New paintings and regular art updates.
A few months after our driest summer in years we are constantly getting wet weather gales and storms. The rain gets through holes and doen chimneys and overflowing guttering.
I want brilliant white clouds floating in azure blue skies. Sunlight on my head and shoulders. Soft breezes, not howling gales. Scents and smells that lift the spirits, not mould and fungus.
So, the spring will come again. I hope to enjoy the rest of winter and then greet spring with open arms.
My Cat is like an otter. He loves the rain. He came in from the storm Bram earlier today and I took this photo. He loves standing and staring at me. Generally this means “feed me”, so I did.
I know he has at least two other “homes”, although he has been back here more recently. He comes up amd sleeps on the bed but gets off if I have a disturbed night. (which is most of them these days). He’s just snuck upsts now. Sleep well pusscat.
It should be a good afternoon, the previous one for Halloween went really well. I’m hoping friends will be able to come and listen to our group read stories and poems with a possible festive twist. We hope it will be cosy and cheerful.
I think I’m holding this phone too much.
Strong grip tightens muscles,
Hand clutches
Top and side of my shoulder aches.
Limited movement
Tense and tight
Shoulders raised to my ears
It’s agony when I lie down to sleep
Or reach up to get something
Out of the cupboard.
Grr
Enough
Rest and recuperate.
At the Beehive pub in Honeywall on Wednesday night. I don’t go very often to listen to the Boatband and their cajun and folk music. But it was the day before the 2nd anniversary of a very sad occasion and I wanted to take my mind off it.
The thing was someone had given me a pencil to make some notes with and I had some scraps of paper in my bag, so I decided to try and do some drawings. This was one of them.
I loved the sinuous shape of the violin and the way the musician held it and the bow, and I was transported back 40 years to my younger self drawing and sketching. I’m rather pleased with the result despite my shaking hands.
Today I felt like I climbed a mountain…. I was rehearsing with the choir that is putting on a Christmas show tomorrow in the church. For weeks we have sung in the choir stalls near the altar, which was easy enough to move around. But last night they bought in a stage made of a metal framework and a flat top. It had a step up to it. That’s great but I struggled to climb up onto it. My Parkinsons makes me feel like I’m teetering forward and over balancing, which, added to vertigo, made me feel very unsafe.
The compromise was to sit or stand at the side of the stage, then walk up and round some steps behind the choir stalls to come out by the altar. Three steps, not as steep, but in almost complete darkness, which bought out my anxiety again. I hauled myself up the steps and dropped down them on the way back, making my knees hurt.
After eight or ten of these trips I was shattered. The show is the cast singing big songs interspersed with individual solos. It was very tiring. I felt like I’d climbed a mountain. So as a compromise during the performance I will mostly be sitting in the main church, just moving to the side of the stage for the ensemble songs… As I say I’m shattered!
He was purring happily
When he heard something
That caught his attention
His purr switched off
And after a long stare
He jumped down
Off my lap
Disappearing
Into the kitchen
To say hi
To his sister x
Having photos appear on WhatsApp can be odd. I get the pictures loaded into my gallery. I appreciate them all but I don’t always remember who sent them, that means I don’t always remember to reply!
So.. If you sent me this santa Christmas card, thank you! I’ll try and remember to send my cards out before it’s too late! X
For health….
My Parkinsons is getting worse so I’m getting some therapy to help keep my voice strong and help my throat muscles.
I’ve joined a few choirs over the years and found out singing is great for lung health, breath control, and keeping your throat clear.
So this week I’m actually going to 4 rehearsals and will be singing with friends at a Christmas show on Friday. My main concern is my poor balance and weakening muscles. Shaking and stuttering isn’t helping either, I need to keep trying to improve. Maybe I need physiotherapy. Thanks for hearing my moaning!
25 years ago I treated myself to the BBC radio version of the Lord of the Rings. I had heard it weekly on a Sunday afternoon and there were 13 episodes.
I loved it, it starred Ian Holme as Frodo, Michael Horden as Gandalf, and Bill Nye as Sam Gamgee. The production was magical and the backing music was so evocative. You could see the tale unfold in your minds eye without needing pictures. Elves and Dwarfs and Hobbits and Wizards in a great battling adventure with a bit of humour added.
We decided to listen to it in a marathon playing over one weekend. 6 hours on the first day, and 7 on the second. With gaps for meals and coffee breaks. I think it was my favourite ever purchase. My cassette player no longer works, but I want to hear it again.
Mallaband-Brown