Saturday 13 August 2011

feathers and a decoy

hello friends,
i can't believe it's been over two weeks since my last post!!!

i need to get my act together!

the other morning while walking aaron to school, we saw a large amount of feathers littered in one spot and it was pretty obvious that a poor magpie had fallen prey to a cat overnight. 

i always feel sad when i see things like this.  i know there are feral cats out there but domestic cats are often responsible for this type of thing too when their owners allow their cats to roam free at night.  they can do so much harm to the native wildlife.



i picked three of the feathers to take home and sketch,
 my way of honouring the magpie's life
pencil-free sketch using ink pen and watercolour in A5 sketchbook

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the results are in. after seeing my rheumatologist on the 25th, he confirmed that i have rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis AND carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. i wasn't surprised because mum suffers with both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis and RA can be hereditary. RA is an auto-immune disease where the immune system gets confused and starts attacking its own joints, body tissue and, sometimes, organs. the rheumatologist said that, nowadays, they treat it more aggressively with drugs used to fight cancer as they've found it gives better results for up to 70% of patients. the drugs are given in lower doses than what is given to cancer patients but scary nonetheless.

i've been dealing with a lot of pain lately, particularly in my right hand and elbow, and it can bring me to tears and keep me awake at night.  the daily feldene doesn't seem to be helping much at this stage. i hope the methotrexate helps but i'm told it may not show any improvement for 5 to 9 months.
wish me luck.

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our neighbours own a couple of staffordshire bull terriers and every time we go around that side of the house, they go all vicious and try to break through the fence to attack us.

actually, they did break through the fence going back a few months and i was SO grateful that we were all indoors at the time. i quickly mended the fence when it went back into it's own yard.  just the other week, one of the staffys bit beau after it escaped into the street when it's owner arrived home.  beau was mowing our lawn and it obviously didn't like it.  thankfully, beau was wearing long pants but he did end up with a huge lump and graze on the back of his leg.  i was so upset and wanted to tell them immediately but beau didn't want to cause any neighbourly upset. i just pray that it doesn't happen to a child.

last week, aaron went to hang out some washing on the line and the neighbour's dogs started their usual vicious barking and trying to break though the fence at him.  so, aaron came up with an ingenious plan...
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i belly laughed when i went around the side of the house to see THIS!

aaron had created a decoy!

and it worked quite well too because their dogs were going crazy vicious trying to attack the decoy while aaron was able to hang the clothes in relative peace.
i marvel at the way aaron thinks sometimes. LOL

anywhoo, i hope you all enjoy a beautiful weekend!

~ love, light and peace ~

23 comments:

  1. Those drawings are amazing Serena! Such talent...I wish I had the skill to make my journal look so gorgeous. My next door neighbor has 3 little white dogs. While they are harmless, they make so much noise whenever someone walks by. I love your son's solution :)

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  2. Hi Serena,
    Hm, yes, me too~been ages since I've blogged and posted.
    Oops, life can get in the way.

    How very clever of Aaron to come with a decoy like that.
    If the situation gets out of control I would speak to the local council about the dogs.

    Sorry to hear You've been so unwell with rheumatoid arthritis and Carpel Tunnel Syndrome. Glad you're onto it and hopefully find a treatment to suit you.

    Great page on feathers!
    Creative hugs,
    Anna

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  3. I'm so sorry about your RA. That is awful. I've watched a couple of friends deal with hit. Blah.

    But I love the decoy!

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  4. Serena, I'm so sorry to read about the arthritis. I try to do daily yoga and stretching to help with my joints. Bless you and pray the medication helps. you also had me laughing at the decoy. How cleaver.

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  5. Your artwork is beautiful. I wish I had that talent. Sorry to hear about your RA. My mother in law had it and it was quite dibilitating for her. I hope these new medications help you out.
    Love the decoy!
    Blessings~

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  6. This is gorgeous. I still haven't made it all my way through that class. I'm such a slacker. Good for you!

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  7. I love the feathers, Serena! And they look so natural--that pencil free stuff is working great for you! :)

    I sure hope the meds will work and give you some relief. 70% is a pretty convincing amount to try it. Chronic pain is such a trial. Wears you down. So I hope it works well and fast for you. :)

    But those dogs!!!! They are going to hurt somebody! I can't imagine what they would do to a small child! I'm sorry, I would report them. Let the police know or whoever you have to tell about them--and tell all about them. I am an animal lover, but some dogs are just vicious and can cause great bodily harm. People have been killed by dog attacks--especially when there is more than one of them. I'm not kidding. I'd carry mace and a piece of pipe! They are dangerous!

    That Aaron is a clever lad if ever there was one, tho!!! LOLOL!!

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  8. Ha! That decoy is pretty funny, but the vicious dogs not so much. You gotta tell the neighbors to keep them under control or someone really will get hurt.

    Your sketches are always lovely. Sorry to hear about your diagnosis as I know how important it is for you to work with your hands. I get awful knee pain -- had surgery on one knee when I was in 8th grade, and the other one has popped out of place many times over the years. I have to be careful with them -- too much standing/walking or even the weather can cause them to hurt.

    I hope the new medication doesn't have any negative side effects. Have you researched alternative treatments? I have a friend with RA and she was taking all kinds of herbal remedies to counteract the constant pain she was feeling.

    Wishing you all the best. Have a great weekend. Tammy

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  9. Thanks, all! :)

    Re. the dogs - As we have no proof now that the dog actually bit Beau, plus the fact that the dogs are kept in a fenced yard normally, I don't think the council would really do anything.

    Tammy - Do the herbal remedies actually work for your friend? It's my understanding that there is no cure for RA but medication will help to slow it down or put it into remission. The strong anti-inflammatory medication hasn't been helping much for the pain at all. OUCH on the knee pain!

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  10. Hi Serena,

    So sorry to hear that you have RA. :(
    Hope the medicines kick in faster so you feel better.
    Three Cheeers for Aaron for the amazing idea of the decoy! Great job!

    Love the feathers.
    Hugs and take care

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  11. Hi Serena. So sorry about the pain you are having. I try not to take any medications for my knee/elbow/wrist arthritis but sometime the pain is awful. You need to do something about those dogs next door. Talk to the neighbors about it before something terrible happens. I'm worried for you and your family. I love that you took the feathers and paid tribute to the birdies. That was very kind and gentle for you to do. The feathers look great. I wish you a wonderful weekend and week ahead. Take care and watch those dogs.

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  12. Serena, as always your journal page is amazing...you are so very, very talented! And Aaron's decoy is hilarious...he must be such a delight for you.

    The diagnosis of RA and OA must feel so disheartening for you. I'm sure you'll find the best possible way to deal with it and I really hope the drugs kick in soon and provide you with some relief. Some of the very best medicine will be the laughter that Aaron and the rest of your family provides! Please know that I'm thinking of you and sending lots of long distance hugs.

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  13. good on Aaron for thinking that up :D staffies can make such nice dogs, but there are so many people that get them that shouldn't. they just want them for status dogs and to be mean :/ they are a big problem here, people selling the puppies for drug money so the pups don't go to the best of homes a lot of the time :/

    i am so sorry to read about the RA diagnoses :/ really hope that you find something to help with the pain you are having.

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  14. Great feather drawings.

    Hope the drugs help your pain.

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  15. I hate cats. Dog person I am!

    Good that you know now what you're dealing with but sorry to hear about the pain for sure! Will keep you in my prayers!

    Our province has outlawed pit bulls which I believe share a similar ancestor. Nasty critters.

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  16. Cool option Aaron! Really funny decoy.
    Thinking of you.

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  17. I love your painting and I am laughing is how sweet that decoy is! Aaron is a really cool person!!! Great work on his part, eh???
    Sure hope your new medicine for the arthritis will work wonders, Serena!!!
    Hugs to you and the family-
    Julie

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  18. Oh I love that decoy Serena, how clever and creative!
    Love your sketch, I will have to seriously look at taking this course.
    I hope you find relief in your new treatments
    Lee:)

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  19. I am sorry to hear about your RA but hope this won't stop you from creating whenever possible. Lovely drawing, however I don't like magpies. Over here they are a pain they raid little bird nests so much that they have an impact on the population of little birds.
    Do you not have a law against owning vicious dogs in Australia? Over here no one can keep a dog if they are vicious and have harmed anyone. They can be reported and will be taken away from the owners.
    Hope you are able to do something about it soon.

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  20. Gloria, try not to worry...they have lived beside us for two years now. As long as they are in their own fenced yard, we are safe and just have to put up with them barking savagely at us through the fence. Admittedly Bead did get bitten once when one escaped out their front door but that is definitely not the norm.

    Kate, I agree....Aaron can certainly get me laughing with some of his antics. lol

    Shashi - Pit bull terriers are banned here but Staffordshire Bull Terriers aren't. I think it would take a vicious attack causing serious injury for the council to actually step in and remove the dogs. As mentioned above, the neighbour's dogs are always kept in a fenced yard and when the one escaped out their front door after the owners just arrived home, they called it right back in but not before it had time to bite Beau. However, the owners didn't actually see it bite Beau but I'm sure they are aware of how their dogs behave at our fence-line...sometimes, they call them in, sometimes they don't.

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  21. I am sorry to hear about the RA. A few years ago I thought I might have it, but thankfully I didn't. I have read that people are also able to get some relief with dietary changes so you might want to look into that.

    The painter Renoir also suffered from RA. Thankfully you have it in an era when it can be treated.

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  22. That decoy is hilarious!!

    HUGS
    Jessica

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  23. hAHAHA, love the decoy. so sorry to read about the rheumatoid arthritis. I hope you get good relief with some medication.

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