HNT: The First Year... and another mirror

Yes - I have completed an unbroken year of blogging as An Artist Exposed.

Has it changed my life? In a simple word, yes!

I have found a welcoming and supportive community and some very special friends. You enrich my life. Thank you.

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I keep casting my mind back to a beach where I sat throwing pebbles into the sea and daydreaming about things that could not be; a wistful and not unpleasant melancholy.

Part of me always thinks of the little boy who stood staring out to sea while wondering why that could happen to the people he loved the most in the world and how he could ever look after himself, let alone them.

But I did.

*click* on the image for another one that I'm rather pleased with :-)

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So where do I go from here? Part of me thinks "Quit while you are ahead". Like many people, I run a significant risk by exposing myself like this. Another part thinks that life is for living and that I should continue - even being reckless once in a while. Right now, I'm too busy with life to ponder all this but I have learned something from the little boy I was - take it one day at a time.
I'm so glad that I can share this one with you :-)

HNT: To the beach and back

Few things in this life compare with walking along a beach, kicking at the water, skimming flat stones and feeling relaxed and free... and thinking of possibilities... of another life by the sea in a little teashop-gallery. Ah... dreams are free.

The very end of the holiday was marred by worsening bouts of toothache. Every cloud has a silver lining. On this occasion, early wakefulness gave me the rented house to myself and my camera, securing varied HNT photographs for the next few weeks :-)

*Click on the second image for something rather more revealing ;-) *


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The holiday, the toothache, the subsequent (gruesome) extraction and the need to catch up with work has kept me away from blogging and emailing for some time but I very much hope to remedy that situation this week.

I should have enjoyed being (largely) cut off from technology but I missed my online life immensely. I am so pleased to be back...

HNT Arms

All attempts to schedule my HNTs for the next two weeks have failed. Since I don't want to miss any during my first year, I have decided to post them both now before I travel. Don't forget to scroll down to see the other one.... "legs".

Back to the first one...

These are the arms which might hold you... ;-)

*click* in the image for another

Now scroll down right away so you don't miss the other one.... you might enjoy it ;-)

Early HNT: Legs

By the time HNT proper comes round, these legs will be walking on foreign shores and my smiling lips (which you cannot see) will be sipping coffee in a small cafe, looking across the table and imagining you there. Such a lovely thought :-)

I took these after pushing myself harder than ever at the gym. I feel good and am enjoying both the physical and mental benefits of working out.

*Click* for a further image.

HNT: Reckless (Again)

It has been a wonderful week here in the UK - or, at least, in my part of it. The sun has been shining strongly and warmly and it has been a treat to carry my breakfast into the garden and, later, to return with other meals, as well as the cups of tea and coffee that punctuate my day.

I have been feeling good. A lot of this is down to my work going well and a general feeling of contentment, after my daily visits to the gym. My libido has been raging and so I am not sure whether it was this - or a touch of the sun - that made me reckless and shoot my click-through in open view on the lawn.

It was on the spur of the moment. I assured myself that nobody was close enough to see and then I seized that moment, taking three shots to give me some choice.

So here am I on the lawn, reckless but content:

*Click* for another image

HNT: Accept No Substitute

I had a long weekend home alone and loved every minute of it. Everything was calm and I watched the movies I wanted to watch, cooked the food that I love and gradually developed a sense of calm that has almost stayed with me.

So what does a guy do when he is left alone? Well this guy did chores, tended the garden and scrubbed the house. I also went on-line more than usual, which was fun :-)

Things have been frosty since my wife returned. I have no idea why - its just the way that things are going, which saddens me no end. I'm just doing the best I can by working hard, keeping the house in good order and cooking lovely food; I just feel unloved. At the weekend, at least I felt loved and pampered, even if it was by me for me. Does that sound weird? I don't know. I am, however, an optimist. We shall see how things develop.

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My children gave me this top a few years ago and its the perfect thing for keeping me warm on a Spring morning as I walk back to the car from my swim.

*Click* for another image

Postscript

I booked my flights for the US last night. Its good to have this to look forward to. Keeps me cheerful :-)

HNT: Steamy

Its been a week!

I slipped and fell on a wet stone step. It was a little thing - no big deal - but I injured my fingers and wrist and had a painful weekend. I'm back swimming and working out - but no weights - and drawing again.

There was another thing this week but all's well that ends well and I'll stay positive. I've had a pleasant family evening and I am about to head up for my bath. I shower at the gym but like to soak in the bath at the end of the day. I may read, listen to music or just empty my mind and relax. Tonight, it will probably be the latter.

Last time I posted bath pics, there was a comment about the lack of bubbles. I took these earlier in the week - there are both bubbles and steam, which gives the images a slightly hazy feel:

(*Click* for another image)

I hope that you're OK out there... xx