Extreme Knitting Redhead: New Focus

Thursday, January 8, 2015

New Focus

So what did I do over the Christmas break? Lots!

There was baking, running, thinking, moving things around, de-cluttering and planning for 2015. I don't make resolutions but I do like to evaluate things and try to make changes where I deem necessary.

On Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day I donned my Ms Santa outfit for my run. It always makes people smile. This year I was especially pleased with the red/white striped tights together with black/white socks which clashed nicely with my new mauve-coloured shoes. Classy hey?!

On NYD last year I went off to run a 10k race in atrocious weather conditions but this year I decided against it and went for a glorious run in the sunshine through muddy fields. What kept catching my eye were the bare branches of the trees against the beautiful blue sky.

I went out just as the sun was rising

The twigs reminded me of upward-pointing tree roots (see the next photo)!

These tree roots became exposed when the tree was blown down last Spring. Although these roots are now dried up and dead, the tree still has enough roots below ground to enable it to re-grow.

I loved the light catching the top of this beautiful Silver Birch

At one point I ran through a wooded area and took this shot of the dark tree trunks with the light peeping through.

As I ran along, the tree branches reminded me of embroidery stitches (feather stitch actually) and I realised that I'm missing needlework from my daily crafting. Knitting and crochet seem to have been dominating for a while and I think I need to get going on an embroidery project or something else involving fabric and thread. I also realised that I often forget to post photos of finished projects as I am a true flippertigibbert and easily distracted so I must address that issue this year. Just to prove a point, that reminds me that I haven't taken a photo of Mike's cardigan!

Once I'd had that thought my mind started to mull over the idea and then on my next run I just kept seeing things that inspired me. The beauty of long-distance running is that you can let your mind wander and being immersed is nature really liberating.

What an extraordinary tree with a line of gnarly bark up its middle. It looks as if someone is diving into the ground!

I love the pattern of tractor tyres in the mud

Last years growth on a hawthorn hedge looks like a novelty yarn or modern stitchery

The wonderfully twisted branches of the remains of a hedge which must have been 'laid' in the past

Glorious patterning on these Hazel catkins reminded me of a filling stitch used in embroidery

One morning I went out and we'd had a hard frost. When I looked out of the kitchen window I noticed a strange shape emerging from the frozen water:

Closer inspection revealed this strange chunk of ice sitting on top of the frozen water. How on earth did it form like that?

The patterns within the ice were fascinating too

The next day these magnificent ice crystals had formed around the rim:

The ground is sodden at the moment and so there were lots of puddles with amazing patterns in the ice. I could imagine a mixed media interpretation of the patterns:

I have many, many more photos to inspire me but January will be spent catching up on unfinished things before I embark upon a new creative adventure.

In the meantime I have my first marathon of 2015 on Sunday and I'm hoping the weather will be kind to us as it's down on the Kent coast again!

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Mum's Story

In 1997 my mother, then aged 81, had a series of minor strokes. Shortly after that we started to notice behavioural changes notably memory loss and confusion over everyday items. We thought it was just old age finally catching up with her. Then she started wandering and had violent mood swings. Although she already lived with us it became obvious that she couldn't be left alone for long and so I left my job to care for her. The next few years saw a gradual decline into the blackness that is 'vascular dementia'. My normally placid mum became violent and aggressive. She had psychotic incidents where she would see imaginary people (children hiding in her wardrobe, Russians sitting on the stairs, women stealing her clothes) and she would shout at them and sometimes throw things too. She was so convincing that we used to go and check that there wasn't anyone there! When my sister died mum did not know who Judy was or that she was her daughter. There came a point when I suddenly realised she no longer knew that I was her daughter and this was a terrible time for me. In the last 2 years that she lived with us, life for us all became almost unbearable as she needed 24 hour care - she couldn't be left alone at all because she would either wander off or hurt herself, she never slept for more than 30 minutes at a time during the night, she became incontinent and incapable of doing anything for herself. Finally my husband and I realised that we could no longer provide her with the care that she needed and she went to live in a special care home where the team did a splendid job caring for her in the last few months of her life. There she lived a zombified existence unaware of who she was, what she was or where she was. It was heartbreaking. She died in March 2005, the day after her 89th birthday.

Thank you for taking the time to read mum's story and I hope you'll dig deep and sponsor me using the link below to help find a way of beating this destructive disease.