Painting Project Update

I decided to give the forge a general basecoat in a dark reddish-brown. After that I gave them a wash with brown ink to fill in the cracks. Unfortunately my spray ran out so there were a few lighter patches in the undercoat. Nothing future layers won't cover up though.

 

I have been contemplating what approach I was going to take for the colour scheme of the forge. I want it to be striking, but also have a strong semblence of realism. I have decided to paint it using a colour scheme in keeping with old stone houses. Traditionally the stones were of varying hues to give a beautiful, non-regular pattern.

The same is similar for old brick houses where the bricks were fired in forges made on the land where the houses were built. Homemade bricks aren't perfectly universal in consistency of colour due to fluctuations in the heat of the forges, so the buildings have delightful varying hues. 

Factories, though providing evenly baked bricks and consistency in colour, rob newer houses of variety and charm.

 

First brick colour chosen and key bricks selected. A few more will be used to fill out the other bricks and then wood colours will be chosen to balance the effect.

A Gardening Adventure

An evening of gaming ended in my friend (and the host of our game) asking a friend and me to stay late. He took us outside onto the roof and showed us a collection of herbs, three trays and a bag of soil. It was a gift - herb gardens for both of us, only rather than creating them for us, he decided it would be more rewarding if he presented them to us as a DIY adventure that he could talk us through.
I began by mixing soil and fine stones together.

This is the idea that we were working with. We played pieces of sliced open piping in the bottom to create an air pocket beneath the soil. Then a grate was laid over it and a pipe placed down the side. A small hole was drilled to drain excess water. Then soil was added

 

The soil being added.

 

Selected herbs for each of us.

 

Pots ready for replanting.

 

Richard giving us a demonstration of how he replants.

 

Cutting through the soil and roots to encourage regrowth.

 

My herb garden complete with Spanish lavender, origanum,  parsley, basil, sage and bay.

 

Isi and Richard happily at work.

 

The glory of photoshop brings all the adventurers together.

Birthday Potluck Picnic

I must admit that I've been slow to post of late, which I am sorry about. I don't seem to have as much free time as I once did. So this is a post that comes three weeks after the event.

For my birthday I invited people to a potluck picnic in Daan Park.

 

We arrived early and found a place to set up camp close to the centre of the park. A set of stones proved  a perfect substitution for tables as a layout for the various dishes to appear over the course of the afternoon. The tree offered shade to those who wanted it, as well as an aid to later excitement.

Naturally the first to arrive were those with small children and delicate meal timetables. Two work colleagues (and friends) arrived with a daughter each, a wife accompanying one. It wasn't long before the two girls were running the show.

 

Agnes watches on as her husband plays soccer with the little girls.

 

Jeff decided to take a moment to relax.

 

The tree provided the perfect holder for a homemade piñata.

 Of course not just anyone could be trusted to brave the perils of a wild piñata and so the local warriors were called upon.

 

They fought hard with improvised weapons. The battle was long and arduous.

The warriors prevailed and in time they were reaching into the foul beast, dragging forth its yummy innards.

 

Conquest at hand, they withdrew to celebrate with a victory feast.

 

All this time the warriors' fathers looked on with an air of admiration and pride, and perhaps a touch of jealousy at their bounty.

In time the feast proved insufficient for the great warriors, so they engineered second lunch from what was at hand - a truly hearty meal of natural ingredients.

 

Parents-to-be were the next to join the gathering.

 

After much excitement I took a moment to contemplate my feet.

 

It seemed inevitable that a birthday would ultimately result in a cake of some description. Sadly the wind forgot our rehearsals and made lighting the candles near on impossible. To complete the ritual each candle had to be lit and blown out individually. It took time, but protocol was adhered to.

 

More people drifted in as the afternoon progressed some staying later than others. The warriors found naptime an undeniable lure and disappeared before late afternoon, allowing their grownup servants to guide them home.

 

Sadly with time passing I grew a tad tired, drink made its way into my presence and the light began to fade. This culminated in my forgetting to take more pictures, so here ends the tale of Saturday 25th of April - the day after.