It's
becoming apparent that I can do little drawings or I can work on
designs and models for the cast glass. This latest one took two days.
Mostly because I waste a lot of time. One day for the drawing, one
day for the coloring. This one is 4 1/2".
Also,
I had a mountain of dirty dishes in the kitchen. I did make a little
progress on the full size drawing for a new panel and started
thinking about the hummingbird piece I'm supposed to be doing for a
friend. And when I say 'little', I mean tiny.
And
oh joy and surprise! It rained yesterday afternoon! Not as much as we
need but enough to give everything a good dousing and to cool it off
a bit. I had told myself I would get out there and weed one of the
flower beds next time it rained and so I did this morning and while I
wouldn't exactly characterize it as cool, it was definitely not
hot. So yeah, I got muddy before I even had any coffee! And yes the edge of the flower bed is in desperate need of trimming And yes, it's not only hot out there now but steamy to boot.
Another
short day today, my second yoga class of the week. Abby, our
instructor, won't be there as she is on vacation this week, but the
girls meet anyway, taking turns to lead different poses. Last week
while discussing Abby's coming absence they wanted to know if I was
going to come Wednesday, which I told them I would if everyone else
is going to show since I didn't want to make the 25 minute drive and
then be the only one. No, no, we'll all come. I hope they don't want
me to lead the class because while I can do the poses, I'm not a
great leader and I have no desire to spend my day coming up with a
routine. The reason I go to class is so that I don't have to decide what poses in what order.
Plus,
I've been dealing with some muscle pain and aches in the biceps of my right arm and to a much lesser degree my left arm. It's
been going on for more than a month, some days ache worse than others
and when I get a day that is relatively pain free, why then I go do
something that uses those muscles and boom, the next day my arm is
complaining. Since it's not going away on it's own I guess I'm going
to have to take steps. First on the list of remedies is a
massage. If that doesn't help, the chiropractor and if that doesn't
produce results I guess I'm going to have to go to the doctor and
submit to tests. I don't think it's a torn rotator cuff (I looked it
up) but there is definitely something going on in my shoulder/upper arm.
Again, love your drawing! What a little gem. As for your ache, pay attention! Mine started out as an ache!
ReplyDeleteAnd I know from experience that yanking weeds can aggravate any number of things.
ReplyDeleteHope it feels better soon. Now go grab an ice pack.
Torn rotator cuff should not be on both arms and is usually pretty painful. Hope you figure it out. Maybe you are holding a pose doing art that strains one side or the other.
ReplyDeleteI had promised myself that I'd get out and weed the one part of the garden I hadn't done when it cooled down a little and it cools down a little almost every day with these regular rains and by golly, I haven't weeded that section yet and the sections I have weeded are all coming up weeds again and who cares?
ReplyDeleteI'm in sort of a snit of a mood this evening.
Anyway, good for you, Ellen. You keep up with things and I admire that. And for doing your art every day.
I just heard a thing on NPR today about them using stem cells to treat torn rotator cuffs. It's still all rather new but they are making HUGE progress in a lot of areas with those things. They can now take cells from the person who is to receive them and actually make them exactly like embryonic stem cells by some sort of "molecular process" which takes away the need for suppressing the immune system and dealing with the wackos who claim that unwanted IVF fertilized eggs are actual human beings.
well, there's a lot I'm not keeping up with like trimming the yard but there's the whole arm/shoulder pain thing. which I think may be from cumulative stress from the way I was sleeping, falling asleep on the couch every night waiting for the husband to stop snoring. so I've stopped doing that and it seems to be improving if I would just let it. and I wish those religious wackos would read the fucking constitution and quit trying to impose their insane morality on everyone else.
DeleteYour flower drawing is lovely! And kudos to you for going to yoga. I have recurrent muscle spasms in the bicep of the arm my rotator cuff was torn, so your diagnosis sounds good to me. My herniated disks and arthritis cause so many strange muscular symptoms that I blame anything I don't understand on them too. I have no suggestions for healing, I just massage it and complain until it stops. My torn cuff was treated with steroid shots and painful physical therapy, no surgery. I have mobility back but the recurrent pain is very annoying. Hope it's nothing major for you and it doesn't interfere too much with your work.
ReplyDeletemostly it just interferes with certain yoga poses and aspirin usually helps the pain but it's getting to be annoying.
DeleteOh those red spikes. Your arm is probably hurting because you never stop. I lived in Houston for 11 years and the heat and steam - well, if I tried to do anything outside, I be on the ground with someone calling 911. At least you are productive and have your work planned out. Hopefully it won't be a horribly hot August.
ReplyDeleteprobably. if I gave it more than one day to feel better before I got out there and did something vigorous with it it would probably get better.
DeleteIf it were a torn rotator cuff, you'd know it. I wouldn't presume to diagnose, but I will say that in the course of my work on boats, I can come up with every sort of ache and pain that doesn't seem to be connected to anything particular. Particularly when I begin working on a new boat, even finding the best ways to hang on can cause a bit of "now, what's this about?" For example: that door you were working on. That's the sort of project that can tweak something without you even knowing it at the time. Hope all resolves quickly. Just take it easy, and see how it goes.
ReplyDeletethat's what they say, that it's really painful. plus I can raise my arm up, no problem. it's certain twisting movements or trying to reach around my back that seems to produce the most pain. I kind of thought it was cumulative stress from how I was sleeping so I'm not sleeping like that anymore, plus using my left hand more but it starts right there at the shoulder where the biceps attach.
DeleteMost likely just overdoing it, but your order of 'doing something about it' is very wise. I always go for the Eastern methods first. That is usually after I ignore it for months. Definitely a do-as-I-say, not-as-I-do thing. I spent a good 20 minutes of time I didn't have, mesmerized by the hummingbird drama that unfolds every morning. I am totally, completely, enraptured by hummingbirds. They are magical beings. Lovely drawing.
ReplyDeletealternative medicine is always my first go to. if there was an acupuncturist anywhere close I'd even try that. got two compositions done for the small hummingbird panel for my friend. yay! progress.
DeleteAlternative medicine gets my vote as first go to. As I was uninsurable for anything I could afford for 4 years until I was old enough for Medicare, I am grateful for my years of turning to alternative medicine previous to that. So many medical problems that I once had, and for which I was told that I needed prescription medication for the rest of my life, have long since resolved naturally, including bulimia, depression, migraine headaches, arthritis, rosacea, severe allergies, and the hot flashes and insomnia of menopause. I am fortunate in that I require no prescription medications as I approach my 69th birthday. Although I can no longer afford acupuncture due to living on my Social Security check, I found extraordinary benefits from acupuncture.
ReplyDeleteDue to injuries sustained in yoga classes, I have had a self-designed home practice for many years. I was puzzled by the fact that several of my yoga teachers kept pushing me to practice poses that had caused injuries. For example, I told a teacher that I cannot do a shoulder stand without developing neck pain and headaches. The teacher then began to devote entire classes to similar poses that caused me pain, giving me alternative poses to do instead. It seemed foolish to pay for classes that I couldn't fully participate in. In recent years, I did find an excellent yoga teacher whose classes are entirely based on restorative yoga, much of it in the Svaroopa yoga tradition. However, the class was 30 minutes away, and I found that I was unable to drive there during the winter when the roads here become snowy and icy. I have since incorporated the restorative yoga poses she taught us into my home practice.
Your beautiful drawings inspired me to begin working on my mandala series again! I hope you continue to post your drawings. All my drawing is done within a circle with a 7-1/2 diameter. I use Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils on Bristol board.
as working artists with no insurance alternative health care was the only thing available to us unless I knew they (the kids)/we needed an antibiotic. herbal teas and chiropractic/kinesiology/accupressure was always first though and mostly all that was needed. I've been on medicare for the last 3 years, my husband finally for a year. first time we've had health insurance. my new primary care doc is an osteopath. most people are too lazy though to make the lifestyle changes needed or to pay attention, all they want is a pill to fix it and don't care if they have to take it for life. I'm on only 1 med and that's for my thyroid though I resisted for years before finally getting on it. I've been doing yoga for most my life, pretty regularly for the past 20 years and I've never had a teacher/instructor that encouraged any of her students to do things that caused the pain. in fact they have all said to listen to your body and if something causes you pain to not do it, differentiating between the 'pain' of a good stretch and actual real pain. I do have to drive 20 - 25 minutes to class but I'm happy just to have a class I can get to out here in small town country. the only thing that stops me is bad weather conditions and since it doesn't snow down here. my yoga teacher is younger than me but she asks the class what they're in the mood for that day...restorative, easy, medium, fun stuff (advanced). I'm glad if I have inspired you to start back on your art work. I read something recently that drawing, painting, or being creative is a good stress releaser. I've been using a mechanical pencil for the outlines and coloring them in with Prismacolor colored pencils. just have 24 colors right now.
Deletetake care of that arm. you need it for everything your art and really everything else, too.
ReplyDelete