Post,…. A relative lives abroad with her partner. I need to remember to send a birthday card and an anniversary card together as the occasions are within a day of each other. Also I’m posting them early (it’s a month away), because it took three weeks to get her Christmas card delivered to her. I also won’t post her presents as she had to pay import tax on the one I sent at Christmas, which cost her more than the price of my gift! The reason for the late delivery of the card ? Her postman waits until he’s got enough letters together before he delivers them!
It’s hard to get a good photo when the surface of the underlying scraped board is so reflective. I’ve been playing with scraper board art, in the 1st and 2nd pictures the holographic surface changed colour due to the angle of the light hitting it. The image is based on a photo of my cat. The 3rd and 4th are a copper colour, the horse was made up from my imagination. The underlying board was metallic not holographic but still changed colour based on the angle of incidence of the light.
My friend designed this banner for a Mock Mayor ceremony he organised in 2021? To celebrate the ancient tradition of electing a Mock Mayor (like a lord of misrule) for a day. I’m not sure of I’ve remembered the right date. But Covid happened and a new ceremony was postponed.
That means I’m still the Mock Mayor! It makes me laugh. It’s not real or serious but it is a nice thought that I was allowed to play the part! My hubby got to wear a dress and play the lady mayoress, he revelled in it. Fun memories….
Choir was hard tonight, we were somehow bad with our timing, a bit out of tune and spent 40 minutes going over one piece of a song. We all seemed a bit tired, and our section was singing the main tune (we generally sing the backing part). It didn’t help that were singing “to make you feel my love” by Bob Dylan, but some of us were singing the Adele version!
By the time we had finished we had warmed up to the rehearsal and sounded a lot better.
Being in a choir is great for your mental health and helps you socialise, you can find lots of local choirs in the UK, so why not try it out?
Which animal would you compare yourself to and why?
Ultimately I’d be a cat because I know them the best. I might have chosen tortoises, goldfish and stick insects, all animals I had as a child. But cars have been with me in one way or another for over 40 years (not the same one obviously).
Cats are loving, so am I,
Cats love sleeping, me too
Cats like playing, yeah to some extent
Cats like eating, no argument there….
Cats are graceful, well I can’t compete with them!
I’m surprised I’m still alive, I didn’t expect that!
After Trumps final impeachment the world turned upside down for a while, then the whole “asteroid” thing in ’32 gave us a real scare. It was then that the world rallied and instead of warring turned our nuclear missiles at “the BIG ROCK”. Luckily it was forced off course and is likely to pass out of the solar system in a few years.
After that? Well you know what happened, climate change, another pandemic. That takes us to today, my 80th birthday. Only twenty years till I might reach 100. I’m glad that new medication to cure various diseases has just been announced. I just hope they also rejuvenate people and turn back ageing. It’s strange to think in a few years time my body might be physically younger than I am now? Great that some dementia has been reversed too. Maybe I’ll have to work a 40 hour week when I reach the big 1OO! Life is strange. Good luck and look after my future self. Live long and prosper! Nanu Nanu!
What experiences in life helped you grow the most?
Understanding how people cope as they grow older is important to me. I worked as a carer after I finished college for a few years. When you work with people doing the job you learn about aging, mental health issues, loneliness, coping with disability, loss and other issues. You also find that some carers are more caring than others. Some people should not be allowed in to work with clients.
I worked in two different places and the clients were more disabled at the second home, but everyone worked hard to support them. My favourite memories were shows we put on for the residents. One Christmas we did a talent show. I wore a fur coat, tinsel, a home made tutu and blue wellies. I then tried to dance the swan lake ballet, at the end I had someone come on and shoot me with a pretend gun! I came second to two carers miming “sisters” from White Christmas. They were dressed up and were very good, but one of their wigs fell off and I think that’s what won it for them..
When you are on a low wage, part time contract, you really understand how hard life can be and caring for older people teaches you how complex life is.
I look at the bedroom window and see my hubbys cask of ashes there. I tell him it’s a sunny day and I wish he was here. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this low, and I’ve spent most of the day in silence. I spoke to a neighbour and had a brief chat, but that was like a tiny sticking plaster trying to cover over a deep gash in my flesh. It was never going to hold for long.
I’m sitting quietly, the TV is on. I just watched a show where a nurse recently lost her husband in an accident and the tears started filling me up. Like an ocean overtopping flood defences. Now I feel tired out and just overwhelmed with sadness. I need to get out, but I won’t ask anyone. I need to talk but I’m struck dumb, I need to feel better but I feel so low. I’m saying these things here to get them off my shoulders and mind. Things have got to improve, they must.
Mallaband-Brown 