Tag: Blogging

Fear of falling

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That’s something I don’t like about getting older, a fear of falling.

I sat on a chair a couple of years ago and because it had a knot in the wood it broke… and I landed on the floor with a broken rib.

Other times I have really fallen, tripped up over the edge of a step, hitting my head..  Luckily that time I didn’t do any serious damage…

I’ve been scared at the top of a steep hill and had to crawl along the top, as everyone just walked past me! So embarrassing .. And yet as a child I would climb up and hang down from the top of the swings in the playground by my knees….

Life is strange, you do go from fitness to infirmity without realising sometimes. I just keep trying to get fitter now…. Trying not to fall….

Cat scratches

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This is Gracie  my little cat friend / fiend. She does insist on coming to greet me by stratching up and clawing my lower legs and knees. Seamus her brother jumps up and kneads my knees with his claws out. Consequently I’m covered in tiny puncture wounds.

Cats are characters, just like people. They have their own foibles and ways of doing things. No matter how I try and discourage her by disentangling her claws she keeps coming back and doing it again.

Anyway here is Gracie , looking sweet. With machinations in mind.

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Today I should be drawing

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It’s windy and sunny today. I should be out in the fresh air drawing with urban sketchers. Instead I’m inside with a runny, snotty nose and head cold.

I could still go out, but I’m tired. I have a friend visiting tomorrow and the house needs tidying.

The cat just came and stretched up and sharpened her claws on my leg (her way of being friendly) ow!

Shall I go or stay? Or just go back to bed….

Get some asprin or paracetamol and decide….. To sleep

Blurred vision.

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I just had my annul eye test and had to have eyedrops to expand my pupils. My vision was so blurred I was not allowed to drive and when I got home I used my phone camera to zoom in so I could see things!

But then I thought how lucky I am to have a health service where I can get my eyes tested and checked with relative ease. How do people manage in other countries where poverty is endemic? I have given old glasses to charities in the past so that they can be shipped abroad and reused by other people with vision problems.

Life is not easy, and things could be much better organised. Imagine having proper collection points where you can discard your old glasses when your prescription changes. Imagine that these glasses get redistributed to people who need them. It might be that they are only shared with those that cannot afford to buy. Isn’t that a good thing? Think how much resource that could save? There must be a charity somewhere that does this…..

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Parking rage!

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It happened again, people parking in front of our house, not leaving a space for me to park. It’s residents parking only, for people who live here. But that doesn’t stop others parking there.

So what? They pay road tax don’t they? But sometimes the vehicle will stay there for days. .. and I have shopping to carry home, sometimes very heavy. Or I have to park halfway up the hill and take someone else’s space. This weekend was really bad. I had been out to a couple of events and I was really tired. I struggled to find a space to park and really wanted to block the cars in that are not from the street, or even,  (and I never would ), scratch their paintwork.

I know its wrong, but its parking rage because my space has been invaded. I need to calm down. But it does wind me up!

Chaos

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I’ve added a cleaning service on my phone. But it seems to have done slightly too much of a deep clean on it, or at least that’s my guess as a non technical person.

My WordPress account is shooting straight across to Facebook again. I will have to try and get help sorting it out. It is annoying, it makes me feel like chaos is taking over….

So apologies if my posts are a bit confused.

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In the dark (part two)

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It’s been suggested that I carry on with this, so I will try…

I closed the front door and reached for the light switch. Nothing, the house was in darkness. My partner was not about. I used my phone to light the livingroom while I tried to find the fuse box. But when I checked none of the fuses had tripped.

I tried the light at the other end of the room, but it was the same. Normally we leave a table lamp on if we go out, but this was off too?!

What was going on? The room was freezing and dark, the curtain was open on the side window of the house so a glimmer of sodium street light trickled in.

I walked past the barometer. The pressure had dropped. The snow was starting to drift past the window again. I could see snow flakes falling silhouetted by the street light.

I realised that I still had not heard my partner. I moved back to the front door and opened it. Any foot prints on the pavement had been covered by the drifting snow. What next? I walked through the kitchen to the back door. It was locked and the key was still it. Even so I opened the door to look out. I was not surprised to see a cats eyes reflecting back at me, there are always stray cats hanging around for hand outs.

But the eyes looking back at me looked larger than normal, bright gold, glinting. Perhaps a fox? I slowly closed the door, not daring to take my eyes off the steady gaze until it was locked shut.

Feeling dizzy and worried I used the light from my phone to climb the stairs. Thinking all the time that maybe I should have knocked on my neighbours door? The memory of people walking upstairs in horror films also crept into my mind.

“Hello” “you’re home early” my partners voice came from a chair by the window …..

(I’m not carrying on with this tonight, leaving it as a bit of a cliffhanger).

In the dark (part one)

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dsc_1163As we came out of choir group tonight it was cold and icy. The snow that had fallen earlier had turned from slush on the car park to hard ridges and furrows and ice.

I walked across to the car, managing not to slip. The car started reassuringly. The cold air from the heater took a few minutes to warm up. Then the screen started to demist. A car flew past in the dark. It’s headlights were not switched on so I flashed mine to try and get their attention.

I carefully drove off the car park and onto the road. Luckily it was wet but not slippery. The gritter lorries had clearly been past. Up to the traffic lights, turn right. Now I was on the main road, safe for a moment to drive at normal speed. But I live in a hill so I wanted to park up facing downhill. The only way to do that was to drive up the other side of the hill  But I had a plan. Drive halfway up then take a short, flat, side road through the housing estate to get to my street half way down the hill. .. Well I got to the side road, and it was covered in a thick icy snowy layer. Solid, slippery. A steep slope to one side. I dropped into a lower gear. I did not want to slide across the road, on black ice. Keeping to the centre of the road, I drove at the slowest pace I could. Parked cars on either side made me fear hitting their wing mirrors. Nothing happened. My car slid and glided past, slowly and gently. My heart was thudding and I felt my neck tensing. Half way. A road bisecting my slippery route…. Anything coming fast up the hill and I would not have been able to stop safely. Now the road started to twist and turn. The slope increasingly downhill. The grip between the tyres and the asphalt was reducing. I applied the breaks gently.  Close to the hill where I had to turn down onto my street. Nothing coming. The snow transformed into moisture, salted and defrosted. Slow turn. Almost in slow motion. It was too dark to see any frosty patches. So I carefully drove down hill in first gear. I got home slightly shaken.

I got my partner to read this. He said “it’s a bit boring” which is honest.

Old writing 7 years ago….

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This popped up in my Facebook memories today. I have removed my partners name….

Another Sunday morning, my partner went off about 15 minutes ago, and me and Molly cat are here waiting for the sun to rise. The sky had gone from coal black to a dark shade of Paynes Grey, in fact in the few minutes since I sat down it has lightened considerably….. The cat is happily lying on the desk next to the computer, turning over to have her tummy tickled, she doesnt like being ignored and keeps trying to sit on my drawing tablet that also acts as my mouse! that knocks the text off so I have to reposition the cursor every couple of minutes…The blackbirds were singing in the garden at 6.30, hubby went out to listen and one carried on while the other Pink, pinked its alarm call… the song continues high and beautiful, shapely whistles that vary over different combinations of notes…. I am staying up in case my partners bus does not arrive,. One last look at the sky, only slightly lighter, blue grey, no glimmer of sun yet and overcast with lowish cirrus? clouds…thank goodness for the prospect of a warm bed and a book if hubby does not come back. (It has happened in the past when the bus driver forgot to get up!).

(I think the photos were taken a bit later on the same day.)