Scenes from a Sunday

This weekend saw me forced to slow down because of the weather. I cancelled and rescheduled a workshop. I painted feathers and ivy covered trees. I stared out of the window. I made stew and risotto (I love making risotto, the act of stirring something for 30 minutes makes me feel very zen). I lolled on the sofa and watched copious amounts of Sherlock and Jonathan Creek (please don't judge me, I love Jonathan Creek). I stared out of the window some more. I ran out of chocolate and had to shuffle 200 yards 'round the corner to Tescos. It was an effort. I planned my first tattoo. I shopped for bracelets on Etsy. I started reading a book that I can tell, even only 50 pages in, I am going to love. I blogged. I paid attention. It was all good. What did you do? Did anyone build a snowman?

Deep and crisp and even...

 An astonishing amount of snow has fallen here in the last 24 hours. It started yesterday morning at about 9am and stopped at 7ish yesterday evening. I have never seen so much snow in my whole life. Not even as a child when I  used to go sledging down the hill behind my house. I have been up there this morning to see the children enjoying themselves but they are only sledging down the south bank and have left the steeper, north side untouched. Wimps.
Yesterday, everything was quiet and everybody stayed tucked up in their homes, today the whole street is alive with the sound of shovels scraping the pavement and excited chatter.
I plan to spend this afternoon finishing another Christmas present, the embroidered fabric below is going to be another wintery cushion cover. The last one turned out quite well and now I have the stitching bug. It's funny how I always prefer to stitch in winter and paint in summer. I think it's because I find stitching a quiet, repetitive process whereas painting requires (I think) a bit more active participation which I don't seem to have so much energy for in the fallow months.

This will probably be my last post until after Christmas so I wish you all a merry and restful Yuletide and I'll be back soon with my resolutions and new year crafty plans.

Snow fatigue

I know it was only a week ago but the snow feels like it's been here forever. I am an unfortunate individual who lives within walking distance of her place of employment, hence no snow days, not one. I have trudged in and schlepped home and spent 30 minutes everyday trying to get my wellies off. It's just so draining. There's a smidgen of the January blues in there somewhere but, today, I feel them lifting.

I have been having the most fabulous time making class samples on how to build up texture and use different materials for collage, not with the purpose of painting some image on top, but just to play, for itself. I found myself, at 11pm last night, elbow deep in mod roc, plaster, acrylic paint, PVA and bits of lace. It was great. I think (tentatively) that they may become pieces of "proper" work as class samples often do.

I have also started thinking about what this year will bring, particularly in terms of where I will be living in a few months. I have started checking the paper for that roomy period apartment that just happens to be in my price range. It might sound silly, but I am so excited at the prospect of buying my own sofa.

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and New Year. Hopefully I'll post regularly now, and not just about food, but, y'know, actual art n stuff.

Whispers of Snow

The promise of snow is always a little bit exciting; the whispers started circulating 'round the building earlier in the week (perpetuated mainly by me).

This morning was tad disappointing as I was expecting drifts galore and another day housebound trying to get over a very poorly throat but all we had was a light dusting. However, by the time I got out of the shower it was throwing it down and has only just stopped. I am staring out of my office window at the peaceful winter scene by the canal and I actually don't mind being in Banbury at the moment. God knows I've whinged all summer about wanting to be elsewhere but, right now, this is OK. I've got a shaft of weak, wintry sunlight hitting my desk as I type and everything feels sort of still.


Yesterday I managed to get all of my Christmas presents wrapped, I'll pop them under the tree tonight. With that little job out of the way I can focus on what is, for me, the main point of Christmas- food.

I plan to make blue cheese and fig tart for tomorrow night's dinner, this comes in at a whopping 81 grams of fat per slice. A convenient way to ingest as many calories as possible in one go. The Sloe Gin has been strained and is settling nicely in the cupboard, it should be drinkable by Monday. I tried a little bit last week and very good it is too, though shockingly sweet.