CHATTERBOX

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Well, here we go Dennis: Finished and framed - I always make white frames:



I've hung it next to a bright and cheerful still life. Zing! :



Renee,
Charlotte's still a homely girl, coming back to grandma's. You're a wonderful role model.

[Renée Profile]

Funnily enough, Gill, Charlotte said that she nearly wore a short skirt, but then thought that I might not like it. Errrmmm ... mid thigh, it was! I could have shown her some photos of me way back in the 60s/70s!

Your lemons painting has turned out really well and I like white frames, too. I love the colourful still life, too. I just love colour!

[Renée Profile]

Talking of short skirts, here's one of me in Menton with my youngest in the late 60s!

[Joanbunting Profile]

I love both pictures Gill.

The fact about short skirts is that some people can wear them, and others can't. I thought Mrs May made a big mistake in her choice of outfil for the so-called debate

[Petronius Profile]

Thanks Gill, using another Browser I've been comparing the half finished with the final one.

I love the colours in the lemons, zing indeed, and the shadow colours enhance the brightness of the fruit, a joyful scene that warms the heart. In the first one, the top left lemon you'd pulled the shadow colour out (Alizarin?) to join the shadow of the right one. But not in the final version. Can you remember your reason?

The background colour for the flower one is just perfect for all the other colours.

You make your own frames? I'm impressed.

Thanks again.

[Renée Profile]

Joan, I do agree with you about the clothes that Mrs May was wearing.

[Lusciouslush Profile]

Hey Renee - nice pic - you're a babe...........!!

Grillygirl, good to see the energy in your paintings again - & bluddy good job of those frames - a dovetailer's delight ( sounds a bit like the other thread - but def not at all easy to make )

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Thank you kindly.
The shadow changed on me Dennis when I made the second pass a couple of days later.
My studio has a lot of light, 3 windows. It changes in there all the time.

Framing is one of my very lucky purchases. I drove to a barn in Norfolk to collect a gumtree mitre cutter - 4hrs there, 4hrs back.
It was black bright and the owner did not know what they had.
When I cleaned it with engine oil, the plate was stamped Morso, with an ID number. Danish, best of the machines which go on and on. This one is older than I, made in 1960.

This was the lemons - simply put out on my tilting drafts table that I adore.
I have 2 tables - but am flogging one at the open studios event.



Legs 11, Renee. Whistle whistle!
I've just bought some shoes like that on Amazon in white for my jolly hols.

[Renée Profile]

Oh, Gill! 4 hours there and 4 hours back ..... that's dedication for you! What a lot of talent you have, both with your painting and also making your own frames. Very well done!

[Lusciouslush Profile]

I bet that cutter of yours gets borrowed a lot at your studio Grilly.......

There's something about fruit & veg in paintings - I have a large vibrant oil painting of red & yellow peppers hanging at home - always makes me feel cheerful & then there is a very old misty watercolour miniature of apples & grapes which makes me feel mellow............

[QinNortham Profile]

Gill, wonderfully vibrant paintings.

Lush, replying about the phone problem here rather than muddy the waters in the Angel Delight thread.

In the early hours of Saturday morning a week ago there was a lightening strike on a house way down the road. Blew off the chimney pots and made a very large hole in the roof. The router in the house next door exploded. Anyhow it blew our Sky Hub/router and even though we were sent a new one it seems the outage had made our relatively new (6 months old) cordless phone and message machine go kaput. Sky would only reimburse us for a very cheap (max a £5) corded phone. It has been aright royal pain.

[Renée Profile]

How very scary, QN. I hope that the people who had the hole in the roof were able to claim on their insurance, or is it described as an Act of God? What a shame about your phone.

[QinNortham Profile]

Renee, no idea about any insurance claim, the house is several streets down at the bottom of the hill. Rumour has it that it is a holiday home. We both heard a lightening strike & then a loud bang (much louder than lightening). I went straight back to sleep because I'd taken a Piriton to ease my huge insect bites. Came down in the morning to find no electrics but we solved that via the fuse board. Didn't help we had visitors arriving the next day including the very grumpy 15 year old granddaughter - I did warn them there would be no TV, no internet - this went down like a lead balloon with Miss Grumpy.

Not many shops that are very local but all their cash machines & PIN terminals were out of order for several days, very difficult for older residents who rely on cash for purchases. The newsagents were very good but the shop that sells food is part of a chain and weren't allowed to accept cheques. The lovely Ladies who serve were so upset but nothing they could do, out of their hands.

[Joanbunting Profile]

QN we have surge blocks on all of our sockets. The surges are really bad here and it only takes one to scramle the brains od most appliences. We lost a freezer, a fax machine a printer and a cordless vaccum before we got wise.

[QinNortham Profile]

Joan, we have surge blocks on everything but this was a mega surge!

On a happier note we are awaiting the delivery of 3 Della Balfour roses. We had some in Kew and I missed them although we have some lovely roses in the 2 gardens here.

I have made some Jambon au Persille for tonight, very tempting to have a snaffle but I won't!

[Renée Profile]

I recently bought a 4 socket surge protected extension lead, but when I read the instructions, it doesn't protect against lightning strikes.

Your roses will be beautiful in your garden, QinN.

There's nothing more tempting than ham straight out of the oven! I bought the preserved lemons and olives, so will attempt to make a chicken tagine tonight.

[Sakkarin Profile]

Annoying article. "444 items", sounds a lot, but 100 were sachets of sauce. Could just be one box of 100, which someone had tested and deemed OK. The food they took in was "waste" anyway.

If the staff are not allowed to use their common sense when dealing with "cast-off" food, then there can be no point in carrying on. 127 charity food cafes could close because someone had a box of out of date french dressing? It doesn't even say they used them, just that they were found on the premises.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... te-produce

[QinNortham Profile]

Sakks, utterly ridiculous isn't it? I very much doubt a sachet of out of date French Dressing would do anyone any harm. Good job they can't come round and check my store cupboard.

Renee, the Della Balfours arrived yesterday afternoon but we will leave them for Dave the Gardener to plant next week, he knows what he's doing, we don't really and the garden we "inherited" is so beautiful it would be a shame to mess things up.

Tis Mr Q's Birthday today. I asked if he would like to go out for dinner but he declined in favour of a pint at the local pub and a Yates & Greer Pork pie which was brought by our friends last week (please note they have been in the freezer). To counteract this indulgence I'm going to make an avocado, Ogen melon & cucumber salad for lunch.

[Renée Profile]

Happy birthday to Mr Q!!! I'm sure that the special pie and a pint at the pub will be more relaxing! I'd never heard of that make of pie. I know that Walkers are excellent, but a rare treat for me and just get the supermarket to cut me a small slice.

You must have good soil for your roses to grow so well and your gardener will know what to add to the soil before planting.

Well, we all managed to survive before we had "Use by" and "Best before" dates.

[Petronius Profile]

Happy birthday Mr Q. Always nice to have the birthday meal you really want, isn't it?

All the best with your roses. The Devon climate is very healthy for you and all sorts of bugs and bacteria that I hope don't enjoy your roses too much!

I wonder whether the authorities are wanting to go Court because they too are fed up with such laws.