Big Changes.....

Well.....life is still hectic....and is going to get even more so from now until sometime in the new year. There are BIG changes afoot in the AtR household!

After a year or so of planning...changing minds...planning some more....buying stuff....hunting for stuff....buying more stuff...getting in builders...then being let down by builders.... we (as in me and OH) have settled on final designs and plans for the new kitchen and bathroom and we finally found workers we can trust to carry out the work.....so things are finally swinging into action AT LAST!. Our designer/builder friend has already been around to check out what prep work I've already done, what will need to be done...and what bits I still need to get for him and his small team when they decend in the next few weeks.

Stage one will be the kitchen....a fair chunk already done by me which has been to replace cupboard doors and build a few new cabinets for those that needed changing and I'm redecorating the dining room section of the kitchen, replacing skirting, architrave and part t&ging the walls. The rest....the bits I'm untrained and unqualified and totally incapable of doing...ie plumbing, electric work, gas work (having brand new oven, hob, lighting and sink) plus new worktops, splashback tiling and new flooring will be done by the pros! It's been promised to be all fairly straight forward and quick to do...GULP! hope he's right!

Stage two is the big job! and after a break over Xmas, the team will be back in the new year to wreck real havoc! YIKES! the bathroom is being completely gutted...new plastered walls and tiles, new bathroom suit, new shower, fan etc etc etc NEW EVERYTHING....argghhhhhh....this ones going to be messy, dusty, noisy and time consuming....

Worse still.....not only does a lot of the hallway flooring also need to come up for pipe access....the bathroom, being downstairs, is right under my art room and all the wiring and lots of pipework actually goes up under the flooring of this room. I have been warned that most of the floor will need to be taken up for access in that room too!!!!!

ARGGGHHHH.....ARGGGHHHH....AND TRIPLE ARRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was a room I was hoping to take refuge in...to do artwork while the demolition goes on down below....but my plans have been dashed. We live in such a small cottage which lacks space as it is...and I've realised that I simply have no where for all my art, craft and jewellery tools to be moved to, so as to continue using them while the building work goes on! There is no other alternative, but to pack everything away. Some will go in the loft...but the rest is being boxed up and stored at my moms who lives just a mile away.

GULP......no artroom......no artwork!...for at least 2months!

I really hope all this is worth it!

Actually, OH has said that by packing all my materials away and taking a real, complete break from my artwork will do me some good...will make me take stock and time to think over what I'm actually doing with my artwork....and where I want to go in my art journey....and then start up again all fresh from new in the new year. He's right I suppose....but it's a bit scary to do....although I've not being doing much of late, and I've taken breaks before, it's been done in a halfhearted way....my artroom and materials have always been there in the house...a comfort zone that I would keep popping back into to dabble with. This time, however I'll be forced to stop all together! ALL GONE...ALL STOPPED!

CRIPES!

I've already started the heartbreaking process of packing away my beloved paint brushes and pens..some stuff is already boxed and gone and the rest will be dealt with next week.

I'll let you know how I get on....how I survive!

BTW - just want to let you know that because I'm packing up the artstuff, I won't be making any Christmas cards this year. Time has flown and I was totally unorganized and didn't manage to make any earlier this year either. So very sorry....but please do not take offence if you receive a shop bought card from me this year....I'd rather you got that than nothing at all!

Not quite landed yet....

Oh my...is it that long since my last post!?!....well no difference there I hear you all say!

Truth is...yep, I'm back from Madrid (only went for a week grrrr not long enough and want to go back!) and may have landed back in cold wet Britain but me feet hit that airport tarmac running...and I haven't managed to stop yet!

Things have been incredibly busy since I got back home and coupled with serious laptop problems I've been off line most of the time. I'm up to my elbows with getting a new kitchen and bathroom fitted, have had no end of family/friends 'dos' of one kind or another to attend and have managed to battle some nasty fluey type virus inbetween...so blogging, although I wanted to...was not a priority...

all good fun...not!

Anyways...I'm on the homerun with my virus and getting better.....but sadly cannot say the same for my old laptop which has died...but worry not - I got a new one...WOOOHOOOO!!!! and a swanky all singing and dancing one at that (still trying to work out if it'll do the tiling in my kitchen for me...it seems to do everything else!) it's LUSH!...am I allowed to use that word or is it 'so last year' LOL!...it's a special edition with a seriously yummy glossy case in black that fades into red with a stunning HD LCD widescreen...makes my photos look pretty darn good if I may be allowed to say so...thanks go to my nephew Dan for sorting this one out, Clive and I are VERY GRATEFUL!

As for Madrid...well all I can say is....I WANT TO GO BACK! the sun, the tapas, the amazing museums and artwork...the parks and gardens, the shops....there was far too much to see and do to fit into a week and have to say we came back exhausted and determined to return one day to see more.

Here's little old me, shot taken by Clive, taking a breather outside the Palacio Real. It's a bit difficult to see the details because the photo has been reduced in size for the blog....sorry!...it's also a bit of a rarity as I'm usually on the other side of the lens! I took over 1000 photos..still wading through them but some of the best so far have been uploaded to Flickr...if you haven't seen them already!

Holiday Highs - practically everyday was wonderful, but maybe I will single out the day spent along the Paseo Del Prado, visiting the Prado museum seeing works of Goya, Raphael, Botticelli, Titan and Rubens, and more, and the neighbouring Real Jardin Botanico...then again it could be the swanky art restaurant we spent a fantastic evening dining in....errrmmm....maybe the day we went to the Museo de America?...or perhaps the tapas we sampled and the artisian breads we bought at the amazing glass walled Mercado de San Miguel...or the first time I experienced the Plaza Mayor and the evening we spent there watching the street artists while we munched on bocadillo de calamares...or even the stunning works in an art exhibition we found in a hidden back street!

...and I suppose I have to mention that one of the reasons we went to Madrid was to see Worcester Warriors Rugby Club play in the Amlin Challenge Cup against Olympus Madrid (we comfortably won, by the way) which took place in a beautiful rugby ground in nearby Moncloa. You can see some of my photos here -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/18852977@N06/

we ate a picnic by a pool in a gorgeous nearby park, met up with fellow supporters and players and did a bit more 'cultcha' at the local museum where we learnt about spanish/south-american history.

MERCADO DE SAN MIGUEL

Hmmm, yup, you can see I'm struggling to pick out one particular highlight...and this is just a snippit of what we did...and there was sooooo much more that we didn't get to do...

hence the want...noooo...the need to go back!

Holiday Lows - Coming home! LOL!...no, seriously though...being held back by the joint pain, plus I managed to trap a nerve in my back before we flew out (doh!) which stopped me doing an awful lot and got pretty frustrating...but worse was having the most gorgeous gems and silver jewellery shop right nextdoor to where we stayed...oh the torture of having to pass by this tiny boutique, crammed to the gunnels with delicious gems, everyday!....actually the pain was eased somewhat by Clive kindly buying a number of pieces from there for me as late birthday presents...and I also treated myself to a ring...a stunning piece of silver...bit of a knuckle duster at that but a real statement and conversation piece! Also a bit peeved I didn't take a larger suitcase with me!....shopping is an experience in central Madrid and although I'm really not one for shopping (and we onpurpose chose not to during our stay), we spent a few spare hours after checking out of our hotel on our last day, window shopping before the flight home...oh boy I began to wish I'd more space in my suitcase...and more cash...and more time!...we came across some lovely little art gallery-cum-shops, interesting curio type stores...and for clothes - there were a few familiar brand name stores, but there were many original boutiques that had gorgeous clothes at decent prices...and unfortunately some totally indecent prices too...

...and I'm not even going to mention the glorious pastries and churros dipped in hot chocolate drink...

Oh dear...I did!

Oh....and to my dismay, but Clives relief, we never found any craft shops...BOOOOO!!!!

Despite this...I had a VERY nice time thankyou....

...and despite having a very nice time....it was rather nice to get back and sleep in my own bed!

Back in a weeks time...see ya all folks!

ROSES ROSES EVERYWHERE....AND ONE FOR ALL SEASONS

'Do not watch the petals fall from the rose with sadness, know that, like life, things sometimes must fade, before they can bloom again.' (unknown)

My inspiration and desire to create has been like a long rollercoaster of late...but not one that whizzes along making you giddy with exhilaration...rather a slow moving tummy turning journey that leaves you exhausted and desperate for the end. After the highs and frenzy of art I've been so busy running about doing other non-arty stuff that when I've tried to sit and give myself a moment to create for myself, the desire has just not been there....it's faded somewhat. It's not that I haven't been making things...I have...but for other people and I've kind of been on autopilot with them...and they're things that are mainly presents for Christmas which means I can't blog about them (so no photos until next year...how frustrating!). It's a blessing that I'm not financially dependant on my artwork so for now I'll sit it out, concentrate on other things, like my garden. I get like this alot nowadays but it doesn't get me down anymore...I've come to realise that inspiration will return sometime...and maybe I'll be even better for it...maybe a bit like the rose in the saying above.

Roses have been on my mind alot this last week or so. I've never really thought myself a rose fan...well...I appreciate how beautiful the blooms can be, but as a child I grew up with a rose garden...a very regimental 1970s showcase of standards and hybrid tea varieties...and boy I hated them! The thorns snagged your sleeves as you battled passed the shrubs on your way to school, they were always full of greenfly and forever being subjected to a nasty smelling insecticide spray treatment of some sort by my dad. I thought the bare, pruned within an inch of their lives stems hostile and ugly during the winter months and despaired that their synthetic looks were bereft of bees and other pollen seeking insects during summer....you see I was a wildflower child....I loved free flowering natural looking insect loving plants...plants that were allowed to grow as they wanted, to naturalise and form the shapes they were meant to be. All pretty looking....but all pretty useless was what I thought of roses...I was well and truely put off them and vowed when I had my own garden I'd never have plants like them in it.

We have the famous David Austin Rose Centre about 30mins drive away from us....I'd been there a few times with my parents when I was younger and only vaguely recall the visits. As a stroppy unappreciative pre-teenager I was more interested in being at the local park with my mates than being dragged around looking at yet more thorny pink showy flowers that reeked like an old aunts overpowering perfume. Lately, however I've been interested in returning there. I've mellowed alot since then...I aquired my parents passion for gardening, I'm still a wildflower gal...but I don't feel so strongly against roses now...

must say though... my garden has been rose free...

...until now!

We were in Worcester visiting Clives rose loving mom at the weekend and she mentioned she was after a new rose for her garden, so he suggested we take her to David Austins (she'd never been before). It was going to take us about an hour to get there and she was a little apprehensive that being the end of September the blooms would all be gone....but we were all game to go. I decided that I'd take the opportunity of practising some photography on the gardens and the offer of tea in a country pub on the way home made the trip all the more appealing!

Gotta say...I was pretty impressed with the place...it's sure changed alot...and so have ideas about roses...including mine.

We pulled up in the carpark to the amazing rose scents wafting from the surrounding fields where the main plants were grown...nothing like the sickly perfumes I gagged over as a child...mellow concoctions floated in the breeze...a hint of lemon here...a touch of musk there.

Peacocks gracefully picked their way around the cars, turning their petite tufted heads inquisitively, greeting and beckoning us to step up to the beautiful timber beamed building...that were well and truely clothed in roses!

So much for the flowering season being over...and we hadn't even got into the gardens yet!

The entrance led you into the main gift shop, which in turn gave you the choice of going left out into the show gardens, or right to the plant sales section and tearooms. We choose the gardens and our first encounter was a small courtyard display of container shrub roses - the idea being to show that roses can grow anywhere...not just in large garden borders but in small places too...even on balconies....and when flowering is over the moveable pot allows the 'less attractive to the eye' form to be placed out of sight until the summer returns...hmmmm now that's up my street!

The Long Garden opened up in front of us...the central core to which other gardens led off. At first glance the neat privit hedges were my worst fears...stuffy neat formal pruned rose bushes I thought...but I was wrong. Although the hedges and straight brick pergolas gave some sort of control and symmetry, the shrubs themselves were cascading all over the place...a collection of Old Roses, together with Modern Shrub and English Roses to extend the flowering season plus rambling and climbers that softened the walled perimeters of the garden. Hidden niches led you to wonderful little sculptures (all rose themed of course) which were set throughout all the gardens and as I took a turn down a narrow winding path right at the back of the centre I found myself among the true Wild Roses of the Species Garden. This section struck a real chord with me...a collection of true wild species, near 150 plants, some very rare, climbing and cascading in an intimate secret setting that was truely magical. The flowers were long gone but were being replaced by fat juicy hips in shades of reds and orange, the beauty of the plant still ongoing. I found a near similar rose to the one that grows wild across the nature reserve by my house and as I enjoyed a brief moment of solitute before other visitors discovered my hideaway, I came to the conclusion that if I were to allow a rose in my garden...it would be something like this.

The Walled garden, a circular layout, was smattered with lovely plinth set square stone carvings of various animals amongst roses, and these encircled a central figure of a maiden clasping a rose bouquet, surrounded by English Roses and other repeat flowering shrub roses...forget the long stemmed gift shop single flower rose...the one show and it's gone...here we found multi headed stems of huge proportions with hundreds of young unopened buds just waiting their turn to burst out into the world

One variety in particular caught many of the visitors attentions...Crown Princess Margareta had graceful arching stems of huge apricot-orange blooms. To get a photo I had to support in my hand the heavily laden cluster of seven flowers plus numerous buds hidden at the back awaiting their turn! The Walled garden also showcased the natural beauty of the English Climbers and Ramblers and it was here that I stumbled upon 'my' rose...but more about that later!
The tranquil Renaissance Garden with it's beautiful loggia allowed us to sit awhile to catch our breath and contemplate over the only water feature, a stunning perfectly proportioned long canal. This garden was the epitome of the English Rose Garden...for it was indeed dedicated to just that! It succeeded in it's demonstration of the versatilityof this rose type....flowering from May right through to the early winter frosts there was a harmony of colour combinations, form, size and textures. We moved on to the Lion Garden...named such due to its huge lion sculpture which, as with all of the sculptures, had been created by the late Mrs Pat Austin, a very talented artist in the Austin family. It was undergoing redevelopment so looked a little sparse and at first glance to the long rectangle borders of standards, I groaned inwardly as I recalled those stuffy pom pom pruned plants of my childhood garden. Closer inspection however, and I was quite surprised to find many of the shrub form flowers I had admired in the other gardens had been trained as standards...didn't know you could do that...I thought there was only certain types of rose that could be grafted as a standard, namely the sort I don't like! I was beginning to realise that most roses could now be grown and trained in a variety of ways to suit the environment and setting. These tall but compact shapes, in total contrast to the large spreading wilder looking shrub form, added height and allowed combinations of smaller roses and non-rose perennial plants to be grown underneath...great for small gardens and don't necessarily have to be grown in a formal setting alone.
We met many famous 'celebs' on our journey...Darcey Bussell danced as Alan Titmarsh scuttled along the Long Garden, Sir Edward Elgar conducted the Old Rose Hybrids and Lady Godiva blushed amongst the ramblers...we came across many royalty too....all roses named by the Austins after famous people (some have also been named in memory of past Austin family members). You often see the unveilling of a newly named rose at big garden shows like Chelsea and the plants are on display in perfect form for the public so it was nice to see these roses now growing in a more natural setting.

Tour of the showcase gardens over, we made our way back through the gift shop towards the plant sales section. I was so glad I'd returned to David Austin Gardens...older, wiser (I hope) and more accepting, my eyes had been opened and I was now appreciating the versatility of the rose. I'd made a decision during the garden tour...Clives mom was not the only one buying that day...

Purchases made we set off home tired but full of ideas for our gardens....we had a very nice carvery meal in a worcestershire pub during which I suggested, to Clives moms amusement, that I was coming around to the idea of having maybe one more rose...possibly a container grown one for the patio?....

Hmm, maybe...maybe not...but it would be a good excuse of returning back to David Austins in the summer to see the 'real flowering show'.

Anyways, this is it....'Malvern Hills'...my first ever rose...and a David Austin one at that! So what made me choose this? Well, firstly I had thought hard during my study of the wild rambling roses and although I wanted one, they were going to grow too big for my small garden and it's little trellis archway...therefore too much hardwork taming it, cutting back and possibly loosing flowers. And, much as I liked the idea of the hips in winter....I wanted a longer flowering period. The size of the flower heads were however perfectly proportioned for my garden...not big and overpowering. Malvern Hills presented itself to me in the Victorian Walled Garden, clambering over the brick arch entrance. Small pretty double blooms in a soft yellow that were not fading and bleaching in the bright sunlight, unlike some of the other more strongly coloured roses, and it's a rarity in rambling roses in that it repeat flowers reliably. It's scent a delicate Noisette fragrance, which filled the car on our homeward journey in a nonheady pleasant way. It's got hardly any thorns (bonus!), and it's ultimate height of 10-12ft was well within my requirements. The name did it for me too...the worcester connection...and memories of many happy childhood days climbing those hills.

The rose I picked out is now awaiting the weekend when it can be dug in and although it is flowering profusely in it's plastic pot I might have to cut it back a little to enable stronger growth next year. It'll be sad to loose the blooms, but as this blog post started...

'sometimes things must fade, before they can bloom again....'

I'd like to think this will be true of my inspiration too.

PS

By the way...I've known of this quote for sometime but didn't recall who had actually said it. During my search online to find the name for this blog posting...I came across this other rose themed quote....

it made me smile...hope it does the same to you too!

'I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall'. (Eleanor Roosevelt)

http://www.davidaustinroses.com/english/Advanced.asp?PageId=1912

A very nice birthday weekend was had.

Firstly, as I said in my last post I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all my lovely internety mateys who were thoughful in taking time to make and send me cards and gifts for my birthday. I had so much fun opening them all and have crammed as many of them as possible on my lounge mantle piece...where they will stay for a good time....so I can gaze at them and ponder on how nice people can be....

Here are a few of the handmade goodies I received....
Thankyou to Jan, Sherry, Cindy, Maureen, Viv and Yvonne for your cards and gifts...from ATCs to tags, a lovely altered slide mailer, a stunning lavender smellie-bag and an exquisite brooche made from a mahjong tile....such treasures!

From other internet pals I also received a number of cards plus some yummy boxes of chocolates and have been emailing and messaging everyone individually to say thanks....if you've not received a note from me yet....I'll be getting around to thanking more people tonight and tomorrow, time permitting.

You'll also see in the photo (top right) a bound square book.....technically not a birthday gift but it arrived in time for the day so I put it in the photo. It's a bound altered coaster book made by Cindy, and was a giveaway on her blog a short while ago AND I WON IT!!!! WHOOOHOOO!!! We had to comment on her blog to be entered into a draw...but that's not all....it contains a number of ATCs, all different designs but using the same one rubber stamp image. Cindy made a number of these cards which she put on her Flickr photo gallery...then we had to go view them and select our favourites. The winner in the draw got the book with their choosen cards how generous is that! and I'm delighted I won it...it's amazing with so much to look at and the different techniques used with that one image are wonderful. THANKS CINDY!


There are lots of different draws and giveaways going on blogs of late....I've entered quite a few over time but have so far only won two....and I haven't made anything lately so I'm thinking maybe I'll do a giveaway myself here again...return the gesture...soon...hmmmm...watch this spot!

Anyways, I digress, back to my birthday....after opening lots more lovely pressies from family and other friends, Clive and I got ready to spend the day out together. I had originally suggested a trip to Stokesay Castle and a stop off in Ludlow for a meal....but quickly realised the famous food festival was taking place there that weekend, so traffic would have been a nightmare...and although the foodie fest is fantastic...I wanted a quiet day to take photos of a castle of some sort...so we headed off in the opposite direction for 'Plan B'....Kenilworth Castle!

I've been to Kenilworth before, many years ago as a child and barely recall the visit, but this year English Heritage have marked the end of their £3million project (including refurbishment of the stables and Leicester's gatehouse) with the opening of their new modern recreation of a 16th-century garden originally planted by the earl of Leicester for Queen Elizabeth I's visit in 1575. It was opened to the public in May and I saw a TV docu on its creation a few months ago, including a magnificent waterfountain, oak terrace and arbours...and an aviary....and I've been keen to go see it ever since. So, with the wonderful blue skies, and warm September sun it was a perfect opportunity to take photos there. I love looking around ruined castles...I have to say I was NOT disappointed with Kenilworth...the garden is wonderful and that fountain...a must see! After treating ourselves to English scones and tea in the stable cafe and checking out the exhibitions, we enjoyed a leisurely amble around the ruins and although I did struggle a bit with some of the higher levels it was worth it to see the views across the Warwickshire countryside. We had a lovely day and so, tired, but with an appetite we headed off home via a very nice country pub in Corely Moor and enjoyed a delicious meal and the most lush chocolate tart! I took many photos that day! Oh boy am I sooooo glad of my digital camera....in excess of 300 shots that, had it been on my old SLR 35 camera would have meant many rolls of film to lump around, then get developed at huge cost and a number of days wait in order to find a large number to be discarded as no good! With one digi camera, one memory card (I even did a bit of videoing - yep my ickle camera does that too!) I happily snapped away to my hearts content knowing I could then go home, upload and organize the shots with speed and ease. I was pleasantly surprised at how few 'duff' shots there was from this outing...a selection/highlight of my day at the castle can be seen on my flickr photo pages...ok....so maybe a professional photographer might find a few things wrong with em....but to me they are just fine and a great memory keeper of my birthday day out!

You can also see a few of the photos I took, on English Heritages own webpage for Kenilworth Castle...see if you can spot them!


http://www.flickr.com/photos/agnesthered/

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.16882

It's been a few years since my birthday landed on a weekend...when it's been a weekday, people have been at work....and then Clive and I are usually at a rugby match on the weekends either side....so we haven't really spent time with my family on 'my day'...so this year, with a rugby game being organized for the Friday night...and so done and out of the way (we won by the way...did I tell you that before? YAY! lol!) mom, sis and co made the most of it and insisted on a celebratory meal on the Sunday...so off we headed to our favourite place, our local 'Jimmy Spices' a buffet style restaurant with food from around the world plus good old English Sunday roasts (great for a family, like ours, with diverse tastes and finicky eaters!) I defy anyone to go there and not find something they like! Stuffed to the gunnels, we ended up back at my sisters house where I was presented with a rather indulgent chocolate birthday cake...some piggys managed a small slice....but I have to say I was too full up from the meal and took some home for the next day instead! Sam has taken some snapshots of Sunday, including a rather dodgy one of me blowing out candles on the cake....so if she sends me some copies....I might just add them here....


...I said I might!