Hello Monday!

So, it's the start of a brand new week, and the first full week of the children being on their summer holidays. If only the weather knew this! It's been horrid the last few days - more like autumn than summer. The garden is enjoying the rain - the children less so. Thankfully I have the 'Harry Potter' movie box set, and all my children appear to be wizardlings - no muggles here!

The weather is also very unkind to my body - fluctuations in heat kick off flares, damp sets into bones and muscles. I'm always more reliant on pain relief during wet, cold days, which I absolutely hate. I really dislike the way that my body lets me down.

But I do have ways of staving off the pain, and making use of the sometimes swimmy, far out feeling that my meds bring on. I mentioned in my first post that I colour, right? Well, that's what I do. I sit down with a fresh picture, pick my medium, and go for it.

Sharpies are always fun to use.

I'm a relative newbie to colouring. I've only been doing it for a couple of months, but have already accrued an impressive haul of colouring books and sheets. Some of my favourite images come from DeviantArt - there are a lot of line art pieces on the site that allow free downloads. But I also have some actual, physical colouring books - everything from the Relax with Art magazine to my current favourite, Doodle Invasion.

A completed image from Doodle Invasion.

I can't tell you how relaxing it is to just let your mind wander while you fill a white page with colour! It's very therapeutic, and you have something truly original at the end of it. It's been proven that colouring - or any other artistic endeavour! - is beneficial for those suffering from stress, depression, anxiety and a plethora of other mental health issues.

This one took quite a while, but I think it was worth it.

It's also something that you need not spend an absolute fortune on, unless you choose to. Stores own brand pencils, felt tips or markers will be more than adequate, or you can go the other way and spend hundreds of pounds on professional artists quality gear. If you're in the UK, check out your local B&M stores, W H Smiths or even Tesco, Morrisons and ASDA. All have a fab range of felt tips, penils, fine liners and marker pens. In the US check out your local grocery stores, Hobby Lobby and other office/stationary stores.

And no matter what you colour, in whichever medium, it's supposed to be FUN. So long as you have a good time doing it, and are happy with your result, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. You might not be the next van Gogh, but you might really have fun, like I do.