All the birds

I'm really excited that the first of my garden bird paintings are now available as little pincushions in the boutique section at Fingerprint Fabric. They might be just the thing you're looking for to give a friend at Christmas. Or better still as a treat for yourself!

Larger cushions will also be added to the store just as soon as I can get them ready!

I'm not the only one who's been busy painting - after weeks of anticipation my painting from the PenPal painting challenge arrived this week. I had no idea what to expect but this certainly brought a smile to my face on a wintry English morning. The panel is only 4 inches square but it has great impact and you can almost feel the heat of the sun!

My thanks go to Derek in Australia. He tells me he likes my sparrow painting too - what a relief that is!

Now before I can allow myself to get back to my stitching I have to finish tackling the last of the chilli mountain.

It's salsa season here without a doubt and much as I'm a fan I'm not talking Strictly Come Dancing!

Amazingly for the first week of November we are still picking fresh coriander. We've not had a frost yet and the coriander has self sown making us almost self sufficient for the salsa recipe I found on the internet. I've made masses but luckily this stuff freezes so we'll have enough to keep us going all winter.

Thanks for dropping by. I really do appreciate you taking the time - Linda