It took only a few minutes to make morning voffee feel like something special, and it lifted my mood..

As ever, little tings make a diffenence.

What little thing could you do today to lift your mood a notch?

..things about November! Roaring 50mph winds from the north, ferries suspended and power cuts from mid eveining thrugh the night. I was cosy with stove and candles and the power went on long enough to make a hot drink at one point.

Earlier in the day I opened the window to fill the bird feeder and a strong gust of wind blew down a large painting which was sitting on the table, propped against the wall. It knocked off plants and papers and a lamp all of which ended on the floor - nothing broken thankfully, but the birds had to wait till this morning for more seed...


Pots blown over and a bit of fencing down but no other damage. It would seem we got off quite lightly.

I hope you are all safe and well wherever you are.

..about November.

There is hygge, which I associate with winter, though the book How To Hygge shows lots of summer scenes.

As I batten down against strong winds and dire forecasts, it's time to bring out my favourite throws and dishes and biscuits. I am listening to The Snow Child on Audible and feeling very grateful for the positively luxurious levels of comfort most of us enjoy today, compared to those early pioneers in Alaska.

..abut November.

The fragrance of quince. Cool, and sweet and unlike anything else. A bowl of them in a warm room scents the whole space. When I come down to the sitting room in the morning it's the first thing I notice.

I love it.

..about November.

One of the nice things is the anticipation of spring!  I have planted up the three black pots with tulips and overplanted them with forget me nots in pink, blue and white which I grew from seed.

A friend and I are gardening together through the winter. Just half an hour now and then in each others gardens. We raked leaves in hers and planted tulip Purissima in mine the other day (that sunny one!).  Twice the pleasure, half the work.

..about November.

Are you managing to find things to be cheerful about this November?

Only a couple of hurs sunshine today, so I made the most of it by eating my healthy breakfast outside. It was very cold.

Full marks for trying Freda!

..about November.

After some work in the sunny garden, an extra log on the fire and my favourite winter drink.

Equal parts clementine juice, cointreau and water. Served hot.

..about November.

We have had a very wet, windy and grey spell of weather and I am having to look hard to find things about Novembeer to be cheerful about!

The first sweet clementines with leaves on are irresistible, in their lovely natural basket.

They say we will have sunshine on Sunday. Can I wait that longg?

..even the tiniest bit of nature brought into the house gives pleasure.

My friends finished wreath. I've not decorated mine yet..

Actually, as some of you will know I expect, it is anything but simple, and as I have often said it is a ceazy way to try to make a living!
Today is the last day of Let It Snow, and two paintings have been sold - The Sound Of Snw and Will It Snow Tonight? The last time I had a solo show at the Burgh Hall Gallery I sold ninetteen works. They were inspired by my first visit to Harris. They were small and cheaper of course and those do sell more easily. See here and  four posts here.

Doing this show has been such a good eperience. It got me back to painting afer a long gap, almost six years, since my husband died suddenly. I have had ideas for snow pintings in my mind for years so it is wonderful to have  brought them  into being, then sharing them; working with the gallery staff - enthusiastic and prfessional; the childrens' workshop; Meet The Artst sessions, and last but not least meeitng friends and family who came from far and wide. My last 'exhibition visitors' from Yorkshire, have just left. The social side of the exhition has been a joy!

Thank you to those blog readers who managed to come along, and to the rest of you for cheering me along when things got tough.

I still have one snow painting I wnt to do...

Playing around with table decorations, listening to Tamsin Edwards climate scientist Ted Talk and reading her blog All Models Are Wrong, anything but housework!

One o the most interesting things abut COP26 I think, is that we have heard from some new voices - inventors, scientists, negotiators, investors and activists  as well as the politicians and journalists. A more complex and nuanced picture emerges...

..at the private view of Let It Snow, this is the text  that should have been on the wall....

I am happy to say that despite the weather there were quite a few people to chat to at the Meet The Artist hour yesterday. I really enjoy it when people share their memories of snow.

My little cousin being held up to the window to see snow for the first time said  'Who did that?' ( I don't recall what answer she got, if any!)

Do you have any special memories of snow you might share here?

.. to make wreaths while stems and branches are still pliable. I use the bines of the golden hop which grows by the front door and I am trying dark clematis stems. The leaves will fall off, but I think just a few strands of the plum coloured stems might make a beautiful minimal wreath.

I find it best to always weave in the one direction, and to dry them flat.

A lovely occupation for an autumn day.

I will be at the gallery tomorrow at 2pm for a Meet The Artist session -heavy rain and strong winds are forecast, so I hope I do meet someone!  See Studio page for details.

It was delightful to arrive in the gallery  on Saturday and find ten or so young children spread around the floor doing their own snow pictures!

We had a lovely chat, and they were clearly enjoying the exhibition and having fun.

Today I met Sheena whose comments on the blog I have enjoyed for years! It was so good to put a lovely  friendly face to the name (we had to remove our masks momentarily - who'd have thought it?)  I am so glad she and her friend Lesley got a fine sunny day for their trip to Dunoon.

Yet more fun with my friend Lynne Cameron, a onetime student of my Drawing For Non Artists course at the University of York, now a full time painter. See her vibrant work here.

It's wonderful to be meeting up with people face to face again.

Details of the exhibition here.

..from my friend Ian of a piece of wall art in vibrant red called Portal. We have been friends since we studied together at Glasgow School of Art under Robert Stewart. Although we were studying Ptinted Textiles, the deparment was known for its Fine Art bias and produced painters and sculptors as well as textile designers.

I love this piece with its intense colour and beautiful patina, and rearranged the whoe alcove around it.

See more of Ian Barr's work here

I am enjoying a very sociable time as friends and family come to visit and to see the exhibtion. My friend Ian and I took a walk along the main street reminiscing about childhood holidays 'Doon The Watter' as Glaswegians called the holiday resorts on the Clyde estuary.

The statue of Heilan' Mary, lover of Rabbie Burns, is a good viewpoint.

Please check my studio page for details of the exhibition.