February Photo Challenges

I didn't do too well with "A Kitten Called Betty" this month, but right at the very last minute I managed to get the Scavenger Hunt completed. Please click here for other entries, and a big thankyou to Greenthumb for organising again.

Here are my submissions.

1) Red (my Valentine card from GM)

2) 14 (my desk calendar)

3) A kiss (well, almost. Its not easy to kiss and click at the same time!)

4) Something heartshaped (a potato)

5) Something found nowhere else (this is an original artwork, I forgot to make a note of the artist's name, it's hanging in the village pub in Maiden Bradley, I dont really like it, but it's definitely a one-off!)

6) Frozen (my poor raspberry plants)

7) Park bench (too cold to sit on them right now!)

8) Glass (and bottle)

9) Shopping trolley (or grannie trolley as GM calls it)

10) A shadow (my glasses)

11) Breakfast (too late, you missed it!)

12) Bus (on the way to Salisbury Market)

A bit of a tidy-up

I haven't been home very much this month, and my studio had become a bit of a dumping ground, so today was tidy up day.

My desk, before and after

My work bench, before and after

and "the space" before and after

It might not look a whole lot tidier, but I can assure you it is.

I'm not too happy with the picture quality, I'm still playing around trying to get to grips with "aperture priority", I dont think I got it right this time.

All ready for the new growing season

An old office desk makes a good potting bench, and an old plastic rack found in the outbuilding of our last house is just the right size to fit in front of the window for seed trays.

Two more old office desks for the benching on the other side

with pedestal units under for storing seeds, tools and various other bits and pieces.

This year I'm determined to keep track of everything, so it's all being written down.

All we need now is some sunshine

Happy Growing Season

February . . .

. . . has just whizzed by in a flash, and I dont seem to have spent much time at home just lately.

My latest trip was up to Surrey during half-term week to catch up with family

Reese

Tegue

Marissa

and since I've been back I've been steadily working my way through a seemingly never-ending pile of laundry and ironing.

Work on the dining room is currently at a standstill, as we are waiting for the chaps to fit the flooring (they may come next week) before we can do the next jobs (fix and paint skirting boards, hang wallpaper, finish curtains) but the good news is that the conservatory is now finished and back in use as my greenhouse, and I'll be showing that soon.

GM and GT (Ginger two) have just popped down to investigate a new (to them) sports bar to watch Fulham v Stoke on the TV, so I have the house to myself, now the big decision is whether to do more ironing or have a nice long soak in the bath. Any guesses?

Ten on the 10th - February

Ten pictures of my day

1) My bedside table

2) After breakfast 

3) A quick look at Facebook 

4) My slippered feet 

5) A mid-morning snack 

6) A quick walk around the garden 

7) Our newly plastered dining room wall and newly fitted radiator 

8) Tomato seedlings in the conservatory

9) The golf club carpark is enveloped in mist

10) A few books I've been sent to review, which one shall I read first?

Linking up with Rebekah at A little Bit of Sunshine.

Click here to see all the other entrants

Green Day Friday

Happy Weekend. 

Linking to Green Day Friday

Then and now

One of the things I really enjoy about living in a totally new town is trying to uncover some of the history of the area in which I find myself.

Just a couple of weeks ago I watched a programme on TV (it was a repeat), when Michael Portillo (Ugh!!) visited our town and made a trip to the Maltings. He also mentioned an old brewing family by the name of Morgan. It seems there were once several old breweries in town, although apart from the Maltings, they have all closed down now. I was intrigued to find this postcard in town, photo taken approx 1900, which depicts the site of Morgan's Brewery . . .

. . . nestled in between Webb's shop and the Athenaeum. The view is quite different now, here is how it looked yesterday,

Webb's shop is now a hairdressers and the Athenaeum has a new entrance. You can read the history of the Athenaeum here.

A Kitten Called Betty

. . . is the title of a photography group that I belong to on Facebook. We had 13 subjects to find during January, I managed 11 of them.

1) First self-portrait of the year

2) Welcome

3) Pure White

4) Fresh

5) Hat

6) 13 (yes, I know there are only 12, I cant count!)

8) Texture

9) Upside down

10) Silhouette

11) The sales

13) Defined

If you are on Facebook and would like to join the group, please leave a comment below. Its a very informal group, you just post as many or as few photos as you want each month, the idea is just to have a bit of fun.