Broken car!

Posted on January 21, 2023January 21, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Battery, Breakdown, breakdown cover, Car, Cold, Frozen, Garage, Life, Winter, woesLeave a comment

The ice and cold have killed my car battery. I tried several times to start it (with gaps in between to let it rest). I turned everything off, had it in neutral, gave it a little gas to try and get the engine to turn over. Just a splutter or two, then nothing.

I left it an hour and tried again. No joy. The battery is probably four years old and has been struggling when I’ve used the car lately. I haven’t been out much and then only short distances so the alternator hasn’t had the opportunity to charge it up. Cold and damp makes electric power seep away somehow and this last few days have definitely drained it.

In hope I rang a local garage, they have the right battery in stocks, but they can’t fit it, you just need some spanners they said. Half an hour on trickle charge from the charger just brightened the lights on the dashboard a bit. No chance of getting it going.

I then remembered I have breakdown cover! We breakdown so infrequently that I don’t remember to use it. They can’t say when they will be here, but they are at least coming out. Hooray.

Framed

Posted on January 21, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Framed, Friends, Life, Memories, People, Photography, Reflected, wooden sticksLeave a comment

I think it’s a good idea sometimes to take a different view for an image. In this case my friend sent me a photo from three years ago. I used a mirror on the wall to frame the people in the photo. He also sent me a couple of other photos I’d taken, and completely forgotten about. Those both have photos of windows where the view outside and the objects inside are framed by the window. By the way I think the mirror was framed with wooden sticks?

Frosty trees

Posted on January 19, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Dawn, Holly, Life, Light, Nesting, roosting, small birds, Snow, snow showers, Sun, WillowLeave a comment

Dawn, and a streetlight shines through the branches of our willow tree. Frost and snow festoon the twigs, but it will soon drip away and disappear. The Holly tree underneath the willow is a refuge for small birds that roost in it and try and keep warm under its glossy leaves, later in the year they will be building their nests. Today we saw a Robin on the bird table.

The light is greyish white, with a touch of yellow. The sun has hidden behind the clouds. The forecast is for a sunny day, but its still possible that there will be more snow showers. Nothing much to write about, but I do love a bit of snow.

Going out

Posted on January 18, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Chilly, Cold, Escape, Getting out, Icy, Life, Out, Snow, Supermarket, trolley, Weather, WinterLeave a comment

I just got out of the house, only to go across the road to the supermarket, but it was definitely ‘out’. I leaned heavily on the shopping trolley to support myself, the cold air had got to my lungs and I felt short of breath again, but at least I didn’t cough. I was out yesterday, but only to walk from the car to the pharmacy and back again, so this was actually more of a test. The snow had all melted except in patches where it had been sheltered by the shadow of some bushes. In those places where the sun hadn’t penetrated there was crispy icy snow, glassy from compression by feet. I avoided those areas because I didn’t want to slip. Now I’m home and keeping warm. I’m wearing a fleece and my dressing gown over my clothes to keep warm!

Ukraine again

Posted on January 17, 2023January 17, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged bombardment, civilians, Crimea, Fighting, freedom, Life, Peace, Putin, Syria, Ukraine, War2 Comments

Memory lapses, things happen and the world turns around the sun. But in February it will be the anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine waged by Russias Vladimir Putin. Not that that was the start of it, first Russia took The Crimea, now the resolution seems to be to take the south east of Ukraine from its sovereign people. The argument seems to be that it used to be Russian and will be again.

The awful thing about it is the vicious tactics that are being employed.. Sending missiles against the power and water grids in the country. The senseless murder and maiming of the civilian population in their apartment blocks, in hospitals and in maternity wards. The leader of this chaos and destruction is one man, Vladimir Putin. He was involved in the terrible war in Syria where he supplied weapons to President Assad. He has a history of pushing boundaries (literally) and was given too much support by the ex president of a western country. He thinks he will get away with it, I hope he stops and gives Ukraine peace and freedom again but I’m not holding my breath.

Favourite filter

Posted on January 17, 2023 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Bodnant, Cold, Colour, Drawing, Felt pens, Life, Memory, Photodirector, Sketching, Snow, Swirls2 Comments

I like this particular filter on photodirector. It creates swirls but of a definite size, texturising the felt pen shading, and making a more graphic design. It sort of reorganises my artwork into something more abstract but coherent. Less realism, more illustrative. Drawing and playing with the resultant image is keeping me occupied on a very cold day, with temperatures below freezing in some parts of the country and a sprinkling of snow here, but deep elsewhere. And I dream of going to Bodnant in the spring.

History

Posted on January 17, 2023 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #bandofsketchers, Art, Bodnant Gardens, Drawing, Felt pens, Life, Llandudno, North Wales, Sketching, WalesLeave a comment

Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was history. I decided to draw the pool at Bodnant Gardens, a house and gardens run by the National Trust near, Llandudno in North Wales. Its well known for its beautiful laburnum walk and many flowering shrubs and plants. The upper part near the house has lawns and perennial plants while the garden slopes down to a river and has lovely wooded areas.

Comfort-cat

Posted on January 16, 2023 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Animals, Belly rub, Cat, Comfortable, Fun, Life, Poem, Poetry, Purring, Silly, Sleeping, WarmLeave a comment

He couldn’t be more comfortable

Like a bug in a rug

A chick in a nest

A coiled warm snake

A dog in a vest

A bear in its den.

A goldfish in its bowl

A bee in its hive.

He’s happy to have his belly rubbed.

A comfort-cat enjoying life.

Great purrs-onality!

Snow expected

Posted on January 16, 2023 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Blue, Bug, Cold, Colour, Forecast, Hexagonal, Life, six sided, Snow, Time, Tired, Weather, WindLeave a comment

It’s getting colder here and the forecast or Scotland, parts of Wales and the North West is for snow over the next few days. That made me want to draw snowflakes, and that led me to using the sketch app again.

At the moment I’m trying to keep warm and get over the bug I’ve had for a few weeks. The thought of colder weather does not fill me with joy. Just dread!

Still I like my colours that I’ve used on the drawing, a little bit like Wedgwood China.

Cat keeps warm

Posted on January 16, 2023 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Abandoned, Bed, Black and white cat, Cat, Cat tree, Curled up, igloo, Life, oil heaters, Rescue cats, Sleep, Tuxedo cat, WarmLeave a comment

It’s hard to see, but one of our cats sleeps in front of our two oil filled radiators. He’s the biggest of our cats and has thick fur, but I think because he was abandoned and used to live outside, he’s taking advantage of the warmth he can get. It’s no problem to us as the heaters warm the whole room, and when he’s not there he’s usually outside in the cold. He really likes being out and about. One of the other two cats sleeps upstairs on a soft and fluffy bed or on the cat tree by the living room radiator, and the other one either sleeps on my chair, the sofa, or an igloo shaped bed in the living room. So basically they are all snug!

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Life