Update

Well, apologies that I haven't written for ages, which is because its been bedlam here!  Travelling from pillar to post for family gatherings, and in between, trying desperately to recover.  The great news is that I am doing well, apart from the feet (!), and feeling optimistic. 

I am harvesting the fruits of this year's emotional work in abundance, and feeling ready to go down into the Dark Time of the year, that period between Samhain (31 October) and Yule (21 December), the time of the Underworld, if you know your Persephone myth, during which we have the opportunity to turn inwards and consider our mental and spiritual worlds.  This is the time when I write best, and believe me, I'm writing furiously at the moment.

Right now I am particularly thankful for living where I do.  It is hard to believe we have been here fore two years - it doesn't seem so long, and the trauma of the move is still very fresh in my memory.  But since I have been here, I have grown and healed tremendously, and realising it has reconciled me to this new place.  It is especially lovely at this time of year too, which helps. 

However, I just saw my neighbour on my afternoon walk, and she cheerily told me that a 'Siberian Winter' is predicted for this year, worse even than last year, during which we were snowed in twice!  I'm not sure how I'm going to feel about living in the middle of nowhere if we do get a repeat performance of last winter.  So its time to lay in the logs and oil and hope for the best.  Wish me luck!

Art Therapy

I was reading Carol Lloyd's book, 'Creating a Life Worth Living' this evening, as part of a thinking process I am going through, gathering ideas for how I can move my art and writing work forward, and I came upon the following passage:

"For many, the most difficult challenge is discovering what they really want to do.  For others the challenge lies in planning the life and committing to it.  Others have no trouble dreaming or planning the dream, but giant, tentacled obstacles impede their everyday progress and prevent them from reaching their goals..." (page XX)

The image of the tentacled obstacles really stuck in my head, reminding me of the dreaded Creatures from the Dungeon Dimensions which appear in the Discworld novels of Sir Terry Pratchett.  I thought I'd do a quick watercolour sketch, because I am definitely a person who is able to find an endless number of beasties to get in my way, even if I have to invent them myself.  What came out was this:

Uniball eye micro pen and watercolour on paper

Yes, that's me, standing in front.  Its a quick and dirty scribble, but I think it is revealing (actually, probably quite scary to have this stuff in my head eh?).  I didn't think about it until I had finished it, and looked at what I had done properly.  Is the tentacled monster my ME?  Or is it me getting in my own way?  Is that, therefore, what I really think of myself?

Please leave a comment, and tell me what you think.....

Trying

I've spent the last week trying to upload a funny photo for this blog that I really wanted to share with you.  But either Blogger or my laptop doesn't want to cooperate so I guess I'll have to let that one go.

At the moment I am laid up in bed trying to recover from a really bad spell.  No strength in my arms and legs, and feeling distinctly woolly-headed.  But at least I know that if I stay still long enough, I'll improve.  That's the one thing about ME that I am grateful for:  that if you stick with the treatment long enough (i.e. resting), you know you'll have the benefit.  Its not a permanent improvement but it makes me feel I have at least some control in my own hands.