washing by katharine eastman

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give this one a few minutes and as much volume as you dare and I think you'll be rewarded with hearing maybe the best album I've ever made - whether that's any recommendation for you or not is something I can't possibly say - but I think this is beautiful - even quite moving - it's the effect relentlessness often has on me
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Even when making music I always have the radio on, even when I'm actually recording stuff, usually switching between LBC and TalkRadio and TimesRadio. Today they've been overdoing it a bit about someone somewhere who has said that you mustn't rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.

This house is the first house I've ever lived in that has a dishwasher. I've never used it. Well I do use it - to store my kitchen roll. The house didn't come with a washing machine, so I've still never lived in a house with a washing machine. Or a microwave.

My bro/sis-in-laws Mark & Annie used to fight so much over the dishwasher that they ended up having one each, next to each other in the kitchen. I actually quite enjoy doing the dishes - it seems a lot less rigmarole to plonk something in the sink and take it out again and plonk it on the draining board than to plonk something into a machine and wait five hours before taking it out.

And I do really love washing my clothes in the sink. It's one of my morning rituals. A little each day. Today I washed a duvet cover. The forecast was rain, but so far it's been dry, and so is my duvet cover now. But my favourite bit is hanging stuff out on the line and watching it drip. Small pleasures. To see nature working for you for free.

Just going with the flow. This album seems effortless. And in a way it was. But it was preceded by about four "albums" that weren't in luck and didn't work and got killed off without a trace. This one did work. It's all luck. The advantage of having no musical skill/"training" is that you work extremely quickly. The disadvantage is that you are relying on luck.

And a whole day of bad luck can feel gloomy and like you're not making progress. But I've never been a fan of progress, so even those days never get me down. And a day like today - with a dry duvet that dodged any showers, and stumbling into making an album which I love, it's been an okay day.

Made all the more interesting by being the day when I witnessed a collision between a pedestrian and a guy on a scooter. No one was seriously hurt. And there wasn't even any anger around. And on Sunday while walking thru town I saw an old guy lying on the pavement face down - he'd tripped on the kerb and cut his hand badly. But no bones broken. Me and another passer-by helped the man up and saw him to his flat.

If that sounds like me bragging about what a wonderful kind person I am, then don't be fooled. Recent years of city-life have started to turn me into the sort of person who'd cross the street more and more often. It just depends on the day. And it's why I've got to get out. But homely days like today, working away up here at this stuff - god I shall miss them when/if things change.
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(recorded today, photo here, this afternoon)
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