Two Pennies Left

Orange_Ena

Hello Fortune

I haven't logged in for ages but have been lurking and have been admiring your wonderful pictures. You are so talented, they are amazing and I'm glad things are going well with it all. You seem to have lots of suggestions of things to paint from other MS'ers . Full time job you got there!

And I can't believe you were in waving distance of me this weekend.......I live quite close to the Wrekin! I think you were wise to miss step class, you've probably burnt enough calories for a couple of weeks! :rotfl:

Have a great week

Fortune_Smiles

beanielou wrote: »

Diet totally out window here as have been having a total choc fest.
Glad that you had a nice weekend

Mmmmm.... choc fest. Hope they were the result of a wonderful birthday.

postingalwaysposting wrote: »

Ahh so you were enjoying some lilies :j Glad you had a good time Fortune...

Thanks PAP. Yes, lots of lilies this weekend - time to concentrate on the loaves for a while now though.

Orange_Ena wrote: »

Hello Fortune

I haven't logged in for ages but have been lurking and have been admiring your wonderful pictures. You are so talented, they are amazing and I'm glad things are going well with it all. You seem to have lots of suggestions of things to paint from other MS'ers . Full time job you got there!

And I can't believe you were in waving distance of me this weekend.......I live quite close to the Wrekin! I think you were wise to miss step class, you've probably burnt enough calories for a couple of weeks! :rotfl:

Have a great week

Thank you Orange Ena. I'm really enjoying the painting and it's lovely that other people are appreciating them too.

I did wave from the top of the Wrekin just in case anyone I knew lived locally. It was a bit of a shock though. Our friends are keen hikers and described it as "a stroll on a gentle incline". I didn't have trainers with me so wore boots with a heel! I started to worry when I saw groups of people in charity t-shirts setting off :rotfl:I did it though without too much pain although my thighs have been paying the price ever since :rotfl:

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

So a refocus on MS and eating healthily. Progress so far:

• started well with a hearty meal for Mr Marmite of ... 1p :rotfl:
• a little admin work
• turned down a shopping trip into town :A
• painted some Click Beetles for listing tomorrow
• posted my ACEO - 99p. Won't be long before I make my fortune :rotfl:
• falafel and salad pitta for lunch followed by strawberries
• one bedroom cleaned
• popped over to see across-the-lane-neighbours new kitten. Stayed for coffee and a smarti£$ cookie
• 2 loads of washing line dried
• caught up on my email and surveys
• Smoked Haddock Gratin and Roast Potatoes from the meal plan for supper

Early night tonight. Mr F and I are trying to get back into a routine otherwise he sleeps badly (which means I sleep badly).

Sleep tight everyone.

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

Lots of visitors today which was lovely but meant I didn't get as much done as I'd planned:

• Mr F's pay day so did the monthly money shuffle :T The savings percentage has increased as a result but that money is ear-marked for the house alarm so the figures will come down again at some stage
• Waitr0$£ delivered. Free croissants, bagels, kiwi fruit and rocket salad this week :T £10.89 under budget
• mounted and listed the click beetles
• builder friend arrived with scaffolding. He's going to start rendering the chimney tomorrow
• neighbour arrived to ask if I'd like some runner beans from her garden. "I'd love some" I said and popped down to hers to collect them
• sold my Dragonfly to a lovely lady who has been 'collecting' me - I feel like a real artist now
• painted some Hawk Moths and I'm really pleased with the way they have come out. The colours are so pretty. Will mount and list them tomorrow
• did a marathon ironing session whilst catching up on 'The Mill', what a tough time they had!
• Stuffed Mushrooms and Salad from the meal plan for supper tonight
• an NSD

Friday tomorrow! Thank goodness. Have a good one.

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

The chimney is rendered :T and it looks fab. Builder friend is coming back on Monday to give it a coat of paint and to check the roof tiles over. Great to have everything shipshape before the weather starts to turn but it did mean I had to stay home today.

Efforts today:

• mounted and listed the Hawk Moths. So pleased with them that I couldn't resist including a little link http://folksy.com/items/4443909-Hawk-Moths-Original-Watercolour-Painting-Natural-History-Picture- Please feel free to give a stiff ignoring :rotfl:
• also painted some Comfrey from the garden. All the plants seem to be having one last hurrah and are blooming again
• nothing to pay on the chimney as Mr F did some work on builder friend's Land Rover in exchange :T
• Ratatouille Hotpot from the meal plan for supper tonight. Delicious and plenty left over for tomorrow evening too
• Mr F announced that he is away for work on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week and next weekend. Might mean a saving on the shopping bill though

Sitting here with a glass of red - well it is the weekend you know. Hope you all have a good one.

Fortune x

southerndave

Nice to see local exchange and barter alive and well! ;-)

Fortune_Smiles

It's been a quiet and very relaxing weekend (but not a very MS one)

• painted 6 (yes 6!) ACEOs on Saturday and listed them on Fleabay today. I've realised that ACEOs are a great way of trying out new techniques without committing a huge amount of time and materials. They are all botanical studies of wild flowers http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290969859520?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
• a little admin work this morning
• liberated some change from Mr F's change dish. Not sure how much yet as had to hide it quickly as he was coming up the stairs :rotfl:
• had the leftover Ratatouille Hotpot with a bottle of red last night
• painted 2 botanical studies of herbs today using cuttings from the garden. Very pleased with the way they turned out. I feel like I am improving with every painting http://folksy.com/items/4445224-Sage-Original-Watercolour-Painting-Picture-Botanical-Herb-Long-Life-Health-
• ordered some watercolour pencils I've been wanting to try them and found some at a really good price today. Ordered some more watercolour paper while I was at it as I'm getting low on A5 - £43.97 :eek:
• and... I booked myself on to an art course at one of the local village halls :eek: I went to 2 of these when I first stopped full time work and learnt so much. I got some great tips and was encouraged to try styles and approaches I wouldn't have considered otherwise. £115 but I'm hoping to recoup some of that from Fleabaying
• all the art stuff is from my personal spends but my little pot is looking very depleted now
• Leek, Bean & Chorizo Gratin from the meal plan for supper tonight with another bottle of red

Not much of the weekend left but what remains is looking very good through red tinted spectacles :rotfl:(Mr F is refilling my glass as I type).

Have a good week everyone

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

... people keep feeding me!

• breakfast meeting for the admin job yesterday. Free vegetarian full English and coffee :j
• popped into the florist. She has only just put my paintings up but all the shop staff like them so they can stay :rotfl:
• painted a Bouquet Garni and a Thyme and listed them in the online shop http://folksy.com/shops/BeeGardenArt. Really happy with the Bouquet Garni - it came out exactly as I imagined it
• new watercolour pencils arrived today so I've had a play with them already
• looked after the children for across-the-lane-neighbour this morning as she had an appointment. She made me a lovely salad lunch when she got back
• realised that Mr F had eaten all the lunch box snacks I'd bought for this week over the weekend :mad: so baked Parmesan and Poppy Seed biscuits and Almond Cookies. Hid them at the back of the cupboard but he sniffed them out as soon as he got home tonight. He is under strict instructions not to eat any :rotfl:
• Mediterranean Pasta from the meal plan for supper tonight.

The traditional end of term breakfast with the local mums has evolved to include a beginning of term breakfast somehow so I get another full English tomorrow (insert chubby smiley). It will be a good opportunity to celebrate though as across-the-lane-neighbour's husband has just had a job offer today :j

Happy hump day everyone

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

Might be:

• the heat (it was sweltering here today)
• the huge plague of flies that invaded my house and buzzed incessantly for hours (thank you Mr Farmer for waiting until the hottest day to do your muck spreading)
• producing 2 lots of premium rubbish with my watercolour pencils
• Mr F trekking muck from the attic through the house just after I'd hovered from top to bottom
• the tortuous and painful slowness of my internet connection
• my hormones

whatever it is I have been very :mad: But, there is a silver lining:

• went to the Start of Term Breakfast with some of the mums today. Lovely breakfast and a good catch up chat all for £3.69
• popped into a local wholesalers on the way home. Hadn't been there before and discovered they are the cheapest place to buy bird food
• sold an ACEO on Fleabay - £2.99 this time :T
• listed a flower study done in my new watercolour pencils so some good has come of them http://folksy.com/items/4448019-Ladies-Smock-Original-Watercolour-Pencil-Painting-Botanical-Wildflower-
• Fish curry from the meal plan for supper tonight
• Mr F has the day off tomorrow as he's off to a 4x4 thing for the weekend so we have a bonus lie in :T

We are both currently indulging in a glass of lager :eek: It's the only thing we fancied after such a hot day. Don't tell anyone though - Mr F is a real ale man :rotfl:

Let's hope I get out of the bed on the right side tomorrow.

Night all

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

of the bed was found yesterday morning and I'm now back on a more even (emotional) keel The bonus lie in probably helped.

• saw Mr F off to his 4x4 thingie
• cleaned up the house ready for DC's arrival
• started work on a commission A friend has asked me to paint some boats as a Christmas present for her parents. I'm going to do a couple so she can choose the one she likes best
• started listing some Fleabay items to cover the cost of my recent art indulgences. One item is at £28.99 already
• I have enough $wagbuck$ points for a £5 voucher so that will go towards the indulgencies too
• DC arrived with a couple of bottles of wine :T
• Vegetarian Chilli & Rice from the meal plan for supper followed by Rhubarb & Pear Crumble using rhubarb from the garden - it's still going strong!
• another lie in this morning (bliss) and the plan is to have a lazy morning and to do a spot of BlackBerrying later. The weather here is perfect for it.

We've been invited out for a meal tonight to celebrate across-the-lanes-neighbour's husband getting a job. Prosecco back at theirs is on the cards after so you may not hear anything from me tomorrow :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend

Fortune x