|
I find the alphabet a helpful structure in my writing, so when I came to write a list of what I feel grateful for over the past twelve months, I turned to it again to help me. It didn't let me down. A is for Art and creativity – admittedly, this has come in waves, but at times has been very helpful in keeping me moving forward. B is for Black Isle Correspondent, daily videos from; a little bit of madness, kindness and real life every day, especially during the first lockdown. Grateful thanks to Anna Massie. C is for Camomile tea. And cake – the making and partaking of it, the sharing of it with friends, when possible. D is for Dog. My dog for making me smile every day, and often laugh too E is for Empty beaches for walking on, I'm so lucky to live where I do. F is for Friends and family, for staying in touch G is for Growing things and gardening. H is for Hugs - the ones we had before it all started, which we didn't know were so precious, and the illicit ones which were all the more precious for being so. I is for Isolation – that may sound strange, but living at a distance from densely populated areas gave me a feeling of safety. Also, conversely - I is for Internet, for keeping us connected. J is for Just being – some days, that was all that was required, or indeed possible. K is for Kindness – to myself and from others L is for Love from old friends and new M is for Mindfulness, learning a new way of being and practicing it. N is for Noticing nature in so many ways. The tides, the seasons, the light. O is for Oranges and occasionally olives. P is for Playing music on my mandolin. Also Photography - taking photos feels like a form of meditation to me. Q is for Quiz shows on TV, especially Only Connect and Mastermind. Monday evenings’ entertainment. R is for Refreshing my knowledge and love of languages and learning a new one or two, on Duolingo. Also, reading. Novels, poetry, familiar and new. S is for Slowing down, social media, staying in touch. Also Soup, the making and supping of it. T is for Tunes – playing old ones and writing new ones U is for Unforgotten – a cold case series on TV; totally hooked. Also old murder mysteries, the familiarity of them, the satisfying resolution. V is for Very funny radio programmes, especially some of those on at 6.30pm on Radio 4, providing lots of laughter while I make my tea. W is for Walking. Every day. Walking and the peace of it. Sometimes walking with a friend. Also for Writing; the joy of putting words together, in a poem, a story, a post. X is for Acceptance – I will cheat a little here perhaps – taking the X to mean being not being allowed to do things. Accepting the situation, the imposed restrictions, the fact that I could not travel anywhere and no-one could come here – all that. Accepting it all made it a whole lot easier to make the most of what I could still do – many of these things are listed here. Y is for Yes – saying yes to new things, to taking part in online workshops and courses and exhibitions. Z is for Zoom, which I hadn't heard of this time last year, but now value highly, for staying in touch and keeping things going.
2 Comments
 Distant Isles I. Original watercolour on paper. 45cm x 25cm approx. Unframed. Hello. I hope this finds you safe and well and managing to find a way through what is hopefully the last part of this very trying time. Living where I do, I’m very fortunate to have beautiful beaches nearby to walk on. I do this most days, with my dog. Sometimes, if the weather is wild or wet, we venture inland a bit, walking in a sheltered glen with large trees and a burn flowing through it. I’ve taken a lot of photos over the past year of walking. Mainly on my phone, sometimes with my camera. I've posted some of these nearly every day on Instagram and less frequently on Facebook. There's a spot where I always go and stand, at the far end of one of the beaches. I now have a whole series of photos from that spot – I'm working out what to do with them. I've been doing some more writing recently, spurred on by attending (online) a wonderful week-long Arvon at Home course, called Exploring Creativity. I've posted a few poems on Instagram and also on my blog. Watch this space for further developments. I've also been updating my photography portfolio on the Photo4me website. New work and Poolewe Market I've recently spent some time in the studio, painting a few more seascapes. The first of these is shown at the top of this newsletter. I plan to add some more coastal works to the collection – these proved popular at Poolewe Tuesday Market last year. Speaking of which, we're keeping our fingers very firmly crossed that the market will be able to start for the season in early May. Of course, this will depend on the regulations in place at that time. I'll keep you posted. I'm so looking forward to getting out and about and meeting people again; I’m sure you are too! See the Seascapes Online Shop For now, my online shop is very much open. There are still some limited edition prints available, calendars are now reduced in price, and there are some new small works to choose from. There's also a wide range of greetings cards, some sketchbooks and notebooks and even keyrings. Happy browsing! Limited edition prints There are some of these still available, at sale prices. The Thistle image below is an example. To be discontinued. Shop the sale » Notebooks A variety of customised notebooks are available in my website shop (see image below) I just received some new stock, so new designs, of both notebooks and sketchbooks, will be available soon! See the notebooks »
Thank you for your continued interest in my work, it's greatly appreciated.
Hope to see you soon - until then, stay safe and well. all the best Jennifer |
Archives
December 2024
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed