never judge a book

and all that jazz

.

but I could hardly resist, could I. . .

take off the text, remove the stone-skimming children and that might well be my perfect image of the sea and the sky (the photo wraps around on the back of the book, where it is equally as beautiful)

I've probably (p)rattled on about this book before, haven't I? so do stop me if I'm repeating myself. . .

I first knew I wanted to learn how to bind books when I came across The Bookbinder reading a copy of this book: he had been asked to design a fine-binding for it, and was seeking inspiration

every year the shortlisted Mann Booker Prize authors receive a copy of their book which has been bound by one of the country's top bookbinders - in 2005 The Bookbinder joked that he might put his life savings on The Sea to win, as it was a bit of an outsider (he should have done: it did); he later received a thank you letter from John Banville, who wrote how much he loved the fine-binding. . .

today I bought the paperback with the points I've built up on my bookshop loyalty card

I like loyalty cards (especially coffee shop ones, which I keep for the days when I have no money for luxuries like a coffee from a coffee shop), altho I'd actually prefer it if everything was slightly cheaper in the first place such that shops didn't have to go to the pretence of "giving" you something "for free" that you've effectively paid for already

I don't write about politics, but the current state of the economy and the suggested solution of Those That Be to con us all into believing we can just keep spending and it will all be alright in the end worries me somewhat

credit-fuelled consumerism is very over-rated, and quite dangerous, IMHO* (like a badly behaved dog, it can jump out unexpectedly and bite you where it hurts)

there can be such as thing as too much choice, IMHO* (choice is something to be savoured and relished and appreciated and respected and desired and deserved, not expected or demanded or assumed) (a little like a nut roast on the 25th December)

but, like I said, I don't write about politics

I stick to the superficial girly stuff,
like the colour of sunlight thru clouds
at the end of the day

(-:

I've just watched the most beautiful dawn

the sky was streaked with long thin clouds stretching north to south, those in the west sky blue pink, the nearer to the east were edged with gold

when the sun came up it was red, it was huge as it emerged from the skyline

it's risen up now, it's hiding behind the clouds which are now grey - altho the sky behind them is orange on the horizon in the east, pale yellow just above that and deepening to bright blue above me as I watch

the sun isn't high enough to have a reflection in the river, which is full from bank to bank, so that is a wide ribbon of grey below me: there are two swans swimming slowly against the current
.
.

POSTSCRIPT
(an hour later)
there are now eight swans
swimming against the current. . .

sky blue pink

sky blue pink reminds me of The Stroop Test, which I know I've written about before as it's one of the few things I remember from university. . .

sky blue pink skies

Blue skies smiling on me
Nothing but blue skies do I see
.
.
Blue birds, singing a song
Nothing but blue skies from now on
.
.
Never saw the sun shining so bright
Never saw things going so right
.
.
Watching all the days hurrying by
When you're in love, my how they fly. . .
Those blue days, all of them gone
Nothing but blue skies from now on
..
.
Blue skies smiling on me
Nothing but blue skies do I see
.
.
Nothing but blue skies
Nothing but blue skies
Nothing but blue skies
From now on
.
as sung by EVA CASSIDY
.

(altho I actually prefer it sung slowly and more softly ~
as a bluegrass number,
without the jazzy thang happening. . .)
(and the uTube video made me a little naseous!)

this morning on the back step

there were no clouds to be lit with sky blue pink, there was a light veil of mist, which reminded me of a song by The Chieftans (see below) and for some reason I thought about looking at you, kid

from the summer to the spring

thirteen senses

.
and the small sculpture
on the piano made me think

.
of this

.
almost. . . but not quite. . .
however I loved the sky blue pink on the water!

more from the back step

so I couldn't sleep and came down before six

where is Patrick Moore when you need a personal guide to the pre-dawn sky? the stars (the few I could see thru the London Town light pollution) were twinkling like twinkling things - and as for the birdsong, well I've only seen blackbirds, pigeons, seagulls and robins, but there must be a thrush or a nightingale somewhere out there

beautiful

can't beat birdsong in the still of the early morning, can you. . .

it is peaceful, relaxing and inspiring all at the same time; stimulating - but asking nothing of you - merely for you to be part of the hush that creates the backdrop for the tunes

there are a few whisps of high cloud now in the East and they are that favourite colour of mine: sky blue pink, streaking from North to South across the horizon, criss-crossed by plane trails from East to West

the rooftops on the horizon are inky black and it reminds me of those pictures we painted at primary school, where you create a colour wash sunset on the whole page and then when the colours are dry you add in a black silhouette of office blocks and chimneys and church spires

the key to it all, as in much of life, was the timing - if you tried adding in the black before the colour wash was dry, you'd end up with a yukky mess - sometimes patience is a virtue, even tho one might be keen to get on. . .

have a lovely day y'all
if it's anything
like the start of mine,
it'll be a good one
.

PS it is Friday,
so I'll be back later dishing out the Crunchies!