gallivanting...sort of...

 Just the need to be OUT !!

Bus to Ayr first...then as I had time to wait, a  Long Black and a very decadent Brownie in a fairly new coffee place..Puck's. They know their coffee and make the best cakes!

Next to the Smiddy Gallery at Culzean.

Not just to top up my cards, but to give the person on duty a toilet break and a chance to fetch her lunch from the café...

Another wait for the (hourly) bus back to Ayr, which was a good excuse to visit the secondhand bookshop near the gallery...and spent £7...on three books and two Willie Nelson CDs!!

Back in Ayr....where next???? 

The next bus was the slow bus to Glasgow. No time to go all that way (it takes 2 hours, twice that of the express service) so just to Kilmarnock. Which was a grave mistake...I hadn't been properly for three years or more. It does have a new bus station...but the streets are full of boardedup shops, both our favourite cafés have disappeared..one appeared to have been destroyed by fire along with two other shops....

but I did find a very reasonable Italian chip shop...selling real (not prepackaged) chips...

Back on the bus again, arriving in time to board the wee bus home at the same time as my friend from the next village up!

Then home to relax...

pictures of cat politics this morning on the way to the first bus, the old High Street in Ayr and Coltsfoot at Culzean

what a change!

 A beautiful day today...still a little touch of chill in the breeze this morning, but then it myst have been 10 degrees or so warmer by this afternoon!!

Shallots were planted in pots in the greenhouse, a small bed weeded....aand lunch was al fresco on the garden bench!

The Daisies were blooming in the grass....first time this year..it must really. be spring!!

Oops....not sure what I've done!!!

I took my car down the hill first thing for its annual MoT test of fitness ...and it passed well. I'd only done a little over 6,000 miles since last year, so I went to the NFU Mutual office at the mart to sort the insurance.

I was in the up to 20k miles bracket...so brought it down to 8k to give me some leeway...and saved £28 per year...not a lot, but every little helps.

As it was near I went to the garden centre for my "free" hot drink...as a member...which has just risen to £15 p.a....you get two free drinks a month.  Which made sense when we did call by often....and 10% off plants and seeds looks good until you see the prices!

So I went to the family garden centre near home and got 4 bags of topsoil and a bag of potting grit. Not something you can do without a car!!

A funny note...no plum tomatoes..seeds or plants!!

As it was still warm and dry and I have a tub of fence paint...the outside of the back fence was painted....exercise and fresh air!!

hibernating

 Most of the weekend has been indoors!! But at least today it turned cold and dry....so the washing went out on the line and dried!!

I've finished more batches of cards ready to top up stock at the Smiddy. I'll have a day out by bus if I can get a dry day this week.

This was last night's sunset

My new phone has difficulty focussing with shots like these... The lights are runway lights at Prestwick Airport.

what a day!!

 Plenty to do indoors today....the cards are coming along well..and I did another half hour on the turbo!

at 5.30 it was a beautiful morning...birds shouting about it, clear sky....

Then at 6am the first hailshower landed ..and it was rinse and repeat all day !!!

northwest

southeast

dark clouds coming over again.

Gallery day...and cards

 Yesterday I did my first gallery duty day.

Travelling by buses....no point using the car if you have a bus pass and not a lot to carry!

I makes for a long day ..but it makes sense.

I topped up my cards...but found that I was down to one which is a view of Arran through a Culzean courtyard archway. and the chook cards had all gone!

Both were remedied this afternoon after I'd done half an hour on the turbo...I'd waited in for a delivery while it was sunshine and showers...and it was getting windier and colder!

View from the turbo...with bread trays protecting the garden from feline attention!

I'll write the backs tomorrow and possibly do batches of red grouse and rook cards as well.  After that I need to think of more designs for this size (150mm square ) and the smaller (100mm) square cards for the smaller shop, the Dancing Thistle.

It looks like it will be a wet and windy weekend so I doubt that I will be going anywhere. 

It is lovely reading about all the family gatherings...and the Kent Possees keep in touch..I have found out what two of mine are up to...50% success...but they all have their own lives. I'd like a little more contact though.

Sunset

 Not a lot done today apart from writing the backs of the cards ...."original handprinted design....website address... made in Scotland"

A bit of tidying around...inside not out as it is turning cold again and it was showery this morning. It is even cold in the greenhouse, where only one broad bean has started to germinate!!

The sunset was spectacular....This hardly does it justice.

The lights in the middle are Prestwick runway lights.

productive.

 A positive day today...washing done, and the clothes got four good drying hours on the line in the breeze.

yoghurt made. (and I've just remembered that I need to go back downstairs to get the tub out of the machine to cool down..there is always something!!)

printing done...half a dozen of the new Arches block and a dozen of the Castle as there was only one left before the Smiddy Gallery reopened. Some of my cards eere sold yesterday, but I don't know which four.

The footfall and the day's sales are posted on a Whatsapp thread for all the group.

I started writing the backs of the cards after supper....ten left to do tomorrow.

Duolingo to do, a few pages to read ( having read the prequel "Vianne" I am rereading the rest of the series that started with Chocolat, by Joanne Harris)

but first that yoghurt!!