Sun and snow

To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.

(Leonard Bernstein from Quotes on Design by Chris Coyier)

Isn’t that SO true?

Yesterday we had hail showers, today there is still snow on the hills and we are forecast a frost overnight and sleet showers tomorrow. 

It is May isn’t it?  Are you sure?

You’re not going to believe this but as I’m writing at 10.14am its SNOWING!!!!! 
Really, its not the cherry blossom falling. 

This morning the sun was shinning and the hills were looking glorious.

The flowers are finally out.

I’m now finishing this post at 3.30pm and its freezing!

So glad we are heading south on our holidays.  Originally we were going to Orkney in early May but changed plans to head over the channel in a motor home.  Camping for the boys, with en-suite and soft bed for me.  Just like New Zealand in 2008.   A perfect combination.

Hopefully it will be warm – the volcanic ash seems to be depressing temperatures on the continent.  Hope it blows the other way soon.

Sometimes you just have to wait your turn…….  (I love photographing bovines – the second picture is always the best as they look up when they hear the shutter click – well not that there is one anymore on a digital camera, but you know what I mean).

 

More progress on the shed, de ja vue isn’t it?

     

What we’ve all been waiting for!

Well it took the builders a few weeks to get here – but now it’s all go.  Here’s the Studio number 2. 
Lets hope there isn’t a studio number 3!

It helps to have friends with tractors.  Saturday the walls arrived.

And today the walls went up and they made a start on the roof.

   

I went in this evening and marked out the position of the electrical sockets.  You try to get this right, but you know you never will!

 

I’m going to ask them to build some shelves between those windows and the ones at the front.  As most stuff is in crates now I won’t need all the shelves I had before.  Advantages and disadvantages to both storage systems.

Playing with the iPhone

Oh I have a new toy (or two, or three)!!! Camera App’s on the iPhone.  These pictures are as they were taken – no Photoshop jiggling.  Wonderful!

 

  

London Days 3 and 4

I do wish the British government would sort themselves out.  Well actually I wish we HAD a government.  Nick Clegg must be enjoying being Kingmaker, Warwick would be interested in the new power base, politicians, not Kings.

I was gathering some long favourite songs from iTunes store – you know the ones you really like but don’t have?  Well I downloaded “Come on Eileen” (school disco favourite) and thought of an article I’d read in the Times a few weeks ago.  David Cameron is only a year older than both myself and the person being interviewed.  They thought it was very scary that someone who had danced to “Come On Eileen” at school could be running the country soon.  I so totally agree! 

I also downloaded old rock favourites and amazed DS by “head banging” to some heavy rock (he’s used to the music, but not the actions) It’s not the same with short hair.  He was quite amazed, even more so when I said I still had my black leathers…….  Poor child.  I live such a quiet life these days, he has no idea of my child free years.

Are you still with me?  Good!  Last few pictures from London – British Museum (what a wonderful source of knowledge and inspiration) and finally Covent Garden.  Oh and I forgot to mention our trip to the Lion King I think – wonderful.

The Kingdom of Ife exhibition was wonderful.  Miss the quilts and go and see it instead.

DS loved these, he wasn’t as interested in the Egyptian articles as he thought he would be.

 

Now these give me the heebee’s.

The Benin Bronzes.  Something I’d really wanted to see.  Did you watch the BBC series on Lost Empires of Africa?  Wonderful…. and these bronzes in real life were wonderful too.  One to return to with a sketchbook and time.

 

Greek temples and marbles.

And of course, the India room, far too dark for much photography and too many glass cases with reflections.  Again, one for the sketchbook and more time “to sit and stare”.

I fell at the last hurdle…. I walked through the V&A bookshop without stopping (I knew I would want them all), but the BM shop was too easy.

 

Covent Garden on Thursday morning…. oh the shops! 
East lured me…. I succumbed.  Small child restrained me from the rest. 
Then it was off to Kings Cross and the train home.  4 hrs later we were in a colder Northumberland.  But a lovely quiet, clean and friendly Northumberland.  Back home.

London Day 2- part two

After the NH museum we headed across the road, on a very hot day, to the V&A to meet friends and see the Quilts exhibition.

What did I think of the quilt show?  Erm, well, it didn’t tinkle my bells really.

    

But the Islamic room and the Indian sculptures did.  Too dark to photograph much.

 

London Day 2 – part 1

Well there’s not a lot of textiles happening here so I hope you won’t mind some more London pictures – Nanna will be happy.

I have a floor on the new studio as of today – but no walls yet!

DS and I both adored the Natural History Museum.  I wish we had spent more time there.  First stop next time we head to the Capital.

When you first enter you’re met by this dinosaur (well a plaster cast actually, but shhh!  he thought it was real and I couldn’t break the spell).

The dinosaur exhibition was wonderful – dark to photograph.

 

Lets see that Darwin picture again.  One of my favourites of the trip.

The building itself is beautiful, carving everywhere.  I wonder if most visitors see these monkeys climbing the walls?

And how many look up at the painted ceiling?

Enthralled child….

Utterly enthralled child… we looked at every display case in detail.  (This is why we missed coffee – sorry!)

Candles and Cake

Birthday cake from Monday



And purchases from Liberty. The LHS fabric is my all time favourite Liberty fabric.

London Day 1

Hard to believe this was only 8 days OK, seems much longer.  On Day 1 we saw Big Ben, the river and I went to the one shop I wanted to visit – Liberty to get some fabric.

 

“It’s Aslan” said DS!  “There’s another one!”

This is the quietest we saw Trafalgar Square all week.  We called into the National Gallery (above) and it’s cafe to revive ourselves and had a quick look around the important pictures – Constable’s Haywain, Van Gogh (“It’s not swirly”) – including a swirly one at the end, Holbein's fantastic weird skull, Monet, Renoir, Leonardo, Seurat and other in passing.  Not sure what he remembers but at least I can say he has seen these famous paintings!

Top of DS’s list was to see Big Ben.  “It’s huge!”

I was interested in the gothic details.

   

DS spotted the wonderful chocolate shops…..

Anthropologie store – shot from the hip so a bit blurred….must return next time.

 

A Anthropologie window - perfect for a C&G sample!

 

Liberty – not the same as it used to be, but still has something special about it…..

 

This was the department I was after – fabrics and haberdashery.  Though not a very satisfying shopping experience with a bored child and both of us with rucsacs on our backs and me carrying a large camera, it’s a tight space and hard to choose when you have a time limit.  But I am happy with what I did get – will take some photo’s later today. 

Yes, there is a Liberty quilt coming on….. how trendy is that?!