Part 3 of Our Hols----Inverbervie

We had some wonderful company when we eventually arrived in Inverbervie --and if only we were at home more-we would end up with a doggie like Grace above---or

the really laid back Henri----

or the lovely Cache...3 wonderful greyhounds owned by our lovely friends Ros and Lincoln ...they are so gentle and friendly-you couldn't wish for better pets.....

we had a brilliant time with them all--but where did the time go to? It didn't help that I was ill on the 1st night we were there-- I thought I had pulled my back when we left Bradford and when the pain got really bad during the night I started to realise that it wasn't my back but my kidney.....having had problems with this in the past having had kidney stones/grit a while back I recognised the signs...but I did think it was properly an infection rather than anything else....but If you are going to be ill the best place to do it is when you are staying with a nurse---and Ros soon had me sorted out and taken me to the local docs on Saturday Morning--after some tests the Doc said I hadn't got an infection but grit or stones again..so she gave me 3 prescriptions--all free of course in Scotland which was a big relief and within hours I was feeling much better....maybe the stones/grit will show up on the MRI scan I have to have on Friday for my PMR.........we had a few trips out to places where we both got some stunning photos that we can use for paintings later..

another of the furry friends we met while we were away!

this is a definite painting in the future !

and this one too....there are around 600 other pics I took while away to choose from as well....I will try and get them onto the blog at some point but have a busy week ahead of me getting the new paintings done for the Ludlow Art Society exhibition ....I have entered some browsers as well as the paintings on canvas---and as yet I haven't put brush to paper lol...

Holidays part 2 Bradford

Yesterday was my birthday so we went mooching round nearby famous  Bury market so I could spend my birthday money--its huge and took some getting round....then we set off to Bradford and The Great Victoria Hotel for the 2nd leg of our hols...some lovely scenery on the way..

another super comfy bed..

and a separate living area in the suite as well....lovely sofas to sit and watch TV..

going to try the bath out later with some of my lovely bath bombs I bought with me..

we had a glass or 2 of bubbly before we went down to dinner which was included in the deal.....so I was a bit tiddly ...

and I had a little more when we went to the dining room, also included..

I had pate to start and Bill tryed the soup--both were excellent..

my main was beautiful...lamb on a bed of pureed carrot with red wine and port jus.....and Bill had the fish and chips again,,,,,he loved it...

the whole building is very atmospheric and spacious....after breakfast-which was in complete contrast to the food the evening before --and one of the worst we have ever had in a hotel...again we had to complain,,,food was cremated, and some hadn't been put on the plates--99% of the tables were sending food back,, it was inedible ...so after complaining we were refunded our money...tomorrow we will check out and find somewhere to eat before heading to Bonny Scotland and a 5 1/2hour journey!        We spent a lovely day walking round the town today, sitting outside the nearby pub and just people watching in the warm spring sunshine....we are going to try the Chinese buffet for dinner tonight, just over the road from the hotel...its been ages since we had Chinese food and we both love it!

Holidays part 1 Rochdale

We started our holidays in Rochdale---we always try to travel to new places we haven't been to before...so using the Groupon and KGB deals we booked into The Broadfield Park Hotel......

It was the winning venue for the Four Weddings series last year..

the hotel has lots of lovely original features...like this stained glass window that has been restored to its original glory..

The food was really good--in fact some of the best we have had in hotels...the chicken and bacon salad was served with home made garlic bread that was to die for! And Bills fish and chips would take some beating....

This was breakfast the next morning-minus fried bread and hash browns as we do try and be a bit healthy most of the times...everything was grilled and I think was one of the best breakfasts we have had at a hotel.....

the bed was really comfortable--unfortunately on the first night we were woken up by screams and shouting in the early hours..kids running riot, and drunken adults---we soon realised that they were Irish tinkers..and found out later that there was a gypsy funeral taking place in town...  the noise went on for 2-3 hours ..they woke up the whole hotel! In the morning it was like the scene from Jeremy Kyle---women wandering round in the jim jams around in reception, swearing at kids and generally being a nuisance....of course we complained to reception--the chap who owned the hotel was there, and he couldn't apologise enough to be fair...we ended up with 2 bottles of wine, money knocked off the food bill and free newspapers so we were happy with that--and we slept like babies the next night!

Lesser Redpolls....

We always have a lot of different birds feeding in the garden, but to our suprise on Thursday  we saw this pair--the colour was quite striking, the bright red on the male really stood out....my camera is always handy so I quickly got a few pics of them..they were blue tit size and feeding off the niger seed. We could'nt see them in our bird books so I put the photos on facebook and within minutes someone had come up with the answer--Lesser Redpolls....They are not really native to our area and we haven't see them since, so they must have been passing through!

lovely colours...

the female looks a bit sparrow like from the back

Dawn Falls workshop March 17th

  I have left my list of names behind, we are away on holiday---so apologies for not remembering  all the names!!!!!!             I had 15 students in on Saturday, a mix of new ones and ones who had been before and it was lovely to see Gill, Sally ,Maureen ,Trina and little 7 year old Ebony again..the new ones came from far and wide again---from as far as Derby after seeing their friends results from a previous workshop!

I gave the students a choice of natural colours or more vibrant fantasy colours and they all worked well....as always it was amazing to see just how different the paintings turned out--everyone was amazed by it--and it was great fun watching everyone going up and down the line seeing how everyone had tackled the stages...

Little 5 years old Emma came along with her big sister Ebony age 7 ...the apron was a little long for her---- bless, so I'm going to order some child size ones for the future!

You can see Ebony's painting here in the foreground-she did some really spectacular waterfalls on it afterwards, she chose the vibrant colours and it looked really fairy tale like in the end..the girls are having a spoi of lunch here..

wonderful results everyone!

LOL,someones hiding behind their canvas here!

Well done everyone--see you all again soon!

Markets And Meals!!!

We had a good day on the market last Sunday...the weather was beautiful and there were loads of visitors around.....

instead of taking sandwiches with us to the market we now have a lovely Sunday roast from the nearby Buttery cafe--Bill orders it and then fetches it at 1pm....very tasty,,but you can guarantee as soon as you start eating it everyone wants to stop and chat about paintings and workshops !

It was my friend Marion's birthday yesterday so we did another roast dinner at home for her and her hubby to celebrate it...we had a lovely leg of lamb--with all the trimmings including orange blossom honey roasted parsnips which were to die for! We had a Christmas pud for afters followed by a cheese board and a glass or 2 of port to finish...

nothing like a good cheese board and port to finish a meal!!!  We will have to start some serious diets when we get back from our holiday!            We are looking forward to getting away next Monday for 9 nights----quite a lot of travelling involved but that's nothing unusual really for us!  We are starting out in Rochdale for 2 nights, then moving on to Bradford for another 2 nights...from there we are off to Scotland to stay with a good friend for 3 nights---cant wait for that--its been a while since we all met up together! Then from there we are coming down to the Lake District  and meeting up with my daughter Becki and her partner for another 2 nights,,so it will be a lovely break before the new baby comes along in May..                                                                                                                 Thank goodness for Groupon and KGB deals....we have had some real bargains off there,,couldn't have afforded to stay in places like we have or as often otherwise ....                                                                                                      Its going to be sad for our house/pet sitter Jeannie this time with no Sparky to look after..she was most upset at the news about him being put to sleep,,                                                                                                                              We miss him terribly, the house is so quiet without him,you don't realise how often you interact with your pets until they are not there........

 

        

Tropical Sunset Workshop March 10th

Lyndsey chose the lilac version of the Tropical Sunset,her trees were very subtle as well which suited the colours she used..its always amazing just how different this painting can turn out just using different colours for the sky and water...

this was Jenny R's  3rd painting..

Jenny T's painting was beautifully bright and vibrant....Jenny finds the workshops very therapeutic

Tayna was with us for the first time, she followed the instructions I gave very carefully and her painting took shape very quickly...

Marguritta is seen here adding the reflections to her painting...its easier to turn the canvas upside down to do this step....and it caused lots of laughs in the workshop when I suggested we did so!

Irene received her artist brooch today for achieving 6 paintings---she always comes over the day before and stays at the Travel Lodge..

wonderful results from everyone...as usual the paintings are all very different to each other,,its great for me to watch everyone develop their own styles..my job is to teach them all the different techniques-all the different things the brushes will do and how to use the paint and mediums--its not for them to do a carbon copy of the paintings we use as examples..I will look forward to seeing them all again soon!

Happy 101 st Birthday Win

Our dear friend Win has reached the grand age of 101 years old.....she is seen here with her doggie William--who is a Chinese Crested hairless dog---he loves to sit on her lap for cuddles-and he is like a little hot water bottle for her-his body is as warm as toast bless him .

Weekend Away......

We  have had a lovely weekend away with my lovely Mum and my sister--Bill was well and truly out numbered! We had got some bargain rooms from Groupon at a new Holiday Inn in Birmingham,,,so decided to go and have a tour round Cadbury World using my Tesco vouchers-that saved a lot of money...used just £10 worth to get us all into the Cadbury World where if we had paid cash it would have been £60  so worth doing if you have them....

Mum and Sha...

It was really interesting to go round the factory..and we had quite a few freebies as well given  us,,all still in the fridge at the moment-except Bills Crunchie bar--he couldn't resist it...

We saw the drumming gorilla in action-that was brilliant...

when we came outside it had been raining  and we were greeted with this beautiful rainbow.....

The Holiday Inn on the Coventry Rd has only been open since last August and its still pristine.....it was Mums first stay away from home in over 40  years and she loved it...

I had also bought Groupon vouchers for an Indian meal and we all went to the Kasturi restaurant---it was a lovely meal...

but oh boy did we all make a mess on the lovely white tablecloth!

the shower at the Holiday Inn was huge and one of the best we have had in a room...could have stayed there all day...

good size rooms as well.....couldn't complain about any of it --had a great breakfast  when we got up...it was a real treat for mum and Sha....and for us after the horrible week we had last week losing our poor Sparky  cat..

when we returned home today after going shopping around Brum and picking up some bargains we found this pheasant out on the back patio...there was a pheasant years ago who used to follow Sparky cat around everywhere--we used to think it was because Sparks was a similar colour to a hen pheasant! Everywhere he went this pheasant followed,poor Sparks used to get right fed up with it and kept looking behind him all the time....I wonder if this was Sparks little mate come to say goodbye to him....he flew off into the field as soon as he saw me......we miss that little cat more every day....he was always here to greet us as soon as the car pulled up, no matter what time or how long we had been away...