Kelmscott manor blip no.2

This is the follow up to yesterday's Kelmscott manor blip. I mentioned that since my previous visit in 2002, some items had been acquired for the house. This painting was my favourite, calledThe back yard at Kelmscott manor, painted by Marie Spartali Stillman around 1904. The artist was a close friend of the family, and a famous beauty who had also been painted by Dante Gabriel Rosetti. The woman feeding the doves is believed to be the housekeeper, Emily Panting.

No photography was allowed inside the house, and I bought a very poor postcard reproduction, thinking that that would have to do. Today I was delighted to discover that the painting that I so admired is also reproduced on the back of the catalogue, with an added barcode! So, as today has been a busy day, and a rainy one, this has become my blip. It is the tranquillity of the painting, and the light shining through the house, that I enjoy. The scratches you can see on the photo are because the actual catalogue is slightly scratched, not my lens!

My friend Ann left for London late morning, and I pottered around doing housework and catching up on small chores. I was just about to start a craft project, because I really needed some R & R, when the phone rang. It was some friends from Devon who just happened to be in our area. They turned up, and had tea. We gave them some courgettes to take back to Devon (yes, we are still picking them!) and then I made a courgette and chicken risotto for tea. That went very well, apart from the part where I dropped the Pyrex dish! Luckily, we had already eaten by then. CleanSteve hoovered up the splinters of glass. I do the heavy dropping, he does the clean-up.

In other breaking news, I have given up on watching Downton Abbey (too boring) and am concentrating on the much sillier By all means instead. As the Radio Times says, no one goes to a tea dance or wears a cloche hat, and the plots are as simple as a pile of wooden bricks. Perfect for Sunday evenings in front of the coal fire, with a cushion-soft cat dozing on CleanSteve's knee.