Pleasant Monday.

Mountain Night 1969
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hare_%28artist%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hare_%28artist%29


Great afternoon today, nice seeing Arden again and meeting her bloke Rob, who is very nice, a really pleasant man.

Brilliant to see Arden looking so happy and well, always good to see a good friend happy and it was excellent to meet Rob.

Really pleased that a chance meeting with Arden in the hairdressers in 2006 has resulted in us becoming friends and still being in touch five years later.

It was lovely sitting in the front room hearing her tales from back home, she tells a good story and it will be great to carry on talking tomorrow when they will be back to see us again.

Very nice to have a different sort of afternoon, pleasant to have people around, probably just me exaggerating, but sometimes I feel I need a refresher course in socialising.

Hate feeling so clumsy, this did not happen today and I am sure no one would have thought I was feeling so self conscious.

 I know that it is all to do with practise, the more people I see the better it is for me, and I guess for both of us.
Good to see friends today, and tomorrow and maybe Wednesday and Thursday too and Friday is my Birthday party.

I am looking forward to every day this week, especially to seeing people here this Friday.

What A Relief.

Gertrude Abercrombie.

Design for Death.
1946.
Based on a Billy Holliday song, Strange Fruit)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_Abercrombie

Today has been a very grey misty cold day, a total difference from yesterday.

Monday and Tuesday were bright, sparkling days and today has been such a contrast.

Anne came to visit us at 15.00; she brought us a couple of spicy salt fish rolls from Surima, a Suriname shop by the Ten Cate market.

While she was here it started to snow furiously, it is still snowing now, two houses later.

The snow is thick, it is whirling around, and luckily nothing is lying so far which is good.

Before Anne came round I had an appointment with the optician.

Since I got my new lenses, I have not been happy with them, since then my vision has not been good.

I thought it was the MS, but it turns out that the lenses were too strong, which was quite a relief for me.

Glad it is the spectacles and not my MS which has progressed and starting to rob me of my eyesight.

I shall have to wait until next week for the new lenses nut should have them next week Wednesday.

Brilliant that it is not my MS that has progressed, I am so relieved, I thought that I world have to be very brave.

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Relaxed Day.

 
Serge Poliakoff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serge_Poliakoff

Relaxed day today had a very nice visit from Anja, a good friend of 26 years now, brilliant to see her this afternoon, especially as I was just thinking it would be pleasant to see her.

Wonderful to get her mail yesterday asking if it was ok if she popped by this afternoon, which of course it was, in fact it was very alright.

Lovely to have a visitor, felt like the first one for ages, I enjoyed chatting for an hour, very nice to give Anja a present, also for Erik, her partner and Bosse, their son.

Have enjoyed that this Christmas, it is such good fun to give friends presents, felt good to do especially this year, particularly because I am enjoying the moment..

Richie and I had a pleasant time this Christmas, we always do have a good time together, but I still miss also sharing the holidays with friends and having friends coming by.

Thirty years here in Amsterdam, yet despite everything that I do like here I still miss the community that I had in Reading.

Writing that I am immediately aware that of course looking back in time tends to imbue the past with a rosy glow, everything looks better.

Probably just how I chose to remember it, memory is like that it seems to have airbrushed out all the things I would rather not remember.

Becoming very aware that if I want something different that I need to do more to make it happen, which I will try to do more of.

First of all I am going to talk to Richie and suggest we have a party in January, be nice to make up for the cancelled party on the 19 December and have it either on 23 or 30 January.

Especially nice if we can have it then as January is such a long dark month, a get together with friends sounds like a great idea.  

  

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A Cold Grey Day Today. .

 

 
Paul Cezanne.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_C%C3%A9zanne

Last night I was quite often disturbed by Spike stumbling around, poor little fellow, I really felt for him.

A good friend came by last night at 20.00 and stayed until 22.45 chatting and catching up with us.

It was lovely, as  we had not seen Louis since he moved up north in 2008, with his parter to live on a farm.

That they have turned into a business, called Lauenshout, making furniture and restoring furniture and wooden buildings.

http://www.laurenshout.nl/

It was good to see him, Spike seemed to think so too, as he brought his kong over right away, he can’t run for it but he can hobble rapidly and he can catch well.

He is quite some dog, still following Richie around everywhere which is very sweet until Richie takes a step back and treads on Spike or very nearly falls over him.

Our two terriers are great at always being in the wrong place at all times, one of their favourite place is between my wheelchair wheels.

Richie and I think Spike is fading fast and will not be here with us for very much longer, he has had a good week since he has been getting the extra food.

But it is very clear that Spike will not be alive for too much longer, Richie wants to take him to a couple of his favourite parks today and over the weekend.

Love Spike to be around for much longer, he is such a wonderful character, he really is.

I thought it was lovely how he recognised Louis after two years and wanted to play right away.

Very cold day today, a cold grey misty day a complete contrast to yesterdays blue skies and sunshine.