dusting off the cobwebs — again!

So it's been three months since my last post which is pretty dismal considering all my plans to post more frequently. I have lots of excuses but there are two main ones. 

Firstly, not long after my last post, I woke up one morning and as I walked down the hall, I felt a clunk inside somewhere between my lower back and right hip. It stopped me dead in my tracks for a few minutes. From that point, my back pain worsened to the point of being debilitated. It was the type of pain that made it hard to focus on anything at all. I dreaded getting up or down as the pain was so severe. As my last CT scan had been 3 years ago, my doctor ordered another CT scan on my back which revealed severe multi-level disc degeneration (Osteoarthritis), substantial changes in facet joints in my mid to lower spine, narrowing of the spinal column (Canal Stenosis), and Spondylolisthesis (Slipping Discs). The Canal Stenosis is particularly worrying to me. My doctor wants me to see a Spinal specialist in the new year. Wish me luck.

Secondly, towards the end of October, my 86 year old Mum ended up hurting her back again.

 Photo taken of Mum in 2016

Three years ago, Mum fractured two of her vertebrae and recovered as well as could be expected with Osteoporosis. Mum was very stubborn though and felt she was okay to do all the heavy stuff again.  She ignored all our warnings, even doctors' warnings, and continued to do heavy stuff that she should not have been doing at all. Every time we visited, her lounge room furniture was changed around. I'm talking heavy recliners and solid pine tables, not to mention yard work.

 

Mum's back did get sore but she ignored it until it finally gave in and demanded her full attention. CT scans revealed that Mum had basically been crumbling her lower back away. One of the vertebrae had lost 75% in height, the others are badly worn down too, hence all her pain. The bad news is that her back will not recover and will gradually get worse. With Osteoporosis, there really isn't anything they can do except manage her pain.

 

It was clear that Mum needed assisted care so, the only decision that could be made was for Mum to go straight from the stay in hospital to a Permanent Aged Care facility where all her medical and care needs would be met. Mum is angry at herself and deeply regrets not listening to all our warnings. She misses her home and her little dog, Teenie, who is now with me. That said, she has come to terms with her situation and understands it is necessary.

[ Added next day — I should clarify that Mum was a big part of the decision-making process regarding her going into Assisted Care. She was actually afraid to go back home and said she knew she could no longer cope alone. She needs daily medical assistance, unfortunately. Despite that, it was a big change for her and she still had to come to terms with it all. They allow pets to visit the Assisted Care Home but Mum hasn't wanted Teenie to visit as yet. Mum misses her but wants what is best for Teenie. More on Teenie in a later post. Mum admitted that she was having trouble caring for Teenie properly prior to her recent back injury. She is so happy that I have Teenie and it has given her peace of mind in that regard.

My sister takes her dog in to visit with Mum and Aaron, my son, took his little dog in the other day. I think, in some ways, even though Mum misses Teenie, she is relieved not to have the responsibility for caring for her any more. ]

 

Teenie is 10 years old, a Pomeranian, and adorable! She already knew us so has settled in very well.

 

After a few weeks, Mum's back seemed to be doing a little better where she was able to move about with a walker. although she was still reliant on regular pain medication. Just over a week ago, Mum injured her back even more when she participated in a group activity which involved dancing to Christmas songs. She had fun but overdid the dancing and is now in agony and being given stronger pain medication (Opioids). It's been very hard to see her in so much pain. It's like she is back to the pain severity of when she fractured her back.

As you can imagine, it's been an emotional roller-coaster ride for me regarding my Mum and also dealing with my own back plus hand pain issues. I keep praying for Mum's pain to ease while she screams out for God to take her. It's been bloody hard I can tell you but I keep hoping she will improve.

Taking all of the above into account, on top of daily responsibilities, I haven't felt like posting.

*****************************

Have I been doing any sketching? Barely!

 

Back in October, I did manage a rough, incomplete, pencil sketch of Aaron's miniature poodle., Scarlett. I will be doing an acrylic painting of her soon.

 

My Kindle has been my best friend over the past few months. I met my Goodreads annual Reading Challenge. I elected to read 40 books for 2021 and exceeded that. Currently, I'm at 46 books. YAY!

Sorry if this post has seemed like a bit of a downer but that has been my life of late.

Things are also getting scary as our Government opened our State and International borders a couple of weeks ago and our Covid case numbers have risen dramatically. I can't wait to get our 3rd booster. We wear our masks whenever we're out in public and sanitise regularly. How are things in your area re. Covid?

I will be back tomorrow with a Christmas post as it's already Christmas Eve here. I hope you are all keeping safe and well. I hope to get around to visit you all very soon.

Love, Light and Peace

my bullet journal set-up and a hummingbird drawing

For many years, I tried to maintain shop-bought planners/diaries but I would always fizzle out by the time I got to March or April. Then back in 2015, my friend Rita, mentioned Bullet Journals and I was hooked. The Bullet Journal has been the only planner that I have stayed with religiously. Maybe because I can tailor it to my own needs, and chop and change things up, as desired. I like to use stick-in tabs to quickly access the section I want.

For the most part, I stick to a the basic layout similar to what Ryder Carroll recommended. Ryder is the creator of the original Bullet Journal method and you can see a short video on his original method HERE. Bullet journaling then became a phenomenon where it gathered a huge following on YouTube and Instagram. It was warped into something very decorative and, in my view, time-consuming...not what Ryder intended. Like him, I wanted simple all the way without all the glam. He uses an index, I don't, as I find tabs easier to work with.

So I thought you might like to see my basic formula and what works for me. I love setting up each month as it comes, deciding which format that month will take. I flit back and forth between vertical columns and horizontal layout for my daily task lists and entries.

At the start of a new year, I draw up pages containing vertical columns for each month. Here I keep important dates such as birthdays and appointments which can be transferred across to the monthly/daily pages. 

Then, I follow with my Tracker pages (below). Some people like to do their Trackers beside each month in their journals but I prefer to have them altogether where I can compare, side-by-side, at a glance. These are not necessary to the Bullet Journal method but are helpful if you are trying to get into regular habits.

Then, I follow with my Monthly To-Do notes OR commonly referred to as Future logs (below). Here I will add tasks for upcoming months that I haven't drawn up yet. They are then transferred to that month when it is drawn up. 

Then I have my annual Books Read/Completed pages (below). I love to read and I like to keep track of what I've read, month to month. On average, I read 5 books per month.

Then I follow with my annual Donations pages (below). I'm big on supporting Farm Animal Sanctuaries among other things. 

Note, that not all of the above sections are necessary to the Bullet Journal method. It's an entirely personal and different set-up for everyone. You tailor it to suit your own needs. 

After the annual pages are set up, I just work month-to-month. As one month nears to a close, I set up the new month. 

I start with the Month view which I have in three sections. I log things relating to the Personal/General, Creative, or Finance columns. This includes appointments and birthdays in the personal/general section.

 

Then, I follow with Gratitude and Quotes pages (below). I like to keep track of quotes that make an impression on me that particular month.

Then comes the Brain Dump and Check-in pages. Brain Dump is for notes on anything that may crop up that month, that I don't want to forget. Or just info that I may find useful at a later date..quick notes. 

Check-in relates to how I'm feeling at the beginning of the month, emotionally and physically. Plus mindfulness where I think about where I'm at spiritually and if I'm aligned with my beliefs etc.

From there, it's straight into each day as it comes. I sometimes do 2 days to a page using a vertical column for each day, e.g. below....or I split the page in half horizontally, so still 2 days to a page.  Occasionally, I will do one day to a page....see, no set format, just whatever suits my needs at the time. Daily tasks are always listed just under the day/date, then Notes from the day are below the tasks.

I love my Bullet Journal!

 *************************************************************

Now to my drawing. This cute little Hummingbird was drawn back in January using Graphite. 

Sincere thanks and credit goes to James Marvin Phelps, on Flickr, for the use of his image as my reference. Link to his original photo HERE.

And that ends my post for today. 

 

I hope you are all keeping safe and well. 

 

Serena x

Back to the drawing board

WOW! Where did 6 months go?! I last posted on November 30th last year. YIKES!

Actually, I think it's fair to say that I haven't been a very good blogger over the past few years. I haven't been very productive as an artist in that time either. 

It's always been the way that, when my emotions take a hit, it directly affects my output as an artist. My Dad passing away in 2015 was the start, then estrangement from a couple of my kids in 2016, followed by medical issues requiring surgery, more family members passing away from illness, and chronic pain issues. They have all played their part in keeping me from my art. I have felt great sadness, emotional pain, even depression during those times which can be quite debilitating on its own.

 

I thought I was getting back on track in November when I took up the Art Every Month Challenge and I was so proud of myself for completing it. However, I made the mistake of giving myself a week off and, as things are always hectic for me in December, the art routine got put on the back burner. 

 

I also watched The Social Dilemma on Netflix and became disillusioned with Social Media and took a step back there too. Have you seen it? I recently deleted my Facebook account which I rarely visited anyway. Twitter is one that I don't use often but it comes in handy for local events and traffic reports. Still in two minds about Instagram which I do love for inspiration but it doesn't have the more personal aspect that blogging has. I haven't posted there since October last year. I hate that they track my every move online. I guess Google does the same but I'm fairly reliant on Google.

I started my blog in December 2006 so I doubt I will ever let that go. It has been a joy for me to look back on over the years. A huge Thank You to those of you who have been following my blog long term and have still stayed despite my periods of absence in recent years. You are all treasures and very much appreciated.

I won't list the excuses for my most recent blog absence apart from saying that life got in the way and I took a step back from being online....well, when I have, it's only in very small doses. 

 

I hope to get back to more regular posting as I do miss blogging and my blog family. Sorry for the longer than expected break. 

 

Recently, I came across this amazing artist, Andrew Tischler. His speciality is Oils and his work is so realistic.  Andrew also recommends a regular drawing practice in graphite/charcoal to better your skills as an artist. I've added one of his videos below but, if it doesn't work, here is the direct link - Better Drawing with Andrew Tischler.

 

So, going back to the drawing board and feeling inspired, I got out my graphite pencils and drew this sweet little guinea pig. Graphite is really hard to photograph well so please forgive the image quality.

 

 My thanks and credit for the Reference Image I used goes to 

Pezibear on Pixabay

 

I will be back with more drawings in my next post but I thought you'd get a kick out of this quick, silly but fun, Pen sketch I did of 'me' for New Year. hehe

And an ink and wash sketch celebrating the birth of my nephew and his partner's baby girl. 

 

OH, and you probably already know that Google are stopping their Feedburner Email Subscriptions which means there will be no more Follow by Email options in Blogger. Bummer! The Followers gadget is okay but, as far as I know, you can only follow Blogger blogs? I have implemented Feedly which can follow blogs over various platforms like Wordpress, Squarespace, etc. OR, you could always add my blog to your Blog List on your sidebar if you want to see when I put up a new post. This is what I do also. 

 

I'm looking forward to catching up with you all over the coming weeks.

Take care and Happy Blogging!