Photo manipulation

Posted on March 11, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Adam and God, Cat, Doodle, Fun, Hand, Layout app, Life, Manipulation, Photo, Playing, SniffLeave a comment

IMG_20200311_031821_435

The finger and the nose never touched. This is two photos, joined together, then I’ve drawn over the background and blurred it. I got my hubby to hold his hand out, a bit like in the painting of Adam and God’s hands in the Sistine Chapel, then I got my cat to sniff my hand, but I specifically wanted a male hand, so I’ve cropped the two together. I’ve blurred the background to look like clouds (and hide the messy background). I’m just wondering now if it’s gone a bit ‘ET phone home’?

The pale blue is where I drew a line. I tried to flood fill the background, but it didn’t work well. Anyway it’s almost 3.30am, so enough experimenting. Goodnight all.

Missing you

Posted on March 9, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Friends, Ghosted, Internet, Life, Missing, Presence, Sad, Social media, Thinking, Web, WordPressLeave a comment

I’ve recently heard the phrase ‘ghosting’ when people no longer communicate with you on the Internet. It is a deliberate act of cutting themselves off from you.

I understand that sometimes people need a break and if there have been problems with a friendship or relationship then ghosting is a non aggressive or non argumentative way of splitting up.

But then there is the situation where people go missing on the Internet. I miss a few people who have done that. Perhaps they have announced they will no longer be using a site, which is bad enough when you have enjoyed their presence over months or years. Or they simply vanish. After years of talk, maybe someone you met on line and became friends with. Suddenly there is a hollow, a hole where they used to be. And because they are on the Internet you have no real idea in the world where they are. A couple of friends decided to leave WordPress. I used to look forward to their posts. Is it selfish to miss them?

A long term friend passed away recently. Luckily a relative posted that this had happened. Her Facebook page is still there and someone sent a message purporting to be from her. That was worrying. I don’t know why anyone would do that.

To some extent I would prefer to be ghosted than to have someone taking over my friends identity.

Writing in the ad breaks

Posted on March 7, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Advertising, Blogging, Cat, Films, Fun, Life, Relaxing, Time, TV, WordPress, WritingLeave a comment

15836152105162663641207185799351

I want to write tonight but there are a couple of really good films on, so I’m writing during the advertisement breaks. The films are on a channel where the ads get longer and more frequent as the film goes on. It becomes increasingly irritating because just when you get to an interesting bit… It breaks….. Grr.

Actually I’m missing the film now because I’m writing, but that doesn’t matter. I’ve found putting words down in a blog enthralls me. It might not be a great blog, but it helps me sort things out mentally. The cat is sleeping next to me. Twitching as he dreams. It’s nice to just relax….

Outside today

Posted on March 7, 2020March 7, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cold, Countryside, Drawing, Eccleshall, Life, Sketching, Soughing, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Trees, Urban Sketchers, Wind, WindyLeave a comment

I went out with Urban sketchers today and was at an old farm near Eccleshall to draw. I took a few photos. I need to take good pictures of my drawings.

The day was grey, overcast with great rushes of wind that you could hear soughing through the trees. Starting far way you could hear it rushing and pushing the tree branches. Rooks were flying and calling in the air, scooting about and apparently enjoying it. We even saw a murmuration of Starlings flocking in the distance.

I sat on a white metal garden chair, strong but cold. I ended up folding up my scarf to stop my bum going numb with the cold. Within a few minutes I was shivering and then I got used to it although my hands started to go numb with the chill. Luckily there was hot tea available. It was very kind of the artists that live there to let a crowd of about twenty urban sketchers come round and draw everything from trees to stone dogs.

Distracted

Posted on March 6, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bad poetry, Bad rhyme, Blogging, Fun, Humour, Life, No excuse!, Poem, PoetryLeave a comment

Screenshot_20200224-202334 My minds a fog

Stuck in a marshy

bog

A morass of trash

Having a bash

At trying to rhyme

And write in time

Tripping over words

Some absurd

Like little drops

They could be flops

It’s taking me

Some effort see

I usually write blank verse!

Cats dream

Posted on March 5, 2020March 5, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art auction, Blogging, Colours, Design, Fun, Life, Painting, Pictures, Post cards, Quick, WatercolourLeave a comment

FB_IMG_1577496928614

Quick watercolour I did on a postcard for a blind auction for charity a few years ago. You had to submit pictures on cards so they could be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

I did a few and enjoyed doing it. Just creating off the cuff pieces. I don’t know how well they did, but I didn’t get any of them back..

Here are a few more, just quick, bright and cheerful.

Street trees

Posted on March 5, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Climate, Climate crisis, Complaint, Council, Environment, Life, Local council, Tree felling, TreesLeave a comment

sketch-1581779452454

I have just written to my local Councillor about a stand of about eight trees that have been cut down as you approach our City centre.

I wrote:

Dear Councillor__________
I was concerned today as I was driving into _____from _____, that a whole stand of mature trees has been cut down on the corner of the ________opposite the new hotel and ____field site (on a patch of land next to the traffic lights). I have always liked those trees and am shocked that the council has removed them. There seem to be more and more of these acts of environmental vandalism. In a time when we should be planting more to mitigate the effects of climate crisis why are you implementing this? I’m sure they were not all diseased. Please consider replacing any trees on a two for one basis. Street trees are recognised as a way of cleaning urban pollution. It has recently been reported that thousands of people die every year from pollution. And as the most congested city in the world last month it should be important to your administration to mitigate these problems.
Yours Sincerely

Saggy and baggy

Posted on March 5, 2020March 5, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Baggy, Body, Exercise, Fat, Flab, Flabby, Human, Life, Sad, Saggy, Size, Thinking, Weight2 Comments

FB_IMG_1582248633952

No one tells you as you lose weight how saggy and baggy you can get, the weight goes but your skin doesn’t shrink overnight. I have lost a lot over the last three years and now I feel like a half empty balloon! I’m flabby and I need to shrink!

I get into my clothes and everything seems to distribute evenly, but there are bulges I don’t like. Maybe I should get a corset? That’s what my mum and grandmother wore. Does anyone remember liberty bodices? I had to wear one when I was young. Thicker than a vest with clips for stockings, I think it was to get girls used to corsets. Luckily I grew out of it and got vests instead.

I know why I’m not ‘ toned,’ because my job was too sedentary, and being an artist I still do a lot of sitting down. I need more exercise.

I love my cat

Posted on March 3, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Cat, Fun, Humour, Life, Ouch, Poem, Poetry, Rhyme, Trying to rhymeLeave a comment

sketch-1583260737377

Except when you put your claws in my knee,

Or sit on my chest so I can’t see!

Pin me down, like a cat up a tree.

I love my cat.

Except when you jump up and steal my tea,

Trip me up at night when I’m going for a pee!

Go and sit on somewhere I don’t want you to be…

I love my cat..

Except when scratch the side of the settee,

Scratch the furniture so I have to pay a fee..

Eat the exotic food I had from the sea.

I love my cat.

Really!

Trash

Posted on March 3, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged deleted, Edit, Humour, Inbox, Junk, Life, Memories, Outbox, Thinking, Time, Trash, WordPressLeave a comment

Screenshot_20200303-110843

Oops!

I use my email a lot and with WordPress I get a lot of emails about people I’m following..

I forgot that I needed to empty my trash bin (how do you forget that?). I wondered why my phone memory was getting full. When I went into trash there were 6753 emails in there! I only thought of taking a screenshot after I’d started deleting.

It took about ten minutes to delete them all. Now I need to look at my other folders, I’ve kept some emails from years ago. As reminders of old friends, and so I can try and contact them again. Life is interesting but I must edit them!

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Life