in waiting...

we're still waiting for lab test results
and my visit with the endo was pretty good
i remembered to ask about my arm (the doctor isn't sure and is going to talk to a colleague)
we discussed the what ifs on the labs that aren't back yet
and i forgot to ask her about the thyroid panel with the reverse t3/t4 and antibodies
so that's pretty good

bernie's rash and hives are pretty much gone...still some lingering things
and his cough is still bad, he won't go back to urgent care for it as he says it's just allergies
so that's the state of the bernie

we have a new wood guy as our old wood guy blew us off repeatedly after telling me that he promised us wood last week
so new wood guy will deliver monday the first of three cords

and i finished a study of barberry from out front, next are the gourds and corn that susan sent and then the shells from rhonda, i also have some rosehips to paint and fall leaves, as you all may realize we still didn't finish the rearranging in the studio so i am stuffed into the corner and pretty cramped for space-- plus i can't find my bid studio easel....... so my poor long suffering studio is a nightmare... but as you can also see i do manage to get work done--- i wish it was more work but at least it's steady work done

so that is about it... i am feeling pretty good thanks to the d vitamins, the doc renewed the 50,000K cause it is working ----- i still can't over do things too much and i am in big trouble if i get chilled but the constant exhaustion and deep ache is gotten totally bearable so i am good with that, the rest i can basically ignore
although i found that when my elbows hurt, i've over done it! and it makes no sense WHERE the elbows hurt either!
oye
fibro....who knew?

so this is your saturday....

my latest painting is a very happy old lady witchie poo....... i had to paint her, i mean......tis the season right?
she fought me tooth and nail ........she wanted to be younger, i wanted her to be older (she is actually a real person, and she is a bit older in real life then in that painting- but she is as sweet in real life)
every once in a while i have to do some humans to get make sure i don't forget how to paint figures/portraits

ok now i have gourds and berries to work on..... and some dried leaves, and corn..... i wish i could get a visit from one of our crows.....they've been gone all summer

as to the family here....bernie is doing better, but still on stuff to help with his hands etc.... he's still got that plague and i am considering forcing him to go back to a doctor about it...he's giving me a hard time so he must be feeling a bit better

still no wood--- the woodguy is a total flake------ now... if i don't hear from someone this week, i don't know what we are going to do..... probably get the other maple taken down and use that

in the midst of all this the laptop is acting up bad now...and my nook color no longer is allowed on my wifi..... but it's something from the wifi not anything i did.....
that nook thing started when i tried to download an app i purchased to deal with my painting gallery on the nook...the download wouldn't work.. then the wifi crapped out (the nook sees the wifi....but the wifi won't let it connect even with the correct password!)
which again brings up the whole 'new computer that can handle graphics' issue again
if we had been able to follow the plan i laid out for all this...i would have had the computer in 2013... and i would be so much further along (actually i would have stayed on schedule with my plan for this whole licensing thing * and world domination? isn't that what everyone is expected to say?*.......

so now i am trying to figure out something to raise the cash i need for the good graphics computer, a wacom drawing tablet..... and the graphics software
it's a matter of, i need the above to be able to work........ and i need to be able to work to GET the above......
oye

and tuesday..... it's the doctor that takes all my blood..... i better drink a lot of fluids huh?
there is an art supply store near the doctor, that i would LOVE to stop at while i'm there.....but i don't know if we will, but i would sooooooo love to, especially since i heard they got my favorite watercolor paint in stock now.... and maybe maybe some good brushes????
i am waiting to put a brush order in to rosemary & co....... but that's on hold
i do tend to go though brushes.... not as bad as some people (like bernie does) but since i paint so dry, and 'up on the tips' --my tips tend to wear, the body is ok but the tips aren't as sharp as they should be
so i'm always looking for good brushes with super sharp tips....
the next order i'm going to put in is for half riggers and spotters .....basically all tippy brushes.... with no real bellies to them but what can you do?
i really wish the kolinksy thing is straightened out soon...(china get your shit together ok? this is a a RUSSIAN weasle not a sable, not from india, not endangered........... and america you too... wtf?)
i've tried some synthetics and i'm not impressed............ so let's all work together shall we......the artists in america need brushes
( and i really really like cheapjoes dragons tongue brush..... the very bestest- they are a good brush, hold enough paint, have good longer lasting tips and are reasonable in price--)

well that's about it now, it's time to give fawnie her meds......and for me to eat something, do my stretches (they really do help) and start to paint
i had a crap night, with less then two hours sleep, and that was all nightmares..... my elbows are killing me (that's where the fibro seems to have settled, i over do it...... the elbows hurt!)

so take good care and ttyl

and this week......

started off with a run to the emergency room for bernie
reaction to that antibiotic.....plus the antibiotic kicked off contact dermatitis to the gloves he has to wear at work- and he's got the plague too
so he may have to go BACK to the doctor again for that
however he did pass the MAC certification test so he'll be getting a small raise for that (he passed in one try, most of the other guys in his shop took 2-4 times to pass- i am not surprised as he is a slow and careful thinker and this was a test he could take here at home...... so he was able to sit and think about it without stress or pressure)

meanwhile i got a fire going to take the raw out of the house since it's raining
and i am hoping to paint some gourds and berries today if i can
but since bernie got sick i'm struggling to do a lot of his chores that used to be mine that i have trouble with now......
oye

still no wood..... i got a call from the woodguy and i tell you.....i am not happy
he had assured me when i first called him that he'd have my 6 cords ready
now he's telling me that he doesn't have them and that his 'friend' is going to get me my wood
it's going to be too late in the season soon
and i am really getting worried

also tonight is the last night in the cortisol tests i have to take at midnight
at least i was under the impression it was three days.....i hope it wasn't over three weeks (one a week)
my appointment is next week so they may have the results by then i hope
but probably not....as the hormone tests go out to california to the nichols lab

now it would seem he DID give me his plague... i am starting to get a cough and a throat thing going on. i am hoping it's weather related, due to mold spores in the rain...we'll see about that
and also.......i have been doing very basic yoga stretches and some walk aerobics when i can.....and i am happy to report that they have been helping and i am making slow progress- and i can not stress enough how shocked i am that the vitamin D deficiency made such a huge mess of my body..... now taking the supplements that the dr gave me the rx for ....sure helped- and i'm not even up to optimal range yet~!
adding the b12 seems to have also helped so when i was advised to add  k ......i listened and ordered that along with bernie's vitamins

ok i've got to get my day started now
take good care

did you ever have a week.........................

where it was one thing after another......
where things just kept going wrong?
yup
that's us
first off bernie's hands are still a mess and now he's got a cold or the flu or something
the wood guy did NOT deliver like we agreed on..... despite of a few reminder calls-
the van needs front end work desperately and we are going to have to take it to a shop as bernie can't do it at work (wtf? a mechanic and we're PAYING SOMEONE ELSE?)
oh and of course...the roofer never called either
oye
i also dropped that thing on my leg..... all cut and bruised ....... what a mess
and then calpurrnia is got the runs (normal for her......one week a month it seems she gets the runs...and won't use the litter box with them)
the computer is a mess too.......i downloaded and updated a new vid driver but i secretly suspect that the this laptop is on it's way out....
i am considering an edition of my prints to buy a new computer---

oye
now today........i was able to put up another pot of split pea in the nick of time...... because i eventually found a carrot
(it is just not the same without the carrot)
thankfully that went ok
i still haven't found the shredded ham i froze in soup sized portions (and we need to do another ham i think. so i have packs in the freezer)

looks like bernie has thankgiving week off
this will be the FIRST time since 2007 that we won't have to worry about either road calls or other issues...............
so maybe since he'll be home we can cook not only a turkey but maybe a ham so i can do stuff up for the freezer, since i'll be having help around

now i have to tell you.......that the vitamin d and the b12 really have helped the fibro...... i can't believe i'm saying that but it's true
i guess that really bad d deficiency was causing problems- pretty bad ones actually
so now i did more research and am adding K3........
so i ordered vitamins instead of the brushes i need/want
how very adult of me
sniff
i long to order brushes...paper, paints...... music...books..... beads..........yarn....
but i got our vitamins
i got bernie his 50+ for men vitamins.... and k for him too...
and the 50K units of d for me for after the rx one runs out.....i am not going to risk going back to what i was feeling before
that was horrible.....i felt so bad i was afraid i would live!

so that's about it for now
i'm going to stir the soup...... pull the current painting off the board and get ready to draw some fall bounty that i got in the mail this week
ttyl
i hope you are all enjoying fall.....

well that was fun.....NOT

i was (*maybe still am) dealing with a malware redirect virus....
it's a 'your flash is out of date' redirect
now i haven't been feeling great so it sorta didn't register at first
and then i thought it was a site issue (i don't know where the hell my head was)
but now i am dealing with it
it isn't fun
i thought i had gotten it but it hijacked spybot and malware.....and i am not too sure if norton is ok either yet
i'm tired too
(today is a bad day flare wise for me, but a good day family wise as my long lost sister in law finally called...everyone is fine thank goodness)
ok fast updates
i am working on a portrait of a witch....(not a mean witch but a sweet old lady witch....... i just felt the need)
i couldn't face one more duck unless i did something else for a shake up so witchie poo is on the drafting table....after all 'tis the season' no? and what fun is being an artist if you can't shake stuff up a bit here or there?

anyway i have to go as this flare is got me very tired
but i will talk to you all in a day or so

more freezer cooking

today is enchiladas
chicken and bean with mixed veggies
i got the beans up on the stove cooking now (dried navy beans this time)
i am planning on 32 enchiladas so that will be i think 8 containers of 4
now each container actually is a meal for both of us with his 'work supper' as well in there
i eat one, he eats two and takes one to work
i am hoping to stretch the chicken with the beans (shhhhhhhhh we won't tell him there are beans in there-what he doesn't know is good for him)
i may put some corn in too
in a few minutes i'll go make the sauce for this
right now i am still struggling with the morning fibro stiffness..... (and it's raining)
now yesterday i processed that pie pumpkin i baked the other day....i ended up giving the chickens the guts as i didn't like the way they looked but the girls were very happy
i made bernie a pumpkin crustless pie....i called it a custart.....hahahaha
he liked it but he said it needed whipped cream which we didn't have.....for once i would agree with him
i couldn't find the ground allspice and didn't feel like grinding the whole allspice so i just put cinnamon and ginger in it......it was pretty good

next i am hoping for a good sale on beef but if not then i am going to have to do with a mix of chicken/pork for meatloafs and such
and i am going to need to deal with that soon...... as i need to have stuff ready for when i am too ill to do anything
i am fighting this disease as hard as i can..... which isn't easy, as i hate being idle.... but i do have to sleep and rest and i can't do what i am used to doing in a day
i keep hoping i figure a way to at least do what i need to when i am better against the bad days..and figure ways to have the bad days not so bad

anyway....right now i am cooking for the freezer..... in a while when that's finished i'll paint

freezer cooking

4 meals of chicken in curry sauce and one of chicken and dumplin
tomorrow if i feel ok
i bake
i also discovered i really need to do a few batches of enchiladas up for the freezer
plus i am working on stuff for thanksgiving
getting as much made ahead as i can.
i don't think bernie will be actually here all day awake (he'll be working that night) but i could possibly do the full meal the tuesday before and have a leftover second meal on the actual day

in other news, i again have insurance starting today
and the fibro is down to a dull roar......thanks to the vitamin d3.....
i need to add vitamin k2 and k3 as well
which i will
and i have discovered that taking the vitamins in late morning/early afternoon is the right time
as if i take them too late they keep me up
i would have never thought that a vitamin D deficiency would cause problems and that taking d would fix stuff
i'm not sure about the other vitamin claims but for me, i've proven to myself that the d works
and works well
the general horrible tiredness in my legs is tolerable now
i can go down to the ducks and while i can't yet do water buckets or grain pans, i can and do bring my beloved ducks in the house at night (i've missed them all so very much- and they have missed me too)