Short, artistic, old!

How would you describe yourself to someone?

I don’t have brown hair anymore, and it’s rather longer than this painted self portrait. I still wear glasses. I’ve been trying to loose weight and succeeded in dropping 35 kilos.

I am generally cheerful, despite old age creeping up and breaking bits of me. I mean if you see me across a crowded room I’ll probably be the one shaking and staggering a bit?

I’ve always been short. I knew people got taller as they grew older, so I was very disappointed when I stopped growing but other family members didn’t! I’ve always assumed myself to be ‘good’, and have been described as pleasant. But I got a stubborn streak from my mother and grandmother and I’m quite moral and believe we are all entitled to our rights and shouldn’t be pushed around.

And I try to be creative, I love art, invention, science, science fiction and cats, and as someone just said I’m a good artist!

What nickname?

What’s the story behind your nickname?

I don’t have a nickname anymore. I used to have one, but I’ve forgotten it. I’ve changed as I’ve got older and only my hubby would use a nickname for me, and he stopped that a few years ago.

So when I was a child I was called nicknames by the school bullies. They took my surname and changed it to blueband (there was a margarine by that name) and used to shout it at me. I hated that. So I was pleased when I moved up to senior school and the bullying stopped.

As I say I had a nickname given me by my hubby, it was something silly, but I truly can’t remember it. So I guess I’ve answered and not answered the question.

Plus, what if I use my ex-nickname as a password for my computer, some of these questions rely on you being honest, but what if someone else reads it and uses the data? That’s a good question. Thankfully I’ve never used blueband as any kind or part of my passwords (plural), and now I’ve mentioned it I never will! Put that in your thesaurus and smoke it!

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.

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.

Cats!

Dogs or cats?

Sorry, I’ve always loved cats, I’ve had cats since I was a child. We never had room for a dog, I don’t think my parents had the time to walk one while they were looking after all of us children.

Cats always seem aloof, but once you get one, and start to understand it they can be very loving. I used to whistle a little tune to get our cats to come home. I’d do it when they were due to be fed, or at bed time, and I suppose they understood the reason behind the whistle so they would come. So cats can be trained. I had one which would jump from one gate post to another when I tapped the post and whistled. She was very special and liked climbing up on my shoulder and having a little ride around the house or garden.

Don’t get me wrong though, I do like dogs, it’s just that when you go out to work all day it seems cruel to leave them shut in the house or tied up in a garden. At least cats can use cat flaps and enjoy independence. And I know you can get dogflaps but they look like a burglar could get in through them…

Also, thinking about cats, I think they are not as expensive to look after, although when you have multiple cats it’s not cheap. Maybe one day if we suddenly have lots of money I might get a dog.

Apologies to dog lovers. X

Chess anyone?

Today I played chess for the first time in ten years. My friend has acquired a chess set, so we sat in a shady spot by a cafe and had a few games.

The result was 2 games to her 1 to me. Then I found out she’d been in a chess club at school and had been champion in one year! So I didn’t do too badly. I’m not trained so I made some surprising moves where she could see I should have done a different move. But it was fun.

We had a quick go at drafts but didn’t remember the rules. Anyway we will have another game in a few weeks. I need to find a set to practice. Hubby used to be good at it so we might play a game or two. Good for exercising the brain.

Ten certainties?

List 10 things you know to be absolutely certain.

Is this an exam?

1. The Earth is an oblate spheroid. That is it’s almost a sphere but it is fatter around the equator because of its spin.

2. Crisps are crunchy and made of potatoes that have been thinly sliced and fried (who said these had to be serious? ).

3. The Sun is approximately 93 million miles away from the Earth. But because the Earth’s orbit is an ellipse it has times when it is slightly nearer, and times when it is slightly further away.

4. Water freezes at 0°Celsius. I don’t know if it’s the same in Fahrenheit.

5. Too much sugar and salt is bad for you. But you need some to maintain your electrolyte balance.

6. Halleys comet comes back into the inner solar system every 76 years, it’s next due in the 2060’s (I’ve forgotten the exact year)

7. Cats don’t have 9 lives, they just pretend!

8. I know for a fact that I don’t get enough sleep!

9. Green plants absorb all the other colours and reflect green? I think.. I’ve forgotten the physics behind it though.

10. Singing really can help your mental health. It’s good for breathing too.

Well those were a few random (and probably useless) facts. I tend to pick up a lot of ideas, and as I have a retentive memory I hold onto facts that are not much use to anyone.