Some progress on my latest painting and being a creature of the coffee house
I worked a bit on my latest Singularity piece over the past couple of days.
I'm trying to carve out time here and there, but as it is the busy Christmas season and I am sill attempting to contemplate a schedule, I take the creative time when I can get it.
I think adjusting to a new place as well as getting used to sharing a house with friends also adds to the desire to set about a time table for myself. I am finding that early morning bus rides into the city are both easier, less busy and help with my "morning person" mentality to get some things done.
I do like working in coffee houses and tea rooms, though wifi cannot always be depended upon.
I do make do.
My favourite coffee house in the city always has such wonderful light. Especially on a sunny morning like today. And as the building is so ancient it just has good bones.
My morning office in the corner
It's nice to see the warm sun coming through the leaded windows.
The way the light was hitting the used coffee cups across the room was just ripe for a black and white shot.
I find myself endless snapping photos all the time from simple light and shadow in shops to various images of the streets and villages I visit. However, attempting to corral them into a cohesive semblance of a post is not always easy. But,|I shouldn't like to seem to be complaining about not having enough time when I see so many of you getting so much done in such little time.
When I was working on my piece in the coffee shop this morning I suddenly heard bagpipes over the Christmas music being played at the cafe. I looked out the windows down on the street and saw a crowd forming round a bagpiper and his accompaniment. I knew I'd have to go and watch.
Heading to my next coffee shop (yes I am truly a creature of the coffee shops) I got a quick video.
It was truly lovely to be walking in the warm Winter sunshine amongst the beauty of Canterbury with the soundtrack of the morning being the joyful sound of bagpipes.
I have always been in love with the sound of pipes.
I was lucky to hear them when I moved to the next cafe. I do love having the spontaneity of the city, even a small city such as Canterbury, in which to spend the morning.
I am missing London, as I am not a quick distance now.
However, truly it is only a 2 hour comfortable train ride in, but I seem to becoming so happily complacent in my tiny village and the mini city of Canterbury that I am really rethinking my approach to my English trips.
Still, the hustle and bustle of even a small walled city like Canterbury is like a vast motropolis compared to my quiet life at Toad Hall.
There days can go by where I see no one save @winstonalden and possibly a neighbour (if it is the High Summer) so it is good, for me at least, to punctuate my year with people and activity. I think a combination of Country and City is always a good way to appreciate each year.
Well, I shall get this posted as my tea is going cold (I have moved from Canterbury to my little tea room in our village) and I'd like to enjoy my tea and catch up on the local gossip.
I hope all of you have a wonderful day and are ready for the coming Christmas holiday. Take a moment to catch your breath, sip some coffee or tea, and look out the window for a bit. Complacency often can lead to activity...one hopes anyway.
Always such a beautiful slice of England, of your life, and of your art ! Every time I come over a Donna post, I am happier :D I can tell that I will like that dress a lot, Donna ! The bodice and frills seem already very beautiful to my eyes :D
Thank you @veryspider I consider that a compliment since I adore your fashion in your drawings!
I'm glad my posts make you happy, it's nice to think a few typed letters can make a smile, I try anyway :)
Looks like a lovely and bright coffee house to work from far better than my semi dark office I am sitting in now, well I say office but i should say a cubicle with our new office space
I skipped my morning walk today its far from a sunny day quite chilly out to say the least
I cannot complain, @tattoodjay . Even though I have to take a 10 min bus ride to get to it, I am also lucky to have a great tea room in our little village which is like a 2 minute walk from my house and is also sunny and bright. And of course, it's all in England where I like to be so I shouldn't complain about any bit of it, right?
We have our usual morning slight rain then sun type of day, but after I finish my coffee I am out the door with Ivan. Another good country walk for us to start the day. I don't mind English rain. Now I have to try and remember that today should be a #wedsendaywalk post :)
I hope the rain holds off and you get a nice walk no walk for me this morning it is to cold out for me
You are fortunate to have the two coffee shops fairly close a bit shorter than my daily commute which I am doing sitting in the train as I type this
I'm just back from my morning walk now, actually. It started with English drizzle but soon the sun broke out. It's a comfortable temp for me, about 50F and Ivan the dog is a good walking companion. I might skip Canterbuy coffee shops today, but I'll most like go to my local tea room for the 'afternoon write' we shall see.
Stay warm @tattoodjay
I was sensible and headed straight to the office buildingtoday was to cold for an extended walk which I like to do, will see if at lunch time it warms up enough to go for a walk, but I am not to hopeful at this stage
50F would be nice we may get that on Saturday but sadly also with rain LOL
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Your posts have just been sooooo good lately. I love that you are not only teasing us with your art, but with Canterbury! Thank you for it!
So. I bought a hot spot. I actually bought another phone and added a line to my plan but it's only use this summer was as a hot spot when I didn't have wifi and needed to up or down load. It worked pretty darn well, I must admit.
And to make things even better I had trouble with my old GPS unit (I really do mean old. 15 years which is like 47 doggy years or something). I had a brain flash and now my hotspot phone is also my GPS unit AND carries my music along on Connie. A huge winner!
Oh thank you @bigtom13 that's so kind. Here I've been worried about my posts, as I've been trying to post and get artwork done and also adjust to my new place etc.
That is a great idea about the hotspot. What is funny is I just bought a second hand sat nav (gps) the other day, a garmon, as I will probably occasionally be renting a car. And my friends and house mates here bought a car when we arrived and they brought their garmon from the USA with them. It is really amazing and so I bought a used version from ebay.
I actually found out the satnav is also an mp3 player, but not a hotspot of course.
So now that you are all familiar with Garmin you will know that my GPS unit is a 2010 (model, probably built in 2005). The first unit built for motorcycles. It still performs flawlessly though the screen is a little raggedy (It's been touched a few times in those years, almost always with gloves). I haven't been able to upgrade the maps since 2011 so things are starting to get out of date in places. I'm a big fan of Garmin.
I just love your 'coffee shop posts'.
I was lucky with my garmin as the seller on ebay wiped his trips and then updated the uk and eu maps for me for 2018 so that was really nice. It is supposed to be possible to get free upgrades now each year, but I think these will be fine for a couple years. I think next year on my trip over, I might then try for some road trips in Europe from UK, at least I'll be driving on the US side for most of that trip. I just have to remind myself when I get home to get back to the other side of the road after the UK :)
I actually really like using coffee shops as an office/studio part of the perk of living a digital life I suppose :)
I so love visiting new places. And seeing the real side of other sides of life. And what a better way than as a coffeehouse crawler. Your description of 'bones' of a place is classic. As for Canterbury--it sounds absolutely delightful. Doing nothing or something under the guise of nothingness disguised as work would be grand indeed. I even got a bit of a choke-up on the bagpipes. It is such a wonderful, local sort of event to witness. I'm glad you are enjoying yourself so in the country. Such a fun winter you are having. I'm jealous, in a very happy, un-green sort of way. Hope things are going well and shaking out in a good direction (banking and all that phalderaugh). Have a nice time wandering, and hope Christmas is shaping up to be a grand holiday indeed. Cheers
@ddschteinn it is so good to hear from you. I feel I've been neglecting some people as I don't always get to everyone and I have no notifications (I know I'm a dinosaur with that but it might be part of my new years resolution to solve that problem!)
I really love the south of England, always have. I have not lived in Canterbury before, only visited friends here, so when we decided this would be the place, we haven't regretted it. It's also one of the better places weather wise, if they get cold and snow in the north, we get a bit of rain, but the plants and grass keep growing! And I don't mind the rain!
I hope you enjoy your Christmas and your Winter, I thought you lived in the area of the west coast that was more like English weather, just some rain but never too cold?
What a beautiful place, everything looks very neat, the drawing is still working.
Thanks @betzaelcorvo the drawing did still have a raged beauty even after it began to dissapear from the tread of pedestrians. There is always some wonderful little art or music happening round here, it's a fine little city.
Hello @donnadavisart, thank you for sharing this creative work! We just stopped by to say that you've been upvoted by the @creativecrypto magazine. The Creative Crypto is all about art on the blockchain and learning from creatives like you. Looking forward to crossing paths again soon. Steem on!