DOROTHY HOUSE HOSPICE

 

I make no apologies for the amount of photos I am about to post. They were all taken today at Dorothy House Hospice ,Bradford On Avon Nr BATH where my father attends once a week.

They had a day where the patients were allowed to bring a guest and as my Mother is still unwell I was my Fathers +1.

They all speak for themselves and I only wish I had a lens on the camera which could have taken in the BREATHTAKING views.

And we were all treated to a hands on with Birds of Prey.

Dad and Hawk ?

Yes that is a chicken in his mouth

 

                                    

Standing stones

      The View                                

The Chapel

BATH STONE ALTAR

                

        

                   

A quilt Hanging

My Lunch vegetable curry.

You often hear the the expression that there is a lot of laughter in a hospice  and today I found that to be true.And the kindness of the staff and volunteers was second to none.

BLUEBIRDS FROM MASSACHUSETTS

 

This post is just for the bluebirds from Lois ,and I will do a separate one for the photo’s I took today.

A very creative selection of ATCs each one different and unique using mainly pen and ink ?

Also Lois sent a jointed Bluebird which at first I thought was a fish (sorry Lois )

I think this would be perfect for the Unusual ATC swap hosted by Helen over at

http://milliande.ning.com

Lois also popped this tag in the envelope which has some very clever fabric flowers.

Lois wrote a note to accompany the birds and tag ,in which she says she is learning to make the flowers and they are a bit wobbly,but I think the are great.

BLUEBIRDS FROM FLORIDA

Another set of bluebirds flew in today from Mary in Florida

These are very colourful cards and Mary has used acrylic paints,markers,stickers, and various images.
I especially like the sentiment on this one.

Thank you Mary

BLUEBIRDS FROM BRISBANE

 

As promised I am posting the photos of the ATCs I have received from Monika in Brisbane for my Bluebird swap. http://storiesofpearlsandplunder.blogspot.com/

Monika’s work is always wonderful and these as  you can see are perfect. When you lift the wing you have the Chinese character for Happiness.

As it has been raining here for almost 24hrs. I was able to catch up on some swaps.

I created these for the swap   UNUSUAL SHAPED ATCs hosted by Helen over at

http://milliande.ning.com/

I am not sure this is quite what Helen wanted but they were fun to make and I have kept within the size guidelines for normal ATCs as requested.

I used my Sizzix Big Shot Pro to cut the shape and them stamped and inked to finish.

BLUE BIRDS FROM CALIFORNIA

Yesterday I received in the post a packet from Liz in California, I knew it would be the bluebirds for my swap. As  I was having a very strange day waiting for phone calls and running in and out during rain storms to create my field art,I did not open it.
I wanted the moment to be right and so it was this morning as Wilson woke me at 6 by tapping on the lounge room door.( Some of you may wonder why I was sleeping in the lounge room,on a sofa with my short legs hanging over the edge. ) The answer is simple no marital row just a Big Black Lab in deep sleep when I had gone to bed . So I grabbed a pillow and headed for the sofa.
Now back to Liz and her envelope ,this was what I found inside.

These delightful ATCs  which are needle felted,stitched and stamped.,on a fabric background.The colours and texture are wonderful.
I  do not usually blog about any extras I receive , because I do not expect it and I do not want anyone to feel under pressure to send me anything.
But this extra in with Liz’s cards came at a perfect time and I was very moved by it.

Yes a little bluebird flew in and she is very sweet (or should I say TWEET )
Thank you Liz.
I am so glad I waited the extra day to open the envelope, because at 6.30 the sun was shining , and my painting which had been out all night in a storm was drying well.

That is not a reflection off a crazed bird in the top left corner,or perhaps it was, as it is the reflection of my hand with the iPhone taking the picture.
Still early and the sun getting warmer I wondered down the drive to look at the neglected wildlife pond.

And there was the resident Grass snake sunning himself.

And then he was gone.
A little later in todays post the ATCs from my Good Friend Monika in Australia arrived  but I will talk about those tomorrow.( I need to take some more photos )
This evening we popped up to Bath to see my Mum in hospital,and were delighted to see she looked and was a lot better.
The hospital has a lot of art installations and paintings on display and I took this just as we were leaving.

While waiting in for my husband to get a takeaway in Walcot street Bath.I took this photo

from the car window .This is a busy road taking a lot of traffic out of the city but there is so much to see especially if you like people watching.It is a very artistic area with quirky shops. I think these doors would have been the stables of the original Georgian houses above.
Not clear in this photo is a small stone head in the cavity above the door on the left and as I sat there two pigeons took turns in sitting on the carved creation.

Bath looked beautiful as we drove through it  and I realised how much I miss the city I grew up in. Mind you I am only  a short drive away so I could visit more often.