It is a blur since the last post. A roller coaster of fear and worry, and returning to work in the worst heat I can ever remember teaching through. Happy now to know that all is finally on the mend with little Tilly, and the rhythm of the school day is again feeling normal after only three full teaching days. Like riding a bike. A big bike with 350 kids hanging on to the seat, pedals, my hair, and the bike's handlebars, but a bike no less.
And I love it. Managing the mental chaos that arrives with the start of a school year is exhausting but also right up my alley in terms of sorting detail and planning. Getting to know new faces, seeing so many sweet kids that are actually happy to be back, and the laughter that accompanies each day when one works with kids. Oh, the laughter. I miss that in the summer.
Tilly went through what I can only call radical dental surgery on August 23. He had 24 teeth removed while under sedation, and thanks to my amazing vet friend Carol, it was successful for him. Can't say it was for me, though, as the whole experience felt very traumatic. My 94 year old son did not have a smooth recovery and is very vocal to his mama. He shook and shrieked nonstop for several days following the procedure and made me feel so guilty for having subjected him to the surgery. Gradually, he has weaned off pain meds and is now appeasing his ravenous appetite -- eating more dog food than I've ever seen him consume in his life! His resiliency is nothing short of amazing, considering his liver is bad since age four and he was supposed to not live very long. It's been a long road with this little pup, and though his smile is forever changed, he can now satisfy his hunger, take walks again, and most importantly, poop (that has been an ongoing issue due to not eating well and infection from a yucky mouth.) Now the Toothless Wonder has fresh breath, too -- bonus! Words can't describe the sense of relief I feel in knowing he will be okay, at least for a while. It was a rough patch.
As was opening school with temps in the high nineties. And I am in the basement! We are talking high humidity, wring out your shirt after thirty minutes, type of heat. Constant sweating, as if I'd just worked out (perish the thought!) Nothing like stress and excessive heat to kick RA into gear for the goal. Today it is expected to only be 86, so that is an improvement. My room stayed at a steady 80 yesterday, but the humidity was so high the printer kept jamming and all the paper felt damp. The floor feels slippery and the air feels hard to breathe. Yuck.
On the art front, things are looking great, though! I completed the first piece of art for the School of Stitched Textiles class and have submitted it to my tutor (the term "tutor"sounds so Harry Potter...) I am reasonably happy with it, and see it as a departure from the Completely Flat World of Art. Making chunks of quilted and stitched fabric is fun and can lead to interesting structures. It allows for more mixed media and experimentation (one concrete benefit I've taken from this class, for sure.) I look forward to the next piece, and working with a wider color palette, too. No more green for a while!
Except for Boncuk, who is green, and is sitting on my left shoulder as I write this. He is nestling under my neck, and the sound of his little foot moving faster that the speed of light to itch his neck feathers is amazing. Probably only bird peeps get that part.
And, another addiction has taken hold of my hands, but I think it is a good one. Thanks to a little video by Laura Kemshall on English Paper Piecing, I have rediscovered the technique (long forgotten in my own art making history.) Again, like riding a bike, my hands have recaptured the rhythm of basting little bits of cloth onto cardstock shapes, and I am delighting in the perfect geometry the technique produces. Already I have two big hexies made of diamonds and jewel shapes using fabric I like. Going for the scrappy look and to make some pillows...watch out relatives, lol. I love that it is portable and I can do it anywhere -- at the district Welcome Back to School meeting, in bed before sleep, and even in the chair when getting the last Remicade infusion -- during which I made 30 diamonds. Gotta be a record for me on that one!
Sadly, Laura Kemshall made the video as she is making a raffle quilt for the hospital that is treating her recent horrible cancer, and she works on it during her chemotherapy appointments. That is where I got the idea to try. Because the needle is in the crook of the arm, some (most) hands-on activities block the flow of the iv and cause an embarrassing beeeeep that the nurse has to come fix. For some reason, I can do EPP in a position that doesn't block the meds. Woot! Now Remicade time is studio time, and it has a better feeling attached to it. Yet another reason to love Laura Kemshall, as if one needed another reason! Best wishes to her in her treatment and outcome. May she have as successful a treatment as the Tilman.
Cheers!
And I love it. Managing the mental chaos that arrives with the start of a school year is exhausting but also right up my alley in terms of sorting detail and planning. Getting to know new faces, seeing so many sweet kids that are actually happy to be back, and the laughter that accompanies each day when one works with kids. Oh, the laughter. I miss that in the summer.
Tilly went through what I can only call radical dental surgery on August 23. He had 24 teeth removed while under sedation, and thanks to my amazing vet friend Carol, it was successful for him. Can't say it was for me, though, as the whole experience felt very traumatic. My 94 year old son did not have a smooth recovery and is very vocal to his mama. He shook and shrieked nonstop for several days following the procedure and made me feel so guilty for having subjected him to the surgery. Gradually, he has weaned off pain meds and is now appeasing his ravenous appetite -- eating more dog food than I've ever seen him consume in his life! His resiliency is nothing short of amazing, considering his liver is bad since age four and he was supposed to not live very long. It's been a long road with this little pup, and though his smile is forever changed, he can now satisfy his hunger, take walks again, and most importantly, poop (that has been an ongoing issue due to not eating well and infection from a yucky mouth.) Now the Toothless Wonder has fresh breath, too -- bonus! Words can't describe the sense of relief I feel in knowing he will be okay, at least for a while. It was a rough patch.
As was opening school with temps in the high nineties. And I am in the basement! We are talking high humidity, wring out your shirt after thirty minutes, type of heat. Constant sweating, as if I'd just worked out (perish the thought!) Nothing like stress and excessive heat to kick RA into gear for the goal. Today it is expected to only be 86, so that is an improvement. My room stayed at a steady 80 yesterday, but the humidity was so high the printer kept jamming and all the paper felt damp. The floor feels slippery and the air feels hard to breathe. Yuck.
On the art front, things are looking great, though! I completed the first piece of art for the School of Stitched Textiles class and have submitted it to my tutor (the term "tutor"sounds so Harry Potter...) I am reasonably happy with it, and see it as a departure from the Completely Flat World of Art. Making chunks of quilted and stitched fabric is fun and can lead to interesting structures. It allows for more mixed media and experimentation (one concrete benefit I've taken from this class, for sure.) I look forward to the next piece, and working with a wider color palette, too. No more green for a while!
Except for Boncuk, who is green, and is sitting on my left shoulder as I write this. He is nestling under my neck, and the sound of his little foot moving faster that the speed of light to itch his neck feathers is amazing. Probably only bird peeps get that part.
And, another addiction has taken hold of my hands, but I think it is a good one. Thanks to a little video by Laura Kemshall on English Paper Piecing, I have rediscovered the technique (long forgotten in my own art making history.) Again, like riding a bike, my hands have recaptured the rhythm of basting little bits of cloth onto cardstock shapes, and I am delighting in the perfect geometry the technique produces. Already I have two big hexies made of diamonds and jewel shapes using fabric I like. Going for the scrappy look and to make some pillows...watch out relatives, lol. I love that it is portable and I can do it anywhere -- at the district Welcome Back to School meeting, in bed before sleep, and even in the chair when getting the last Remicade infusion -- during which I made 30 diamonds. Gotta be a record for me on that one!
Sadly, Laura Kemshall made the video as she is making a raffle quilt for the hospital that is treating her recent horrible cancer, and she works on it during her chemotherapy appointments. That is where I got the idea to try. Because the needle is in the crook of the arm, some (most) hands-on activities block the flow of the iv and cause an embarrassing beeeeep that the nurse has to come fix. For some reason, I can do EPP in a position that doesn't block the meds. Woot! Now Remicade time is studio time, and it has a better feeling attached to it. Yet another reason to love Laura Kemshall, as if one needed another reason! Best wishes to her in her treatment and outcome. May she have as successful a treatment as the Tilman.
Cheers!
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