I'm exhausted after a long day that started w/ going to the post office to get an outgoing collage postcard (see below) hand-cancelled, then lots of phone calls, computer issues, long but necessary emails, plus uploading and describing artwork & photos. I meditated briefly, but haven't done any of my Qi Gong, which now involves working with a host of acupressure points—in addition to the daily chi-raising exercise that's called my "practice."
All I want to do, though, is loll on the futon, play with the cats, write to you guys and of course, listen to the nightly four-hour Jim Ladd show (Sirius-XM deejay on the commercial-free Deep Tracks channel). Rock, rock-n-roll, the blues... ever since 1964, when I was nine years old and the Beatles arrived in America, my spirit has been deeply nourished by radio.
So here I am, a lazy bum... =grin=
Good news:
• My relationship with Mike (Qi Gong instructor/healer) has moved up to a whole new level of personal closeness and increased efficacy for bringing about changes in my body. The more I memorize Chinese medicine, the more I want to master! Mike is so pleased with me, he just beams. My twice-weekly app'ts with him entail long drives to Bethesda & back, but they are by far the high points of my week.
• A relatively new friend, Tim, who lives in New Jersey, whom I have yet to meet in person (soon, I hope), is nearing the end of the first draft of his fourth novel. It's been four decades since he published his third! To judge by the Amazon reviews and comments, he has some serious fans who are very eager for more of his work. He's an avid collage artist, too—that's how we met—and his creativity is just soaring, in multiple areas. It's infectious! I've offered to be an early reader of his first draft, something I have done before for other writers. He's rewarded me no end by being so excited just that I want to read it, let alone offering professional advice for free. =smile= In the year and a half since the medical disaster that left me disabled in a wheelchair, he has become a true friend. Tim is a gift to me from the Goddess, no doubt about it, and he seems to think the same about me. =glowing=
• My insurance company finally agreed to send me the cannabinoid (hits marijuana receptors) medication that was so helpful with my leg pain a while back, and at a reasonable price, too. According to UPS tracking, a 30-day supply was supposed to have arrived today, but it hasn't. Oh well. The point is, I almost have it in my grasp!
• Thanks in part to Tim, I'm on the verge of putting pen to paper to craft an autobiographical essay about foxes, something I've been mulling over for a few years now. I had thought my collage work and my mentoring relationship with my great niece, Grace, was more than enough to fill my cup of joy, but all of a sudden, I want to get back to the nonfiction writing that has always been my strongest creative outlet—at least the one in which I am most naturally talented.
• My one and only IDOL, Patti Smith, took her band into Jimi Hendrix's Electric Lady studio in NYC and made a live recording before a small audience of her highly influential and critically acclaimed first album, Horses, on 2" analog tape. Get this: it's only available as a two-disc vinyl LP. Bob and I still have the excellent Yamaha turntable we bought in 1979, and the cartridge is in good shape. We've been listening and re-listening to this amazing piece of music. Patti's updated some of the lyrics, added keyboards and guitar riffs in new places, and made other deft, subtle changes to the album. I'm in seventh heaven!
Bad news:
• Bob's mother, who is deep into Alzheimer's, fell and broke her pelvis (not her hip) in two places. She's confined to a hospital bed, and is terribly confused about where she is, why she's hurting, why she can't walk or get out of the bed to use the bathroom herself. Bob's sister is, as always, bearing the brunt of dealing with her.
• Bob's suffering from a deeply cracked molar causing "socket sprain" and swelling. Not much pain, though, so long as he doesn't bite down on it. But his necessary visit to the dentist today kept us from visiting his mom.
• My legs hurt a lot, especially my knees. Ah well, what else is new? =shrug=
Image uploads:
• New collage postcard: "I had a dream of fire". (Be sure to click on all of these for full-size versions.) The accompanying text includes a bit more personal news.
• Follow link at bottom of description for image of the opposite side.
• A stop-action sequence of my oriental shorthairs: "a bird outside the window"
A few personals:
• Betsy— Way to go on resisting those EVIL potato chips! Sometimes the Universe helps us out, doesn't it? I've been successfully resisting the urge to have Bob get me cookies, and I've been so frikkin' busy I haven't been eating much, so when I weigh myself on the 22nd, I may have good news...
• Calda— Good for you to be sticking up for yourself and realizing that certain people are undermining all your good work! Good luck on your further efforts and on weathering the stress of transition, whether you stick it out w/ your job or not...
• Sam— I totally agree about wild blackberries, if you can avoid those nasty spines. Good for YOU on getting back to your killer workouts—a very hard road indeed... But you are the strongest person I know: you can and will do it, all the way!
• lovinlife— Welcome back! I understand completely how hard it is when you have issues w/ your legs (don't get me started on mine... =laugh=) but you're back in the groove—yay!
• Karencat— You are my new hero—seriously. Keep up the good work! Your whole attitude is so inspirational, I don't have the words to express it...
• Erikka— You know what keeps me motivated? (1) The people here; (2) Posting here, daily if you can do it; (3) This thread! This thread! This thread!
• Tootsie— Boy am I lovin' your descriptions of your roses...
Well, my favorite deejay's show just wrapped up, so TTFN (ta-ta for now)...
—peace, love, & rock-n-roll,
Fi ("fee")