The Artist's Way

Back in May, I started a journey called The Artist’s Way, following the path set out by the author, Julia Cameron.  I stumbled across a recommendation for this book and I am so glad that I heard about it, for it has been life-changing in ways that I couldn’t have imagined. 

I have never considered myself to be an artist, but this 12-week programme inspired me to clear my head, make time each week for artist’s dates and try things which I had never considered before.

One of these is watercolour painting.  I was useless at art when I was at school and thought that I would never be able to draw or paint anything.  I saw this beautiful set of watercolours and decided that I wanted to try painting, so I ordered them, along with some brushes.  I sat down with a blank sheet of paper and a rose which I had picked on a walk earlier that morning and I painted it.  Admittedly, the original was not the same colour (I didn’t have pink, so had to improvise), but the result was definitely a rose.  I was astonished - Mr Candytuft thought that it was a photocopy and couldn’t believe that I had painted it.

Since then, I received a gift of a huge pad of beautiful watercolour paper and I bought a set of watercolour paints and started my own colour chart.  I haven’t had time to finish it, but it is a work in progress.

Other exciting projects are progressing, including one which I hope to share with you soon.  If you want to fire your imagination, I would recommmend following The Artist’s Way.  You never know where it may lead you.  

Harvest

Well, autumn has arrived and our short growing season is over.  We had a glut of tomatoes from four plants and they were absolutely delicious.  I will miss homegrown tomatoes.  

Mr Candytuft ripped out the last of the peas and beans after we had a couple of frosty mornings.  I pickled the beetroot and we have a few new potatoes.  It still seems odd to be eating new potatoes and fresh peas in September, but that is when they were ready to harvest.

I tried growing zucchini (courgettes) for the first time this year and one plant gave us plenty.  We also grew purple beans (they go green when cooked).  We had quite a good crop from a relatively small plot

Autumn has officially arrived and the harvest moon on Monday night was magnificent.  Sadly, I don’t have a camera with which to do it justice.

Wishing you all a happy autumn!

Reindeer in the Snow

The original name for this knitting project was 'Christmas in July' because I started knitting it in July and finished it in two months.

I decided that I wasn't going to delay starting this project until later in the year because the weeks leading to Christmas are always busy and any knitting becomes an added stress as I rush to complete it.

Instead, I was able to pick it up and add a few rows when I felt like it, or leave it untouched for a week or so without feeling guilty.

The whole process was much more enjoyable because of this, although I did have a few surprised looks at my knitting group when they saw what I was working on.

Now that it is completed, I've decided to call it 'Reindeer in the Snow'.

Victoria-by-the-Sea

Towards the end of August, we headed out to explore the fishing village of Victoria-by-the-Sea, which is better known today for the artisans who have made it their home.

It was a hot afternoon, so we were glad to spend some time closer to the water, where there was a slight breeze to cool the afternoon.

It is a sweet little place, but I didn't manage to get that many photos because it was busy with tourists and the narrow streets were rather crowded.

Mr Candytuft captured this view of one of the many brightly painted homes when there was a lull in the traffic (yes, I'm the one in the hat in the distance).

We enjoyed our time there and will likely visit again, now that the summer season is officially over and life is getting back to normal.

I've not been blogging lately because I've been unwell with the worst virus that I've had in years.  It started like a dose of flu with fever and chills, body aches and pains and generally feeling ill, but it has dragged on for two weeks and I'm still coughing.

Needless to say, I'm behind with everything and I have a list a mile long of all the things that I should have done, but haven't.  Added to which, I'm still dragging myself into work, which isn't exactly aiding my recovery (employers are not very sympathetic when it comes to illness).

I wish you all a pleasant weekend.  I'm off to tackle some of those jobs on what is supposed to be my day off, before I have to work tomorrow.