Oscars!

As usual my first mission on the Monday morning after the Oscars is to find out the results. I haven't seen Avatar but I have seen The Hurt Locker and it is a VERY worthy winner. Great that it was a comparatively low budget compared to it's main opponent!

I'm always avidly interested in what the stars are wearing. Looking at all the main players here black didn't have a place this year in my opinion. My three favourite outfits are all pale neutral colours. No surprises with Kate Winslet (goddess like!) and Helen Mirren as I chose them both last year. Sandra Bullock looked the winner that she indeed was!

What a wonderful week it's been! After the bitter cold and almost constant rain/snow we've had for what feels like months, it's been a real treat to see the sun and blue skies. Easier to appreciate what a beautiful part of the world we live in. Residents in the town, however, are up in arms as a Lidl supermarket is being built which is proving to be an awful lot bigger than those people anticipated. So they've gone from having a wonderful view of rolling hills to a thumping great eyesore of a building!
No such problems out here although we do have an abbatoir just down the road. I've tried not to think about it but it's hard not to sometimes. Yesterday we took the dogs for a walk in the fields behind our house and I could hear animal noises coming from the abbatoir's direction. Not pleasant. Photo is of fields behind our house.

losing it

My 4th week at Slimming World, another two and a half pounds lost, so that's 8 1/2 lbs gone so far. Fairly slow but apparently it's healthier to lose this way. I would probably lose more if I could ignore the little voice that pipes up after attending the meeting....."a whole week to next weigh in, so treat yourself!". Went to Weymouth with Dave and found the nearest Starbucks and had a latte and a skinny ginger muffin. Yum!
Sunny but very chilly by the sea. Spent some time looking for a pair of dangly earrings. I've been wearing little studs for years...usually a small 'gem' to match what ever I'm wearing or my tiny little diamond studs. Big earrings are back though, allegedly. So I've been scouring the shops and the net for something I like. Funny thing is I don't really know what I want. I know what I don't want! No chandeliers, no gems, no beads, nothing fussy, something simple in silver. A case of "I'll know it when I see it!". And indeed that was the case, found the perfect place and found loads I liked, spoilt for choice in fact. Pic shows one of the pairs I bought along with my newly coloured red hair (love it!!).

settling into a new routine

Now that Dave is working, I'm trying to get myself into a routine. For the last 10 weeks since we've been here, we've led a rather lovely, relaxed life. Getting up mid morning, doing any required housework and then venturing into town for a latte or looking after the grandchildren or exploring pastures new and spending money! Now, I'm pretty much stuck here. Town is a couple of miles away but there's a handy bus I can catch if I don't want to walk it.
So I'm trying to establish some sort of timetable for what I do when. Housework is obviously a daily job. Making the bread is usually every three days or so. I'm planning on going out with Dave a couple of days a week as it's a good way to see the sights around here....Wales on Friday! This week I've been restricted a little as yesterday and today I've had meetings to attend at my new school. Really enjoyed going into school yesterday and meeting new people. Introduced myself to the Reception/Year 1 teacher and offered my voluntary services. Can't wait to get in there but my CRB check is still not through.
I still, even now, find it hard to believe that this is it. This is my life now. I'm still caught up in that mindset where you plan out what you're doing over a week....trying to get things done because it's back to work the following week. It's a very strange feeling and not something I've known since Tom was a baby (he's 27 in June!).

success

Got a job today.....yayyyy! Just a teeny weeny job with only a few hours per month but it's my way back into school. The head teacher is lovely and someone I know I can work with. I think I've made a good impression on her. I've met many headteachers in my time. Some positively emanate power and you almost feel like one of their pupils! Some, like this lovely lady, make you feel more like a friend.
I've made it clear that I intend to get actively involved with the school, offering voluntary help and going on their supply list.
My first meeting will be on Monday when I meet the current clerk and begin learning the ropes. I just hope I'm up to it!

two lovelies

Baked a delicious wholemeal loaf today. And bought from Waitrose the Springiest bunch of flowers you're ever likely to see....am trying to feast (my eyes) on the resplendent Ranuncula rather than the bread!

baftas

Loved the show last night, so much more refined and modest than the ostentatious Oscars!

Favourite wins: Carey Mulligan, best actress; Kristen Stewart, rising star; Up, best animated film.

Favourite frocks from left: Romola Garai in Erdem, Kristen Stewart in Chanel, Carey Mulligan in Vionnet and the oh so elegant Audrey Tautou in Lanvin.

times

Today was the first day of Dave's new job. Not the best of starts as at 1am the dialysis machine gave up the ghost and after speaking to someone in America about it for about 45 mins, we were both wide awake! However he managed to get himself up before 7am and arrived on time. Home by 2pm which was lovely and then at 4.15pm I had an interview for the job of clerk to the governors at a local school.
At 5.45pm I was told I hadn't got it! Not really that much of a surprise when I learned that the person who did get it had been doing said job for quite a few years at a different school.
What will be will be and I'm in no rush to rejoin the rat race. Being a kept woman for a while suits me just fine!

larsson mark two

Having just finished reading a wonderfully compulsive trio of books, it seemed very apt to name this blog larsson lover for another reason. The author of those three books is Stieg Larsson and they are called The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. I found them utterly unputdownable ... and for once, my husband agreed with me! Turning the last page of the last book, I felt bereft to know that it was indeed the last as the author died in 2004. The books have only recently been discovered and translated. Thrilling, compelling and passionate, it's hard to not want more of the same.
I'm now reading The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. I am approaching this ghost story with a certain amount of trepidation after reading a review which said "I could only continue reading this book if someone else was in the house"!

why larsson lover?

I spent a good while deciding what to call this blog. I've had many loves and interests over the years, of which a few have dropped by the wayside (including an ex husband I might add!). Art was and still is a biggie and over the years I've fallen in love with many art movements or artists themselves. One of my first loves was all things Impressionist. I studied Van Gogh for my Art A level and I still adore his work. After Impressionism I moved on to the Pre Raphaelite movement (a recently reignited love after becoming addicted to Desperate Romantics on the tv). I then went back to Impressionism, being particularly devoted to Monet and Bonnard. After that came Gustav Klimt which lasted many years, culminating in a visit to Vienna to view most of his masterpieces.
However, one artist has stayed the course right from the beginning. An artist that my mum and I discovered when I was in my teens. I have books and books of his work, his paintings are always the first ones I find a home for when I move house. If I'm looking for a picture to decorate my blog, it's to him that I go. That artist is of course Carl Larsson, a Swedish genius who had the amazing ability to capture on canvas the delightfulness of children, family life and the stunning Scandinavian landscapes. We also see in his work the beauty of his spare, fresh and stylishly furnished home, something that I constantly aspire to.
So this blog, which I intend to use as somewhere to write my thoughts down, will be carefully enhanced by the work of an artist who has remained a love of mine throughout most of my life. The picture I've included below this post, is my favourite of all and has pride of place in my bedroom which I like to think has a touch of the Swedish about it :). Click to enlarge,