Sunbathing and something

What a gorgeous day off!

I found two new regular clients for my cleaning today! Woohoo! Then our friend Piano Dave rang us to say he was down near the boat and we arranged to meet up. We gave him some of the tablets that David no longer needs for his prostate- saving Dave some money and giving us a feel-good feeling about helping a friend.

Then we wandered down to the sea and found a gorgeous sunny sandy cove. With a cave perfect for a cache so watch this space for more info about geocaching!

It was so nice to lie on a sandy beach rather than a pebbly one- I even went for a swim which was lovely- first swim of the year!

On the down side though- no sign of my PIN number from the bank yet- its been two weeks since I ordered it! Some of the art I have been sending for trades has disappeared en route (MIT- missing in transit). *sigh* Will keep you posted if it ever turns up!

Cats and Cleaning

Have been cleaning today- hard work when these flats haven't been lived in for around 6 months. But I have decided to buy a new fridge-freezer and washing machine that were in the flats. Bargain! Some of the appliances have been hardly used and are like new. Considering the price we paid for the fridge we have, I though I'd got a good deal.

I start work in my new job on Saturday. I have to open a new bank account tomorrow to allow direct payment- but that will work out well as it is the same bank as my landlord so I can arrange a direct payment for the rent!

I have a rice pudding in the oven at the moment. I put mixed spice on the top and it is starting to smell amazing. Great what you can do with a few basic ingredients (milk, rice and sugar).

The picture above is an ATC I did based on the painting by Franz Marc called 'Two Cats'. I love his work- my mum sent me photographs she took of his Tiger painting that I used in a piece of work I did for my GCSE Art. Sad to think that some artists die before their time- makes you wonder what kinds of works they would have done if they had been around for longer.

David hasn't been well. They are admitting him next week for a Cysotscopy (camera examination) and he has a catheter in place yet again. Third in so many weeks. Ugh.

Catching up.... and more rain

This is what happens when a truck approaches a large puddle at speed. A car had tried this earlier and nearly came to a dead-stop. The force of hitting that amount of standing water at speed..... well, I'm glad I stayed in today even if it has been a rather dull day.

So to catch up on earlier posts:
1. The new Doctor Who? well its a guy called Matt Smith and we will have to wait until next year to see what he's like in the role.
2. I was offered a job on Friday at last! I had two trial days at the Anoi Bar in the Village Square out at Aphrodite Hills. I go to see the Operations Director on Monday to finalise details and start the process at Human Resources. I am really looking forwards to this job- I had a blast working there even when it was busy- everyone is so nice and I will really get a chance to improve the skills I have there.

I think thats all.

Oh, someone commented on another site about the fact that I had met Terry Pratchett. I met him at a book signing in London- I queued for hours in the cold to see him and he kept on signing until everyone had met him that had waited so long. I got my photo taken with him too. I used to know his cousin who ran a specialist toy shop under Charing Cross station- he sold collectibles. Brings back lots of fond memories despite the fact I was travelling to London to see a Chinese herbalist at the time and see the Consultant Dermatologist at St Thomas' Hospital. I'd so love to meet up with Dr Ian R. Wright again to show how how well my skin has done since I was under his treatment!

My first blog award!

Woohoo! Someone thinks I am a real person :D that sounds good to me. Catty Cat of Liven, Loven n Laughen for Art nominated me for the Marie Antoinette, Real Person, a Real Award. I haven't won an award for around 5 years for something on the internet! Wonder what I did with the others I had? Never mind!

So here is what I have to do:

Here are the rules for the award:

1. Put the picture of Marie Antoinette on your blog.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate at least 7 or more blogs.
4. Link to those blogs from your blog.
5. Leave a comment on their blogs to let them know you've shared the award with them.

Sounds easy enough, I think I can cope with that!

Done Number 1 if you can see it above, linked back to the amazing CattyCat- she's on my permanent list at the right too!

Nominate 7 or more blogs: In no particular order!

1. Kate over at Through My Lens Lightly

2. Chatty at Chatty Whacky Whims

3. Tracie at Purple Realm

4. Jennifer at Trial and Error

5. Margaret at Mop Heads Unite

6. Jenn at Thoughts, Rants and Art

7. Kateri at Kateriblog

Swing by their blogs and take a peek- there are lots of real people out there if you know where to look ;)

Sir Terry Pratchett- at last!

Hurrah!

Sir Terry Pratchett has been knighted for his services to literature.

Just a short post today as I am excited- some of us have been reading his books since 1988- its about time he got some recognition for being one of the best selling authors ever! At one time, one in every ten books sold by WHSmiths was written by him. The Discworld series is amazing, rich and full of detail with a wry humour that has you laughing page after page.

I brought some of his books with me from the UK just because I can read them over and over again.

Oh, and the BBC have announced they will be naming the new Doctor Who tomorrow evening. Stay tuned to find out more!

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2009! Here's to hoping it's an excellent year all round!

I got my art supplies out today and made a mess! No, only kidding, I was trying to make a home-made glaze using PVA, acrylic medium and varnish with water. Only, it wasn't varnish, it was actually enamel. And did you know that when the above ingredients are mixed together, it thickens where you'd think it would stay thin. Hey ho! Live and learn. It works quite well and now I have a small jar to play with- I had to empty a spice jar so I had something to store it in!

I added some of the powders I have to it- I thought they were kind of graphite powders but they didn't smudge so I'm not sure what they are! The glaze-ish stuff I made stuck them to the paper quite well, so then I decided to stamp some wings onto the patterns I had made and then played with some other stuff.

This is the first of the three I made- all with different silhouettes and slightly different colours but the same basic materials. Yes, they even have stitching on!

I'm hoping the rest of the year brings accomplishments, inspirations, luck and joy.

And I've given up on the idea of making resolutions- I'm wishing instead- thanks to a friend on a forum for suggesting this:

I wish for a job that suits me, pays me what I am worth while working for a company that encourages and respects me and values me.
I wish for health, wealth and happiness for me and everyone around me.
I wish for World Peace.
I wish for chocolate that doesn't make me put on weight and/or helps me to lose it!
I wish for artistic inspiration to continue and for my art to get better and for my skills to be recognised.
I wish for the chance (and funding) to put on a major display of ATC's in Cyprus, for it to be noticed in the national press in both languages and for one of the biggest swaps to take place there with prizes for entrants!

I'm sure there will be more wishes- I could never have just 3, it's not greed, there's just so much I want to make better!

I hope your coming year is amazing!

Shocking

This boat set out from Cyprus on Monday, loaded with 4 tonnes of medical supplies to help the people of the Gaza strip. Yesterday, this boat was rammed by the Israeli Navy and had to dock in Lebanon. Luckily no-one on board was injured, but the supplies on board the boat are now needing an alternative method of transport to allow them to reach the area where they are needed.
People on board the boat say that it was in International waters when this incident happened.

Something needs to be done, and it needs to be done NOW.

Photo and story from The Famagusta Gazette