Yesterday when I was at work, washing up, one of the chefs asked me what I was going to be doing
on my day off . "Oh, this and that," I replied.  "Yes, but what is this and that?" he asked.
"Well,"  I said,  "I have lots of artwork to do, but I have a doctors appointment to make for that day, an hour's English teaching, do some decorating in the bathroom,  swimming practise if possible, visit the bank, tidy the house pre Mark's visit, and a hospital appointment later on, with Mr Cooper."
 "That sounds a lot of 'this and that,'" he said.

Well it is, perhaps so much of this and that, that 'the other' is being overlooked.  The other being my creative work, so put the hoover away again (sorry Mark, if the carpet is a bit crunchy!)

After my early morning read in bed this morning, I came across a really pertinent quotation from the book I am reading,  'A Year of Reading Dangerously' by Andy Miller'.

If you are a reader, this book is a must.  Get it, if you can, from a bookshop.  I am going to the library later today (use them, don't lose them) to get a copy of 'The Sea, The Sea' by Iris Murdoch,  having been inspired to read this book by the above book.

The quotation was an extract from 'Whatever' by Michel Houellebecq.  See at the bottom of the blog for the complete extract, but the very simplistic gist of it is that writing is hard to do, and reading deeply fulfilling and pleasurable (the hard work has been done to make it so)

This was a good kick start to get me out of bed, and make me think that writing as part of my daily life would be a lot better than putting it off till the eleventh hour once a week.  Why is it that us artists spend a lot of time avoiding starting creative work?  Time to 'get a grip', and just get on with it.

Cinderella is saved!  After much thoughts about this painting while washing up, and driving to work in order to wash up, I have come to the conclusion that it would be a good idea to complete Cinderella as it was always intended.
But then, to paint another to go alongside, where Cinderella inhabits my world.  Imagine Cinderella in my painting dungarees, frantically painting, fuelled by a good bottle of red.  I tried to sketch these ideas to show Mr Cooper, but they are at the moment still only drifting around in my head, and refusing to be drawn.

But there is another huge and crucial job to add to my life…….get the house ready for selling, and us ready for moving to somewhere smaller!  In order for this to happen, I may look on it as an artwork, so you should see this unfurl on the blog.  Step one, complete decorating the bathroom that I started last summer.  It does look almost OK, but needs now to house my seagull and shell art collection, many of whom have spent nearly a year hibernating in a spare bedroom.

Plus, make sure I have entered all these drawing competitions, and then get ready for the weekend, when my other wonderful brother comes to stay with Jem and Snowy.

And now for a touch of colour, all my remnants of wool are becoming a stripy jumper.  This will not only tidy up a lot of loose ends, but will keep me awake in the evenings.

Did I say I have been asked to design and paint a roadside board, 8' x 4', for the Owslebury Show?
http://www.owsleburyhorticulturalshow.co.uk/

Here is the extract, as promised above, will catch up with you all next week.

'Writing brings scant relief.  It retraces, it delimits.  It lends a touch of coherence, the idea of a kind of realism.  One stumbles around in a cruel fog, but there is the odd pointer.  Chaos is no more than a few feet away.  A meagre victory, in truth.

What a contrast with the absolute, miraculous power of reading!  An entire life spent reading would have fulfilled my every desire;  I already knew that at the age of seven.  The texture of the world is painful, inadequate; unalterable, or so it seems to me.  Really, I believe that an entire life spent reading would have suited me best.

Such a life has not been granted to me.'

Looking forward to landing in his new home!