How lovely to see the daffodils coming out in force.

And in my garden, growing near my studio, are some very rare ones indeed!

This week has been busy as always, but this time more productive in a social way.

At the weekend we set sail for East Anglia, to visit my Mum.  These trips usually include a festive feast along the way, and for this one we visited 'The Chequers in Gedney Dyke. http://the-chequers.co.uk/

For those of you who are near enough to visit it, please do.  The food is delicious, each course was a real treat.  And to add to a lovely time, the service is really good, friendly but efficient.
 Just as it should be in that department, and very rarely is!

One purpose of the visit was to plan this years' North Norfolk road trip.
Last year Mum and I had a happy and sunny time driving to Sheringham, stopping often to eat seafood and drink wine. As we stayed at the 'Two Lifeboats' in Sheringham, we were of course drinking and walking, not driving. http://www.thetwolifeboatssheringham.com/

This year, we are also including Mr Cooper. He seemed rather sad last year to have missed out on lobster salad, crab sandwiches and rooms with excellent sea views. But that is what happens when you choose to play cricket on a Sunday.
We did have to think long and hard though, because it was a choice of including Mr Cooper, or being able to borrow his 2 seater!  And although Mum is extremely fond of the car, Mr Cooper had the edge for her.

All this talk of food and summer makes me excited about the approaching picnic season.
A good thing about the way I work means that I am always surrounded by visual picnics in my studio,

And the elements for an impromptu picnic are always close to hand.  In this case, on the landing.

I did manage to complete the next drawing for my 'jigsaw' drawing.  I will show you now.
Sadly, after I had finished it, I realised I needed to do it again. I did spend a day pretending I didn't have to, but in my heart of hearts I knew.

All very annoying, frustrating and time-consuming.  To draw this again will take about 5 hours.
But that is also part and parcel of being an artist.
 Lots of fun, ideas and imaginings.
But at the end of the day, it requires hard work, mistakes and a lot of effort to make it all happen.

Lets have a cup of tea and a slice of cake!