When I was a kid I used to play the piano. Quite successfully, I suppose. I had proper lessons and all that, took exams, learned to read music, do theory tests, the whole thing! Got to grade 7 in the end.
then for some reason that I can't remember, the piano had to go. And that was it, I never played again for donkeys years.
A few years ago, a neighbour was wanting to get rid of her piano, so I offered to give it a home. After much effort, I enlisted a team of lads from work to bring it round, got it settled in and sat down to play. Sadly, I'd forgotten how to do it well. OK, I can still read music, and knew where all the notes were, but was so rusty and out of practise it sounded bloody awful. Add to that the fact that the piano was so badly out of tune, that even if my playing had been good, it would have still sounded like Les Dawson on a bad day....
So my enthusiasm waned and the piano sat there for a few months gathering dust until I decided to throw it out.
But I always thought back to playing as it used to be and how much I enjoyed it.
So this year I have just treated myself to a keyboard - an electronic, digital piano. Now that is completely new to me. I learned on an old upright piano, with hammers and strings!
This time I have been practising and my fingers are finally getting supple enough to fly up and down the scales like they used to. I dragged a few music books from the attic - mostly classical, some Scott Joplin, and am getting quite good again at the old sight reading and playing.
But I don't want to do that. Learning in such a regimented way makes it almost impossible to improvise and that's what I want to do. Not sit there and play the notes exactly as they appear on the page, but play freely and without the constraint of music. But I can't do it!!
I sometimes think it's easier for people who don't read music and learn to play by ear - I need the flaming music in front of me.
Anyway, I've just bought a book on how to play improvised blues and jazz, so we'll see how that works out. Going slowly at present though. I reckon it's going to be a long haul...
If anybody has any tips on improvisation, please pass them on!
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Tinkering
I've had a really good week at work this week.
What should by all accounts have been stressful (and indeed was for one of my colleagues) has reminded me why I like my job so much.
We bought a labelling machine recently and it arrived this week. Now machine commissioning is an art all of its own. They NEVER work right first time. Only this week the pressure was on to get it going as quickly as possible as it was really needed.
So I've spent the last couple of days tinkering. Setting, resetting, adjusting, modifying until finally today the machine was running like a dream! Play with the allen keys, learn how the thing really works, tinker it into submission! It's just a machine - it won't beat me...
The sense of complete satisfaction I get when seeing it running beautifully is amazing. (and seeing the relief on everyone else's faces!)
Now I am going to tinker in the lab with pigments and other materials - get my hands dirty and enjoy what it is about my job that is so fabulous. Forget the paperwork and the endless emails!
Tinkering is what it's all about.
What should by all accounts have been stressful (and indeed was for one of my colleagues) has reminded me why I like my job so much.
We bought a labelling machine recently and it arrived this week. Now machine commissioning is an art all of its own. They NEVER work right first time. Only this week the pressure was on to get it going as quickly as possible as it was really needed.
So I've spent the last couple of days tinkering. Setting, resetting, adjusting, modifying until finally today the machine was running like a dream! Play with the allen keys, learn how the thing really works, tinker it into submission! It's just a machine - it won't beat me...
The sense of complete satisfaction I get when seeing it running beautifully is amazing. (and seeing the relief on everyone else's faces!)
Now I am going to tinker in the lab with pigments and other materials - get my hands dirty and enjoy what it is about my job that is so fabulous. Forget the paperwork and the endless emails!
Tinkering is what it's all about.
Monday, 6 February 2012
Let it snow....
Funny thing the weather.
In this country we seem to have endless conversations about it - its' too cold, then it's too hot or too wet.
You'd think we would all know by now that the seasons are wildly different and the weather is never the same two days running!
On my trip to London this weekend (more about that another time :), I kept getting warnings about the snow that was on its way and I might have travel trouble, etc, etc.
Well I did have travel delays, but nothing to do with the weather. There had been a derailment on Thursday night at Milton Keynes, so all the Friday trains were either cancelled or late on the West Coast line. Instead of taking me the normal 3.5 hours to get to the city, my journey lasted SEVEN hours!
But at least I got there.
While in London I didn't see a single snow flake, even though the forecasters were getting quite agitated about the impending blizzards. Having said that, it was bitterly cold - I think the first time I have been cold in London and I've been in that city hundreds of times in my life. It was a lot colder than home and I've never, ever known that before :)
So, weekend visit over I went to Euston for the homeward bound train, only to discover that the trains were still delayed. But this time I'd purchased a cheap upgrade to first class, so at least I had a long journey in relative comfort. We passed through some bits of the UK that were slightly white and I was beginning to suspect that the drive home from Penrith station would be a bit hazardous.
Eventually pulling into Penrith (3 hours late) sure enough there was a thin cover of the white stuff and a bit of fog.
The drive home was OK though - the gritters had been out and the road was fine - a nice covering on the hills - it's quite eerie at night as you can see their huge white bulk against the dark sky.
the Tv news was showing all kinds of dramatic footage of the country that was shortly to grind to a halt, so I retired to bed.
Getting up earlier this morning for work, I expected the worst, so when I opened the door to let Archie out, what a surprise. A warmish, damp morning - not a smidgeon of snow anywhere.
Even better, after driving through a light fog to work, everything cleared beautifully at Cockermouth and the day became sunny, mild and beautiful!
Stayed that was all day too - superb day. The only snow was a very thin layer right at the top of the hills.
Apparently, there's been quite a heavy snowfall in London....
Oh dear.
In this country we seem to have endless conversations about it - its' too cold, then it's too hot or too wet.
You'd think we would all know by now that the seasons are wildly different and the weather is never the same two days running!
On my trip to London this weekend (more about that another time :), I kept getting warnings about the snow that was on its way and I might have travel trouble, etc, etc.
Well I did have travel delays, but nothing to do with the weather. There had been a derailment on Thursday night at Milton Keynes, so all the Friday trains were either cancelled or late on the West Coast line. Instead of taking me the normal 3.5 hours to get to the city, my journey lasted SEVEN hours!
But at least I got there.
While in London I didn't see a single snow flake, even though the forecasters were getting quite agitated about the impending blizzards. Having said that, it was bitterly cold - I think the first time I have been cold in London and I've been in that city hundreds of times in my life. It was a lot colder than home and I've never, ever known that before :)
So, weekend visit over I went to Euston for the homeward bound train, only to discover that the trains were still delayed. But this time I'd purchased a cheap upgrade to first class, so at least I had a long journey in relative comfort. We passed through some bits of the UK that were slightly white and I was beginning to suspect that the drive home from Penrith station would be a bit hazardous.
Eventually pulling into Penrith (3 hours late) sure enough there was a thin cover of the white stuff and a bit of fog.
The drive home was OK though - the gritters had been out and the road was fine - a nice covering on the hills - it's quite eerie at night as you can see their huge white bulk against the dark sky.
the Tv news was showing all kinds of dramatic footage of the country that was shortly to grind to a halt, so I retired to bed.
Getting up earlier this morning for work, I expected the worst, so when I opened the door to let Archie out, what a surprise. A warmish, damp morning - not a smidgeon of snow anywhere.
Even better, after driving through a light fog to work, everything cleared beautifully at Cockermouth and the day became sunny, mild and beautiful!
Stayed that was all day too - superb day. The only snow was a very thin layer right at the top of the hills.
Apparently, there's been quite a heavy snowfall in London....
Oh dear.
Thursday, 2 February 2012
Housework
Is it just me, or does anyone else find cleaning and housework just a tad tedious?
It dawned on me this evening as I was sweeping and washing the kitchen floor that I really don't like doing that.
Or more to the point, I kept thinking about other things I could be doing that made much more sensible use of my time, like learning to play blues on my new keyboard, or finishing the painting I started last week, reading that book I'm enjoying, going out on my bike, taking Archie for a walk, listening to Spotify, watching paint dry.....
In fact, even watching Coronation street would be better than ironing. Although, hang on a minute, maybe not. that's taking it a bit far.
But I reckon I'm just not 'housewife' material. Well, I've always known that, but some days I just get the confirmation in my head. Not that I have anything against housewives, of course. I have a couple of friends who are perfectly suited to doing just that. when I call round, there is never a thing out of place; their houses are immaculate, dusted, hoovered, washed to within an inch of their lives. If I accept a cuppa, I'm always scared to put my cup down on any surfaces and when I sit down I'm painfully aware of the creases I am making in the cushions on the sofa... My cup is always snatched up and washed as soon as I've drained the final drop of tea from it and I can sense the cushions being plumped as I close the front door behind me!
On the other hand, when they visit me, it's always when the house is at its worst. Just as I'm about to start cleaning - never after I've done it. they come in and pretend not to notice the dust bunnies hopping along the hall floor, or Archie's hairs which have mysteriously appeared on the carpet in front of the fire. I catch them looking ceiling-wards and discover to my horror that there's a massive cobweb in the corner of the living room - how on earth did a spider manage to make that in the last 10 minutes? so I take them through to the kitchen to make tea and they glance sideways at the pile of unwashed dishes beside the sink. Oh, they try very hard not to look disgusted, but they just can't help themselves. I can hear their thought - what sled-respecting woman could leave DISHES without washing them immediately after dinner?
I'm drained when they leave, so drained that I can't be bothered to climb up to get the cobweb. I lamely sweep up the dust bunnies, bung the dishes in the dishwasher and retire to my piano to do something more interesting instead.
I sometimes wish I had a spotless house, but then again, I live in it, so what does it matter if there's a pile of books on the table, or some un-ironed clothes on the stairs waiting to be carried up? I'm comfortable with my clutter and life's just too short to spend it on housework!
It dawned on me this evening as I was sweeping and washing the kitchen floor that I really don't like doing that.
Or more to the point, I kept thinking about other things I could be doing that made much more sensible use of my time, like learning to play blues on my new keyboard, or finishing the painting I started last week, reading that book I'm enjoying, going out on my bike, taking Archie for a walk, listening to Spotify, watching paint dry.....
In fact, even watching Coronation street would be better than ironing. Although, hang on a minute, maybe not. that's taking it a bit far.
But I reckon I'm just not 'housewife' material. Well, I've always known that, but some days I just get the confirmation in my head. Not that I have anything against housewives, of course. I have a couple of friends who are perfectly suited to doing just that. when I call round, there is never a thing out of place; their houses are immaculate, dusted, hoovered, washed to within an inch of their lives. If I accept a cuppa, I'm always scared to put my cup down on any surfaces and when I sit down I'm painfully aware of the creases I am making in the cushions on the sofa... My cup is always snatched up and washed as soon as I've drained the final drop of tea from it and I can sense the cushions being plumped as I close the front door behind me!
On the other hand, when they visit me, it's always when the house is at its worst. Just as I'm about to start cleaning - never after I've done it. they come in and pretend not to notice the dust bunnies hopping along the hall floor, or Archie's hairs which have mysteriously appeared on the carpet in front of the fire. I catch them looking ceiling-wards and discover to my horror that there's a massive cobweb in the corner of the living room - how on earth did a spider manage to make that in the last 10 minutes? so I take them through to the kitchen to make tea and they glance sideways at the pile of unwashed dishes beside the sink. Oh, they try very hard not to look disgusted, but they just can't help themselves. I can hear their thought - what sled-respecting woman could leave DISHES without washing them immediately after dinner?
I'm drained when they leave, so drained that I can't be bothered to climb up to get the cobweb. I lamely sweep up the dust bunnies, bung the dishes in the dishwasher and retire to my piano to do something more interesting instead.
I sometimes wish I had a spotless house, but then again, I live in it, so what does it matter if there's a pile of books on the table, or some un-ironed clothes on the stairs waiting to be carried up? I'm comfortable with my clutter and life's just too short to spend it on housework!
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
ten things....
I was going to write a blog post about ten things that annoy me, but I found I could only think of three! And then I figured if there only three things in the world that REALLY annoy me, then life must be pretty good :)
So I started thinking about the things that don't annoy me and there are hundreds....
To narrow that down, what about things that make me joyful? I wonder if the same things make other people joyful too...
So here goes:
So I started thinking about the things that don't annoy me and there are hundreds....
To narrow that down, what about things that make me joyful? I wonder if the same things make other people joyful too...
So here goes:
- My little dog Archie's happy little face greeting me when I get home from work, his tail wagging frantically as he rushes to greet me
- Snow covered peaks on the fells, especially now I can see them on the drive home from work! Tonight it was almost daylight and they looked glorious.
- snowdrops trying to emerge into what they think is spring. I only hope they don't get too confused when the weather turns colder..
- Sunsets. Tonight the sun was just a huge ball of red hovering above the Irish sea. Wonderful
- Oranges. Don't they just taste superb at this time of year?
- My comfy bed, although once in there I get so cosy I don't want to venture out into the cold mornings
- Jake Thackaray. Just been listening to his music and he is so underrated. a talent that should be given more air time
- Meditation. Nuff said :)
- colours. And how to make and mix them. Such satisfaction when I match a colour first time!
- My new piano and the fact that I'm so out of practice. what a great challenge to learn all over again. Bought a book about blues piano and am so excited about learning blues.
- Daylight. I'm going for a walk every lunchtime and this week it's been so fab in the sunshine...
- Australia. I can't stop remembering what a brilliant holiday I had last year.
- the countryside - I couldn't live in a city, although I do love visiting them. But I'm always happy to come home to the countryside.
I could go on and on, but ain't it great that there are so many good things in the world?
By the way, the things that annoyed me were people using mobile phones in supermarkets or on trains; aggresive or impatient drivers; celery.....
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Lovely day
I haven't blogged for a while as I've been really busy of late.
But today I decided to take a bit of time and re-establish my enjoyment of blogging. It's a funny thing, but writing words down is quite a new experience for me. But I've discovered I like doing it!
Today was one of those days that are almost perfect - no really!
I woke up feeling particularly good and had a good sing-a-long to my ipod in the car on the way to work.
so when I got to work, I was ready to tackle anything.
During the time I was there, I managed to finish a job that has been difficult and time-consuming. Isn't it great when you finish something like that? Leaving the office with a fabulous sense of satisfaction, I was greeted by them most magnificent sunset over the Irish Sea. We get some good ones on the west coast, but this one was staggering in its beauty!
Why do I never have my camera when I need it?
I did try to capture the light on my phone, but it doesn't do justice to the colours that were changing every few seconds.
Anyway, to add to the wonderful sunset, I drove to pick up my God-daughter from college and gave her a lift home, enjoying our conversation very much. I love the fact the she tells me what's going on in her life - I feel flattered by that actually :)
So I got home feeling good already, to be met by the most beautiful bouquet of flowers that had been delivered this morning from some very dear friends in Jersey.
Then I managed to sort out the iplayer on my Wii that's been refusing to connect to the wireless network!
Did a painting that I'm pretty happy with (for a friend) and decided to chill on the PC for a while. Play a few relaxing games (lexulous, pool and Cityville to be precise!) and write about my great day.
Just one of those days that doesn't fail to make you smile....
I hope if you are reading this you have had a day as good as mine xxx
But today I decided to take a bit of time and re-establish my enjoyment of blogging. It's a funny thing, but writing words down is quite a new experience for me. But I've discovered I like doing it!
Today was one of those days that are almost perfect - no really!
I woke up feeling particularly good and had a good sing-a-long to my ipod in the car on the way to work.
so when I got to work, I was ready to tackle anything.
During the time I was there, I managed to finish a job that has been difficult and time-consuming. Isn't it great when you finish something like that? Leaving the office with a fabulous sense of satisfaction, I was greeted by them most magnificent sunset over the Irish Sea. We get some good ones on the west coast, but this one was staggering in its beauty!
Why do I never have my camera when I need it?
I did try to capture the light on my phone, but it doesn't do justice to the colours that were changing every few seconds.
Anyway, to add to the wonderful sunset, I drove to pick up my God-daughter from college and gave her a lift home, enjoying our conversation very much. I love the fact the she tells me what's going on in her life - I feel flattered by that actually :)
So I got home feeling good already, to be met by the most beautiful bouquet of flowers that had been delivered this morning from some very dear friends in Jersey.
Then I managed to sort out the iplayer on my Wii that's been refusing to connect to the wireless network!
Did a painting that I'm pretty happy with (for a friend) and decided to chill on the PC for a while. Play a few relaxing games (lexulous, pool and Cityville to be precise!) and write about my great day.
Just one of those days that doesn't fail to make you smile....
I hope if you are reading this you have had a day as good as mine xxx
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
I haven't done any blogging for a while.
Maybe it's because I've been quite busy, but I've been enjoying myself lately, so haven't felt inclined to mutter anything!
However, today the weather kept me in the house more than it has of late. When Archie and I took a walk this morning, the wind was terrific and there were several episodes of hail that really hurt my face as it lashed almost vertically towards me. Not pleasant, so we didn't go nearly as far as I'd intended.
Instead I started to do some drawing and painting, which I should really be tackling more often. Byt like writer's block, I've been suffering from a touch of painter's block!
Not that I haven't wanted to draw or paint, just wrestling with subject matter.
I'm trying to veer away from 'ordinary' subjects, many of which I paint frequently. ie landscapes, pet portraits, etc.
I'm dying to takle something more challenging, different and striking.
Watch this space to see if it comes off!
On a slightly different note, I have managed to avoid watching the tripe that poses as TV entertainment over the Christmas holidays. What with walking, writing, painting, reading and entertaining I've successfully managed to miss it all! Hooray :)
That's all from my musings for today, except that I want to wish those of you may read this a good year ahead. May it bring all you wish for. Peace and happiness to you all.
xx
Maybe it's because I've been quite busy, but I've been enjoying myself lately, so haven't felt inclined to mutter anything!
However, today the weather kept me in the house more than it has of late. When Archie and I took a walk this morning, the wind was terrific and there were several episodes of hail that really hurt my face as it lashed almost vertically towards me. Not pleasant, so we didn't go nearly as far as I'd intended.
Instead I started to do some drawing and painting, which I should really be tackling more often. Byt like writer's block, I've been suffering from a touch of painter's block!
Not that I haven't wanted to draw or paint, just wrestling with subject matter.
I'm trying to veer away from 'ordinary' subjects, many of which I paint frequently. ie landscapes, pet portraits, etc.
I'm dying to takle something more challenging, different and striking.
Watch this space to see if it comes off!
On a slightly different note, I have managed to avoid watching the tripe that poses as TV entertainment over the Christmas holidays. What with walking, writing, painting, reading and entertaining I've successfully managed to miss it all! Hooray :)
That's all from my musings for today, except that I want to wish those of you may read this a good year ahead. May it bring all you wish for. Peace and happiness to you all.
xx