The last few days I have been working on some paintings for an exhibition a painting group I am in is having in northern France. Needless to say this has involved rootling through drawers and wardrobes to see if I have any older paintings I want to submit… and I came across this… my little Fifi…
For many years I was painting simply for my own satisfaction, but a few years ago I was persuaded that I should do an exhibition. Since then, I have had two exhibitions in Cortona, and one of my paintings was selected for an exhibition in homage to local artist Gino Severini. In addition, one of my composition ‘Ferocious Flowers’ was selection for the Patchings Art Centre Exhibition a few years ago. I have had paintings in an exhibition in Rome, as well as currently, in Castel di Sangro, Abruzzo. My pieces can be seen in houses in the UK, Belgium and even America. Finally, I have had paintings selected for an upcoming exhibition in northern France in October… details to be revealed very soon!
And then along came along my two girls – just two days old!! Once a month we have a walk from the kennels, and it’s a great opportunity for socializing.. for the two-legged of us, and of course for our four-legged friends. One Sunday when I arrived I got a particularly warm welcome, and it transpired that they were desperately seeking carers for six one day old pups who had been rescued from a plastic bag in a rubbish tip. (Really, how could anyone THINK of doing such a terrible thing?) Initally I said no way – already the servant of 3 cats and 2 dogs. But in the end I gave way, and ended up taking home two delightful tiny, tiny little things no bigger than mice. This time they needed to be given milk, at first
Busta was driving me and the cats mad, he was so full of beans, it was obvious he needed canine company… and so the arrival of little Albi.
It seems appropriate to start writing this blog the day after my birthday – we will skip over my age… suffice to say I am still surprised by it!! My passions are my animals and painting.
In twenty years here I don’t remember such a cold wet May… it really was pretty miserable. There were even some days I didn’t dare drive the dogs to the fields for their walk as the mud was too deep on the tractor tracks – one time needing to be towed out was sufficient!! Now within a couple of days the temperatures have risen by about ten degrees. Goodbye socks, hello bikini as the we go into the high 20s. Last year the hot season was so long, I never heard so many Italians complaining, and it was the first summer I really found it too hot for me… at 3 oclock in the morning it was still in the 30s in my garden!!! Let’s hope this summer is a bit cooler!!
When I was working ghastly shifts at Sky News I spent my life chasing sleep, and thus used blackout curtains… now a happy retiree in Tuscany I leave my curtains and shutters open so that I wake to the light. The other morning I was greeted with the wonderful sight of a Hoopoe bird ducking and bobbing on my windowsill. I first read about Hoopoes in a Leon Uris book (Exodus maybe?), and always thought of them as from Africa, so it was so special to see one here.
OMG What a nightmare!!! The men are here to fit an air-conditioner unit, but it’s all gone desperately wrong!! I have always hated a/c, but this is a very hot house, attached on what would have been the cooler side, with no two windows in a straight line, so airflow is not what you would call good!!
My tiny cat Fifi is so precious, and in my eyes very, very beautiful, despite being born with only half a tail. Back in mid June I could see that Fifi was not doing well. Her proper name is Fiorellina (Little Flower), and she is so precious. As it happened my DIY friend was coming that day, and he has always had cats, and he suggested we took her to a vet he knew and thought highly of. To cut a long story short, it transpired she was in really bad pain, and that the only way of taking her out of pain was an operation – to remove her eye. I still cringe when I write that, but apparently it is not uncommon with older cats. I couldn’t leave her in pain, so I agreed to the op, which they did two days later.
The last few days I have been working on some paintings for an exhibition a painting group I am in is having in northern France. Needless to say this has involved rootling through drawers and wardrobes to see if I have any older paintings I want to submit… and I came across this… my little Fifi…
