Hanging Hockney

Never one to hang about, Bob got busy on Saturday morning withe the Hockney print. He trimmed it square to fit the frame, then prepared the hooks. Et voila! 

It works beautifully on the blue wall. Also in the room are two photos [Holkham Beach, and Liz, Steph and Ro in Dorset] plus Steph's painting of beach huts.

Bob thoughtfully used his Xtra Hand,the brilliant attachment for the vacuum cleaner,which sucks up all the dust when drilling. I've posted about this before . You can buy cheaper copies,  but reviews all say how flimsy and inefficient they are. This pukka gadget would be a good gift for any DIY-er. 

Bits And Pieces

Thursday was busy, and hot! We began by going into Norwich, as Bob has a follow-up session with his consultant regarding his recent back treatment. We got there early, and had time for a coffee in the Priscilla Bacon Hospice Coffee Shop, which was close by.
Bob's doctor was very pleased with his progress, and made helpful comments about lifestyle and exercise . We are so grateful for the improvement in his health and relief from constant pain.

We went into the city and mooched about a bit, and found a couple of CS bargains. Bob found this for £5 - a large frame, big enough for the Hockney Print! The sticker on the back says it came from the Nelson Hotel - which is due to be demolished soon and rebuilt.

I guess they will have lots of new pictures! I spent £1 on this pretty Italian sweet tin - I shall put some of my haberdashery in it. Home via Aldi, and the first Big Shop of July.

Then long cold drinks of water, and time to sploot on the bed with our books
Bob fell asleep so I tiptoed into the lounge. He came through later and asked if I'd looked at Facebook. Why?

My cousin Miriam in Perth, Western Australia had posted that her Mum, my Auntie Jean has died. She was 101! this photo was taken just three weeks ago. Uncle Ted died in 1997. They had ten children - so the Hall family in Perth now numbers somewhere around 100 people!
She was my last surviving aunt - so it marks the end of an era, but I am not sad. Her faith was strong to the last, and she was confident Jesus had a place ready for her in heaven. Such a positive lady, leaving many happy memories behind. But I guess it will be hard for Mim - they did so much together especially since M retired [she is 72] 
Today is another busy day - I doubt I will live to 101, but I am determined to make the most of every day God gives me. 

I hope your day is good, and even if the weather outside is blistering hot, try and follow the words of George Fox [founder of the Quakers] who said 

"Be still and cool within thy soul"

A Blind Cat, A Found Cat, And Six Headless Mice

 Rosie adores the Studio Ghibli Cat purse which her dad brought back from a trip abroad. It has suffered of late- it is rather grubby, and sadly the pupils have come away from the eyes. "Grandma, please do you have any black felt?" She emptied the purse and left it with me  I climbed up into the loft.
🥵It is absolutely swullocking up there🥵

I took my phone with me, as one of my tasks was to photograph the electric socket for Bob. And as I got it out, I spotted a message from Katie regarding another Mouse for the Museum. So I grabbed black and yellow felt, the whiskers wire, and a few other bits. I was just about to come down when I spotted a long thin yellow fabric bag - It was my missing Hockney posters! I've found the cat!

Mr & Mrs Clark [& Oscar] are on the spare bed, looking up very suspiciously. The only space I could find for my Bigger Splash print is on the wardrobe door. It just fits above the handle! It can stay there for a few weeks in honour of Mr Hockney

I hope that Julian, George, Jacob and other overnight guests this summer will appreciate it! Right now I would quite enjoy a pool in the garden. But I am content to have my raised beds and two fruit trees there - much more useful!

A box of half a dozen half-completed mice. Fortunately Katie only needs one new one this summer. I should be able to sort that for her quite easily. The colours are wrong in this photo, mice #4 and #5 are not really Trump Orange!

PS I know nothing about football, but I am very, very pleased that Belgium won their match! 

One Step At A Time

This month's calendar picture seems good advice in this very hot weather.  It reminded me of the reworking of Psalm 23, published back in the 1960s and written by the Japanese poet Toki Miyashina...

The Lord is my pacesetter, I shall not rush.
he makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals.
He provides me with images of stillness
which restore my serenity.
He leads me in ways of efficiency,
through calmness of mind, and his guidance is peace.
Even though I have a great many things to
accomplish this day,
I will not fret, for his presence is here.
His timelessness, His all-importance,
Will keep me in balance.
He prepares refreshment and renewal
in the midst of my activity
by anointing my head with the oil of tranquility.
My cup of joyous energy overflows.
Surely harmony and effectiveness
shall be the fruits of my hours,
for I shall walk in the pace of my Lord,
and dwell in His house forever.

A Drink Of Water

I have been aware for the whole of June how blessed I am to have fresh water freely available - it started at the end of May when the water main burst - but we were able to fill our bottles from the tap at Liz's cottage.  The following weekend I waited in A&E for 5 hours for treatment [I'm OK now, don't ask for the gory details] it was hot and crowded, and my bottle of water was so important. The Dr impressed upon me that it was essential I stayed properly hydrated and drink lots of water. And then it got so hot -stiflingly hot [the old word round here is swullocking]🥵
A guy came to the door on Tuesday collecting for a hospice charity. I explained politely that we already supported our local hospice, and asked if he knew about Dame Cicely Saunders. He didn't, but promised to google her later [every day's a schoolday at Cornerstones!]

"Would you like a drink of cold water from the fridge?" I asked "And what about your mate across the road?" He was genuinely surprised at my offer. "We are not allowed to ask for a drink, but if someone offers one, we may accept" he said. So I gave him two paper cups of chilled water to take and share with his colleague. "Pop them in a recycling bin when you have finished with them" 

I try to avoid disposable cups, but if I do get one, I bring it home, and wash it very thoroughly and carefully. Here's my stack. Then I can happily give it away. This past week, I have offered water to any of the workmen or delivery guys who are out in the Close.
It is a small thing, but an important aspect of my faith [Matthew 25 "I was thirsty and you gave me a drink"...]

This was my birthday gift from Steph - she was on a work trip to Amsterdam and went in the Good News Coffee shop. She knew how much I would love one of their flasks. It is brilliant - easy to carry, and it keeps coffee hot, and cold water really cold for hours. 
There's a Bible story about refreshing water in the middle of a hot day...good news indeed

Jesus, tired out by his journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.  A Samaritan woman came to draw some water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink of water.” The woman answered, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan—so how can you ask me for a drink?” (Jews will not use the same cups and bowls that Samaritans use.) Jesus answered, “If you only knew what God gives and who it is that is asking you for a drink, you would ask him, and he would give you life-giving water.”

“Sir,” the woman said, “you don't have a bucket, and the well is deep. Where would you get that life-giving water? It was our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well; he and his children and his flocks all drank from it. You don't claim to be greater than Jacob, do you?” Jesus answered, “Those who drink this water will get thirsty again,  but those who drink the water that I will give them will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give them will become in them a spring which will provide them with life-giving water and give them eternal life.”  “Sir,” she said, “give me that water! Then I will never be thirsty again”
[words John ch 4, The Good News Translation, picture from GNT by Annie Vallotton]

Heatwave - A Marmot Thing, Love It Or Hate It!

I should have been on the train* to London, meeting Liz and the girls and going to this. But the Young V&A is closed due to the heatwave. And instead I have fallen down an Internet rabbit hole, no, a marmot burrow. Consider the French painter Fragonard for instance. Until this week, I only knew two of his paintings

Young Girl Reading - which was on a postcard pinned in my student bedroom, and The Swing [I saw this in the Wallis Collection]

But now I have found The Girl With The Marmot, [in the Albertina Museum, Vienna] and I have now learned an awful lot about marmots. These cute rodents [related to the groundhog] live at high altitude , spending many months in hibernation. They come out for just 4 or 5 months in the summer, and display hyperphagia - extreme insatiable hunger.

This enables them to build up body fat to sustain them through their winter months, in their underground burrows. But these creatures are ill-equipped to survive temperatures about 20°C. They cannot sweat [no ex-Royal-related jokes, please!] 

They have to sploot - that is, spread themselves out, face down**, on a cool rock in the shade somewhere. This helps them reduce their body temperature. Maybe I should strip off and sploot on the cool tiles in the Futility Room? Perhaps not. They forage and eat early & late, and take it easy in the hottest parts of the day. 
I could definitely be a Marmot Girl, following their example 

 - and this is my summer! 

*Trainline are refunding my tickets - thankyou!

** the marmot in the cartoon is lying the wrong way up!

I've Lost The Cat!

 

Last Thursday, Yorkshire born, world renowned artist, David Hockney died. He was 88. He began life the son of an accountant and grew up in Bradford. He went to art college, and as his career took off, he went to the USA. He was a leader in the Pop Art movement. In 1967 he painted A Bigger Splash, a glorious blue swimming pool and hot summer sky in sunny California. 

I love this painting. When Liz worked at Tate Britain 20 years ago, she gave me two Hockney prints. This one, and my favourite Hockney painting - Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy. 

This was painted around 1970. The couple are fashion designer Ossie Clark and his wife, textile designer Celia Birtwell. Clark and Hockney were best friends, and David was best man at their wedding.

Celia is wearing a dress called Heavenly Twins which Ossie designed for her [in

2015 it sold for £11K and is now in Manchester] I saw this dress before that at a exhibition in London with Steph, alongside the painting. The cat was actually called Blanche [Percy was their other cat!]

On Monday I decided I would get my prints down from the loft, and display them for a few weeks as a tribute to the newly deceased painter. I picked up the cardboard storage tube. It was neatly labelled "Tate, Splash, Percy"

But it was empty!!!!  Neither print inside. I cannot work this out. If I'd decluttered and donated them, I'd have given away the tube too. If a mouse got into the tube and ate the prints, there'd be evidence [we had mice up there a few years back] If they didn't go to a CS, where have I put them? Maybe they will turn up. 

I shall just read all the obits and enjoy looking at his pictures [his later ones of Yorkshire are lovely] RIP David Hockney July 1937- June 2026

Do you have a favourite Hockney painting? 

Happy Birthday, Jess

I feel so blessed to have such a loving family. Yesterday, granddaughter Jess celebrated her 5th birthday down in London.
She is such a character, 
entering into life with such joy and enthusiasm. She adores clothes, especially hats - and trying new foods, and dancing, and books. She loves words, and numbers, art, crafts and science. We hope you have had a great weekend, with your playdate party in the park - and we can't wait to see you again soon.

Washing My Dirty Linen...

 On May 30th, Bob and Rosie were swimming in the sea, on June 2nd I was muttering about 'Flaming June' and wanting to wear lightweight clothing, last Friday I was writing about hot, sticky summery days. 

I complained to Bob that the water butt was empty...

And then this week it has rained, and rained

Don't you just love this picture entitled "Spring Cleaning the Ark" ? It is by London artist William  Heath Robinson [see here]
Mrs Noah, and her sons and daughters-in-law, got all the animals onto the roof, and they are giving the boat a proper clean. [even tho it is still raining!]
I had planned to be out working in the garden, but had to come inside when the sharp hailstones descended. I've spent much of the week doing little odd jobs which should have been done last month.
To be honest, in the run up to Bob's hospital visit I didn't feel like housework. 
Now he is feeling better, and we are both sleeping better, I have had a bit more OOOMPH!. As opposed to 0mph, which is Zero Miles Per Hour. I've become very determined in my cleaning regime.

Steph recommended The Pink Stuff, miracle cleaning paste [not that I had any miracles which needed cleaning!] It does seem to tick many of the boxes regarding the environment. Yes it is a little abrasive and there are surfaces where it is not a good idea to use it. But it is brilliant for dirt on the base of my saucepans [they call it 'bottom grime' - an unfortunate name I think] also marks on the oven door and shelves, and bathroom grouting. I keep old toothbrushes for small scrubbing jobs.

Over half term Liz said she'd had a go at her white towels and sheets, using Ariel Bio detergent. I stopped using bio detergent in 1985 when Steph had a really bad reaction when wearing clothes washed in biological detergent, and ended up in A&E [she was about 8 months old] Forty years later, she lives on the other side of the country. So I decided I would try again. These pods were on offer, so I bought a box. My sheets, towels and hankies are whiter - but I did a longer, hotter wash than usual. Perhaps I should have tried that programme with my regular Lidl powder first. I have ditched the dinge!
Thanks Liz and Steph for the cleaning tips!

Have you noticed that Peter Crouch is all over the ad breaks lately? In the last 6 months, he has done, Ariel, Paddy Power gambling, TNT Sports, Chery SUVs, Victorian Plumbing, Shark Ninja BBQs, Bovril, Alpro Breakfast foods... It is 8 years since he stopped playing professional football.  Maybe he needs to pay for more tooth whitening. .
And still it rains. We have had spectacular thunderstorms. The lightning was so close- we watched it strike our friend's house a couple of gardens away - mercifully no real damage or injury [just a blip in his power supply] 

I am hoping it is dry tomorrow, there is a Yard Sale in Foulsham, and I am looking after the pitch outside the Chapel. I would like people to turn up and pay up! At least we do have the Big Gazebo to shelter under.

What is your favourite cleaning product?

One Step At A Time..

 
Not sure they are appropriately dressed for climbing a snowcapped mountain, but I like the sentiment. It reminds me of the 'Serenity Prayer', which was written almost a century ago by the German-American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. 

This little token is one produced by Alcoholics Anonymous, who adopted the prayer as their own in the 1940s, to help those struggling to reach sobriety and restoration.

Hope, Courage, Serenity. and Wisdom - all good virtues to which we should aspire!

We Are Not 'Posh Grandparents'

According to the fashion writers, the style for this season is 'Posh Grandpa'.  I kid you not. Style points; vintage jackets or blazers, check or cord trousers [not jeans], loafers or laced brogues [not trainers], waistcoats or woollen sleeveless slipovers. Well, I checked, and I can produce all of those items from my wardrobe. And Bob has most of them in his size too. 

But it's flaming June out there!!
Personally I would prefer to be in a diaphanous dress like Lord Leighton's beauty* today rather than wrapped up like an aged Oxford Professor in December.
I checked out Jane and Beryl [aka The Ministry of Style.] Have you come across these two friends in their sixties, who suddenly found their jokey fashion posts going viral during Covid

Their comment on dressing like Posh Grandpas is here. I found B&J amusing in the early days, when their videos were not quite so polished, but now they have upped their game and become a teensy bit too smug for me. In their mid 60s, it was initially a bit of a game in retirement, but now they are making a living as 'influencers'. So they are sponsored by various clothing and cosmetic companies. I suspect they were not short of a bob or two to start with. Jane, the tall one, was an accomplished artist and milliner, [her hat company supplied Harrods]

Many of the videos are shot in her house [which could belong to the NT] When I started watching them I discovered some fun portmanteau words [wearing a Breton top makes me striped-boobed or "stroobed"] and the Acorn Antiques clips are a scream.

But I wondered about tall Jane's coloured pointy stick, used to indicate fashion points on Beryl's shorter, dumpier body  What is it?
Well done if you correctly identified it as a Croquet Stake! I mean, doesn't everyone have one of them lying around? The Ministry Of Style Ladies are a lot posher than me! Btw I'm a Compact Beryl rather than a Statuesque Jane. 
Do you dress like a Posh Grandpa?
Have you watched any Ministry of Style clips?

*but wearing more underwear than she is, obviously

Little, And Good

Are you aware of the Japanese company Muji? The name is a contraction of a phrase meaning "No brand, quality goods". They have half a dozen shops in London. You can read about the company and its philosophy here. Everyday items, well designed, sustainable, minimum packaging - stationery, homewares, basic garments.

They have recently opened a store in Hong Kong, and to celebrate, they invited artist Tatsuya Tanaka to produce some artworks featuring their products. I've posted about TT before, here in 2017. He uses regular items as the basis for minuscule works of art. Look at the ones he has come up with for Muji

He made a tiny Muji store using various items, stationery bits and small shopfitting components. Then he did lots of pieces which have witty names referencing the products used.
I like the jeans waves on the socks beach, and the ice-cream store...  His attention to detail is fantastic

Finally, to the delight of the residents of Hong Kong, he recreated Victoria Harbour and its iconic skyline - using Muji products for the buildings, a brush for the circular exhibition centre, a toothbrush for the pier - and staplers to represent the ferries which carry passengers back and forth,

What a clever guy, what a lovely shop!

Half A Century Later...

I have always loved Peanuts cartoons. As a teenager I collected the books. A friend gave me a lined Jaeger skirt when I was 17. It fitted perfectly, but was mid calf length on me. I shortened it to mini-length, and made a pocket with the trimmings, on which I embroidered Snoopy sleeping on his doghouse. I adored that skirt and wore it all one summer. [I had slim, tanned legs back then!] Sadly no photos remain. 
When I was 21, a friend sent me a Snoopy Teeshirt as a birthday gift. In 1981, there was a hitch with a house move. I rang cousin Gill and said "Everything is packed in teachests and I just have an overnight bag. I'm running out of clean clothes" The next day, a large envelope arrived containing two pairs of pants and a Snoopy Teeshirt. I wore the tees often and treasured them both. But after having children, I never got back into size 10 tops, they went into a memory box. At the last Winter/Summer wardrobe swap I took them out. My granddaughters like Snoopy too. So Rosie now has the pale lemon one, and Jess has the white one [a little big, but it will make a good summer nightie]

"Look after it!" I told Rosie "I have had it for 50 years" She knew about Gill, Julian's Mum - but enquired about the friend who gave me the lemon one. I said I hadn't seen him for a number of years- but that he became a Baptist minister like Grandad, and is also retired now. And that  when he gave me the teeshirt, it was originally a custardy yellow colour! These were among the oldest items in my wardrobe.

The sweatshirts from the 70's and 80's were recycled into a blanket 35 years ago, 

I repaired that during lockdown and it's still in use as a garden blanket inside the teepee.
I do try and squeeze as much use as I can from my textiles!
Do you still have any garments from decades ago?
Have you recycled them into other projects?

Make Your Mark [In A Good Way]

 

Thank you to Dave Walker for his brilliant cartoon. If there is an election in your area today. 
Please Vote. 
I'd quite forgotten the Marsh Family, the musical clan whose parodies kept many of us entertained during lockdown. But they have released a new song this week. 
Please Vote Wisely

Keep On Keeping On

The picture on my calendar for May. I am reminded of two quotes from the late great Dr Martin Luther King 

You don't get to the Promised Land without going through the Wilderness. You don't get there without crossing over hills and mountains, but if you keep on keeping on, you can't help but reach it

...If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do, keep moving.

A lot of my friends are in really tough places right now. There are no easy answers, and sometimes words seem empty. But know that you are special, you are loved, and it may seem like a very long tunnel, but there is light at the end...

Count Your Blessings...

... then ask for grace to share them generously with others. 
 

A Little Shy In The Park...

On Saturday, Liz, Jon and the girls collected me and we went to Holt Country Park. I think our last visit was back before lockdown! It was a beautiful day - we began with Ro and Jess enjoying the playground [swings, slide, zipwire etc] Then we set off to walk through the trees. Rosie in the lead, I was behind her, [she is nearly as tall as I asm now!]then Jess and Jon, with Liz taking pictures ...

It was sunny, and a little cool, but the ground was mostly dry and firm underfoot. Suddenly Rosie stopped - she had come to a place where there were fewer branches overhead - with a clear few up the bank covered in gorse, to a clear blue sky. She called out to me 
Catch the beauty, Grandma!

What a lovely comment! She went on to explain to me that we all see nature in our own different ways, but she thought this was just beautiful. And she thought it sad that others did not appreciate it, or take care of it. Such enthusiasm for creation gives me hope! 

We walked on together. To the south of the park is Holt Lowes, where there are Dartmoor Ponies. The rest of the family caught up with us. We admired these beasts but did not attempt to stroke them or touch them in any way. [Please note Ro's amazing K-Pop hairdo!!]

Then I said 

No, that looks like two water tanks. No, it is a sculpture...

It is called The Carved Men, and Rosie sat and had a chat with them!

We walked on to Tin Can Alley - a brilliant arrangements of cans tied on a beam with pine cone missiles to make a form of Coconut Shy. Simple yet clever. The cans do not get lost, and the cones are easily replaced [and when the cans are all hanging, you can 'play' them with sticks like a percussion instrument] Liz and I both felt the Men's Shed could use this idea!

Then on into Holt for a delicious lunch in Holt Fish Bar - helpful staff, very family friendly, lovely chips! 
Sunday lunchtime they all came over to Cornerstones for a Roast Chicken Lunch. The house is full of flowers and cards. I feel extremely loved. Grateful for them all...Catch the beauty, feel the love