If you had a freeway billboard, what would it say?
Hello again, so pleased you are here.
So the question of the day is
If you had a freeway billboard, what would it say?
Now I am going to be slightly pedantic with this. I live in the UK š¬š§ we donāt have freeways we have motorways. I just like to point little differences out mostly because I can.
Now a billboard advertises something be it a product or event, as I am neither that I am aware of ( š¤ ) that would leave me at an odds.
I could leave my
smiles š can travel many miles, so start a few today. ššš
Or
I send the sunshine along with smiles
Or
Live, laugh, love, but do it now today.This Present, tomorrow is just a promise, yesterday has left.
But I decided to go with my title white background 3 question marks in black and a huge QR code linking to my webpage and hopefully my future
The ? ? ?
Would I hope have people intrigued enough to ask questions and want to know more
Happy New Year, this is day one of 2025 and the first year I have decided not to make any resolutions.
There are a few reasons for my decision, number one being they donāt last. I actually feel I have enough challenges ahead of me without putting anymore strain on myself.
I have a list as long as my arm some personal, some things that have to be achieved. But nevertheless all are to me big challenges for someone in my position.
When I share parts of my life itās never for sympathy or compassion, plus I am aware that there are people far worse off than I am. I guess it all depends on where you live in this world as to how you live your life, what your home is like, running water, shops or not.
I live in the UK, my life has been a whirlwind of destruction, from the age of 12-13 till now at 58. I can remember all the good things but sometimes itās like looking through a mist to find them. Because of the Domestic Violence I have been through.
1. Now my challenges I face are after being moved and moved by police for safety, I have never allowed myself to settle and call a place home, now the children are grown and left to start there own families , itās time for me to accept this town and place and make it my home. So now I find myself with a place that has some heart in it but nothing is as it should be. My house is a disaster zone not a home. I have this huge challenge to turn this place into the home I want to live in and be happy with on a budget of Ā£5 and two buttons
2. Second challenge. Due to disability Iām limited to what I can move/lift even knowing if I can stay awake longer than an hour so thatās a challenge in itself. I have to find a way of not battling this but working with it , not blaming my ex but taking back control and pacing myself so that if today is a wipe-out ok no worries hereās hoping tomorrow is better. Make no plans and go with whatever I can cope with. I have had a long time to try and manage this but the GP surgery has been less than helpful, until recently. Now with a fresh approach in my mind Iām changing this challenge from a mountain to climb to a hill to come down. As it feels like I have been stuck on a hilltop alone for so long,battling several things now I am coming down and finding myself own way thatās my challenge
3. My third challenge has been driving me mad for a long time because I have been approaching it wrong, I have been writing for as long as I can remember and I have reams of poems, two manuscripts and a couple of childrenās books to put forward to look at publishing. Obviously I have to work on them, this is where I derail my own train, so I have been told. Well I am no longer in a train I am on a huge galleon ship floating on the clouds. No rails for me to come off , no water to drown in. Because the whole thing is magical there are no planes or any type of aircraft to disturb me. So my challenge here is to smoothly sail the now still clouds and finish the edits needed as my procrastination will be dealt with in challenge 2. Making this one a much smaller hill to climb I hope.
There are plenty of challenges in life, money, disability equipment i.e wheelchair, money (oh mentioned that already), mental health, ptsd, money š, and on it goes.
But thatās enough for today, tomorrow I start afresh, I do hope you are having a lovely day
Yes Iām back, I didnāt go far, you must have known I wouldnāt just leave without saying a final Bon voyage.
Anyway as I was strolling through this day, metaphorically that is, it struck me that New Years Eve has never held big plans for me. I may have been out a few times (counted on one hand) but that is it, it is not a special night for me, so here I am sat thinking about the year that is ending and all the years prior.
I have music playing I raise a silent glass to 2024ā a year that I am pleased to see end and realise that itās music that makes me nostalgic. Music invokes memories from places , people, occasions, happy and sad.
So that explains why music plays so heavily on my mood with the happy and sad emotions even laughter.
Just between us because after all we are friends, another thing that pulls my heartstrings on the nostalgia scale is a scruffy grubby almost threadbare Rabbit, he has been my companion since I was born and he sits in my room away from grandchildren, He is an old bunny now at 58 (delicate) he makes me think of all the tears and secrets he holds from my life. I wouldnāt share this with just anyone, but we are friends now donāt you think.
My Sweet Bunny
So not to bore you any further, I shall bid you goodnight and I will be back. As if I could abandon you
Wishing you the healthiest and most peaceful New Year, may you receive what you are working hard for.
I must apologise for the title to this piece, you see when I was younger I really believed Santa Claus was real and that our political parties wanted what was best for our nation (I live in the UK š¬š§).
Then I got a little older and at 16 the Uk sent the Military to a political incident in the Falkland Islands,normally I would say itās called war when missiles are fired and people die. This was under the Conservative Leadership of Margaret Thatcher.
I decided that I didnāt believe in Santa and I would be Labour if getting people killed was being a Conservative. Also unemployment was high and a lot more issues at the time.
Now go further down the line Labour, Tony Blair once one of the most popular of prime ministers this country has ever seen. But like many people before him and many more to come, ultimate power ultimately corrupts.
A quote from āthe Spectatorā āIn crucial areas, he wanted change for changeās sake, with no thought to the long-term consequencesā
Itās almost like he got up one morning and started galloping through English and European Law and decided to start the process of change to things that did not need changing.
Then there was Iraq- I will say no more on that subject only ;
There was no need
So I changed again I looked left and right and in the middle and decided, politicians are not from the same world, the ones in government that is. The ones that influence and run the country have no idea how us mere mortals survive a bleak winter, while they sit in cosy homes, not worried about counting every last penny, or can they afford some bread and milk before payday. worried about the heating bill.
So back to the beginning yes my political views have changed over time I now think Santa Claus has more chance of being real than the Bumbling Buffoons that call themselves politicians ever doing something for the people of this country unless it suits an agenda for themselves.
Oops donāt forget the latest one changes the law to suit himself and tries to stamp out freedom of speech.
From now on I vote Santa at least he gives and doesnāt take, take, take
You get to build your perfect space for reading and writing. Whatās it like?
Dear friend,
The very thought of building my own space for reading and writing has been in my head for as long as I can remember.
I always wanted a dedicated room for my books, my own library. Wall to wall book shelves with a desk sitting sideways into the room so I can look out of the window.
Actually I have upgraded my plans since I first made them to include a second desk back to back, one for pc and one for writing āš½.
The room will be white with a plain carpet and will have a couple of bucket seats to finish the room.
That is my ideal quiet place to study and read,
Since I was a child I have dreamt of this, oh I have amassed a sizeable amount of books for my library on most topics. I have my desks and pc plus I am writing more.
All I need is the room and at last slowly and painfully I am putting a room together, my dream will become my reality
This is when I say dreams do come true, I am 58 itās been a long time, but wow, wow and I say again wow this will be my favourite, most loved room in all my house.
My own library/reading/writing space/room. My place of quiet thoughts
Firstly I send from me to you Seasons Greetings and may the New Year bring you Peace, Hope & Security, in whatever form that may take.
Seasons Greetings from My Home to Yours
Now the biggest influences in my life have been;
My wonderful step-dad
The twins at St Claireās, and all of Enid Blytons books. She brought me through my childhood.
A wonderful lady who lived down a woodland track near Dads farm. She was the most amazing teacher of life, baking, gardening and nature.
Mitch Album, author of Five People you Meet in Heaven. That book changed my thinking .
Two people that were actually in my life and two authors, amazing when I stop to think of all the people that I have come in contact with in my 58 years and those are the only ones I can say have really influenced me.
I am lucky to have had My Dad he was the most amazing lovely kind man.
As for the lady in the wood she was a beautiful soul, who I could tell all my troubles to. As was the custom when I grew up, adults were always Mr & Mrs, this lady became known as Auntie Babs to me. I guess she adopted me into her life.
Thank you for taking the time to read these notes that I write, I feel sometimes that my thoughts fall onto the paper so quickly that it can become a ramble, therefore I will apologise to those that find the trips through my life, my thoughts, hopes and imagination to be a little tangled at times. I call it the excitement of creation overflow.
Now this question of when am I most happy is not as easy to answer as I first thought it would be. Many reasons have halted my answering and I think š¤ lists are my way forward
What stops me from thinking about,being, happy
PTSD
Depression
Long term health conditions
Chronic Loneliness
Now the above do not stop a person being happy but it makes it harder to think about it. So to help I used my Google photo album and flicked over the last 10 years now I photograph everything and I mean everything, from Christmas to Birthday events and the garden seasons, blue , grey, orange, red, yellow all the different colours of the sky throughout the year. No make that years. The children from teens to homes of their own, grandchildren. Wow memories flowing through my hand, places, people, meals, creations, fun, happy times.
A wish that I wished that I will create just for me
WoW
What a way to find what makes ME happy, many things. Look past all the hurt and petty stuff turn down the noise of todays incessant babble, and there it is
I am most happy when
I am being creative.
Spending time with loved ones.
Enjoying good food in or out
Relaxing in peace
Getting the chance to get out and about
Spending time with my grandchildren (cause they go home and I can rest after)
Taking photos so that I can remember all these wonderful times.
Writing and with that sharing smiles
As seen from under the viaduct
As you can see there is not just one thing that makes me happy there are many and sometimes itās the simple things like rediscovering old photographs.
Thank you if you got this far if you did drop me a hi š because one last thing that makes people happy, me included is being friendly and sharing smiles.
Bye for now
Stay positive, Stay happy
The Sky at Night
Gnome place like Gnome What a cliche
I hope you enjoy these photos, I was surprised to find I had currently 18,600 photos available on my phone (I didnāt realise) plus all of the ones I have on hard drive oops I think š¤ thatās deffo a passion
I was going to say the last thing I did for fun was sleep but thatās boring unless you could see my dreams.
So I have sat and thought hard about this well not that hard because being creative process to me is my fun and play in one. Like being a child again, this time no adult saying you canāt mix that or use this or a grumpy art teacher saying stop š I donāt like your work, I am free to do whatever
Be Creative with a smile on my face, I am so in love with art š¼ļø and creativity that I have a selection of paints next to me in my front room and if I suddenly feel an inspiration to paint, I have it all to hand.
Dreamland of another time.
A mix of acrylics, wooden reliefs, reindeer moss, mirrors, gems and twigs. Finished with some lights built in. Just imagination gone wild
This may be childish and not to peopleās taste but I did it for fun and art should be fun, at least itās not a banana stuck to a wall with some tape and sold for a fortune.
So this started me into my deep thinking and playful phase and my take on the tree of life and I had so much fun doing this .
The spreading family tree.
My version of the tree of life, as the fruit of the tree in this case acorns,(nuts) fall and spread they are still connected. Life goes on, but family ties are stronger than you realise.
I loved this one itās proudly hung in my bedroom. I donāt paint for anyone as I have a huge downer on my achievements re other people seeing them but I gifted my son a small painting of a turtle-duck (he likes this Japanese Anime) at least it must resemble one because he knew straight away what it was and seemed happy. I usually love what I paint make create, maybe one day I will be able to show some pieces or not
After all I just enjoy the playing
Till next time āļø
The oh so little Turtleduck
I painted this for my son who is in his early 30ās a character from an anime cartoon he likes
Couldnāt resist this writing prompt with top grocery items, itās a good job I wasnāt asked for the top five this time of year as it would have been chocolates, sprouts, parsnips chocolates and mince pies š„§š¤
My top 5 grocery items are
Semi-skimmed milk, my stomach has trouble with full cream milk causing IBS and at times causing a diverticulitis session attack š„
Bread thick sliced, best for toasting. Brown or white not bothered, as I have trouble slicing anything except myself I do tend to buy pre-sliced. š„Ŗ
Coffee, particular on my brand and strength. So I do buy in bulk when on offer, yes I know coffee snob. āļø
Rice Krispies/cereal, I like to buy the same breakfast cereal most of the year, maybe swapping a couple of times a year thatās all. š„£
Toilet Roll, well honesty is the best policy and my grocery list includes everything I need for the home and myself, canāt leave the bum cleaning kit out š¤ š§»
Describe a man who has positively impacted your life.
Hello Friend,
I felt the need to return and tell you about this man who made such a huge positive impact on my life, that sadly no man could compare to him.
My Dad, yes I know itās easy to say āyour dadā, please note I said Dad with pride. I did not say father. Any man can father a child in the biological sense (if able to do so medically) not all can be a Dad.
My Dad took my sister and I on when he married my mother, they went on and had a son. Dad was amazing he cared for us all even when mum left after some pretty awful things happened. Not once did he tell her to take her kids or turn on us, he provided a home, clothes, a good life.
Without this wonderful man and his love I wonder where I would be. Life has never been easy like so many of you, at least I can say my childhood and younger adulthood was amazing my children got to know their Grandad at the farm and love him almost as much as I did.
Through the curse of domestic abuse because my girls were scared and my injuries were causing my health to fail the police and social services deemed it right for us to be punished not the bully so we were uprooted from all my girls had ever known, me from friends, family and into a strange new town , by now I could no longer drive so we were stranded. So with being moved 3 times for protection, and not being allowed to contact family because one member was friends with the abuser I never got to see my Dad for the last 15yrs of his life.
I guess I had to grieve for him way before he passed away, because I had already lost him. When he died two years ago I wasnāt told , now that might seem a slightly strange comment, I assure you when people say walls have ears, and donāt trust anyone, believe them.
You may be thinking, well you were moved, no one knew where you were, wrong. my ex had found my address a few years ago but thank goodness the police had given him a warning , plus the children are adults now. Also one of my older children is in contact with a cousin who told her when Grandad, My Dad died, but she was not to tell me. That hurt so deeply. Like all things hidden they have a way of surfacing and so did my Dadās details, the internet š keeps us informed of many things and I have always kept up with local news from my home area. When I saw Dads name I was frozen. I never got the chance to see him, but I dam well managed to go back and say my final goodbye
I have never found another man with his morals, integrity, honesty and pure loving kindness. Yes he was a religious man as in church on Sunday but that gave us a code of morals to be guided by. I know my life has been less than perfect and it grieves me but it had nothing to do with the way My Dad brought me up that was down to my poor lack of judgement and no maternal input whatsoever
Bucket of Smiles 