Back from Portugal - lovely weather, it was so good to get a solid week of sunshine, I'd almost forgotten what it was like. However, I still don't like the Algarve; too full of ex pats! We hardly met any Portuguese. The children had a good time though and I read lots of books and did my sketchbook Frances Pickering style.

Got back to some good news - I've already sold one of the pieces (alliums) that I did for the Abingdon Museum exhibition. Had a message on the answerphone that someone else was interested in the same piece and wondered if I could do something along those lines! I think I probably could!! Funny, it's the piece I liked least of the two but I'm obviously doing something right there. (Have just rung the museum, explaining that I was away last week and only just got the message and the lady I spoke to couldn't find any details of the person who was interested - typical! So long as he/she doesn't think it's me being inefficient.)

Also need to get on with doing some work ready for Artweeks next May. It sounds a long time away, but I know that it will go really fast and to make a good show I need to get started now. I did two pieces based on Klimt for an exhibition for the Oxford branch of the Guild this time last year and I really liked them, so I might go back to my sketchbook and get some ideas for some more along those lines. They were machined on painted brown paper, a way of working I seem to go back to.

I collect blue and white china and couldn't resist photographing these tiles on the outside of a house in Lagos!