Journals online......

We are used to seeing pictures of people "journals", the modern painted kind but today they have announced that Queen Victoria's Journals are now on line.   Here .  I have read excerpts in the past and am now looking forward to being able to dip in and out at will.  I thought is would be interesting to link it with some of the dates on my family tree.
As a blog post isn't complete without a photo, this was in Regent Street, London yesterday. (I intend to play with this some, feel free to do same)

Still addicted to the Olympic Relay coverage. Here  Love listening to the snippets of conversation that are caught, from delighted "Here it is" to one bored male voice "Is that it?". So many happy, smiling people, lovely.

The right way......

I find Blogger has a thing about photographs taken in portarit mode.  It refuses to post them the right way up.  My solution is to go into My Pictures and rotate them to the left, Blogger will them reporduce them the right way up.  Weird but true.  Of course I then have to remember to turn them back again in MP otherwise they are wrong in slide shows.

 Original

 Turned to left.

That's it......

I am addicted.... to the Olympic Flame Relay.  I never have the TV on in a morning but realised this morning they were showing the start of the relay.  Two hours later I'm still there.  Watching the mixture of nervousness, pride and happiness  in the faces as each bearer takes the flame.  Magic. I have found that the whole thing is on the old analogue channel, no annoyingly,  banal commentators, just watching it all happen. You can follow it's progress here.

I am loving the guy who unlocks the torches, the super fit discreet police escort but most of all the happy cheering crowds.  The politicians and the press tell us the future is grim and I feel it may very well be but for the moment let us revel in our British way of doing things and enjoy the Jubilee and the Olympics when it comes.  We can go back to being gloomy afterwards...

Pebbles....

I was going to title this "Stoned" but thought it might bring some unwanted attention.  Continuing the Feather Project Jude wanted to include stones, see her explanation here so these will be on their way soon.

I have been working slowly on my Earth Cloth (Space is still waiting to be finished).  This is a detail of the swirl when first applied.

and this a little later (about two months) with the stitching added.

and you can see why I am "stoned"

Fun day....

The blog of Lynda Monk popped up on my reader today and that was funny because, unknown to her, I had plucked up courage to brave the M25 in  my new car to go to Art Van Go to see what she was up to on her Artist in Residence day. It was really good to see the things she has illustrated on her blog for real.  She really is a very clever lady, Her technique for making Lutradur resemble beautifully rusted metal.is fascinating. I have had Lynda's new book "Fabulous Surfaces" a few week, time to try some of the techniques I think.

Of course being in Art Van go I had to have a little shop.  I bought some of their extra fine calico which I love and some interesting rubbing plates and some of the new Koh i Noor Brilliant watercolours, mainly because there were four yellows and I always run out of yellow first. Came away with fingers itching.  Good feeling.

More good feeling, I have heard this piece of music many times but it has never brought a tear to my eye until this.