We arrived back from our Italian travels in the early hours of Tuesday morning. K had a great week sailing and bimbling on the boat at lake Garda, although the wind was not always as much as they would of hoped for.

I have two nearly complete new paintings and a few more nearly planned. This year the grass in the dinghy park was being dug up and I could not set camp, I think this left me slightly unsettled and in full sun to concentrate. Two years ago I got so much more done but then I did have a degree show in three weeks. There are two many lovely distractions and lots of ice cream. I discovered this path that took you winding along the rocky cliff along a disused road now a superhighway for mountain bikes. It precariously found its way up through the cliff face and provided a great Ariel vantage point of the sailing even if it was all a little too far away to see.

I did manage to drag K away from sailing to do some climbing and via farrata.

I was on an absolute mission to bring back some Italian flour. I have some French flour which makes the most suburb crepes. Last night I hung up washing lines in the kitchen to hang up my fresh pasta made with half semolina flour. The flour worked a treat so much easier to roll out. Semolina flour has a high protein content so binds together better making the tastiest pasta, I made a lovely creamy mushroom source to go with it. Next I will try the Italian OO flour to make pizza base with.



Again I have left the cat till last, she will be a white cat to go with the white spots on the tea cups, but needs some shadow. She is having a delicious picnic, but is being very fusy and would prefer sardines to cake, unfortunatly somebody
forgot to pack the tin opener!

I'm still here,

I have stocked some lovely new shops. Including Fanny's Farm just north of Reigate. Its the most amazing place, your welcomed in with lots of bunting and a scarecrow, you can meet the pigs and chickens. There is a tree house you can have a tea party in. You can buy lots of fresh produce, flowers, plants and my cards! I did a rough for a painting at the weekend as it had all the things I love to draw in it.



www.fannysfarm.com

On Sunday I was convinced it was a good idea to go sailing myself, and it was I enjoyed it very much. But I did not get the painting I wanted to do done.

Oh well I have packed loads of cards this week and got them of to shops and sold a good number at a charity fair yesterday along with some jewelry. Now I'm going to get a whole week of painting! (Hopefully) We are of to Italy tomorrow, K will be sailing and I will be there with my paints. K is going to read the answer phone maual so we can check the answer phone messages and I will be able to check my email.

Dylan is feeling a little sad he can't come too as i have told him about all the lovley green grass by the lake. He thought he might like Italian grass much more than the grass I have planted in his favourite flower pot. He will be in safe hands with next door and he might get to go and say hello on his lead to her chickens.

This weekend I followed K to Beer in Devon. K was sailing in an open meeting there. I still had a cold and felt very rotten but we still decided to get down on Friday night as it saved an early morning. We have become quite practiced at putting the tent up in the dark and this time we made sure it was filled with lots of soft warm things.

I did find my picture for reference eventually just before we left, it was just where I had last seen it, at the bottom of a box of cards waiting to be packed. A combination of feeling unwell and really wanting a bit more reference meant I did not get on with this. So I huddled in my rug and the boat cover on the beach and did some sketching, it made a refreshing change.

I have been painting, this is not turning into a climbing blog! Yesterday I sent out a mountain of catalogues which took ages to put together but I have done a few bits of painting. I have been doing a few animals partly for practice as I feel the least confident about painting them and I thought they would make nice little cards for a local shop that only sells hand made stuff. I have finished my birds that have been sitting in a envelope half finished. I'm not sure what will become of them but its been fun experimenting. I have a cold and a nasty sore throat and feel rotten today. K brought it back with him after last week his just about over it!

Mr Casanova Cockerel, what can I say he thinks he rules the roost and thinks his something rather special!Miss Hillary, she is so greedy, like lightening the slightest hint of food and she's there, I just can't imagine how she still fits into a size 10!Miss Audrey, the roost would be such a mess if Miss Audrey did not keep it so prim and proper, she loves to use spray starch so her ironing is just so. Miss felicity, She is always cracking a joke and providing the entertainment.

I am desperately trying to find an old photo that I saw only last week. Its for the reference for my next painting and I'm finding it very frustrating that its not where I last saw it.

Another busy weekend running about every where. We had lunch with some friends of K's in Bedford. Then rushed over to Cambridge. I had a lovely night in chatting with my grandma, she showed me lots of her old clothes and some crochet my great grandma made. The crochet had such fine detail, I did wonder whether I inherited an eye for detail from her.

We stayed the night in Cambridge at grandma's. K came back late but not too drunk from a dinner at his old college. We set of in search of fresh air and the hills of the peak district.

I found this lovely camp site you had to walk to and was only a short walk from the crags to do some climbing on. We put the tent up so when it did eventually relent and rain we could collapse in it and our picnic tea.

It was the first night of this year under canvas in this country and I could here the pitter patter of rain all night. It was too rainy to climb in the morning so we went to a cafe for breakfast and a quick walk up kidder. All the lambs where running around in the fields, they are so sweet. The weather had cleared and there was just time for one more climb before driving home.