Photo diary: Project 365, week 10 2026

A bit of sunshine, but still wet wet wet... I managed to find a couple of rain-free slots to work in the garden, and filled in the green recycling bin. My hyacinths are not exactly a winning variety, quite straggly, with pieces chomped off by some mini bastards pests. Mum showed me the hyacinths she grows in pots at home, and hers look so much prettier.

On Monday morning, when Eddie left for school, and Sash was still asleep, I watched the finale episode of Call the Midwife. It was quite an emotional ending (won't be giving spoilers, in case you haven't watched it yet). 

It feels strange that there won't be new seasons with the same cast (I know that there is a prequel coming, which could be potentially interesting). I have watched this series for years. The first few seasons, based on the actual books, are better than the later ones. I guess Dr Turner is like a Marmite (not a fan myself), and I prefer episodes where he doesn't feature as heavily. 

Love this magnolia over the Windrush, it is so beautiful. The water has gone down, and hopefully soon it will be dry enough to walk through the fields.

After finishing the Japanese horror stories, I went back to Dick Francis. Reflex, as all books by the author, is pretty much horse world-related. The main protagonist, Philip Nore, is a jockey, with a career coming to the natural end on the horizon. He also enjoys photography, and is pretty good at it.

When a famous racing photograher dies, Philip discovers a set of files that has a dynamite potential for the racing world. He starts to deciper the photo puzzles and uncovers corruption on a grand scale.

Surely, this is not great literature, yet very readable and entertaining. I'm enjoying my Dick Francis' streak (fourth so far, and I have a couple more of his books to read).

I wanted to find an old blog post on my phone, and did a quick search for Chez Maximka, then saw what an AI wrote about my blog and laughed.

A small dog called Otis? Honestly?! We've never had a dog. Now I wonder whether we should get a dog and call him Otis so as not contradict the AI.

Inspired by the Japanese folk legends, I painted an illustration of a lady ghost floating among the falling snow. Mixed media: ink and watercolour on Moleskine paper.

It was a stormy night, and on Friday, while waving Eddie good bye, I realised the Virginia creeper on the front wall of the house, has fallen down. It was time to clear the debris anyway, so I worked for an hour outside, cutting away the old branches and sweeping the ground. Now it looks tidy. I did it just in time, as later it started raining quite heavily.

At some point, hanging the washing on the drying rack in the attic, I saw the rainbow. By the time I ran down and grabbed my phone, it has paled. 

More work in the garden. Saw these three ladybirds cuddled up together for warmth, or perhaps companionship.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Photo diary: Project 365, week 6 2026

 Rain, rain, go away...

What a grey miserable week, weather-wise, it was, everything is soggy and wet. There is so much work to do in the garden, and it's impossible to do anything in the rain.

The Windrush has turned "burly".

At the same time you can see that nature is awakening, and spring is just round the corner. I have spotted a ladybird on the withered plant, and liked this juxtaposition of the bright red and the moldy grey.

The crocuses are out, though with the heavy rain most of them are lying on the ground, poor things. That's about the only standing crocus I managed to find in our garden.

On Wednesday morning I saw this jolly car with the stormtroppers, and they made me smile.

We haven't been able to walk through the fields in weeks, which upsets Sasha as he likes to walk there. I haven't even ventured near there. Eddie was curious enough to come close to take a photo.

In the last week I have been reading To the Hilt by Dick Francis. I haven't enjoyed a book in this genre so much for a long time. While not entirely about the British horse racing, there is still a horse-related plotline along the main mystery. 

The main protagonist Alexander Kinloch is an artist who lives in a remote bothy on a Scottish mountain. One morning he is accosted by four rough thugs who beat him up, demanding to know "Where is it?" Alexander is not sure what IT is supposed to be. Then a call from his mother brings him back to England. His stepfather Sir Ivan has had a heart attack after his brewery business is nearly ruined, with millions of pounds embezzled by someone trusted. And Ivan's racing horse Golden Malt is under threat. Al is asked by his stepfather to look into his business while he tries to recuperate. Al agrees to act as his Power of attorney. The cost of being a hero is very high, as he will find out.

I loved the pages where the artist describes the process of priming the canvas, painting techniques and ideas behind his artwork. Top-notch.

Alexander makes a likable character. Some of the sidelines are slightly preposterous, but still great fun.

Enjoyed this book so much that I'm going to plunge straight in another Dick Francis' book, Decider. It's one of my Mum's favourite books.

And I'd welcome any more suggestions of Dick Francis' books that you enjoyed and would recommend. 

How many times do I tell my guys not to buy flowers for Valentine's, as they are overpriced and more often than not, of inferior quality, as the vendors try to get rid of all their supply. But no, my husband still comes home with a rose. I put the log stem in an empty champagne bottle.

We had a nice dinner, and started watching A Complete Unknown, about the young Bob Dylan. He is portrayed as very talented but also self-centered and a bit of a jerk. Timothy Chalamet is good, and his singing voice is decent, but it is still like listening to a karaoke in comparison to the real Dylan's performance. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Photo diary: Project 365, May'22

 After a very long pause in my Photo Diary posts, here is a loadsa photos for May. 

It's easy to sprout slogans for Mental Health Awareness on social media and share images of self-love and universal acceptance. In real life, people with mental health problems keep struggling, and so do their carers. Who cares for the mental health of carers?

Since Sash turned 18 and moved to adult social care services, we've had zero support. In the past he used to stay two nights per month in a nursing home, specialising in caring for children with special needs. Sash loved going there, they treated him wonderfully there, taking him on outings, preparing his favourite foods etc. And it gave me a break from the stressful routine, time to recharge the batteries and also do something with Eddie without the additional pressure. We knew our boy was well looked-after and we could relax. 

Then he became technically a grown-up, but mentally still a very very young child. Covid happened, that was the somewhat understandable excuse for doing nothing on the social care part. This year we had a few Zoom meetings to discuss any possible provision for respite. And then, boom, we're closing him to our team, said the social worker. Apparently we're coping well. I don't know what was I supposed to do, to dissolve in a muddled heap of sobbing to convince them that I am exhausted, and actually, yes, I do need help. I don't sleep well, so many worries. Even the metal gets fatigue, as for the humans, they can fracture under stress.

For that and many other reasons, I am trying to escape from the sad reality of my life and outside world. Books and art community are my sanity savers. 

The beginning of May was a highlight of my recent art endeavours. I have been asked to lead one of the weeks of Pen and Ink challenge on Instagram with my prompts. I have chosen Folklore as the Theme of the week. I rejoiced at the chance of showing my sketches, and seeing all the inspirational work by the other participants. The response was overwhelming, there were so many brilliant entries.

Here are some of my sketches. For the Traditions prompt I have chosen a legend of Kokopelli, a fertility deity of the Native American cultures. He is a trickster god, and represents the spirit of music. He is usually portrayed as a hunchbacked flute player. 

Kokopelli is a symbol of good luck, and goodness me, I need that.

For Folk Costumes day I painted a traditional Kazakh bridal costume, with a high headdress called a saukele. It is richly decorated, and has to be ordered in advance of the wedding, a year or a year and a half prior, after the engagement is announced. My girl is holding a plate of baursaki, a Kazakh version of doughnuts.

One of the books I read in May was The Guest Book by C.L. Pattison. I spotted it in the library. It's set in Cornwall, so how could I resist it. It's a dark thriller, with the elements of supernatural. I took the photo before returning the book to the library, thinking I might write a review some time later.

Folk Crafts: this is a sketch of the glazed pharmacy jar (albarelli). The original Renaissance maiolica from Deruta could be seen in the Wallace Collection in London. I've never visited it, but hoping one day to discover its treasures in real life, not just via books and online images.

When Sasha's photo popped up among Facebook Memories, I asked Eddie if he would let me take his photo for comparison. Here are my boys, at exactly the same age. Sasha's hair is darker, and the eyes are hazel brown to Eddie's blue ones, but they do look quite similar. Different but also similar. Not sure why I was surprised, after all, they are brothers.

I can't wait to see Cornwall again. I painted the Cornish pasties for the Traditional Foods prompt.

St Mary's Church is beautiful in any weather.

I love May flowers and blooms, with the tulips, and irises, lilac and rhododendron.

Eddie is a big Marvel fan. Of course, we had to go to the cinema to watch Dr Strange 2.

He enjoyed it, I didn't like it that much. It might as well have been called WandaVision II (and I utterly disliked the TV series, for me that was the worst Marvel TV series ever).

The pleasures of living not far from Brize Norton is seeing the planes flying very low over our town all the time.

Blue blossom of Ceanothus thyrsiflorus is so striking to look at, but it always makes me sneeze

To coincide with Mental Health Awareness week I took part in the Readalong/Cookalong event with Tandem Collective and Breadsong book, written by Kitty and Al Tait. You can find more about the book Breadsong from my review.

I confess I haven't heard of their bakery until I read the book. Kitty's story is an inspiration.

Breadsong is part-memoir, part-cook book.

I tested three recipes from the book, including the choc chip cookies with mini fudge.

More cookies from that week, this time, it was choc chip gluten free cookies, made with peanut butter, honey and oats. 

I was watering the tomato plants in the greenhouse, and saw my child sitting in the window of his bedroom.

We had pretty flowers this month in town. The flower arrangements are changed regularly in big planters around the town centre.

Marie Saba is the social media sensation, who is known for her creative food puns. She recently published a book called Don't Worry, Be Ha-PEA. 

I tried to do my own food pun photo, dedicated to one of my favourite detectives. 

Toys and Games prompt for the Pen and Ink Challenge - I painted two of the Lewis Chessmen, a group of 12C chess pieces, carved from walrus ivory.

Today, 82 pieces are displayed at the British Museum, while the remaining eleven are in Scotland.

I hope Eddie and I could visit the British Museum some time soon. Maybe even this summer?

For Music prompt I painted a loose copy of a manuscript illustration by Testard Robinet. The original artwork is in Bibliotheque Nationale de France in Paris.

All my current artwork is painted with Diamine inks.

The pink rhododenron always gladdens my heart, blooming in May, just outside kitchen windows. Whenever I wash my dishes, I see the planter. The bees love it too.

Legacy by Chris Coppel is a chilling Gothic story. It's a combination of sci fi, horror and fantasy, with elements of time travel. If you're sensitive, don't read the book at bedtime.

The Book of Kells was my inspiration for the Travel week. Ireland was one of our virtual destinations. The illuminated manuscript is kept in Trinity College, Dublin, another place which I would love to visit one day. 

Nature is the most magnificent artist of all. Just look at that glorious sky, with all the shades of blue, grey and white. A true masterpiece.

From Ireland to Indonesia, I travel with my inks. 

Wayang Kulit is an ancient art of theatre with shadow puppets. The puppets are carved with intricate designs, and are manipulated with the rods.

A Scottish Highland Surprise by Julie Shackman is a modern feel-good romance, set in a little Scottish town of Briar Glen. 

The main character opens a china shop, where she sells vintage and modern pottery. I loved all the talk about teapots, cups and saucers. 

Don't care much about the romance, just tell me about porcelain!

The white champagne rose is at its most marvellous in May. I should really trim it, as its branches go very high over the plum tree, over four metres high, and the cascade of white roses is a sight to behold.

To celebrate Her Majesty's Jubilee, Witney is decorated with the Royal-themed displays. Teddy Bears of Witney didn't disappoint with their teddies' show. 

Are you celebrating this weekend, or ignoring any celebrations and just chilling out?

Our lovely neighbours decided to do the major construction works in the garden, starting early in the morning. It's been four days and counting. By the amount of cement and flagstones outside their house, the works will be going on for a long time.

So much for a much-hoped for lie-in during the midterm break.

In the last month we've been watching The Walking Dead, as recommened by Kim from Life as Kim, and also Stranger Things. 

Are you watching Stranger Season 4? What do you think?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Photo diary: weeks 7 and 8, project 365

 As birthdays go, mine was quite unremarkable. Not that I minded much, in fact I'm not the type who expects celebrations and fireworks. Since going out for dinner is out of question, I bought a Neapolitan cake from Waitrose, and we had a long walk in town catching Pokemons. That's as exciting as it gets these days. Eddie said that Pokemon Go had a special raid day yesterday in my honour. 

I'm not moaning. In fact, here I am sitting by the laptop and dancing in my chair, singing to the tune of One way ticket to the Moon by Eruption. I remember that song when it first appeared. I was 10 years old, and loved it. Still do. That hairstyle haunted my dreams, I so wanted to have those dangly braids with beads. 

In the last couple of weeks we watched two seasons of The Umbrella Academy on Netflix. We were late to the party, and it took me a few episodes to get into it, but I did find it entertaining (not as good as Marvel films though). 

The garden is looking pretty, with a carpet of snowdrops and crocuses. The yellow crocuses have been gobbled up by some critters almost overnight, I haven't had a chance to take a photo of them. I wonder if they taste better?! Why are they eaten up every single year, while the purple and blue ones stay untouched?

One of the books I read recently for the blog tour was Gordon Square. It is a psychological thriller, with Gothic undertones, quite harrowing. 

Pancake day seems like a distant memory now. I made buttermilk pancakes, both bigger size and small blini, and served with different toppings. Eddie is still amused by the face with a whipped cream beard and marshmallows. I bought a bottle of Percy Pig syrup to try, and all my guys loved it. As for me, I prefer either honey or maple syrup with my pancakes.

Walking in town, and looking at the reflections in the puddles. After snapping the sun reflection, I realised that the tower looks, ahem, very erect.

Eddie is a big fan of Liz Pichon's Tom Gates series. He's been counting the days until the latest book was out, and read it in one day.

I bought a book shelf two years ago, and it was sitting in a box all this time in the summerhouse. We finally paid someone to come and assemble it. Eddie and I divided the ownership, top shelf for his books, the lower one for mine.

I love this time of the year, when the garden looks pretty. It also looks pretty messy, and I need to start the spring clean very soon, including getting rid of the revolting deposits from the neighbours' cats who use our garden as their private toilet. 

In the last week Eddie's been studing the Maya civilization. One of their home learning tasks was to draw a Maya mask, and this is the result. Rather colourful and ferocious.

We walked to the Tower Hill Cemetery, which is a big place with amazing old trees. It feels very peaceful there. As it is on the hill, you can see the town below.

That's another snap from the same walk.

Another series that Eddie loves is Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz. He was a bit disappointed that Alex didn't make an appearance in this book, and it was all a backstory of Yassen Grigorovich (this name gives me the giggles, it's such an obviously invented "Russian" name).

One more assembly in the house, this time a desk for Eddie. He's been working, using the dinner table downstairs, but now can do it in his own bedroom. Ordered the desk from Amazon, and booked a technician for assembly. Waited for 4 hours for them to appear, then contacted Amazon, asking what time the technician would be arriving, as the slot was coming to an end, but they said he didn't plan to come. What a waste of time. And they didn't even bother to text me in advance to warn that they couldn't do the job. Thankfully, a friend offered help, when I asked on FB if anyone knew a trustworthy handyman locally. He refused to take any payment, even if took over 2 hours to build the desk.

And a new keyboard for the new desk...

How was your week?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter