Tag: Life

Green eyes

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Drawing and doodling, I had fun dig this, just playing with layers in my Artrage app. The Green eyes give her a spooky look. I imagine this woman as some mythological person. Perhaps Cassandra who Wikipedia states:

Cassandra or Kassandra in Greek mythology was a Trojan priestess dedicated to the god Apollo and fated by him to utter true prophecies but never to be believed. In modern usage her name is employed as a rhetorical device to indicate a person whose accurate prophecies, generally of impending disaster, are not believed. Wikipedia

I was interested in Greek and Roman mythology when I was a child. I think I read about Cassandra then.

Obsolescence

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‘That’s obsolete!’ She said.

‘Why? It still works?’

‘You can’t get the parts anymore!’

‘Well, it’s still useful’ he replied ‘and what about make do and mend? You think about it, make it last and you don’t have to waste limited resources.’

‘But what about the manufacturers?’ she asked ‘if they make less things, they won’t be able to keep going? they will close down and you won’t be able to build a replacement if your object breaks.’

He thought for a while ‘they could charge a slightly higher price? Or they could mothball plants until they are needed again. It would be a difficult balance to make, but we need to stop wasting materials and energy.’

It’s a conversation that needs to happen. The world seems to think growth is most important and is the only thing to do. But perhaps we should stop and think.

My dad bought home a bulb from work which was in our bedroom. It never broke, it was still working when we moved house. Imagine stopping built in obsolescence. The act of making things with a built in shelf life. So your kettle only lasts two or three years, your car only ten. Why not make things like that longer lasting?

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Today I went to a breathing workshop, I’d been invited by a friend. It was good, I was with other people who had different health problems to me, but I felt welcomed. We eventually sang some songs and the participants and although they were not a choir as such they were really good!

My friend had asked me to bring my small paintings so we could raise some money for the organisation she volunteers with. I was only selling tiny paintings, so I donated £1 per painting (between 20% and 50% of the prices). But it didn’t matter because they were wanted and liked. It was a good morning.

Some Yoga

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What strategies do you use to maintain your health and well-being?

I’m not good at yoga, and I only do chair yoga once a week, but I think it helps me a bit mentally as well as physically. I can do standing poses and balances with the aid of a chair. I can’t get up and down from the floor, so sitting on the chair gives me support as I try and adapt the poses.

My physical problems make it hard to bend and twist without feeling dizzy, so I have to try and keep my balance and not over extend the positions I try and achieve. Problems with my arm mean I struggle to extend it. That’s why I like yoga, what we do is not competitive but collaborative. That too means a lot to me.

The yoga class happens before choir practice, and I’m sure that has a good impact on my mental health. Sometimes I don’t go because I’m not feeling well or feel down. But I’m trying to do the best I can. Life can be difficult so it’s worth trying to find something to do that helps.

Blooming

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Well the plants are getting well watered by the rain that has poured down here from the start of July after a hot June.

I wish I could send some of this rain south East towards the Mediterranean and its Islands. Plus Portugal and North Africa where there have been more wildfires. People have died. Meanwhile we are dripping wet.

I’m not complaining, as things go I prefer a cooler summer but I’m not sure how the climate will change in the future. We has grass fires here last year…. I would like to think if we can get our act together climate disaster can be avoided

I have a radio like this…

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We bought an old radio 30 years ago, and it still works! It’s a vaccum valve radio. It only picks up long wave signals, so I can listen to radio 4 and the shipping forecast. We have a 1960’s one too with a huge battery and a large dial to tune into different stations and a big grill on the front.

It’s amazing how these relics of a bygone era can last for decades. OK if they were on all day they might break down, but I think its marvellous. Nowadays people would gut the insides and bung in some Bluetooth speakers and headphones. But I prefer a traditional mechanism. Life needs relics to remind us of our past. It’s only around 100 years since the end of the first world war. And some people born then are still alive. Go back 20 X 100 years and you are back in bible times. We think it’s ancient, but it’s not really long ago compared with deep historic time, like the millions of years ago that the dinosaurs existed.

Being helpful

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I feel like I’m hiding the world on my shoulders and today has been one of those days.

First a phonecall/ interview I had to deal with. Then to my friends to help her contact a utility company. Then to the pharmacy to get my hubbys medication. Finally sending emails for a friend because she’s got problems.

Why do I do it? I tie myself in knots helping people. ‘I’m just a girl that can’t say no, I’m in a terrible fix’, as the saying goes. I guess after doing a helping job over twenty years it’s ingrained. I like helping, I’m not seeking acclaim. I just don’t like seeing people struggle. But sometimes I just want a day off.

Old work in progress

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This is my phone screen saver. It just cheers me up to see it. I only have it because someone asked me for a copy of a painting I did forty years ago.

You can see how I’ve laid the scene out and started filling in the image. I don’t tend to underpainting but go straight in with colour. I rarely sketch in the image, but because this was going to be a copy I had to fit the buildings on properly and also it helped with the perspective.

This is about four years old. I can confirm its new owner was very pleased with it.