If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?
” Looking to”
I know, two words not one. But such slack English infuriates me.
“Are you looking to buy a new house”
“Do you want to buy a new house”
Tag: dailyprompt
#1329 theoldmortuary ponders.
Tell us about your favorite pair of shoes, and where they’ve taken you.
Shoes are like children, there are no favourites. Each pair has distinctive and separate identities. Loved for being themselves. That sums up the top tier of my shoe hierachy of needs.
Second and subsequent tiers of shoes are like work colleagues or less close relations. They may ascend to the top tier, but on the whole if they slipped into a bag destined for a Charity Shop I would not miss them.
The picture above is of the feet of Gertrude Stein and Alice B Tolkas. Painted, as everything is this week, by Beryl Cook. My Grandmother and her sister and friends were just a little younger than Gertrude and Alice.
It could easily be the feet of my Paternal Grandmother and her sister Alice. Between the ages of 2 and 4, I was always puzzled that only my grandmother and her sister or friends wore the same shoes as me.
I have no idea what sort of shoes anyone else wore in the early sixties.
I had a close relationship with my grandmothers shoes because I spent the majority of my time with her under the dining table. She had brought up two children in the second World War, when the safest place for children, during air raids was under the table. She did not update her views on childcare in line with peacetime. Children should be seen but not heard, was elevated to children should not be seen or heard. So under the table I went with a book while she played Scrabble overhead. This was not an unhappy experience at all. But I realise now that it is not ideal.
My grandmother described me as a precocious child when my dad collected me after his work. Because I would read or look at the illustrations of any book on their shelves.
There was nothing else to do..
There may have been an incident when I was slightly older of chewing my grandfathers Old Holborn Tobacco while reading Treasure Island. It could have been worse, there was almost certainly medicinal brandy somewhere in the house.
All rather a thought or two away from favourite shoes but shoes like these old style Mary Janes accompanied me on my first adventures into a love of reading books. And that has taken me to all sorts of places
#1423 theoldmortuary ponders
If you had the power to change one law, what would it be and why?
Many laws, one Convention.
The convention of the patriarchy is the foundation stone of many laws and rules. How I wish things were different.
#1419 theoldmortuary ponders
Are there any activities or hobbies you’ve outgrown or lost interest in over time?
I think there are many activities and hobbies that have, quite correctly, lost interest in me. The big one would be Radioligy/Radiography. There was a brief flutter of renewed interest in me during Covid but now we are in agreement that making pictures with X-Rays is in my past. Retirement from a scintillating career. The Physics definition.
On a good day I can be quite the scintillating conversationslist too. She said modestly.
I have kept my transferable skills and transferred them to other things.
Team games were never my thing until I discovered rowing. It was probably the only team sport I had an aptitude for. But we have had an amicable parting of the ways for some time now.
Drawing. Painting. Sketching. Printing. All things that have not given up on me. I was still at school when I realised that sketching a quick cartoon of a teacher was a pathway out of nerdiness and into ‘almost’ cool.
A skill that stayed with me during a long career in the N.H.S. A quick cartoon of an arrogant doctor or an ineffectual colleague handed over at the same time as a handover sheet was better than a hundred tactful words and lightened the mood considerably. I was never caught.
Everyone has worked or studied with a dick or two.
Acting gave me up.
Serious singing and dancing the same, but lower down on that particular spectrum and I am quite the unqualified success! Art however, we are together for ever.
P S sometimes in the NHS other departments had the same problems with the same characters. There may have been cartoon requests to lift the moods of other beleaguered colleagues.
#1379 theoldmortuary ponders
How have your political views changed over time?
I would say my political views have not altered too much over time but my view of politics has changed greatly, and more recently that change involves fear and anger for where the world is heading.
For more gentle seasonal pondering go to.
#1368 theoldmortuary ponders.
Describe a man who has positively impacted your life.
The obvious answer would be my Dad. A quiet, clever man who avoided conflict and worked hard. He was dependable and wise, a man ahead of his time in many ways and out of step with the masculinity of his generation.
The bar was set quite high, but having a gentle father gave me a natural resistance to toxic masculinity in my inner circle. Such men are unavoidable in the real world, but I am lucky that the significant men that I have as friends and family are of the same calibre as my Dad.
#1365 theoldmortuary ponders.
What skills or lessons have you learned recently?
Rather a dry question for today’s Christmas Tree. But subvert it a little and ask.
“What new pearls of wisdom have you gained recently?”
My more romantic version of the question brings forth so much more inspiration for a well honed answer.
Pearls of Wisdom come in all shapes and sizes and in many different colours.
The pearls of wisdom I learned yesterday were all on the darker end of the spectrum. But they overlayed the pearls of the last few weeks that were much lighter and brighter colours, more joyful in every way.
“It’s all a part of Life’s Rich Pattern/Tapestry”
Never a truer quote and one that rings true every day. Gathering pearls of wisdom and adding them to life’s rich pattern is a skilled and valuable lesson. However uncomfortable those lessons may be at times
#1358 theoldmortuary ponders.
What’s your favorite cartoon?
A somewhat self-indulgent blog. I like to create poster art out of my photographs. I am currently one week into my first visit to Australia. All the glorious things I have seen or the gorgeous people I have had the pleasure of meeting have made this a memorable week. I know that future visits will never quite put my creative head in the same spin as this week’s first impression. This cartoon captures some of my swirling thoughts. Vivid colours. Expansive seas. First Nations art, whilst remaining respectful and without misappropriation. Awe. The first scintilla of a love affair with a new to me country.
#1356 theoldmortuary ponders
What could you do less of?
What should or could I do less of? I have no idea.
Less is definitely more artistically, but as a lifestyle ethos I fear I would struggle to give up anything for very long. Even giving up chores or dull tasks might change life in a way that might not be comfortable. Floating imperceptibly from one Status Quo to the next suits me very well. Allowing life to dictate a path often works better than a rigid personal doctrine.
Plans have their place but serendipity often brings more enlightenment.
Slightly grotty weather and a desire for coffee drove us to an Artist Collective.
The Studio & Co. https://share.google/obOxuu9TDGIFxFUOR
The most delicious place to dodge the rain and be inspired to do more, not less.
My pondering head is ablaze currently, so much new inspiration, so much of everything in a new continent. Now is just not the time to be thinking of doing less of anything.
Even the trees in rain, spark a little twinkle in my soul.
#1350 theoldmortuary ponders.
What are your two favorite things to wear?
Sandals are my favourite things to wear and as they come in pairs, that neatly spares me from thinking of a second item. Which would be a hard task.
My feet are free spirits who dislike full enclosure at any time of the year. This year in particular my feet have prolonged sandal wearing until exactly this point when a very late summer holiday has taken us to Asia.
A dark November switched overnight to something warm and exotic. Sunbeams on my toes. They are somewhat tired toes, slightly puffy from a long period of travel but very excited to see sunshine.
My toes particularly enjoyed my evening bob in a rooftop pool. No anaesthetising chill forcing them into socks and boots, just a quick dab and they were ready to see the night.
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