Meditation

Posted on January 26, 2023January 28, 2023 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Aches, Art, golden, Healing, Help, Light, Meditation, pains, Relaxation, Sketching, Thinking, Vision, YogaLeave a comment

At my old yoga class from twenty years ago, we used to meditate about a golden healing light that you could conjour up to relax and help heal aches and pains. Recently I remembered this, so when I am trying to sleep and struggling to stop circular and intrusive thoughts, I close my eyes and try and notice the flow of blood in the back of my eye. Sometimes I catch sight of a sparkly gold light flowing in waves across my vision. I don’t exactly know what it is, I think it’s linked to my pulse, but it’s definitely a visual thing, not imagined. I then think the words ‘golden healing light’ over and over as I watch the waves of light wafting across my vision. I don’t know if this would be of any help to anyone, but it’s an interesting phenomenon.

Too much typing

Posted on January 26, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Aching, arm, Life, Looking, Mobile phone, Reading, Shaking, Thinking, Typing, Videos, WatchingLeave a comment

The last few days have been painful. My shaking arm is aching a lot more. I think it’s because it’s very tense, but also I’ve been feeling ill so I’ve been using my phone to look at various websites and watching my phone screen to look at videos a lot more. Why doesn’t your brain correlate things? The pain is worse when I hold or support my phone. Perhaps I should put the darned thing down a bit more often. It distracts me from being bored, but I it’s about time I started getting out and about more. Walking or reading books seem the best options.

Car saga.. Again

Posted on January 26, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Car, Life, Mechanic, old car, ongoing, Problem, Problems, Repair, starter motor, thankful, TimeLeave a comment

Plans, don’t make them! The mechanic was ill yesterday. He’s a lovely chap, and really helpful. But he can’t help being under the weather. So yesterday he said ring today and the car should be done. Unfortunately it isn’t. He fixed the problem with the earthing of the starter motor but today when he tried running it, it was very feeble. It’s worn out basically. So now he’s ordered another one for Friday but he can’t say when it will arrive. I explained ideally I need to go somewhere tomorrow, but as he said he has no control over the deliveries. I have to accept this (the world does not revolve around me). I’m just thankful it’s getting done.

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.