frizzyLogic

Several things have kept me from the keyboard, most notably an accident with a cup of coffee which rendered the space-bar inoperative – despite the geeky plastic cover lies beneath in order to prevent just such eventualities.

Both the coffee and the spillage were a result of its being the school holidays. For had it not been secondspawn would not have been in the house to prepare the beverage, nor on hand to cast it sideways over the desk. And since this action occurred during the bestowing of an exuberant hug I didn’t even sigh as I mopped up and placed the keyboard upside down to drain. Three days it lay prone before recovering full functionality.

There has been the sorting out of the affairs of the late van. It (she, Duchess) has now passed on to the gateway of her new life. All our camping equipment is in piles occupying the entire sitting room awaiting removal to the attic probably in the new year.

I have finally had the chasm in my tooth filled, a process which was both quick and utterly painless. What on earth my phobia about dentists is about I know not. Perhaps issues of control and helplessness. However the pain, which had spread to occupy the whole of the left side of my head, did not diminish and was preventing sleep. A friend said “sounds like my mother’s neuralgia”. I went to the web. I phoned the doctor. This intermittent affliction which I’ve had for years now and calling sinusitis, and which is getting increasingly painful, might  be trigeminal neuralgia (TN). I have an interim prescription of powerful painkillers available should the need to take them arise and will actually see the said doctor in the new year.

Meanwhile one wise in the ways of the subcutaneous suggests it might not be TN at all but rather the result of trigger points in the sternocleidomastoid muscle. The latter is much more common and easier to deal with. I’m doing the recommended stretch and haven’t had a recurrence so far. Isn’t the internet wonderful?

And lastly, but firstmost in importance, I’ve been becoming a professional photographer. In that a dear and wonderful friend needed portraits for their professional activities. This involved a rapid attempt to read up on portrait photography, a couple of photoshoots, much nervousness on my part and a *huge* amount of learning. Which has been fantastic.

The process reminded me very much of my first recorded interview. The nerves, the sense of feeling ones way inside a black velvet sack, the overabundance of material, the inordinate lengths of time required, the self-doubt, the knowledge that it could all be sooo much better. However I also have that recording learning experience to look back on from which I know that practice and persistence make a huge amount of difference and that engagement and enjoyment are key. There are a couple of the resulting photographs that I’m really really pleased with.