rubykittyruby

  Saturday's rolled around again, and it's not been the most eventful of days.  Cleaning and hoovering, a walk to the shops to buy groceries, an hour on the allotment, then home to do some odd tasks in the garden.  The strawberry plants are sending out runners, so I've been dealing with those, plus deadheading the perennial sunflowers, and cutting back the gone-over flowers on the sage and marjoram.  I'm sad to see those blooms gone as the bees loved them.  This afternoon I spent a few hours finishing 'Dawnlands' by Philippa Gregory.   It's a really good book, a page turner where you care about the characters and want to be reassured everything's going to work out well for them.  Plus you become enraged about the corruption of the so-called justice system at the time of the Stuart kings and queens, about transportation of prisoners to the West Indies, and about the vile nature of the sugar trade in the 1600s and the vast profits made from it....

  No, I'm not 96, honestly!  I might be a Woman of a Certain Age, but that age still has a fair way to go until I'm that old!  The 96 year old in question is a lady called Ina Nenortas, a self-taught artist from Lithuania.  I really do hope I'm as clear-minded, articulate and creative as she is when - God willing - I make it to my nineties.  The YouTube algorithm sometimes throws up these little gems of films, and I thought you might enjoy this one.  

  Hello again, and excuse me while I scratch my insect bites.  I don't know what it is, but at this time of year I'm invariably itching like crazy because I've been bitten by bugs.  It seems to coincide with blackberry-picking season, but whether that's purely coincidental I don't know.  Whatever's biting me, I'm obviously a tasty morsel in their world!  I might try using a highly scented oil like Tea Tree oil, see if that deters them.  Anyway, let's get on to more pleasant matters -  I'm having a go at making a zine style booklet.  Because I didn't have any paper large enough, I joined together two A3 sheets of sketchpad paper, using torn pieces of book pages for the joining.  I thought that'd look less noticeable than packing tape or similar.  Having chosen my colour scheme I used acrylic paint and an unwanted plastic bank card to apply the paint.  Plus a stencil, sponge and modelling paste.  Applying paint with a ATM card wa...

  This year continues to race along at breakneck speed.  Already I can see the evenings are getting shorter, and it's darkening by 9.30 when it used to be light until 10.00.  It's supposedly full summer, yet the hedgerows are full of ripened blackberries.  Way too early, and the apples on my allotment trees look as if they're almost ready too.  The seasons are out of whack, aren't they?  Climate change is scary, and we've not even begun to experience the worst of it yet.  Maybe I'm burying my head in the sand by retreating into crafting?  But what can any of us do on an individual level, besides buying less, recycling more, trying to vote for politicians who'll respect the environment. I'll continue making things, meanwhile trying to do my bit to lessen my personal carbon footprint.  These little patches are just calico with lettering inked on them and watercolour paint around the edges.  I've slow-stitched this one to make a fabric tag,...

It's been a really good week.  Lots of tidying up on the allotment and in my garden, plus more fun messing about with acrylic paints and watercolours, making stacks of painty papers.   I've also been having fun making videos for YouTube.  I'm still on a steep learning curve as far creating videos, getting the right length, working out lighting etc, is concerned.  I've also got over my reluctance to talk to the viewer.  If I stumble over my words or babble or get things wrong, then - well - it's not the end of the world, is it?   What I've learnt so far, apart from the basics of uploading a video and adding a soundtrack, is that very short videos get more views.  YouTube shorts, as you probably know, are a minute or under.  I posted a couple of standard videos which got hardly any views.  Not that I'm expecting great numbers.  I'm grateful if even a couple of people look at 'em!  However, I posted one and it got 26 views....

I've annoyed myself a great deal this morning.  Two or three days ago I took delivery of a little packet of jewellery findings.  I fancied making some new earrings as mine are looking a bit shabby, so I bought a packet of 50 silver coated wire hoops.  I distinctly remember putting the packet on my dining table, but was it there at breakfast time when I looked for it?  No.  No, it wasn't...  Cue a fruitless search.  Either I mistakenly binned it when I was tidying up, or I'd placed it 'somewhere' for safe keeping.  I've looked everywhere, even in the recycling bin.  (Honestly, what must my neighbours think?  I'm out there in my pyjamas rooting through the plastic and cardboard!)  The silver wires have disappeared without a trace, but on the plus side I did find a bone folder I'd mislaid months ago, a cardboard template I'd hunted high & low for, and a reel of perle cotton.  There's a lot to be said for 'a place for everythin...