relaxin'

After listening to a podcast (and jotting down notes), Bardie and I relaxed and listened to some music on my iPhone. Or, rather, Bardie slept and I listened.

For anyone interested, the podcast was an archived one from The God Journey, July 17, 2009 -- "Relaxing into His Love". You can find it HERE.

 

have some pie?

Our friend, Eugene, had a shoulder replacement surgery on Wednesday. But before he went to the hospital, he arranged to send me a piece of my favorite coconut meringue pie from Chappell Hill Bakery and Deli (they also have really yummy barbecue!). I am blessed with the most amazing friendships!

hielan coos

Just three miles from home, we found a herd (or “fold” as they say in the Scottish Highlands) of Highland Cows. As hot and humid as this part of Texas gets, I’m glad they have big ponds and plenty of shade trees! My right hand is shakier lately — I just could not get the lines quite where I wanted them. 🫣

a real book!

Waiting today at the Oncologist’s office, among smart phones and e-readers, I found a lady reading an actual Real Book!

a tinier bag

When I had my first post-hospital doctor visit last week, I was still using a walker to get around. Carrying a regular purse would have been a bit cumbersome so I went much smaller, borrowing this tiny cross-body bag from our granddaughter. Just enough room for ID, iPhone, lip balm — and a tiny sketchbook and pen, of course.

On the far left I began a gratitude list that was added to daily. As my medical team prepares to go on the attack against the tumor, I am reminded of so much I have to be thankful for.

summer tanager

Looking out our French doors and windows from the loveseat recliner, I see the bird feeders hanging on our front porch. An amazing variety come to visit each day. Lately there have been large numbers of cardinals and robins, but recently we saw these brilliant red birds without crests — our Texas bird book identifies them as male summer tanagers; the females are a contrasting yellow.

from last month . . .

This spread in my sketchbook was done last month, over a week or so, but I never got around to posting it. The empty milk bottle had been sitting in our kitchen window since Christmas — it once held eggnog — and it was waiting to be returned to our farmer’s market for deposit. By the time I got around to finishing this, it was.

breakfast in bed

As we were waiting to be released from the hospital yesterday, I started sketching my breakfast tray. They were quicker than expected and I had to finish this at home.

And yes, I was eating scrambled eggs with a spoon instead of a fork. Tendinitis makes my right hand shake sometimes. Eating can be quite challenging when it does, especially soup!

a different than expected week

Earlier this week, I experienced some bad abdominal pain, bad enough to call for an ambulance in the wee dark hours. Everyone thought ‘appendicitis’. Rushed to hospital, took a cat scan and seeing a cancerous tumor shocked everyone.

Pain meds working for now along with antibiotics for the infection. Next, go thru chemo & radiation treatment, then possibly surgery depending on the first treatment’s success. Feeling much better today, (hurray for pain meds!), weaned off some medical equipment, and restricted diet somewhat eased up. Now for a long slow process of treatment and healing . . .

But I did manage to sketch these very wonky sketches — I forgot the Liliput fountain pen used in the first sketch (the sock thingy at the end of the bed) had water-soluble ink — oops! Good thing I also had an Mark’s Tous Les Jours ink pen with me.These are the last pages of the first side of a Hahnemuhle 2” Zig Zag sketchbook and a modified CMYK palette.