A few days ago I arrived home, the first homecoming since I left, and as sweet as they come. Driving through the dark country lanes, stars tiny pinpricks in the indigo sky, I couldn’t wait to see my dog. And I guess she was just a little bit pleased to see me too. We all know the Prune way of welcoming you home, and standing there in the doorway, I’ve never been more grateful that my Prune girl was there for me too.
Life can feel like an action movie sometimes, but suppose it was more like a fairytale, one with an ending that is still unwritten. This part of Scotland would certainly make the cut scenery-wise and I really did feel like some kind of new-age princess as I followed the area’s Castle Trail (albeit a princess wearing a large A&F fleece and Nike AF1s).
First birthday apart. Took us 19 years, which says it all. How do I condense 19 years into 500 words? All the memories? All the laugher, the pain? The tears, the screaming, the fighting? The inside jokes, the special understanding? The shared sunrises and sunsets, the rain, the storms. The places and people that have come and gone. I’ve never known anyone as well as you.
So I managed to lock myself out of my apartment this morning. Smooth, I know. It was bound to happen; self-locking doors and my forgetfulness are a bad combination. Long story short, I was let in a while later but it kind of wasn’t how I had hoped to start my weekend. I was feeling gloomy over breakfast then gave myself a metaphorical head-slap and got in the car.
A cold spray stung my face as I scanned the waves, searching the grey expanse for those famous fins. Suddenly I spotted them (before anyone else on the boat, even the captain, might I add). Bottlenose dolphins swimming fast, we could barely keep pace. They were toying with us, willing us to wait for them to come back up for air. Saturday morning. In Aberdeen. I guess dolphin spotting isn’t the first thing you think of as a way to spend your weekend around here.
Recently I’ve been working on a collection of sketches of Prune and Suzi, and I thought it would be interesting to collate them all here. I’ve been putting off drawing those two for some time; they’re such individuals and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to capture their personalities on paper. I finally decided to have a go anyway and ended up doing 14 sketches of the monkeys.
Have you ever tried moving something you do inside all the time outside? You should try it, its fun shaking things up a bit. In my case, I thought I’d make the most of a beautiful July morning and brought my yoga routine to the great outdoors. Perhaps you’re feeling sore from the extra gardening you’ve been doing, or the heat has sapped your energy. Whatever the reason, there are no excuses for not trying these simple, relaxing poses, inside or outside.
Pale grey misty clouds lay over the sleeping city. They formed layers interspersed with rosy-pink sky, like the tiers of an elaborate wedding cake. The sun emerged from this canvas, rising slowly, enjoying its moment in the spotlight as cameras clicked all around. The sky was soon filled with bright blue; the temperature already rising, the sunrise show over, for today at least.
