Colouring

I’ve been colouring forever… Currently I prefer coloured pencils and my favourite owl colouring book by Lulu Mayo called “A Million Owls” … she has other books too: “A Million Unicorns” for example. Colouring helps me to relax and to focus … and is supposed to help “prevent” Alzheimer’s.

I finished this double-page image on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend but normally I pick a colour and I go from picture to picture. Then change colour. Sometimes, like this past long weekend, I work hard on one particular image and complete it.

Neither of my parents enjoyed colouring either before or after their diagnosis of Alzheimer’s-related dementia. I’m not sure that we really tried to get them interested. Mom did enjoy young children’s jigsaw puzzles, of which there were many on hand at the personal care home she lived at. Both of them loved picture books … Dad did crosswords until he couldn’t anymore… early stages.

There are now colouring books available that are specifically designed for those suffering from dementia. Large print and with images that aren’t as intricate as those found in many easily available colouring books. These days you can find adult colouring books everywhere it seems: cash registers, magazine racks, and online too. Dover is one of my favourite online sources of colouring books because of their less intricate images and wide selection of topics.

From colouring in waiting rooms and other public places I find I get a fair bit of interest from others. Their mother or wife or another loved one colours… or they colour themselves. I hear what medium they use, where they get their books. I get asked where did I get my book? Or where can they get colouring books for their loved ones with dementia, as the conversation almost always turns to Alzheimer’s.

If colouring can help prevent or postpone Alzheimer’s, then I am all for colouring! And for spreading the word! There are books out there on every imaginable topic. Images are available for free too, if money is an issue. You can even colour virtually, although I find it is not as satisfying. I use two different apps on my phone for colouring when I am caught waiting somewhere without my book and a pencil. You don’t get to choose your colour.. and that’s half the fun!

I hope to enjoy colouring for a long time, but honestly, I DO NOT need a single other colouring book… Did I mention I have a wee bit of a too much stuff problem. Well, I have way too many colouring books too …