Tea, what’s in the fridge? Vegetable quiche, tomatoes, gherkin, silver skin pickled onion, yellow pepper, light mayonnaise and….. Left over black cherries. Finger painting using the Sketchbook app on my phone.
Teatime rummage
Painting
Describe your ideal week.
I would spend time at my studio at Spode, painting, or drawing. My plan is to try and go back to it. I spent a few years there, then covid happened and I lost my nerve a bit. I started to go back, but health issues cropped up. If I don’t return soon I never will, but I’ve built a wall round things in my mind. If I can’t do things properly I seem to freeze up.
My ideal week will be less stressful, full of real art, not just quick digital drawings. I would then build on it, even if I was only in my studio a couple of days a week. I would try and produce more small paintings for craft fairs, but it’s about time I started doing some ‘proper’ paintings real fine art, not craft based. I just need to get my confidence back. I have good intentions but I keep prevaricating. Maybe I can have that ideal week. It needs to be soon….
Equator
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was one I chose, equator. Why? I don’t know. Digital drawing of an Earth like planet with a red equatorial line drawn on it. In my imagination this is a planet encircling city. The only place warm enough for the alien life is the hottest part of the planet on its equator. Used Artrage app to draw this.
Turmeric?
Weird thing! The gin my hubby bought me has infusions of cardamon, turmeric and dried mandarin… I just wanted a normal London dry gin. It had ice in it with tonic water, but that melted in the heat.
He also bought golden milk ice cream which also has Tumeric in it. Why? What is the point? I would not eat it, I told him I did not want any. CURRY flavoured ice-cream, I love curry, but not as a dessert.
Flavours are personal, if you’ve ever tried something it’s good to give it a try but not turmeric. No.
In leg news
It’s healing up
The weeping has stopped and my leg is actually healing. The dressing the nurse put on is smaller than this, it only reaches half way up my calf now, and there is no strike through, which means there is no fluid escaping from the wound through the bandage. You don’t know how relieved I am to know I’ll be able to get out and about again. I drove the car a short distance yesterday to drop hubby off. But the bandage on my foot was restricting getting my shoe on so I kept in one gear for most of the drive. Life is strange, I just hope I don’t do anything else to myself in the future.
The English Women’s football team
Name the professional athletes you respect the most and why.
Lucy Bronze is one of the names that springs to mind. She was one of the English Women’s football team who won the European Football cup in 2022 and we’re runners up to Spain in the World Cup final this year.
I’m not fully aware of the whole team, but I did actually watch their games which is unheard of for me. I guess it’s because it’s so unusual to see women’s football being promoted. Up until a few years ago there was very little coverage. At one time in the past in the 1930’s I think there were huge league matches that could be compared with their male counterparts but then women’s football was banned here!
It was only when the film ‘Bend it like Beckham’ came out in the 1990’s. It was about an Asian girl wanting to play football and all the problems she had getting her family to accept that she could do it. It was a brilliant film. I’m sure some of the professional women football players who took part in the recent competitions were encouraged and spurred on by that film.
As I say I’m not very sport orientated but I also admire the tenacity of professional Cyclists. Today is the last day of the Tour of Britain cycle race which will be held in south Wales. Wout van Aert is only leading by 3 seconds after a week of intense racing. There is a slim chance he might be beaten. I will be watching.
White and red
At Biddulph Grange garden last year. I’m not sure what the stone signifies, but the frothy white blossom flowers of the bush contrast with the larger strong red colour of the flowers below it. I love the combination of colours together with the green of the grass and hedging. I love coming across views like this and my phone is crammed with images that I have taken over the years.
Slow thunder
Hard to see, but the rain is falling in our yard after several days of scorching heat that despite watering have dried out our hanging baskets.
Thunder is constantly rumbling south of us. I’ve checked blitzortung.org and you can see a large concentration of lightening strikes happening now about two miles away. I tried taking a screenshot of the website but this phone is an awkward beast at times. I’m going to post a video online but not here, I haven’t got enough memory anyway there’s some hail mixed in so it must be cold up in the storm.
Hot cat
The cats run out
It’s cooler under the trees
Where the breeze blows
Sleeps in the bushes
In the shade of green
They come in for food
Then scarper away
Before I can catch
Up with them
27 °C or more today
Too hot for cats…
I try and meditate
How do you relax?
I try to meditate at yoga, but I often lose the imagery and fall asleep instead! Somehow the words of different visualisations deeply relax me. Luckily I’ve never had to be woken up, and usually I wake up as soon as the teacher tells us to bring some movement back to our bodies.
I was also given advice about using the word ‘the’ to take your mind off your worries. Basically thinking the word ‘the’ over and over has no context, you can’t attach other ideas onto it. So as I say you lose the worries and you can relax.
Mallaband-Brown 