Mission impossible

Bro came back from camping.  We did go to Santa Barbara.  They didn't want to sightsee, just went there to eat, so I didn't get to sketch Santa Barbara Mission.  So I guess I'll have to go on my own once I've done a little practice from a photo.  The details are proving harder than Mission #1.  His GF has gone back home to grade final exams & prepare for her next semester.  She's a teacher from a long line of teachers.  

The sheds are now moved.  Bro thought it was expensive to move them for something he could have figured out.  But he would have had to buy a bunch of stuff and he would have hurt himself pushing 2000 lbs.  I think it was worth it.  I took measurements to check and asked "could you move it one more inch" to give me margin in case an HOA inspector or city inspector came around with a tape measure.  They did it without complaint.

The thrill was gone

Surgery #5 or 6? I've lost count.  Almost exactly a month since I had surgery to create a fistula access for permanent hemodialysis in my arm. But Monday, the doctor came around for a checkup and couldn't feel or hear the swoosh-swoosh in my wrist (it's called a thrill.)  She asked the nurse to check.  Nope.  Nothing.  That same nurse had verified it the previous Friday (a week ago).  After a whirlwind of communication and by 2pm I was checking in for surgery.  I didn't know it was that serious.

The surgeon did a "declotting procedure" on my arm which, lol, when I described it to a co-worker, perfectly described it as a pipe cleaner.  Except the surgeon used wire & balloons.  He found scar tissue near my wrist.  Since I didn't go under anesthesia, I drove myself home by 5pm.  What a day.  I went to work the next day but by Thursday, my whole forearm is bruised from blood leakage during surgery.  But the thrill is back. 

Edit 8-3-23:  I was about to start looking for a stethoscope so I could hear the thrill. But today I had the bright idea of putting my wrist to my ear.  OMG, it's loud!  You can't do that for a pulse.  Now I know how to check the thrill every day.

Mission #1 again

 

I'm much happier with this rendering in pencil. So, I can still draw.  But I'm trying to improve my watercolor.

I actually started my art journey with watercolor.  My first attempt was very successful but everything else after was crap except for some I did in Chinese Brush style.  The best advice I saw on the webs was "learn to draw first."  But what I learned from drawing class was to draw, draw, draw.  Draw everything, draw big.  If it's challenging, draw it again.  And it lead to drawing the human form.  We had drawing exercises in that class.  1 minute sketches, 2 minute sketches, 10 sketches on top of the other on the same page, no erasing, blind contour, etc.  My severe nearsightedness became an aid rather than a handicap.  I didn't have to squint, I just had to take off my glasses! Boom, I could see tones & color blocks...as long as the subject was right in front of me, anyway.

With an eye on the goal, I started adding color and went to other media. I didn't have the patience for colored pencil or oil paints.  I was frustrated with the dusty pastels but I really clicked with oil pastels.  However, using oil pastels is like using paints straight out of the tube, then mixing colors on the canvas (with a rubber blender).  I don't mind the look for sketches but sometimes I want it to look like a painting.  To do that, I need more space for more colors & tools, and THAT doesn't travel well.  I've tried traveling with a small kit of acrylic paints.  Ugh, that really needs some dedication & desire to work.  You know what travels well?  Watercolor pans.

Mission #1

San Buenaventura Mission from online reference photo.  Watercolor brush markers.

I could spread a little color but the original line pretty much stays.  Really hard to get lighter shades. Looks better here than it does on my sketch page.  The greys are mostly sketch & wash pencil.  I have no doubt I'll be sketching this a few more times, in different media.  

 

Garage sale day

At least once a year, the HOA opens the gates & advertises community garage sale.  I have learned not to spend too much energy or overthinking about what to put out.  Today, I started an hour late.  I only put out a few items before things were being bought.  I was sold out in an hour, put out a few more things and gave up in another hour.  I put the rest into the car for donate.

Then I texted my friend about my success.  She recently visited California Mission San Juan Capistrano and sent me a picture.  Sweet! Add another reference for this goal of mine.  She always remembers my mom's souvenir of a pair of carved wood hand chairs from the Philippines, so I offered them to her.  She remembers Mom fondly and now has a keepsake to remember her by.  I have a miniature version up on my living room ledge.  

The chairs were stored near Auntie's stuff so I found more to donate.  OMG, I found another rice cooker still in the box.  I think that's #6.  Shhh, don't tell Bro I have more space in the garage, LOL.

This is when I put more out but these ended up for donate.

The little picnic park across the street.

Yikes, more art supplies

When Bro gets back from his trip,  we'll take a day trip up to Santa Barbara.  I want to sketch the Santa Barbara Mission.  Then at some point, I want to sketch the San Buena Ventura Mission. So I was looking for my Sakura Koi field sketching watercolor set.  No idea where it went, I love the 18 colors and the size is so small.  You can't buy the kit anymore for a reasonable price, so I got this 24-color.  I'm a little disappointed that it's TWICE the size of the 18-color set.  I've got 3-4 weeks to practice sketching before he gets back.  I hope to sketch at least one watercolor/day until then.  Some of those sketches may be from photos, leaning toward urban sketching subjects.

My decision was split to get this Kuratake Transparent watercolor set, so I got both!  It's got 14 colors, but these half-pans are removable/replaceable.  I like the colors and the size of the set is smaller than the Sakura Koi, above.  It was described as leaning toward natural landscape colors.  

Since I decided to get back to sketching, I've been carrying my old W&N Cotman pans.  I used these before I discovered the 18-color Koi set.  I never have liked the colors in the Cotman set and it doesn't have black or a dark color I can use when sketching man-made objects.

June

Bro is coming to visit, yay!  Until he arrives, I'm working on the back yard at my pace to put a couple sheds where the potted plants currently are.  He's going to bring his dog.  I don't have room in the house for the dog, so I'm also trying to make the yard more pet-friendly while I clear the area for two sheds.  One for me, one for him.  I just need the extra space as a staging area while I reduce the amount of stuff (Mom's stuff) in the house.  Then...I don't know...future she-shed? art studio? power tool workshop?

But the morning after he arrives, he's going to drive me to the surgery to put the hemodialysis port in my arm.  I'm done with the home dialysis.  I thought it would take less time from my day but it actually ended up taking up more.  I never felt 100% on it, not like I do now.  It takes up so much room in my house.  I had to be home every night for treatment, couldn't even do overnights unless I actually skipped a treatment.  They said I could bring the dialysis with me.  Nooo, it's more than just the machine.  Also needs 2 bags of fluid per night, one 6 liter & one 3 liter, the catheter set (one per night), and all the supplies needed to connect, un-connect, and daily wound care.  

The boss has agreed to let me take the whole week off.  I'll still need to go to dialysis on my two normal days. 

I'm still an art supply addict

 I went to Hobby Lobby today.  I was supposed to get large wiggly eyes that I can sew onto my sleep mask that I use during in-clinic treatment.  I totally blanked out on this.  I found the aisle with the colored ink pens & pencils, looking for Tombow brush pens.  

I didn't find Tombow but I found brush pens from Faber Castell: Aqua Dual pens.  I haven't tracked art supplies for at least 4 years.  At first I just got a couple black pens.  I really don't care that they're brush on one side & pen on the other, I was most interested that they can be washed like watercolor.  So I got the landscape set too.  Hmm, I can't access my stash of sketchbooks right now so a new mixed media sketchbook found its way into my basket, as well.  I did keep my smallest sets of acrylic paints, watercolor, and drawing pencils accessible.  No, I haven't been drawing on the walls, I have other sketchbooks but they don't do well with wet media.

WOOT!  I'm fitting into pants I wore 10 years ago with room to spare.  I don't know why they're in good shape.  Maybe I didn't wear them that long before "growing out of them."  happy happy

Almost May

Things are going well.  Schedule has only stabilized this week so I'm trying to get into the office earlier so that I can leave earlier.  I actually have more energy from better sleep except that I got a terrible rash from the harsh chemical they used to clean around the port.  I've never worn daily makeup because my skin is very sensitive, even to super-duper hypoallergenic stuff.  So now they're using different methods & materials on me.  Rash is healing slowly but  I'm taking an allergy pill to dull the pain & itching.  However,  it's making it hard to wake up when I need to wake up because of the drowsiness side effect.

Speaking of "office," I get in every day and ask myself why I keep going in.  I know it's the majority of my social interaction and the big boss & managers have been either uncharacteristically nice (especially compared to 2019) or they've just been leaving me alone.  On May 17, I reach my 13th anniversary at the company.  That's my next milestone.  Maybe I'll give notice at that time whether or not I like the annual review.

My first goal passed Feb 2021, when we learned engineering boss passed.  I had said I'll retire when he did, which he meant to do in early 2021 (he was already into his 80's).   My next goal passed when Mom passed. My 3rd goal was to retire once I got Medicare, my last mental obstacle.  But Dec 2022 passed while I was struggling with dialysis--turns out employer's insurance is still better than Medicare.  So the goal was reset to end of April, where we are now.  Only because passing 59-1/2 is just a number to shoot for, not that I need to draw from retirement accounts right away. 

Next step to transplant

Yay, I finally finished my "oiling" project.  It's that snowball that I created when I had to condition the cutting board, then came my knife block, then the knives in the knife block, then everything in my kitchen drawers that were wood or had dry wooden handles.  (That eliminated my Mom's & Auntie's utensils which were conditioned over 60+ years of much use.)  I had put the project aside when I wasn't feeling well, didn't have the energy for it.

So I have my appointment in August for a day of tests to determine the parameters to match me for a kidney.  Yea, these things don't move very fast.  Even after I get on the transplant list, it's still a waiting game for a match.   I've been to two hemodialysis treatments now and I find myself with more time in the day because I don't have to clean & set up for the overnight (every night) treatments.  However, I now go 5 days between Friday and Wednesday between treatments, so we'll see how I feel toward the next treatment.  But, hey, that means I can do weekend getaways & sleepovers now!

Fast recovery

I was actually feeling energetic by the end of yesterday (12 hours after I checked in for surgery), even more so this morning.  I think it had more to do with getting good sleep instead of waking up from sounds & light from the PD machine.  Got a couple errands done before I ran out of time and had to go to clinic.  But since I'm not connecting myself for a few weeks, I have extra time at night & in the morning.  I don't know what to do with myself!  

I brought my sketchbook to today's treatment but wasn't too ambitious.  There's not really a table to use while connected in-clinic, so I just played on my phone for 3 hours.  My neck was tired by the end.  I guess that rules out bringing my (huge) laptop, too.  I thought maybe I could get work done but my laptop is too heavy to just be on my lap and it gets too hot, so won't be bringing that.  There are no tables to put stuff on.  The TV for each chair hangs overhead.  Ooo, something to sketch!

Third time's the charm?

So I was good for like two weeks?  Then last Friday I had that pain again.  I happened to be at the clinic to turn in a specimen of the drained dialysis fluid after two hours.  Results on Monday: infection again, same strain, so same infection since December.  So I'm back on the antibiotics regimen.  Also going back to surgery.  Kidney doctor thinks the catheter is hiding bacteria that the antibiotics can't reach, so they're going to remove it and put a new one in a different spot on my abdomen.

So much personal life that I haven't done yet, mostly personal finances & taxes.  But also reclaiming the space in my house is heavy on my mind.  I just haven't had the energy for it.  Saturday & Sunday was so low energy for me, I mean non-existent.  I didn't do anything all weekend.  Started feeling better on Sunday, so I had to rehydrate with a pot of tea when I ran errands so that I could have specimen to deliver on Monday -- more fluid from the all night treatment.