vicar based his sermon on this Sunday are a good mantra for me to live by..."on a wing and a prayer". It's often used to convey something a bit haphazard or that just manages to get the job done, but I like the more spiritual idea of being carried aloft on an outstretched wing and trusting that things will be okay.