the search for a new painting chair

or should i say..research?

since i broke my painting chair (and probably my ass too)
i haven't been able to paint,.....oh i've tried rigging stuff up
but i realize that after about 5 minutes, 'yeah it ain't gonna happen'
the strain on my knees and back is too much to let go and paint
and since i am already all banged up bad from the fall.....we're not going to aggravate things
so i have been researching

and this is where i'm at
three chairs.... one cheap but with arms and too big to fit in there
one small enough sort of to fit in there without arms, but too tall and needs extra cushioning on the seat...
and one that seems perfect but is out of my price range (well right now... a bandaid is out of my price range)

and i am also going to fix my little chair as a back up... cause i can't take the down time

i am trying to find the 'seems perfect' one for less then 200....
if i could i would have gotten it already

i can't paint without a rolling swiveling chair...i can't get close enough to the painting
i was going to try to stand to paint, but right now without a major reorganization and possibly building something. that's isn't about to happen, and i can't find my studio easel either...
but that takes up some serious floor space.....(it's been a while since i've used it so i don't remember how much floor space but i know it's a lot more then my drafting table)

i am trying to think outside the box (or the studio-if you know what i mean)
i am wondering ok..... what if i give up my drafting table (which would bother me but maybe huh?)
put my little easel on a tall stand and paint standing?
or put my little easel on something with wheels and move that in and out?

i don't really know what to do....
i do know i would like to finish my corn painting...some time this year..which is not going to happen without a painting chair (the other solutions would take a bit of time so since next year is like what? thursday? yeah ....not likely)

so there i am
meanwhile i got a very sore ischium bone... (it feels like it's also got a bad cut inside there)
two bad knees and a horrible shoulder which i am not entirely sure doesn't have a hairline fracture.....
i am also going out of my mind by not being able to knit, sit for long periods of time, walk or paint

oye
i think the knitting and the painting is the worse part of it

happy holidays

i wish all my friends all over the world the happiest of holidays (and if this isn't your holiday- i wish you wonderful memories and lots of hugs and icecream )

it really is so small a world these days, i talk to my friends from the usa, south america, europe, the middle east, africa, australia, and the far east........... all due to this wonderful magical thing called the internet- we can even skype! we can talk into what surely to a medieval person would have seemed a magic mirror and we see each other, hear each other and connect-- and i would imagine i would be extremely warm right now as the flames surrounding the stake would be leaping higher

my friends from all over, i am so lucky to know you all..... you all make my days so much brighter

and as i talk to all these amazing people so alike and yet all so different, i realize how important they are to me
suddenly people from far away aren't faceless, they are my friends, they are all the faces of my friends

i also realize how very empty my life would be without these wonderful people spread all over this tiny blue planet ..... we are all just a speck of dust in an infinitely huge universe- but here we are..... and it's amazing to me

i sit (well ok right now i am not able to sit due to the broken chair) in my studio and paint. then i can instantly share that image with all of you folks all over the entire world....... HOW COOL IS THAT?

it makes me think how petty that all the wars, the hate, the killing, the controlling is.....how insane the quest for ultimate riches and power is....
because we really are all in this soup of life together
we really do all interconnect...

it's not 'them' and us......it really is just all US

anyway..... happy happy holidays to you all...... my very best wishes for you all
freedom, peace, security, happiness. health, happy memory making.......
i wish it all to everyone
all without fear, without pain

bless you all no matter what if any religion you are...

dear santa claus

it's me violet
remember me?
of the pennsylvania violets?


i know i am sorta haphazard about things but i remembered my list this year

so here goes

i would really like to have some of my friends who are ill, made well.... i worry about them carrying on and being in pain, or worse..... having worry hanging over them like a dark dark rain cloud

folks who need not just jobs..but good jobs..... jobs that allow them to live not just survive
so they don't have to chose between do i get my meds........or heat or eat
they are working and making more then minimum but let's face it anything less then 50K for someone who has a house and mortgage and a job is just not going to make it
70K a year and they can actually save a bit for retirement

and can you do something about this world wide situation of fear..... fear of knowledge just got 141 people killed by extremists ...in GOD'S name (god's pr department must be having a meltdown about now)
cops killing folks out of fear.... folks in fear of their lives from cops
folks in fear ..just fear of all things
meanwhile you got folks telling everyone ..... ditch the fears
it ain't so easy
we're going to need a major miracle here
(maybe you and god's pr department can team up here?)

and the greed thing.. some folks ..enough is never enough.. the thing is.. we're all literally in this together...we ALL live on this earth, breath this air (and if nestle waters has it's way...we'll be paying for water too)
are interconnected by atoms and molecules.... so by that line of thinking ...maybe at one point enough is enough?? and we know all must be able to not only survive but live?
aren't we supposed to be above all the savagery ?
i mean if not.....wtf is the point of it all?
how insanely crazy can you allow things to get before stepping up and stepping in?

those are some of the major things
and if you have a bit left over...please take care of my little family
bernie and the animals
mrs quail is calling for her dead husband.... phoebe is slowly dying of age
my fawnie can't walk (also i suspect due to age)
bernie is doing ok so far .....can he stay healthy and happy please?

me i need to be mobile again, to take care of everyone, it's not working well that bernie has to step up with some of the stuff.....

and an agent for me....... i need one that can be an asset to me so very bad, it's getting into 'needed urgently' territory now

so santa that's my list
i know there really isn't anything you can wrap and put under the tree...(i am assuming an agent would object to being wrapped up and a bow stuck on her head..... ?)
but really that is my list

if the world gets better for everyone... that is the best gift of all.... and everyone will get part of it!

anyway i'm off now
i am gimping around so it's taking me forever to do anything and it's time for my ice
take good care santa
and really please try to get some of that stuff on my list..the fear and the greed ones i think are the biggest no?

your friend

vi

me and fawn

both immobilized
her with her slipped disk in her back
me and my knee that i mangled back in april in that fall

fawn we gotta stop meeting like this

the vet gave her a shot and did accupressure....she's walking better but not normal
he said..... (this morning) if she's not better by next week..accuPUNTURE
i was surprised he didn't do that in the first place
now fawn is anything like me she's going to stay crashed for a week then gradually get better
meanwhile between the two of us....we are NOT doing well

i have to keep icing
she has to keep a heating pad on
and both of us just want to lay down and sleep

bean soup and snow and ducks and wood stoves

i made a huge pot of bean and ham soup (diced onion, carrot, celery, added to the cooked to tender navy beans, then the remains of the ham.....simmer all day)
it was wonderful!
the beans broke down into a thickener, the veggies melted, and the ham added flavor
i was shocked when bernie went back for seconds (of course there was nothing else for him so he had no choice.....but he said it was alright)

hey he ate it so that's a plus
(i'm eating it for breakfast, i do love beans ....i have to get more navy beans)

today i woke up to snow on the ground
and more coughing....a lot of coughing actually
dr won't renew the zpack i am to use the inhalers
seriously they aren't helping with the coughing at all
the pulmonary dr won't be available until at least feb..(he'll be back jan but booked until feb)
i noticed that going outside or getting too upset, talking too long....or exertion makes me cough BAD

ok to sort of continue the light bulb thing from the other day (it's scary how my mind works) i have to rig up the shop lights for the seed starting very soon..... i have to start peppers EARLY, and i would like to start a few early things like cabbage and leeks if my leek seeds will germinate ( i have seeds that are kind of old and some stuff such as leeks don't always store well no matter how well you store them)
if i wait for bernie to help me with the shop lights i won't hit the window for the early seed starts
i had asked for a cold frame or tunnel but that didn't happen either as i was too sick to do it myself

bernie seems interested in the garden this time so i am going to hope he helps me as lately i'm not able to do it all myself

depending on weather, i am going to be calling for wood next week, not the full three cords i need but at least one cord at a time
i wish at this point i could have about 10 cords out there...... well we'll do what we can do
thank goodness we didn't wait for that old wood guy...he never EVER bothered to follow up on his promise....we'd have frozen already

and in ducks... phoebe seems to be ok today..so she's out with the flock
i don't know as she is going to have as long a life as she should... that was the nest i was raising when that jackass was next door with the methlab
so cleo and phoebe had never really been right and cleo died so young...
so that's our day so far
how's your week going?

as time goes on

today i am again cleaning in the studio....
my plague, with the help of a zpack and inhaler is down to a dull roar and so i'm back to cleaning my studio
have i mentioned how much i hate cleaning?
and how once it IS clean how i hate messing it up again
maybe that's why i don't clean much.. at least with the mess there i can just get to work
?
well ok that's my story
so i got my work surface cleared off and added two long shelves...... i made the mistake of putting out my half sheet bounty paper towels
bernie saw them
there may be a homicide happening if he touches them
i need them and i've stashed them for a while so i HAVE THEM
not just any rolls...BOUNTY half sheets
those are the best and that's what i have in the studio

now today it's a sort of half assed storm outside
although it's warm, and while it's slushy and all.... the ducks are ok
tomorrow we are to get about 3'' of snow and sleet and freezing rain and hale and the 7 plagues of hell and grasshoppers
maybe frogs

bernie got kero for the backup heaters but we won't be able to use them as he hasn't dry burnt them to service them... i can't get him to understand that if he doesn't do that...we can all die of carbon monoxide when there is incomplete combustion--

and i am also trying to protect my paper towels
homicide may happen......

just saying

meanwhile................ today is going to be a chicken curry for dinner day-
and i am hoping to get further on the studio
i need my second work surface brought up.... i found it and couldn't move it myself
i would like to also paint it with a semi gloss cream
(although my other one is minwax red- it used to be my niece's desk when they were little kidlets living in an apartment in Fairlawn .....i painted it for them)
so the back one is probably going to end up being painted with cream outdoor trim paint, which is fine as i am going to beat the crap out of the work surface anyway....
i have two other shelves to go over that work surface and i'll paint them cream as well

i am looking at lighting....and i think i am going to go with dimable LED ..... as i can afford them, they are brighter, and supposedly last much longer..... and use much less electricity.....
i desperately need to get light bulbs..... i need regular ones CFL at 40 w...and i need one really tough one for outside on the porch (about 100w equivalent)
and then the studio lights
i was looking at some under counter lights that are not too bad...like under 20.00 for 6' which is most likely what i'm going to use .....the cool white is 6500K so that is as bright as daylight
(i'm also going to need regular cool white and warm white 48'' floursecent tubes for the big fixtures... to start my garden seeds-- like i said...i am out of light bulbs)
i found a few of my smaller drafting lights........so i'm going to hook them up for the second easel as task lighting
i have two ott lights but i am afraid to use them as they got brown where the lightbulb plugs in
i wish i could
lighting is a huge problem in my studio, even with three walls of windows.... we had to cover (nosey neighbors from hell).... so we do rely on artifical lighting a fair amount...
i wish we could have replaced the windows when i was planning to but now we'll have to wait

so that is the state of the studio right now...... it's cleaner and almost rearranged
bernie didn't help
i did it all as i felt better
and now.... onto curry chicken

a sodden end to vacation

cause it's raining, foggy, dark, relatively warm (in the 40s but feels 30s) day.
bernie is sleeping i hope as he starts back to work tonight

and i am cleaning the studio ...
to install a new work surface across the back wall for my second easel...... i got it partly cleared out but now i need to move stuff and bernie's sleeping
(we agreed not to fight by not moving stuff the other day)

in addition to this i went for the adrenal supression test this morning----- they took my blood at 7:13 so i hope that was ok
i felt terrible as there was a guy there ( even though i was there first and had the first appointment) who'd had a liver transplant...... but i had to get this blood drawn
and i did have an appointment (he is a regular walk in)
i really could use a bit more sleep
i was going to go up then realized that bernie has to sleep today so i've stayed down
i really wish there was a way of me sleeping down here a bit- i asked bernie if we could put the spare bed up in the studio ......but really there is absolutely no space for it
so i have to come up with another idea- and some bookcases..... (cause part of the no space thing is the amazing amount of books i've got crammed in here- why yes i do read a LOT --- ahem why do you ask?)

i have a hair brain idea.... i want to buy those insulation panels and install them on the walls then face them with drywall, and replace all the windows with one large window on the north wall, two large windows on the west wall and patio doors on the deck wall......
i sort of priced it all and just for supplies would be about 6K--- i think however we could heat with less then 4 cords of wood a winter then...... maybe
so that would probably pay us back in about 6 years
considering ac costs ....maybe less!
oye

anyway today i am struggling to get the energy to do the painting corner
i need it done NOW
(i also could sure use a white board in there as well......)

so ........ how was your holiday?

i've been sick still
bernie did most of the cooking but i did the supervising and the hard stuff like the gravy...
stuffing etc
we packed the turkey up into containers right after supper and put them in the freezer
then i made stock and soup

i'm still sick but not retching as much
meanwhile we were to have done my studio today

i ended up throwing my body across two sewing machines that bernie was attempting to remove to some obscure undisclosed, known only to him and promptly forgotten location........

his organizing style and mine are VASTLY different
i can't reach his idea of organized.....
nor can i see his idea of organized

so we had a truce to cut cat's nails and clean ears...
i was informed that he intended to get started organizing me and my studio early tomorrow morning
......there may be a war

or something worse, the last time he 'organized' me i couldn't find anything for over a year
and some things are still missing........ like two other sewing machines......
as it is i can't reach my watercolor paper without his help and i can't roll out the folding cutting table for cutting fabric or paper on as he's got it stuffed in and piled up
oye
so even though i have carefully drawn plans as to what/where/how i want my area done.....
he'll throw them to the wind and make sure it's inconvenient and impossible to work in if i let him do this without supervision
i've been pretty sick so i can't do this myself at this time

oye
oye oye

i hope i survive

have a wonderful holiday

and a safe one as well

right now....we are watching some seriously heavy wet snow coming down

but bernie said it's warm out and it's melting pretty fast

we'll still be shoveling off the studio roof

but i am grateful that the weather is warm, as i am dreading a repeat of last year with the horrible cold that never stopped

meanwhile i am still really ill

last night i was coughing so bad that i was retching

this went on for quite a while

bernie kept saying 'this isn't normal, you need to go to the hosptial'

the only problem with that was i would have to get dressed and i couldn't stop coughing long enough to do that 

by the time the coughing fit subsided somewhat, i was so very exhausted that i couldn't even climb up into bed

(it's got a very very high mattress..... bernie hasn't lowered the frame yet... so it's about 6'' too tall for me, i feel like jack in the beanstalk in the giant's house)

i think i finally got into bed and sitting UP (forget about lying down) at about 2am

so right now i'm in a robe and slippers

i couldn't eat breakfast either, it made me cough

bernie is going to get me mucinex to see if that's going to help-- i'm desperate at this point

good thing i made the cran sause and such already..... cause i couldn't do that today

i have to bake the rutabaga..... and i  will have to supervise bernie cooking tomorrow unless i get better really soon

the no sleep with the painful ribs from coughing is doing a number on me

bernie hasn't been sleeping either of course

i am hoping that the mucinex will help....i would love to get a full nights sleep, i swear if it isn't the woodstove getting me up..... or something it's my health nailing me

in painting news, i am painting oak leaves... cause i am an idiot

but i won't let them defeat me

so i am painting oak leaves

and cranberries but i think bernie fed my models to the chickens

next i have indian corn and shells and more leaves but i also need to return to the water fowl series and oye..... i paint too slow sometimes i think

well... everyone i wish you all a happy, safe, and healthy thanksgiving

wed is not only the new monday......

but we got a vacation coming up
which means stuff will get done maybe?
meanwhile i sealed up some of the air leaks around the duck room door
i swear the studio is warmer
one of my friends suggested i use pipe insulation in there which i will be doing
as we can't seal it up permanently yet
i also have an appointment for the suppression test......
and lab/hospital bills are starting to come in
i need to get back to painting as my subjects are piling up (literally.... a pile of shells, a pile of leaves, a pile of berries....... )
plus i have the brant geese to do and now arctic circle stuff too
it's been pretty cold so i am a bit reluctant to sit in the coldest corner of the studio

in holiday preparations- i made cranberry sauce
and i will be making the stuffing shortly
i've also make my leftover plan for the freezer
and we did a ham so that we'll have ham, turkey, chicken and pork meals in the freezer
along with soups and beans
i need a good sale on beef though
i'll grind my own chopmeat if i have to...(probably a much better idea anyway)
and i would like a good sale on pork loin...i maybe even will make sausage

i am slowly learning not to over do anything
how about that!
i cut up three packs worth of ham today, into cubes and vacuumed sealed them
then i put the ham away
tomorrow i will do a few more if i can

i am still having trouble with the knee i fell on in april- it suddenly does this snapping thing that hurts like i fell on it
i end up howling like a banshee it hurts so bad
then boom the pain subsides (the after pain is still there though)
i am going to assume this isn't a good thing...
ok i've got to get to bed now
i can't keep my eyes open

knock you on your ass tired

i can't even begin to explain the level of tired i am.....
it's really beyond anything physical
however i am very blessed to have friends who send me packages with shells and seeds, socks and stuffs to cheer me up
(boy does that help)
i got two wonderful packages today when bernie picked up the mail

so briefly to bring this up to date
we are facing a bad cold snap
bernie did get the furnace to work more or less and that went on this morning when i just could NOT get myself out of bed to stoke the woodstove.......(so now i got a bloody nose from the furnace heat- oh well at least i stayed in bed resting for 12 hours)

i got my rx for the meds and labs for the suppression test to see if the tumor is located on the adrenals or what..... that will happen next week as the draw must be at 7am so bernie will have to be off to take me

painting- well right now i got layouts waiting and a paper prepped for work but not enough energy to get over there
i hope this changes soon
my next burst of energy will be spent in prepping layouts so that even if i am too tired i can still paint

now today it is raining hard and is dark and overcast..... the ducks seem ok with it for now
bernie is getting concerned about the quail for the winter and we're going to give them a nest box with shavings ....we haven't prior as we didn't want 10,000000. quail babies..... so now with the days short that shouldn't be a problem but the nest will keep them warm

knitting- i am working on what started out to be a worsted weight cowl.......and evolved into a hat...
i just don't like worsted weight for neckwear....... i don't know why- i don't mind it too much for a hat
or mittens, actually i prefer lopi in worsted for work mittens that don't quit...
but for a cowl..... really i just like fingering or lace. so i cast on 100stitches on 4.5MM needles and did two inches of k2p2, then switched over to double moss..... i'll keep going with that for a while, do a turning row or band then do the crown -- susan was right when she advised me to not be knitting lace right now........ or tiny needle that i love so much
so that also means colorwork in fingering is out of the question... so i'll knit a new hat for bernie
(gees he goes through them so very fast anyway)
meanwhile i am just so glad to be knitting again...even though it's nothing complicated or lacey

THE SEED CATALOGS-- the onslaught has started
i got 'high mowing seeds' and i'm already drooling
my short list is mainly 'winter over in the garden' stuff

• leeks
• chard
• spinach
• brussels
• cabbage
• mache
• carrots
• lettuces

and there are a few bush beans i am considering......(we never did get the other beds made up in the garden)
i had that small deck garden this year and boy i missed my big garden....... i would like to put in a hoop house for next winter if bernie gets around to helping me.....
but meanwhile the seed catalogs are tempting
and i love my leeks and chard so very much.... along with my peppers and pumpkins
so something has to be done for next season......

there is the state of the herron household, at the moment
everyone is pretty much happy, and relatively healthy (ok so we still have the plague)

i am hoping to get a small on sale stock up going for the freezer
i'm still sighing over paints and brushes but that's an ongoing thing

i am still desperately trying to figure out an accurate way to release these paintings as giclee prints
and i am still looking for an agent (one was supposed to be interested but after that i haven't heard anything from her so i am thinking probably not)

how is everyone's winter and holiday preps coming along?

this whole plague from the

pits of hell thing is getting really old
so yes, well.....i'm sick AGAIN
no surprise there huh?
meanwhile i have to do another cushings test so they can narrow down where the tumor is
and no it's not anywhere near as much fun as it sounds
i think this endo is going to turn out to be my best doctor to date, as good as the specialist down in philly
meanwhile i'm very tired
and i am not only have a bad cold or something but a full blow fibro flare going on
which means i want to just sleep
i went up as soon as bernie left last night and didn't come down until about 11 this morning
even that wasn't enough
tonight i am going up right after supper
my legs feel like leaden jello.......it really feels like i have a temperature but i doubt that i do

now in other news, i started to try and do some paintings of oak leaves (will i never learn?)
well actually after the last painting of oak leaves that i wasn't happy with, i decided they will not defeat me......so onto more oak leaves
probably with indian corn...possibly with some sea shells thrown in
cause that's what's on my painting table right now and i can't face the brant geese at the moment

odds and ends going on... well... we got half our wood in
i really would like to have the rest in within the next week if we could..... it needs to be stacked for seasoning....although it's not too bad-- but it could go a few more months
bernie is supposed to check the furnace oil tank too
he hasn't done that and i can't see up that far

i am also trying not to worry too much about this cushings thing.. but it's sort of scary- i am not concerned about dying as much as being incapacitated--- way way more scary then dying
so anyway i am sort of trying to not quite ignore it....but maybe not think too much about it either..
oye..

also i am trying to figure a way to sleep down here during the day while bernie sleeps upstairs
so far i haven't figured anything out yet that is actually comfortable enough to sleep
but i am still thinking about it

are you all getting ready for thanksgiving?
we are sort of
i'm going to have to do a shop next week for odds and ends
it's not going to be huge here but i hope for enough leftovers for freezer meals for at least a month.....so we'll also be digging a ham out of the freezer (since bern will be home he can help me)
between turkey and ham...i expect soups and main dishes and all that

ok well off i go now
im going to eat and go to bed
sleep well and sweet dreams everyone

while my woodstove gently doesn't burn

i'm sitting here AGAIN
waiting for a cranky woodstove to decide to get warm
it was caught and burning brightly......until it was time to go to sleep
then like the reluctant and petulant child it truly is........it promptly went out
so i sit
i'm so tired my skin i crawling cause we did this dance last night
and these days from...ok to crawling skin tired is now a matter of hours not days like it used to be

(i am having some trouble lately again.it could be cause the 50K of vitamin d RX is not been picked up at the pharmacy...... or maybe it is also the weather change...?)

meanwhile i'm having terrible trouble with the knee i battered in the april fall so life has been a bit more difficult again
and this coming week we are also going to get slammed with the cold from that alaskan storm- bernie needs to cover that AC unit in the studio inside and out..... and there is a broken storm window that right now..... we may not be able to replace on the other side of the studio- and i can't do it myself right now...
we'll be putting the drapes and plastic up on the doors
i know he said he'll be stacking wood tuesday too.. he wants it up before friday and also we need to figure another load to come in so that space needs to be available
i can't stack either right now...
i'm having a fibro flare that is just bad enough to make life super difficult but not quite bad enough to lay me out totally

now with painting.....i finished a small painting of a gourd and oak leaves- i do love the gourd
the oat leaves not so much
i had the still life sitting on my painting table and so i worked partly from life....partly from a photo and partly from a blk/wht print of the photo of the still life........... yeah i know...over kill but it's better to have enough back up reference just in case

um i still have corn and shells and more leaves to do yet
and if the berries don't croak i got them again too
then after that shells
then ducks
i better paint with both hands

more tests

ok so more tests

thank goodness i have finally found a good doctor again it looks like

meanwhile i am still working on the gourd painting with the leaves, it was meant to be a study so i put it on a square piece of watercolor paper--
it's started now to develop into a series type painting
so now without finishing my poor migratory water fowl series....i have apparently stopped mid series to do a botanical series -- in my defense.....living plant material does not keep and it is/was FALL- so how could i NOT
but i have to say...... the new fall series is more adaptable to things like pillows, papergoods, dishes
and possibly cards
with elements that could be lifted  for surface design (although after reading about how little fabic designers make and what they go through..i am think -- yeah.....no thank you)

i have a few more things that need to be painted now before their time is gone, which makes me wish i could paint even faster (some paintings are very fast though)

also what happened is my gallery that i keep on my nook has gotten messed up
so i reformatted the memory card, and it's behaving better.
i had tried to download an app for photos, however my nook wouldn't allow it to download, and in trying to fix that with tech support....somehow NOW my nook won't log on to the wifi
so it's just a gallery now
which actually is ok
that is what i wanted it for

let's see what else? ......oh the wood is here
finally, we had to use a different company as the one we have used for a few years now, kept telling us wait and he was getting wood to us no latter then the end of the week......however THAT was three weeks ago....... now i had let him know in the end of august/beginning of september that we were going to get 6 cords, the first three to be delivered mid october..... followed in two weeks by the other three cords, he agreed and was happy to do it.....or so he told me at the time.
if we believed his promises, we would have no wood for winter.....what does he care.

so we got our alternate wood guy who is now our main wood guy
he is very professional, the wood isn't bad at all..and best of all he shows UP when he says he is going to.... omg how amazing is that?
he costs more but you know what? it's worth it and it's only 5.00 more a cord so it so IS worth it

to continue with heating news, bernie got the furnace working again... he still hasn't told me how much oil we have left in the tank, but he said.....'really we should get it filled while oil is cheaper'

ok

i think that is about it for now....
the only other thing is our little boy budgie has decided he loves his momma........ and is taming himself now
stella is sitting on the never hatching eggs so she's basically a stuffed bird with a heart beat for all the company she is to him
so now he loves momma
oye
birds!

all night long...

i listened to the wind blow
i kept hearing things hitting the house
and wondering if the trees were going to come down
we will be keeping the woodstove on all day today and probably for the rest of the winter heating
i'm still not sure about the furnace
i got two of the three tests back.... the two i messed up
the third one i did right so we'll see

meanwhile, i have a sort of still life going with a gourd..... two oak leaves and some berries maybe a blueberry leaf or two
one leaf is behaving and the other is giving me a really hard time

there isn't much right now i feel like talking about..... or even remembering as this blog really is more of a diary for me (when i had a very high readership i got scared and stopped posting)
i am a bit depressed today, which i think has something to do with the hard frost overnight and my bean plant dying finally... i am so going to miss that plant -- i saved seeds but i KNOW the seed i planted was brown and the seeds this plant produced are white......so i am assuming this is a hybrid between whatever that one seed was and my merchant of venice pole bean

i am going to have to look into a bunch of day light lamps for in the studio i suppose
maybe LED ones
and maybe a few fixtures as well....
i get SAD this time of year until at least into april

and today it's really bugging me
so i'm off to paint

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