Two Paintings of the Sea

As I said in the previous blog, there will be more pics less chat although I had a nutty dream the other day that I was going out with Kelly Slater, (notice emphasis on dream) I think it was because I had read about a new film at the Imax which starred the latter. I can't remember the last bit but that was more 24 ish. Talking of waves, I finally made it out for a surf and I was so exhausted, I got advice on paddling from a young whippet, I didn't have the heart to tell him I knew full well I needed to get beyond the breaking waves I was just knackered. New fitness regime starts....after I get back from Colorado. (work related excursion.) I will pack the perfect push ups because I don't know what else I'll be doing in this ski resort. See, I almost wish I'd stopped at the word blog.

Non Painting Chronicles - Chicken Run

As we have established Chicken is no longer person non-grata. She/he has a name Penny and has been through many tribulations in her short stint on the street. When we no longer saw Penny out and about we feared the worst but she was spotted by a neighbour in another neighbour's yard looking forlorn with a bunch of cheetos for company. We were going to plan a rescue and relocate with a much more caring neighbour who really wanted Penny but through recent circumstances that happened anyway. At 5am this morning I heard what sounded like a cat fight, the rain was so loud I had barely slept but I didn't move. ( Yes very rarely in rains in Orange County !) The downstairs neighbour however went to investigate and found Penny in the jaws of a Possum. Possums are not cute at all, this one was bigger than Sanford and the neighbour had to launch into attack mode to get it to release Penny who duly managed to escape and ran through my neighbour's legs into her bedroom. She scurried into a cardboard box and stayed there till 10am the next morning. Penny had lost a lot of feathers and had left a pool of blood in the yard, she is being well looked after with an appropriate diet and we hope that she will make a full recovery. The hunt for the Possum is on, the gloves are off. I might add despite their capacity to kill other animals they are a protected species in Orange County so we will be relocating Possum who has left a fecal trail on top of the laundry area. Sorry if you're reading this before dinner. More Penny pics to come.

Non Painting Chronicles - October 3rd

Well firstly the chicken is alive and well. He seems to be settling into life on the street and is keeping the noise down as far as I can tell. The dogs now ignore it, two kids have given it the name Penny although I'm pretty sure its a boy, not the same kids that chased it with a shovel i might add.

The cowboy boots had their first official outing, I had them re-heeled and given the chill in the air opted for skinny jeans. They were much admired. It would seem as though the heat wave has ended and Winter is finally here, time to get the jeans out and thicker T.shirts. I bought a really warm coat but I think I'm going to have trouble wearing it whilst riding a bike which means either walking or not wearing the coat quite as much as I thought I would. Oh, such dilemmas.

On the domestic front, after months of hand washing dishes the new dishwasher was finally going to be installed. However, the handyman was also painting the back bedroom and it took longer than expected, blah blah. Upshot, the dishwasher is sitting outside on the balcony, so near yet so far. I had specially saved up some dishes for testing which I promptly had to wash. Still the office looks lovely and cosy now that the walls aren't institution white. What is it with replacing bulbs ? I've had a lamp on my desk for month now sans bulb, its one of these fancy halogen types, I must get myself to a hardware store.

I'm reading a couple of books at the moment, one about a sailing voyage and another by Elizabeth Berg. By the time I get to bed though I just want to sleep and manage about 2 pages before I do. I'm starting Lent early and giving up coffee, which is the reason I am soooo tired sans caffeine boost. I'm sipping water but its not making me any more alert. The husband was fiddling with the lamp the other day and needless to say it was on and a spark shot right through his thumb.I've never known someone more accident prone than me. I discovered the source of my spectacular superman fall, my birkenstocks had stretched so I duly got some holes punched in and so far no re-enactments yet. Yesterday a bike was stolen from our neighbour who had it locked to the railing, I remember my wheels getting stolen off my bike in London on 3 seperate occasions and I was mad about that, this bike was brand new and had never been ridden. I made some flyers and will be on the lookout.

Non-Painting Chronicles

It's Too Nice Outside
I can't help it the weather has been gorgeous and I've been to the beach three times this week surfing, boogie boarding and walking. Hard to believe I was a teacher once who was really hard on homework less students on a Monday morning. Labor day saw a reshuffling of the craft room and the sewing machine was put through its paces after a bit of dusting. I made a super cute penguin and started some new furry travel buddies. I am also a proud owner of a dyson with ball, it drifts it turns, aah the satisfaction of knowing that the war on fleas is going to be fiercely fought with the dust sucking giant on my side. I wanted the lightweight one but the canister was the size of a pepsi litre bottle and I knew it wouldn't be enough. I love emptying it, its very satisfying.
I am drained, another 5 ish awakening by the neighbour taking her dog for a walk. For a second I thought I'll go surfing but I love sleep. Also and this is rather disgusting Sanford (small dog), who has a habit of making himself at home on our bed slept at our feet. When I woke up my foot felt something wet and disgusting. In vain I tried to convince myself it was just the cold sheet being half asleep and all but alas the little man had thrown up on the sheet and I had put my foot in it . I showered my feet before grabbing a load of loo roll and the Oxyclean, my newest friend in the cleaning department. Honestly its great and I don't know how I survived without it. It was a brownish colored puddle and it really didn't smell good at all, not what you want to wake up to at all. The husband proceeded to sleep through this of course. It was only when he got up that I found the other patch with what looked like a divet of grass all matted together. He doesn't have a good sense of smell. So before the crack of dawn or 7am, the bed was stripped, oxycleaned and put in the washing machine. What's the moral of the story ? Don't let your cute dog sleep on your bed? Well, in hindsight if he had thrown up on my new and foolishly white pure wool ikea rug I think I would have been a lot more distressed which as his dog bed sits on top of it, would have been a distinct possibility. We have a chicken a bantam apparently, his feet are furry and he has an owner who said he'd pick him up last Wednesday. Over the last week the neighbours have tried in vain to catch it but the little blighter is hot footed and flies when he has to. So what's wrong with having a chicken hanging out ? Well for one it POOS EVERYWHERE you can barely get in the garage for all the poo drips. No ones feeding him so ....I don't need to elaborate. Two it has started making himself at home on peoples cars, that was the breaking point for the husband. Its one thing to make Sanford throw up because of course he probably ingested some chicken poo but its another thing to mess with the paint work on the Santa Fe. As I write he may be buying a fishing net with which to trap and then release the chicken far, far away where it can live a happy life.

I cleaned all my art brushes finally, I'd let them sit in odorless turps for a while, I know very bad but they don't seem to have suffered unduly. I have painted, honestly but the camera is in the car because I took a picture of the lovely sunset before I went swimming in the sea on Wednesday. It was quite spectacular I wondered why we hadn't gone before but its madness in the Summer.