
Random Friday five, what a week!
Here’s Theo in the morning. I’ve been feeling under the weather this week and I’m sure the mega doses on vitamin C have held what ever this is at bay, but T isn’t helping by coming in yowling at 12am with a mouse in his mouth and depositing it by my bed. I threw him and mouse outside and closed my door and so he stashed the mouse behind the living room sofa and brought me another at 4am which he deposited in front of the bedroom door. I need my sleep! Then in the morning he’s like, “Oh man, you can’t mean me, I had the night shift!”
Yeah, laugh it up fuzzball!
This money I’ve got in my hot little hand is £150. One hundred and fifty Great Britain Pounds Sterling. I’ve made a decision! Our lovely friend Brian is willing to sell me his mini shell for us to build me a new mini. After the loss of my beautiful old mini I didn’t think I could ever move on, and I know I’ve talked about it ad infinitum et ultra, but this is it. This is the end of grief. I have. It’s a good thing. 🙂 (In other words: Illiegitimi non carborundum!)
This morning I drove out of the driveway and waited for these girlies to walk by and I got to thinking. You know, it’s wonderfully fantastic to live in rural England where girls ride their horses in the mornings and lanes are so bucolic with hedgerows and bower trees, but really, our lane is a single track lane with passing places and cars, trucks and public buses zoom by at 50 miles/hour. Also people park where ever and which ever way they want to (unless there’s a double line at the side, which is just never the case in the country), and there is very little wiggle room to get past horses and pushbikes and avoid oncoming traffic. God one has to be brave to drive here, (on the wrong side of the road on the wrong side of the car) No wonder everyone drives little Fiat, Seat, Kia pod cars.
Oh, and don’t even talk to me of villages like Marcham, below, where one time someone said, “oh, lets just build a road between these two houses and never mind that it narrows to 10 ft in places, and never mind that it’s a bit of a blind corner and never mind that we’ll let trucks and buses drive this way, I’m sure everyone will fit just fine.”
I’ve been having an easy couple of days yesterday and today because of this something I’ve got. Isn’t it funny? You just go around minding your own business and then you touch something someone else touched and inadvertently rub an itch near your eye and you’ve got germs…ugh. So I’ve spent a lot of time sat at my art table drawing. I really wanted to do some more linocuts but it’s too difficult to think right now, so doing something without too much thinking is the best way to be and drawing is usually the auto-function my brain is set to. I started this map, (as well as a long forgotten promised sketch for a friend).
I love drawing on old papers. I also love late summer meadows with all the seed heads. I also love goldfinches. There are a couple goldfinches here at West Cottage and they sing beautifully right the way thru spring into late summer. I love how they hang upside down on the teasel and thistle to pick out the seeds.
Linking with Nancy at A Rural Journal for Friday randomness. 🙂
DebC
Interesting to hear about rural England; I live in mid-western United States.
Your drawing is just lovely. The map is a wonderful background.
Veronica
Hi Deb. Thank you so much. Off to visit you now. 🙂
Sara v
What a spectacular goldfinch!! I love them too. Apparently they are more colorful on your side of the pond–I haven’t seen that red/orange on their chin before. Hope that you are feeling better soon and that Theo lets you sleep! Sweet dreams 🙂
Veronica
You’re right Sara, the American goldfinch is much more yellow in his body and the British is browner with those red cheeks and chin. (I just looked them up…lol) 🙂
Diane
I love that you draw on old papers too. It’s unique compared to simply drawing on white paper. Do you frame your drawings or sell them?
Veronica
Hi Diane, sometimes I do frame them and sometimes I have a show and sell them, but I completely suck at the selling bit so mostly I send them off to friends or stick them in a drawer. I know, I’m bad that way. I still have to figure out how to frame these maps safely. Shallow shadow boxes seem to be the best option, because the chalk and paint shouldn’t be touching the glass, but those kinds of frames are usually custom built so we’ll see. 🙂
Tina Fariss Barbour
Your drawing is beautiful! I love the look of the bird and the thistles on top of the map.
Theo is adorable! Kitties can drive us crazy, but they are still so precious. 🙂
I hope you feel better soon!
Veronica
Thank you so much Tina. I really like the way this map is shaping up. I’m feeling better today already. 🙂
Roxi
Your sketch on the map is soooo cool. I gives me ideas…. Thanks for the inspiration.
Veronica
Hi Roxi, that’s fabulous. Keep on making with the inspiration. 🙂
Judy
Hi Veronica. Your little kitty looks so precious. Isn’t it funny how they can look that way and then get a little devious. Thankfully our Maggie does not go outside so we don’t have to put up with that behavior. Now you have ruined all the romance novels I love to read. They always talk about the country lanes and the hedgerows that have little places where you can dart through to your neighbors!! I will never look at them the same way again!. Always interesting and I do love your art. So pretty..Happy Weekend..Judy
Veronica
Hi Judy, this old kitty was abandoned when a neighbourhood pub was sold. He was the pub cat. He made his way by being very feral for a year or two and then found his way to us and has been with us now for three years. He’s a character. Our two Vancouver cats were indoor cats for the first two years of their lives because we were too close to a main road, but now they love being outdoors and terrorising the ‘hood. Sorry about the ruined fantasy 🙁 I’ll be more Miss Marple in the future. 🙂
Nancy @ A Rural Journal
Splendid artwork! What is a mini shell?
Veronica
Thank you so much Nancy. It’s the shell and subframe (without the engine) of an Austin Mini; the iconic British car. We have a special engine and brakes Robert built for me already, so it should be fairly easy to renovate. 🙂
Christie
HI, I’ve come to you by way of Dawn at “Girl Unwinding.” I think our kitties must be cousins – mine has the same propensity for gift giving! Have really enjoyed reading through your posts and have subscribed to your blog.
Veronica
Hi Christie, I bet our kitties are related…lol. Thank you so much for visiting and subscribing. 🙂 Do you write a blog? I’d love to come visit you and get to know you. 🙂
Christie
No, I don’t have a blog, but thanks for asking. I do have a Flickr site http://www.flickr.com/photos/cjinsrq/ which I’d enjoy having you visit.
Veronica
Oh good, On my way over there Christie. 🙂
Ruthie Miller
Dear Veronica,
You are so talented! I love the goldfinch on the map. Fabulous.
Hope you got our package before you left.
Keep on enjoying and sharing…
Ruthie from Lady B’s Time for Tea
Veronica
Hi Ruthie, thank you so much. I did get my package just before I left and with the huge turmoil of the Vancouver house I completely forgot to thank you. I’m so sorry. I’ll write a special post with links when I get back in Sept. Much love and thanks form me to you. 🙂