Dorothy – 8 October 2019

Today was Dorothy’s funeral.

A funeral is a sad occasion. Maybe because it makes us think, not only about the person who has died, but also about our own mortality. This was one of the most fitting funeral services I’ve been to. No hymns, no prayers and no quotes from the Bible. Just one man talking about someone he hadn’t met, but speaking as he had known her all his life. We found out later he had been a policeman and was now a Celebrant. He did a very good job. It also helped that we were looking over the coffin to a window wall and some open fields beyond with trees blowing wildly in today’s gales. She’d have liked that.

At the tea afterwards we got to meet folk we haven’t seen for years. I met my cousin Myra who used to paint beautiful pastel pictures. Now she can hardly see and can’t paint anymore. She was there with her husband and the daughter of another of my cousins, Judith, who took my breath away with her likeness to her mother who died about ten years ago. Funerals are strange things. For some of us, it’s the only time we meet our distant relations, and sadly they get fewer every time.

Drove back through the rain and wind, but the Juke was flying home, we had a tail wind! By the time we got back the automatic street lights were turning on and it was only 3.30pm. No time to go our for a walk, although I’d have liked to have gone today, just to talk to myself. The rain had gone for a while, but soon it was back again and I was glad I hadn’t gone out and got soaked. I changed out of my formal clothes and life began to return to normal.

Today’s PoD was taken on the dining room table because it was dark outside. Just a bunch of cut flowers and I really liked the deep pink chrysanthemum.

My Inktober list for today was “A mouth, ear, eye or nose”. I decided to try all four. It ended up like “three stars and a wish”. I really have to keep working at the mouth, or lips. I’ve read all the tutorials, watched all the YouTube videos, but I simply need to practise more. Maybe tomorrow will be easier. It’s “A bird’s eye view or A worm’s eye view”. Now I’m thinking “Could I do both in the same drawing?” That’s a wee challenge.

Tomorrow, hopefully, we’re dancing.

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