It feels like the year has gone so fast, yet I feel like I have made some decent work and kept drawing front and centre. I need to give my Mum a call as I got a bit side-tracked the past few months. I have seen her a bit though but next week I am part of a Festival in Cronulla and I have been drawing and gathering reference material. Sometimes you have a lot in your head but something simple comes out of all the ideas. A little bit of each idea makes it into the finished work. However, it depends on where your head is at the time and how appropriate or necessary any particular ideas are on the day.

After the festival, I may only do a couple more works on the walls. I am locked into the 27th for something small and I might spend most of my time in Katoomba here and there. I don’t get time off until after Christmas Eve so I will probably try to get some painting and organising done in Katoomba and hopefully in a few months I will be able to spend a night here and there in Katoomba. My sister and brother-in-law just got over Covid and that is still running rampant. Summer stops and starts with odd weather, there have been some nice days although they have been changeable.

I saw a house painter today while at work and we had a chat about his neurological condition, he has some kind of clot in his brain that has been there for at least seven years. He has some strange hallucinations from it and goes into what he calls ‘his world’. Initially, we were talking about fitness because he has gained a lot of weight and had health problems, we were just talking in general and he commented on my weight loss I said I was always trying to keep active but said it isn’t easy. Normally after a workout, you feel better but it’s the problem of getting started. He likes motivational groups and going to seminars where you meet ex-Olympians and people who have a disability that are very fit.

He has had a triple bypass and other issues, and I totally understand that it would be hard for him to get into a routine. Sometimes I feel like exercising every day is torture but after the exercise, I feel like I am off the hook. He didn’t really listen to anything I said but I didn’t say much more than I understand his plight. I suppose it is hard to get out of your own head, I have the same problem. I don’t really like talking about health stuff with people but I am happy to listen and try and get into their headspace. I think because I have problems of my own that I am working on I feel less inclined to act like I know any better.

At least he enjoys the seminars and listening to people talk about how they stay fit. I guess you get to hang with some high-level athletes and socialise. I went to my QiGong class the other day and we trained for two and a half hours. My trainer gave me charcoal to consume for a detox. I have to say after a couple of days I did feel clear headed and strangely my eyesight improved a lot which I don’t think it is supposed to do. Then ironically a toxic waste dump went up in flames near my work so there went my detox. Although I have a lot of charcoal left but will wait until tomorrow night.