our search for meaning thru creation.

Hi all, as we know our priorities shift when faced with chronic illness and more so when adapting to our new way of life and how we do things. Since I joined this supportive forum, I have noticed that there is a lot of hidden talent that is evolving right here, in the bi world. Let me count the ways, in no particular order...

cat does gardening, renos/carpentry and writing.

Iforgot has done a craft/arts weekend workshop making picture panels.

Jules does craft and baking (quiche)

nightbird, Lia does writing and produces music videos.

Matt does coloured pencil drawings/quizzes.

amateur writer, Elenor does writing.

baron, Andy does poetry.

maxma does carpentry.

nutkin33 does pottery.

I do gardening/grow veggies, photography, drawing, poetry and home renos, in ebbs and flows. This photo was taken in Broome, Western Australia depicting a black falcon searching for it's next feed...

Tell us about yours!

[Julesgettingthere]

Hi Clara, Jules here,

Your first few words of your post i will copy and print out so i can re read and re read. It captures and explains a lot of 'me' now. Your words were:

'' our priorities shift when faced with chronic illness and more so when adapting to our new way of life and how we do things''

Thank you for that Clara.

Hope you are well (ish ?)

Jules

x

[Hidden in reply to Julesgettingthere]

You're welcome Jules. I am well. Hope you are ok too. Am glad that you identify with my post. It took me a long time and heaps of counselling to accept my life after bi. Once I learned to let go of my unrealistic expectations, life become somewhat brighter for me in some ways. Have you had any more urges to bake? Claire xx

[Julesgettingthere in reply to Hidden]

Hi Clara Just Jules,

God, THANK YOU !!!

You probably just saved yet another house fire.

I agreed i wouldnt cook unless my husband was around, i needed to hard boil eggs, and he is asleep in bed, sort of around isnt it ? i put them on. No idea how long they have been cookin . i will give them to the dog if the are ok.

Did you know boiled eggs exploded and the dry smoldering pan can catch fire ? That e]was me a while back, since then i have burnt a cooker ans 2 microwaves come to mind. Numerous 'close calls and the firemen have been out a handful of times.

So, long story short, i cant cook unless hes in !!!

I have spent today working on green cupbord, inserting a butterfly picture. its ok i think, nearing completion anyway.

sorry for bad 'writing; am still seeing double. its frightening how your brain can just misbehave like this.

Sun has just come out here, garden through open french doors leading to the ponds. Datamation asleep at my feet, cats playing 'ambush' in the sun on the patio (more reasons to smile today an delete some wrinkles !

I responded tp Luke last night - hes having a tough time at moment isn't he, poor fella, hope lots people message him on the forum here today.

Regards

Jules

x

[Hidden in reply to Julesgettingthere]

Hi Jules, good to hear that your house was saved from fire! It easily happens, I make myself stay in my kitchen when cooking as like you, if I don't watch it, I forget about it when out of sight. Hope your vision is ok today. Your green cupboard project, sounds intriguing. How's the butterfly feature on the cupboard going? Sounds like your Dalmatian and you cats giveyou heaps to smile about too. Keep smiling Jules. xx

[Matt2584]

Hi Clara,

I do draw using colour pencils but also use watercolour pencils which I find a lot easier to use.

I also draw with graphite pencils, black and white :).

Take care,

MJ

[steve55 in reply to Matt2584]

hey matt hows the xmas cards coming on

[Matt2584 in reply to steve55]

Hi Steve,

Xmas cards? Was this referring to the competition where any Headway member could enter a picture in hope to become xmas cards?

If so, my picture didn't win it in the end :(.

I gave a picture of a robin perched on a branch in the snow that I had drawn a while back, I gave that to the manager of my Headway to enter in the competition.

She and her husband voted on my picture to win as well but it didn't quite win it

My mamager told me afterwards that the drawing that did win was of a stag and it was a similar style to my drawings. She actually thought I should have won it, but that was her opinion.

Oh well, you can't win them all I guess.

[Hidden in reply to Matt2584]

Hi Mj, am looking forward to your next watercolour pencil quiz. I find graphite pencils are easy to use too when it comes to blending the shades. Happy drawing 😀 xx

[Matt2584 in reply to Hidden]

When I was little I had a friend who was also good at drawing and from him I used to smudge the pencil with my thumb or fingers to create life-like shading.

Now, I can create the same/similar affect without having to make my digits dirty.

I have a tool called a tortion or you can use a tortillion. These are paper stumps and you can use these for blending. If you are tight on money, you can use a bit of scrunched up tissue or even a cotton swab.

I like the tortion because it looks like a thick pencil/pen and is easier to use than a tortillion.

Tortillions are just as good but I find they are too short to hold, I can't get a good enough grip on them.

Glad you are also a fan of the puzzles/quizzes I post. I would like to post one every week really but first I have to think of one and then I have to draw it but the thing is, I have got other artwork to focus on to so I can't always get them done when I want.

[cat3]

That's a lovely photo Claire, and all the better for it being a personal encounter. I love pictures which transport us back to the time & place. I have one of my grandson, on the beach doing the 'thumbs-up' gesture with a beaming smile, and I often give him a return thumbs-up as I walk past.

You already know about my years of renovation work and gardening etc. but since the BI I've started something which is more of a pursuit than an ability.

A couple of years ago I was looking on the Google satellite map for a particular area and I realised how many unexpected, spacious green areas there are in my locality. Some are only accessible by foot or bicycle and I've taken to exploring them, finding some beautiful, tranquil areas that I didn't know existed.

And this year I've been trying to stretch my boundaries (Feel the fear & do it anyway) by visiting places further afield. I managed a round trip to York-onto-Harrogate and back to Cheshire a few weeks ago and took my grandson to Formby beach recently.

I know it's feeble compared to travelling to foreign lands, but I'd stopped venturing further than a 5 mile radius and now I'm starting to feel empowered again, going beyond my comfort zone under my own steam, and even taking the fast lane on the motorway for the first time in 4+ years !

So it's a re-learning process which has been slow in coming but which might just reboot my life ; who knows I might make it to Ireland after all !

Have you started that decorating yet Claire..............or is the sun still shining & luring you outside ? E. xxx

[Hidden in reply to cat3]

Good one you for finding your sense of adventure and travelling on the fast lane of the motorway too. It is an achievement to accomplish something, no matter how small it seems (which by the way is not small at all when you consider how far you have come in the last 4 1/2 years), than to not attempt it at all. The round trip to York-Harrogate and back to Cheshire proved that you can successfully stretch your boundaries with adequate rest afterwards. And I do know that you can achieve anything (within reason) what you set your mind on. Look out Ireland! After that Australia!!!

Today, I started painting my kitchen ceiling. It will take a few days to finish as you know, you cannot rush painting. Like you I am bit of a perfectionist. The weather was sunny today and I must confess that I was tempted to hang around outside in my back garden instead!

Hope you have a good day E. 😀 Clairexx

[cat3 in reply to Hidden]

I've had a really lazy day after overdoing things a bit yesterday ; went out on my bike to the shops, and there's no way round the bridge so I HAVE to go over it ! Anyway I wouldn't use the car for a 1/2mile journey and I'm able to carry loads of stuff on the back of the bike, and it's much less painful than walking.

Then it was watering the garden, which takes about an hour, followed by housework and another late night.

So you've started on the painting ; good girl. I must admit I struggle these days with ceilings but, once I'm started, the dizziness usually abates a little. ..................makes me think those particular postural exercises are maybe good therapy.

Anyway, it has to be done doesn't it Claire, and no one else will do it quite to our standards ! (not that anyone's offering anyway). Just be careful up & down those ladders.

The thing is, I imagine that in Aus, you won't be panicking about missing the sunshine 'cause there's always plenty more to come.

I'm curious about your surroundings BTW ; how close are you to the beach ? And I know you have your garden, so is it secure enough for Arty to be allowed out alone ? I only ask because of what you told me about waving to him through the window.................... and I'm imagining it in reverse just now ! E. xx

[iforget]

Love that photo... and the list is really interesting...I had no idea

I had forgotten about the craft retreat weekend (naturally) ...I went to that purely because I am rather isolated and it gave me the opportunity to go and do what I usually do alone in my home studio with others in a more social situation

As well as my arts & crafts business - which keeps me pretty busy - I like to try all manner of other arty crafty things for fun (as long as they do not involve needles of the knitting or variety ) and I cook and potter about in the garden. I am also trying a return to writing but have yet to re-establish that habit.

I like to try new things and plan to say yes to something at least once every month, whether that is a chance to make something new or an invitation to a social event or a trip to somewhere I have not been before...

I plan to try to make the most of whatever life I may have left...starting tomorrow

[Hidden]

Thanks iforgot. I am always fascinated with what's up in the sky, day and night! I would love to hear more about your arts & craft business. Sounds like you have plenty of interests to keep you occupied at home. Like you, I have not been writing for quite a while and am planning on joining a casual writer's group this Fri to get me out my comfort zone and mix with like minded souls. To be honest, I am perfectly happy to just potter around at home after being out walking with my fury kid. However, it is good to have something sociable to look forward too. You are right about making the most of the one life we have. I do think that we become aware of how fleeting this life is and that's what motivates you live it.... from now on! 😀 Claire xx

[iforget in reply to Hidden]

Hi Claire

I make (and sell) all manner of paper crafts - all are individually handcrafted and one of a kind - that is I never make exactly the same design twice...unless it is a set of something like invites of course.

It includes things like greetings cards, mini books, brag books, memory books, bags, tags, boxes, calendars, invitations (party and wedding), table decorations and favours...etc etc

I do a couple of craft fairs a year but mainly work on commissions (where someone will tell me what they need and I will make it for them ) this can be lots of fun because people want something specifically tailored to the recipient, can't find it in the shops and I can make that happen.

The other arm of the business is that I also demonstrate/teach crafts to others. I do this in small groups (including my local Headway group) or on a one to one basis. I particularly like one to one sessions and have done a few of these with people with disabilities, helping them to find workarounds in order to express their creativity.

I do 99% of this from my home studio and this suits me. I set my own pace and hours and take on as much or as little work as I want at any given time.

I used to be a member of a very active writing group and we met weekly. I am still a member of an online community, although have not been particularly active in a while now. Unfortunately writers groups in my area seem to meet in pubs and that is not a good arena for me with all the noise and generally busy-ness and I am seriously out of practice so could not comfortably slot in at my previous level - but feel out of place in a beginners group. Maybe I will find my writing comfort zone soon, because I feel I need to find it again before I can step outside of it LOL

Would love to know how you get on with your writers group.