Back to canvas

I am back to painting on canvas. Time just disappears when I have a canvas instead of walls to paint. Makes me realise how I love it. The image below is a little bit of a violinist on blue background.

Pink to white

Pink pink pink. Pink walls, pink ceiling, pink lampshade, pink floor. No, not pink floor, but the pink walls and ceiling made the floor seem pink too.

The second bedroom of my little cottage was not only very pink but also in need of a bit of TLC. So I got out the white filler-stuff and patched up all the holes and cracks (very satisfying that) then painted the ceiling white. I used white 'decking' ceiling paint I found in the garage (thank you my predecessors) hoping it might have very good coverage and only need two coats. It had ... and it did.

Then I painted the walls white. Joy, oh joy, it only needed two coats to cover the pink, not four coats like the blue bedroom. It took next to no time in comparison.

The pink bedroom is a warm white, the blue bedroom is a cool white and both rooms are now waiting for pictures to arrive on their walls.

Is it a whale?

Is it a whale with a rock on a white sand beach?

Is it a beach and some stones?

Or the view out of an aeroplane window?

Is it a seascape? Odd sort of boat.

Or a misty snow landscape?

A boat... a whale... a landscape ... a seascape.

From paint.

Off my door.

Lawn of Sasanquas

The sasanqua tree in my garden is so tall I had not noticed it flowering but now suddenly my lawn is clothed in white sasanqua blooms.

They remind me of my courageous and now exhausted friend who has spent the last five weeks caring for her Mother. Her Mother died of mesothelioma last week.

White, all white

Four coats of white paint and finally the blue bedroom has been transformed ...

... into a white bedroom. In my minds eye I can see the pictures hanging there and ...

and the people who bought the curtains and the bedcover on eBay say they are delighted with their purchases.

Our daily bread...

Ever since I worked in plant breeding I have despaired of humanity's chances of survival. The systems we have created seem to be incapable of protecting us from the real nasties. Imagine a seed crop modification company so big and aggressive that everyone is afraid of it:  farmers, scientists, the media. The media don't publish stories about the many farmers who suicide because of the problems this seed has caused. Scientists are afraid to publish negative research results.

All the more credit to those who are bucking the system: An emeritus Professor is raising questions about modified crops  in Iowa (maybe when you are retired you can afford to buck the system?) and US Organic Farmers are attempting to protect themselves from litigation by Monsanto.
Hat tip to @opensourcelaw.

Old Ladder New Ladder

As I was looking at ladders propped up outside the shop, an elderly man stopped and looked with me.
"You are looking at ladders," he said.
"Yes I am "
"Oh, they are dangerous.You can fall off."
The voice of experience, I thought and looked to see which ladder seemed most stable.

I told the ladder merchant in the shop that the ladder I had inherited was rather wonky.
"Ohhh, that's not very good," he said, sizing me up with a worried look. "Its very dangerous, you could fall off."
Then he said, "Look, you stand on this and see how it feels."
He unwrapped all the plastic and tape from his 'On Sale' ladder and stood it on its four legs.

I climbed up. No wonk. Instead of feeling as if I was balancing in a boat, the ladder felt like an extension of my own legs. What a difference. I looked around to show the elderly gent from outside how stable I was, but he had disappeared.

PS Blue bedrrom walls are now white. Scraping back paint from cupboard doors reveals a darker blue beneath. Sigh.

Painting not painting

I would much rather be painting canvases than walls (or window frames) but the walls and frames have taken over for the moment. The previous owners left an elderly and rather wonky the ladder in the garage. It does the job, but as I wobble I tell myself I should get a replacement.