Yum Orange Sushi dish

Whoo-hoo! Asianicandy has one of my sushi dishes in her store

http://www.asianicandystore.com/icandystore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=61_92&products_id=321

I'm very proud of this dish as it is vanilla glass with deep orange strips fused into a plaid design with green and yellow frit in each square. Check out http://asianicandystore.com for more sushi inspired items.

Welcome to DaWanda

I've just joined a European and UK selling site http://en.dawanda.com/shop/Glassprimitif for hand made and hand crafted items. At DaWanda you can buy in euros and meet other European sellers. Please visit my new shop where I am listing glass jewellery and tokens.
Also see DaWanda at http://dawandashopdirectory.blogspot.com and http://indiepublic.ning.com/group/dawanda

The jewel in Bradford's crown

Cartwright Hall in Bradford is a lovely Victorian building that houses a wonderful art collection. The ground floor also hosts new art exhibitions and events. I visit it often (and entry is free).
Cartwright Hall is situated in Bradford's Lister Park which boasts a boating lake, rose garden, bowling green, children's playground and this beautiful Moghul Garden.

The design of Cartwright Hall's Moghul Garden is simple yet very attractive. It's a peaceful setting with the sound of the water creating a relaxing atmosphere. As an art gallery, garden and leisure space, Cartwright Hall is definitely the jewel in Bradford's crown. http://bradfordmuseums.org/cartwrighthall/index.htm

To view more of my pictures of Cartwight Hall's Moghul Garden go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/glassprimitif/

Shopping on Etsy

Etsy has the nicest hand made stuff. I bought this card for a friend in readiness for Eid as she is currently fasting for Ramadan. I bought the card from http://tracychong.etsy.com/ and it is beautiful. My only complaint is that it is too beautiful to write in!
Tracy has a selection of other lovely pop up cards in her etsy store so take a look.

The End of Summer

and what a miserable summer it's been. With the British obsession of talking about the weather, this year didn't disappoint!


But the result of all the rain has been that the heather was a bright purple at the end of August. Then the sun shone and we all felt a little happier. It even made Jackson smile. (Jackson is impervious to the weather, he thinks about walks like men think about sex - every 30 seconds)!

So now autumn is upon us and the heather on Farnhill Moor is losing its intense color and turning a rusty mauve.

Catch of the day

These little fishes are all for sale at http://glassprimitif.etsy.com/. Every fish has been made from colorful Bullseye fused glass and has a copper wire to hang in your bathroom. Each fish costs just $9 (excluding postage) and this month's promotion is, buy three for $20 - a saving of $7.

Vive La Difference!

So we went to La Belle France for our holiday this year. Three weeks in beautiful, sunny, unspoilt countryside went too quickly and we returned to miserable, damp, dank England. This year's french destination was Brittany near the town of Lamballe. The gite was really comfortable (details here) and the isolation was wonderful.
There are lots of positives about being in France - mostly the weather - and I have been pondering the differences between France and the UK. Here are of 3 things that the french do well and 3 things that they do not-so-well.
1. Food - of course. The supermarkets stock mostly local produce and the fruit and vegetables are seasonal. Buying local produce at the market is even better - we ate wonderful strawberries, apricots and peaches. We bought cheese, bread, local pate, crepes and, my favourite - mussels.
2. Roads - sounds odd, I know, but french roads are in so much better condition than roads in the UK. OK, so the french population per square kilometre is smaller than the UK, therefore less traffic, but driving is fairly stress-free. (Map reading is another story). Apart from the peripherque around Paris, I find driving in France rather relaxing except - why do we always get lost in Nantes when we go to The Vendee?
3. Flowers - it must be the climate but french flowers are always so much brighter and bigger than in the UK. I don't grow hortensias (hydrangeas) because they look washed out but in France they are bigger and brighter.

The not-so-wells.
1. Electricity - yikes! Why haven't they all electrocuted themselves? We stopped off at a pension in Avranches on our way to down to Lamballe for the night and the light switch was just outside the shower curtain. There was also an electric socket beside the sink.
2. Dogs - I love dogs but I don't love dog poo. NOBODY picks it up and I had a few strong words with a local who let his dog defecate outside our gate before casually walking on. My french is not good but I think I made myself understood. (He kept tapping his head and then pointing at me - what could he mean)?? The french love their dogs and go in for the strangest of pooches, we always have a competition to see who can spot the ugliest mutt. Also, the Dogs Prohibited signs in restaurants and supermarkets are mostly treated by the french as merely a suggestion. It's so funny to see a dog in a supermarket trolley or sitting at the table with a napkin round its neck.
3. Music - The french don't do popular music well, everything has a eurovision sound to it. And who told Johnny Hallyday that leather trousers were sexy????? I rest my case.

Here's a picture of "Meerkat" - she was such a sweetie and came to see us every day.

Guess where we are going for our vacation next year? and I'm going to get Jackson a pet passport so he can come too. Vive la difference!

Check out all my holiday photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/glassprimitif/

My latest glass

Glass dishes, sushi dishes and coasters now available at http://glassprimitif.etsy.com and www.shawgalleries.co.uk