'Wood' and 'would'

I've given myself a bit of a break from drawing which is why the blog is so quiet but a combination of things got me started again this morning. Firstly, I'm a prisoner in my own home. Actually, I'm waiting in for someone who said they'd come by this morning for payment (we had our Catalpa Nana trimmed back this weekend) and, naturally, he hasn't turned up. So that meant I have plenty of time. (I could have done some housework, I suppose...) Secondly, as I was drying my hair this morning, my brush snapped in half and, thirdly, I saw the challenge this week is to draw something made of wood.

I've done a few wood drawings before but the reason I had to draw this is that this brush was very special to me! As a family, we are not out shopping at every opportunity always buying new things, we tend to hang on to the things we have and use them until we either grow out of them or they break down or wear out. So whenever we throw out something, like a pair of shoes or a jacket for instance, I joke that it's 'the end of an era'! But this brush really does represent the end of an era for me. I was working in the City (of London) in 1982 (talk about a fish out of water!) when I swapped my short bob for an even shorter hairstyle, which I've more or less kept ever since. That week I went out during my lunch hour and bought two very narrow styling brushes in a chemist - there were few shops there in those days - one slightly larger than the other. It dawned on me later that these very narrow brushes are as rare as hen's teeth and I couldn't find them anywhere else, but by that time it was too late.

I wash my hair every day, bar the days I'm ill or have a migraine, so I've certainly got my moneys worth for 25 years of almost daily use! This one didn't last as long as the first. That one went all over the world with me and always in hand luggage where I could protect it but it finally snapped maybe four or five years ago. So I trimmed the bristles on the larger one to make it the same size and hoped it would last as long. Over the years too, I've squirrelled away similar brushes I've found, but none have quite the same combination of short but not too dense bristles that you really need when your hair is so short you can barely get it round your finger.

So, it's a very sad day today, a day I dreaded but knew deep down was inevitable. It won't be binned just yet though. Like the other brush, I'll hang onto it 'just in case'. Just in case of what, I don't really know! A welder in shining armour maybe?

And the box of tablets? Well, both of these things would have been drawn for the 'grateful' challenge. Now the brush is broken and these tablets are discontinued. I take Imigran for migraines but, for bad headaches that might lead to migraines, these tablets were the best I've tried. Trouble is I can't find anything else with the same ingredients and the new Saridon tablets are just ibuprofen and, like aspirin and paracetamol, absolutely useless!

I'm not sure it's a good thing to get so attached to material things but sometimes, when they really work and nothing can replace them, it's hard not to. I sometimes think it would be so useful to go back in time and buy multiples of those things that have been invaluable and in doing so, save a fortune on not having to buy all the second rate stuff trying to replace them!