Quite a busy day today after a few of lounging around! First thing was to phone the waiting list line to inform then that I had been unwell. Didn't even ask my name but said I would be okay to go for the surgery on Thursday, so providing they don't cancel it will be all systems go. Darren and I went off with a long shopping list as none of us had done a decent shop for a while. I also got a nightie just in case I end up staying in hospital longer than expected. By the time we were back and unpacked I needed a rest!
After a cuppa and a sit down I went off into town. Had some bits to get for Tina and wanted to get some passport photos done so that I could go and get my Sea Life Pass this week. I have had one the last couple of years, pay once then you can go for the rest of the year. I have enjoyed animal watching there, especially the otters and jellyfish! It was a grey day today, but not wet and quite a bit warmer. town is still in chaos, it has been weeks now.

After I had done what I needed to do I was struggling a bit with the ankle today, so caught the next available bus which went the long way round. Took some pictures from the bus as the far end of the north bay. I will post three, not because they are good but because it looks like they are monochrome.

Tina got me some tulips at when we got home from Peterborough a week ago. They opened beautifully but begun to flop with the weight of the heads, so I cut them down and now they have straightened up and I can still enjoy them.

Feeling less than energetic so listening to a bit of Mark Knopfler at the moment and don't plan to do a lot this evening.

I am feeling much better now but didn't go out for a breath of air as it has rained all day, also very grey and cold. 
I looked up pictures of grey foxes as I thought it would be a good idea to paint the other mask differently.

I think the two of them together loot quite different.

I started to varnish the top of the traditional fox and the paint started to lift off. Not enough to spoil the effect, but knew I had to find a different way to protect them as they are very likely to be out in the rain! I thought of fixative and knew I had some hidden away somewhere and I actually found it! Have sprayed them a couple of times and will buy some spray varnish to finish them off.
When Tina came in she said the sea was absolutely spectacular, so later this afternoon Darren drove me down to the front to see the sea. You could hear how rough it was as we went out to the car, and we are a good way from it. It was amazing and the foamiest I have ever seen.

We were only out of the car for a few minutes but managed to get Darren on camera!

We drove round the headland and the waves came over the wall and over the car, very dramatic, but I had put the camera away. On the beach and pavement along the south bay there were piles of foam, I have never seen that before. The two of us went and did a bit of essential shopping for tea, we will go and do a big shop tomorrow.
On a different note, on reading my admission letter, you are told to inform them if you have been ill in the week before your surgery date. Although I now feel fine, I cannot in all conscience not make the call tomorrow, so will just have to hope that it doesn't put back my operation.
Now painting competition this evening, so that should be interesting.

I have stayed in all day today, Darren got the paper complete with tv magazine for me when he went out. I think the symptoms have now stopped and the headache is not so bad, so all is looking okay for a proper recovery by the end of the weekend.
I spent a lot of time cutting out all the pieces for clothes for the little rabbit, and made up some. The material supplied was not sufficient and was of fairly poor quality. The instructions weren't too bad but very fiddly! The little jacket was hard to get on, not sure if I stuffed my rabbit a bit too much or sewed the seams wider that 5 mm, maybe a bit of both, but it doesn't really fit!

Maybe I will make another one some time, but not going to do any more clothing for now. Blue was up on my windowsill earlier, but got down once I got the camera out, but still got quite a cute picture of her!

Butter wouldn't melt! Not a pain at all this little lady. It has been a miserable, grey, wet day today and I imagine it was pretty cold. May get out for a short walk if it is dry tomorrow. Casualty later, what a long time that has been on our screens.

Feeling much better today, stayed with water until lunch time and then I had a light lunch and a cup of tea. Apart from the headache lingering on I think I am on the mend, and Darren and Tina actually had a meal this evening so they are feeling a lot better too. 
When I was in Peterborough I bought a couple of fax masks to paint, so that Isobel and maybe Amya can get dressed up at the Just So Festival this year.

I got the watercolour paints out so the mask will have to be varnished as it rained a lot at the festival last year!

I have just done one, but will paint the other one as well at some point, the festival isn't until August, so plenty of time.
I told you I went to town for a magazine on Wednesday and couldn't buy it, so ordered it when I got home. It arrived today.

Had to trace off the pattern pieces from the magazine, and decided to get on with making the rabbit.

The arms and legs are so small it was difficult to turn them out and stuff them and even harder to sew them up tidily. but the strange little rabbit is now complete, clothes to follow at some point if I decide to continue!

It has been cold out bu all accounts and maybe worse tomorrow. I am hoping that I will be feeling pretty much better tomorrow, but we will see. Looking forward to Room 101.

Just a short entry today. Darren was unwell at the beginning of the week and Tina has had a headache which turned into a very nasty tummy bug last night. I managed to get to my blood test appointment before the bug hit me. I have also had the headache and nasty bug. The pain is not quite so bad yet, but am on only water for the rest of today at least. Between visits to the loo I got on with and finished the puzzle. Great fun to do, I will put it back in the box as I really don't have the room for any more pictures.

I had a lie down for a while this afternoon as my knee was hurting as well as my tummy and I couldn't chance any pain killers.
There was a snow flurry earlier and it is very cold, not looking too good for the next few days, weather wise.

Charlie was next to me o the sofa last night, as you can see from this picture he is a content cat!

I sorted out the edge pieces of the Tea Time puzzle yesterday evening and found a board and got the edge done, except for one piece. However careful I am I always seem to miss one!

I haven't seen the sea for a while, and saw it from a distance from the bus yesterday, so decided to walk into town this morning via the cliff top. It was a cold dull day, but the grey sea was foamy and great, couldn't decide on the pictures so will put three.

I called in briefly at the studio and then walked into town. I needed one or two things but the main reason was to get a magazine I had seen advertised. The re-paving works are still going on, it is chaos in town and has been for some time.

The end of North Marine Road is still closed off on one side meaning the bus I usually catch could not bring me to the end of the road. So I caught the bus that goes the other way round the route, a longer journey but I still end up at the end of the road. This route stops by the Sea Life centre so I took another picture of the bay from the bus window.

I have done a bit of the jigsaw this afternoon, I am really enjoying this one and will post a picture when it is finished.

Tina was on Not Home Alone sandwiches again today. I usually make up the sandwiches as Tina usually has a lot of meetings on a Tuesday, including an evening one. As it happened both Darren and Tina are not very well today so neither of them have gone anywhere. Debbie, Tina's friend collected the lunch for the group and was going to stay and give the talk. My knee had been really painful in the night and was still bad this morning, but I did some exercises and managed to ease it a bit. So caught the bus and went in to see Sandy at the studio for a bit. I picked a couple of vases to paint up as gifts when I am resting after the surgery. They will sort out some of the under glaze paints for me to have at home. Before I went out I made some phone calls to try and sort out getting home after the surgery. At the moment I have been told that they will teach me how to go up and down the stairs on crutches before I am discharged. If I don't get on with that I presume I will be bed blocking! 
I went into town after leaving Sandy, got a bit of tasty shopping at M & S and then caught the bus home. The road the bus usually goes down was fenced off, this meant I had to get off near the prison again, that was a bit of a pity as the ankle had started to be quite painful by then and it is a reasonable distance from there. I came down Tennyson Avenue the other day and the gulls are very active down there. This one was sitting right by a house and there were a couple more on the roof. It is strange because it is a narrow and quite enclosed feeling little road.

While I was away I watched Country File with Rachel and Skip and there was a lady who did quite funky pictures using feathers. Not the feathery part  but making them like a quill. Lots of splattering, but very effective. I haven't got many coloured inks now and I haven't got any feathers, so had a play with some cocktail sticks!

The cats are funny, it seems now that the most comfortable and companionable place to sleep in outside my shower room!

Nothing like a cat obstacle course when going to the loo!