Heart-shaped

I love finding heart shapes in unexpected places, especially in nature.





Today's favourite song: Finlay Quaye, 'Dice'

M.E. survival kit_2

laughter

friends

sunshine


Today's favourite song: John Legend feat. Andre 3000, 'Greenlight'

Tips for coping

wear dresses in bed
get a cat
watch the little things
talk to your soul
love in the depths


Today's favourite song: Natalie Merchant, 'My Skin'

Stitches

As an ebay user.. this had me in stitches...

This man is a GENUIS!

ENJOY!!!

What Flower Did Next...

...The Artist's Way!

This is my third attempt at TAW. (I am not alone, it takes most people a few attempts to really get going).

I'm doing it because I know that in life at the moment, I am looking for something... and I know it's inside... and I know it's creative... but I don't know what it is... or where inside it is...

So I'm enlisting JC's help

I find the morning pages tough (writing 3 pages of stream of consciousness writing first thing in the a.m.)
the artist's dates easier (taking yourself off somewhere to do something creatively nurturing and fun)
the tasks hellish (discovering and talking to your inner demons)

but this time. THIS TIME. I am determined to complete the course.

So far it has encouraged me to write on this blog, study photography and sign up for oil painting and photoshop classes..

gulp..

imagine what I will do when I actually finish the course.. WOW!



Today's favourite song: Iglu and Hartly, 'In This City'

Choons..

So, I love music.

*That much should be obvious seein' as how I include a favourite song on every post.*

Like everyone, the best ones are the ones that speak to you.. tellin' ya to dance, tellin' ya to sing, tellin' ya they've been through the same crap, lyrics you love, melodies you love.

Then there are those..

yeah.. those..

you know, those..

the ones that reach right inside... touch you... speak to you... take you over... leave you tingling.. speechless... breathless

song on full volume you no longer exist.

these songs are rare and amazing.

This one does that to me:




Today's favourite (spinetinglin') song: Bhinda aujla, 'Dil Sada Luteya Gaya'

Redemption

My boy is OK!

Image taken by M. Coleman

He had his lump removed and it was benign..

Happy, happy me, happy happy him!


Today's favourite song: Noah and the Whale, 'Five Year's Time'

Serenity, Peace and Strength

6pm, Friday night, I am in bed. I am breathing slowly and chanting my favourite mantra...

serenity, peace and strength

(it gets me through some tough times)

Am in my jim jams, two cats under the duvet with me. My friends Lucozade and Ibuprofen sitting by my side.

The reason for this early retirement from the world is 'The Warning Signs'.

The Warning Signs are the signs I get that I am headed for am m.e. episode...

.....my limbs ache, my head is fuzzy, my chest and throat are sore, I feel very tired and very weak. When I get the warning signs I need to STOP and REST in order to stop the attack. Sometimes I'm too late, sometimes I'm ok. Tonight, I'm somewhere in between.

So, that is why, on a Friday night at 6pm I am in my jim jams and in bed.

Sometimes I feel sorry for myself, thinking about the revellers next door and how much fun they're having (i live next door to a pub). Sometimes I feel sad, for having been interrupted from doing something I love in order to force myself to rest. Sometimes I don't feel sad at all... like tonight.

I think about all the people out there who dearly wish that they could settle down in bed at 6pm on a Friday, with nothing to do and no one to see: all those cooking dinner for their families, all those still at work, all those starting their late shifts, all those still on their way home in the rain.

And here I am, all quiet, two cosy cats at my side, breathing slowly and deeply into the quiet.

..serenity, peace and strength.

..I. AM. Serenity ... Peace ... and Strength.

These precious words that keep my alive, keep me going, keep me brave, keep me strong.


Today's favourite song: Nas, 'Hero'

Where are all the photographs...?

... well, I wanted to set up a blog exclusively for my piccies!

This is because as I learn more and more, I wanted to have somewhere I could chart my progress, somewhere to look back on and see what I have learnt, remember my journey.. won't it be great if I can look back at this in 10, 20, 30 years time!!

So that's the grand plan for my photos. That isn't to say I won't still post them here, I will but mainly, they will be here:

www.thebeginningofaphotograph.blogspot.com

Enjoy!


Today's favourite song: The Shins, 'New Slang'