June...

Apologies for yet more silence - I've not had much to write about really.  However, there has been a little painting - the above is a quick study while teaching one of my old students last week.

                                               

This is Trouble, my one and only commission in June.  Watercolour on paper.

We also went on a week's holiday - back to Middleton on Sea in the house that looks like a boat!  A very quiet week, just pottering on the beach, visiting Bognor, and eating plenty of fish and chips.

                                      

I found one of the best fossils, an almost perfect sea urchin that was also sparkly with crystal like facets.

 Last week we went fruit picking and yesterday I made a little jam....I think that might keep us going for a while!  We had run out completely as out local pick your own farm closed down last year.  We have found a new place, further away but just as good.

And on the needles - still working on patterns for a new Nudinits book.

Boring...

Apologies for being so quiet over the past month or so.  I seem to have spent most of my time in the garden trying to get all the jobs done that were left while it rained interminably.

I have finally planted all seedlings & young plants, which was a task and a half, especially finding spaces for various cabbage & cauliflower plants that were given to me.  It's all in now and I am impatiently waiting for everything to grow while fighting off the snails and slugs.

We have a pretty dire summer predicted - I hope that doesn't come to pass as I would really like to be harvesting homegrown veg this year!

We found a pick your own farm within easy distance recently, so I have been making strawberry and rhubarb jam as we had finally run out of all homemade jam.  Also made tomato & chilli jam and pickled some beetroot.

I was ill over the last couple of weeks - it was a bit concerning as I had a tight and painful chest with the feeling that I needed to cough but nothing was productive. Also kept getting a low grade fever off and on for a few days.  Went to the doctor and was told it was nothing serious, probably viral (isn't it always?) and sent home with some strong cough mixture and instructions to send in BP readings twice a day.  Thankfully, it all seems to be clearing up at last.

On the work front, I have been painting a sweet commission of a cat, plus designing and knitting more fun patterns for Nudinits.  Hopefully I will have more interesting things to blog about soon!