Cat size comparison

Posted on January 26, 2023January 28, 2023 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, breeding, breeds, Cat, Comparison, large size, medium size, Photo, small size, Tuxedo catLeave a comment

One big cat, one medium. Our other cat is the smallest. It’s like having a labrador, a collie and a chihuahua (although the variation is not that great). I keep wondering if the big cat will get stuck in the cat flap. Medium cat is in proportion, but I’ve noticed the small one has slightly shorter legs, it’s not obvious but it looks less graceful somehow. Gladly all of them have proper cat shaped heads, not flattened and squashed in. I really think cats with extra short legs and pushed in faces don’t look ‘right’, it’s almost like they are being bred to look more like kittens, but it doesn’t seem normal. Breeding any animal to the extent that they are malformed is wrong. I think ordinary moggies are best. Some breeds do attract me, like Maine Coon cats, but I wouldn’t want one.

The cat found a box

Posted on January 25, 2023 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Box, Cardboard, Cat, Parcel, Sleeping, Snug, Tuxedo cat, WashingLeave a comment

We got a package today in a cardboard box. Before you could say Jack Robinson, one of the cats had co-opted it as a snug, draft free bed. I don’t know how long it will last. He’s slightly too big for it and one of the sides is a bit loose. He’s just lain down after having a good wash. Snuggling and curling, paw over nose.

What makes cats nest? You see them on videos, squeezing into tiny spaces, climbing into holes in virtually anything including empty washing machines!

In car news…

Posted on January 25, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Battery, Car, earthing problem, electric car, loose connection, Motor, Oil, Repair, starter motorLeave a comment

We don’t need a starter motor! Our mechanic found out it was a loose connection and the motor was not earthed to the car body. We still need a gasket (ordered) some oil and a battery but hopefully it won’t be as costly as we thought. Its been a bit of a nightmare, especially since the car is so old, but it has been very reliable so I don’t mind spending a bit more money on it. Goodness knows what I will do if we have to get an electric car. I might have to buy an old, battery driven milk float! I think that’s all I can afford.

Levitating cat?

Posted on January 25, 2023 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Box, Cat, Chair, Fun, Levitate, Lying down, Photo, Poem, Poetry, Rhyme, Sleep, Tuxedo catLeave a comment

Front paws on a chair

Back legs on a box

Sagging between

Or levitating above.

Comfy you say?

But what if he sleeps.

Will he fall off?

How can he stay.

Stuck on a space

That doesn’t support

While a foot away

A comfy sofa!

Brindley and Wedgewood mural

Posted on January 25, 2023January 25, 2023 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Art, Emulsion on wall, Fine Art, History, James Brindley, josiah Wedgwood, Mural, Painting, Trent and mersey canalLeave a comment

Here is another one of my murals from the Leopard Hotel in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. It shows the four creators of the Trent and Mersey canal. I remember two of them are James Brindley , standing, and Josiah Wedgwood, seated on the right. It’s a long time since I painted it, so I can’t remember the names of the other two. It was painted in 2007? I think. This popped up on my Facebook memories today. Sadly it and all the others I painted were destroyed in a fire when the Leopard burnt down early last year.

Perspectives

Posted on January 24, 2023 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Art, Fine Art, New Victoria Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Orme Art group, PaintingLeave a comment

The Orme Art Group Exhibition is on from the 30th of January at The New Victoria Theatre, Newcastle under Lyme. The theme is Perspectives, the members of the group all have different views and ideas about what we want to create. In this case we are producing two dimensional pieces for this exhibition. If you are in the area please come along and enjoy our work. X

Film theatre

Posted on January 24, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cinema, Closed, film studies, film theatre, Memory, Sad, Staffordshire University, TimeLeave a comment

I just read a post on Instagram about the problems the Film Theatre at Staffordshire University is having to deal with before it can reopen after covid. I wrote a response because this independent cinema had a great impact on my understanding and appreciation of films. Here is what I said.

I used to love coming to the film theatre. You could see films that made you question your beliefs, challenged your thoughts, tickled your imagination! It seems mad that it’s not open. I first saw a film there in 1979 and it was also used for the film studies part of the Fine Art Ba(hons). My hubby came to a projectionist course and learned how to project the reels and know when to change them. It’s sad you are having these problems.

Frost

Posted on January 24, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blue, car windscreen, Cold, Colours, Contrast, Duplicated, Frost, Image, Photo, Red, SymmetryLeave a comment

Flipped and duplicated photo of frost seen on the inside of my car windscreen. The reds are from the car colour. The sky was a brilliant pale blue. I’ve boosted the contrast a bit. Making symmetrical patterns really works with images like this.

Mike the snail

Posted on January 24, 2023 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #bandofsketchers, Art, Children's programme, Drawing, Fun, Life, Limerick, Sketching, Snail, the magic roundabout, TVLeave a comment

Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was snail. I remember Brian the snail from the Magic Roundabout children’s TV programme, which I watched in the 1970’s. But this is Mike the snail. I decided to write a limerick for him.
“There was a snail called Mike,
Who decided to go for a hike!
He slid cross the table
To see his friend Mable
I saw him and shouted out YIKES!

Milk on the pavement?

Posted on January 24, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bottles, Delivery, Drink, Email, Glass, Liquid, Milk, milkman, Missing, Morning, recycledLeave a comment

My arrangement with the milkman is to put the milk in the basket over our gate. It means it is safe and doesn’t disappear ( sometimes one bottle gets taken, other times more). But for the last week it’s been left on the pavement (it’s delivered every other day), so I’ve been trying to get up early to bring it in. Today I was late (eight am). There it was, not on our step, but a foot away on the pavement. I’ve left a note, asking them to put it over the gate, which was ignored. I think I need to email the dairy, but I’ve lost my password. Maybe our regular milkman is on holiday? We will see. I like having it delivered in glass bottles because they are reused and recycled and are not plastic!

Mallaband-Brown

Author: artbychristinemallabandbrown