Green jumper, old jeans

What are your two favorite things to wear?

My old jeans must be ten or fifteen years old. I used to be bigger so I’ve taken them in several times. I also like my moss green, cable knit jumper. It has a big turtle neck collar, and at this time of year they both keep me warm.

I love painting and I have to be careful not to get the paint on the jumper. The jeans don’t matter as much. I’ve used them for painting in for years.

I think clothes should last, they don’t need replacing every few months, they should be made to have a good lifetime, so that we don’t waste material and harm the environment more than we need to. I believe in make do and mend.

Quick fox

Work in progress

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog…..

A statement that contains all the letters of the alphabet and also was used to improve typing skills I think?

This is a tiny miniature, it needs more detail, less splodges. I will try and get more of a furry look to it. I might add a bit of blue to the snowy background so that it looks more realistic. Only 6 more to paint!

Leafy

A random selection of fallen leaves, early autumn, now there are far more. Hedgehogs might be using them for nests, squirrels have places to hide walnuts, and the daffodil bulbs they have dug up!

It’s been very cold for the last couple of days, bright sunlight today with wispy fog in the morning. The frost has come, and in the north of Scotland it’s been snowing. A milder spell is forecast for next week. I’m a typical Brit, obsessed with weather and the seasons.

I would meditate!

If you didn’t need sleep, what would you do with all the extra time?

Yawn, I need some rest!

I think I would use the extra time to relax and try and relieve stress. Otherwise if I was to stay awake I would try and do too much, use up all my energy and end up exhausted.

It’s a strange concept to think about being happy not to sleep. As someone who suffers from insomnia (typing this at 1am), the thought of not needing to sleep both enchants and worries me. I enjoy dreams and would miss them. But if I could survive without sleep I could also be more creative. Perhaps meditate on art and different styles.

If people could stay awake indefinitely what would they get up to? How many more Police and security staff would we need. Would pollution go up if staff were expected to work 24/7 or would they have time to pursue leisure activities? I think it would be a strange, busy and manic world.

Acer colour

Photo from a couple of weeks ago, pinky red leaves on this Acer (Japanese Maple) shine out with brightness on a dull day. I saw this in a churchyard and just had to take a picture of it. The green coloured chlorophyll has been absorbed back into the main part of the plant and xanthophyll carotanoids and antoxcyanines remain (spellings might be wrong).

Some countries have more colour changes than in the UK. I guess our species tend towards yellows, oranges and browns as opposed to reds. I’d love to see a really spectacular autumn (fall).

And…. Breathe

Name your top three pet peeves.

MY THREE PET PEEVES….

TV adverts

Musac (especially Christmas musac) in stores in July….

Stressful situations at home (that don’t have to be)

So I wrote this poem:

Take a seat

Take a seat

Brush off the leaves

Wipe away the rain

Sit down and breathe….

Got some!

I went to get some tiny canvases today. I went back to the craft shop I got them from previously and spoke to the lady that runs it. She said she hadn’t been able to get anymore of them, they don’t seem to be making them now? I asked if she had other small canvases so she directed me to the right aisle. As I looked through the canvases there were 5 packets of 2 canvases per packet! I was really glad that I’d gone and looked and not taken her word for it!

I only sell them for £2 each so it’s not much of a markup. I’m effectively only getting 90 pence for something that can take a few hours painting. But I like the idea of sharing my art.