Got the sheets washed, duvets clean and aired, ready for spring to make its mind up and stay. Or summer. Whatever.
The last few days have been pain days, but I’ve still managed a lot more than I thought I would. Watched lessons and zoom calls. Maybe even understood most of them! 😆 I keep the laptop off on Sundays (except, very rarely, if there’s a deadline I need to meet), so I try to catch up by Saturday night. Rest (and recharge) time tomorrow – yay!
I have refreshed my memory of beauty encountered on our getaway last weekend…
Fresh flowers by the bed 🙂
This giant on the patio!
A wealth of patterns, and textures, and shadows…
My studies have shown me interesting things.
…like the building blocks of creativity.
And I’ve been listening to music, to let the joy in…
I’ve had the lyric video for this on the blog already, but here’s the people version… Rainbows and sunflowers! (Of course, in my head, I will always hear Kermit ❤ )
This one came out of left field, but it’s something to think about.
Feels like this week has gone fast 🙂 Morning has decided it’s committed to winter, but the rest of the day hasn’t quite made its mind up… Still keeping up (I think) with my lessons. One of the assignments was to “draw an animal skull”. Coles doesn’t stock those…
I was starting to worry that I might have to start hunting (or at least keep my eye out for roadkill!), but we found a friend who had a spare skull (sheep? goat?) I could borrow. You never know what you’ll find in an artist’s shed.
Only got around to it yesterday – the bigger assignments can take hours rather than minutes. I also decided to use charcoal, a medium I probably haven’t touched for years.
Probably not my best work, but it’s going in as the final image. It was more enjoyable than some of my other assignments (one was just…a very large rectangle. It was for practising measurement). And my art/sun room is slowly getting arranged into a more useful configuration.
It’s been a good week. Even my roses had a last hurrah for the summer.
Time for bed soon 🙂 But – just because I’m feeling rainbowy…
Just taking a break from a strenuous programme of watching YouTube and episodes of Death In Paradise 😆 Seriously…I’ve had a good day of catching up with transcribing notes, and revisiting the concepts from the lessons they came from. It’s taking time, but is also inspiring. I’ve been thinking about the “faces” we wear, and the importance of finding why we are here, in this life, in this place. I was watching a cover of a song from Barbie (the recent movie) – the original is hauntingly lovely/sad, but I thought I’d share this one. If you haven’t seen the movie, there’s a theme here of authenticity – of being “real”.
We all spend some amount of time finding out what we’re made for. Some work it out while they’re still young. Some never get there. I think most of us get there at some point…but sometimes, when things change – we’re off again, trying to find our place in the world, and our people. It’s the question everyone’s asking, even if they don’t know it.
I’ve never been big on makeup. There was a brief time in my life where I was an Avon lady. I had a lot of samples, and tried all of them out. It never looked quite right, and I’ve always hated the feel of it on my face. I found a more natural range, which felt quite nice, but still looked odd to me. In the end, I couldn’t really be bothered…my face is mine, and it’s good enough for me 🙂 There are a lot of boxes in the world – ones that people are supposed to fit into, and then stay in forever. By the time we’re in school, and often before, we’ve been put in a box somewhere. It’s generally one we haven’t chosen, and it’s hard to get out. I don’t feel like I’ve fitted in any of the boxes I’ve seen. Maybe there’s room to make a box? One with open doors and transparent sides…flowers and colours and perfumes and songs! After all my years, I’m happy with myself. Not perfect, of course. Still a weirdo to other people. But “me”, as much as me can be. I still have a lot to learn and grow into – that’s a lifelong thing, really – but I’m learning what I’m here for. I hope you are too.
And here’s another song, for when people tell you you “can’t”.
December is here! Christmas songs are sneaking into my head at odd moments, and I’m contemplating putting up the tree next week. Last year the tree stayed in its box under the bed. We didn’t know if we were moving, there were boxes everywhere, not much room…we decided to take year off decorating. I don’t know what it is about the last few days, but I’ve suddenly leapt into Christmas mode! Christmas Day itself is just over three weeks away, so I can’t say it’s too early 🙂 Perhaps it’s because we feel settled here. Perhaps we just needed a rest last year. I’m excited to see how our decorations fit in this house.
I’ve been looking for a Nativity set lately. I couldn’t find anything in our budget that I liked, but then my Mum gave me some bits towards putting one together. Until I figure out how to make the rest of the figures, they’ll be here.
There’s even a cat in attendance!
We went to a wedding today, which was beautiful ❤ We were outside for lunch afterwards, and this was our view.
As trees go, these were quite majestic.
I’ll still enjoy my little fake tree with nearly thirty years of accumulated baubles…
Just to start off the Christmassy season with a smile – and an acknowledgement that Christmas here is considerably hotter than some other parts of the world (even if we’re not in LA).
And a bonus – this is more of a “winter” song than a “Christmas” song, but we’ve had the air conditioner on, and this made me (happy) cry.
It’s been a good few days. Got things done. Felt OK. Maybe the heat helps a bit (although, not too much heat!) I’ve washed the quilts and changed the sheets. Tweaked the garden a teensy bit, and tidied up some things that have been annoying me. Even been out of the house a few times… I spent more time out today than I expected to, so even though it’s nice to have the ability to wander, I’m very tired now. When I’m tired, I don’t think quite as fast or as well as I’d like. So – no words of wisdom here. Just an easy to like sea shanty medley.
Live, and a cappella. Although Adam seems to be having fun with a looper back there… This was originally released during lockdown, where each member of Home Free recorded their bits at home and put them together for the full clip. Worth a listen as well. 🙂
Maybe you’re after some nostalgia?
Or maybe you just need a lullaby?
That’s the Hound + the Fox, with Tim from Home Free taking a guest role.
Hopefully a good night’s sleep will bring a more combobulated tomorrow…
My Biggest Boy has decided he is interested in photography. He’s taken different types of photos to see what he can do, and we’ve talked about the importance of “seeing” what is there. I think he’s got a good eye 🙂 One of the photos he’s taken is a portrait of me.
I suppose any portrait of me would have to include books…
Neither of my boys have been at school for a fair while now, so I am no longer a homeschool mum. We’ve moved in the last five months, and I am still not able to work. Life moves on, and life events change us and our sense of identity. I’m happy with myself, but feel a bit like a drifter through time. That’s OK. I still think I’m moving forward! It’s just that there’s probably less time ahead of me than behind.
I like my portrait. It may not physically be the most flattering, but it’s a snapshot of who I am, and a glimpse into my Biggest Boy’s possible future. That’s a lot for one image to convey.
Speaking of portraits – here’s one of a visitor outside my Mum’s place.
We don’t really get the full experience in Australia – Christmas here is in the season of light and heat, rather than the northern hemisphere Christmas of short, cold days and long dark nights. We can still ponder on the Christ child, born into a time of darkness, come to bring light to the world.
I’ve been out and about a couple of times in the last week or so. In the past, I’ve wandered around the place, enjoying my time, but not seeing anyone I know. These times, I ran into four lots of people, and had a good old catch up (yay!) 😀 I’ve just started on a new, stronger, pain killer. After a day out, I tend to need to stay in bed to recover. I had hoped to be OK this time, but apparently the painkiller takes a few days to kick in properly. I think I am basically an optimist. I can see beauty, and hope, in all sorts of things. Some (probably most) days I can see the days ahead, and future endeavours waiting for me. I can luxuriate in “not pain” for periods of time (when you have “definitely not not pain” 🙂 you are very aware when it goes away for a bit). Yesterday was mostly luxurious. Today was not. Still – life is a wonderful, curious, slightly ridiculous journey.
But… Some days are sombre, just get through, deal with the now type of days. Still flashes of beauty. Leaps of joy. But also a closer understanding of mortality. Life is good. And sometimes difficult… Still, the light shines through.
a bit of creativity, a bit of eco consciousness, a bit of inspiration.... hopefully not a lot of pompousness and blathering :D
i'm not entirely sure what's going on here... let's travel along and see...
1000 Fields of Roses 