Well it's the beginning of September, I'm on holiday (well at home) and it's raining. I haven't blogged for ages so I'd better get back into the swing of it.

Got a great new DVD recently - Dynamic Acrylics with Soraya French. It's about 2 hours long and she packs in 5 demos. If you like her work - I have a link to her website - then you'll like this DVD by Town House Films.

I'd like to introduce you to my two new kittens - Ruby a lttle black and white girl and Felix a fluffy tabby and white boy. They're both adorable and little terrors.

This now brings my cat total to seven and probably means I get membership of the 'crazy cat lady' club!

Time has flown and I've managed somehow to not post a single thing in March 2009 - not good.
Anyway just for good measure I've started a music blog where I can ramble on about music I like to listen to.
http://welcome-to-my-music-box.blogspot.com

Why does the World seem so cruel? I read a news item in the Metro paper on Friday about a teenager who microwaved a six week old kitten for 20 seconds - the poor thing was so badly injured it had to be put down. To add insult to injury the youth was only given a 120 hour community service order - why is life valued so little nowadays? Where is the justice for that poor tortured animal?

http://www.cats.org.uk/

http://www.metro.co.uk/



In the Mirror newspaper today there is an article on women prisoners in Afghanistan. One girl was married off at 10 years old and was beaten each night by her husband, she tried to run away and for that crime has been given 15 years in prison. Imagine your own daughter in that situation - it doesn't bear thinking about.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/

The snow came back thick and fast today - it caught us all by surprise because the morning started off quite dry. All the cats are feeling the cold, Jasper and Carmen even squeezed themselves into the same cat bed.

I'm feeling old today - I was sitting on the bus on the way home from work when I realised most of the other passengers were younger than me - I know I'm (only) 48 but I felt more like 88 sitting listening to their conversations. Where did the time go - how did I suddenly get to be middle aged!!

I have to admit I have never had much time for Jade Goody and Big Brother but I do feel sorry for her after reading about all she has gone through recently and especially now as it looks as though she may even lose her fight against cancer. She is only mid 20s with two young sons, she may never see them grow up.

It's important then to make sure you get a smear test - don't put off because you're embarrassed or frightened - I've had to have treatment myself for pre-cancerous cells.

With this in mind I also want to mention the new HPV jab for young girls which can lessen the chances of developing cervical cancer in later life. There is a UK website with information about the HPV jab. http://www.immunisation.nhs.uk/Vaccines/HPV

My daughter is amongst the first wave of girls to be vaccinated in school and so far has had two out of a course of three jabs - strangely enough part of my job includes producing lists and statistics about the HPV.

Came across a great cat artist who also has a blog - Bruce Andrew McKay - http://bigcatheads.blogspot.com/
I love the colours and the expressions.

The snow has gone as quickly as it arrived though other parts of the country are still freezing - Sarah was disappointed that her school wasn't closed due to the weather!

Well the snow definitely arrived - have posted a picture of my daughter Sarah 'tormenting' some of the cats throught the kitchen window. The cats all went out, got cold and wet then came in and covered the house in dirty wet cat prints. Just as well I'm not too houseproud...LOLs

Forgot to mention today is also 'Imbolc' - Celtic/Pagan New Year!

1st of February and we're expecting snow - even the cats think it's too cold to stay out and play in the garden.

Was looking at the Wetcanvas site and noticed a post about Winsor and Newton acrylics - it seems they have reformulated their Finity artists' acrylics, can't wait to try them - just need some spare cash! Spare cash might be hard to find at the moment as the recession is hitting hard and my partner is waiting to hear whether his job is safe.
Anyway I can recommend the Wetcanvas site if you create any kind of art in any medium - it's listed in my links.

My posts have become few and far between but I'm not giving up. I just have to make more time to blog (as long as I can find something interesting to write).
At least Supernatural is back on the TV!