Not sure about the rest of the world, but it is late afternoon here in New Zealand. We’ve had the roast chicken, eaten the pavlova, unwrapped the presents, had a nap…
Mum has a new crossword dictionary to drive us nuts with, Tony has a Navman gps for the car to get lost with, I have an iPod to take music with me wherever I go. And the dog has a new cat toy. Don’t ask LOL.
Wherever you are, and whatever you believe, I hope you are having a good day with friends and family.
We live in town; we expect traffic noise, people noise, town noise. We don’t expect ROOSTER noise, especially at 5 in the morning.
Let me set the scene – our property backs onto high school playing fields, behind the fields is empty land that slopes down to the river. We are right on the edge of town; 2 minutes walk from the river, 5 minutes walk from the sea.
Some inconsiderate person has dumped two bantam roosters in the empty land behind the high school. No doubt unwanted pets; now they cruise the high school, and the houses that back onto the school, looking for food. They’re quite bold and go right up to people’s back doors.
And they CROW. I think they are young, because one has a crow that resembles a young man’s voice breaking. It would be funny if it wasn’t so irritating. Because let’s be clear what we’re talking about here:
They CROW and they CROW and they CROW. They start at about 5am and they CROW all day, till late in the evening. And this has been going on for weeks.
Why the sudden rant? Animal Control Services have been trying to catch them for a couple of weeks now, so they are wasting a lot of time and ratepayers money.
And it’s the silly season. My husband is an Ambulance Officer and, aside from working 5 days a week, from now till about the 7th of January he does every single shift outside his paid ones as a volunteer so that our community stays safe. Two nights in a row he has got back from a job after midnight, and two mornings in a row we have been woken at dawn by the CROWING. Are you beginning to spot the problem?
Why can’t people be more responsible with unwanted pets? Please, if you give a pet for Christmas, make sure it is truly wanted and will be looked after well. And if you get a pet for Christmas and you don’t want it or can’t keep it, be responsible about what happens to it.
Anyone want a bantam? Cute and going very cheep cheap!
Do you ever stop and think and what your responsibilities are? And how best to juggle your time so you get things done and still have “art time” or “me time”. It’s a topic I often come back to.
I work full time as a librarian, study art by distance learning, publish a monthly community newspaper and Tony and I are Mum’s caregivers. Am I going to gripe about how busy I am? No way. I think that is one of the things we do wrong. People seem to play “I’m busier than you are” like it is some sort of game, and I think all it does it drain your energy. Accept you are busy and get on with it.
So how do I get art time? Well, for starters…I employ a housekeeper for 3 hours a week, someone comes and does the lawns once a fortnight, and someone else tames the gardens from time to time.
Due to serious health issues, the medical system provides a breakfast helper, lunchtime helper, and home delivered midday meal for Mum on weekdays. That way I can go to work and not be worrying about whether she is okay, out of bed, had her breakfast and meds etc. Night time is my responsibility. Two days a week a rest home collects her for day care so she has some other company, and I pick her up on the way home from work. Weekends the care is up to Tony and I. So, we are getting a good level of help with Mum. Even though it can be really tiring, I am very grateful that we still have her with us; not everyone is so fortunate.
So, what else? I forgo television. Yep, that’s right. Mum and Tony watch it – I head for my art room. I try to do other jobs in batches, like paying bills etc, rather than fluffing round endlessly with that sort of task. I try and relax about the state of the place; whilst clean enough and tidy enough, this is no show home.
In the end is comes down to – what would I rather do with this moment, these moments? This, that, or art. Unless my family wants or needs me, art wins most of the time. For me, it’s about knowing what my passion is and going for it heart and soul.
What do you choose most days?
But I have been working hard all weekend. All the usual of course – Mum, washing, housework – but painting up a storm too.
I have made a really good start on 3 more paintings towards my next exhibition. I only stopped because I was getting tempted to fiddle round on top of wet paint. Patience is NOT my best virtue!
My husband Tony and I hardly ever go anywhere together. So last night we decided to leave Mum set up, and head to the stock car champs in Stratford – approx an hour away. By the time we got there it was drizzling; by the time we had seen five races it was really raining. We gave up and were back home by 9pm. So much for our big night out LOL
Cath Sheard Art 
