New paintings and regular art updates.
When my partner goes to bed Seamus likes to snuggle up on his chair. Then he turns over on his back as if to say rub my belly. But beware, it’s a sneaky snare. Tickle too hard or too long, or if his tale is twitching. Out come the claws! Ouch…. He’s really sweet though a friendly cat, you just have to be gentle and watch for the signs ..
X
I was reading a blog by Biff sock pow this morning and it made me think about my relationship with books. Biff has been out to garage sales and one thing he could not resist were a couple of books. See his blog at……https://wp.me/p2d5jm-2k3
I was going to send this response to him but only used the first sentence. The rest is here…
Books… My partners view is 1 book out 8 books in (I counted). So it’s a very slow process. Don’t get me wrong I love books. But only this morning he caused bookaggeddon by leaving a pile of them at the top of the stairs. I came out of the bedroom and caught them a glancing blow. Because they had been carelessly placed on top of some more books in an unstable pile they slalomed down the stairs stopping across the bottom 6 steps and making my descent difficult. Oh how I cursed.
“My face is turning blue” she shouted from the bathroom, “my skin is cracked”. The fear trembled her voice. Her husband muttered something, clearly not listening. “come here, look!” pleading, she shouted again. His footsteps thudded up the stairs, “what do you want?” “oh my god what is that?”. “how the hell do I know?” “is it a face mask?” he questioned. But she was on her knees, weeping, “call the doctors, call my mum, what is wrong with me?” she was wailing and crying .
One quiet word expelled by an almost silent breath “virus” he sighed.
Argh that’s my leg! My cat is “poddling” that’s kneading it with his big, heavy, sharp clawed paws….I’m suffering from tiny puncture wounds in my thigh…stroke his back and he starts up again. Left, right, left, right…..look of concentration on his face, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, slowing down .. almost..no he’s started up again. Ow, should have worn thicker trousers….finally settled down, ready to sleep….thank goodness…
I once saw a poster “poddle free cheshire” that’s where I found this wonderful word.
X
How old was I when we first had a cat? 11 or 12 I think, we had two cats, a tortoise shell and a grey tabby. I remember loving them. One was a kitten and we had a settee which had four legs so it would run underneath and pounce on my ankles. I had to sit cross legged on the seat to avoid getting scratched!
I went to college and my friend had two kittens which we took to the vets and we saw an old cat there which was due to be euthanized. we asked to take it in and looked after it for a year until it died of old age. That cat was Jinx and I did a lovely painting of him.
The following year we took in an adult female cat. She was very clever and liked to ride on my shoulders. She had kittens and we kept two of them. Once their mum died they were our cats for many years. The female lived to 21. As they got old we took in another two strays, one of these would sit on the white line in the middle of the road, waiting for me to come home. He was knocked over in an accident with a car and was put to sleep. The other cat we think was killed by antifreeze or another poison. I was very sad when that happened, but we were later persuaded to taken in two more cats. They lived long lives . Finally last year we took in a brother and sister cat. They love chasing each other around the house, up and down stairs. Having fun trying to catch water from the bath tap and jumping up on top of the cupboards in the kitchen. They are a little shy when new people visit but they are loved and give love. I could write more but I don’t want to bore you.
X
It’s Halloween and the sense of foreboding hangs heavily in the air. Birds fly around the house, their fluttering wings catching at the windows as they fly up in panic from something slowly shuffling about the building.
Leaves are falling in a mimicry of snow. A crumpled carpet of browns and gold, dulled by the cold dark air. Sound is muffled, but even through it there is a lurking, grinding shudder.
As the darkness falls a tremor shakes the ground. The stems of ivy entwined around the walls of the house seem to stretch and shiver, the leaves expanding and contracting, pulsing, throttling. Dragging down on the building, pulling through cement, brick and concrete. Crumpling the floorboards and ceilings. Slowly the house changes shape, slumping down into itself like a car in a crusher.
Finally a spray of water rises above the debris as the water main bursts.
The birds fly and flutter down, settling on the rubble. Quiet descends.
I’ve had a really busy day so I haven’t had time to do much on line. Just been rehearsing again.
Anyway just for fun I bought a kaleidoscope last week. Instead of using a digital app this is a real tube with bits of plastic in the end. You turn the end of the tube and the bits move about and the pattern changes.
So I stuck the lens of the camera against the eyepiece and took photos… These are the results. Fun to see patterns that I last saw when I was 6 or 7.
Reminisence is something you do more as you get older.
I thought they were holding hands but my friend said dancing. Imagine the branch in the middle is two arms entwined, clasped hand to elbow Then the branches on the other side of the trunks are like outstretched arms, and the other branches higher up are like hair flying outwards as they spin each other in a dizzy whirl of autumn leaves..
An idea for a painting. I also like the way the hedge cuts between them and splits the composition.
X
Ripening,
Your bruises show on your skin.
Where wind and birds have scratched
And clawed at you.
But impenetrable until ripe
Your green skin is freckled and dented.
Even squirrels attempted a nibble
But the weight of your plumpness denied their grip,
Instead hurling you to the hard ground.
Collected to be put into a pie,
Cut up or discarded.
Your fate awaits.
One cute cat.
Not for sale, because we are his…
We feed him. Water him. Tend him.
Stroke, pet, hug him.
Spend time with him.
The other cat objects.
She is cute too…
But she doesn’t pose this well!
Mallaband-Brown