The coming week is "ski holiday week", which means that the schools are off and Smallsteps has nothing to do. Normally, parents will take time off as well, but we will only take some odd days, and she will spend a couple days with her grandparents too.
However, we had booked to spend a night at a swimming center this weekend, so Smallsteps could have a swim. Unfortunately, Smallsteps got an eye infection mid-week, and while not contagious now or anything, swimming was out. She also missed a school trip to a concert she has been looking forward to. So instead, we booked a couple hours at an indoor climbing center, as she has been wanting to try for ages and has asked repeatedly. There is one just around the corner from us. But... Smallsteps came down with a flu, so this morning we had to cancel that also.
Grumble, grumble.
It is like clockwork.
Being predominantly stuck at home, we decided to do something different, but we needed some supplies. With a trip to the shops, we bought three canvasses, some paints and some brushes, and we decided that we would all paint together. None of us can actually paint, but we weren't going to let that stop us. We got home, put some newspaper down on the dining table, water in some plastic containers, the canvas at the ready and I put the paints into the palette...
I bought the wrong fucking paints!
I read the sign, but not the tube of paint. Instead of acrylics, I bought oil paints. I haven't painted with oil paints before, but we didn't have anything for them, as you need to mix it with linseed oil.
Grumble, grumble.
However, a very long time ago I had painted something for our old apartment and remember I had some tubes of paint left. So, after cleaning oil paints out of the palette, we were able to get started, with a very limited range of colors. But enough to dab some paint around the place.
Once going, it ended up being a lot of fun and quite relaxing, even though we didn't paint anything at all, had nothing in mind for an outcome and just kind of pitter-patter-ed around the canvas.
My father was a great painter.
He would have been ashamed at our skills.
Well, that isn't true. He would have said something like "It is great that you are painting!". Not that he was overly supportive of helping any of us develop the skills he had, but I think he knew that. He was self-taught, so I guess he figured that if we were interested, we would teach ourselves.
It might not be with painting, but I think that Smallsteps might have that "teach myself" mentality in her, where she seems to feel more comfortable learning a skill, away from the sight of prying eyes. I think this is part of the reason she likes the piano so much, as she is able to sit there and get herself together, before demonstrating to others.
At least, the day off seems to have done her some good today, and she is looking and feeling better. Perhaps tomorrow we can range a little wider and find something to do outside of the house, though with the weather as it is (wet and slushy), it will likely still be something indoors.
We will continue on with our paintings also.
Creating something, is better than doing nothing.
Taraz
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