[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 30 September 2022].
camber sands
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 28 September 2022].
Despite visiting Camber Sands with friends on such a lovely day with perfect weather, albeit a bit windy, I barely took in my surroundings. I only captured a handful of photographs with my dSLR and my iPhone.
And some of those iPhone photos were taken while I sat in the car with my mind elsewhere.
Specifically: on the outcome of the Brexit referendum, which had taken place the previous day.
I'd stayed up into the wee hours keeping an eye on updates but had finally succumbed to sleep before the result was confirmed.
I woke up a couple of hours later and checked the news on my phone. Seeing the headlines, I tossed my phone on the bed in disgust, went to the bathroom, and then returned to a fitful sleep, brought on by my disappointment and disbelief.
My mood hadn't lifted over breakfast. It wasn't helped by our B&B hosts being unashamedly pleased with the outcome. Phil and I both struggled to contain our frustrations out of politeness to our otherwise welcoming hostess.
Even now, my disappointment over the decision for Britain to exit the European Union is still present. It's reinforced every time the current Conservative government takes the Overton Window further and further to the right.
The political situation in the UK, US and Australia had already been heading that way for at least two years. But I feel Brexit was the beginning of an even more accentuated move away from common sense toward the politics of Drumpf and beyond.
And it doesn't seem to be swinging back anytime soon, unfortunately.
god is love
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 25 September 2022].
mamma mia!
Just over a year ago, I unexpectedly fell into cat-sitting.
If you'd told me then I'd do it again, let alone that after a year I'd have regular kitteh clients and had cat-sat ten kittehs across five homes, I'd probably have laughed in your face.
And yet, this month, I'll spend just under two weeks with my eleventh kitteh client in the sixth home.
I'm looking forward to becoming better acquainted with Lottie, the kitteh master of my long-time Flickr friend, Sarah.
Lottie is a black cat with a sweet nature, and we seemed to take to each other well during our first meet and greet last week. I'll pop in to see her again this week before becoming her temporary companion.
I'll also return to be the ever-obedient servant of Lily, Sammy and Poppy later in the month. I think there have been only two months since December 2021 that I've not served those three kitteh masters faithfully. They are already pencilled in for December this year or January next year (or a bit of both).
And so, I finally set up a profile on CatInAFlat. Who would ever have thought my Top 8 (well, 10 actually) would be made up of cool cats? Tom never saw that coming...
Though I'm already booked out for most of October with overnight stays, I'm open to once or twice daily visits locally around those. (I think it's wrong to have affairs with other kittehs during my overnight stays. Lottie, Lily, Sammy and Poppy will smell other kittehs on me).
And I'm open to meeting more kittehs locally and further afield from November.
If you or anyone you know needs a cat-sitter, feel free to hit me up here or via my CatInAFlat profile. There's plenty of information on my profile but slide into my DMs if you have further questions.
I'll also sort out getting a police check done later this month, and I can provide references on request from those I've cat-sat for before.
Meanwhile, please enjoy this adorabubble portrait I took of Mia whilst we sheltered from one of the UK heatwaves this summer.
embracing the stem
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 25 September 2022].
Bistorta amplexicaulis, the red bistort or mountain fleece.
From Wikipedia: 'The Latin specific epithet amplexicaulis means "clasping or embracing the stem", and refers to the leaves' habit of growing around the stem.'
full to burstin
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 25 September 2022].
The Grand Burstin hotel in Folkestone.
entrapment
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 27 August 2022].
until the day dawns
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 20 September 2022].
it's got pockets!
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 24 August 2022].
As promised, this is the second image from a new series inspired during my recent gig cat-sitting Meg and Mog, titled plush.
The cats' mothers' new home features some vivid interior design colour choices. Colour choices they would not have made. But that they have inherited from the previous owners.
Jo and Becky are far less enamoured with these colour choices than I am.
While there, I struggled with going out and about much due to my health issues and the heatwave. So I spent quite a lot of time, when not working, hanging out in the lounge room with Meg and binge-watching the most recent season of The Handmaid's Tale ahead of the new season airing next month.
After my visit to Minera last October to cat-sit Meg and Mog while they house-hunted, Jo had sent me a link to the advertisement for their new home. When she contacted me to ask if I could cat-sit their two cuties again, I dug out the link and almost immediately asked about the decor. Had they torn out those carpets and removed the wallpaper?
Jo assured me everything was as it had been in the advertisement apart from (obviously) replacing the furniture with their own. I might have squee'd.
When I arrived, the carpet in the lounge was everything I had hoped for. However, I hadn't registered the purple carpeting in one of the bedrooms (the one I stayed in) and the blood-red carpet in the playroom (formerly the dining room) from the photos. Jo pointed out, quite rightly, that the red carpet would have helped mask red wine stains.
I enjoyed and shared the colour coordination of my tights and the carpet in my temporary bedroom before venturing out, trepidatiously, on a photo walk on my first full day there.
But, between work, the heat and my anxiety toward venturing out, I wasn't as attentive as I usually would be in thinking about potential photographic projects in the space during the first few days.
Fast forward to late afternoon Wednesday, and I found myself planning a series of self-portraits inspired by - of all things - the carpet.
I didn't have specific images planned out, but I knew the clothing I had with me and the three carpets I wanted to use as 'backdrops'. Anyone who knows me knows I love colour coordination, so that was in the forefront of my mind.
So I took an extended break from work late afternoon on Thursday to roll around on the floor during the heat and play with some ideas, moods and colour combinations.
So far, the other two images from the series are more related to how I've been feeling recently and thus more emotional. But this image is more playful.
As any woman who owns a dress with pockets knows, whenever someone compliments you on the dress, it's obligatory to announce, "It's got pockets!" And to proudly place your hands in the pockets to demonstrate how awesome it is to have those pockets.
Though my pose may not come across as enthusiastically as I would show you in real life, I am no less pleased with these pockets years after I bought the dress.
But, more importantly, this series is a celebration of carpets. Perhaps the series title should be plush: an ode to wall-to-wall carpeting*.
As a child growing up in the late 70s and 80s, carpets in the home were the norm. The thicker, the better.
I had lived in carpeted properties until about 2014. I even lived in a flat with a carpeted bathroom in 2000 (I don't recommend going that far!)
But since then, I have lived in homes sadly bereft of carpet.
I miss the softness of the carpet underfoot. I dislike the amount of noise I make walking on bare floorboards or laminate floors if I have shoes on. I wear my slipper socks to cushion my feet after a long day of walking, even in the summertime, because I don't have carpet to do that.
I spend much more time brushing dust and hair off my feet before putting my tights on while living in an uncarpeted home.
I remember the excitement of walking barefoot on Jo and Becky's carpet in Minera when I arrived. It was like coming home.
I rue bare floorboards coming back into fashion and landlords deciding laminate flooring is cheaper and easier to maintain. And I'm not ashamed to say so.
So, this will potentially become another ongoing series of self-portraits captured while cat-sitting, like wallflowers.
Let's see how the images pile up.
*I can't resist pointing out that this would also make a perfect title for a series of photographs of people sporting their natural pubic hair. A sight that is probably as rare as carpeted homes these days ;)
N.B. Don't worry about the bruising. That appeared to be from the careless carrying of my laptop bag during the journey to Cotton End. It was no worse and possibly less angry-looking than the bruising I acquired from recent blood tests. I decided not to edit it out. It was too large and had purple tones to match the carpet. Colour coordination :)
moth orchid (magenta)
inner turmoil
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 21 August 2022].
This photograph is the first from a new series, plush, I started while cat-sitting in Cotton End a couple of weeks ago.
I'll share more about the series - its inspiration, my intentions, etc. - with the second image, which I'll share midweek.
That one's a little more lighthearted.
the queen's head
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 16 September 2022].
jubilee
the sacred heart of balmoral
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 16 September 2022].
leeds castle
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 6 September 2022].
Leeds Castle in Kent. Taken in May this year during a visit with friends.
side by side in death
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 6 September 2022].
plush
Just a quick post for those who may be considering becoming a patron.
I've been sharing a new series of self-portraits I started while undertaking a recent cat-sitting gig. They're still patron-only access until later in the month.
I shared these three photographs early access with my patrons a month before they'll become public. New images from the series (as I create them) will be shared a month early too.
If you'd like to see the images from the series so far, now's the time to become a patron.
moth orchid (yellow)
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 6 September 2022].
Here are some beautiful Phalaenopsis or moth orchids I photographed the weekend before last in the home of a woman I regularly cat-sit for.
My own have also been flowering, and I captured them a month ago when some of the flowers were still in the bud. I'll share images of those in my next instalment of a floral tribute.
I'm playing 'catch-up' again after returning from my latest cat-sitting gig and dealing with some personal bits and pieces.
There may be a break in my regular cat-sitting for a bit, so that will mean fewer hiatus here, hopefully.
I absolutely adore the kittehs and love spending time with them. But the laptop I use when I'm away isn't great for editing photos (or anything creative). Aside from anything, the screen is too small.
I also feel like I should savour every chance for kitteh snuggles when cat-sitting. So, sitting at a desk instead of reclining on the lounge where I'm more likely to attract those snuggles seems silly.
The impact of my vitamin deficiencies has also been heavily felt lately. I'm thankful I'll have a follow-up appointment with my GP next week as I imagine she will start me on B12 injections, and then maybe I can start to get my energy back. The lethargy and fatigue I fight are becoming... well... tiresome.
I hope you're all doing okay. Feel free to leave a comment to check in and say hello!
public footpath
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 23 August 2022].
For those who aren't aware, England, Scotland, and Wales have a system of public footpaths and bridleways collectively recognised as rights of way.
They allow folk to travel across private land without fear of a charge of trespassing. Or threat or reprisal from landowners.
In rural areas, they can make getting from Point A to Point B on foot a much quicker journey than if you had to stick to the footpaths alongside roads. They also make for interesting routes for those of us inclined to photo walks.
The entrance to this public footpath can be found north of Cotton End.
I didn't take it while I was cat-sitting for Jo and Becky this time, but hopefully, if I have the chance to cat-sit Meg and Mog again, I will be able to explore it further.
Or, at least, others not far away which lead to places that seem enticing to my photographic eye.
If you want to see how extensive the right-of-way system is in the UK, check out the Footpath Map.
bunny
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 22 August 2022].