Fresh Start...??

And here I am again, after yet another hiatus.
I have been trying to learn how to write philosophy essays - thats my excuse anyway! This has been a strange year - but enjoyable for the most part. We had a lovely week in Abergenolwyn in Wales, J had a huge abscess on his arm which meant that we spent every day at the doctors or A&E or the nurse- with a final and disgusting end to it all at the LGI where the damn thing was finally evicted - poor J!

In the new year I have decided to take on a crazy quilt square a month challenge as well as the TAST (take a stitch tuedays) in order to learn enough stitches to get me through it all. My crazy quilt square are CRAZY!!

I have found a new musician whose music I really like - I had never heard of John Scofield before Cris gave me music for my ipod and now I love the stuff he does, a strange kind of jazz/blues/funk etc etc on the albums I have heard. I'm looking forward to getting to know the rest of his stuff.

I seem to have mislaid a couple of friends along the way this year which is sad. I spent quite a lot of time worrying about my 90 year old downstairs neighbour Lily who had a couple of falls which required blood mopping up and hospital visits...sigh. And then lots of days out, visits to Chester Zoo (we are friends for this year) and a travelodge in the lowlands of Scotland.

J has taken longer to get used to being retired than he thought he would and much time has been spent talking around this issue.

And soon I will be 60 - thats another post!

Clouds over Norfolk

These are just a few of the amazing skies we saw on holiday in Norfolk - a lovely county which I had never been to before.

I really loved the huge skies, the poppy fields, and the Broads. The coast was really interesting as well. I hope we get back there soon!

5th wedding anniversary

These photos were taken on the happy occassion of our 5th wedding anniversary and I hope we are as happy as we were on that day! I hope the joy and fun come across. The photos below were taken in Ilkley where we spent a lovely afternoon.

Bits

A poor photo but something to remind me of walking around the open houses event at Saltaire and talking to lots of artists and makers. Truly inspirational.

And here is my second piece of peg loom weaving in more spring like colours - I will get a better photo at some point. Fun to do and giving me lots of ideas for future projects. If I ever get time.

Temple Newsam

These are a few of the photos I took on a recent visit to Temple Newsam. I have been there fairly often, but never in time to see all the Azaleas out in full bloom and also the Rhododendrons. It was a beautiful sight and I just wanted to record here on this blog.

Nature has absolutely no fear in putting together all manner of different colours. She hasn't heard of the colour wheel! And they all work beautifully and harmoniously as well.

I wish I could somehow embroider these but its beyond my ability, and now that my poor hands are getting so clumsy that dream is further away than ever. But I still love to look and get ideas, and thats just as important to me. As ever - the journey is more important than the destination!

Peg Loom

I bought my peg loom and this was my first attempt at peg loom weaving!

This is the wrong side of the work with all threads hanging down - I may attach beads and findings to this and make it the right side!

And this is the right side - much smoother and so so soft. I have done another little piece and am looking forward to making a really large hanging one day.

Spring and a new start.

It seems that winter is finally really over. The gardens are full of daffodils, tulips,grape hyacinths and camellias, and blossom is on the trees. We even managed to sit out for a coffee today - shivering a little in the wind and then sweating when that wind dropped, but it was the first time we did so and without coats as well. I hope that spring is a new start in all sorts of ways.
Firstly I have a new electronic keyboard that is all singing and dancing and I am enjoying playing on it and hope to do some composition as well.
Secondly I am hoping to start stitching again at some point soon. I have been away from it for too long and I need to feel fabric and thread in my hand - and beads of course.
Thirdly I am still progressing with my philosophy course at Philosophy Pathways. It seems to have taken over from everything lately, but then thats fine - it's a new venture, and if I hadn't started with this passion I might not have enjoyed it so much or have got so much from it. Much of what I study leaves me with contradictory ideas but thats part of the fun for now!
Fourthly I am here online at this blog again so with a bit of luck this is a new start as well - another new start! And perhaps I can get back to my own writing now that its over a year since Mum died and all the nastiness with my family kicked off and I can put that into perspective and use it as well. I hope so.

I met up with an old friend on Wednesday. Bill came up from London and it was an interesting if exhausting day as he talked non-stop about his life and his conversion to religious Judaism. I had no idea he was quite so Orthodox and quite so bigoted until he got here - I might not have invited him had I known! I didn't even realise how extreme some of his opinions were until I read the booklet he left me about his art exhibitions. A Jewish artist as opposed to an artist? Why not just be an artist who happens to be Jewish? He has found his theme in his religion so maybe he is correct, but it is self limiting in the extreme. I have a lot more to say about all of this so I will come back to it.

We have started 2 discussion groups here in Leeds and they seem to be going quite well. They are tiring and the discussions end up in all manner of unexpected places! I think we had hoped to make new friends through them, but that hasn't really happened yet. Still time.