My friend showed me how to edit a photograph so that the subject looks spotlit. Shining a light on all things good and beautiful..
You in your small corner, and I in mine.
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My friend showed me how to edit a photograph so that the subject looks spotlit. Shining a light on all things good and beautiful.. You in your small corner, and I in mine.
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..my true north.   A walk on the shore and a playful tweaking of the north point I made on the drive some time ago. ..can give you a nice warm feeling, and make you smile. Yay! New socks!  ..fills the well. A good dinner out, a walk in the Botanic Gardens, coffees and croissants and browsing in some very stylish shops. Thursday lunchtime concerts at the University of Glasgow are wonderful (and free). Four members of the Dunedin Consort played some lesser known Bpieces on cello, viola da gamba, violin and organ. It was superb. Watching the wet world go by   with a capuccino and an almond croissant.
My new favourite word. I only discovered it recently. It means the warmth of the winter sun. I Do you have a favourite word by any chance?  ...and a plaintive song.The city is full of contrasts. That's what makes it so stimulating. I had a psh coffee (in The Ivy no less). I was just being nosy really, but it was so glitzy and blingy that I could hardly find my way around with the lights, nirroors, glass, reflections and pattern everywhere. But the coffee was very nice and the ladies' room amazing. When I came back out onto the street a middle aged violinist was playing a slow and poignant rendition of 'I Did It My Way' which cut to my heart. I always take coins in my pocket when I go to the city. The street musician was better value than the coffee. One of the restaurants had pink plastic blossom all round the tables, and Christmas decorations all round the windows. I bought a candle in The White Company and a notebook in Poundland. Contrasts. And an afternoon without thinking about the news.    ..of free fun, isn't it fun to take a stick and draw on a sandy beach! Giant plants, directions to the North Pole, anything you like, the more nonsensical thhe better.     It will all disappear with the next tide. Pure lighthearted fun. Be sure to try it next tine you get the chance. It does you good to be silly now and then and we all feel less self conscious on a beach, don't you think? Do you feel you are allowed to be childlike on the beach?
When did you last have some simple fun? This was the wonderful beach at Ostell Bay which we visited from Carry Farm and which looks out to the north coast of Arran. I use prunings to decorate the table. They may last only a day, but they do spark joy!  ..life isn't all vintage teacups and lying in the hammock, but you have to find your bliss, and make it happen.   In the midst of a busy work and family life it might be ten minutes hiding in the bathroom reading your book (been there, done that). What would your late-summer bliss be, and can you create it for yourself? Find a way!  Isn't beachcombing the most beautifully idle thing? After an early start with an electrician finally fixing the solar panels, I was so relieved I just took off for the beach.       Play in progress. I am trying to make a North Point on the drive.
I wrote this post while listening to a lively discussion on the programme The Moral Maze called Is Idleness Good For You? (BBC Radio 4 20.00) It was very very good for me today! Loved it! When did you last have an idle day? Or even an idle hour? Do yu think it might be good for yuo? One of the lovely things about the aprtment we stayed in in Paris was its library of books on art and photography. I spent a few hours one afternon browsing them, especially enjoying black and white portraits. At one point I tilted back in my chair and caught sight of myself in a morror and thought 'That's a photograph!'  I keep forgetting to ask you if you would, when leaving a comment, say where you are writing from! It is lovely to know and fills me with wonder that we are all in touch with each other sharing our thoughts by pressing a few keys. Here are just some places on this earth I have gleaned over the years - Texas, Wales, Cambridgeshire, Glasgow, Switzerland, West Virginia, Edinburgh, Sussex, Dorset, Paris, Washington DC, Australia, Christchurch New Zealand..please add to the list!  I love this image on the snuggly rug I bought in Stockholm.
It seems to me that the Scandinavians can take a simple childlike image and make it sophisticated and grown-up. How do they do that? I only had two visitors last nigt although it looks as if I had a party!  The postman ccalled with some Christmas cards.  And that looks like a bare foot!  Yes, a crazy woman in the snow (I blame Wim Hof).  At least one red squirrel passed this way..  The crunchy topping prevents the smaller creatures from leaving tracks but this looks like a seagull.  It's raining now so all this will soon be gone. It was fun while it lasted.
..feels very indulgant! Love it. We are lucky to have The Blairmore cafe in the next village along the shore. As we enjoyed a delicious breakfast we watched a couple sitting at the public picninc table across the road carving pumpkins, which looked to me like a rather nice peaceful thing to do of a Saturday morning.    Asking permission to use their photograph on the blog I discovered that they have been staying in The Old Post Office for the last three months and come over regularly to Scotland from America. It was lovely to chat with them. I may not have carved a pumpkin since these in 2010! When did you last carve a pumpkin? The Anchor Line is still there. Best affogato. Glasgow has some beautiful buildings.   I can't believe I have never noticed this one before. I forget to look up!   I went looking for a straw hat and came back with a cushion cover. I really like H&M homeware - lots of natural recycled fabrics and very moodest prices. (This was £3.99)  Filed under Simply Fun :-)
One of the delights of this experience was the reaction of little children to the music and moving images.      Have any of you seen it yet? Thank you for all the kind birthday wishes, and Liz, I hope you had as lovely a time as I did! Thinking about why I enjoyed my shopping spree so very much on Tuesday, I realise that it was fun because it wasn't online. And MaryB hit the nail on the head describing it as spontaneous. (It was. We only stopped for a coffee.) We had a good coffee in attractive surroundings - duck pond, beautiful furniture in a big light space with high celings and interesting rafters. It was quiet and of course would not always be so peaceful. Then the full sensory experience of the shop - touching, lifting, smelling, judging the quality, feeling the weight. I was seduced by the delicacy and subtle colours of the ostrich feathers, impressed by the craftmanship of the brushes, enticed by the thickness of the socks, the memory of the pudding... The jug below was a £5 purchase from the supermarket and came with miniature iris bulbs. Pretty.   When did you last have a spontaneous shopping spree? . Yesterday I had reason to go to Liverpool (of more anon) and on the way back we stopped at Tebay service station in Cunbria - surely the nicest service station in the country! I bought an ostrich feather duster, two gorgeous pairs of cosy socks, a beard brush shaped like a moustache for my son-in-law, Cartmel sticky toffee puddings and a bag of fudge. I haven't had a splurge like that for ages. The big farm shop is full of lovely things. Great fun!  It was delightful to arrive in the gallery on Saturday and find ten or so young children spread around the floor doing their own snow pictures! We had a lovely chat, and they were clearly enjoying the exhibition and having fun. Today I met Sheena whose comments on the blog I have enjoyed for years! It was so good to put a lovely friendly face to the name (we had to remove our masks momentarily - who'd have thought it?) I am so glad she and her friend Lesley got a fine sunny day for their trip to Dunoon.
Yet more fun with my friend Lynne Cameron, a onetime student of my Drawing For Non Artists course at the University of York, now a full time painter. See her vibrant work here. It's wonderful to be meeting up with people face to face again. Details of the exhibition here. My painting clothes are even worse than my gardening clothes! Though you do get away with a lot as an artist. People expect you to look a little bit, shall we say, eccentric? Which can be quite fun. I lost my shoelaces somehow, and thought I should have my shoes firmly attached to my feet for that little boat ride, and a friend had kindly brought me a lovely box of amaretti biscuits tied up with beautiful yellow string...  |
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