And so it goes on ....... first the holiday, then the laundry

first the holiday

starting with the view from my hotel room

someone must have known about my cone fixation

the cones of Cascais

Sintra

Cascais

gardener at work

ceiling, Monsteratte

interior, Montseratte

Montseratte

Pena Palace

Looking up at Pena Palace; too many people on the ground; we left hurriedly having spent a long time hiring an electric car to get us up to the top of the mountain to see it.

electric car

Cascais

Cascais

stucco

wall plaster

Cascais

by the pool

then the washing......

More laundry.

The washing cycle....

Turning chores into patterns with Adobe Capture

It is that time of year again.

We have had lots of men in the house, telling OH ( my other half) and I that the NEW boiler is not safe, that the water softener needs replacing,and that they would like to relieve us of large sums of money, whilst we stay home waiting for them to do so.

tools of the trade- the tree surgeon

The tree man has tidied up the garden by removing a tree that swamped its neighbours.

 He tells good stories abour near death experiences involving men and tree felling. He blames it on the over complicated new equipment that young tree fellers don't understand. I now understand what a topping down strop is, and have learned that he is 'branching out' from tree felling into garden maintenance as it is 'easier money'.

And I have mended two leaky sinks. My plumbing skills are coming along nicely.

Soon I will be the one popping around to other people to relieve THEM of some money and slapping 'DO NOT USE' stickers on their appliances. And they will be the ones getting text messages advising them that their plumber is on the way and here is her photo..... in case they want to reject her on grounds of not being as beautiful as they had hoped....

So instead of telling you about my trip to the Association of Illustrators stunning  ( and free) exhibition at Somerset House I am going to have to resort to more mundane subjects, for that is how my mind is at present.

Focussed on the mundane.

Such as macaroni cheese for lunch.

Mundane but so delicious.

And lots of washing to do. OH likes blue.

Here are some shirts hanging in the garden.

Chores over for a bit, life perked up a bit at the weekend when OH and I cycled into Rye to see the Rye Society Summer Exhibition. We enjoyed the show and were out by 11.00.

On leaving, we noted that the gas meter at the show was non compliant with current regulations.

Two flexible hoses...... tut tut

you see I am learning fast.

'Let me buy you a coffee' I offered as we stepped outside into the street.

'Oh no, I was thinking of a pub lunch' replied OH.

It was 11.00.

So we had to entertain ourselves as tourists for an hour before the earliest reasonable time for dining on a Sunday lunchtime; still breakfast time for most people on a Sunday.

We came across the Rye Castle Museum; the site of the old town gaol ( jail). Somehow we have missed this treat on previous strolls around the town.

 OH does like a bit of history.

door, Rye castle museum

I am less inclined that way. I blame it on Mrs Newsome, my history teacher. With her bright orange hair she sat at the front of the class and dictated notes to us, week after week, after deadly dull week. I learnt nothing, and have struggled to feign an interest in things historic ever since.

In the museum I found a few things of interest.

A man who clearly doesn't put as much emphasis on regular meals as my other half.

Add caption

 Some rules for prisoners.

Don't forget to wash your hands.... and 'be as clean and neat as circumstances allow'

I might use these rules at home in future. Dinner could be so much more civilised if we both dressed properly and attended to our hair.

I discovered some hydrostatic balls.

They were used to detect alcohol in liquids in the days of smuggling.  Of which there was a lot around Rye.

And some love token rolling pins. Filled with salt; a precious commodity.

Who could resist ?

Presumably the old fashioned equivalent of being given a hoover for Christmas.

love token rolling pins

Rye is clearly worried about how salt is used. No more love token rolling pins then.

Still waiting for lunch, I read the menu for the prisoners. OH would need to do hard labour, for he cannot live without his meat. Two ounces will not do it. Half a sheep might just suffice.

prison menu

Time passed.

I didn't sign the visitor book. I was glad to get back outside into the summer sunshine.

12.00 came, and we cycled off to the pub. For a very early lunch.

And it was good.

The rest of the day went swimmingly and we returned to the garden for a quiet lie down before tea.

cornus alba

As you can see I have learnt how to make patterns.

I have decided to turn all chores and everything else into patterns from now on.

cooking chore

And if you can guess what any of these are, below,  then I will send you the original image to use as wallpaper.

All of the above patterns were made on my ipad using Adobe Capture . Try it!

Summertime in Suburbia .....................the dog gets a wash

With my new found freedom from sticking and glueing that was the PG Cert in Photography, I am finding tradtional ways to fill my day. Today dog and I ventured out to do a little photography; summer is here, and the London Villages Project waits for no man.

We ventured into some different streets and found all sorts of delights; red roses, dead conifers in concrete tubs on lawns, and some wonderfully green summer trees. Suburbia is so "suburban". The more I look  the more I see the different styles of gardens and window dressings that make up the whole. Double glazed windows with net curtains, window boxes and garden gates all seek to define the occupants and make their dwellings unique. Stopping to take photos I am always wary of figures behind the curtains wondering what I am up to; I don't know that they would believe me if I tried to explain that I am taking pictures of their bushes and trees.

Our 20 minute morning stroll extended into an hour long exploration; checking where the sun lies, and when to go back to catch the light in the best position is part of the initial research. Summer sun is harsher, and requires a certain devotion to duty on my part to get up while the light is still kind enough to the flowers on a sunny day.





Dog had a wash today; her first for many months; I have time at last to do a little spring cleaning. Tied by her lead to a garden chair she endured first a cold hose and then some "strong" shampoo from my bathroom. she hates this, much preferring her own, doggy smell. She has been known to run up the garden after a wash to roll in some fox poo  to restore the balance that her senses prefer.

I was getting my own back on her for the worming tablet escapade that she led me on last week. Every few months I have to get three large brown tablets into her; a feat which gets harder every time and the one time when she well and truly lets me know that she is not as stupid as she pretends to be most of the time. I have learnt through experience that there is no point trying to hide these tablets in her food; she simply goes on hunger strike until normal service is resumed. So I wrapped the tablets in a delicious piece of  pork loin.

 Foolishly I let her see this process, and she happily took the whole parcel into her mouth, only to refuse to swallow it. I tried holding her muzzle closed to encourage her to swallow. She salivated wildly all over the floor and refused to play ball. I put her outside, where upon she swallowed the meat, and out popped  the tablets onto the lawn. We repeated the proess, this time concealing the tablets in a slice of bread; she ate two, and the third was again discarded with disdain. At this point I gave up, and left the tablet in her food bowl, hoping she would forget and eat it with her tea ( which , of course, she expected as usual despite the extra snacks).

Tea came and went; the tablet remained in the bowl. Dog wins................

 Later that evening I put some boiled cabbage water into the bowl ......................water and tablet happily consumed..................I win........................

3am the next morning.......................dog needs to go out to the loo becuse of the extra drinks she had; I have to get up and take her............................DOG WINS!!!

So today we have clean, healthy dog...................................WIN WIN