Self portraits by Amy

While studying for GCSE and A'level Art Amy started to produce a lot of self-portrait paintings, these are a few of my favourites.

Reading Therapy

There is a lot of solace to be found in reading fiction. I read therapy books throughout 2018. When 2019 arrived I made my mind up to go back to reading fiction and chose six books for the task. They were chosen from various lists of Mood Boosting Books I found on the Internet. Looking back, before my mind became focused on mental health and healing, I have long been using fiction reading as a kind of therapy. A list of books I have found healing over the years can be found below, they celebrate my thirty years as a librarian from February 1990 to February 2020.

Twelve years a gardener

 

I did a bit of gardening when we first moved into our house in 1996, but my main work came in 2009 when I got rid of the rose bed and started work on the herbaceous border. In the 2020 lockdown I had more time to create a retreat beneath the apple tree, introduce more roses and ornamental grass, sort out the garden studio and the patio and paint the garage. I now find the garden a very relaxing space in which to spend time.