a week goes by

and i remain marooned in the house. true i'm out briefly on the bike and i'm commited to the trainer but by friday my legs feel off and there's a persistent hint of sneeze about me. of course there's the heating to blame but really what i need is a couple of days off. but i've been off all week and can't go anywhere and digging snow has completely lost its appeal.

what to do? something, anything. t drops broad hints about me being 'out'. even i can recognise this so off we go for some lunch and a bit of library. the library saves us. i'm no good at lunch, it's all that sitting still and eating faster than everyone else but at least there's books to talk about and the cup cakes are good, if only to spur t into baking activity. but i have to do something. i know this. i'm no picnic to live with at the best of times but a week of cabin fever and something's got to give.

except it doesn't. t gets herself off to the kitchen for some proper cookie baking while i settle down for an afternoons drawing. not just drawing as i'm prepping a canvas but layers take time to dry so drawing seems like a good way to absorb time. plus i've set myself the challenge of trying to draw in a different style. and it works. these are good t says. i would never draw anything like this i say. do some more she says. and so the day goes. it turns out my canvas/embroidery project will be much more light based and non embroidered for the time being. if anyone knows a safe way to get a light source round the back of a canvas that provides a uniform light field please tell me.

but the drawing. back when we were wee it was my sister who did the line drawing and me who did the colour. true we could both do both but we knew where our strengths lay. and i really like my sister's drawings so never felt the need to do more than she already could. but getting back to the drawing took me back to windy houses on isolated islands with no tv, the excitement of getting a new set of pastels or coloured pencils. writing, drawing, playing an instrument, all those things are infinitely better than the computer, the tv or their many proxies.

and then today finally we get the car out. it's brilliant to be back in the world, see what it all looks like again. at least until we get to tescos and then it's not so great. this week we've gotten into walking to the shop, doing stuff around the house, cooking, reading montaigne out loud, playing the guitar, feeding the birds, going for a walk, a bit of writing, a bit of painting, drawing. it's as if the daily routines we slip into so easily have been buried along with everything else under the snow. a week on and i'm not mad keen for them to re-appear...