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Home for two days and then back to hospital with bad abdominal pain. A hematoma-type lump due to blood thinner medication.  Pneumonia cleared up but now a slow subsiding of the small lump in lower stomach. I am so grateful for a doctor who will stay with me and remind me that, “this will pass”. In the meantime my neighbor/doctor brought me a heating pad and other things she thought might help. Her husband is from the home care office giving assistance and exercises to build back up my strength. And Patrick has arrived to fix meals, drinks and rework the garage.

First up, Turmeric Old Fashioned.

Lots of fireworks across the street the weekend after the fourth.

Patrick hung the neighbor’s gift of windchimes and the weather stick I found among packed bits from old studio. I never hung it before because I doubted its claim to fame. Now after seeing it change from the upward swing (dry weather) to a tilt downward (dampness), I am thoroughly enjoying this weather predictor.

Patrick is busy in the garage now.

More storage cabinets will be here tomorrow at the latest. For now, I rally enough to just say, “throw it!” He will be taking lots of things home with him. Marla will get a slew of paint brushes, etc.

The cats are with me whenever I go to lay down and catch my breath, also called napping.

they are so sympathetic.

And today, Marla’s gift of Australian gin arrived. Patrick will head to the store to find Fevertree Tonic and cucumber to complete the drink as advised by Aussie gin drinkers.

That is about it for now. I need a nap and another go at my exercises.

I miss seeing the guys each morning but do not have the strength to make it in….maybe next week.

Til later….

 

 

A week ago today I was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia/bronchitis/whatever resulting in an elevated heart rate. My doctor and close friend spent the day here with me and then made the decision to take me to the hospital. I am now home as of Wednesday and recovering with medications that make food taste terrible.  But one of my first meals was this shoe-leather chicken with beans and rice. I loved the canned green beans and swore I would now be buying canned beans! I will see how that goes when I actually am faced with pulling them off the shelf!

The staff at the hospital was superb. I even got to work out in their gym before being released.

I have never had such supportive neighbors as I do here. Flowers, cards, and rides back home.

The one thing I wanted to do more than anything when I got home was vacuum. So I did it three times that first day. Such a good feeling to suck up cat hair! I am sleeping much better at home without all the constant interruptions of tests. My doctor stopped by yesterday to listen for shortness of breath. I am fine. She says to listen to my body and enjoy my happy hour. But the wine tastes like it has gone off, so may try gin and tonic.

Anyway, I am fine. And having a good lunch.

Tomorrow I might get back to drawing but for now will find a mindless movie on the TV and sit with my cats.

Til later…

We went to the opening of The Elf School. I was hoping to see some good art/craft. The best part is that the owner of this place is offering free housing and studio space for artists. A very generous thing to do. I hope some of those displaying their work there will consider the offer and work at improving on what they are making. Does that sound harsh? Yes it does.

Years ago when I was involved with the Standards Committee for the Southern Highlands Guild, almost all who applied were interested in putting work out there with a high standard of quality, work they were proud to have their name on. We studied others work to see what made it so refined, so distinctive, so worth purchasing….and then we got to work making ours better. We did not take workshops to copy the instructors’ work. We did not just crank out product to have something to sell. We worked very hard to make our pieces meet not only the standards set by the craft guild, but having to meet a standard we set for ourselves. I think maybe we have lowered our expectations too much. And maybe we should make an effort to get to high end galleries, like Penland, Arrowmont, and several in Asheville like Blue Spiral, Grovewood Gallery (not the gift gallery attached to the Inn). Good quality is out there and really needs to be sought out and aspired to. BUT if your audience is within a smaller crowd like church benefits, local craft fairs, etc., then maybe a lower expectation is okay for the maker, but the buyers might just be expecting better and willing to pay for it.

So off for an old fashioned, which it turns out is one of the few drinks that wants to muddle all the fruits added. After a few sips, this one seemed passable. We had to settle for substitutes in the making because the owner seemed to forget it was Saturday and let his inventory slip to the point of amusement.

And directly across the road, this caught my eye. Something about that boat getting there early when told to “come”.

And then here at home. I have come down with allergies to all that is floating in this thick hot air.  Nights of coughing and sniffling. Not enough sleep and no energy. So I sit and paint wildflowers in my six way book. There are twenty-one blank pages left in this section which is only one of six books in one. The good news is that thirty-two have been completed. The book opposite this one should be mushrooms and funguses.

I need to keep at it so when I am gone, the kids can have a good look at what an old mother spent her time on.

Still fluffing my nest here. Now this bird cage sits on the pile of rocks and lights.

My framer finished off the white line print using Australian soil watercolors. Then she cut the glass and put one of my last stitched woodblock prints together for me.

And this photo out my front door and looking over the roof tops seems like something from a story book.

Not much else new…still writing…still drawing….still fitting into my new space…still enjoying the company of old men and my neighbors…and the last few days just being still….

Til later…

A gorgeous lime cake was brought in early morning with the guys. Delicious! Then some very funny cards.

Good advice.

Some gifts of fudge, house plant, note book set, plant for out near the newly installed pergola, wind chimes, and more. A nice transition into the eighties. I hadn’t had a birthday cake with candles since my kids were little! Amy had two Ursula LeGuin books sent and Patrick is going to redo my garage with new storage units and a good clean out when he comes next month.

Also two friends from Australia surprised me with a video call at 7:30 in the morning. So good to see Jude and Toni plus what they are making in the Queensland studio. Both of them into their eighties and still doing exhibitions and work to sell at basket venues. They inspire me!

 

The day before being eighty my pergola was put in place.

It is very hot this week. I am getting my steps in by following the route of 250 steps through the air conditioned house. Boring but I am moving!

The cats just needed each other the other day.

And the morning trip to the gym followed by the walk back to tai chi.

And day before yesterday I lost my wallpaper picture on my computer. I can always dig through old Australia trips and find the one I misplaced, but decided maybe it was time to freshen the look when my computer comes on. It took over two hours to finally settle on something. This was a close up of the Eucalyptus leaves made from pages of Robert Hughes’ book, Fatal Shore. The piece I made these for was my last accepted entry to South Australia Museum’s Waterhouse Natural History Exhibition. All the leaves were colored with watercolors I made from Australian soils and had the edges burned to show the fragility and fatality of climate change in Australia. All the leaves were swept into a dust bin to complete my entry.  Most were given to friends down under and many put in favorite places as a going away gift to the land I was leaving behind.

So, what I have learned from turning eighty.

I am older, but not too terribly old.

I can do what I want with the time I have, just do it a bit slower.

I can say pretty much whatever I think is worth saying out loud, whether someone is listening or not.

I can cook some scrambled eggs with spinach and cheese, and call it a good meal.

I can drink wine at the neighbor’s, and think it is better than the same wine drunk alone at my house.

I can write words that my fellow poets think are amazing, and yet might get a shrug from others.

I have learned to ignore the shruggers, and expect nothing more.

I am comfortable in my skin, my shoes, my clothes, and not comfortable around some people.

 

Thank all of you for kind birthday wishes and encouragement to keep going.

 

So that is about all from here this time.

Til later….