#river weaver

[tim-dennis]

Anderson Boat Lift

[lymphomalass]

Have you seen my newsletter yet...? I sent it out yesterday showing this painting for the first time!

It's of the Autumn Heads at Northwich Rowing Club on the River Weaver in Cheshire.

The A4 original is £75 unframed and including UK postage, or £95 framed if you live close enough for me to deliver. Please just private message me!

Or you can buy prints and it on all sorts of lovely things at: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/145853239

To read about it in my newsletter, please head to: https://mailchi.mp/93d63d29b25a/may-creativity-for-you?e=7a8f6cf96f

Thanks!

Sam aka LymphomaLass xx

"Autumn Heads at Northwich Rowing Club on the River Weaver in Cheshire" is a watercolour inspired by my husband and my walk from Kingsmead a

[lymphomalass]

What was your first big success in your current career…?

Mine was this painting being accepted for an exhibition at Weaver Hall Museum in Winter 2019, and it then getting sold!

It’s a watercolour painting of a couple on a houseboat on the River Weaver in Northwich feeding a family of swans. I’d been hiding at home for a very long time through my blood cancer treatment and I was so excited to go out on my own to take photos to paint from - and then to spot the swans and cygnets being fed!

The painting was bought by someone who’d done the same while houseboat and parrot sitting! How lovely is that!

Prints and some other items featuring this painting are available at:

Watercolour in bright and cheerful tones of a couple living on a houseboat moored on the River Weaver at Northwich feeding swan sand cygnets

Thanks

Sam aka LymphomaLass xx

[lymphomalass]

"Most of us want to belong"

If you ever feel a bit down because someone or something has made you feel like you don't belong in their "group", well, that's a very human emotion.

It makes sense. In our early history as a species, the human who was alone was more vulnerable to predators. Being together gave strength and resilience. So, the need to "belong" is a bit of a genetic imperative.

But mixed feelings around "belonging" can be more frequent and poignant at this time of year🎄as people choose who they wish to socialise with or give their time to.

It's easy for less thoughtful colleagues to forget to invite one of the team.

This week, I even heard of a family torn-apart by the grandmother hosting Christmas Day saying she didn't "feel comfortable" making up one of her special Christmas stockings for her son's new stepson - when she was giving one to each and every other child in the family! Yes, that was her right, but 😱...

And not everyone has "family" or can mix freely. I can't. I've just not got enough immune system left to socialise with anyone other than small groups of people who I know are being careful of my health vulnerabilities, in places that are at least half-empty. If you're the one who's not being included remember it's their loss too and if possible, go out and find people who want to join in with you!

I chose this art to accompany my words as it got left out too - of a local community project for charity. And it didn't get treated very politely in the process! It's still valid and has gone on to better things at: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/112195722 where you can find it printed-to-your-order on all kinds of print options, accessories, apparel, homewares, and even jigsaws, if you think it could belong in your home.

Thanks!

Sam aka LymphomaLass xx

[lymphomalass]

Just to share a painting I've just completed... and to ask whether you're receiving my free monthly newsletter...?

My newsletter's a great way to unwind at the end of the month, giving yourself a little "me time" to browse two or three paintings and the stories behind them, and to hear about the d-i-y creativity project or technique I share each month. I try and time it for lunchtime on the last Friday of the month (and I've managed that since I started it in January!), so it's in time for you to find something to do over the weekend, or just to have something enriching and full of creativity to read as you finish work off for the week.

And to give a smile in the midst of all everyone's coping with at the moment, this month I'm💛 giving away 💛 one of my little creations (fun costume jewellery, a keychain, something like that...) to someone who's signed up before I send out my next newsletter, or to someone who recommends my newsletter or shares this post!

Sign-up here for some monthly creative enrichment, sent straight to your inbox:

https://lymphomalass253520856.wordpress.com/

And the painting is of the footbridge near Northwich Rowing Club, in Cheshire. It was a lovely sunny autumn Sunday and Steve and I decided to go for a walk on the footpath by the River Weaver, from Kingsmead into the centre of town... It was rather more crowded than we expected, as it was the "Autumn Head" and the riverbank was crowded with people come to see the rowing races. After we had edged past the club's premises, which was full of competitors getting their boats packed away, we found this idyllic footbridge, and I knew I had to paint it!

It's an easy to frame A4 size, for sale for £75, unframed but including UK postage or, for local purchasers, framed (in an white A3 frame and mount) and ready to hang for £95. Please just message me if you're interested in purchasing it.

Thanks!

Sam aka LymphomaLass xx

[tonyb-blog]

River Weaver - wandering in Spring

River Weaver – wandering in Spring

View On WordPress

[tonyb-blog]

Wandering along the River Weaver and a visit to Vale Royal locks.

Wandering along the River Weaver and a visit to Vale Royal locks.

View On WordPress

[tilecleaningtoday]

How to Renovate Stained Brick Flooring

We were contacted by an existing client who lives in the lovely Cheshire village of Church Minshull regarding a Brick tiled floor. We had already worked on restoring floors at their property before and on this occasion, they wanted us to improve the appearance of the bricks that comprised the floor in their old wash house.

Like the village in which it’s situated the property was pretty old, and they were not sure when the floor had been laid. You can see from the photographs however it was stained, dull and now well overdue a facelift. Having used our services previously, they knew how we worked and were happy with the quote which would take two days to complete. Although it wasn’t a particularly large floor it was an awkward shape, tight to work in and would result a lot of manual work.

The village of Church Minshull is approximately 5 miles north west of Crewe, just West of the River Weaver and Shropshire Union Canal. The modern village centre is a designated conservation area which contains many houses of Tudor style architecture so it really is a lovely place to visit and to work in.

Cleaning a Brick Tiled Kitchen Floor

The first task was to give the floor a good sweep to remove any debris. After this I applied a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a high alkaline cleaner/coatings striper and left it to soak in. This product gets to work on ingrained dirt and grime as well as removing any existing sealers.

The solution was left to dwell on the brick floor for about twenty minutes before being scrubbed in with a Black pad fitted to a slow speed rotary machine and by hand. This process lifted the dirt out of the brick nicely and the resultant slurry was then removed with assistance of a wet vacuum.

After rinsing the remaining residue off the floor, it was given a thorough inspection. I noticed there were a few stubborn areas so the process was repeated until I was satisfied the floor could be as clean as it possible could be. After a final rinse with water the floor was dried as much as possible with the wet vacuum and left to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Brick Tiled Kitchen Floor

The next morning, I was on site early and the first job was to test the floor with a damp meter to make sure it was dry enough to start sealing. The results were good, so I set about sealing the brick floor starting with a single coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that enhances colour. Once this had dried, I applied four further coats of Tile Doctor Seal and Go Extra which adds a subtle sheen that enhances the appearance of the old bricks even further.

Old floors like this don’t have a damp-proof membrane under the floor so it’s important to use breathable sealers that allow the moisture to rise through the brick and evaporate. Using a non-breathable sealer could lead to damp building up below the floor where it can spread to the walls and cause rising damp.

The floor looked much healthier after I had finished, and the new sealer will make it so much easier to keep clean going forward. For aftercare I recommended they use Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to maintain the floor. It’s a pH neutral product which won’t prematurely erode the sealer like some of the stronger tile cleaning products you find in supermarkets which are only for use on Ceramic tiles and Vinyl flooring. It comes in a concentrate, so you only need to dilute a small amount in a bucket of warm water.

Source: www.DoItYourself.com