Life, and the things that happen in between...

After an unwelcome hiatus of two weeks I am home again to my snug little nest by the harbour. Life seems to have gone on without me, can it be true that when I am gone for good that it will continue as before? I hope so but I will certainly miss it!
Tidying up a few loose ends from the hospital stay I want to put it on record that the Devil did not find me lolling about as I took with me plenty of  crafty stuff to keep my hands from idleness....the brain you ask? Well that is another thing entirely!
My last day of sketching the passing parade (or the walking wounded) saw me in my usual niche by the bus stop studying the folk patiently waiting, some stayed long enough to study, others were gone in a blink. I like the old bloke top left, an elderly volunteer helping "oldies" much younger than himself onto the bus.

Note to self: do not buy A4 sketchbooks, the pages don't fit in my scanner.
Activity #2, sewing little birdies from a Japanese pattern in chirimen silk, these will make a nice addition to my Christmas tree...all six of them.

Activity #3, making teeny tiny origami cranes to fit in empty medication bottles. I did at least 100 in various sizes, the nurses were having fun collecting the used antibiotic vials for me to use. The ward took on the appearance of a recycling centre there for a while.  Everyone went home with at least one and I have heaps more. Perhaps a future exhibition in the hospital on the theme of "Hope in a Bottle" or even "Science and Superstition"?

Lastly but even more mindlessly time wasting, strings of origami cranes.....

Not to mention the origami puffy stars!
And..."drum Roll".... approximately 50 hours of listening to audiobooks. As will be bleedingly obvious it will take me a little time to re-adjust to civilization but toilets need to be cleaned, meals prepared and the whole lovely hum drum of daily life to be enjoyed!

Life is an elevator...

Lots of ups and downs, especially on prednisone. Sorry to go on about the dreaded pred but other "Lungies" will recognise the highs and lows that are a part of the weaning off process. Today is a low. The step down from 25mg to 15mg is a massive drop in terms of percentages and it has an immediate effect. Thus my usually optimistic nature is relying on lots of musk stick sweeties to keep a smile on my face…a face which is now approaching full moon proportions!
While never having been a raving beauty (or indeed any kind of beauty), I do have my little vanities and having a face the size of a Mt. Rushmore carving is not my best look but as the Prof. says, it does iron out a few of the wrinkles…bloody Pollyanna!
Yesterday's sketches:

I was pleased with the drawing of the girl with the cropped hair, the others not so much.

Sketches from the Front…Day 10

Life goes on to the unceasing beat of the hospital routine, shift changes, medication times, student doctors  hurriedly taking your life story in at a gulp, effusive in their thanks and delightful in their still blushing youth.
And then there is the curious case of the prednisolone side effects (prednisolone  (prɛdˈnɪsəˌləʊn) a steroid drug derived from prednisone and having the same uses as cortisone); wakefulness, restlessness, a feeling as if the Energiser Bunny had jumped into your hutch, hot flushes, hunger, (the aforementioned bunny would be well to stay away) and the dreams……..A moment of confusion last night on waking at 3am from a not unpleasant dream involving a person of Pacific Islander descent and several Pug dogs???? I can only blame the internet. Surely the constant flow of images we see today must be clogging up the ever lessening real estate of our memories only to combine as unlikely scenarios as we try to catalogue them in that chamber of mysteries. Consider the prehistoric person who at best, saw a few pictures scratched on a rock and those in monotone, mammoth aside, at least he was spared the Pug dogs.
I ramble, sketching outside today was difficult, the weather was humid to the point of saturation. Thankfully the storm has come to refresh us all and tomorrow is another day!

Sketches from the Front.....

Day seven of my being held hostage to my "lace curtain" lungs sees me exploring the hospital and it's environs dragging an IV pole and trying to keep my sanity.
Having exhausted my supply of paper to make origami puffy stars and puffy hearts ( well it was Valentine's day last week) I have graduated to stalking members of the public in search of  subjects to draw.....if only they would keep still. I have hit upon the cunning idea of sitting by the pick up area and sketching those people waiting for their rides home. Mostly women, I was disappointed to miss the Firefighters who regularly respond to false alarms at the hospital, they are terribly macho and satisfyingly chunky in all of their gear, however, they moved a little too fast for even a sketchy sketch! I did however get their truck!
Apologies for the grey graininess of the paper My trusty IPad can do only so much.

Perverse (but in a good way)!

Australians have a knack of saying the opposite of what they mean but by body language or a wink and a nod letting the other person know what is intended. Perhaps the most perverse of all is when you compliment your friend for being a cunning old bastard!
Thus a person with red hair is called "Blue" and perhaps that is how many cattle dogs with reddish coats are often called blue! Of course most cattle dogs are called blue as a result, so there you are, perverse!
Stamps, of the postal variety are popping up on etegami lately so I was moved to copy the image on this stamp featuring a cattle dog and name him "Blue". These dogs are legendary for their ability to work and anticipate their master's commands. They are also legendary for their penchant for nipping at the heels of cattle (and small children, I have the scars to prove it). My husband was often waylaid as a child by his uncle's Blue Heeler who would wait for him under the steps and dart out to give him a nasty nip.
So, "here Blue".

The Commentario de Bello Lungicus,

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 or is it a chapter of I Claudius?

It isn’t yet the Ides of March but my current medical diagnosis reads like Julius Caesar’s great work or Robert Graves’ scandalous, orgiastic tell-all novel of the Roman highlife, “I Claudius”!

Yes, the Pseudomonii and the Proteus Mirabilii are doing battle with the Alveoli and the Cilia for possession of the scrap of lungs that I have remaining. Consequently, I am hooked up to what is charmingly called the “Out and About” program (a name I always play in my head with a Canadian accent…Ooot and Aboot).

Far from being “out and about”, I am at home attached to what looks like a baby bottle full of the poison that I hope will do a “Livia” (she who had a way with poisons) on my enemies.

Other than the small problem of what used to be called “walking pneumonia” I am feeling remarkably positive, hoping that this will work and I will be spared the routine two weeks in hospital.

The Prof. goes his merry way, Lawn Bowls have become his life and I scarcely see him in the daylight hours nowadays, blessed as we are with almost perfect weather. The view from our balcony still delights and enchants us after four months in our now not-so-new place.

I continue to fool around with trivial stuff, stamping and colouring, saving my energy for the battle within.

And remember...

Another chance...

to make New Year's resolutions. The first go 'round most likely fallen by the wayside by now.
That is, Chinese New Year is coming up and thus my attempt at the phonetic rendition of "Happy New Year" in Cantonese, plus the character for Good Luck!
Apologies to any Chinese whom I may have inadvertently insulted.
There is no more splendid sight than massed Chinese lanterns something I have wanted to paint for a long time.
So here it is a, Chinese image on a card done in Japanese style, we live in a wonderfully diverse and interesting world!

Why not?

Yes, why not indulge in a bit of silliness now and then?
Today my silly activity was to take the stamps I carved yesterday and stamp them onto shrink plastic just to see how it would turn out. The results definitely won't win any prizes but they were a lot of fun to make and I really do need several more dangly things on my keychain!
I have scanned them on an image of a stamp which is about 3 inches high for scale.
I did head my blog "Diary of a wasted life", so you were warned. I long ago decided that rather than save myself for something big, my life would be wasted on moments of joy and fun and I am doing pretty well on balance!
Don't worry, you will hear about the crappy bits too!

Shrinky Dinks rule!

Time is still a'flying...

the words on a card I just received from an etegami chum and ain't it the truth?
This last week has flown by. A visit by overseas son and granddaughter was all too brief and was rather unexpected. Son was working and we had the pleasure of having our granddaughter to ourselves for three whole days.
Apart from making and flying paper airplanes, drawing silly pictures and learning about Minecraft from an eight year old, (am I the last person in the Universe to find out about this phenomenally popular online game?)  creativity was put on the back burner. I had forgotten how exhausting an eight year old can be.
I have been left a little flat now that they are back home and I am without inspiration so decided, as suggested by a friend, to carve stamps of some of the drawings I had created for greeting cards way back when (see sidebar). It was fun to carve them, the results are mixed to say the least but I hope I can create a few stamped etegami  using printed Japanese papers for the kimono.

A bit messy but you get the idea.

Our mild Summer has finally shown a spark of life and the pace of life has slowed as a consequence of the mounting heat, not that we are experiencing the searing temperatures blighting other areas of the country, still I am thankful for the breezes we catch off the harbour.
In fact on reflection I have a lot to be thankful for and I am properly grateful.

Tired but happy.

The long awaited meeting of Urban Sketchers happened today in Newcastle and was a great success.
About 15 dedicated sketchers made the three hour train journey from Sydney, some of them getting up pre dawn to catch the train. About half a dozen locals showed up with the promise of more to come, so fingers crossed that we will have enough people to get some momentum. In any case, happen what may, I met some lovely people today. Sketchers are such nice people! Newcastle turned on a brilliant day, 30 degrees C, light breezes and clear skies.  Serendipity!
My morning sketch.

My afternoon sketch.

Now to collapse!