Art for Heart's Sake

Hi, it's Wednesday!

Hi on a rather moody Wednesday morning - the weather - not me!.  It's cloudy and fairly chilly out there.. brrrrrrr!  It took me ages to get the fire going this morning, silly blasted thing!  Our woodburner can also burn coal but this year we decided to just go the wood route so we put a metal plate over the grate to make it function as a real woodburner.  This works but boy we have to be so diligent about putting wood on it to keep it going.  I'm over it quite frankly and this morning was about to get all of the ash out (we do it regularly but need to leave some as a base for the wood) and remove the plate.  Hmmm got the non-burning piece of wood out and wouldn't you know it, it started to smoulder on the hearth.  Ooops, giggle.. so in went some newspaper and the piece of smouldering wood.  Did it start - no not even after I lit the paper.  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!  Now it is going beautifully at last so I'll have to wait for it to go completely out again before I can remove the grate.  We are running down on wood quite badly so we really need to burn coal as well anyway.

I've been tidying up inside this morning and am about to go out into the garden to move a VERY precious herbaceous clematis that is in the way of our verandah extension, also a delphinium clump.  As to where I'm going to put them - crikey, who knows!!!  EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK. 

I'm a bit tired today because I've been waking up a few times during the past couple of nights.  John has been too - he's had really nasty pain around his teeth whenever he lies down, so who knows what that's about.  We are thinking sinuses because surely if it was teeth they would be painful all the time.  Hopefully it will sort itself out or he may need to go to the dentist or doctor about it.

Time for me to venture outside, now where's my jacket..  Smiles..

Hi ho, Hi ho, it's off to work..

... I go!  I'm off to the outlet store from 9-2pm today which will be far better in terms of environment than the mall shop even though I will be standing the whole time.  I am going to suss out some trim to put at the bottom of a couple of jackets I have, just for fun and to step them up a notch.

This pm I'm going to stop off in Richmond and sort myself out a lolly jar for my studio.  I've held myself back for so long re this but I've decided a small lolly jar is an okay thing to have when I'm creating.  I won't eat truckloads, just one or two. 

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeek okay I saved this as a draft yesterday and now I'm running late so haven't got time to finish it, giggle.  Physio was okay, just need to take it easy.  It definitely wasn't the gardening that upset my back, just the standing at work. Speaking of which I'm off to stand for 5 hours!  Oh brother.. giggle..  I need to keep my eyes open for a part-time receptionist job or something where I can sit rather than stand.  Smiles..

I NEED to Garden..

...so badly!  Not just because the garden is getting miles out of control but because it's good for my psyche!  I am really struggling today and I'm SO grumpy with myself, phooey!  I need to transplant some very special treasures out of the garden John is going to cover up with our verandah extension but not only can I not dig them out, I don't have anywhere to put a lot of them because I haven't weeded other areas to make room for them.  If you're not a gardener there is no way you will be able to understand why I'm beyond frustrated, but if you are I'm sure you'll ''get it''.  I am so used to being able to spend every waking moment (or spare moment) in the garden that not being able to is figuratively killing me.  I WILL GET THERE, I WILL GET THERE...

I need to stop bullying myself because I can't do things at the moment.  I feel a bit better today because I am moving around more rather than standing in one spot but at the same time I've got to be really careful I don't overdo things even slightly.  Crikey dick is all I can say!

One thing I must do today is look in my wholesale seed catalogue for giant sunflowers.  I feed sunflower seeds to the greenfinches etc every day so what better thing to do than plant a whole lot of sunflowers in one of the kitchen garden beds this spring.  We'll get to enjoy their stunning happy faces in our paddock and then I can harvest the heads for seeds for winter bird feed.  Yay!!  I'm also going to order some wholesale herb seeds too and get them started for Spring.  See I feel better already!

Time to go and hunt out my catalogue and so sorry for grinching re my back and gardening!  Smiles..

Oh Dear, It Was Boring!

Hi there, so sorry this is so late - I got home around 4.20pm but was so sore all I wanted to do was plunge into our spa bath.  I feel a bit better now.  I have no idea why my back has been so sore all day but think it might have something to do with standing for two hours yesterday in a cold wind while we were at the blessing of the fleet ceremony.

That aside I have decided I don't want to work on Sundays.  It was beyond boring today and I only made about 4 or 5 sales.  Crikey that is just plain hard work! 

More tomorrow sweet friends!  Hugs and smiles..

It's Simply Saturday!

...and it feels great!  This is the first Saturday I haven't worked for about four weeks and it feels great.  I'm working tomorrow but that's okay, only from 10-4pm so it's a more relaxed start thank heavens and I get to eat a decent breakfast before I go.

Yesterday was quite a busy day which was fabulous in terms of the day going more quickly.  This also meant that I only managed to snatch bites of my lunch from about 1.30 onwards until I finally had the last bite around 3pm!!  Crikey! 

I had a great time pricing pretty jewellery (all made in China).  The earrings get put onto little cards with ''Jellicoe'' on them and it is quite time consuming pricking the holes for the earrings and pricing them.  Such fun with sparkly earrings to look at!  At first I wasn't allowed to price them (I phoned to check if I could and was really cheesed off when she said 'leave them for Jeanette') but when my boss came in I mentioned that I was really keen to get them out into the shop (they can't sell them otherwise, right?) so she told me what mark up to use etc.  I should think so too, after all I do have a brain (last time I looked anyway, giggle).  Crikey again!  I had to giggle, Deanne (boss) asked me to wear a hat because she had some new ones in-store so I had a red hat on my head for most of the day because the minute I put it on, whammo there go my curls!  It looked very cute and I was tempted to buy it except it was a bit loose on me.  Bother!

Today we are going to see the ''blessing of the fleet'' which is a yearly event for the Nelson Port shipping fleet.  The Nelson Male choir is singing at it and John is thinking of joining it so he wants to hear what they sound like.  I also want to go to Spotlight, a huge haberdashery/bed/curtain supply store to get some wooden coat hangers which I have very pretty plans for. 

I really ought to be in the garden but that's okay.  My back isn't up to doing much yet and standing a lot yesterday and tomorrow means today I need to not do too much anyway.  Off to get greens for the chooks!  Smiles..

 

Rushing to Work!

Hi, just a very quick post to say I hope you are having a great day/night wherever you are!!  I'm hoping my back will be okay today, guess I'll know by lunchtime!  There is 50% off clothing at the store at the moment so I'm really hoping I'll be far more busy than usual.  More tomorrow honeys, sorry this is so short!  Smiles..

Squeeeeeeeee I Ordered Seeds!

Hi there honeys, I'm just having a tiny ''squeeeeee'' moment because I ordered some seeds for late Winter/early Spring sowing yesterday.  One of the things I'm most excited about is a new organic pea variety called ''Pea Blue Shelling'' which is a Dutch heirloom variety.  They have beautiful blue pods and you can harvest them as snow peas when they are young or leave them to pod plump delicious peas.  they also have purple flowers that are lightly scented and can be eaten raw in salads too.   I can't wait to try them.

I also ordered some heritage tomato seeds from a fabulous company here in New Zealand that has 366 varieties of heritage tomatoes!  Wow!!  I managed to limit myself to the ones I know are fabulous and that sold well last year.  I haven't decided whether I'm going to do the Redwood Valley Market this year which is on the first Saturday of the month between October and March.  I'd really LOVE to do it but I'm thinking I perhaps ought to concentrate on selling from my nursery.  I can add the tomatoes etc to the sign at the bottom of the drive and I really think that's the way to go.  I made a decent amount of money at the October and November markets but after that things eased right off so it makes me wonder if it's worth it, especially as I need to work some Saturdays and I don't know which!  Hmmmm a bit of a conundrum!

I cleaned out the chook houses yesterday and managed to do it without my back getting too sore.  It was a bit dicey but am so happy I could do it.  I was really tired by the end of the day mainly because it is hard work having a slightly sore back all the time, but I'm getting there! 

Today I'm making gingernuts.  We don't eat a lot of biscuits but we do like one or two with our afternoon cuppa and we keep forgetting to buy them.  I'd better get busy!!  Smiles..

An Eeeek Moment!!

Hi on a gorgeous Wednesday morning.  We had some rain yesterday but the sun's back out today and is meant to stay for the next week or so, plus some more frosts.

Yesterday I had a great time at the Outlet Store.  I had to label and package some of their gorgeous clothing lines, ready to be sent around the country.  I was also asked to cut out a pattern for an actual jacket... it was a Vogue pattern and gossamer fine tissue!  When Deanne (owner) asked me to cut it out my heart was in my mouth because I don’t sew and probably the last time I cut out a pattern was about 30 or more years ago!  Major eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek moment!  I had to cut it down to size 16 (there were four different lines for four different sizes).  I can tell you I was SO SO SO worried I was going to make a complete mess of it.  I held my breath the entire time I was cutting it out.  Phew I got it done but after I’d left work I got a phone call asking where the cut pieces were (bother I’d meant to bring them home to use in my art journal).  Luckily I left them in a bag because they were missing a piece... oh blast and eeeeek!  Isn’t it amazing that even at the age
of 51 I can still be reduced to an unsure teenager by a dress pattern???!!!  I am sort of proud that apart from the missing piece (which I think were instructions) I didn't make a mess of it, yay.

I am trying to decide whether to enter the canvas I posted yesterday in an art exhibition.  It used to just be a local exhibition and I entered it a few years ago with three of my pieces (my REALLY early ones) and they were accepted, everyone's were.  Now it has become a lot more prestigious and I think is nationwide but will be exhibited here in Nelson.  I'm a bit too scared to enter mine I think because I'm not sure it's good enough.  Also it's more complicated to enter - you have to provide them with an A4 photograph and it is so hard to take a decent photo of this canvas because it is shimmery and shiny in places.  Grrrrrr not sure what to do!

Oooh a bright note is that the physio completely changed my exercises on Monday pm and my back is feeling SO much better.  I described how I was feeling at work etc in good detail and Helen (physio) honestly thinks it's the standing that is doing my back in, not the raspberry patch after all so she changed the exercises and wow I got up from them almost without a problem instead of being in agony!  Yeehah!!!  I was really sore at work yesterday which again reiterates it is standing on concrete floors (with a thin layer of carpet over them) that is the problem.  My arthritic left hip means I cannot stand normally anyway so I am hyper-extending my back to keep me upright and this is making my lower back very tetchy.  This week I am working Friday and Sunday at the shop so hopefully the day inbetween will mean I'm not in such strife.  I still need to be careful not to lift heavy things (impossible to not do that at work) too.

I'm off outside to enjoy the sunshine!  Smiles..  p.s. it's so lovely about the Royal baby!  I can't help feeling sad that Princess Diana isn't alive to see him. 

 

Photo of my Canvas

Morning.  I'm rushing off to work so I thought I'd share a photograph of my completed canvas.  I've called it Gorge of Gold but ''Tempest'' has been suggested too.  Please let me know if you have any other ideas.  It was so hard to take a decent photo of this canvas because of the depth of colour but I think I've captured it pretty well.  I'm SO happy with it and almost can't believe I've painted it.

Smiles.. big ones...

Crikey, We Shook!!

Hi, on a rather shaky feeling Monday morning!  I mentioned that we woke to a fairly gnarly earthquake yesterday morning, well at about 5.10pm last evening we were sitting on the couch having drinks and nibbles when I noticed the lights flicker.  Straight after that the shaking started and when it started to get worse we both made for the dining table and climbed under it.  It got worse just after than and then gradually eased off.  The earthquake itself went for about a minute and was centred in the same spot as the one in the morning.  If you look at a map of NZ you will see a stretch of water between the South Island and the North called Cook Strait.  These earthquakes were centred about 30km off the coast of Seddon, the upper east coast.  Seddon is a small settlement outside Blenheim (where my stepson and his wife live) and it has suffered badly from continuous aftershocks.  Most of the media hype is centred on Wellington.  Here's a link to a news report from yesterday and another from this morning, just in case you are interested. 

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/major-disruptions-expected-after-severe-quake-5515737

There doesn't seem to be much news coverage about Seddon which is where the main damage is really. 

As I'm sitting here I am very sensitised to every little noise, movement or anything.  Ugh!  John has an application on his iPad called NZ Quakes and yesterday there were 53 earthquakes around NZ over 4.0 on the richter scale.  That's really scary!

On another note, today I'm recording my radio show and then I'm off to physio this pm.  Thankfully my back is feeling a bit better than it was yesterday.  I had a couple of moments yesterday morning when I really felt scared because I was having trouble moving, the pain was so intense.  Crikey dick, what next!! 

It's a beautiful day so I'm going to do a little weeding in the studio garden (I can do it almost without having to bend). 

Keep your fingers crossed the shaking stops soon!!