Karen Karn

Some time ago, a friend invited me to have my personal colours analysed. This was something I'd thought of before and was keen to try. As I've said before, being very slightly red-green colour blind, I’ve learned to avoid colour and my wardrobe consists overwhelmingly of grey. Marl grey, to be precise. We agreed on a date and were both very excited. My new make up palette. However, almost two weeks ago, on Sunday 18th May, Noah came down with his regular attack of mucus overload. We’ve been given prescriptions by specialist and our family doctor, but nothing can prevent or ease the symptoms of this horrible affliction. Since he was about six months old, he’s had these attacks. It starts with a headache and a runny nose and develops into a state where angling his head past the true vertical incurs a head ache and/or an avalanche of mucus, down the throat, out of the nose or into the ears. It’s horrific, at best causing extreme discomfort, at worst threate...

I am constantly inspired by the story of a woman who lost everything in a house fire. She and her husband had gone out for the evening and when they came home, their house had been razed to the ground. All she had left, were the clothes she was standing in and the contents of her handbag. What a disaster, you might think... a nightmare! But the woman's take on it was different. Yes, I'm sure she was devastated, as any sane person would be, but ultimately, she said, it gave her a new lease of life. She was forced to do what many of us dream of doing, namely, start from scratch. I'm not saying that everyone has such an enlightening experience when faced with such a disaster. I'm not saying that the woman in question doesn't deserve our sympathy, or that she experienced no sorrow over the loss. Nor am I suggesting that we all hold an almighty bonfire and toss every stitch, every trinket, bauble and utensil into the flames, but just think, for a moment, about...

I've just found out that James Woods and I share the same birthday! April 18th April 4th Robert Downey, Jr. April 4th Maya Angelou April 5th Pharrell Willliams April 28th Harper Lee April 28th William Shakespeare April 5th Booker T. Washington

From 10th January *** I'm doing something unusual, right now. It's Friday evening and I'm writing this at the dining table, laptop on my lap, the TV is on, Noah watching Planes, Kenneth is watching Netflix on the other laptop. Ordinarily I write my blog posts in the day, when I have this room to myself, but limiting myself like that, means either not writing a blog post or waiting and hoping that I get the chance over the weekend to write one. Neither of thse options appeal to me. I'm constantly distracted and I keep making typos, but the point I want to make is that I need to keep changing. Even if I love something, or depend on it, I need to be willing to let go of it in order to make room for whatever comes next. I've had a wonderful week, busy and fulfilling, and   look forward to this weekend which I'll used to  research some things (Zen, yoga...) and watch films/TV and knit and keep house and maybe bake! OK, I...

Found these in the medicine box.

This is bizarre! I recently (five years ago, or so) found out that I have a low level of red-green colour blindness. I've always known that I'm bad with colour and have avoided it, mostly, opting for white interiors and grey clothing, with a few exceptions. But I do love colour, as my extensive nail varnish collection will attest. Every now and then, though, I see a colour that makes my heart leap. I'm not one for playing games, these days. I'd rather do something productive, but Noah's been ill for a few days and I've been sitting in around in my PJs (as a gesture of solidarity) so I started playing this on my phone... Neon Flow. See those two spots without lines, the red and the blue? They made my heart leap! So much so that I had to 'have' them! I screen-captured the image and isolated and expanded the colours. Then I went about trying to find a name for them. I wasn't even sure if the 'blue' was blue or the 're...

Clean space. When I was younger (so much younger than today...), I had in my mind an idea of who I would be at this age, as do most of us. Over time that idea becomes lost, distorted or abandoned through the many twists and turns of the life that is presented to us. That jacket that you loved so dearly, the one that epitomised 'You', is the one item of clothing that your best friend mocks, your son ruins with a permanent marker or the weight naturally gained with age prevents the zip from fastening. It's gone . But it was just a jacket. What if it were a home or a job? A home you loved, but had to leave through a set of circumstances outside of your control? Or a job, that simply ceased to exist? You find a new jacket, a new home and a new job, but they don’t fit you the way the old ones did. When you were younger, you had the prospect, the dream, of finding the perfect jacket, home and job. What do you do when the dream is no longer ahead of you, but behind y...