Hi, come in, Oh don’t mind Pepsi,

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Miriam Rogers

she thinks you have come to visit her, say hello, pat her on her head if you want to, and she will go away in a minute.
Come on in, would you like to sit in or out? It is cool in here or I have the brolly up over the table outside, you choose.
Outside will be perfect! It is such a lovely day, the sun is shining but it’s not too hot.
Sun or shade? I will choose the sun for about 15 minutes then put my hat on and eventually move into the shade, don’t mind me, I’m like an ill sitting hen this morning.
Oh! it is so good to see you, now, what would you like to drink? Tea, coffee, perhaps some juice?
“What am I having?” you ask
“I drink water in the day, with nothing in it, just as it comes if I’m out or filtered if I’m home”.
And so I would natter on nervously while I bring our drinks and a bowl of strawberries for us to nibble. We are under the umbrella and I look at you and see you smiling at me.

You would say “How’s retirement then?” and I would tell you that I am beginning to settle into it, we laugh and you ask me how I ever found time to go to work and you wonder how I fill my days and because it feels like I have known you forever I tell you.

Joy of joys you understand my passion for making things. I know that of course, that’s how we met, that’s what we both love.
You ask to see the Ragamuffin Animals and the Journals and my Artist Trading Cards that I make and never trade. I’ll go into the house with Pepsi following and fetch the things to show you. Pepsi will return with me to her new bed in the greenhouse. I don’t know why dogs do that, sit in the sun until they come to boiling point I mean, Our first dog was just the same. In a minute Pepsi will sit up and pant for England. But she won’t sit in the shade.
I tell you as I put the things on the table “There are so few people in my circle of friends that understand my love of craft, my blog and the many things I do that make me happy. Oh! I am so pleased that you came to visit.”

You tell me that you like my new blog header: I am pleased with it too. I am busy collecting together some sets of pictures so that I can change it up every few weeks. Playing with the blog, changing it, moving stuff is a hobby in it’s self.
We will banter back and forth; I want to ask you all the things that we don’t talk about on our blogs. I am very open and direct in real life, always asking questions. ‘Nosey’, my husband says; ‘Interested’, I throw back.
I tell you about Paul, how happy he is now that he has work until the autumn, how much better his health and state of mind are and I confide in you my concerns about him.
I’ll tell you that Ben is in Glasgow with his girlfriend for a couple of days for her graduation ceremony, and how happy and proud we are of her. She will be visiting again in July then she is going home to Helsinki until…we don’t know. Best not go there…

That leaves me then, but I am a bit hopeless about talking about me but I know that’s want you want to hear about.
OK. Since I turned 60 in February I have felt happier and more settled than at anytime in my life. Of course I wish I was 40 or even 50, no! not 40, my forties were difficult, I laugh, “No! not on this visit, you will miss your bus!”

I don’t miss my job but I do miss the thing I was doing, helping people to live well with dementia, helping them to find a better way of doing things but I promised my self and my family that I wouldn’t even think about it for 6 months…

I have some health issues that take me back & forth to the hospital but I am less concerned about them now.

I need to loose weight. I am thinking about having some hypnotherapy to get my mind in the right place. Yes I have had it before for something else and it worked a treat.

I am still having bad dreams but they are getting less frightening and I am disturbing the rest of the household less and less. I have stopped worrying about them now because if I have a bad night I don’t have to get up in the morning. We laugh and talk about larks and owls. I am one and you are the other.

You notice that I seem to have a lot going on over on the blog at the moment.
I laugh and tell you that I just love it, I’m feeling creative, it won’t last…
It is mostly photography based, Project 52, The Colour of Summer or summer of colour whichever, whichever.
Capture Your 365. This is the third year, it’s a habit now. No I don’t post the pictures to the blog, I have them on Flickr.
Index Card A Day for June & July. I really love this one, I like the variety of cards that I make.
Photo Art Friday, I think is my favourite meme. I have discovered a love of digital art. The community over on Bonnies blog are so friendly and supportive. It is going over to a monthly meme from August.
Sometimes when I remember I link up with Mona’s Flowers on Friday.
Helena‘s wonderful Look Up/Down and of course, Rinda’s Summer Scavenger Hunt.
Then there are the monthly memes…
Oh! my goodness, look at the time. No, leave everything, I will tidy it up later.
Oh! It was so good to see you, I will hug you because that’s what I’m like, very touchy feely, I will apologies for talking to much, I will walk you to the door and wait there until I can no longer see you.
Yes soon, we will do it again soon…Please?

Abi at Creating Paper Dreams organises this lovely outing once a month. Would you like to come over on July 27th? Stay for lunch…

Looking Up and Down

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Miriam Rogers

…at the windmill I visited for Rinda’s Scavenger Hunt

Looking up through the sails at a little bit of blue sky.

Looking down to one of the original french millstones.

Looking Up and Down is inspired by Helena

The Colour of Summer

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Miriam Rogers

Gallery Ten. Lime Green and Purple. This is such a fantastic colour combination…I absolutely love it.

My first thought was my vintage ice cream dishes, I just love them. They sit on my kitchen windowsill where I can see them in the sunlight and because I am using them every day at the moment. I bought an ice cream maker and we seem to have a glut of strawberries…no further explanation needed?

Then I thought of flowers, I had a look in the garden and found these

The purple alliums with their lime green seed heads

A pretty purple/blue geranium which I put with alchemilla mollis

The texture is by Nancy Claeys

The mosiac lamp I bought for Scavenger Hunt

Then for the bunting.
While there were a couple of strips of the vintage fabric I used for the last two weeks that would have been fine (and I might still make a couple of triangles), in another fabric ~~hiding place~~ storage box I found some scraps of one of my son’s old t shirts that I rescued from the bin. I was thrilled! Purple with a lime green logo on which I have no idea who or what it is/was.
In it’s new life it is bunting…

Meet Daisy Mop who helps to keep my computer screen clean. She just happens to be purple & lime green…

And my ICAD (Index card a day with Daisy Yellow) for today …purple and lime green fabric with purple and lime green stitching.

And then I had a play with the two colours.

A very productive day.
A very purple and green day.
I hope your day is happy whatever colour it turns out to be.

Simply a Moment

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Miriam Rogers

It is a little before 1:00am. I was just about to close my Mac for the night when I noticed the date and thought of Alexa and her Simple Moments.

I hear the hum of my computer and see its bright white page as I type.
My small white clock is ticking soothingly while Paul snores gently behind me. He is sleeping here in the spare room (my work room) tonight because he is up early in the morning.
The only other sound I hear is the gentle (thankfully) buzz in my ears and head, I have tinnitus and I am aware of it at the moment. Sometimes the noise in my head is very loud and very irritating.
Ben is asleep in his room with his door closed and Pepsi is asleep on my bed. With a bit of luck she will be on my side making a lovely warm place for me.

I have the light on my desk low to the table. The rest of the house is in darkness. Most of the windows are closed tonight as the temperature has dropped with the high winds we have had over the last couple of days. The house is closed down for the night. I am alone with my thoughts. I love this time of the day.
I love being here at my desk, quiet and alone.
On my mind is the funeral I went to. The service itself was lovely, I was very fond of the 91 year old lady that has just passed away. 18 months ago she was a new client of mine, her daughter was one of my carers. About 10 months ago her daughter joined us at work and she became a colleague. So, at the funeral were a number of work colleagues. I had a really lovely afternoon with them, catching up and laughing and I loved being told over and over how well and happy I look!
But, last night I had the most dreadful dreams. I was, apparently shouting and screaming about death, people dying, not being able to put things right.

During the afternoon I learnt that there are four people doing my job now.
No wonder I was poorly.
It was the right decision to retire.
I love being able to be here late at night knowing I don’t have to get up for work in the morning.
I love having time to do this.
Time for bed now, to sleep, perchance to dream….some lovely dreams please.

…maybe I should have had my lavender pillow

The scent of English lavender has long been used as a folk remedy to help people fall asleep. Research is starting to confirm lavender’s sedative qualities. It’s been found to lengthen total sleep time, increase deep sleep, and make people feel refreshed. It appears to work better for women, possibly because women tend to have a more acute sense of smell.

Thank you Alexa.