Month: May 2021

High Spirits in the Woods

Whilst I was coming up with the story behind my StoryDoors, I did some illustrations of local trees which I imagined could be tree spirits.

Could this fairy be flitting around in the dark woods? Who knows? Perhaps we should go for a night walk (die Nachtwanderung – this sounds so much better) .

1 . Nuts, My Busy Little Squirrel

Door 1

Let the Games Begin!

Once I had decided to hide my StoryDoors in trees, I had to solve the mystery of who it put them there! That’s when Nuts, the Busy Squirrel came alive.

This is a story of a little red squirrel that scuttles around the winter woods looking for her store of food. Her cache and her favourite bedtime story are hidden behind a little door. I, the storyteller, am amazed how fat my little friend, the busy squirrel, becomes by the end of the book.

You too can get the inside story by visiting www.storydoor.info

Continue reading “1 . Nuts, My Busy Little Squirrel” →

Playing by Ear

I recently came across the expression “to play it by ear” which means basically “go with the flow”; in other words – act according to the situation depending how it develops. What a lovely saying!

Having checked the derivation it confirmed what I thought. Musicians ‘play by ear’ when they reproduce music without written notes. It’s usually done from memory and the player uses his or her ears to work out whether the notes are correct.

Be Spontaneous!

When it comes to reproducing music by ear I think I am ok. In real life, however, I must say I’m not very good at playing things by ear. Improvisation is not my strength and I like to plan ahead. Maybe I should try to be more spontaneous.

How good are you at “playing it by ear”? Some people are prone “to winging it” but this is not the same. That’s another post I think 🙂