Lots of nice things have arrived so far this month. This letter from Jennie at Red Letter Day was a very nice surprise. It contained stamps from the Ex Postal Facto mail art exhibition I took part in back in February 2014.
A birthday parcel from Beth which has since all been eaten.
The best neon from Jamie.
a pouty lady from Megan and spots from Beth.
The dude from Laura.
Birthdays from Annika.
Following on into the gardens, everything started to become a bit French. We ventured into the very clean public conveniences- separate, and enjoyed lemon hand wash and spotless mirrors.
The gardens are lovely and there is lots to see and touch and sniff. There is a bit more about them HERE.
Beauty.
My birthday heart, skipped a birthday beat when I saw greenhouse cat and we proceeded to make it our best friend. FOREVER.
We over-friended.
Birthday blackbird pal.
It was a lovely day trip and if you get the chance then definitely visit Arundel and walk around the gardens all gentile and make friends with the greenhouse cat. Best friends.
Last Tuesday I turned 35 and Daniel turned 17. I told Daniel a week previous that I was going down south for a mini break to see our other Daniel. He wasn't impressed but I said to stay with granddad nice and off I went. The magic of the motorways treated me well and I had my packed lunch ham bap and pop at Warwick services. I saw lots of kids being shouted at by tired parents and a big fluffy dog doing a wee against its owners car. Simple things.
Upon arriving, Dan and I visited the pub for a rest and to eat. I saw this beauty in the ladies toilets and I was so overwhelmed, I wiped my hands on a paper towel so as not to disturb her.
Our itinerary was sporadic, which means we had ideas of where we were going but not entirely sure all at the same time. Monday came after a big sleep and we decided to visit a mystical place called Guildford. I found THIS video on YouTube, I got chuffed, I wanted to go to the shops! I wanted to dance through the shopping centres plastic trees and walk down the high street with my jumper over my shoulders.
I was aware that Guildford is a commuter town for London and I imagined bright lights and traffic and shops and burgers and bustle.
After an hour we had taken two pictures, couldn't find the plastic tree mall, got confused with the high street, didn't have a jumper for our shoulders and it started to rain. We returned home perplexed and ate a massive last day of being 34 pizza, rested and tried to process what we had seen.
Day two-Tuesday Birthday.
After a birthday overwhelming morning my, sorry, OUR special day was to be spent at Arundel Castle, looking at things, sniffing things, touching things and then deciding how I felt about them through the medium of how much my face had set.
There was no face set as look!
And Butthead.
Next time- we experience the greatest part of our birthday special day by meeting a cat in a greenhouse.
Garden centres are a staple for me at this time of year. I like seeing how things change, the reduced trolley and the selection of pottery animals that look like potatoes.
I saw these nice things on Sunday after a big birthday week and I kept saying 'oooh'. I do like a nice hydrangea.
I might print out some of these pictures and use them for cutting up. I think a nice Bet Lynch head would go lovely in the lavender.
Last Sunday I visited the garden centre. There was a party going on there with a BBQ and a man playing a piano. Nobody was listening to him and the free food had all gone and I felt sad for him. He then suddenly upped the tempo and played a bit of Gilbert 'O Sullivan and then a few jazz versions of Riders on the Storm. I felt he knew what he was doing and with this I bought a tray of snap dragons to celebrate his defiance.
I finally got round to reading my Cafe Royal books, one about a carpet and one about St.Helens where I am from. I do so wish Toy and Hobby still existed.
I then sat down and read last months Modernist magazine. When I save up enough monies I will rejoin. I fear I will miss the Galt Toys Exhibition now due to zero pennies so if anybody has seen it, tell me everything you know and send me your leaflets and pamphlets and I pay you in packets of raisins I found at the back of the cupboard. You can read more about it HERE.
My Tadek Beutlich book came from eBay. There was an exhibition of his work in Brighton about two months ago and true to form I never made it but never mind.
My mother-in-laws tongue gave birth to some new babies, but the strangest of all is what the main mother plant did.
She flowered and it smelled like bouncy balls. I do believe after wishing to myself about collecting more balls this year that I finally have a plant that will grow me an everlasting supply. It is very sticky but the flowers are lovely and I am sure 100 bouncy ball babies will form and arrive any day now.
Charity shop 50p guidance light of things Emma wants to do but will never end up doing.
I owe it to Peter to be the best etcher there is.
I received this beautiful book from Dan. I will treasure this forever.
When is a knitted toy not a knitted toy?
And last weeks post.
