The Slow Path

January is flying by but I wasn't fast enough to jump onto her wing and hitch a ride. I feel I have been left behind and  am taking the scenic path. I have been working very slowly. I'm not sure why this is? I think I'm gathering my thoughts and still recharging my creative battery?  It's strange as when the new year arrives you want to throw yourself into the fresh new beginning. But the mind is not willing and is telling me it's a journey not a race. So I've been looking.

I've met Jack Frost a couple of times, but this year he has more business elsewhere, not Wiltshire.
Sky watching. I've done a lot of that. In fact I always do. There is more magic in light than in anything I feel.

January has gifted me with  lavender sweets, celandines in bloom,  a tear shed or two over War horse, falling into heather and the highlands by candlelight via the pages of my book, answering a song thrush that definitely spoke to me! Beautiful new music, browsing in bookshops, sweet incense and warm spicy soup, a meteorite so ancient my mind boggled and of course  the prettiest thing of January, snowdrops.
Thus have been my days. Simple days.
In between I've been painting. This one, a sketch from last year has been on the list for a long time. And  with the muse deciding it's rest time, it's taking longer than anticipated. But, we'll get there. ;)

There's still quite a lot to do on this painting, but hopefully it should be finished next week?

I'll leave you with a clip of War Horse. Do go and see, a beautiful book  an amazing theatre production (which I've yet to see but so want to) and  now magical movie and part of it filmed here in Wiltshire just a few miles away at Castle Combe.
 

The Sun Has Returned

What a change this morning. A return of sparkling sunshine. Pure delight after the past few wild and stormy grey days. Much too nice to stay inside so I decided to tidy my out door work space. I brushed up, moved things around and re-blutacked pictures/postcards that had fallen down. I shook out the rug, cleaned the windows so now it's ready to use again. In fact it was warm inside. Warm enough to work in while the sun is out.   

These two, of course followed me.  Here they were having a little tiff. Willow was adamant she wasn't moving from 'her' space in the corner where the sun was, even though Jasper was originally there first. Do you see the look on her face. There were several hisses in between shots. ;)

 It seems almost half the lawn has turned to moss. How did that happen? I don't mind at all as I love moss and find lawns rather boring, unless of course they have lots of daisies. 

Maybe I'll make a coat out of the moss. I never did find my green mossy velvet coat that I planned to buy?

I could add these delicate ferns as lace around the collar?

Spring is in the air. I peeped my lens through the hedge and zoomed in the best I can with my little camera. I felt a teeny bit like paparazzi...

On better terms ten minutes later...

                                                                                    ***

So, the children are back at school and the new year has well and truly started. I'm not making any written down resolutions as I'm totally rubbish at keeping them. 

I've been drawing out a new painting this week and finishing off a bath panel. We've been without one for 2 years. Two years of looking at a horrible nothingness beneath the bath where dust collects. The last one cracked and it was so nasty we decided to bin it. Our landlords choice, the cheapest of cheap white plastic. So here is the new one....

And some close up shots...

Now to the giveaway!

  

Thank you all for entering. I used the random generator thingybob again this time as there were quite a few comments to cut out beautifully in the shape of leaves as I had originally planned.  Extra numbers were added for people that had shared via Twitter and Facebook too.  So the winner is .........

                                                                    Celtic Heart

Congratulations! the book will be on it's way to you as soon as you message me details of where to send. :)

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Have a great weekend everyone! lets hope this sun stays, as we have a chicken house to move. 

xx