The Perfect Housewife.

Ah - when this was my bible.  
Now it may surprise you but this is what I aspired to some years ago.

But after many years of running a 3 star bed and breakfast, (which I fought and lost to make four star,) I gave up.  I gave up cooking three course evening meals,  I gave up ironing, I gave up welcoming all and sundry through my front door.  Greeting them with with a full on smile as they were the most important person in my world.  No longer. (Tho anyone coming through my door is still the most important person as I have invited them!)

But, I read all the blogs, I read about people making things, growing things, weeding, saving money, menu planning, and I look round and think........

So every so often I feel that surge of energy and bring out the vinegar, the bicarb, the beeswax, and go berserk.

So, this morning, I blitzed all the leather settees and chair (the D.P.'s chair).

Beeswaxed the window sill in the sitting room.

E clothed every surface.  (All paintings for sale!)

Including the 'orrid shiny surfaces in the Dining Room (inherited I hasten to add.)  But then, in there we have a fridge, freezer, in addition to the ones in the kitchen.  Wine coolers x two, lots of storage space for cutlery, crockery, glasses, booze, games, cds, coffee maker, my piano, so not all that bad really.

Cleaned and polished my lovely style icon light, are you taking note Mum!? Piano, and cat, on leather recliner, well who better, cats are good at reclining are they not.

More of the b***** shiny stuff.

Thats it then for a while.  

Collapsed down the shedudio.

Waiting for paint to dry on various works in progress had another go with the charcoal.

Never be the Perfect Housewife, do I care? No.

Down to earth.

After Friday's very full on, almost back to normal here.  Despite copious amounts of the red stuff no ill effects.  Possibly longer in bed.....  So it was off to Peterhead for my proper glasses, yesterday.  They do not look much different to the last ones, but oh boy, I can seeeeeeeeee.  I no longer have to wait for the horses in the field across to move so that I can distinguish between them and a tree, which of course doesnt move unless you have had way too much of the red stuff.

Sadly the DP overdid it at the Viking Wedding,  I mean some of us will already know that walking through Sand Dunes is not easy even when you are fully fit, so he is suffering today.  So Saturday was a day of rest for him.  

Looking through the photographs.  Both of us realising we were quite pleased we left when we did as events apparently took a silly turn.  These were sent to us by a friend.

Thank goodness we left before the talent competition.

Although we did see this.

Our friends who sent the photos by the boat - also made from pallets.  

We await the pictures of it on fire.

Which brings us to Sunday.  The DP managed to disappear on a photographic jaunt with friend, leg made miraculous recovery.

So that left me in the shedudio.  Along with Minerva McGonagall.

The statue we can see through the door is Flora.  Flora lost her head in the removal and has at last got it back in its rightful place.

I was playing about with charcoal while waiting for the paint to dry on the latest hen/cockerel effort.

Quail, above and Fish below.

Now its evening.

Hope we all have a pleasant one.

Weddings. Viking and otherwise.

Today was the day chosen by our friends to hold their Viking themed wedding.  

The Hall was built by the groom with help from friends, created from pallets.  The building, the tables, the whole structure, from pallets.  

Dressed and draped with hessian and other bits, all from recycled stuff, the shields, seating straw bales.

The cake from Jammy Dodgers,  Cadbury fingers etc.

Valhalla for me!  

We all had to walk down to the beach, sand dunes making a wonderful ampitheatre.  The men went first.  

Not sure what they got up to. 

I was with the women, and the DP was the official Viking photographer attached to the bride.  So we have all to wait for proper pics of the day, as these are mine.  

So not that good.  Like these are the backs of the 'bridesmaids'.  As by the time I had got down to the beach I was not breathing and collapsed next to a lovely Jack Russell who did his damndest to resuscitate me.

The gathered Vikings.

This was my first Humanist Wedding and I must say it knocks mine into a cocked hat.  I felt like doing it all again.  

Next we have the DP who really was most active to say he has sciatica and a limp and living on pain killers.

And at last the Bride and Groom.  He has spent a year growing his hair and beard.  Having armour made, she of course spent an hour on the sewing machine and sorted it, as we women do.  She also beat him at sword fighting which they did later.......

and one small boy shouted out, "What is this game about?"  Obviously never let loose with a sword before, tho he was doing a good job of beheading an even smaller cousin later.

And here is me.  Looking totally ridiculous.  Just in case you have to dress up as a not very convincing Viking... leather head band, chopped up belt.  Black tunic - t shirt.  Sheepskin gilet, now unwearable as I removed all zips, black leggings, and furry boots with straps, oh and blanket, used after cat removed from, as a cloak.  

Everyone went back to the Viking Hall and started on the booze and made vast inroads into the bread, meats, cheese, dips with crudites, etc.  At this point the DP and I made our exit.  Although looking at the pig roasting away it was with some regret.

But we had our own wedding day to celebrate.

From the windows of the restaurant where we celebrated our wedding anniversary on the longest day this was the end of a perfect day.

A cloud with a silver lining.

Land of the Big Sky.  I love it.

Blooming 'eck.

Only if you come from the North of England will you understand the title.

Its a polite way of saying Bl**** H***.

I took about twice as much of the above bloomings into our Wednesday Morning Art Group.  

Lilac, Cow Parsley, Poppies, Paeonies, Laburnam, Aquilegia,  (all in a plastic bucket, that once contained fat  balls to feed the birds on. ) 

The other half disappeared with the artists.  I like to share my garden and not being quite ready for the Open Gardens Scheme wherein you welcome in anybody and everybody to tea and cakes as well, and they all oooh and aaah over your wonderful garden (ignoring the wasteland of failed wild meadows) and purchase your seedlings and plantlets, I just go in there and cut everything that is blooming and take it in for anyone to draw, paint, pastel,  gouache or whatever.  Because this week our challenge was THINKING.  We had to look, think, a lot before putting pen, or brush to paper.

I had a go at the Lilacs.  Now on the wall of infamy, totally out of my comfort zone, I really need a nose, two eyes and feathers or fur to be inspired.  Not petals sadly.  I know my limits.  So why didnt I take in a stuffed animal or bird? (Because I havent got one.)

My limits have been drastically reduced.  I had my eyes tested and - as if I didnt know - was told my eye sight had gone totally haywire.  Some sort of fight between long sight, short sight, beginnings of cataracts (arent they waterfalls?) So I needed new glasses.  Appointment made for collecting of new glasses.  She should have gone to Specsavers.  Well I DID.  Given glasses, tested short sight , tick, tested long sight, tick.  Then I asked, "So where are the proper glasses?" as we were doing all this testing with the new sunglasses.

They havent arrived yet.  Oh boy, so now it has to be sunny - otherwise I can see nothing.

Blooming 'eck.

June is bursting out all over....

You can say that again. And again.  I have never had so many spikes on the Rogersii.

New trellis up for the burgeoning Clematis.

And the other Clematis, alongside which is the second Rogersii, also throwing up more spikes.

I planted 150 Allium bulbs.  No way have I got 150 Alliums come up!  Not even a quarter of them, ah well, they have made up for my disappointment.  I do have a sample of each one, but not all out yet.

A lovely sheltered sun trap.  I only discovered this while staggering, to the left of the lilac tree, to the compost bin heaving a trug full of weeds.

I thought, "Hey up, this is a lovely, sheltered sun trap."  So dragged a few chairs across.

But didnt dare sit on them as I would never have got up again.

I do think that it must be down to the funny weather we have had that everything is flowering like mad.  

"This could be the last time we blossom!"

Just all of a sudden there's flowers everywhere you look.

Sadly the DP went a bit mad with the weather being warm, sunny, windless and now been diagnosed with sciatica and loaded up with pills.  Having read the blurb that comes with pills these days, too much information......  I shall be surprised if he survives.

Howsomever, he was told today, best cure is to walk.  So no excuse tomorrow when I kick him out of bed.

It was his excuse to justify the boat trip he went on at the weekend.  Our insurance man just got himself a new Rib, No his name is not Adam, tis a boat.  That goes very, very fast.  And no doubt where our insurance money went.

By the time you have all the safety gear, inflating body suits, life saver efforts you couldnt walk very far anyway.

So off they bounced.  These Ribs dont sail smoothly across the briny, they bounce. Very fast.  Up the coast to Pennan.  Made famous in the filum, "Local Hero".  

Once the boat stopped bouncing the cameras were released from their waterproof safe.

The real reason for the jaunt.  Taking photographs.  Guillemot.

Puffin.

My favourite, above, Gannet.

Do you think I should be seeking therapy?  I cannot stop drawing and painting Gannets.  OCG.

Nearly finished.