Happy Tuesday Friends!
Update on the wee “stray” that is not actually a stray at all but someone’s cat! The SSPCA told my neighbour that it is now back home with the owner, and that we shouldn’t feed it. IMO the cat doesn’t look like it was cared for, but there is nothing we can do about it, and it is still visiting us and presumably looking for food. 🙁 Also, apologies for being so late, I’ve been out all day.
Today’s Art . . .
Today’s art is a page for AJJ’s May theme of flowers, my last one I think. Thanks for the lovely theme Aimeslee. We had another bank holiday on Monday, so I was able to spend some time just sitting in the garden working in my journal instead of doing the hard yards in the garden
I just painted some random watercolour flowers and leaves, not based on anything in the garden, and then on the facing page, just some patches where I cleaned off my brush and some journalling on top.
Then I did some sketching of my garden… but I will have to save them for next week as this post is already late.
Currently Reading . . .
I’m currently reading this book, which I have had for years but never read because I made the mistake of watching the movie first and then didn’t really feel like reading the book, but now some years have passed since then so I gave it a go. I was actually listening to it all day while working in the garden and it was a really good book to listen to while out in a different kind of wilderness haha.
At twenty-six, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s rapid death from cancer, her family disbanded and her marriage crumbled. With nothing to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to walk eleven-hundred miles of the west coast of America and to do it alone. She had no experience of long-distance hiking and the journey was nothing more than a line on a map. But it held a promise – a promise of piecing together a life that lay shattered at her feet…
TOTAL for 2023
84 books
May Books so far – 16
69. Lev Grossman – The Magician’s Land – Magicians #3 
70. Jodi Taylor – White Silence – Elizabeth Cage #1 
71. Margareta Magnusson – Dostadning: The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning (2020)
72. JP Smythe – Way Down Dark – Australia Trilogy #1
73. Simon Clark – Night of the Triffids
74. Charlie Huston – Already Dead – Joe Pitt #1
75. Charlie Huston – No Dominion – Joe Pitt #2
76. Charlie Huston – Half the Blood in Brooklyn – Joe Pitt #3
77. Charlie Huston – Every Last Drop – Joe Pitt #4
78. Donna Tartt – Secret History
79. Karen Joy Fowler – The Jane Austen Book Club
80. Charlie Huston – The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death
81. Charlie Huston – Caught Stealing #Hank Thompson 1
82. Charlie Huston – Six Bad Things #Hank Thompson 2
83. Charlie Huston – A Dangerous Man #Hank Thompson 3
84. Cheryl Strayed – Wild
(re-reads in bold)
Currently Growing . . .
A lot of potatoes!
Kitties . . .
This is NOT my cat! A visitor to the garden, this is Garfield, he visits from further up the street, and has been doing so for many years. I must ask how old he is now, as he could be around 14. I hadn’t seen him for a while so I was glad to see him and that he looked healthy. He’s quite a submissive cat though and so the other cats beat him up (Miss P and one of the cats from next door) and he never fights back just cowers then runs away.
This IS my cat, yes another black cat but you can see his face is totally different from the cat above – right? right? I came in from the garden to get the kneeling mat as I had been kneeling on bark chips and it was getting quite painful, so I came in to get this mat, and Mr G decided to lie on it to prevent me from going back outside lol.
T Stands For . . .
Lunch in the garden on Monday. Decaf coffee in the cat mug – yes I know a lot of you love your full caffeine load but I’m sure you also know that it’s really not good for your health. So I gave up caffeine and drink decaf instead. It can be hard to find a good decaf that’s worth drinking but there are a couple of filter coffees that are pretty good.
Let me know what you think in the comments. As always, thanks for reading and Happy T Day!
I’m in meltdown mode, dear Elle. I was making an egg sandwich and suddenly realized my refrigerator/freezer wasn’t working. I’ve spent most of my time this afternoon and evening looking for a new one. I found one online and it was in stock, BUT they can’t deliver it until next Wednesday or Thursday because they can only make so many deliveries in a day. There were huge sales over the holiday, so first come first delivered. I completely forgot about Memorial Day sales (DUH).
I absolutely LOVE your flowers. They are beautiful. You are SO talented. I also really LOVE the adjoining page. It fits so well. Thanks for sharing it with us at AJJ using Aimeslee’s theme.
You sure listen to a lot of books. The cost must be out of sight for buying or renting them.
Your cat DOES have a different face, but I could tell because the other one has a collar and bell. Both my cats wear collars and have since I first got them.
Your lunch looks good. Decaf is not my thing and I have science on my side. Caffeinated coffee has been shown to increase energy levels, increase your metabolic rate, improves exercise performance, and may be heart healthy. Of course, if you take medication, caffeine could interact with your meds.
Thanks for sharing your art, your latest book, your cat, and your lunch and decaf with us for T this week, dear Elle.
A beautiful romantic floral page. Sweet your cat photos and beautiful your garden and delicious food.
Hug Elke
Oh, that spread in your journal is so pretty, I love that color combo and such perfect leaves. Your garden looks nice too. My Honey loves potatoes almost as much as rice. You so know that nightshades are toxic and cause joint pain and skin problems, but luckily it’s all in the potato’s skin and mostly at least over here, they are peeled before cooking into whatever. I am going to have to quit eating tomatoes and peppers, and I love them. Booo! Your lunch looks filling but I can’t approve decaf coffee. I’d just have decaf tea, that’s okay. *grin* Thanks so much for eeking out another link up to AJJ, you made a gorgeous one! XOX P.S. – Thanks for the sweet words, too.
Beautiful artwork. I like both cat pictures. They both look great and yes they both look different even though they are black cats.
Have a nice day and a happy T day!
Fun flower art. Obviously the kitties of the world love you and how fun they come to visit. So glad the stray was not a stray and I would keep feeding it if it doesn’t look well fed.
We have a horse, but the neighbors feed it treats and have 3 horses it can play with so it jumps our fence and hangs out there – I am glad the neighbors give her treats because she is so much happier than she was when she was all alone over here after our girls grew up and left. They all jump the fence and eat our grass and let the grandkids give them treats. Sorry I digressed….
I agree that decaf is the way to go, but still lean toward the full stuff. Your garden is looking well.
Happy T-day and hugz to you, Elle.
It’s so sad to read about the stray ?. But loving o to better things, I am loving the art and the garden too. And all the kitties in the garden. Spring and early summer- you have to love it. And I love the pretty colors and flowers I. Your journal. Thanks for linking up. And as always, your book reading is very impressive. Have a wonderful week ahead, and I hope it was a happy t day. Hugs Erika
Sad about the cat… Here I could call animal care and they would look into it. Sadly I see their vehicle a bit too often…
Beautiful page, such light, springy colors.
Interesting book. I´d be too chicken to do that by myself…
Great. Now I crave lasagna 😉
Mr G is clever.
I sadly cannot drink coffee anymore. And it has cooled down….
I gave up caffeine for 10 years, mostly it was coffee, and soda pop. Then I began to drink hot tea as it doesn’t have as much caffeine as coffee. I drink several cups all day, but switch to decaf. Happy T Day.
I drink decaf too-as quite a few years ago I discovered it was raising my blood pressure by allot-took awhile for me to figure that out but glad I finally did.
Loving your art page with the flowers, your garden is doing so well! sad about the stray cat not being taken care of properly too bad the authorities can’t doing something about that
Happy T
Black cats. Remind me of my beloved Ink. Aren’t cats funny when they decided something you want is actually theirs? Arting out in the garden is such a Zen thing to do. I don’t drink coffee as I don’t like the taste, but I do enjoy the smell especially of fresh ground beans. (You do know that formaldehyde is sometimes used in the decaffeination process? ?Happy T Day