Artist

Alexander Averin

Wednesday 4 April 2012

What Am I Doing?

 
 
 
 
 

Doves in my garden
(Pics taken through my (dirty!) window)




Dear Diary,

What am I doing?

I am:

Listening to:

My Last Fm station with lots of my favourite tracks.  You can listen too – go to the side panel of my blog and scroll down to the Music bit. Click on my Playlist in the top left hand corner and when a page opens dismiss the message that says something doesn’t exist. Then go to Library Radio or if you can’t find that go to Music. Play my library radio and my music will play continuously – I skip those I don’t want to listen to (a few are slotted in by ‘obscure’ artists, not many). I know a few bloggers who do listen to my music while working, why not have a go and tell me if you like/don’t like. Or any song suggestions are always welcome.

Watching:

Out of the Window.

Doves and snowflakes. The flakes are sometimes huge and have been swirling all day but none have  landed because the wind is so strong. I don’t think they could reach the ground if they wanted to. Much needed moisture for the plants and the water levels too.  I have made sure all the birds have enough food because I know many are busy feeding their babes.

Photographing:


Pics of my doves, some are above.  We have two tall pines in the garden and in the one there are two wood pigeons  nesting and in the other are the pair of precious, gentle doves, they are our neighbours every year.


Discovering:

Windows Live Essentials –thanks to Country Girl   who says she uses it to post photos on Blogger and they are posted ‘big’. I don’t know why but Blogger only posts my pics real small. I have had a quick go with Essentials and so far it hasn’t worked but I am on the case to learn how to resize the pics before posting.  Any help would be welcome!  So many bloggers out there manage to put up ‘large’ photos but I am hopeless.

Learning:

Brushing up on my French because I am going on a trip to France with my daughter later in the year; we are searching for my husband’s grandmother’s roots in Pleurtuit, Normandy and other parts.  I only have French ‘O’ Level and am reading the dictionary while I wait for sites to load etc.  I also have French language learning CD’s in the car but have not been allowed to drive for six weeks (which are up tomorrow, yippee).


Also learning how to use my new camera. I have gone from a little Nikon point and shoot to a more expensive type one (after much pressure from M to treat myself). I now have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ45 24X Optical Zoom 14 mega pixels HD (whatever all that means). It has a Leica lens which I gather is something special.

Excited about:

Something I can’t mention just yet.

Reading:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett ( a must-read – has she written anything else I wonder?) and Selected Diaries by Virginia Woolf. Thoroughly enjoying both and look forward to the books I have on order from the library (see side panel for titles).

Recognising:

That I am 100% introvert. Have you watched the TED video below about the subject? Susan Cain’s book is one I would like to read. Her website has a quiz whereby you can ascertain how introvert/extrovert you are. I came out a complete intro.  Pondside left an interesting comment  on my post. 

Sometimes I think that blogdom is full of introverts masquerading as extroverts. 

(I know what she means). 

Elaine Aron’s book The Highly Sensitive Person is a good one to read if you or your child is introverted.

Angry About:

This could be an ongoing section as every day something, or more than one thing, gets me wound up. Feel free to add your own wind-ups in the comments section.

Today it is the fact that English libraries are once more trying to go down the road of getting rid of librarians and replacing them with volunteers. 

Also the fact that Big Brother is now wanting to monitor our emails, texts, Tweets etc. and to hold courts behind closed doors. 1984 is still becoming a reality it seems.



Wishing for:

Inspiration to write, writer’s block has set in rather.



Cooking:

The Herman Cake.  Or Hermione as I prefer to call it as I feel she is feminine. Or Friendship Cake as some may know it but it actually originates in Germany so the name Herman is probably more correct.  I can’t give you the recipe as you have to receive a yeast-based ‘starter’ to get the cake going and only a friend can give you that. Would that I could send it to you online.

Enjoying:

Playing catch-up in the  garden. Having not been able to touch it for six months I am now well enough to go out and clear all the dead stuff away, albeit in slow motion. It has taken days and days and I have had barrows and barrows of the stuff but at last it is all done. Next job is weeding and then when all danger of frost has passed (not for a long while) I shall be able to start planting etc.

Genealogy – this is ongoing – doing my own and others' trees is never-ending but so addictive and I am learning so much about history along the way.

Happy about:

Regaining my appetite and now I just have to regain all my lost weight. My energy is returning too though I am really tired by the evening, but then who isn’t?

If you’ve read this far, thank you.

I must sign off with a tribute to the wonderful poet Adrienne Rich who sadly passed away last week.

God rest her soul.



Translations



You show me the poems of some woman

my age, or younger

translated from your language

Certain words occur: enemy, oven, sorrow

enough to let me know

she’s a woman of my time
obsessed

with Love, our subject:

we’ve trained it like ivy to our walls

baked it like bread in our ovens
worn it like lead on our ankles
watched it through binoculars as if
it were a helicopter
bringing food to our famine
or the satellite
of a hostile power

I begin to see that woman

doing things: stirring rice

ironing a skirt
typing a manuscript till dawn

trying to make a call

from a phonebooth

The phone rings unanswered

in a man’s bedroom

she hears him telling someone else
Never mind. She’ll get tired.
hears him telling her story to her sister
who becomes her enemy
and will in her own time
light her own way to sorrow

ignorant of the fact this way of grief

is shared, unnecessary

and political.

Adrienne Rich

Bye for now,
Cait.








9 comments:

Vee said...

That Pondside! Very perceptive.

Oh you asked about the New Interface. There's been a message in Blogger Buzz for a few days now about it. I find that on my Dashboard by clicking on the design button at the top of my blog. Now that I have the new interface, I don't know how I find Blogger Buzz. Hmmm...

Linds at Rocking Chair Reflections was talking about that crazy proposed law.

So glad that you are feeling better and able to get to your garden and putter about.

ds said...

Lovely post. So glad you are feeling up to puttering a bit in your garden, not to mention exploring the range of your new camera!
Enjoyed the poem also. I did not know it. Thank you.

Catherine said...

Hi Cait, loving the list, that's a great idea will have a browse! Meanwhile your images look pretty big to me did you fix that? Otherwise all I could suggest is that you go into the design bit and expand the overall width of your blog? Then chose the largest images on the individual posts? Any help? X

Fennie said...

I never realised that Herman was the masculine form of Hermione, though it's obvious when you think of it. I suppose we are all introverts at heart; it is just that we have different ways of covering it up. I have always found actors to be rather shy, for instance. There's another dimension too which is about how well or badly you accept yourself for what you are. Do you feel good in your skin - as the French say? This is almost more important than whether you are an intro or an extro. I know I am bad at feeling good in my skin.

Fire Byrd said...

You sent all the snow to me then. The hills around have clear patches and then 3foot deep drifts. Made the driving interesting yesterday alongside the falling trees!

Elizabeth said...

What a thoughtful, lovely post, Cait!
So glad you have regained your appetite.

About making pictures on Blogger big --
have you tried cropping them square?
It does seem to make mine bigger!
Happy Easter.

Mac n' Janet said...

Great post, good luck on your French, I'm working on relearning my Spanish for a trip to Spain later this year.
Glad you're feeling better and will get to drive again. I wish I needed to gain weight instead of needing to lose it.
Powerful poem!

debbie bailey said...

I'm a complete introvert, too. And I have a very sensitive nature. My oldest daughter had twin girls seven months ago, and it's been so interesting watching the babies' personalities develop. One is such a people person like her daddy, and the other is a watcher who gets upset when she's around too many people. She'll also touch both sides of your face every time you get close enough. She has an artistic temperament just like her maternal grandmother! I've enjoyed giving my daughter insights into my type of temperament in the hopes of helping her help her sensitive baby's unique personality flourish in this too-busy world.

Elizabeth Musgrave said...

I am glad you know your energy is returning, and your appetite! What is life if you can't enjoy the pleasures of food? Hope the writer's block will melt with the snow.