Three things

Glad I got out of bed this morning; reason one was because I was having a long-winded dream about living in a horrible rented house with millions of young men I didn't know, and Stu, who wasn't there. Bathtubs were filled with brackish water, showers were just attached to the wall with nothing underneath, carpets and furniture filthy... and I was getting drunk on some weird wine I had found in the room when I moved in. I can only assume it is my nomadic years that have left me with these dreams; I have them fairly frequently around the loose theme of living in unsuitable accommodation (sometimes attached to a school) with strangers. As my mother will gleefully tell you, from the age of 18 to about 26 I lived in around 20 different addresses; that'd do it I guess.

The other reason I am glad to be up and about today is that I received an email asking me to exhibit at the very lovely number four gallery in St Abbs in their Christmas show; it is always amazing when someone else asks you to show work rather than the other way around. So... just when the angels were being metaphorically put to bed I find myself itching to get on with new work for this one! Hoping to get four or five pieces for this show now; should be a doddle the rate ideas are developing each from another this year and I am just loving painting right now. Off to look up Printmakers Edinburgh courses in a wee moment as I want to advance the idea of learning woodblocking. Started a new one just before I left for work today (singing Tift Merritt's 'Mixtape' which has been on loop in my head all day) which just burst forth onto the board from nowhere! I have been doodling another double portrait of mortal and angel with shared hair; a blue faced angel I think... and when I started drawing it all went off at a tangent and I harked back to an old sketch of a big-kimono-wearing angel with a very blue background. Looks like this one is going to be very 'printy' and Christmassy so this could be the elusive piece for the show leaftlets. I wanted something wintry and things have been getting progressively more tropical..

Third thing; I also won a book from Birlinn Publishers via a give-away on Facebook. Hurray!

Work also presented a fourth thing as well; my cynical week over (it seems to go in cycles) I felt very 'up' today and was rewarded by some very cheery comments about my hanging baskets. Everyone loves a plant. Also, and potentially the highlight of the day, Fingers (a lovely but mentally lost old customer who may or may not be my angel) decided to come out with a new sentence for me: 'It's hard to believe, but this used to be the Plaza Ballroom!'

What can I say; there's a painting in there somewhere and it's got ballgowns in it...

I'm going to have to do it; there's a good moral in today's blog and I wouldn't be a good Buddhist it I didn't credit it... I woke up to two good things, which meant I was looking for a third. The third came, followed by the fourth...soon I realised how many good things there are to find in each day if you just start counting:)