Stepping up

Posted on February 16, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Exercise, heart points, Hills, Life, Local, Park, seven thousand, Stepping, Steps, Walking5 Comments

Today’s walk was up and around my local hill. We walked up to the park along horizontal and then steep sections. We had a look round, sat on a bench for a while, then we carried on and walked further than we did before.

Clearly I’m not doing this because it’s part of my life. I don’t need to walk to collect water or food. But I’m doing it for my health, a first world problem.

Anyway it’s more than I’ve done for a year and it’s got to be good for my heart. I now need to build up my distances safely, because after suffering a pulled calf muscle I don’t want to do that again!

Vacant

Posted on February 16, 2023 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #bandofsketchers, At, canalside, Drawing, Felt pens, Imagined, Life, Public house, Sketching, vacantLeave a comment

Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was Vacant. I tried to draw an imagined pub, with half timbers, closed down and to let on a canal towpath. I would love to find somewhere like this. A quiet drink on a Sunday afternoon… Its a bit skewiff because I was holding the sketch pad at an angle. Felt pens.

One last post

Posted on February 15, 2023 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Cat, Happy, Paws, Poem, Poetry, Sleeping, Tired, tongueLeave a comment

I wish I was a cat

Lying on a bag

Tongue peeping out

No need to shout

Asleep and happy

Having a nap, he

Curves round

Belly upwards

A really sweet cat

Dreaming of birds

Seen through a window

In the sun

On a spring morning.

Golfers elbow, too much phone use?

Posted on February 15, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Aches, Body, clenched, golfers elbow, Health, Pain, phone use, Sore, tension3 Comments

I was recently diagnosed with golfers elbow, and should be resting my arm, but I think it’s partly being cause because of my shaking arm. I’m trying to hold it still but I think that’s causing the muscles on the inside of my elbow to tighten and clench. That being said it hurts when I hold my phone in my left hand, but I would have thought my right arm would be involved too? Anyway I think I will blog more on my pc and rest my arm. Isn’t life wonderful?!

February’s steps

Posted on February 15, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged daytime TV, effort, five thousand, Health, Illness, Pain, steps health, Time, Trying, Walking7 Comments

After several months of little or no activity my brain kicked in and I’ve started walking again. I went from virtually zero to around five thousand steps a day. I think I am finally better after illness and sad times. My health is by no means perfect, I’m having lots of problems with pain, but if I don’t make the effort things will only get worse. Sitting watching daytime TV is not the best use of my time, and I’m hoping more activity will also get my creativity going again.

Red curry

Posted on February 15, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Food, red curry, Sawadee Thai taste, Stoke-on trent, Takeaway, Thai foodLeave a comment

Red curry, rice and noodles from Sawadee Thai taste in Hill Street in Stoke, Stoke-on-Trent.

We didn’t have time for a Valentines meal yesterday so I got this as a takeaway for us with a starter of Thai fishcakes. It was very tasty.

Look up the restaurant in the phone book if you want to book a table or a take out meal. It’s good food and not too expensive even in these costly days.

Bird!

Posted on February 15, 2023 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #bandofsketchers, Art, Bird, Drawing, Fun, Life, Martin Brothers, Sketching, ugly birdsLeave a comment

Tuesdays #bandofsketchers prompt was bird. This is based on the mad drawings of birds I drew as a child. I later found out about the potters the Martin Brothers? Who did salt glazed ugly birds!

Cat on stairs

Posted on February 15, 2023 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Cat, In the way, Night, obstacle, Purring, Sleeping, Stairs, Tired, Tuxedo catLeave a comment

The cat came in and plonked himself down to sleep in a quiet place last night, partway up the stairs! He settled down to snooze, which was fine, but at bedtime, he was in the way. However cats have pride of place here, so because there was room to put a foot next to him we let him be. Then during the night I had to come downstairs a couple of times. He was still there, curled up. Luckily he has a white band across his back so I could see he was there. This morning? Still having a kip. I gave him a couple of cat treats which he ate. We are letting him be, I checked and could see no injuries so he must just be tired. X

Panto time

Posted on February 14, 2023February 18, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Painting, Pantomime, Penkhull, Robin Hood, Scenery, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trentLeave a comment

Penkhull Pantomime this year is Robin Hood. It will be on in Stoke on Trent again next week, the Penkhull group is performing at our local village hall. I was not able to take part in it this year because of my ill health, but I am pleased that they will be using some small paintings of scenes I originally did three years ago. I’m trying to source some fibreboard so I can do a final painting, it will be based on a celtic design that I found and as it’s about Scotland there will be thistles and a stags head. I haven’t painted it yet but no doubt I will post about it when I’ve completed it. The photo here is me waring a mob cap in a performance I was in back in December.

Final photo

Posted on February 14, 2023 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Beach, Commission, Fine Art, lapping, Ocean, Painting, Rocks, Sand, Sea, tide, Water2 Comments

I asked for a photo of my beach painting from the lady who bought it (it went to the person who had commissioned it and I had forgotten to take a picture). She was really happy with it. I tried to get that feeling of water washing on and out, flowing over the sand. A few dark rocks sit in the bottom right hand corner and I really tried to get bright sunny colours into it. I found the blue hard to get right, so I used a turquoise hue to get that marine feeling.

Mallaband-Brown

Author: artbychristinemallabandbrown