I'm currently reframing my art practice.

As I see it, before my diagnosis I was trying to be the person everyone else wanted me to be so if I wasn't being my true self then it appears that my theoretical framework and indeed my art were also an effort to please.

So here I am now, five years post diagnosis, enjoying textiles and the odd bit of drawing wondering how to develop it further. The old rusty framework is still there but a new set of values and influences need to be darned in. As I can't get out much most of my viewing of others work comes via books, the internet, and handling old textiles that I've collected. It's the theoretical stuff I'm getting into at the moment.

I hadn't thought much about the difficulties I was having until a friend said to me that I was experiencing disablement. I found a gem of a book, 'Why are you pretending to be normal' by Phil Friend and Dave Rees that is about the language we use. This is not an academic book, it's not meant to be. It is a widely accessible for most readers. I'm in the process of taking what it suggests on board. In the meantime I've started to ponder how much the sensory impairments I have impact on my art/craft practice. I'm dipping into texts on phenomenology, postmodernism, poststructualism, feminism and disability theory...and it's making sense!

It's important to me to understand why I do what I do so these new developments are exciting.

Bye for now :)

The other day Lovely Husband and I had a meeting with a care team of a relative in hospital. As a person on the autism spectrum hospitals are a sensory nightmare especially with the lights and noise. Through the love and generosity of a relative I've been gifted noise cancelling headphones. We entered the hospital and within a minute I'd donned my headphones and made our way to the ward. The meeting began with two staff members - an occupational therapist and physiotherapist - and I felt fine and included. Actually, at that point inclusion wasn't even contemplated. Another physiotherapist then joined us, I smiled and greeted him, he looked at me with some expression I could not read and then proceeded to conduct his whole conversation to my husband with no eye contact with me. I wondered if I should explain myself and then thought why should I have to? I let him continue uninterrupted. Towards the end of his speech, and where polite to do, I interceded with an intelligent comment and he looked at me with complete surprise as if in amazement that I could think such thoughts.

I'm still struggling to process this 'thing' that happened.

I haven't posted on my blog for ages, to be honest it all became too much as I tried to come to terms with my autism and the anxiety and depression that follows a state of overwhelm. My husband suggested I use my blog to air my thoughts so here I am. And I'll be back.

Ignoring these situations doesn't promote the education of the ignorant. Perhaps after the meeting the male staff member had a light bulb moment and feels bad about his behaviour. I don't want him to feel like that, I'd just like to think he'd learnt something from it and moved on.

Dunster Castle gardens - the low walk

Hi there :-)

After several hours of writing reports (Lovely Husband) and me hooking a  Christmas pressie... I'm impressed by my whizziness!... we decided we needed some fresh air.

We decided on Dunster Castle as the lower garden walk it's suitable for our wee invalid.

I took my tablet as I knew I was more likely to publish a post with photos taken on that rather than with my camera as that would take several hours longer and takes all the fun out blogging.

The first few were taken before I realised that it was switched to incandescent lighting...the colours are washed out...

Even using my tablet it has taken more than half an hour 

to upload the first 11 photos!

Nature Play area...

The River Avill  

I then switched over to daylight! It was about 3pm...

Looking towards Dunster water mill from beside 

Lover's Bridge (above) and Lover's Bridge below. It has a stone seat set into the wall half way across

The overshot working water mill...

You can find out more about this wonderful National Trust site by looking here

I'll show you around a bit more some other time as this was about as much as Bertie can handle at the moment.

And now for something completely different... here is my granddaughter wearing her 

Olaf hat I had just made her back at the beginning of October

:-)

The lovely pattern is by Olivia from her wonderful blog 

Hopeful Honey

You can find it here :-)

Thank you 

to all of you who have sent me lovely messages,

I have found them very helpful.

It's so good to be back...I've missed you all

Ttfn xxx xxx

Tracey

Hello Lovelies,

Sorry for the age it's been since I last posted

This is just too

 let you know I am ok and I'll be back soon.

Thank you all so much for your messages, emails and card.

There's many different reasons why I've been absent so I think I'll start afresh :-)

Also because I find it very difficult to keep up with everyone's blogs I've decided to either leave a heart or a smile in your comments. Because of my ASD I find it takes me ages to formulate comments as I have to check and recheck that any thing I say is not misconstrued.

Bertie ruptured his cruciate ligament and had to have a knee replacement

He is doing ok but has taken to limping more again this last week.

I'll see if Lovely Husband notices an improvement when he returns home tonight otherwise we'll be back to the vets tomorrow.

I'll leave you with a photo of my poor boy after his op two months ago...

See you soon :-)

xxxxx

Thank you!

Thank you so much for each one of your

lovely comments on my last post

(birthday post)

You are all so kind :-)

I'm waaay behind plus we have been away a few days

...it's been lovely (happy sigh :-))

I hope to catch up with you all soon

Much love

Tracey xxx

birthday girl

Hello lovely family and friends!

Yesterday was my official birthday but as our family couldn't make it yesterday we had a get together a couple of weekends ago... so I kind of have two birthdays to share with you.

I hope you have a drink and something that can stand in for birthday cake... ready?

Here we go...

Son, daughter, son-in-law, Little Miss and Young Master got up early and traveled down to Somerset so that they could accompany us to church. Little Miss declared the best part was going up the front to help hold a bucket (and no, I can't remember story as I was entranced my grand children)!

We had lunch and cake...!...

...and presents :-)

This was a joint pressie; a photo taken by my lovely talented daughter of her children sitting outside a cafe drinking apple juice. Clever son suggested that they had it printed on to a stretched canvas for me and it's now proudly on display in the sitting room.

I LOVE it so much :-)

It is so perfectly posed yet not posed at all.

And it has a wonderful retro/vintagey quality about it don't you think?

Yummy! A double batch gluten and dairy free lemon drizzle cake made lovingly by my daughter... this was taken before the candles were added.

Luckily for me there was enough left over to freeze 12 slices :-)

Lunch was followed by a trip to the station in Minehead to see Thomas and friends and then on to Blenheim Gardens cafè for a drink and play...

It was such a lovely day :-)

And then we come to yesterday...

Lots of lovely phone calls, texts and facebook messages, parcels, gifts and cards... I felt very blessed (still do :-))

Lovely Husband, Bertie and I went out for the day first visiting Heddon Valley...

...with a gorgeous walk down to Heddon's Mouth. It is a wide and well maintained path that slopes downhill gently making it suitable for all ages.  (see here)

Followed by a picnic lunch and a walk around Arlington Court gardens and grounds (see here). I have no photos of this as I was well and truly overwhelmed by this time. Luckily we had a blanket with us and I was able to rest and recuperate in the shade. It's an Aspie thing (Asperger) where my brain can no longer deal with all the sensory information it was being bombarded with. It's not a problem as long as I'm with someone like Lovely Husband who understands the urgent need for quiet and rest.

We traveled back home over our beautiful, colourful Exmoor to a scrumptious dinner and bubbly in the garden...

Perfect!

There is still a present to come but I'll tell you about that a week our two after has arrived...I shall say no more for now.

Yes tis me with the short hair...I've had it like this for nearly a year now but i do really like the photo of me at the top on side...I will update it one day :-)

Thank you for sharing my birthdays with me :-)

Ttfn

Tracey xxx