rubykittyruby

  It won't be long until the blackberries are ripe & ready for picking.  Which means that every time I go for a walk along a country lane or down to the allotment, I'll go armed with either an empty sandwich box or a plastic bag.  Before long the freezer will be full to overflowing with berries, and I'll have enough soft fruit to add to my breakfast porridge to last the winter.  But in the meantime ...  During this third heatwave of the summer I'm largely staying indoors.  Which seems a shame when the sun's shining brightly, but it's so hot I feel like I'm going to melt.  I've started reading this historical novel, set during the reign of Henry IV, and it's very enjoyable so far.  The heroine's self assured and strong willed, and determined to safeguard her family's precarious wealth and social position.  She's not especially likeable, but sometimes characters are more interesting if the reader's doesn't wholly like or admire ...

  The hot weather continues, and Yorkshire Water's finally declared a hosepipe ban.  Frankly, they should've done that weeks ago given how little rain we've had for the best part of three months.  Anyhow, better late than never.   The catananche are looking so pretty, as are the hollyhocks.   Clumps of sweet marjoram on the allotment are alive with butterflies and bees.  That kind of makes up for the total lack of courgettes.  They need lots of sunshine and lots of water, and while the courgette plants have had the sun they've been starved of water.  Never mind, the local supermarket will have them in stock, I don't doubt, and there's always next year ...  At home, I've finished reading 'Scarlet Town' by Leonora Nattrass.  It's a terrific read.  She's one of those authors who are reliably good, and even a couple of pages into the book I had the feeling I was in safe hands.   Another kind of book.  I'm still ...

  ('If I can't have love I'll take sunshine'.  Art installation by Glenn Ligon) Thursday evening:  Honestly, I scoffed a huge mound of pasta, then went back for seconds.  Sometimes you just need to carb load, don't you?  Now I'm lying on the sofa, listening to the test match commentary of England versus India and wondering what's for pudding.  But before eating anything else I'll show you a few photos from Leeds Art Gallery.  I was there yesterday for this month's Stitch Art group.  Because I was early I'd the chance to wander around an exhibition about the representation of women in art, as well as other collections.  Okay, in no particular order -   I love the framing of this.  How the girl's portrait is enhanced by the light purple and blue pattern.  It's by Skye Davies, and is called 'She's in a world of her own, you see, Ecclesborne Lavender'.  This is by Walter Crane, 'At Home: A Portrait' and shows his wife, Ma...

I've been having fun.  Well, at least I've been learning some new skills, and isn't everyday supposed to be a school day?  Anyway, I've filmed a short video of the fabric book I made in response to Ann Wood's 2025 stitchbook challenge.  Initially, I rashly decided to try a commentary.  However, it was all 'uhmmm's' and 'ahhh's and rabbit-in-the-headlights what should I blurt out next?  So I ditched the commentary idea for now.  But I did listen back to what I'd said, and it's weird to hear your own voice, isn't it?  I mean, we talk all the time but we hardly ever hear ourselves exactly how others hear us.  Our accent, our tone of voice, the way we might hesitate or let a sentence drift away.  I'm rapidly developing a newly found respect for YouTubers and other content creatives.  It's really not as easy to talk clearly and coherently as some of them make it appear.   The video's only about 3 minutes long, and it's simp...

  The hot weather continues, and I know I shouldn't moan.  I really shouldn't.  But I want RAIN!!!  I want a typical English summer.  Sunny days and showers, alternating blue skies and dreary grey.  I'm fair skinned and freckled and once - in my childish days - had bright ginger hair.  It's toned down over the years, but I still retain the kind of colouring that's not suited to high temperatures.  I go red and sweaty and come over all lethargic, I just want to lie on the couch like a swooning Edwardian lady, fanning myself and demanding a constant supply of cold drinks.   Okay, I'll stop whingeing now.  I just needed to vent.   These photos are from my jaunt to the Scrapstore on Wednesday.  It's located in Farsley in Leeds, which turns out to be a pretty place and I got the feeling it's a bit upmarket.  The high street has several fancy boutiques selling women's clothes, but I couldn't spot a single charity shop....