"I Only Want to Live in Peace and Plant Potatoes and Dream"

Pink skies and wedding cake fields have been replaced by grey and mud, a rash of molehills and the wind, trapped in the chimney. Somehow there is nothing colder than wind howling through a keyhole, not even ice and snow.

This week I have been thinking “I ONLY WANT TO LIVE IN PEACE AND PLANT POTATOES AND DREAM!”, one of my favorite Moomin quotes and perhaps the reason I am not rich and famous,with an attitude like that! When I look at the things that inspire me the most and make me happiest they are often simple things – a loaf of new bread,the smell of coffee,snowdrops discovered after clearing a pile of dead leaves, a line from a song…I was clearly never destined for a high flying career in investment banking.

While the snow kept me trapped on Witchmountain I returned to drawing bears and cutting out phrases from the Guardian like a poetic blackmailer. I was excited to receive an e-mail from Frances Payne who invited me to take part in a group exhibition in her studio gallery in Dacre Banks, Nidderdale. The “New Beginnings” exhibition opens on February the 8th and will also include Jane Carlisle Bellerby ( silk collage), Anna Lileengen (photography),Inside Out Woodart (wood art) and  Michelle of Elephantattic ( jewellery).

Another potentially exciting development is the offer to write a guest blog post for Derwent Pencils! I have written a hazy outline, a rambling piece about sulking in Keswick (because my friend bought a bigger box of pencils), sniffing fruit scented erasers in a South London stationers and falling in love with the Lake District via forced marches up mountains and trips to Ruskin’s House. If they publish it I’ll be sure to let you know!

Now these wintery scenes seem a little out of date and it will soon be time to marvel at the first signs of Spring.It’s time to throw another log on the fire and lay tomorrow’s clothes on the radiator ready for the start of another working week.

By the way, thank you all for your lovely comments, continued support and all the new “likes” on Facebook.You are much appreciated… and Rachel, how do you stop the wallpaper peeling off the walls when making marmalade!?

As a small aside I would like to appologise to the reader (who shall remain anonymous until I have permission to publish his comment)  and anyone else, who was not aware that “black dog” is a well known metaphor for depression (used most notably by Winston Churchill) and assumed I was calling him a poodle. It is never the intention of this blog to upset anyone or use it as a platform for ill informed,personal rants…. x

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