Spooky Halloween...

Mirror Mirror on the wall... who's the bravest of them all?

With all the excitment of the past few days I haven't had a chance to tell you this most spooky of tales. Myself, the boy and the sweetheart set off on a perilous quest - a journey back in time to a castle besieged by spirits and overwhelmed with pumpkins and... tourists....

We fortified ourselves with garlic and carried sharpened stakes aplenty as we ventured into the cobweb strewn secret pathways. What evil was afoot in these darkened corners?

What cast of characters waited to greet us on our macabre journey?

Are you scared? My son was - quaking in his boots bless him! Warwick Castle's seasonal spookiness well worth a visit!

Tomorrow I begin an online photoshop course run by Susan Tuttle (one or two spots still available) where I will no doubt learn how to make these pictures even more ghostly...

For now, this will suffice as my entry to Inspiration Avenue's spooky challenge!

PS - Never mind the skeletons and gargoyles, that creature coming out of the mist looks really scary... Wouldn't like to bump into him on a dark night...

I'm back on...

... The Joy Diet that is. Never mind all that truth and desire nibbling; risk was the diet ingredient that I needed to get my teeth into. It's got my brain digesting in a whole new way. I couldn't wait for Friday to write about it, so check out Tuesday's post. I have to tell you readers that I am feeling a whole lot less chicken today. In fact there's not a sparrow or turkey in sight either. In fact I'm soaring, I am an eagle floating on thermals... I am the hawk motionless above its prey (opportunity), just waiting for the moment (forthcoming!) to pull back my wings and dive onto what I want. No more floating around in the air, the time has come for decisive action - claws out - strike - take it.

Swoosh - I did it. I quit my job. Waheeeeeeeeeee. You have no idea how good this feels. I am soaring, my wings are filled with fresh air. I am the pheonix from the flames. I am ME! I am back. I am full of metaphors but who cares, I am free!

I admit there is a strong possiblity of paid work in the offing, so it's not a leap into the complete abyss, but you know if I didn't leave that little nest soon, it was about to fall apart sending me spiralling.

I am also in a state of such nervous excitement that I am incapable of writing anything else, so I'm taking my son out to lunch and to the movies.

And as for this week's chapter on Treats...

Treat yourself Martha suggests, reward your behaviour... Hey Martha, I live for treats. You're preaching to the converted there love. Speaking of which... lunch calls...

Tomorrow begins today!

Am I a chicken noodlehead?

I've been catching up on the Joy Diet this week. It has nothing to do with chickens; this is just an excuse to double up my posting as I join the Three Muses Chicken art challenge. Or does it?

Might the word 'chicken' just be resonating a teeny tiny bit with me today? Did I or did I not tell myself to quit my job yesterday? Was a voice not YELLING VERY LOUDLY in my ear that my destiny is awaiting? I've got this sort of feeling you see, a very crazy one, that putting myself out of work in the middle of an economic slowdown could be the very thing I'll never regret.

I've convinced myself that it will open a door. I don't quite know which yet. Perhaps it's the barn door and the chickens will bolt for freedom. Maybe deep down inside, something is telling me that surely I could be happier anywhere else than in this role. It's not fate or destiny pulling; it's misery pushing.

It's all the fault of this Joy Diet. I've been munching my way through the chapter on Risk. I can handle this chapter far more than the truth and desire, it really is rather palatable. I don't mind a portion or two of risk. I think of myself as quite courageous sometimes. I reviewed Martha Beck's Risk Assessment tool. It told me this was a risk most definitely worth taking. Today though I'm a chicken. I didn't quit. I thought about it. I thought some more. Then I just booked a few days off to tuck my head under my wing and shut the thinking out.

Martha's view on risk is that it forces us into action. I could sit here and moan about my job for months, applying here and there for something, but I feel so low that my heart is not in it. I get home every evening with little enough energy to make the dinner, let alone forge ahead with plans for an entrepreneurial career. Lack of money, for one thing, would be a powerful motivator.

My gut instincts aren't often wrong. What adventure awaits if I quit? Destitution? I don't believe so. Something just tells me it is the right thing to do - that magic door will open and if I don't hurry up it will be shut and bolted forever. And, as Martha suggests: What's safe about not being who you were meant to be? Life is NOT a rehearsal.

Have I convinced myself yet? Or am I still too chicken? Or just a chicken noodle head? Answers on a postcard...

Finishing on the art: This regal rooster was snapped by me back in the Spring and has been 'on ice' waiting for his big moment. Then, when it came down to it, all he got for his pains was a quick bit of filtering in photoshop. He does look rather pretty though with his rainbow noodle feathers. He's off to flirt with the chicks now.

Ah, but then I felt sorry for him and asked him to pose while I got out my acrylics. He's not quite finished as you can see, but I'm a touch busy today...

Shame

Running from shop to shop, Jennie clutched at her remaining clothes in fear. Passers-by stared and laughed at the half naked freak dancing a fear foxtrot before them. As fast as Jennie grabbed at clothes to cover her modesty, so others fell from her skin until she stood wearing just a blush in front of the hysterical masses. The laughing seemed to go on and on and on... taunting, shrieking, tearing at her. She shrank back in shame from their jeers, tears running down her cheeks. Turning a corner, she climbed from a train and ran across a sandy beach to an azure sea hiding her body beneath the waves. It was cold, her arm was growing numb, a shark was biting on it. She screamed in terror and awoke in a cold sweat with George glowering above her.

"Get up, you're on" he yelled into her face, spittle covering her lips. Recoiling in confusion and revulsion Jennie pulled herself off the couch and stared at her reflection in the mirror. It was just a dream she reminded herself. Just a figment of imagination.

... She smoothed down her skirt and pulled back the curtain to the stage before seductively wrapping one silken leg around the pole and winking at the expensively dressed punter in the front row.

A Sunday Scribble. Theme: Shame

A postcard from the dark side of the woods

A creepy postcard from the dark side for Sunday postcard art's Halloween theme. I threw everything I had at this - acrylic, collage, ink drawing, stardust, digital collage and a spell or two...

Leaving a trail

"To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest senstations in the world"

Freya Stark

Well, I probably wouldn't go that far, most times it is rather nice to be with a special someone or two. However, that first morning on holiday is truly something to treasure. A new city, rural retreat or sea vista brings so much promise. Every corner is a gift waiting to be unwrapped, each vista a sensory delight. Ahhh, precious moments indeed.

These ATCs have been prompted by Inspiration Avenue's weekly challenge - this week 'Travel'. I didn't intend on making three but I got carried off to Paris for dinner, danced at a wild Fiesta in Firenze and boozed and bargained my way around Barcelona. Rather amazing where the pages of Conde Nast can take you in one evening!

The aim of each was to capture those oh so fleeting holiday moments - fragments of tastes, sounds and mood - so vivid at the time but destined to fade into memory's corners on return, until all we have are fragments. You can still see... but not quite enough... Time for another trip I feel!

Mixed media: torn magazine, tissue paper, rubber stamp, distress inks & acrylics - click for better view.

Give me joy in my heart

Well, this week my entry to the Joy Diet group consists more of me talking about Joy rather than progress with the book. After last week I have decided to s l o w the pace a little and really get to grips with some of the earlier techniques. I just found I couldn't keep up with it all. I've gone back to truth and am having scary chats with my feelings - mostly about work and career... It's hard work, but it's medicine I guess and not supposed to taste nice. [short break from typing while I dig out some Bon Jovi...]

Not wishing to miss out on all the action though, I thought it would nice nice to share some other aspects of Joy with you, my fellow joy dieters. Maybe you need a little light relief from taking Risks with your chapter this week. I shall be there with you reading and learning how you got on.

Firstly, my son told me yesterday that blueberries 'bring joy to his heart'. Naturally, Mummy ran to the supermarket at lunchtime today to buy him a punnet. What a soft touch she is. Thank goodness they are a superfood!

Secondly, I would like to make an amendment to Tuesday's post when I discussed my aversion to admin and desire to employ a personal assistant called Annabel to cope with my correspondence. Well, readers, I have changed my mind if that's OK. Actually, what I think every woman needs is a Gok!

Those of you residing in my green and pleasant land will of course know exactly what a Gok is, and frankly, I'd be surprised if any woman disagreed with my crazy idea. A Gok brings you great joy. A Gok is a make-over from the inside out. A Gok can make any woman feel fabulous. He takes women who are ashamed of the way they look and shows them their beauty. He doesn't use plastic surgeons or designer clothes. OK, sure they get a makeover at the end and their hair done, but that's not the transformation. Gok shows women how to look good naked and how to wear the right clothes. He gives them Confidence with a capital C. He puts a woman in a skirt that lives in trousers. He shows middle-aged ladies that actually they do have a luscious curvy figure underneath all those baggy clothes. He is a national treasure and we love him.

Take a look on YouTube...
I've written about Gok before...
And if you want more Gok fix...

Thanks to Jamie for her suggestion of the sub-group. Sounds like a plan to me. I should be back on form next week - just don't know where the week has gone. I don't seem to have achieved anything in the past few days.

PS: After reading many of this week's postings on Jamie's site, I realised that without reading the chapter I've been thinking alongside many of you already! I've just reminded myself that my wishcasting post of Wednesday was exactly about taking risks. Saying yes to more risky endeavours, stepping out of our comfort zones. Yes, it can be really good for us. Why do we become more fearful as we grow older - why doesn't experience remind us that risk-taking can be a learning and satisfying exercise?