State of the Bod

Not feeling like dancing yet, but I'm on my feet. I'm looking forward to feeling much better soon.

Going, going, gone.

Gallbladder report. It's over, it's out, I'm home. I'm glad, I'm tired, I'm sore. Thanks for your kind thoughts and prayers. J

Surgery tomorrow

Hmmm.... Now where did it say the gall bladder is?

See you all in a couple days when I'm home
safe and sound, sans GB. J

Happy news.

Since our hearts are beginning to heal from the loss of our sweet Suzie, we are ready to take in another shelter dog. She will come while I'm recuperating and we'll have a wonderful chance to bond and Buddy will be wagging again. As much as he likes all the personal attention, he seems a bit embarassed by it being lavished on him. And he really misses another dog of his own. So, Buddy is getting a new roommate, Nikki. This is how she looks now. By next week she should have a little more meat on her bones . She is coming from the Lodi Animal Friends Connection.
I saw her picture on line and took granddaughter Candis with me to check her out. We loved her immediately and think she needs us - and goodness knows she is needed here too. Win! Win!

Surgery scheduled

Gotta get rid of the stones!!! On Friday. I met with the surgeon today and liked her a lot. She had answers to all my questions and more. I think she could teach Advanced Gallbladder Removal.
So, I'll go willingly.

Prayers for the Economy

That's all I hear about on the news. Gas prices here have dropped this week to $3.55 from a high of just around $4.00. But now, the big financial disaster. I wonder what that will mean to those of us on fixed incomes. My little prayer is for those who have been and will be affected, and for our leadership to be strong and wise.

Rocks

I had the sonogram this a.m. and the tech was a chatty good humored gal. Her comments were "How long have you been living with these? Don't tell me last week!" Cat scan was done Thursday night.

My gall bladder is full of stones. I'm picturing them like the photo.

Soon I will have it and them removed. Then maybe I can butter my toast? That would be good news, but then on the flip side, I'll probably gain weight.

Sept. critique group

Here's a real picture of our group critiquing one of Wendy's books.

Ouch

Instead of coming home to my own bed, I ended up all night at the emergency room. Apparently I experienced an acute gallbladder attack. I don't want to do that again.

Mini Vacation

Four wonderful days at the beach. One day we went up to Boulder Creek and Ben Lomond to do some shopping. I have a picture here to show you what we picked up. We could barely fit it in the car. As mixed media artists, everything is fair game. So many of the items will not be recognizable when we are finished with them. One afternoon another local artist - Hi Cyndi! came by to talk about altered books. We had lots of chat and learned a few things from each other. I was glad Sally and Nancy were there to share their work and experiences also. Yesterday we found a spot at Capitola, with the tide at +6 feet with good swells that formed waves that broke at the base of a look-out area. We were there at the right time to have the waves shooting up and over the sidewalk. And it was really warm and sunny, so it was a great experience. None of us did any artwork this trip. We really were tourists for a change. Here are the pics.

Image database

My image database now contains 37,384 images. That's just in the computer. I also have drawers full of sorted images from books, magazines, etc. None of them have been scanned. So, I am treating you to some of them on my blog when I post something without any original art. Some of these have been tinkered with in PhotoShop.

Prayers for Texans

Thinking of all my online friends in Texas and their families, neighbors, and friends - and sending prayers for their safety.

Critique group 2

The critique group had a good meeting. The person that started it thought it would be best if we kept it really small and that way we could really get comfortable enough to really do critiques with one another and not just say "oh that's nice" kind of comments. I think she was absolutely right and it seems like it will work well. One of the gals brought an elephant altered Book she has been working on. I also have one in the preliminary stages. What is it about elephants that's inspiring us? Anyway, I'm happy to report that the group dynamic is good and I think it will help us all grow.

Tale of the Rat

This story really started a week ago when I accidentally forgot to shut the studio door at night and a critter wandered in and made itself at home. I never saw it, but some instinct kind of told me there was something else there in the morning, so I dashed off to the hardware store and bought an electronic gizmo that makes a sound that drives away rats, mice, spiders, etc. I immediately installed it and left the door open during the day, hoping it would go away. But, since I was headed for the country again, I had to close it up that night and left town. When I got back some things seemed out of place and there was a faint odor. I thought my granddaughter had been there borrowing art supplies so thought no more of it. Then I opened it again yesterday morning and was bowled over by that horrible dead mouse smell. Apparently while I was up in the mountains and enjoying the great outdoors, there was an intruder trapped in my studio in 100 degree weather for several days. The only water was in the little jar with an old paint brush in it.

You have to understand this isn't just a studio. It's a storage area for art supplies. Every surface is covered with stacks of things. Everything has something on it, in it, behind it, under it, etc. You get the picture. Trying to locate the smell was something I put off all day as I had a hair appointment. And I just wanted to air the place out a bit before I tackled it. I emptied the corner where I thought the smell was the worst. But, nothing there. So, my son brought out their make dachshound Lucky to see if he could find it for us. He was very interested, but my dog Buddy kept interrupting him, wanting to play, so he gave up. Matt brought in reinforcements - Macie, the female dachsie - the dog with the longest nose. And she went right to work, first here and then there, and finally settling on an area, walking on her back legs because the smell was over her head height. She pinpointed it. It was on top of a plastic storage cabinet under the counter, where we could not see anything in the narrow space. If it were not for Macie we would never have found it. Yea! for Macie! The rat has been disposed of now and there is the smell of Lysol all over the place. Scrubbed and scoured. I hope that is the only one. I haven't opened it yet today. I'll keep sniffing myself for a few days just to make sure.

I hope none of you ever have a dead rat in your studios! It was a nightmare. I hope it didn't eat my muse.

Critique group

I'm back from another country retreat, and went to art class yesterday, followed by a late lunch with some friends. Today I'm off to Sac for a new small critique group meeting. We hope to get and give some good feedback to each other. I didn't go last month, but the group reported they were all very comfortable together and came away with more focus for their work. Since that is often a problem I face, maybe it will help me too.

I've been working on the nature AB while I'm in the country, but I brought it home this week to do some fine tuning and also to share with this group. I'm also taking the "Oh my aching back" painting, which I also shared in art class yesterday. They loved it and thought it captured the pain. They thought I should sell it to a chiropractor. LOL I had actually considered giving it to my dr. I'm still having too much fun with it to let it go yet.

Art Work

Making art is hard work, but someone has to do it!

Labor Day

Labor Day weekend has come and gone. A trip to the country for a few days, some yard sales, a book sale, a barbeque, Bingo, riding in the golf cart, taking long walks with Buddy. That was how I spent it. Weather was near perfect. And it was extra fun because there were friends around. I worked in the Nature Altered Book, but I'm not ready to show it yet.

At the booksale I bought a book on Headaches, which is a theme I had planned to pursue in an altered book. So, since I got home I am collecting my headache images!

I took a writing class this a.m. It will meet weekly at local community college - a senior activity. The others in the class are returnees, and so it seems they are miles ahead of me. I'm not sure I"ll stick it out, but since I consider writing is one of my weak areas, I really should bite the bullet and see what I can learn.

I finished off lots of art things for the fall shows. So, now I have a little extra time to play. yesterday I worked in the garden for hours and have it looking spiffy again. It had been looking pretty sad and wilted in some places and overgrown and haggard in others.

These are a couple new ATCs I made last week.