Having a Life

Since treatment is once every three weeks, I'm on break from it. There were no side effects having Herceptin.

                                     
                                       I still get questions about my vacation with my step mom

 

Kate to Japan in November.  I tried to set myself up to deal with my back pain to avoid pain. I bought a cane that can be a seat,  I took my Backjoy Relief, wore my back brace and had my pain medication. These will help IF you use them. A part of me was in denial that I needed help. When I went without these aids, I paid for it with limiting pain. I just had to stop. When I used them, I could go a lot longer and  do much more than without them.

I was struck by a few things different than Americans. They appear to be more oriented to the group than the individual.  Though this was different, there was much more cooperation than we might have here.
Kate and I were taking a public bus to go to a museum.  Kate said to get off at the exit we were stopped at.

The bus was jammed with people. We got on at the back of the bus and there was no way to walk to the front to pay. People were pushing against me to keep me from getting off. Finally they let me go. I got off and went to the front door to pay. I believe they thought I had no plans on paying. They have very little crime. They have police booths every couple of blocks in the city. They end up being very helpful in answering questions.   People were very generous in helping where they could.  When we went to breakfast in the hotels, they had lots of veggies in the morning. That is the opposite of how I eat. Not that there  were no veggies at lunch and dinner, but much less.   I loved their ceramics,  artwork and paper making. Though they have constructed homes similar to ours, they have homes using rice paper as walks and in some more remorse areas, there are roofs made with packed reeds.   They are minimalists when it comes to furnishings. In their homes. They looked like they were moving out or moving in. I think they would find my home overwhelming.

Their parks and gardens are really beautiful. Very artistic in how they used water and rocks as a part of  the view. Their toilets are so beyond what we have. They have controls on the side to heat, clean (like a bidet), some have blow drying, odor control and flushing water sound effects with volume control to cover bathroom sounds. In public bathrooms, the heated seats and sound effects were typical.   When it was very cold, those war seats were very appreciated.  When I got home I looked up what it would cost here. They ran from $5000 to $6000 not including installation which would require electricity to it.

Saw The Sixth Floor Trio through the Bakersfield Concert Series with a friend.  When they came out, they looked so young, but their performance was top notch. They played piano, clarinet and bassoon. The bassoon player also played the violin.  The style varied and had a lot of improvising.  They seemed to tie in "the peoples" music into sophisticated pieces. I highly recommend them. A real treat!  It seems to me most of the audience is older and I wonder if younger people will attend these. Now they will be older some day and perhaps it will appeal to them. They are great concerts a reasonable price, especially if you buy for the whole season.

I am back to attending more sessions at Art for Healing at Mercy Hospital. I went to one session where we made faces out of clay that will eventually be used on a wall. It will look great.  My face is the one on the left. Another session I attended was on drawing trees. Lead by Norma Peal. After some brief instruction we were led outside to draw a very old oak tree. I was completely overwhelmed and then decided what the heck. This is my drawing using charcoal and pastels below.  All our trees looked so different. Many people in this class are dealing with some issue. The process of doing art seems to help in letting go and reduce our stress levels.   I'm also going to the open studio offered two times a week where I work on my art assignments from  Nina Landgraff from The Levan Institute at Bakersfield College and with Carol Bradshaw at The Bakersfield Art Association. Nina's class ends next week (darn!). I will look for what she may offer in the fall. Carol has been out on medical for a few weeks. She'll be back mid-April. I need her push and support. She's a great teacher. What is very interesting is hearing how different people may present the same topic. There is a plus to hearing different views.  I love it all.

I went to Hart Park yesterday with my granddaughter Kayla Kline.  I'm working on a portrait of my friend Barbara Long's dog Patti.  I'm almost there.

Next week I want to share a connection of an article written by Noah Michelson "5 Things I Learned from Helping My Dad Die".  It is important because life is important and the death of someone close to us has a big impact on us.  Having lost my parents and my husband which I knew would happen really brings this out.  Of course other losses and are accidents, suicides and murders also have their effect.    I would like to talk about this.