A sketch and some home decorating

It's been three and a half weeks since my carpal tunnel surgery 

and I'm pleased with where the healing progress is at 

despite some recent days of bad pain.  

At first, I thought it was getting infected 

but I think it's more because I'd worked my hand too hard. 

At this stage of recovery, 

I still can't twist lids off, apply pressure...either pushing or pulling, 

nor can I lift anything heavier than 2 kilograms.  

If I do push it too hard,
I suffer for it later.
I found that out the hard way.
According to the specialist, 

it will be at least another 4 to 8 weeks 

before my hand will be fully healed. 

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I missed a couple of weeks of doing Sunday Sketches 

so I managed a quick sketch today.   

Pen and watercolours in Holcroft A6 Travel journal

You can check out the other Sunday Sketches participants HERE. 

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After having a green and turquoise colour scheme in my bedroom 

for over seven years now, I decided it was time for a change.
Of course, finances being as they are
meant a shoestring budget.

So, this Buddha got a new look
with a simple coat of paint.

from this...

to this

I opted for mostly white in my bedroom with grey and black accents 

with some greenery.
The grey cushions and throw were from Kmart.
The floral painting is one I did ages ago
and swapped over from my lounge room.
The black shelf pull-outs also came from my lounge room
which now has even more blue and green accents. 

I love it! 

Cody approves 

Speaking of Cody, 

Rita, I thought you might get a kick out of seeing his DogTV. 

This pic makes me think of Karma. hehe

I hope you are all enjoying a beautiful weekend! 

Time to rest my hand...

Carpal tunnel surgery, a sketch, & a turmeric latte recipe

On Wednesday, June 8th, 

I had carpal tunnel surgery on my left hand. 

I had the same surgery on my right hand back in February 

and it took three months to heal which is the norm 

according to the surgeon. 

 It is definitely a lot easier this time around 

being that it's not my dominant hand so 

I don't feel as debilitated as I did back in February. 

For whatever reason, I'm having less pain this time too 

so that is another bonus.

I'm linking up with Sunday Sketches this week. 

You can check out the other participants HERE. 

They paint your hand and forearm with a pink cleaning fluid 

just before the procedure is done. 

A bright, hot pink colour that isn't easy to wipe off.

I've been taking it fairly easy this week with strict instructions 

not to use my left hand at all for two weeks. 

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We had a pretty morning sky yesterday.

A few days ago, I made turmeric lattes for me and Bradley. 

SO yummy! 

Turmeric is very good for you too. 

It has an anti-inflammatory effect on the body 

so great for people with arthritis and other aches and pains. 

The recipe I used is below. 

Ingredients below are for one standard cup. 

Adjust accordingly for more cups.

INGREDIENTS 

1 cup (250ml) Almond Milk - Sweetened 

1 teaspoon Turmeric (fresh or ground) 

½ teaspoon Cinnamon 

1 teaspoon Coconut oil 

METHOD 

I warmed the Almond Milk on the stove top, 

then added the dry ingredients 

and let it get hot but not boiling. 

I whisked the whole time to get a nice froth. 

Then I added the coconut oil  

just before pouring into the cup. 

I sprinkled with a little nutmeg for garnish.

NOTES

You can use any plant-based milk. 

If you use unsweetened milk, 

you may want to add a teaspoon 

of coconut sugar or raw sugar.
I used ground turmeric but,
if you use the fresh one,
it's up to you if you strain it or not.
A lot of people like to chew on the fresh one.

ENJOY!

A peek inside my studio and a very quick sketch

I have been busy reorganising my studio/office over the past week
with a little help from my sons for the heavy jobs.

If you are anything like me,
you love seeing pics of other artists' studios
so I thought I'd share mine with you.

This is my computer desk area.
I painted that bald eagle many moons ago.
He was done with acrylic paints on canvas.

My storage baskets inside the built-in robe are all reorganised and labelled now
so I no longer have to pull out all the drawers to find something.
SO much easier!

On the opposite side of the room is my art desk (view from doorway)
which is actually two tables from IKEA side by side.
The set of three drawers consists of the following...
top drawer is filled with bits and pieces
such as favourite sketch pens/palettes, rulers, mechanical pencils, erasers, etc.
second drawer is filled with many ballpoint pens all sorted by colour
the bottom drawer is filled with many markers and ink pens.

When it comes to art supplies,
a girl just can't have too much, right?

More art/sketch-related storage in the built-in wardrobe
and a cosy bed for Cody to lie in while I'm working.

A different view of my art area
All those books are art/sketch-related organised by spine colour.
The framed print of the girl and butterflies was done by daughter, Michelle.
It makes me happy and I love it!

And that's about it for my in-house studio.
I do have other art supplies stored in the garage
which are more related to my acrylic painting.

It's still slow going with my recovery from carpal tunnel surgery.
I'm just past week four and
 the wound site is still very tight, lumpy, and tender.
A couple of little mishaps over the past few days have set me back a bit too.
One of them being where I inadvertently put some of my body weight on my hand
when I went to help myself up from the floor.
It only took a split second to realise what I was attempting
because the pain was massive.
My hand was so sore for the rest of the night
and I was getting shooting pains too.
Thankfully, it settled down within 24 hours.
Lesson learned!

I did manage a simple sketch today.

It's the first sketch I've done since my surgery.

It was a little shaky and slow-going

as I have to be careful how I hold my hand to avoid pain.

Writing is easier to manage whereas

I need more wrist/arm movement with sketching.

I can't lean on the wound area either....it hurts.

I'm using a brush case to rest my forearm on

so that my wrist and hand are not actually touching the desk.

Despite the awkwardness

it feels good to be sketching again.

I decided to sketch the tube of ointment I use for the wound site.

Papaya Fade by PURE Phytocare

100% vegan ingredients and not tested on animals.

It's supposed to be great for scars and stretch-marks.

Moleskine watercolour notebook - A5 size, landscape format 

Graphite, PITT pens and watercolours 

I'm hoping to get back into the habit of daily sketching

so stay tuned....

366 Daily sketch challenge was an epic fail...

...considering we are now nearing the end of February. 

However, I have a darned good reason,  

Something that was out of my control.
More on that further down...

That said, I AM very happy that I did complete 

31 portraits for January! 

The last two January portraits below....

30/366 daily sketch
Hahnemuhle D & S sketch journal - A5 size, 140gsm, landscape format 
BIC Cristal ballpoint pen
Highlights are done with a POSCA white acrylic pen

31/366 daily sketch
Hahnemuhle D & S sketch journal - A5 size, 140gsm, landscape format 
BIC Cristal ballpoint pen
Highlights are done with a POSCA white acrylic pen 


I'm linking up with Sunday Sketches this week.
You can check out the other participants HERE.

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My big excuse for stopping the challenge so early....

I had carpal tunnel release surgery on Feb 4th
on my right/dominant hand. 

The theatre nurse only called me less than a week prior 

so I knew that February would be out of the question 

as far as my sketching and other hands-on activities went.

I came out of surgery with a bright pink hand and forearm right up to my elbow.
It's the solution they paint your hand/arm with before the procedure.
I had open surgery done with local anaesthetic using a tourniquet block.
It felt SO weird being awake for it all.
Thankfully they covered me with a tent so I wouldn't have to see it.
Watching a procedure done on YouTube was enough to turn my stomach.

Day 9 after the surgery
That bruising mid-forearm was actually individual finger marks
that were merging into one big bruise.
I'm not surprised because I could feel my arm
being forcefully pushed and pulled around
during the procedure.
It looked pretty gruesome under that dressing
so I've spared you the photo.

I was able to drive again at two weeks thanks to power-steering,
however, sharp turns and reverse-parking can be a little awkward
as my hand is still healing.
The surgeon said it can take up to three months
for it to be fully healed.
I've read some horror stories on the net
where some people are still not healed after seven months.

The stitches came out at the two week mark and
a couple of them were very painful. OUCH!
Obviously, a lot of healing still going on under the skin.

I'm now just past the three week mark and things are going pretty good.
I can touch-type again and I can write,
both for short periods of time.
I can't lift anything heavy though,
nor can I do things like open heavy doors
that require pushing or pulling.
My hand lets me know when it's had enough.
It feels very tight at the suture site
and the surgeon said that will be due to
the healing and scarring process.

I am also on the waiting list to have my left hand done next.
It was actually worse than the right for carpal tunnel syndrome
but I noticed the right hand more being that it was the dominant hand.

At least, I'll know what to expect now
so I'll be better prepared at home
by making some freezer meals prior to surgery.

SO!

In light of the fact that my 366 Daily Sketch challenge
was abruptly interrupted by hand surgery,
I have decided to just go month-by-month
as far as challenges go.
I'm hoping to kick it off in March,
my birthday month.

On another note, I was so limited and bored while waiting for my hand to heal,
I bided a lot of time in the first two weeks watching YouTube videos.
 I came across some great home organisation channels and caught the bug!
I've been crazy busy following through with some of the ideas/tips
so will share more on that in a later post too.

Stay tuned.....