A little book

I have been away to a class in Halls Gap in the Grampians, a great class with fellow blogger Velma Bolyard from America, we learnt to make some small books and make string from paper, I came home enthused to make some more small books and this was one of them, I cut up some of the gelli plates art I had made and this is a nice way to display them. Double click to enlarge photos. It was a 7 hour trip over and back again, and 2 days full of hard work so I came home feeling pretty tireed and am only now managing to get things more or less sorted here. I came home to find the 2 chickens my silly supposedly laying only hen had hatched out were growing very well. I have walked Max who was so overjoyed to see me he nearly knocked me over. I have washed, but not yet ironed, made meals and tried to stop eating and lose some weight, I seem to look at food and it goes on to my tum so I am finding life pretty boring, no coffee, no cake, no nibbles, no drinkies (that is the worst!) I wonder how long I will keep this up. I loved my short time away but have to say that driving for that period of time is tiring and where once I bounced out of the car and was ready to keep going, now I am not able to. Off to try and finish the vacuuming, the dusting is done and the floors mopped. Animals to feed, and a meal to get. I am back home!

A few more gelli plate mono prints

this is such fun and rather addictive. As I said I am tending to cut them up and use them in small accordion books. I suppose I could use them as backgrounds etc. We had a lovely walk this morning, now I am getting ready for a friend to come and stay and also our trip to the Grampians where I will be having a weekend class with Velma Bolyard which I am really looking forward to, we will leave on Friday morning and return on Monday, leaving John to look after things here. I think the weather so far looks pleasant and we will take the drive slowly. This may be the last post on this blog until I get home.

Having fun mono printing with a gelli plate

These are only two of a few prints I pulled this morning using an old credit card and possibly too many colours of paint. 4 to 5 instead of 3 but I am quite pleased with them. I tend to cut them up and then paste them into small accordion books, it is such fun and no two are alike. John is fishing today, I was supposed to be going to pick plums at a friends place but on backing out and getting half way down the drive found I had a flat tyre, so all my lovely plans for today have gone awry. Well sort of as I did do the gelli printing and I did manage to vacuum the house in between watching winter Olympic re runs (not going to stay up all night to watch the real thing!) I think all up we have had about 25 ml over the last few days, really lovely but... always a but, two of the little mares are out there with sore feet, it doesnt take much of a pick of green grass to set them off. The kikuyu grass freshens with only the tiniest bit of rain and as it has been relatively warm and humid as well it it growing like mad. Off to feed the dogs and perhaps give Max a small run as its not quite so muddy underfoot.

sketching

We were in Adelaide yesterday, for John to see the cardiologist, so far nothing to worry about but more tests to be done. A very windy awful day and we were home by lunch time. I have found a little bit of time to sketch, another mad bird, and a shell I picked up while beach walking and a feather.I like drawing mad birds! Not a lot being done, it has been so hot and I find that very tiring. Housework is being kept up to date and a bit of stitching and reading. I do find the heat we have been having, then the cool change very sleep making, but then when I think a nap might be in order the brain takes over...what to do? Not a lot of motivation at the moment, the garden is surviving but only just, and the old dog is finding surviving hard, I will be glad when we finally get some rain, nothing for weeks and everything is so dry and dusty looking. Sorry I shouldnt moan but too much summer heat and with at least another 2 to 3 months ahead its not much fun.