SPRINGTIME IN UPPER TEESDALE, COUNTY DURHAM, DL12 0SH

SPRINGTIME IN UPPER TEESDALE, COUNTY DURHAM, DL12 0SH
The Painting by Judith Owston in a panoramic view of the beautiful Upper Teesdale as the river Tees flows gently through the dale.

Friday 10 July 2015

RETIRED
I have now retired from Step-In gift shop my new life as a retired lady is so difficult to define my roll in life at present is helping with the renovating of our new home. I have been stripping wall paper, painting/papering, and repairing the walls. A building as old as ours about 200 years does have some very uneven walls, I suppose I would be rather bent after 200 years.

I have tried to get round to picture painting, but with with all the decorating I have found it difficult I still have my web site www.judychasartefacts.com which keeps me going. 



The painting above was painted in oils and it is 24" x 18" on stretched canvas I am selling it for £300. High Force is England's largest water fall and it is visited by people all over the world. My next painting I will paint in oils to match this one on stretched canvas size 24" x 18"

Sunday 15 January 2012

The Stockings

The Shopkeeper has annex a framing business along side her gift shop incorporating the poor long suffering husband to do the actual framing The Shopkeeper does assist in the framing, husband measures and makes all the parts such as frames, mounts, cut’s glass, or anything else that’s needed, The Shopkeeper cleans the glass, assembles, inserts points to hold together, and seals up with tape and stretches embroidery to be framed. 
 A customer who has had many of her favourite prints and pictures framed at The Shopkeepers emporium came to collect her latest pieces of artwork. The Framing Customer fetch an Elderly Friend with her, before collecting the framed pictures the two browsed, rummaging through the shop looking for that must have necessity as women do. Women are so gifted at shopping, men on the other hand are useless, they look either bored or bemused when shopping with these expertly knowledgeable shoppers, the men usually shop when they realise there’s no food in the house, or the beer stocks are low. The Shopkeeper pondering on these thought as she observed the two ladies, was suddenly jolted out of her reverie by The Elderly Friend complaining her legs were tired. The Shopkeeper quickly produced her chair which parks at the end of the ice cream counter. A chair is a very useful piece of furniture to have in a shop, certainly the sort of shop The Shopkeeper owns. The Shopkeeper tentatively inquired about her legs
The Elderly Friend sat down with some relief and immediately remonstrated about the state of her swollen and aching lower limbs at some length. She leaned down and pulled up her trousers and exposed her legs, revealing crinkly thick, slipping down, knee stockings on skinny legs with ankles wider than her calves  
“These are meant to be those elastic stockings from the doctors, them that hold ye legs in and look at them” they did appear to be rather slack The Shopkeeper thought.
The Shopkeeper likewise to the surprise of all the shoppers exhibited her legs and said “mm’ mine look to be a different make, they seem to be finer and tighter” then looking at the Elderly Friend “ask the doctor if you can have the make by ‘Dr Scholl they are better and tighter”
 This advice the Elderly Friend took on board with much candour. Displaying a determined expression across her face; sort of serious with lips pursed an expression which told the onlooker she meant business.
 “Right I am, as this is no good” she announced to all around.
The Framing Customer face had a smile on as she perused round the shop listening to the interjection between the two.
The Shopkeeper parcelled up the framed prints for the Framing Customer who was delighted with the results. A little smile broke across The Shopkeeper’s face enjoying the praise of a satisfied customer.
 Eventually done with all their purchases they left the shop both happy and deep in thought; The Elderly Friend appearing taller, a woman with a mission. The Framing Customer planning her décor carried a faraway expression on her face. Both satisfied customers with different needs.
……………………………………………………………………………………….

A week or two later; The Shopkeeper doing her usual early morning walk with her dog before work,  on the home ward stretch spied a group of people waiting at the bus stop. Thinking her dog would be jumping up and down to say hello as dogs do she crossed the road. A voice called “hello” The Shopkeeper looked round to find one of the people by the bus stop crossing the road to way lay her. The rather breathless Elderly Friend accosted her “I went to the doctors and I got those stockings you advised I didn’t land you in it, I just said my sister-in-law has different ones and they are better, hers are called Dr Scholl so can I have them, and they said yes, I’ve got them on they stay up better” pulling up her trousers to reveal her leg to all and sundries in the street “but look at the colour they are awful and that is suppose to be sand”
“Yes but they do go lighter when you wash them” The Shopkeeper said with a smile on her face
…………………………………………………………………………………………

A few weeks later The Framing customer came in went straight to the chair at the end of her ice cream counter crashing her heavy bulk down on the chair. She smiled at The Shopkeeper “I have decorated my bedroom and hung up the pictures” rummaging in her bag she displayed the pillow case “this is what the new bed covers are like” the pillow case was satin in pale blue design. Rather elegant and posh The Shopkeeper thinking as she thought of her own ordinary bedcover’s, then she had another more sensible thought running through her head, “not very practicable”.
“So you are pleased with your new décor” The Shopkeeper interjected with a wise comment
“Oh yes its lovely” The Framing Customer replied beaming a satisfied smile on her face.

Thursday 18 November 2010

A long Day

A Long Day

Today I have been checking out new stock for my shop Step-In. I think there is a rumour that Christmas is about 4 to 5 weeks away much easier if I say just over a month. So the shop will be packed up to the roof with all those tempting little items, if I ever get this lot priced up and out. The buying in I think is hard, deciding whether I should buy this, will it sell. Till I start to unpack and then my mind whirls, why on earth did I buy that, mmmm’ I can’t remember ordering in this, but it does look rather nice. Eventually my head is spinning, my neck is stiff with bending over, I must be mad doing this job I think. Then I look round, every where looks so crowded, where on earth will I put it all. When buying in, I must say the size of one’s shop does not register, I just buy because those little £ signs seem to hang in front of my eyes and I see things people have asked me to get, (then of course they never come back).

Though not obvious to the eye when the customers comes, there is a sort of semblance of order to my shop even though the whole place looks chaotic. I have my soft toys all displayed together, mugs on a mug shelf, a small art room for all those budding artists, my chutneys, jams, and other confectionery assembled together. The jars of sweets behind the counter, ready to hand, for weighing out to customers, with the ice cream counter next, I put my paintings on higher shelves all around the shop. Yes it does have an order.
Then what happens, Christmas comes along with all its glitter, adding that extra bit which upsets the applecart, where do I put all these extra bits, but it has to be done and everything does look nice when all re-arranged.


I find my self wondering why do we put ourselves through all this chaos, is it in memory of Jesus birth? I somehow think he is not in our minds when we are buying those sort-after presents. Or do we just all get sucked into the bright lights welcoming us to join the swing of a good spending spree. Funny it is the one time in the year we do think about our loved one’s, even though they may not really want the present we have taken ages to choose pondering over at great lengths. It is the thought that counts my mother would tell me as I looked at the hand knitted jumper given by some Aunt which only seem to fit where it touched. So yes it is the thought that counts and people do put a lot of thought when buying the sort after gift. I know as I am at the other side of the counter.

So back to the start a long day sorting through stock and I have still a lot more to do, tomorrow is another day when I will be fresher and ready to go.  

Saturday 26 June 2010

Step-In: Mixed up Quotation by me

Step-In: Mixed up Quotation by me

Mixed up Quotation by me

So the roots of your hair are white
Does it matter, as long as the hair is the colour you like.


Some people put a foot in it
I think it's preferable, to putting your face in it


Hand on my heart I'm telling you the truth
It's when my hand's not on my heart you have a problem

They say a Bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
I say, you can always dream of the two in the bush

Aching legs are telling you it's time to stop
But how do you stop your legs from aching?

A black cat crossing your path is LUCKY
Until you trip over it and break your neck

Judith Owston

Wednesday 10 March 2010

Our World

The Green House Effect.

How radical have we to be,
For the world to sit up and see,
What we are doing to our Earth’s land,

the ocean and the sea
We bury our heads in the sand,
and do our selfish plans,
Forgetting about the ozone hole,
and the dried up desert land.

How long have we to wait,
For the world to sit up and see,
As rising oceans buries our shores,

and cliffs fall into the seas,
The river beds exposed and cracked,
plants all withered and dead,
The light force of our unfiltered sun,
with her damaging rays of dread

How mad have we to be,
For the world to sit up and see
Retreating rain forests long lasting plea,

for the death of their magnificent trees,
Deserts stretching out along the land as it,
devours all life with it’s dried up sand
The melting of the Arctic’s vast tundra,
how long do we have......., on this land ?
©Judith Owston



The world we live in is so over crowded with humans which has leached out resources that was established over millions of years and consequently the Earth has become so vulnerable.We have used and burned up these ancient fossil minerals in such a short pace of time causing the atmosphere to become so burden with the gasses and pollution that possibly now it is irreversible.

I DO NOT KNOW THE ANSWER, I WISH I DID