Technology again aaaargh.

Strikes again.  The DP and I eat in the evening at the dining table.  Very civilised.  He sets the table cooks the meal and serves it.  I open the wine and set up the music which tonight was sounds of the 70s or some such.  It started with John Lennon and Imagine.

At the end of the meal the DP was getting ready for his Photographic Society evening when the phone rang.  One of the daughters announcing that he was taking part in a group video thing on his phone.....which he had started?  He must have sat on the phone or more likely pressed something as he put it in his pocket....

Mike started a group video chat Mike joined the group video chat.

Emily joined the group video chat.

Emily joined the group call.

Group video chat has ended

Ignore dad, he's gone way beyond a pocket phonecall and pocket video called everyone.

We hope the rest of the daughters and their families did not hear our usual, " Got your phone, wallet, camera, something to write on, stick (for the computer) and car keys?"

Reply, "Will you stop telling me what to do? Where the f*** are my car keys?"

Which so reminded me of this.

A new series of Ladybird Books. Many of us who are around my age will remember these books which we shoved at our kids. This is for us!

This book is hilarious. But I do not want to spoil it for you - or the retailers/publishers who all want their cut. Please look out the whole range of the new Ladybird books. And enjoy. I am not on any commission....

What the DP and I actually did today was have lunch out. During which he got a message on his phone so after lunch we went to a field near where we live. Yes a field. Every year there are thousands of pink footed geese come to stay for the winter.

There are occasionally rarities in amongst them.

And this was it. White fronted goose. (White above the beak.)

I then went down the shedudio and painted.

I am playing about with canvasses. You have to prepare with a substance to take the watercolour, then varnish when its finished. But no framing costs involved so you can offer an original at far less. Yes there is still a lot of effort - how do you price that fellow artists? Here you see work in progress.

And a 'normal' watercolour painting of Oystercatchers and their reflections. Well thats the plan.

AA

Also work in progress.

No technology required.

Isnt Technology Wonderful! NO.

Once upon a time a tablet was something you swallowed with a glass of water.

After much deliberation, and some careful budgeting, I decided to purchase one of the above.  There it is sitting on my desk/dressing table.  Just sitting.  And sitting.  Nowhere in the instructions, after telling you how to connect it to the electric to power the battery, does it tell you for how long.  Will it ping like a microwave when its done?  The DP airily did something mysterious on the edge and up came the battery charging picture.  And then went again.

Its times like this I miss the daughters.  

However what they would do is no help to me.  They whiz about with their fingers, press buttons, and I end up with a phone I cant stand the ring tone of and still have no idea what to do when it plays Nirvana at full blast.  

Well I do have an idea.  I pretend its not mine, specially if in the middle of Tescos.  

Its taken me years and only after taking advice from a fellow wrinkly I found out how to delete messages received and sent that spanned years, and could not face deleting every one individually, not knowing there was a 'check all' and then delete the lot.

When the clocks go back and forward I need at least a couple of hours to remember how to change the time on the phone and in the car too.  By the time I finish they both say different to each other and then for months I am trying to remember which is fast, which is slow, and am always glad when I have to drive past the church clock in Fraserburgh which I hope is right.

Now you may well ask why on earth does this techno dim wit want a tablet.  Well.  A lot of artists use photography to paint from, or use as a guide.  Once you enlarge a photograph it becomes blurred. 
Ok possibly the DP would love to spend even more money on some equipment that didnt do that, but hey, its my turn.  

The screen on the tablet is sharper and you can zoom in on parts and get even sharper definition, such as the colour of an eye.  

A tablet is also more portable than lugging a lap top round with you, and mine takes a lot of messing about with to see detail.  Apparently all you have to do with a tablet is wave your finger at it.  

So I can take it, with uploaded photos, to art class/group and down the shed, and well, just anywhere.

However, I now have another problem.  I need it upright to paint from the photo it is showing me.  So - its back to t'internet to source a stand.  And me and t'internet, well thats another story.

Meanwhile the tablet is just sitting there and if I prod it it shows me a picture.