I'd planned to start with the weather - cold, windy, wet and miserable yesterday and absolutely glorious today - sunshine and temps in the mid 70s. Talking about the weather is a major trait that defines 'Britishness' but given the variability (is that a real word) of our climate that's hardly surprising.
But that led me down memory lane to the wonderful Headmaster at my Primary School who was always quoting little rhymes and ditties. Thanks to him I had a brilliant start to my academic life which sadly went rapidly downhill when I went to secondary school to find that most of my classmates from different primary schools were about 2 years behind us in learning ... so I got horribly bored, went off the rails and became a 'wild child' but I digress (again)
the Ditty that sprang to mind today was:
Whether the weather be fine, or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold, or whether the weather be hot,
We'll weather the weather, whatever the weather
Whether we like it or not ....
I can also recite the entire poem about the boy, Jim, who got eaten by a lion. It was one of many poems we listened to in English classes on the school radio programme. Its more than 50 lines long but I remember it word for word and still occasionally recite it (after too much wine, or just to annoy David) This is the poem:
Hilaire Belloc Poem - boy getting eaten by lion
anyway, as the weather was so good this afternoon, and David was feeling a bit more human after his 5 day tummy bug, we went food shopping and just to prove he is feeling better, look what he slipped into the trolley. As we shopped close to store closing time they had lots of items marked down for quick sales and this profiterole mountain was one such item ...
He has tested two already with no ill effects - so he now thinks they should be available on prescription. Not to my taste at all (I haven't got a sweet tooth)
The 'mountain' minus two!
I then spent a couple of hours in the garden digging out weeds and generally tidying up - the first time I've been able to do so for months - it needs another couple of sessions but I've made inroads and didn't want to risk damaging my back/neck again - this time last year I was visiting the spine clinc 3 times a week!
A garden visitor
A beautiful Peacock butterfly basking in a sunny spot on the fence
Still waiting for feedback on Zinc (horse) and confirmation of which photograph I will be working on for the little dog scheduled next. So I made a start on outlining a double dog portrait which will be a birthday gift. One thing led to another and I did a little more than 'outline' the dogs - here's where I got to:
Two dogs, drawn from separate photos with lots of supporting photos showing eyes/coat colour etc so I'm flitting between images - this is pastels on Fisher 400 sanded paper
as usual, the colour changes depending on what time of day I photographed the work but for the moment I'm happy just to have made a start - I will carry on with this between the other commissions - two more dogs are higher priority but I'm awaiting instructions
Right ... time to shut down the computer and relax for a few hours .... hope you all had a lovely weekend
Sounds like wonderful memories! I love the woodgrain you captured with your visitor! Beautiful job so far on the doggie :)
ReplyDeleteGreat start on the dog - which one is this? Beautiful butterfly & I'm with David on the profiterole although I had to look up what they were. They look yummy.
ReplyDeleteI love profiterole, but I would have to be very, very careful, otherwise a mound like that wouldn't last long. I used to always have a pot of them in the freezer. Yummy.
ReplyDeleteLove the butterfly, we have a butterfly conservatory close to us, been there once.
Good start on the dog, look forward to see how it finishes.
Funny how we remember things so well from our school days, and I too remember the whether the weather, as I had to learn it because I used to spell it wether (which is another thing completely!). The eyes on the dog are drawing me in. They are amazing. Enjoy the spring for as long as it lasts.
ReplyDeleteThanks ladies
ReplyDeleteI wonder why I remember poems learned when I was at primary school but can't remember what happened a week ago!!