Welcome to Melanie’s November Monthly News…Christmas is just around the corner!! Both Nicholas and myself have been really busy in the studio this month and we are still beavering away! We have a few paintings and drawings that we are unable share quite yet as they are for surprise presents, however we do have some that we can! Plus we have some amazing client photos! They will be added to our website soon.
Lily The Tibetan Terrier
We have some very comical and cute photos of Lily this month, starting with one of her in the bath! She does really need another bath now….. but probably best not to tell her!!
I have been testing out the camera on my updated iPhone and took this lovely photo of her below. I had it on portrait mode so it blurred the background. Although her eyes are a little blurry, it is still very cute.
This photo was taken just after grooming and she was looking very tidy and sleepy! She was sat on my lap and I couldn’t resist taking this pic.
And finally…. the light coming into the studio was beautiful and so I quickly snapped this photo of her. We don’t often take side profile photos, however we feel it is beautiful. She was looking at the birds and movement in the garden, while sitting on her chair in the studio.
Melanie’s November Monthly News – Festive Lights!
Our Local village has all of its lights and decorations up for the festive season and I took these photos one evening on a brisk walk around the village. Everyone has made a real effort with their shop windows.
The Cariad Glass shop looked absolutely beautiful! Visit their website Cariad Glass to find out more about their stained glass pieces – absolutely perfect for Christmas gifts too!
Melanie’s November Monthly News – This Month’s Running News
It is a bit of a tradition now to have an update about running. We have a Santa run coming up next month so I have just bought an outfit to wear. I was initially going to go as Mrs Santa however I found this fabulous Elf hat in Tesco and have since found leggings and a t-shirt to go along side. Photos of the outfit and the run to follow next month!
The winter has definitely arrived here in Wales and I do like to keep my feet dry. So I bought a new pair of Hoka’s called Challenger 6 GXT. They are a cross road and trail. These won’t replace my trail shoes (Saucony Peregrine GTX which I still love and wore today), but I have bought them for running roads with leaves. They are grippy… and indeed waterproof. I am always half a size larger in GTX shoes. So if you are thinking of ordering some, buy a couple of sizes to test out to make sure you have the correct size for you. Running in shoes that are too small can be very uncomfortable!
Trail Running
As mentioned above we have still been doing our trail runs and this was a lovely photo from one of our early morning runs. It was warm that morning… opposed to our trail run this morning which was freezing!
Harvey and I ran just over 5 miles (as we have a race on Sunday so didn’t go too far) and it was zero degrees and below and completely misty. As you can see from the photo below. Our hands were pretty cold by the time we got back to the car, even though we were wearing gloves!
The drive to the forest was beautiful. This was taken early in the morning just as the sun was coming up. We were high up on the mountain, you can see the mist is below in the valley. If we had of been sensible…we should have run where the photo was taken!! So pretty!
Following our runs we always make sure we have a hot cup of tea to warm us up, along with a cheeky bit of cake. This Swiss roll with jam and cream is one of our favourites.
Sue’s Birthday!
We also had a big birthday to celebrate this month as one of our running gang was 60! There was a celebration for Sue, who you can see sitting on the left of the photo. We visited our favourite coffee shop for tea and cake after our run.
I hope that you have enjoyed Melanie’s November Monthly News and if you missed last months, head on over to our Melanie’s October Monthly News to catch up! I will be back with a December blog, perhaps slightly earlier than planned as it won’t be long and we will be getting the tree and making our cottage look festive! Stay tuned!
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Good morning Melanie and Nicholas, I really enjoy reading your monthly news and seeing what you have both been up to with some super photos, Lily looks so cute with a towel wrapped round her after her bath and I love your elf hat Mel, perfect for your Santa run. I haven’t had Swiss roll for years and must add it to my shopping list. Some wonderful paintings and drawings both of you and incredible reaching customers in those far away countries. I love the Portrait mode on your i phone, will I have to wait for a new phone, or can I update it ? I’m still using an i phone 7. Look forward to seeing and hearing your December News, have a wonderful Christmas both of you with Lily, Karen and I are so looking forward to ours, now we have 7 grandchildren, take care, best wishes Rich and Karen xxx ps I really love your packaging, beautiful presentation.
Hi Richard and Karen!
So sorry for the delay in replying, these days seem to be flying, it’s always busy before xmas. I have just done the December blog so I hope you enjoy reading that too. I hope that since you have messaged you have been out to find a jam and cream Swiss roll! 🙂
Im using the iPhone 13, im not sure if your software update will give you the portrait mode, but it works well in some situations. Also when FaceTiming friends and family it blurs the background too!
We would like to wish you, your family and your grandchildren a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! All the best in 2023!!
Melanie and Nicholas xx