A spaghetti roof...

What a week,  funny how you wait for ages for appointments, then like buses, they all seem to arrive at once.   I've also been trying to cancel an appointment without much success. Tried to cancel on the referral booking site, no joy, keeps telling me that the appointment is in the past, tried phoning but I'm not going to hang on in a queue and build up a large phone bill.  So not sure what to do. 


Like the pick,  I just felt like being arty!   I've been busy with Snowdrop Cottage,  and managing to scatter the gravel everywhere.  Thank goodness for the handheld vac, what a godsend it is.  I had to keep on giving the desk a bit of a sweep with a large paintbrush.   The exterior is now done,  so the focus in now on the roof, more of that in a mo! 

The side view,  just have to fill in those teeny tiny spaces on the blue bit...   must be mad.  Not sure how I got the lumpy bit,  though it has now been removed. 

I'm liking my blue,  it was a mix of a cobalt blue and some white.  I wanted a fresh colour for the cottage,  normally I age them, but I'm not sure I will this time. 

So what of the roof...  well:

Take some mdf, and then add spaghetti!    This will, I hope,  look like pantiles.   So far it has been very fiddly, and a bit hit and miss. 

The first stage wasn't too bad,  had to fix the spaghettie onto the roof.  I used some DST (double sided tape), then positioned them evenly.

Next, well there were two options.   I could use the air dried clay, or tin foil.    I opted to use the clay.  I rolled out a piece as thinly as I could, then cut it into strips.  Next I laid it onto the spaghetti, and continued with the next strip. 

But I wasn't happy, it didn't look right, the tiles looked too big for the size of the roof.  So stripped it off and decided to go with the tin foil version.

Which is this.  No, I don't like it either.   I'd been fiddling with it all afternoon, so I took a break and had something to eat.  Then I read my book of instructions,  oops, I'd missed a bit out!  I needed to use some PVA glue along with the DST.   Which I shall do tomorrow. 






As I said at the start, this week has been busy.  I had to make my appointment for the MRI, and got a shock when I was told that there was an appointment for Saturday (yesterday),  I grabbed it, better than waiting.  Next came my appointment for the counselling, this is for the more intensive counselling,  so that starts on 5th September.  After that it was the letter for the follow up to the MRI, at the beginning of October.  Blimey, it is all go!  

So yesterday I had an early start, had to be at the hospital for 9.15, and the hospital in question is  40 minute drive away, and that is on a good day.   I allowed a bit of time for delays and arrived at 9 a.m.,  no receptionist, so took a seat.  There was a couple waiting, they said that the staff were coming in and out of the waiting room to check.  At about 9.15 the radiographer came through,  and I went into another waiting room.  I had to take off all my jewellry and any other metal bits.   Then it was into the donut, okay, MRI machine.   I'd forgotten how noisy the darn things are, but in spite of the noise I still fell asleep!    I had to have an MRI on my neck and lower back, so had to go through twice.  But it was all done and dusted just after 10, and I could go home.  I went to the very big supermarket near the hospital for some necessary bits, then with my back protesting I drove home.  Odd thing happened, in the afternoon my wonky knee, the metal one,  became very puffy and warm,  it became hard to bend it.  I had told the radiographer about my knee replacement.  I wasn't sure what to do, to give them a call or wait and see what would happen.  I had visions of my metal knee slowly melting!    It didn't, and today it has been fine,  sadly my back isn't, it is still very painful.   I've had a few sleepless nights lately because of the pain.   So now I have to wait for the results.  And on Friday I have another scan,  this time on my liver.   Someone said to be once that if the medical profession get their hooks into you they never let go, I'm beginning to think there is some truth in that.    I'm still very tired, doesn't matter how much sleep I get I still wake up tired.  This morning me and Harvey had a lazy start to the day,  I woke up at about 7 a.m., but felt that was too early for a Sunday, so I had some tea and toast,  more painkillers and went back to sleep...  I woke up to the dulcet sounds of Harvey's yowling at 9 a.m.,  he wanted to go out for his walk!   He is a cat, but insists on having a morning walk, not with me, he just goes off on his own and checks the neighbourhood. 

I also had a humungus pile of ironing,  hate ironing.  So got the stool, put up the ironing board, switched on the telly and set to.   Wasn't as bad as I thought,  lots of T shirts to get through, and some sheets.  I did break for a cup of coffee, and gave Harvey his treat.   I've also been collecting feathers for him,  a few tied to a piece of string keeps him amused for hours. 

So tomorrow it is the pantiles part three, or that could be part four...   whichever it is, tomorrow is going to be a lazy day.  Oh of course, it is a bank holiday!   Sorry for us retired types those things now pass me by.

Will report back on the pantiles... 

Must be Monday...

Welcome to Snowdrop cottage!  As you can see I've been busy, wallpaper is up, flooring done, even got the door fitted.   Yes the top floor is also in good order,  as is the annexe. Just needs some furniture, maybe a few pictures on the wall?

It is easy to get carried away with these little houses,  they are so well designed, and very accurately cut. I went for floorboards for the ground floor,  not made those for a while.  And I used some canvas paper for the ceiling,  just gives a bit of texture.

Upstairs I decided to put use floor tiles.  I made the 'tiles' using Craft Artist Pro,  a bit fiddly but worth the effort.   I do need to put in another door upstairs. 

I also got round to the front.  The quions are on, those things on the sides, windows are in, and next up came the pebble dash.   Yep, it all has to be pebble dashed, but it is pretty easy,  just need to use plenty of pva glue, and not be tempted to tip off the excess too soon. 

First bits done, well half done.  Sadly the cat required feeding.   Harvey is in fusspot mode,  it usually lasts a week, then he goes back to being happy.   So I got him some fishy packs of food, they usually help the fussiness.  Had to go to a different supermarket, and it was tipping down with rain.  The things we do for our furry friends.  

And the Olympics is over,   have to wait for the ParaOlympics,  which sadly is going to be hit by some financial cuts. 

Not sure if I am going to have time for the cottage tomorrow, got a few things to do.  Just hope the heatwave doesn't get this far,  me and Harvey can't cope. 


All for now folks,  thanks for stopping by.

A golden fortnight

Wow, how amazing is Team GB?   25 Gold medals!    I'm exhausted by it all.   I've watched some of the early morning stuff,  occasionally it pays to have insomnia!  It is sad to see that so many events have been poorly attended,  and now it looks like the Paralympics will be badly affected by lack of money because the organisers have dipped into the paralympian fund.

In the meantime, between Olympic stuff,  I carried on with my pansy.  It is slowly coming to life.  I'm starting to add the darker shade of purple to achieve some depth.   I'll keep at it.  I saw a lovely photo of a badger which I must draw. 

I have been missing my housebuilding, so I caved in and bought Snowdrop Cottage, isn't it adorable!   It arrived today, was so happy to see the A5 padded envelope waiting for me when I returned from the papershop.   I couldn't wait to get started.   I've done all the prep work, and got some of the wallpapering and flooring done, but now need to print off more wall paper.   I've also got to put in a little garden, looking forward to that bit.

I didn't feel guilty about being indoors,  the weather today has been terrible.  So windy, and also raining, Harvey is unamused.  

He thought he'd look at things from a different perspective, sadly it didn't alter the weather!  But he did get a treat, some fresh chicken, which he loves.  I now have to make sure that there is enough chicken for me and him.  The things us cat owners do!    He's been a bit under the weather lately,  he's not liking his new cat neighbours, one is a bit of a bully, but he got his comeuppance the other day, picked on the wrong cat, not Harvey, but the big moggy! 

Yes this is amusing, but it also has a point.  I'm an introvert.  I'll speak more on this in each blog.  But please don't confuse introvertism with being shy or anti social,  us introverts sime like peace and quiet, and we need lots of it.   When I first read about being an introvert, I realised that I was reading about myself and my life.  It was such a relief,  my family always accused me of being anti social because I didn't much like parties,  though I would go, and in my own way I'd enjoy myself.  However my way was to sit and watch,  I was completely happy, but others decided that just sitting and watching was boring, and how could I possibly be enjoying myself,  I should get up and make an idiot of myself, or go chat to folk I didn't even know (or like).   Equally I knew when I was tired and needed to go home, but you can't ever leave a party early...   grrrr.  You can, and it doesn't mean that you are a miserable sod,  it simply means that you are tired and need to recharge your batteries.    More on this....

It's been a busy week, sadly some of the time was taken up with a bit of a crisis, not of my doing, and which was finally sorted out by a lovely lady who knew what she was doing.  So I spent the first half of the week totally stressed and very, very anxious.  Then on Thursday it was off to yet another hospital for an assessment on my dodgy back.  The verdict wasn't good,  in fact I was a bit surprised when I was told that I had damage to more than one disc.  I now need to have an MRI,  that will show how bad things are, not sure I want to know.  But my back really is bad,  on Monday I just turned and suddenly my back went into spasm,  I was in agony for the next two days until the spasm eased.  And today I've had a horrible dull ache in my lower back,  with some pins and needles, plus a loss of power, that is the only way I can describe it.   

Only one more day of the Olympics to do,  can Mo Farah get his second gold, I hope so, and I loved the hockey last night, what a match.   I hated hockey at school,   I never fancied getting hit by that very hard ball!   I preferred netball, or volleyball, and I wasn't bad at athletics,  fairly good at long jump, but I was a water baby, swam for the school team!  And I wasn't bad at tennis.  Think I've just realised why I have so many aches and pains, all those sports. 

Almost time for a well earned cuppa,  then I need to get Harvey to come in.  It would be good if it started raining now, that would bring him running home.   Will be back soon with an update on Snowdrop cottage, and the pansy.

The cat and the pansy...

The villian in my life,  or Harvey, he who rules.  Or at least I let him think he is in charge.    Wish I could say that it has been a quiet week, but it hasn't,  had a large chunk of stress on Thursday,  all caused by officialdom.   It should be sorted out this week, or so I've been promised. 

Until Thursday the week hadn't been too bad, aside from the weather, the usual summer stuff: rain, wind, dip in temperature.   Of course this didn't help Harvey's grumpy mood,  though I found out why he was grumpy, he had a tummy upset and was sick all over the carpet.   After that he was fine, though the grumpiness came back.  He's also been on wake up duty, or so he thinks,  just wish he'd remember that he has claws, that they are sharp and that there is no need to use them to wake me.    So what have I been up to, a bit of small housebuilding...

Nope, a bit of art.  I saw a step by step in Liesure Painter, so decided to have a go.  Plus it was for coloured pencils!   It is a Trompe l'oeil,  which is sort of a trick, or illusion.  In this case it is to make you think that there is a piece of paper lying on a piece of paper.  Hopefully it will look like that when it is finished. This was my first attempt.  The exercise used a technique I've never used,  you had to grate a pencil on a tea strainer, then use the 'bits' to shade the paper.  It took a bit of practice, first run wasn't so good, I'd got too much pencil dust, so had another go and it was much better.   This was going well until I made a hash of things with the eraser and left a dirty mark.  So it was a case of starting over!

This is take two,  it is hard to make out, but it is a pansy.  The pencil lines are deliberately faint.  I've also cleaned the eraser.  I'm happier with take two,  it is coming along nicely.  This is just the first layer of colour,   there will be a darker purple, then some cool grey, and some payne's grey.  It all takes time to blend in, and to get the lines in the right place to make it look like a flower.    But the Olympics are helping,  I can sit and colour while watching.   I've had to use the PC to watch most of the tennis and the golf. 

Today I did some gardening, or planted the new plant, then the neighbour came along and gave me a hand.  He helped fix one of the planters, then put some fresh compost in for me.  He's such a lovely chap, and his wife is nice,  both are really helpful.   I'd have not managed to do anything with the planter without his help.   He will also break up the old and rotten planter,  then we can cart it up to the tip, along with some stuff he needs to get rid of. 

So it is art for the next week or so, and also the Olympics,  we're doing very nicely for Gold medals!  Hope Andy can add another, although he is guaranteed a silver medal, but gold is a nice colour. 

Enjoy the week ahead.

And now we have a street, or should that be a Lane?

Just had to share this pic with you!   I've had a very up and down week.  On Monday I got some bad news,  then on Tuesday I sorted out the problem which had arisen from the bad news.  Then on Wednesday I got a phone call asking if I was still interested in a place on an art course, silly question, of course I was!  So in September I'll be starting a drawing course.  Could the good news keep coming, well it did when I realised that I get free prescriptions!    It is definitely the little things that make a difference,  and all those things made a big difference to my week.   Oh, and I also got a lovely plant for the empty pot outside. 

I've also finished the last of the houses that make up Memory Lane, here it is in all its glory.   I did, sadly, spot a mistake with the roof, so had to reroof half of it.  I'm really chuffed about how it has turned out, love the brickwork, seem to have mastered this technique, and I'm getting better with the colour. 

So now I have to focus on how I intend to display them, in a row or, individually.  I'd like to put them in a row,  but I'll need a long piece of wood...  she thinks, then remembers that, she took down some shelves a couple of years ago and the shelves are in the cloakroom!  Oh joy!

 Here's the inside,  I used some different flooring.  The edges have now been tidied up.  Yep, you spotted it, there are no doors, or stairs.  They can be put in,  and I may do so.   But so far I've been more interested in the outside than the inside.  Maybe that needs to change?   Something to think about.

This is the front,  I actually used white acrylic to paint the windows, but I ended up with this silvery grey colour.   I'm experimenting with curtains,  using ribbons, of which I have a great many.    It is just a bit fiddly,  so need to order some patience... 

This is how Marshalswick House fits in with some of the other houses.    It will look good when it's all put together, and has a street sign.  Oh, there is one more lean to, it goes on to the side of Purbeck Cottage, the grey house at the end.

It's also been a lovely day here,  quite warm, and very sunny.  Long may it continue.  Of course the Olympics have begun,  I woke up at around 1.30 a.m., so I had a peek at the opening ceremony,  then fell back to sleep so missed Andy Murray carrying the flag.   Then at 4 a.m., I woke up again,  decided that a cup of tea would be a nice idea,  when I came back to bed, Harvey had taken over!  I've no idea how a small cat is able to monopolise an entire bed, but they can.  So that was me and him till about 6 a.m.,  woke up again,  needed my painkillers,  so also had some tea and toast, then back to sleep, well the painkillers knocked me out,  and woke up around 9 a.m.   Not having a great time getting a good nights sleep,  I've been in a lot of pain,  and the painkillers are barely touching the pain at times.     Oh to be a dormouse, or even a cat, they never have any problems sleeping - do they?  

Off to watch a bit more of the Olympics.  Thanks for dropping by.