PHOTOGRAPHS AND HOBBIES

One great thing about technology is the speed photographs reach us. Remember the time when air mail was the only way to get fast communication from abroad? Remember how we wrote letters and then had to wait an eternity for a reply. I recall having to wait five or six weeks for a letter to reach me when my mother was in Australia – of course, that was by ordinary mail, by ship, a long time ago.

Desserts to die for!

I got to thinking about this when I received the above two photographs from Rosanne – sent from Hong Kong and received by me instantaneously ... or would have been had I been awake when they were sent. She was taking afternoon tea in Hong Kong and thought I’d like to see what she was having. She was right about my wanting to see them but a ticket to ride would have been the perfect way to tell her that... smiles. She did, however, give me permission to use them for this post.

Talking of pictures, I’m having a great time with the new phone camera. I’m snapping everything in sight, good or bad, in the hope of having something to post on the blog. I did a tour of the garden and marvelled at newly acquired seeded flowers as well as old favourites venturing forth to face the wind and rain – well, it is springtime, when anything can happen.

The best flowering the Azalea has ever had

Self-seeders sneaked in when I wasn't looking.

As did these!
They look like poppies but I can't find them in my wildflower book.

An unknown self-seeder, never seen before.

This is new, too. Honestly, those birds are doing me some real favours.

And this lovely Weigela that hid behind a huge Quince and only this year could properly be seen

Then, there’s the artwork! At least that’s what I’m calling the newfound hobby of colouring. I have a great collection of artist materials in the form of coloured pencils, felt tips and pens that were hitherto unheard of. There are sparkly ones and some containing gel, the latter to be used with extreme caution because it covers everything, takes longer to dry, and smears if I just breathe on it. I am still trying to find wax crayons in the shops... I think they must have gone out of fashion.

And what about the pictures themselves? Well, I have several books of pictures waiting to be worked on. One of the books on sale is in similar style to the Secret Garden (shown HERE) but consists of animals instead of flowers. I just had to have it, didn’t I? I also have a book of animals but of inferior quality. The pictures are okay but the paper they’re printed on is rubbish. Felt tip shows through to the other side and coloured pencils hardly make an impression; hence the need for wax crayons.

I love working with felt tips, the smooth flow of ink does something for me in the way of relaxation and I’m getting a dab hand at following lines without going over them. You can see how carried away I am, can’t you?

Amazed? No, a Maze!

The artist plants surprise items within her pictures, in this case the key to the door hangs from a leaf on the right. It is gold colour but looks pink in this photo

My favourite!

This fellow would have looked better if I'd left the face white to match the trousers. I shall know better next time.

I have told WI colleagues about this new craze and noted their interest with surprise. So, on a recent lunch engagement with a few mates I whipped out the (new) phone and showed them what I’ve been up to. I’m now wondering if I can claim commission for spreading the word.