He’s just come in
Soaking wet
Sopping, dripping
Like an otter
His coat sparkles
With water droplets
Now a wash, licking up
A bowl of water almost
In his coat.
How long will his tongue
Take to towel himself dry?
Wet cat!
Tag: Life
I have a radio like this…
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
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.
Quick sketch
Farewell little Bluebird,
You will never tweet again
X marks the spot where you sat
Crossed out by a new logo
Time to say goodbye X
Old work in progress
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.
Lilies and cats
Lilies are beautiful flowers, but when I grow them I put them at the back of the border away from where the cats go. That is because they contain toxins that are dangerous to cats and dogs.
The Internet says :
Both calla lilies and peace lilies contain insoluble crystals of calcium oxalates (insoluble means the crystals don’t dissolve in water). When a cat or dog chews on or bites the plant, the crystals are released and directly irritate the mouth, tongue, throat, and esophagus.16 Sept 2021
So be careful what plants you grow, and try and be aware of what can be dangerous to your pets.
Radio 4
What do you listen to while you work?
I first listened to BBC radio 4 when I was a teenager. I had a little transistor radio and used to listen to an Issac Asimov story ‘Foundation’ that had been dramatised for radio.
From that discovery I got a lot of pleasure and knowledge. When I was doing my homework Radio 4 would be on in the background. Then as I got older I went to college. I listened to shows like ‘The hitchhikers guide to the gallery’ while I learned to paint.
After that I had a job where I could not choose a radio station. The radio station was pop based and I hated it. Jingles and pop music irritated me. I’m definitely happier with speech radio.
Finally my job became much more professional, there was no radio to accompany my work. But when I was on visits to clients I would tune my radio in to 92.7 FM, which is radio 4 and also happens to be the BBC World Service outside the hours BBC radio 4 is being broadcast. There are a great deal of news, drama, finance, comedy and satirical programmes on the channel. Always worth listening to.
Flying ariels
Surreal image just created by mirroring a photo of an ariel in front of a cloud. The angles of the ariels make them look like they are floating or flying. I’ve seen other people’s photos years ago doing a similar process. The images they created looked like strange insects, with wing cases apparently made of windows and antenna from TV ariels. It’s fun to create odd images like this.
Lovely afternoon
We went out for an afternoon at the local pub to see “the boat band” playing cajun, west-indies and skiffle music. We had a great time. Actually saw a lot of friends and really enjoyed the lively music.
I got upset when someone asked about my sister. I started to explain, then started to cry, so had to tell my friend that I couldn’t talk about it. I don’t like how to feel but they were very understanding.
What I really enjoyed was the trombone playing in “Just a closer walk with thee”, really uplifting and energetic. Singing and music has a good effect on me mentally. I’m glad we went. After years of seeing hardly anyone it’s shocking to think how much time and friendships have been lost.
I wish I could talk to her
I wish I could speak to my mother, my sister, but they are gone. If there was a phone line, a way to communicate. Just to say hello. To get some comfort. To just say a few words and get some response. It’s hard to lose people, it leaves such an empty space. Even when I’m busy I think of them. I thought I would learn to cope, and I have to some extent, but the older you get it seems the more the regret grows (at least for me). Sadness, regret, pain, loss, mourning, they all crowd in on me sometimes.
Mallaband-Brown 