Where’s my Mojo?

I have lost my painting mojo.
I have been trying to work out why I can’t get any enthusiasm for it.

Here are my excuses:

It’s cold and damp in the shedquarters. I have a heater there but the place is not conducive to sedentary work. I could bring the paints and models indoors a few at a time, but my alternative table is covered in Christmas cards, gifts to wrap and other paraphernalia.

Every time I look at the lead and plastic mountain I spend more time prioritising what to paint than getting on with it. Currently on the bench are a group of 20mm plastic ACW soldiers, a dozen 1/285 Churchill tanks and a whole load of 1:3,000 factories and dock units. Waiting aside are a pile of 1/600 aircraft, loads of 1/300 houses, walls and miscellanea and several packs of 1/600 tanks and infantry, just for my games in focus.

Christmas is rapidly approaching and some sort of enthusiasm should be displayed, at least in the form of decorating a tree in the next few days.

We have been refurbishing and redecoration our home office. This means that the rest of the house is littered with files, stationery and other stuff that needs reorgainising, after we have re-installed or replaced the shelving. Shelving will be reduced by at least one third, so a lot of purging is required. These jobs ought to take priority.

When the debris has been cleared the whole house needs a damned good spring clean. The dust from where the electricians cut channels in the office walls has permeated everywhere. I feel guilty indulging my hobby instead of doing housework, but this is affected by the next excuse. None of this is helped by the fact that my wife is frequently working from home for her full-time job from as early as 04:30 before going to work and is consequently exhausted by the time she gets home in the evening (after tending for her horse).

Since the start of the month I have been suffering from severe breathing problems accompanied by a debilitating cough that frequently leaves me giddy, almost to the point of blackout. The doctors keep juggling my medication but the best day I have had recently is yesterday, when I unilaterally decided not to use any of my three different inhalers until about 8:00 p.m. when it became necessary. Due to NHS staffing issues I can’t actually get to see my doctor until 7th January 2020 (appointment booked 10 days ago).

I am trying to beat my alcohol addiction, which by the end of November had become a family issue. This may or may not be contributing to periods of memory loss which are being investigated by various tests. I am due to undergo an EEG scan on Christmas Eve.

My get up and go has got up and gone lately. Maybe 2020 will see some improvement. apart from the health problems things are gradually coming together.