White Horses
This week I am practicing the philosophy and art of hygge, or gezellig if you want an even harder word to pronounce, because its definitely Autumn now and the average temperature in this house during the day (even with the stove on) is 16-18℃. I'm creating the illusion of warmth and coziness by building a nest in my little room and wrapping up in a friendly old, orange wool blanket.It's silly that my fingers are so cold and it's not even winter yet but I can warm them up by slipping my hands under the laptop, which is on my knee like a hot water bottle.I've been driven a little bit mad by technology lately and the fact that I now have a computer that is so out of date the browser won't even load Wikipedia (I'm keeping my fingers crossed Wordpress stays as it is) and an iPhone with a splodgy camera lens and a battery life shorter than a goldfish's memory (since it updated to ios10 it lasts about an hour). These are actually tools of my trade so I really need to think about investing in replacements but built in obsolescence infuriates me; constant software upgrades and "improvements" never seem to be worth it and always seem like a plot to force sales but maybe I'm the problem; reaching a point where I'm resistant to change and all fuzzy in the head from lack of brain stimulation. The thought of setting up a new computer makes me feel exhausted so I struggle on with Hot-water-bottle-Mac and Goldfish Phone and may as well be using a Box Brownie and a ZX81...besides I can't afford it just now.
After I finished writing the last blog post I was so wide awake that I ended up watching old TV programmes on You Tube (which I never do) until 3am, before reading in bed until 4. The thing I watched was "The Moon Stallion" which was a BBC childrens' TV series from 1978. I was on my own in the house that night, curled up by the fire watching something from my childhood- ultimate gezellig. I was struck by how much it had affected me at the time - when I was 11 and living in Wiltshire not far from the places in the story. It was slightly spooky. I think I was terribly serious and geeky about it when I was 11 which must have been either funny or annoying for my family, so watching it now I cringed a little in memory of my younger self and I wondered how a child of 11 would feel about it today; apart from a slightly cheesy fight scene it had aged quite well and will always be important to me, perhaps because it was part of a year that marked the almost imperceptible "beginning of the end" of childhood. I remember being taken to see the White Horse at Uffington and Wayland's Smithy and frightening myself by trying to climb the steep grassy banks... it's an amazing place where it's easy to believe in magic. I've been back several times over the years and even took my children there, one hot summer day, to spin around 3 times in the horse's eye (don't tell English Heritage).
You can see a little etching I did from around about that time in this post from 2012. I can see the etching from where I sit and the house does look so much like "home".Meanwhile in another century a woman on the cusp of 50 draws galloping white horses and lonely bears surrounded by papery flowers and wonders where the time went. You can see a little etching I did from around about that time in this post from 2012. I can see the etching from where I sit and the
I've been slowly adding more pictures to my Artfinder shop as well as listing some new Winter Snow Bears cards on Etsy which are selling really well so THANK YOU to everyone who has ordered so far. It really is true that "Just a Card" can make a big difference - not just financially but by boosting confidence too, making it so much easier when people ask "what do you do". I've been baking too, making this stupidly delicious Ginger Crunch slice from the recipe given to me by Lucia's in Grasmere. More addictive than crack but hopefully better for you, despite the butter and sugar, it makes me feel happy when I eat it because it reminds me that some people are kind and generous and friendly in a world that isn't always so ( also a lot of these people seem to live in the Lake District). However I will soon be too enormous to fit in my wetsuit so I may have to learn self control.
I hope you are feeling gezellig where ever you are. Until next time x