#1126 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn 26 Days to Boxing Day, Serendipity1 Comment
To sit, perchance to dream.

25 days to Boxing Day.

Life has been a little bit on hold while Hugo had his jaw wired. The wires were removed last Thursday . He needs less close supervision. Not that he believes he needs us less. Two new toilet seats were fitted yesterday. Despite having no D.I.Y skills or opposable thumbs he was fully involved in the process in a very confined space. Yesterday was supposed to be a beach day, where he and Lola could run and chase one another. Let off steam in exactly the same location as this picture from last year. It was the weather that turned this blog from this⬇️.

Harlyn Beach

To a blog where my highlight of the day is two new toilet seats. But a blog that celebrates the mundane and ordinary is definitely the richer for a bit of bad weather D.I.Y. The new toilet seats have an extra little seat built in for small bottoms.

While otherwise engaged we can dream of other beach days.

Day 2 of 26 Days to Boxing Day.

B is for Bright Branches.

#1125 theoldmortuary pondered.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn 26 Days to Boxing Day, Markets2 Comments

And so it begins. The December countdown.  We went to a Christmas market in the shadow of Exeter’s Medieval Cathedral. The market was charming, we arrived early, before crowds and bad weather turned the grounds underfoot into a Medieval re-enactment of normal muddy life in the 14 th Century. The piped music was recordings from the Cathedral Choir singing sacred music. The sights and smells were timelessly festive and wintery.

Open fires.

Smoky tents.

A previous visit to the Cathedral gave us the bauble to beat all baubles.

Gaia at Exeter Cathedral.
Gaia in a mirror showing the Mediaeval vaulted ceiling of the Cathedral.

There are 26 days until Boxing Day. 26 letters in the Alphabet. The daily blogs in December will end with  an alphabetical snippet. A is for Arriety.

Today , The Laminations of Arriety.

Sounds like a suitably Cathedral/ Religious text-like story, but is in fact, a sumtuous Pain au Chocolat served in a cafe not far from the Cathedral.

#1124 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity4 Comments

Here we are at the scrag end of November. A month of  30 short days and long nights. November starts with All Saints Day on the first. I have a huge curiosity about Saints, the lesser ones in particular. Some of them don’t really check out as particularly saintly and the crazy names and biographies are entertaining.

Horned Bovine on Dartmoor
No mention of Lovers

My own particular Saint,Cornelly or Cornelius was a Roman Christian Martyr whose death was either caused by hardship or beheading. There are two ways of looking at this. Being beheaded is a hardship and extreme hardship might make a person lose their head.

What is certain in the uncertain world of saints is that head and body were parted in some way and his head found its way to Kornelmunster in Germany.

The lives of Saints are, at best, s somewhat far fetched. Cornelius is considered to be the Patron Saint of Horned Cattle but no reason is given. But  there is rock solid evidence ( she says with tongue firmly in cheek) that he is the Patron Saint of Lovers. St Valentine might disagree.

Two star-crossed lovers, who suffered parental disapproval were in the chapel of Cornelius in Neuss, Germany. The carved stone sculpture of St. Cornelius bent at the waist towards them signifying his approval.

I love a saintly rabbit hole.

November transitions from All Saints Day(1st) to Saint Andrews Day(30th) He is rather too mainstream to interest me. I treasure obscurity.

Mackeral from a Fishmonger

November from All Saints, represented by St Cornelly to St Andrew. Short Days/Long Nights. Onward to December.

#1123 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Friends3 Comments
Reverse Blue Sky thinking.

What technology would you be better off without, why?

I have no idea which technology I would be better off without. I believe technology is a scientifically invented force of nature and selecting one type to remove would have unforeseen and unwelcome consequences elsewhere.

I had an online natter with a friend yesterday which shows how technology evolves

I discovered when we moved to our current house that without the communication technology that we were accustomed to, organisational life slowed to a snail’s pace.

A first world problem so easily demonstrated by the fashion pages from the year my house and Polly’s were built. I would have moved house in the 1880’s looking like this.

I could only have written to Polly to commiserate with her new house communication woes. I could perhaps have sent a telegram. I presume her only woe would have been how far the walk was to a post box or post office.

I would have been unlikely to even have a landline.

And Polly would have looked like this in the 1930’s and may have had a landline. She could also have sent a telegram.

How times/technology change.

First World predicaments on the subject of nattering.

P.s Writing this made me look at the house deeds . It is actually 20 years older than we thought.

The dresses just get bigger!

#1122 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Traditions1 Comment
Hearts and Minds.

Happy Thanksgiving to all the U.S readers of the blog. A time to gather with friends and family for a fabulous meal without the pressure of gift exchanging.

I have always envied Thanksgiving celebrations mostly because I love a celebratory roast dinner. The next day leftovers are also another favourite of mine.

This year, for the first time in more than forty years, I will not be hosting Christmas Day or hosting sleeping-over guests. Covid years excepted.

Thanksgiving is my traditional day for beginning the thinking process of Christmas prep.

Today will come and go as normal but with no big thoughts of festive planning. No Christmas clutter in my head.

Last night I caught the sunset near to the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth. The view to Plymouth Sound and the Atlantic beyond is much more cluttered than it would have been 400 years ago for the Mayflower settlers.

However much I love a busy Christmas I am quite excited to have an uncluttered head on evening walks for the next month. I might even seek out uncluttered views of the Atlantic.

#1121 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment

Overnight I pondered how to finish the ongoing painting. My observation of yesterday’s blog, that bright sunshine on water made me select similar colours for my photographs to those that I was painting with. Using the ripples above I wanted to turn my fantasy moon flowers into a flood plain with some digital tweaking. I use a load of photo editing apps and never really know what will work and jump from one to another to get the effect I think I need.  The thought of turning my painting into a floodplain came from the news during the week that Storm Bert did not treat many areas as gently as he did us.

Moonflowers and Daffodils

Two things have come from my digital tweaking, combining photos from yesterday walk. The floodplain I was hoping for and an interesting image of a boat .

Floodplain and Daffodils
Boat with steps.

In other, less colourful news, I have made mushroom soup today. It tastes fab but is the colour of sludge. How do commercial soup makers create a mushroom soup that is a gorgeous pale cream but still bursts with flavour?

Moonflower Floodplain.

#1120 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn abstract photography, art, blogging1 Comment

Does my blog affect my art. I wonder if it does? The map above is the map of a very regular walk.  Today I am not so sure if my art and my walk are in some way linked. I have never noticed this map before. It could be new. I was rather charmed by the little footsteps as they reflect my regular circular walk.

The walk this morning was fabulously colourful.

Domestic admin/yardening followed the walk, planting roses and garlic, but later I put some finishing touches to an ongoing painting.

I can’t help feeling that the centres of my final fantasy flowers look a little like footsteps.

And my choice of colours are pretty similar to the boats I chose to photograph.

#1119 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn SerendipityLeave a comment

Name your top three pet peeves.

I know I couldn’t stop at 3 pet peeves and more would seem rather ranty. So I will just offer one peeve. And there is a sting in it for me.

I think this saying would also cover micromanaging which is also unforgivable.

I like to think just a withering look quells any egg sucking educators. But the truth of the matter is that no matter how much I dislike micromanagement and any other unsolicited advice. I actually have no idea how to suck an egg. All eggs in close proximity to me will remain resolutely unsucked.

But try to teach me how to suck eggs and you will be  rewarded with at least a withering look. And believe me if my thought bubbles could  actually be read you would realise I am not quite the person I present as.

Just 1 peeve is quite enough.

#1118 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn abstract photographyLeave a comment

Colour is my thing. Sometimes when I frame a picture the snippets from the chopped off edges are so jewel-like and precious that I can’t bear to throw them out.  We are in the midst of a slow, deep tidy and reorganise of the studio space that trebbles up as a snug/play room and exercise area. A practical person would throw these inconsequential bits of scrap into a bin. And I may still do so but two of the strips had the words Hearts and Minds typed on them. The typed strips ran in two directions which made me think about warp and weft and set me off weaving paper for absolutely no reason.

The first weave, above,  was entirely random. But the second gave the words more prominence.

Typing and watercolour work well together. The watercolours are easily accessible in the new storage but the typewriter is put away until we get some more storage. But maybe weaving words and colours could be a new project. But will I be diligent enough to throw the scraps in the bin?

Who knows where this will take me?

#1117 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity, Stonehouse1 Comment
Storm Bert messing with festive lights.

Storm Bert, is not living up to his rather jovial name. His 24 hours of big seas, gusting winds, heavy rain and some structural damage have been more dispiriting than disruptive.

Dick Van Dyke as Bert in Mary Poppins 1964 © Disney

The Bert Gold Standard,  including his cockney accent which never bothered the British says the actor.

“I still get kidded about it. But it didn’t seem to harm anybody’s enjoyment of the movie. But I do get kidded about it. The people who don’t kid me are the British. They never mentioned it — and they’re the ones who should be making fun of me and don’t.”

Anyway Dismal Bert, has inspired a painting/drawing I will crack on with him later next week.

I feel the urge to drench this blog with colour, we filled our day with it by going to a local craft festival and nattering with vivid, colourful artists.

The Studio walls were painted with an Oat colour.

And I carried on with my Autumn challenge, set by a friend when I was disparaging about another artist. I still stand by my comments, the challenge has become curiously enjoyable.

Not the bigger picture.

And finally Bert doing his worst yesterday at Tranquility Bay. Not so tranquil.