WW...

A few images from my weekend.  Saturday was spent in Stratford upon Avon with Cath, Sunday was coffee in Warwick with David.

Tudor houses...
(Warwick)

Spooky door...
(Warwick yet again, this is probably
my favourite shot of the day)...

Cath doing a Samson thing in Stratford...

Cath never knew she had these kinds of skills
until she started hanging around with me... :O)

... and just to show

a) Cath is actually quite normal, and

b) I can take someone's portrait without making

them look on the brink of insanity.

Cats on Tuesday...

An action packed week for the cats!  On Friday Posky went for his Posky-puncture with Linda in Market Bosworth.  However I am sorry to report he was not his normal well-behaved self.  He refused to settle down and sit still and at one point shook himself so two of the acupuncture needles flew around the room (he could have had someone's eye out!).  He still got a reward when he got home, although no one is quite sure why.  

Then it was Mrs Pod's turn - I've been having to clean her ear every day over the last week as she had a lot of wax in it (sorry for the excess of info there) so took her to see her vet Aga yesterday to get her checked out.  It was a good job I did as she seems to have an underlying infection again and had to have an antibiotic jab.  She was pretty well behaved considering her hatred of vets, especially vets who try and look in her ears.  Well okay, she stunk the car out on the way home as some kind of dirty protest but that was really quite mild for her.

As for Pepper and Charlie... Pepper has been very disappointed with the food I bought her even though it said 'Luxury' on it (obviously the wrong kind of 'Luxury'), and Charlie seems to have put on more weight and we are convinced is going to get stuck coming through the cat flap one day.  He is also wearing a cream bow on his collar, again it's one of those mysteries that only cats seem to understand.

Mrs P dreams of culling vets...

Pepper meanwhile wants to cull incompetent owners

 who buy her inferior food...

Charlie ponders

the wisdom of attacking the feet,

that support the hand that feeds him...

...and Posky does his 

'But I'm beautiful so I can get away with anything' look

For more kitties visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

The last Sunday in February already... well I never.  And what has this week been like?  Well there was the Pancake Race in the local town which we watched from the office window - a strange and unusual ritual.  And I've discovered that I have zero tolerance for people moaning about the weather.  If I hear one more person saying the sky is too grey, the rain is too wet or the winter is too cold I think I will beat them to a pulp with my umbrella.  I'm with Sir Rannulph Fiennes when he said 'There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing', so I wish people would stop being so bloody negative!    I'm also rapidly developing a hatred of word verification, so please, if you have it turn it off, it could tip me over the edge. (I obviously need to meditate more...).

Handwritten... 

An archive shot from a few weeks back.

A glimpse...

Strange woman glimpsed behind gravestone...

Crossed... 

Well it is! 

Taken when we had snow the other week.

Grey...

Earl Grey himself - my boy Posky.

Bliss...

Enlightenment.
(The Buddha has obviously never
had to deal with word verification)...

Bliss #2

A day out with a good friend in Stratford upon Avon, 

laughing and having fun 

whilst taking endless photos,

followed by a damn fine lunch.

Poetic Winter...

People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy.
Anton Chekhov


Ten thousand flowers in spring
the moon in autumn,
a cool breeze in summer,
snow in winter.
If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things,
this is the best season of your life.
Wu-men


When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.
Francois de la Rochefoucauld


Calm in quietude is not real calm.  When you can be calm in the midst of activity, this is the true state of nature.  Happiness in comfort is not real happiness.  When you can be happy in the midst of hardship, then you see the true potential of the mind.
Huanchu Daoren

Calm... it's usually how I start the day when it's just me, some tea, maybe my camera, and an affectionate cat or two close by.  It's also the thing I probably find hardest to hang on to as the day progresses... The quotes I sought out when I was putting this post together did make me take a step back and think - because it's true that when your mind is calm it doesn't matter what's going on that you can't control, what the season is, or what other people are doing.  It all really is a state of mind...

Tea and photography - my ideal recipe for early morning calm...

WW

A strange week...  when I've had a million and one things going on in my head and just wanted to run away from them all...  If I didn't have my camera I'm not sure what I'd do, creativity is an effective antidote to the stress other people can cause.

Poetic Winter...

Passion... ok this one was hard and I really had no idea what to do for it.  I didn't want a cheesy take on it so in the end I took a photo of a book.  I am passionate about books and it's a book of love (or is that lurve?) poems.  Whatever...

I'd rather be reading...

Yesterday I had one of those days - insane behaviour from a boss and some wayward office machinery (which I am convinced is possessed), plus my husband upsetting me a great deal when I got home.  Sometimes the only thing you can do is to tell the world (and particularly all the men and office equipment in it) to go away and then lose yourself in a book...

If that fails you can at least hurl the book at them (as long as it's a cheap one you got from a second hand shop).

Edit Me Photo Challenge...

This week's image is courtesy of Rosie from LeavesnBloom Studio.  I love her photography and was very nervous about trying to edit one of her images!  When I saw this beautiful early morning shot of a castle in Scotland I knew I didn't want to do anything too drastic to it, the scene is already beautiful as is the light.  I always think that editing should enhance what is already there, not overtake and become more important than the original image.

In the end I cropped it a little, warmed it and adjusted the exposure, and then saturated the colour in the windows to emphasise the light.  I also brightened up those lovely sheep and sharpened them a little.

WW...

Some images from the weekend when we were in Stratford upon Avon.  It was a freezing cold, beautifully icy winter's day - really too bright for photography but still... 

 

 

Cats on Tuesday...

A week when Posky went flat... 

... and then much to Charlie's disgust

was allowed on Mrs P's blanket with her.

Charlie was so vexed he wrapped himself in a rainbow...

... then decided it was too much effort
and reverted to monotone to go to sleep.

And Pepper was Pepper and sent some love and hearts to the Universe... 

(including Charlie, who was unimpressed...)

For more kitties visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday

The only nod I'm giving to 14th Feb...

Sweet Hearts...

 (Ah humour)

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

Not been very well this week and am now more tired than a sloth with sleeping sickness.  Even in the midst of feeling rubbish my camera was never far from my side, so I did actually manage to complete the Scavenger Hunt.  Just.... And I have news on the missing mittens (last weekend's excitement) - one of them has been found at Warwick Arts Centre and returned to me.  But where is the other one and why weren't they together?!?  It's like an Agatha Christie whodunnit... 

Facial Feature...

I spy with my little eye...
It's hard putting mascara on whilst
taking a photo - even harder when you're
shortsighted and can't see what the hell you're doing.

Shadow... 

(Well it's eye shadow to be precise...)
Wouldn't attempt to apply this and photograph it
at the same time!

And some more shadows...
Taken with the Little Photo App on my Android phone
and edited in Piknik.

 Spicey...
Spice in jars.
Not much else to say!

Gold...

The inside of an electric plug.
Why didn't I take a picture of some gold jewellery?
I don't really like it!  Silver is
more funky - definitely more me.

...and some gold I do like the look of,

golden sparkles on the River Avon.

Fabric...

My favourite scarf and coat.
Not really happy with this but
it was getting late in the day
and I couldn't think of anything else :O)