New paintings and regular art updates.
Puss cat curled up at my feet last night. I wanted to put my feet up on a footstool, but he wouldn’t move! I think he’s trying to take care of me. He sits next to me on my chair arm sometimes. His brother on the other arm reaching a paw out to me every so often. It’s so sweet.
Then the queen arrives, she jumps up and nuzzles me, saying hello. The boys ignore her but she is nervous of their size, I think she’s a bit bullied by them, but generally they all get on well together and with my hubby….
What positive emotion do you feel most often?
Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone? Is that the old saying?
I come from a humourous town. Where I lived people took pleasure in telling long and I silly stories. They liked word play and puns. We would howl with laughter over some of the daft jokes people told.
Now, laughter is a little less frequent but still enjoyable. That’s partly because where I live now has a different sense of humour, harder, more direct. But I will not relinquish my old style. I might come over as sarcastic, but it can be very funny. (Just too tired to think of a joke now!)
How do you plan your goals?
I’ve got to the age where I take each day as it comes. I don’t plan so much because something will always come up and bite you just when you think things are going to be OK so you moderate your expectations.
A few years ago I had plans to finish work and become a successful artist. I am an artist, just not very successful! But I don’t intend to be a business entrepreneur. I paint and draw for pleasure not fame.
I wish I had the skills to plan goals, but when I used to be questioned at job interviews… Where do you see yourself in 5 years I was daft enough to say “still here”. I guess I like a modicum of security.
If you are going to make goals for yourself enjoy them, they may be simple or complex, just look after yourself. X
She left us almost a year ago
Gone somewhere else, I don’t know.
A face I’ll never see again
Unless on a screen that isn’t used
And only occasionally appears
As a memory of a reflected moment…..
She thought that?
She agreed with that?
A smile twitches my lips
She agreed with me?
Then the memory fades
The face crumples
I cry again.
What is the most important thing to carry with you all the time?
Yet again I have to be equivocal about this question. I mean I’m not deliberately being ambiguous, but there could be many answers depending on the person, their age, sex, health and the place they are at.
1. Fresh water /food
If you are alone and outside away from people, for instance on a walk it’s a good idea to take supplies. I imagine I won’t be far from transport, but what happens if you get lost?
2. Spare clothes/groundsheet
If you are out and about and lost you might not be able to find shelter if the weather deteriorates or it gets dark. You might have to stay put, so having extra clothes and something to make into a shelter could save you from exposure. We went camping one Easter and I had to wear two pairs of trousers and three jumpers because of the cold!
3. A map
Learn to read maps, if your phone goes flat and you can’t charge it how do you find your location?
4. Medication?
Even if you don’t expect to be out all day and night it’s better to be prepared. The older you are the more likely you are to need medicine. Don’t ignore it, and if necessary take out travel insurance.
5. Car keys?
Yes if I take the car with me, and house keys.
6. Medical alert.
If you take some medications then you need to take warning notifications with you. Similarly if you are allergic to food colourings, bee and wasp stings, or antibiotics it’s worth letting people know!
7. A sketchpad and something to draw with.
I’m an artist, what did you expect me to say?
Facebook Memory from 2017.
‘Just back from the Leopard Hotel in Burslem. Met Sharon Crisp the landlady and her lovely staff…it’s 10 year since I painted the murals in the back room there, she is very kindly taking some photos of them for me! This is the Clarice Cliffe Umbrellas mural that I painted way back then …2007?’
Even now I miss my murals, the Leopard Hotel in Burslem was left empty and people got in and vandalised it, started growing cannabis. The building caught fire and only a shell of it remains
My hubby has finally agreed to cut down his collection of train memorabilia. He has static trains as well as various models, but these were sitting in the summerhouse and getting covered in spiders webs. He has enjoyed them for a couple of years, but we decided (so it’s my fault) that it would be better for other people to see them too and get hooked by a love of trains. The thing is if they get left outside they might get brittle in the sunshine and temperature variations. So donated they are. I hope others get as much pleasure from them.
Describe your life in an alternate universe.
Dr Who would be real (what a character!). Scientists would have solved global warming. People would be kinder to each other. There would be enough food to feed the population of the world.
No one would be called a bleeding heart Liberal, because everyone would be. Things would unfortunately happen as normal, like death and taxes, but maybe they would be organised a bit better rather than taking from the poor to give to the rich.
There would be a hypocrite law, basically if you acted like a hypocrite you could be fined for deliberately gaslighting people. I guess there would still be freedom of speech but hate speech would be banned. In my alternative universe we would be in touch with good aliens who wanted to help us survive.
Life would be benign but not boring. And all animals would not be hunted or pushed into extinction. I’m a bit too much of a pessimist though to believe all this could happen.
(I sound like a Miss World contestant from the 1970’s!)
This came up in my Facebook memories and I thought I would share it as an example of something I can do other than painting on canvas. I hope you like this tortoiseshell kitty. X
So many images
So many thoughts
Ideas and colours
Going back years.
My gallery is full
I have to edit
So sometimes they go
Removed so
I can fit in more
Keep below 100
I can’t afford more
It’s just a little blog
And who’s interested?
My life written out
In dribs and drabs…
Mallaband-Brown