I've come back to soothe my blog

Beach

I've neglected my infant blog in favour of the competition's site, but its guardian has now returned ready to do battle with words.


I haven't brewed up an entry yet, but I've got sleep to look forward to so I may find something in my dreams.

In the meantime here is a fresh picture of the first prize entitled 'Beach'.

Over the weekend, I'm hoping to slot in some time to assemble the selection of pendants that I am offering as a second prize. When I woke up this morning, it was the first thing on my 'things to do which I actually enjoy doing', but sadly the 'life crap' list has presidence & it took me over today. I don't know which is worse - 'life's crap paperwork' or 'life's crap chores'?

Put on the imaginary boots & wade through the mire - the island you're trying to reach is a worthwhile goal , but you may not manage to reach it everyday.

Come on over!

I'm neglecting this place in favour of the postcard competition's blog so come on over & feel the warmth generated by 'The Postcardians.'

You can see photographs of the prizes here. I'm offering a set of earrings as third prize & guess what - you get to choose which ones you'd like out of a selection of four pairs. Please visit the prize page & have a closer look.

Say PANTS to Ovarian Cancer

How many times in your life have you been allowed to make a fuss? Once? Twice? Never?

Come on over to the blog belonging to The Postcard Competition because here you can make as much fuss as you want. Postcardians get to shout at people - it's true - though you do have to remember the magic words:

PANTS to Ovarian Cancer!

Come on over & show your support for

Ovarian Cancer Action

If I can help in any way, please email me at
art_of_curiosity@btinternet.com

Thank you for reading this message.
Jennifer xox

‘the art of curiosity’ postcard competition

Romy's Fork


Do you want to come out & play? I’ve arranged a little competition & it would be an honour if you’d join in. Please tell your friends because I WANT to give Ovarian Cancer Action the full donation.

We women need to say 'PANTS to Ovarian Cancer!‘ It’s a silent killer. My mother mistook the symptoms for the menopause & by the time she discovered that it wasn’t, it was too late.

Don’t let it be too late for you. Check! Make a fuss! And let’s say ‘PANTS’ to Ovarian Cancer!’

This is the entrance to the art of curiosity postcard competition Will you come & play?

By the way, yes, you have seen the fork before. Everytime I mention my mother, you will see her fork. It's one way of keeping her with me.

perusing commonplace books

THE Empress of the Sea Necklace

I used to keep a Commonplace Book - well I still do, but it's badly neglected. My grandmother kept one, but her books & diaries disappeared when she died - no doubt Grandfather had a hand in this. Volumes containing the printed word were spared & now belong to me, but anything handwritten wouldn't have registered as important to him and as he was keen, as indeed are so many men, on bonfires ( & the quest for a perfect lawn) I would put my money on the flames.

I differ - I would have traded in the print for the handwritten.

Whilst I was rummaging in my study trying to find 'Moments of Truth: Twelve Twentieth-century Women Writers' by Lorna Sage ( I've got my nose in Djuna Barnes 'Nightwood' - I like to do battle with it every now & then) I found my copy of 'A Gentleman's Commonplace Book' by John G. Murray. You'll probably be relieved to hear that I'm not going to bore you with tales of the much missed publishing house of John Murray and its connections with Katherine Mansfield, Byron et al, but as part of my '100 things to know about me', I'm going to quote some of my favourite quotations from this delightful volume.

1. 'Life is what happens while you are making other plans.' John Lennon

2. 'The advantage of being married to an archaeologist is that the older you get, the more interested he becomes.' Agatha Christie

3. 'If you have nothing good to say about anyone, come and sit by me.' Alice Roosevelt Longworth

4. 'Please don't talk while I'm interrupting.' Todd Rockefeller

5. 'A house unkempt cannot be as distressing as a life unlived.' Rose Macaulay

6. 'Facts are not born free and equal.' C.V.Wedgewood

7. 'Some callers can stay longer in an hour than others in a week.' Anon.

8. 'If you do not expect the unexpected you will never find it.' Heraclitus

9. 'He has not learnt the lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear.' Emerson

10. 'You must come again when you have less time.' Walter Sickert to Denton Welch

11.' There is less to him than meets the eye.' Tallulah Bankhead

12. 'The wider our experience the deeper our tolerance.' Anon

13. 'News is what governments don't want the public to know.' Donald Telford

14. 'One has to resign oneself to being a nuisance if one wants anything done.' Freya Stark (tell me about it)

15. 'We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all we really need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about.' Charles Kingsley.

Why of why, am I always so entertained by the impolite ones? I guess it must stem from my hatred of interruptions. I invariably become irritable & impatient. I wish my mind was fleet enough for wit - God was handing out slug brains on the day I was created.

'Beloved' by Toni Morrison

I am going to copy a post that I have just made on Jean's blog. I hijacked her blog & now I'm going to thrust this post in your face too. Please forgive my rudeness. I feel so strongly about 'Beloved' that I can't help myself.

Here's a copy of my post.

"Though I have meant to read this book ('The Girl in a Swing' by Richard Adams) for an eon, I haven't. I've just ordered a copy & I am eager to consume it.

A book that I go back to each year is 'Beloved' by Toni Morrison. I HAVE to read it. The emotional response that it pulls out of me makes me look outside of myself & towards the pain of others.

It is poetic - I think of the 'tree' traced on Sethe's back. Each time I read it, fresh imagery appears in my mind.

Jean, I'm sorry to hijack your blog - baaaad manners!"

I cannot add an image to this post. 'Beloved' must always stand alone.

The Barbara Hepworth Memorial Hole

I've just posted a scan of this postcard on the 'pursuing the art of curiosity' blog & it's reminded me of one of the early disasters which occurred whilst remodelling, re-roofing, rewiring, blah, blah, blahing our house ( it's only taken seven years or is it nine? This year should be the last - I'll believe when I see it. Change that - I'll believe it when I'm in Italy next summer. Every holiday has been consumed by our house, but as soon as it's finished, I can go 'home'.)

OMD decided that he had sufficient experience to remove a wall light in the sitting room. To this day I don't know exactly what went wrong, but we ended up with a large hole in the wall. The plasterer was on holiday & had a number of other jobs to slot in before he rejoined us and so we had to live with this 'exciting' new feature for quite some time. I nicknamed it 'The Barbara Hepworth Memorial Hole' and stuck a make-shift plaque underneath it. It's not the only 'art installation' that we've lived with during all the renovation work that we've done over the years, but it's the one that has stuck in my mind.