Nursery rhymes remembered

Posted on January 13, 2025 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Childhood, Manchester, Memories, Nursery rhymes, nutmeg, Opie, Pear, Poem, Poetry, Salford, seesaw, Songs, TimeLeave a comment

I had a little nut tree

Nothing would it bear

But a silver nutmeg

And a golden pear

The king of Spains daughter

Came to visit me

And all for the sake

Of my little nut tree.

Funny how your mind looks for something interesting when it’s got nothing to do. I used to know a lot of nursery rhymes when I was a little child. This one I would say is well known? But who knows this one that I used to sing when I was on a seesaw.

Seesaw, Marjorie Daw

Jenny shall have a new master,

She shall have but a penny a day

Because she can’t work any faster!

I want to try and remember more. A couple in Manchester or Salford? Collected a lot of rhymes and children’s songs in the early 1900s. I think their surname was Opie. I’m sure there’s more information about it on line. They found that a rhyme sung in the south of England could travel to the North of Scotland in about two weeks by word of mouth (pre telephone).

Sore throat.

Posted on January 13, 2025 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Achy, Backache, Fed up, miserable, sharp pain, Sore throat, Things to do, Tired6 Comments

I’m feeling rough today, I have a very sore throat, but I also have a very achy back. If I bend forward I’m getting shooting pains down my leg. I feel shattered and I’m trying to look after myself, drinking plenty of fluids and taking pain killers. Last week I managed to go shopping, and I noticed lots of people were coughing and sneezing, I guess that’s where I caught whatever this is?

Sorry to be moany. I need to get things done tbat I had planned to do today, feeling frustrated. I guess I’m looking for sympathy, I want to be fit and healthy, rant over!

Cataracts

Posted on January 12, 2025 Posted in UncategorizedTagged blurred vision, cataracts, Cleaning, Eye, Eyesight, Looking, need treating, Thinking, Views7 Comments

Things are getting blurry

I don’t see so well

Swiftly fading views

Another frustrating change.

Take my glasses off to clean

But polishing doesn’t work

I realised it’s not the lenses

In my specs

It’s the ones in my eyes!

An AI filter business

Posted on January 11, 2025 Posted in UncategorizedTagged AI, AI removal, bloganuary, bloganuary-2024-11, CGI, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1814, Idea, Life, Prompt1 Comment

Come up with a crazy business idea.

I’m getting irritated about seeing silly AI spoofs coming up on my social media feed. Most of them are about aliens or apocalyptic situations. Or non scientific ideas wrapped up in fakery to mislead people so my idea ™ (©) for a business would be an app to block them. Just press the button for a small charge and all fake AI and CGI would be removed from your feed, I think it might be an award winning idea.

Tree across the road

Posted on January 11, 2025 Posted in Memories, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #bandofsketchers, Art, Colour, Drawing, Green, Life, Memories, Over the road, Sketching, TreeLeave a comment

The tree across the road a few years ago. Covered in ivy. This was drawn for an old #bandofsketchers prompt. The prompt was ivy.

I haven’t been doing these challenges for a few months. I think I ought to try again. It seems a shame that I stopped but life has been getting me down. Art is a great cure for sadness I think. I’ll try again soon.

Stray cat?

Posted on January 11, 2025 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Cat, Cold weather, Freezing, Life, Living room, my cats, Rescue, Tuxedo cat4 Comments

This week has been really cold. Last night it was minus 19 °C in Altnagar in the Northern Highlands of Scotland. I was below zero here.

A couple of cats, a ginger and this black and white cat have started sneaking in. Last night both popped in for food, but this one came and sat down in the living room, all the while being stared at (but seemingly accepted) by my own cats.

I managed to take a photo of this boy cat, and put a post on our local lost and found cats page. I have had people offering to check it’s microchip but it must have gone out in the night.

Anyway at least I’m offering a warm space during this cold weather. I’ll have a chat with my vets on Monday. X

My grandads ship

Posted on January 10, 2025 Posted in Fine Art, Memories, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Carpenter, Fine Art, Grandfather, history handmade, Painting, Sketching, Watercolour2 Comments

My grandfather carved this ship from wood, probably in the early 20th century. It had no masts so I put the the bamboo sticks into it when I was young and I was going to try and put sails on it. It has thin strips of cardboard nailed on along the sides. I painted it up because it was so shabby.

This was a watercolour sketch I’d done about 4 years ago and I’m mourning the fact that I could still draw and paint neatly.

A striped tee shirt

Posted on January 10, 2025 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged bloganuary, bloganuary-2024-10, Cotton, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1813, Memory, Orange, Poem, Poetry, Stripes, Tee shirt, White4 Comments

Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a youth. What became of it?

I miss that tee shirt

It was orange and white

I felt like a pirate

Fun to play in.

I was only a child

Wore it forever

But it wore through

Holes in the cotton

But wouldn’t let it go!

Eventually grew out of it

My mom used it to dust!

Fat Cat drawing

Posted on January 9, 2025 Posted in Cat, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Cat sketch, Drawing, Facebook memories, fat cat, Ink roller, Sketching, Tuxedo catLeave a comment

A fat cat drawn using an ink roller that I did a few years ago. It came up on my Facebook memories and I really like it. It’s only a small drawing, I can’t remember where it is now? Maybe in a sketchbook upstairs somewhere.

Yin Yang Cats

Posted on January 9, 2025 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Cat, Cats, Chair, cuddle poem, Life, Pink, Poetry, snuggle, Tuxedo catLeave a comment

It’s cool for cats?

Not if you want to stay warm!

Sharing a chair

Which side is yours?

Not much space

To pace about?

So cuddle up

Snuggle down

Purr and sleep.