Fungi and me time

We have had some fantastic fungi in the garden over the last couple of days; tiny little ones in the lawn (Panaeolus papilionaceus I think ):

and some biggies on the stump of an old palm tree (the pole coming up out of the stump is my washing line).  I wasn't able to identify these so if anyone knows what they are I would be interested to hear as a comment:

Some of the autumn colour has been truly stunning recently; when the sun hits the reds they glow.  Its the sort of thing you just cannot catch with a camera, although I did try at work the other morning.

I have also been attempting to capture these colours in some drawings.  Below are some crab apples along with their leaves, its a work in progress.  Getting the reds right is always a challenge as nature is able to get such a "zing" in the reds which is very difficult to replicate. 

I have also been sketching a Virginia creeper leaf and experimenting with some calligraphy at the same time.  It seems to have worked out ok.

I am planning quite a bit of drawing this week along with some Christmas prep as I have the week off work.  Its a week for me to relax and wind down a bit.  Its been a difficult time here in the Su+2 household as the Teen has been battling with anxiety and depression for the last couple of years.  These kinds of mental health problems take their toll on everyone in the family, not just the sufferer, and I needed some time off. 

In brief, the Teen was unable to attend school for their final year.  They simply could not get there, not because they didn't want to go but because they were unable to move (physically) due to anxiety.  The school tried to help; the pastoral side which gives student support were brilliant but the business/management side couldn't wait to get ride of the Teen.  That side of the school's aim was simply to get a good set of GCSE marks for the league tables and if one pupil looked likely to pull the average down, that pupil had to go (or so it felt to us in our dealings with them).
Now, the Teen wasn't expelled but we were told, erroneously, that the only way they could not do their GCSE's that year (so as to not get awarded a string of fails as the Teen had already missed most of the course work and controlled assessments) was for us to take them out of school and for us to home school.  We agreed thinking this would give the Teen time to recover.  However, the Local Authority, who were also helpful, told us the school had given us the wrong information and that the Teen could have stayed in school and not taken their GCSE's.  By that time it was too late; the Teen (and us to be honest) had lost all trust in the school's ability to actually educate or help them. 
The Teen has been under CAMHS for about a year (Child And Adult Mental Health Services).  This service tried to help too but as the Teen's difficulties don't fit in a neat little box, CAMHS seemed to give up, or at least run out of ideas.

We are now wrestling with a local college.  How hard is it for a 16 year old to take three core GCSE's?  As it happens, very hard indeed.  The college has been trying very hard to accommodate the needs of a bright but suffering Teen and its looking like things might be finally sorted there now but its taken the first 3 months of term, time which the Teen cannot really afford to have lost.

So as you can see some time off work for me to concentrate on some "me" time is long overdue. I am booked in for an aromatherapy massage which I have never had before so I will report back. 

You have may have noticed in the paragraphs above that I refer to the Teen as they or their or them.  The Teen is non-binary (does not relate to being male or female) and therefore they prefer their personal pronouns to be their, them and they.   So its not bad English, its just good manners.

Gardens, harvest and hair colour

Last month my in-laws, C & D, paid a visit.  It was lovely to see them and spend time catching up.  One day we went to Chichester and walked around the Bishop's Palace gardens.  The last time we had been there it was in April a couple of years ago and the garden was full of Tulips. 

This year it was August so the garden looked very different as you can see from the photos below.

A beautiful garden

It was very beautiful, but at one point the Engineer did catch me trying to pull the bindweed off a slightly smothered plant.  Maybe I am starting to turn into a gardener. 

Before work today I went out and harvested some beans and courgettes from our garden. 

The Teen started college this week and as she walked out of the door she asked me if I wanted to take a photo of her first day like I had for her first day at both schools.  I said no not this time, not that's its not a momentous occasion (for many reasons) but she isn't keen of having her photo taken anymore. 

Over the past few months however her hair has gone from this...

prom hair

to this...

usual scruffy bun and bright red

I have to say I am ever so slightly envious; I would have loved to have done that to my hair when I was her age but my mum wouldn't let me. 

Maybe I should try something...

from Google

If I wasn't working in a professional environment I would certainly give it a go.

Spur of the moment

One evening last week, whilst watching the Olympics, I suddenly suggested to the Engineer that we visit Mottisfont the following day.  I had remembered there was a Beatrix Potter exhibition there at the moment and I really wanted to see her paintings.  These were her children's books illustrations, not her botanical art work. 
So the following day off we went; it was glorious weather and when we arrived at Mottisfont we were greeted by their new visitors' centre rather than the small shed that had been there on our previous visits.

Photo from Burdhaward.com

The building is not concreted into the ground so that when it is finally decommissioned the site can be put back to how it was.  It uses solar panels and a biomas generator for power and a wood buring stove in the reception area.
The National Trust who look after Mottisfont have devised a Beatrix Potter themed trail for the children to follow and there were some very excited children running around following it. (all photos were taken on my phone so the quality isn't that good)

We strolled up towards the house and joined the queue waiting to go in and see the art work.  Luckily we were there before 11am when the exhibition opens so the queue was short but got longer through the day.  I don't have any photos of the lovely paintings but they were meticulous and charming, each one full of life.  I really enjoyed seeing them.  We carried on around the rest of the house which was much better exhibited than it had been previously; it felt like people had really lived in the house, not like it was a valuable antique under glass. 

We then went and had some lunch in the new stables café where every piece of crockery and cutlery is compostable.  My soup bowl was made of plant based materials as was the Engineer's plate.  Once we had finished (the courgette and stilton soup was fabulous) we put all of our remains into marked bins and the plastic bottle containg the Engineer's Pepsi went into the plastic recycling waste.  Brilliant.  The chairs were basic wooden ones so there was a pile of cushions in the corner that you could help yourself to to pad the seats a bit. 

Then we had a walk along the river, which was just wonderful.  As there is water and its quite shallow in places, children will want to play in it.  However the river flow is pretty fast so its far too dangerous for playing in.  But there is an area of pumps and sluce gates that are all child sized and ideal and safe for children to access.  There were quite a few children enjoying getting wet.

There was also a "bog garden" (no photo) which the former owners of the house's children used to play in and build dens etc, so that's how its been re-setup.  I get the feeling that when it rains it really is boggy and any children playing there will get very muddy indeed. 

We walked around the walled garden jumping from shade to shade, it was so hot and sheltered from the breezes and although we were both wearing hats it was a bit too much for us.

A lot of the roses are now past their best (June is the time for the roses) but that didn't matter, the garden is still beautiful.  We stopped for an icecream in the shade of some trees and cooled down admiring the raised beds that were around us. 

All in all it was a brilliant day and I would recommend it.  The Beatrix Potter exhibition is on until the 18th of September. 

Spur of the moment

One evening last week, whilst watching the Olympics, I suddenly suggested to the Engineer that we visit Mottisfont the following day.  I had remembered there was a Beatrix Potter exhibition there at the moment and I really wanted to see her paintings.  These were her children's books illustrations, not her botanical art work. 
So the following day off we went; it was glorious weather and when we arrived at Mottisfont we were greeted by their new visitors' centre rather than the small shed that had been there on our previous visits.

Photo from Burdhaward.com

The building is not concreted into the ground so that when it is finally decommissioned the site can be put back to how it was.  It uses solar panels and a biomas generator for power and a wood buring stove in the reception area.
The National Trust who look after Mottisfont have devised a Beatrix Potter themed trail for the children to follow and there were some very excited children running around following it. (all photos were taken on my phone so the quality isn't that good)

We strolled up towards the house and joined the queue waiting to go in and see the art work.  Luckily we were there before 11am when the exhibition opens so the queue was short but got longer through the day.  I don't have any photos of the lovely paintings but they were meticulous and charming, each one full of life.  I really enjoyed seeing them.  We carried on around the rest of the house which was much better exhibited than it had been previously; it felt like people had really lived in the house, not like it was a valuable antique under glass. 

We then went and had some lunch in the new stables café where every piece of crockery and cutlery is compostable.  My soup bowl was made of plant based materials as was the Engineer's plate.  Once we had finished (the courgette and stilton soup was fabulous) we put all of our remains into marked bins and the plastic bottle containg the Engineer's Pepsi went into the plastic recycling waste.  Brilliant.  The chairs were basic wooden ones so there was a pile of cushions in the corner that you could help yourself to to pad the seats a bit. 

Then we had a walk along the river, which was just wonderful.  As there is water and its quite shallow in places, children will want to play in it.  However the river flow is pretty fast so its far too dangerous for playing in.  But there is an area of pumps and sluce gates that are all child sized and ideal and safe for children to access.  There were quite a few children enjoying getting wet.

There was also a "bog garden" (no photo) which the former owners of the house's children used to play in and build dens etc, so that's how its been re-setup.  I get the feeling that when it rains it really is boggy and any children playing there will get very muddy indeed. 

We walked around the walled garden jumping from shade to shade, it was so hot and sheltered from the breezes and although we were both wearing hats it was a bit too much for us.

A lot of the roses are now past their best (June is the time for the roses) but that didn't matter, the garden is still beautiful.  We stopped for an icecream in the shade of some trees and cooled down admiring the raised beds that were around us. 

All in all it was a brilliant day and I would recommend it.  The Beatrix Potter exhibition is on until the 18th of September. 

Counting my blessings

I haven't been around for a while; life just gets busy sometimes.  At the moment I am counting my blessings, simple things that bless me and my family.

Blessed by flowers from my garden

We have been on a lovely holiday; the Teen went to Guide camp so the Engineer and I went to Wales for a week.  We had a wonderful time: lots of history, industrial history, social history and beautiful countryside.  The Engineer and I were in our element.  We didn't eat flashy food or visit expensive places but we thoroughly enjoyed one another's company and the new places we saw.

A "yarn bombed" tree in Abergavenny Castle - each of the squares was in memory of someone special.

 Below are some photos of our holiday, the weather was typically British - sunshine and showers.  The first one is the view from the patio of our cottage, where we managed to eat breakfast a couple of times and sometimes we were accompanied by a baby robin which would sit on one side of the table and watch us eat.  (sorry no photo of the robin).

Views from our cottage, Cardiff, Blaenarfen Iron works and Tintern 

Railways and Canals

While we enjoyed peace and quiet the Teen was enjoying an active holiday with lots of other young people, Guides and Scouts from all over the country.

The only bit of drawing I have been doing lately is in my sketch book, where I have done a Clematis

These are growing in my garden.

We spent the day today tidying up the garden, clipping back bamboo and weeding.   My rose which I planted last year and which seemed to give up is now growing amazingly well, I have had one flower on it but no more.  Whilst digging today I found two really interesting snail shells (both empty with no one home) which I think I will draw.

What simple things are you blessed by?

A hellebore, crochet and a gert big axe

I went to a Botanical Illustration work shop recently; it was all about contrasts.  There were some gorgeous dark hellebores contrasting with pale snowdrops.  I chose just one hellebore and two snowdrops in the hope that I could actually finish something within the 3 days as I work quite slowly as I use colour pencil.  It turned out that we were all using coloured pencil on the course and it was really interesting to see how others use the same medium.  It was a very relaxing weekend, but at the end of each day I was very tired.  I was concentrating hard for three days and was very happy with the result.

Hellebore and snowdrops in colour pencil

I treated myself to a new book last month and this is the result: 

Edward's Menagerie

I love the book, the patterns are really easy to follow and the animals very cute.  I did get my first rabbit wrong and it turned out alarmingly large, but I figured out what I had done wrong and its now a better size.  The only extra thing I found I needed was a block of sticky notes and a pen so I could keep track of where I was.  Being dyslexic, its quite easy for me to get lost.

The blanket they are sitting on is a work in progress.  Its a costal ripple blanket from Attic 24 and its very relaxing to do.

I did however make the Engineer a friend to go in his shed, (when its finished!); its an Aardvark, well more of a Shedvark and will eventually have a Dr Who scarf.

Shedvark with hat

The engineer is a happy bunny at the moment as he has just bought himself a big axe, or as my Grannie would say, a "gert big axe", so that chopping our fire wood can be a little easier. 

He was given the Norwegian Book of Wood Chopping for Christmas and read it from cover to cover.  He could already chop wood, but now he can chop it the Norwegian way!  We are stacking the wood so it can season for next winter.  

When bringing logs indoors for burning we have to be a little careful; we often get sleepy wasps who wake up when they are in the warmth of the house and begin to buzz around.  The Engineer also found a hibernating butterfly in the log stack once.

 

 



Theatre and and Orchid

The end of January!  Eeek!  Time seems to be flying by. Unfortunately my garden isn't going well.  The broad beans have been decimated by black fly (this mild weather seems good for them) and the wet.  My broccoli is looking a little sorry for itself and my garlic is struggling.  Oh well, if they don't survive I can always plant more.

This weekend the Su+2 household went to the theatre.  We bought the Teen tickets to see Hetty Feather at the Chichester Festival Theatre for Christmas.  So yesterday we spent an afternoon in Chichester enjoying the sunny but cold weather, having a late lunch in ASK and spending some money in Lush before heading to watch the performance.

The Teen enjoying the programme

I've not read Hetty Feather but the Teen has been a Jacqueline Wilson fan for many years and was eager to see the show.  The whole performance was wonderful as the cast members played multiple roles and also played some of the musical instruments.  Everything was so very well choreographed; you had to use your imagination a bit as they couldn't really get 4 horses and an elephant onto the stage, let alone a bustling London street.  I think, however, that if you were to ask some of the younger members of the audience in 5 years time what they remember, they may well remember seeing real horses and a real oak tree and hundreds of people in Hyde park. 
Once we got home the Teen was inspired to get out all her Jacqueline Wilson books to re-read them.  She's acquired quite a number over the years from birthdays, Christmases and also from charity shops.

A brilliant show (these are just 3 of the Teens Jacqueline Wilson books)

Late last year the Engineer bought me an orchid from a supermarket; it was the last one, languishing at the back of a shelf as it had one black leaf, but he thought the markings were interesting and that I might like to draw it.  I did my usual sketching:

Thumbnails at the top of the page

Then I did a line drawing:

A complicated flower

Well, I started on this back on the 21st of October 2015. Then started it again a week later.  I haven't worked on it every day since then but I have spent many, many hours on it.  Luckily the plant itself hasn't changed too much except for the fact the buds are now flowers.

I learnt a lot.

So what's next now I have finished (I think) the orchid?

Well, as spring is approaching I am looking at daffodils, putting a few in a sketch book just to see how the colours look.