Thursday 15 August – Painting Day!

I heard a bit of scuffling outside on the landing in the night but thought nothing much of it but when I got up at 6.30 to use the bathroom Julie was already downstairs and feeling quite fed up.  She had been up in the night (and across the common in her jammies and wellies) with Merlin.  Merlin had some tummy trouble during the night…. say no more.

Anyway this meant I got tea in bed which was lovely.  I got up about 8 and had a lovely hot bath before civilised breakfast in the dining room… mueslie, summer fruits, toast and coffee and a good chinwag!!  By this time it was late morning and the sun was shining so we took Merlin for a walk through Garway where Julie showed me some wonderful views where you could see for miles… I felt a Hockney coming on!  We had worn our waterproofs just in case but the sun was very hot on our backs and we had to change when we got home again.

Julie showed me round her new workshop which was the end part of the cottage. It used to be a cowshed but she had converted it by fitting it out with cupboards and worktops and new quirky lighting and laminate flooring.  We then went through to her kitchen garden where she had planted all manner of vegetables, including rows of sweetcorn, courgettes, runner beans, etc.  She was even able to cut a full grown cucumber in the greenhouse which we had for lunch in our salad. We walked on round to the side and front garden, where there was a terrific assortment of flowers growing, including trees and shrubs with Lilac and Buddleia covered in butterflies.

There were pots of stunning magenta Cosmos on either side of the front door which prompted us to sit and paint…..well I got a sudden urge to paint, while Julie was less inclined.  However, we both decided we would do it together which we did, and it was so much fun.  As the sun was still warm, we set up in the garden and did some quick sketches of the cosmos then as raindrops fell on to our paintings we fled indoors but picked some flowers to paint close up in a vase. Somewhere along the way we fitted in a healthy salad lunch among the paints and spent the rest of the day absorbed in our work and even added Schubert’s Piano Sonato in A for relaxation and concentration.   It was pure delight! Here are the fruits of our efforts…

We cleared away around 5 o’clock and got ready to go out to the local pub where it was curry night.  We met Colin, a friend of Julie’s, who very kindly treated us to drinks and a most delicious meal.