stuff and nonsense

Hi peeps. How are you? I've been a bad girl, I know. But I thought I'd pop by with another update of what I've been up to.

1) Last weekend was spent at one of my dearest friends' hen do in Oxfordshire. I ate a whole, and rather large, sea bass all by myself at The Swan at Southrop. It was delicious and indulgent. We went to beautiful Burford, where we had lots of scones and pottered around the little shops. I came home with a set of vintage butter knives, I couldn't help myself. It was a wonderful, snowy, cosy weekend full of laughter and great company. It's so good for me to get out and see friends. It reminds me that I'm not just an illustrating/baby-making machine.

2) I've been considering making a necklace like this one, from old brooches and bits of jewellery. I want something kooky, blingy and totally over the top to wear to a wedding in March, because I'll probably be wearing a plain black jersey dress over my burgeoning belly that will need some serious pepping up. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm currently stalking several job lots of vintage brooches on eBay and hoping for a bargain. Image from Lovejune on Etsy.

3) I'm currently working with some nice people at Oxford University on an animation. I don't know how much I can disclose, but it's been a fun challenge so far. The hard bit starts next week, when I start animating to a tight schedule.

4) It's that time of year when I should be thinking about what I should be growing in the garden. I've been lacking energy recently, and the cold snap has made spring seem like it's ages away yet, but it will be March before I know it and little seeds will have to be started. It's so exciting. I just need the husband to do any heavy work for me this year. We may even get chickens, but I think this is a fantasy.

5) I started baby and nursery pinboards on Pinterest. But have I bought anything yet? Uh. No. I'm kind of more interested in growing vegetables. Just kidding.

Hope you are all well.
xx

this morning

We were visited by this gentleman (who's been eating all of the Hungarian rye seeds that I've sown for green manure). Didn't have the heart to chase him off.

Sorry things have been quiet on the drawing front. I've recently been collared into working again - this time for Nationwide - and there's quite a lot to do. Maybe I'll be a good girl and draw something fun next week. Have a good weekend, kids.

Oh, and yes, the rug smells.

a few things

Damson crumble, using fruit from our trees, that was so good I nearly wept.

The last of the damsons bobbing in gin, to be ready for Christmas. The colour is jewel-perfect.

Gorgeously scented roses from Jenny - one of them smells like lychees. And flowers from my neighbour.

today...

We are enjoying the nicest weather we've had for weeks and I'm stuck indoors animating. Annoying! I did nip out to the garden to cut a few flowers for our cheerfully clothed table, though. That tablecloth was the only thing we brought back from our honeymoon in Italy - bought at the market in Malcesine, it reminds me of sunshiney holidays.

When my mother-in-law saw it she was like 'why did you buy a tablecloth with weeds on it?' :-D It's because I want reactions like that.

The National Trust Summerhouses

I was talking about railway carriage outbuildings the other day, but what to do if a train wreck doesn't just happen to be sitting at the end of your garden? The photo above is of an outbuilding on one of the properties we have been ogling recently. It has two rooms and a loft space and sounds absolutely perfect. I would trim back some of those hedges to bring more light in, put some potted plants outside, a table and chair for the summer, and paint the door Oval Room Blue or something greenish by Farrow and Ball. Then one room could be my main studio, and the other my 'wet' room where I can make a mess. See? I've already moved in :-). The property also has a wooden summerhouse, which I would probably turn into a retreat away from work.


I just stumbled across these National Trust Summerhouses, built by Scotts of Thrapston. Each one was inspired by a National trust property - George Bernard Shaw's summerhouse, and Virginia Woolf's converted tool shed. They are perhaps a little too neat for me, too 'finished', but I love the idea of having a place tucked away in the corner of my garden where I don't have the distractions of the internet, telephone and housework.

Elspeth Thompson

I made a quick search yesterday for more railway carriage houses and came across the beautiful home crafted by writer, gardener and all-round amazing lady, Elspeth Thompson. It was created on the Sussex coast from two dilapidated Victorian railway carriages and her ambition was to turn it into an eco-home, complete with a sedum roof, greywater recycling and solar panels. It truly has been a labour of love, and is more beautiful for its green credentials.

Sadly, however, I discovered on her blog that she passed away less than two weeks ago, having suffered from severe depression which resulted in her taking her own life. I really don't know how to express what this made me think - that life isn't about having the most amazing home, or an apparently enviable lifestyle. Thompson wrote beautifully and lived her life with such honesty and joy, and goodness - it makes me quite sad to think how it must have been blighted in the end by her illness, despite outer appearances. It makes me grateful for my own health and what I have, which is a wonderful husband and a beautiful home, exciting possibilities on my horizon and a lifetime ahead of me, I hope. I would love to conduct my life with as much grace as she did.

Read her obituary in The Telegraph here.

the weekend

was relaxing. You know how it has been this winter, and it felt like it would never end. Even those promising little peeps of sun we had last week were quickly smothered by cloud. On Saturday it rained all day and I was stuck indoors doing housework and setting up my new computer. But yesterday it was glorious and I spent the whole day in the garden tidying up the flowerbeds, sweeping up dead leaves and trimming away all the dead stuff that I had neglected for too long. It was blissful and calming to be out there with nothing much going on in my head, absent-mindedly scratching my arms to shreds in the gooseberry bush, and sending a cascade of accidentally-woken woodlice into my hair (oh yes, that happened when I was wrestling with the compost bin!). Oh, and I terrorised this poor caterpillar until it stood still for long enough to let me take a photo.

I haven't got much to say for myself today. I'm just back at the desk and shouting at my work. Hope you had a good weekend too :-)

distracted

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted some of my own work. My scanner packed in the other day and I'm still waiting for its replacement. Grrrr! I have been reliably informed by some automated delivery e-mail that it should arrive today.

It's not as if I've been doing much personal work recently, though. I've been working rather hard, which is a change for me!

It is sunny today and I went out just half an hour ago with the camera to see if I could capture that misty, cool quality of the light and the deep shadows of the furrows in the newly-turned field. It's cold this morning, chilling the tips of my fingers as I check my beer traps for slugs, assess the rapidly fading vegetable patch, pick the last few courgettes. I don't think this picture captures all of these things, but this is my view today:

the weekend...

was charitable. We went scouring out local charity shops for stuff. I bought a pickled onion jar that I think the husband secretly hates and a small pile of books to keep me happy.

Otherwise I did very little. I have a burgeoning list of things to do but I feel lethargic and can't be bothered to address them yet. All I can think of is buying boots on eBay. It's tragic - the mound of work grows but footwear reigns supreme here.

I can't quite believe it's nearly autumn. What the hell happened to summer? We had maybe two weeks of blistering sunshine and we stupidly got all optimistic that it wouldn't rain all summer again. OK, so it didn't rain too much but the sun vanished some time in early July and never bothered to come back: it couldn't be arsed I guess. Buggered off on holiday in Italy. That said, we've had a beautiful weekend here. I love the different light you get at this time of year and the mist that hangs in the air. I can't wait to wear my wax jacket with a floral dress, chunky boots and legwarmers.


My pumpkins are coming along nicely, although I left too many on the plant and now they are all tiny.

you look away for a minute...

well, for a week, let's say, and you end up with this:



I had EIGHT of those bastard giant courgettes (thankfully two have been given away and we ate an enormous one last night). And the giant vat of tomatoes? Panzanella for lunch today. That's what you get for spending too much time working and not enough time pootling about in the garden. The pumpkin plant has turned into some kind of gargantuan triffid, our runner bean frame has collapsed under the weight of its load, and I have a pile of potatoes to unearth this weekend. Garlic too. The weather has been marvellous again for the last few days, although spending most of them enduring bum-and-thigh-sweat in London hasn't been the best way of enjoying it. The heat in London yesterday made the streets smell like Hong Kong, stuffy with the odour of drains and rotting vegetables.

I am glad to be home again, and my laptop is working. I have lost some data from my old hard drive but hopefully I'll get it back soon, and I'm spending the day trying to reinstall my old software. Almost there! Then things will get back to normal. If only I could get this damned scanner driver installed and working. Grr!

So yeah, it's been a tough week (tough job - I ended up weeping like a baby in front of my agents on Friday, which was very unseemly) - one of the longest of my life, or that's how it feels at least! I'll be back with something fun tomorrow. Thanks for reading! I missed being here.

the garden

is filled with the scent of honeysuckle. Today it smells like the most beautiful thing in the world. It is feverishly hot outside in the sun and the hum of bumblebees amongst the sage blossom is the loudest sound in the garden. I have been walking up and down the path, to and from the water tap to stop my lovely plants from wilting in this heat. The courgettes have finally mustered the courage to put out some flower buds. Tardy, but I'm happy now they are winking at me from the vegetable patch with the promise of raw courgette salads at least later on this summer. I could spend all day out there if only my conscience didn't keep me chained to my desk. Maybe later it'll let me outside again for a spot of weeding :-).