Gabi's Page of Advice on Anything at All

New Year 2009

My Painting
Jan 1. New Start. I have my new Fab Fakes to get on with. I have to paint Jinkie, now that I have seen Michael's "Up Close". Jan 6. Started the drawing for my main fake & should finish it today. This is when I start to get nervous. I think I should have made it a bigger copy, it's too easy to make mistakes when the detail gets too small. However!
Jan 16. They've put back the Fab Fakes to October. 2 Years Ago they put back the October date to March. Huff! Well, it will certainly give me more time and maybe I can add some more to the 2 I'm currently doing. Feb 8 Received entry form for The Dobell Festival, to be held on the 1st weekend in May.. I have made a start on a couple of pretty cat paintings, (one of which I will put in the February Challenge) and I have a Contemporary flower-based painting in mind, as well. Feb 12 Got the 'Soul of a Rose' out of its frame now. Hope to show you a better portrait, shortly. Feb 24 Finished it now, I hope to have a comparison of the 3 paintings, for you all to comment on, up on my site by tomorrow. Cat is finished for the February Challenge. that will go in, as well. No It Won't! Bugger! I missed the Closing. Oh well, see it in my Photos. Feb 25 OK! here is The Soul of a Rose rejigged, and the Cat I was going to enter in the challenge. Mar 4 'Rose' is back at the framers. I have to start My portrait of Kylie for Dobell Festival and Portraititis. Feb 6 'Rose' and the other painting are back. They look good, he forgot to put in Rosie's new mat. Doesn't matter. Apr 10 Finished the two cats and Kylie's portrait. Will be taking the pictures to the Central Coast Framer as I need to use up the $250 prize money I won last year. I am still working on "Princess Dancer", but just needs some details to complete it.

Our Exercise
Jan 1. . I have to get back on the exercise. And now that the water is warmer, we will go swim every other day. Jan 6. Had to put it all off 'till I could get appointment with my Chiro. My Back's all out again. Going today so hopefully should be back into it tomorrow or next day. Jan 14. Famous last words, we still haven't been swimming.Jan 18. Have to visit chiro again!. Still too hot, this morning & yesterday, too cool & ocean rough. 28 Jan Have been to Dietician. Cutting out a lot of the milk we drink. Two weeks later and we have both lost 1/2 stone. Trev is much more active, see rose arbor above. Feb 28 Turns out our set of scales is something less than accurate - only lost 2 Kg. Poop! Mar 27 I am due to go back to Dietitian on 30th, have begun proper walking again, and it does seem to be helping my feet. I thought I'd squiffled myself when I first started, this time. See you later when I get the report from the dietitian.
Apr 10 I have to say I keep falling off the diet. If I am sore from exercise, I rest. This causes boredom as sitting, painting, is not rest for me, but a strain on the back. So I read, this requires cookies & milk, I'm not supposed to have them any more.
This is because I don't know the meaning of "a few". I don't buy biscuits unless I feel like eating some. This can mean a whole packet of Monte Carlo can disappear in one day! Oink!

The Roses
Jan 1. Well, that's all the roses I have now. I won't have room for any more; really don't know where I'm going to put the ones I have. Except for the 6 ft. weeping standard Noisette rose called 'Crepuscule' I've been trying to get into the circular bed that's been waiting for it for 4 years. Looks like there will be some rearranging, bigtime! The roses in pots will be transplanted to the garden in May. I have to get the pots out of the shade of my studio into some dappled sunlight until then. Tiffany is looking a little wobbly. Too many of her shoots have died back. Trev has built me a Rose garden with an arbor over the top for the climbers. (See photos below) Feb 17 The arbor is not finished yet in that it needs painting and I haven't been able to fill the bed with new loam & compost . Mar 9 The roses are out in the sun beside the studio and have been cleaned of white scale, lightly fed and watered. Trev got me some Cat litter I didn't like because it turned to mud; it was clay. Perfect for mixing into potting mix, helps hold the water and stop it from running straight out again. I prefer it to the gel beads. Roses are all flushed and putting out new leaves & buds. Mar 27 Been too hot to transfer the roses to the new bed. I know I should wait 'till June or July, but they have just been too long in those pots. Anyway, we've had a cool change and a good lot of nice rain. I'll start today after my walk. Apr 5 Took all day Sunday to get them in and settled carefully.
Think I've squiffled myself!. My poor back. Apr 8 I have just realised I have only 2 Mutabilis. That means the group of 3 contains an interloper. After a lot of counting on fingers, I realise Its Reine des Violettes; the scruffy little thing was already looking poorly, now I have to upset it more by digging it up again and replanting it. Tomorrow, I hope Trev will get me another load of Compost to completely fill the beds. They have all settled a lot with the rain. Then I can Mulch. Yess!

The Garden
Jan 1 Have made a start on the garden. Jan 10.Trev cleaned out the Garden Shed!!! You should have seen the wildlife. David Attenborough could have hung a whole series on what was scuttling around in there. Jan 12Broken pottery drain pipe in garden out front. Keeps creating a sink hole. Trev will slot plastic pipe inside the broken bit and cement over the top. Found out pipe is also blocked by tree roots on grass footway. Trying to find out if that's Council's job to fix, or mine. Doesn't really matter. By the time they decided it was their job, I'd be in the nursing home and hiding my own Easter Eggs. Will ring plumber tomorrow. Sigh!! Plumber was due to fix it on Wednesday, but it was way too hot to be working outside. Still no plumber. Jan. 23. Plumber came today did a good job. If this hot weather eases up. i'll be able to get the front bed finished. Council cleanup coming up in about 2 weeks, will be able to get rid of a lot of rubbish from under the house. I don't go under there, Cockroach Condo. Yuk! Feb 10 Council cleanup over, still haven't put out the concrete chunks from under the house. Can't spray for pests 'till we do. Actually, Council doesn't take them but the is a place near us called Concrush which will take all the old concrete, bricks & roof tiles you have and turn them into road base etc and pay you for them. Taking it to the tip will cost a fortune.