Rain, rain, go away!

We've been getting A LOT of rain this past week and I'm over it!  It's been torrential at times and has been constant to the point of flooding in some suburbs.....thankfully, not our area.  The good news is that the drainage installation in the backyard has been doing a great job....normally, the backyard would have been a swimming pool by now.  Unfortunately, it's been a wet honeymoon for Michelle and Alex but, while they haven't been able to go to the beaches, they have still been enjoying themselves at the motels along the way.  They are due home tomorrow. YAY!

They sent me a beautiful flower arrangement as a 'thank you' for all my help with their wedding.  Of course, I just had to sketch it in my journal.

Drawn directly with Pigma Micron pen and coloured in with Derwent coloured pencils in Moleskine sketchbook.

I did this quick sketch while we waited for Brad when he had his MRI scan

Drawn directly with Pigma Micron pen in my small Moleskine Watercolour notebook.

I later used watercolours and coloured pencils for colouring.

We weren't happy with the Neurologist at all when we went back for Brad's MRI scan results.  Basically, he said there was something going on with the grey matter of Brad's brain yet couldn't tell me what.  He immediately started writing a script for Tegretol without even talking about it with us.  Naturally, I asked questions which he clearly resented and we still came away without any clear answers. I had no intention of putting my son on a medication used for epilepsy and bi-polar conditions when Brad has had no seizures, does not have epilepsy nor has he ever shown any signs of being bi-polar.   I decided to get the script filled at the hospital but fully intended to do some research when we got home.

I had asked the Neurologist if Tegretol would interfere with Brad's other medications, one of which is for a life-threatening condition, and he said no, that it would be fine.  However, alarm bells started ringing when the Pharmacist told us that it would significantly diminish the job of Brad's other medications. I was NOT impressed at all!  The Pharmacist also mentioned something about getting a base-line blood test.  I researched this later only to find out that Tegretol can cause damage to the liver, kidneys and the blood which is why Brad would have to get frequent blood tests once he started taking Tegretol.  On top of that, Tegretol has been known to cause severe skin reactions in some people and when I watched a video at this link showing these types of reactions, I was absolutely horrified!  NO WAY is Brad going on Tegretol!!!  The risks in taking Tegretol far outweigh Brad's mild neurological symptoms (see this post) and I'm angry that the Neurologist would not have considered this.  To each their own but, personally, I don't like mind-altering drugs as I believe it causes more damage and long term problems.  This one even warns to watch for changes in moods and the possibility of suicidal thoughts while taking it.   NOPE, this drug is not for my son.

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On another note, I ended up being carted off to hospital by ambulance on Thursday.  I had been having a numbing, pins and needles sensation down the left side of my body for a couple of days, particularly in the hand and foot.  On Thursday morning, I went to my doctor and he was concerned about stroke when my blood pressure showed as being quite high.....this is not normal for me .  Long story, short....I was kept in the ER for hours under observation, then cleared to go home with an outpatient MRI request to scan my brain and neck plus a follow-up visit to see a Neurologist.  The good news is that the numbness and pins and needles sensation has dwindled right down to barely being there at all.  For peace of mind, I'll still go ahead with the MRI because they were also concerned about the severe head pain I suffered for three whole weeks not that long ago.   It it doesn't rain, it pours, right?!

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I  have been doing the blog rounds and was quite tickled to see that Suzana over at Creative Therapies had featured my blog in a recent post HERE.  Thanks, Suzana!

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Stay tuned over the coming days as I plan some Blog Lovin' of my own.

~ Love, light and peace ~

Another portrait and a walk in the park

yesterday (sunday) afternoon, i decided to do another portrait for the julia kay portrait party
i'm quite pleased with how these have turned out so far considering i don't normally draw people

drawn free-hand using graphite pencils in my moleskine sketchbook

reference image here used with permission

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on saturday, beau, aaron, michelle, alex and i went over to the park where they will be getting married so beau could do some test photos.  he is quite nervous about being photographer for michelle's wedding but i'm sure he will do just fine.  we also took the CD player so we could time the wedding song for us getting from the limo to the rotunda where the ceremony will be performed. i will be walking michelle down the aisle....HOW EXCITING!  we had a lot of fun and laughs practising.

we saw this new family swimming in the small lagoon while we were there.
aren't those ducklings too cute?!!  
there were more of them but, they move so fast in the water, they were out of the shot before i realised it.

we walked a little ways down to the wetlands where michelle and alex will be getting more wedding photos taken on the day.  it was beautiful looking out over the water.

it was like 'duck central station' there!
this was only a small portion of them
not a great pic as the glare from the sun completely washed out the details of the white ducks

on leaving the wetlands, we noticed a sign on a tree which had us wondering.....who has a garage sale and gives away Free Bees???

then we realised it was meant to mean 'freebies' or one word....lol

i'm still popping pain pills and donning heat-packs continually so the afternoon out at the park was a great distraction.

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i hope you all enjoyed a beautiful and relaxing or fun weekend

~ love, light and peace ~

Head Pain SUCKS!!!

if it's not one thing, it's another around here of late.

since tuesday, i have been dealing with extreme head pain (not like migraine or headache) on the back, left side of my head which ended up radiating down through my neck and shoulders. my head felt like a ten ton weight that my neck was struggling to support. i nearly passed out twice and the pain was overwhelming to the point where i couldn't think straight. anti-inflammatory and panadol medication didn't help at all but, since being to a second doctor today, he put me on an asprin/codeine mix that i do believe has helped ease the pain a little. i have a CT scan of the brain scheduled for monday morning.

during the better periods, i've been trying to get a few things done where i can, such as working on a 'wedding tie' box for michelle and alex's wedding.  they will be having a hand-fasting ceremony where several coloured ribbons will be bound around their joined hands and then tied together, removed, and formed into a special knot. the wedding knot will be stored in the box as a keepsake and reminder of their special vows. i am painting the box to match the colours and design of the wedding invitations and, on the top of the lid, i will be painting a celtic knot.

i finished the baby shawl i was crocheting and also made a pair of bootees to match. i can hardly believe it only took me a month to crochet the shawl.  i'm now working on the little matching jacket.   baby is due in the midst of our summer so won't have need for knitted garments until winter so i'm making them to fit the six months age group.  too cute, huh?

the fallen trees are being turned into mulch now.....it breaks my heart.

i took the picture below from my ensuite window overlooking the neighbour's back fence

i have seen these two kookaburras, on and off, sitting on the small sapling branch near where the trees once stood behind our back fence. i'm sure they are the same two that made their home in the termite nest on one of the trees that fell.  they are no doubt wondering what the heck happened to their home, poor things.

on this particular occasion, a rainbow lorikeet sat above them probably wondering the same thing.

so that's my news for this week....some good, some bad,

but i guess that's just the way life flows sometimes.

i hope your week has been better than mine

~ love, light and peace ~

more journal pages

it's been another busy week here

and quite cold too with the westerly winds making their usual appearance for this time of year.

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE

for some reason the images appear blurry in smaller format

last sunday, aaron and i sat outside under the pergola and sketched some potted plants in our new moleskine journals.  this sketch is of my aeonium saucer plant.  i didn't think this plant was ever going to progress as it stayed small for so long until, one day, aaron re-potted it into a larger pot and within a few weeks it trebled in size. now i know why they call it a saucer plant....it's HUGE!

during the week, i did the following sketch to commemorate reece bringing home another trophy in a Fight World Cup 6 bout!
HE WON!!!

the ref called it in just 46 seconds into the first round

and, as yesterday was friday 13th, i decided to play with a 'dark' theme in my journal.

 the day was quite uneventful however we did watch 'What Lies Beneath' on DVD last night (13th) to mark the occasion.

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BABY NEWS!

michelle went for her 20 weeks scan and, according to the scan, she is having a baby click this link to find out!

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UPDATE ON BRAD
brad's symptoms persist and we recently found out that his aunt was admitted to hospital this past week with upper body neurological symptoms.......her eyelids refuse to open, she is suffering extreme head pain intermittently and she is having difficulty swallowing on an intermittent basis because messages from the brain don't seem to be getting through.....scary stuff, huh?  the common factor that we have noted is that brad and his aunt both started having neurological symptoms about a week to two weeks after having the flu shot (which includes the H1N1 swine flu). from what i have since found out, some neurological disorders have been linked to the swine flu vaccine.  the scary part is that brad's aunt had her flu shot back in april and her mild symptoms gradually worsened over the past four months. we're hoping that nothing further develops with brad being that he only had the flu shot a month ago.

the MADDENING part is that specialists are trying to insinuate that brad's aunt is suffering depression, hence all these symptoms she is having.  this is ridiculous!  naturally, brad's aunt is frightened and upset at what is happening to her but, normally, she would be no more depressed than me.  she has an MRI scheduled for monday so, hopefully, it will uncover the real cause behind the symptoms.

will keep you posted

~ love, light and peace ~

you will be missed

since saturday, there has been a lot of destruction going on behind our back fence and i'm feeling very sad about it. the tract of bushland behind us is in the process of being demolished to make way for a residential development.

Pigma micron pen & watercolour in 11½" x 8" Moleskine journal

click to enlarge any pic

there will be no more observations of the kookaburras and other birds nesting in the termite nest set high up in the tree behind our fence

no more picnics in the backyard whilst enjoying the chatter and activity of the birds in the overhanging branches above us

yesterday, the machines came for you, the last tree standing behind our backyard fence

they roped you, pulled you and sawed away at your base

the birds protested and i cried as....

...you fell

and you were no more

....a feeling of emptiness now prevails

there you lay behind our fence....broken and doomed

...while the carnage continues

my heart is sad

and i will miss you

~ love, light and peace ~

Day-trippin'

Sunday was a beautiful day so we decided to drive out to one of our favourite spots - Burgess Park.  Michelle and Alex came too.  It was soooooooo relaxing and we enjoyed a yummy picnic lunch. 

Michelle and Alex

Aaron wading in the creek....the water was cold!

 

Beau practised cracking the whip but we only have video footage so no pic to post. I did get a pic of Michelle's growing baby bump. She is 19 weeks and 5days in the pic below.
Tomorrow, we find out what sex the baby is.....so excited!

I managed some sketching on location - YAY!

My sketch was going well of the Queensland Bottle Tree until more day-trippers turned up and parked their car right in front of my subject blocking my view of the tree base.  Ah well, luckily I had done the main outline.  I also got to use my compact travel watercolour set for the first time.....LOVED IT!

The end result below.  Bottle trees are my favourite tree.

Thanks to all my wonderful and caring blogger friends for your concern and well wishes for Brad.  The symptoms are still happening and we will be seeing the Neurologist this week.  I'll keep you posted.

~ Love, light and peace ~

I'm still here.....

Hi everyone,

The past couple of weeks have been quite busy and worrisome with life in general, doctor's visits and a trip to hospital emergency which resulted in Brad ending up in hospital overnight.  Some weird things going on there. For reasons we don't know, Bradley can no longer carry a cup of tea from the kitchen bench to the dining table (just under 3 metres away) without his right leg going all weak, shaky and then stiffening up to the point where he feels it is not going to support him.  Bear in mind, he has been carrying cups of tea for years with no problems at all.  The odd thing is that, as soon as the cup of tea is taken from him, his leg starts to return to normal and all is well again. It does seem to be an intermittent thing too although it happens more often than not. Brad has a few tests lined up via the Neurologist including an MRI of the brain.  We are all praying that it is something minor and treatable.

I finally plucked up the courage to draw in one of my new Moleskine journals.

I've never used a Moleskine journal before but I noticed that many art journalists praised them so I just had to get me some too.  I LOVE THEM!

I have been getting some more art done on Pay It Forward gifts but I can't post pics yet because I want it to be a surprise for the next recipient, however, I can show you how much I've progressed with the baby shawl I'm crocheting for Michelle's baby.  Michelle has recently started a blog to record her journey through pregnancy so, if you are interested in popping over to say HI, here is the link - Where the Heart Is.  I know she would love to hear from you.

I've very happy with how much I've done so far.

I've fallen behind in reading everyone's blogs but I plan to catch up over the coming days.
I can't wait to see what's been happening in your world ~ :)

~ Love, light and peace ~

A quick sketch in pen

My sketch journals have been calling to me for days now but I just hadn't managed the time to give them any attention.  Yesterday, I couldn't ignore the call any longer so I grabbed one of the magazines my Mum had left for me to read the other day and browsed the pages looking for something to draw.  I'm not comfortable drawing people but that's what I ended up sketching....practise makes perfect, right?   I am beginning to enjoy working without a pencil and I'm hoping it will help me loosen up a bit with my drawings.  Shading with pen is quite a challenge but I hope to improve on that too.  Too big a chin, nose too flat....it's far from perfect but I was happy that I had filled another page in my art journal and I really liked how the hair turned out.  I so want to get into the habit of daily drawing!

Pencil Free sketch in A5 sketchbook

just a tad coloured pencil was used on the cheek and lips
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Today, I started to crochet a baby blanket for my first grandchild due December 21st and will post pics of my progress tomorrow.

~ Love, light and peace ~

Shame, Labor, Shame!

a very quick pencil free sketch in A5 sketchbook

I normally keep politics off my blog but I am so upset over what happened on Thursday morning that I just had to voice my thoughts on the matter.  After all, that's what journals are for, online or otherwise. So....love him or hate him, I believe our Prime Minister DID NOT deserve the backstabbing treatment he received from his own party on Thursday morning.  I was SO outraged that Kevin Rudd was ousted in such a fast, cruel and callous way.  I could get into all the nitty-gritty of who I believe is really running this country but I won't as I just wanted to state how disgusted I am at the Labor Party for how they treated one of their own.  It was nothing short of brutal and I can say with surety that, after being a loyal Labor supporter for the past 32 years, they have now lost my vote. SHAME, LABOR, SHAME!

Weekly catch-up

I hope everyone has been enjoying a lovely weekend.  It's winter here so we've been spending some cosy evenings in the lounge-room cuddled up under blankets while watching DVDs. I managed another sketch in my nature journal using a reference photo I'd taken back in February.

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE

watercolour and Pigma Micron pen in A4 sketchbook

We had some cold, icy winds for a couple of days in the latter part of last week and it made for a spectacular cloud display.

It was like a painted sky with stipples and sweeps....I was mesmerised!

Almost like a cottonball effect in large areas

I have good news on the lawn front. You all remember from this post where the landlord finally had a new drainage system installed which left us with basically no lawn? I had to then beg for some turfing which was done nearly two weeks ago.  They arrived at 7:30am sharp and got busy making LOTS of noise which went on for the whole day while they scraped and carted away the damaged lawn surface. They then laid topsoil over what was left in preparation for the new turf.  Those machines sure do cut down the workload for these guys.

The next day, they arrived early and laid the turf.  It feels like heaven to have decent lawn again after it was ruined from all the flooding back in February.  What a difference!

Our yard went from this -

to this -

From this -

To this -

From this -

To this -

We've been watering it daily for the past couple of weeks and it seems to have taken fine.  I'm a happy, little Vegemite again!   The down side is that the owner went with the cheaper option of grass and this particular grass (green couch) doesn't grow well in shaded areas.  The turf guy said that the green couch, in areas of high fences and narrow parts of house perimeters, will eventually die off.  From experience, I know this to be true.  Not much we can do about it although I've never understood why housing estate developers don't just cement or use gravel down the narrow strips of a house perimeter.  Green couch probably works out cheaper for them but, in the long run, they just waste money because the grass dies off and weeds take over....I guess, by the time that happens, it's somebody else's problem.

Today is a public holiday to celebrate the Queen's birthday which I believe is actually in April so I have no idea why we celebrate it in June.....crazy Aussies, I guess.   My Uncle who was visiting from England one year couldn't believe that we have a public holiday to celebrate the Queen's birthday when  apparently, they don't even do that in England.  We Aussies sure do like our holidays!   Rain is forecast for later in the day so that will be great for the new lawn.  As for me, I will probably just potter around at home and do a little painting and laundry.  It's already 9:30am and I'm still in my PJs......so not the norm for me!

~ love, light and peace ~