08-27-23 Up at around 1 AM in terrible pain in my left leg. Waited all night till around 5 AM when I told my husband that I could not walk. He took me to the Emergency room of our local hospital. And we waited.
Around 11 AM I was taken to Ultrasound and then Radiology. Nothing showed up but after speaking to the doctor we both agreed that I probably strained a tendon. I was given pain meds and we got home around 2 PM - my dog was very happy to see us.
Able to walk without a cane by Sunday. Getting old sucks, just so you know.
07-30-2023 Back in May - after Sport was put to sleep - we finally decided to go to the local shelter to see if we could find a new love.
We noticed this guy that was just lying in his cage, so we decided to take a look. They take you to a private room and bring the dog in. The moment he came in he went right up to my husband and came UP to his face. That never happened before. Guess who was going to be our new bestie! Well, we had to wait because he was an intact male. Then we got a call that said it wasn't going to be easy - there was an undescended testicle, which makes the surgery more complex.
A few days later we were called and told we could come and get him. Having been an adopter for over 40 years I knew there was always an adjustable time. What a surprise when there was NONE. No accidents in the house at all. The one thing I did notice was that he had the saddest eyes I've ever seen. Gave me the feeling that his former owner may have died, and he never got to say goodbye.
He is always well behaved but don't touch either one of us... he defends immediately. So, his name is now Toby and the sadness in his eyes is gone, the tail wags a lot and he's a very happy boy.
I've had a feeling that this was a gift from Sport.
04-26-22: Tomorrow is going to be a very hard day. My dog's - Sport - health is failing badly. He is having a hard time walking without wobbling, he's not eating and is sleeping way too much. He's over 12 years old and has suffered from seizures - former owners may have hit him in his head - for years but in 2020 he had his first stroke followed in 6 months by another. His quality of life is no longer there. I believe his strokes have destroyed his vision and he's a very sad little boy. I've always promised my pets that when life becomes too much, I will put them to sleep. Tomorrow, I lose my best friend, but I will be with him to his last breath and my voice will be the last thing he hears.
05-13-21: Had a colonoscopy on the 12th because of my history of colon cancer. This is just something I have to endure every 3 years just to keep me safe and sound. There were 4 polyps found and sent off to the lab. The results are in and 3 were benign and the 4th was pre-cancer. So now I'm safe until the next colonoscopy. This is a sigh of relief because it was found BEFORE it could become full blown cancer. When your doctor suggests that you have a colonoscopy don't put it off. Get it done because the possibility is not a fun one - take it from one who knows.
01-19-21: I had micro-surgery on my spine and was told to take it easy. Avoid leaving the house, lifting anything heavier than 10 pounds not a good idea, bending and twisting. Understand why I had this done: L4-L5 were not stable and were causing me constant pain. I'm still at the healing stage but do have an appointment on Feb. 2.. I'll have more info at that point... and thanks for your understanding.
I was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1946 . Began drawing at the ripe old age of four - according to my Mom (no walls were injured in the making of this artist), and continued on through four years of high school art, which only whetted my appetite. I then entered a commercial art school and did a year and a half there (they wanted me to become a fashion illustrator, but - at 19 - I thought I had better ideas). Other than that, I'm pretty much self-taught.
Began using graphite. pastels and charcoal while in high school. I've always worried about being pigeonholed, so I began playing with assorted medias. I've worked in colored pencil, pastel, watercolor, graphite, tempera, oil, oil pastel, pen and ink, scratchboard and magic marker along with recently acquired gouache. I will draw on anything that looks like it might give me an interesting effect or texture (sandpaper, felt, velvet, matboard, pastelboard for example).
The subject matter that most appeals to me are the predators of the animal world. The big cats are my MOST favorite!! I will do feather and fur but 'draw the line' at fins. Really can't get into fish.. but I have done some scaley critters (snakes, lizards, etc.). I have also done portraits, nudes, scenes, florals and some rather unusual still lifes. I don't claim that my art is anything other than what it is.. a - hopefully - decent representation of the subject matter. I'm not trying to tell you that my life is in my art.. my life IS my art. I feel the need to put some part of me down on that paper/canvas on a daily basis. And although the blank sheet can be terrifying, the end result always pushes me on to do more. At present, I have, in various stages of completion, a total of about 20 pieces. My most productive year so far has been 2006, with a total of 182 pieces completed.
For me, it's not the finished piece - although when I look at some of them, I am pleased - it's the journey to get there. The task of finding the right colors in the right ratio in the right place.. in the end, it's all worth it because when you look at my art.. my soul is looking back at you.
NOTE: I am cancer free for 15 years!
UPDATE: In May 2015 my blood count was 7 - should have been 15! So the search for the 'leak' began. Starting with upper and lower GI checks. Found nothing. Swallowed a camera capsule to photograph the 20 feet of small intestine only for it to get stuck. Try though they may, they couldn't reach it.. surgery in June... with NO infections. Followed in July with the removal of my gall bladder.. once again.. on the road to healing.
