I'm Really Dragging

When at class with my teacher Carol Bradshaw, she has a skeleton of a dog - not real bones, but so helpful in looking at where the arms and legs go.  I'm doing my friend Barbara's dog again. Though it is still off, I'm getting closer to how Patti looked.   I'll also do a contour drawing of my friend Janet's dog Poopy.   No class next week.   I have done some work, but I just don't feel energetic enough to do what needs to be done with it.  Hopefully this week I make some progress.

My washing machine tub stopped turning. So a gentleman by the name of Larry came out. He said the problem was the ball bearings. It would be an expensive job and he felt it was time to get a washer. He only charged $10 to come out and since he has been repairing appliances for over three decades, I asked what brand and any specifics he would recommend. He stated  my best bet was to get a Whirlpool Duet. So I went to Home Depot and spoke with the salesman about this. I ended up getting the dryer too, with both on a pedestal.  Though costly in getting both, they gave a discount and I got a payment plan of "18 months just like cash". So I will pay every month and when I pay before this time, there is no finance charge. When I was young, I did this a lot and in time I was able to fix up my home in a way I could afford.  They will bring them out on Wednesday, haul the others out and install these. They have a feature I've never had. Both washer and dryer have steam features. I'm thinking about when I leave my clothes in the dryer too long and they wrinkle. He said it would be helpful because the steam can kill germs. 

The workmen came Wednesday to repair the leak at the main water shut off valve but also to replace the pipes that go from there to the point where it enters my home. It wasn't leaking yet, but they believe it would go soon. I can't tell you how relieved I am that I got the insurance to cover leaks in and around the house!  This would be a very expensive job!  I called the company that put in my block wall for advise.  He said they should not have to take the wall down. They can tunnel below the wall to get at this pipe.  It took two days because the water company came out three times and we were waiting on them. The next day, an inspector had to check on the job. It passed. 

I took the train to see my friend Annmarie. We met another friend Salud for dinner at Tommy's Restaurant in Visalia. They took a long time to serve us, but we were so involved in catching up, it didn't seem to be a problem. When we were finally served, the portions were so big that it was overwhelming.  The next morning we went to breakfast at Ryan's.  We met Criza, a woman who continues as the head nurse on the unit I worked.  She looked so fabulous and she was as warm as ever.  I always liked her. She made our work so much easier and we all worked so well together. Wonderful to see her!

So definitely feel more tired;  I'm much more tired.  I sleep a lot more.  I feel exhausted. I have periods when it isn't too bad. I haven't figured out if it is anything specific or my body just slowing down. So I really have to pace myself and rest when that hits me. Some don't get it, so I just insist I can't participate in some things.  I'm also less interested in eating. I don't know if this is a plus or not. I could lose some weight, but this isn't an effort, because I don't want to eat it.  My body temperature is hard to regulate. I can be very hot or very cold. Both are very uncomfortable.  I've already had hot flashes. I had no idea they could come back again. It feels like it.  I'll bring this up at my next doctor appointment.

That is all I have this week.  I'll probably nap more today. I hope your week is going well. I'll see you next Sunday.   Rachel. 

Caring for Yourself

On Monday my granddaughter Crystal needed to make copies of the baby shower invitation her cousin Cassadie designed.  I got a new Epson printer and couldn’t figure how to put card stock in my printer, so we went out to have it done. It felt like we were talking a different language from the woman were were talking to.  It was so strange.  In the end, we finally got it done and had to go somewhere else for the envelopes, which also turned into a big deal because of the size of the envelope. That was accomplished.  Then Crystal and I went to a Korean restaurant for lunch. She has never had food like this, but I’d like my kids and grandkids to try different foods and cultures.  I think it makes them more interesting and open with other people.  She ended up enjoying most of what we had.  I took Crystal home and she decorated the envelopes to keep her color scheme going.  So many text messages back and forth to do all that is needed for a baby shower.  Stephanie is doing the food.  Several of us are putting money in the pot, though it isn’t as big as I think they would have liked.  So now they are shopping for decorations, what is needed for serving the food, to do the games, etc.  I hope they can keep this to two hours.  If others want to stay longer, fine.  I just think it needs a start and finish time.

Tuesday there were four of us students in Carol Bradshaw’s art class.  I had made a contour drawing of my friend Barbara’s dog.  My drawing is definitely getting better.  Since then I have sent contour drawings to Barb to get feedback on what needs to be done.  The two biggest were the ears and the back legs.  She found a picture of her dog Patti when she was fairly young.  She of course, looked much better and I felt I could do her ears as Barbara would like.  I’m still anxious about the back legs.  I’m not making her a younger dog.  My picture was done not that long before she died.  Barbara had another dog too name Tavi.  She has also since died.  Her plans are to frame the pictures and put them on her wall when they are done.  So, I think I'm done with Patti, Barbara's dog.  I'm sure there is more that can be done, but I've done this at least 6 times.  There are some areas that are off, but remember she is an older dog and not just a pug.  She was much cuter young, but none of us look like we did when we were younger.

Patti is a mixed Pug/ Miniature Bulldog

My next class is to do a long haired dog.  My friend Janet’s dog also died.  His name was Josh, or Poopy (though I don’t think this had anything to do with him having accidents).  This one was a Bichon Frise.  When I first drew him, I don’t think it was very realistic, and, I really wanted to see how to do a dog with curly white hair.  I’m learning a lot about doing hair, giving it depth and curl.  I asked Janet to find a picture she really liked of Poopy.  The pictures I have were not that long before he died and if  she has a picture she would like me to dof, I would be happy to do it.  Hopefully she finds it.

My friend Vic is coming along with his book.  I find little to suggest he do.  But some things I find might make it a little better.  We ate at a Chinese restaurant where I’ve only had dinner, The Great Castle Chinese Restaurant.  My experiences have been good.  However, at lunch, there was no comparison.  They were set plates and they didn’t have the fresh taste I’m accustomed to.  Too bad, because Vic will never go there again.  I’ll stick to the dinner menu.  In the mean time, Vic rewrote his second chapter and asked me to read it.  He is getting too anxious for me to read it.  However, he thinks it helps him to be more focused in his writing and he doesn’t want me to read something he doesn’t think is that good.  Well, that makes sense, though I actually enjoyed the second chapter I read last time.  We’ll see about this.

Janet and I met at our old haunt Mexicali’s.  She had oral surgery, but she felt she would be fine with eating.  I didn’t think I would be if I had gone through that, but she was fine. If she could eat chips and salsa, she is doing pretty good. 

Barbara and I went to Chef’s Choice Noodle Bar and saw A Walk in the Woods about Bill Bryson, who has written wonderful travel books of his unique traveling trips. I've read several of his books.  The actors are Robert Redford, Emma Thompson and Nick Nolte.  Two older guys hike the Appalachian Trail, 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine.  This was a wonderful movie, maybe for us older people.  It was a feel good movie.

My daughter Shelley and I went to lunch and wine tasting with my friend Janet to Concerees Deli at Rio Bravo Ranch not far from the canyon as you go up the mountain off of highway 178.  What a wonderful experience!  Food so pleasant, but they also had wine tasting and olive oil tasting.  And, while we were there, My friend Charmaine came by.  Charmaine is a real estate agent and I think Shelley would be fantastic.  She is people oriented and a hard worker.  I think she would be fabulous and Charmaine shared some about what she did to get into this.  Shelley likes what she does, but she has hard time when people don't get treated well, which has become an issue in health care.  She has no control over this.  l highly recommend the Deli at Rio Bravo Ranch and Cheryl was the one who helped us in picking what we wanted.  Shelley and I are going to a family wedding and I wanted to pick a very good olive oil for the salad dressing for that salad we will make.  So here are Shelley, Janet and I and then later Charmaine came and I got a picture of Shelley and Charmaine.  They have a variety of olive oils and two wines.  I ended up getting a couple of wines,  Two olive oils, a balsamic vinegar and a small book about olive oil.  It was a wonderful experience and I know we will go back.

Shelley, Me and Janet

Charmaine Rowe, best real estate agent in the area and my daughter Shelley

Charmaine shared a little about her experience in becoming a real estate agent and what it entails.  Shelley is very people oriented and cares about what she does.  So hopefully this will be the nudge to get Shelley looking at this.

Well, I have issues happening at home.  I have a broken pipe where the water comes to my yard.  My block wall is showing the water coming through.  Thank goodness I got the insurance to cover this.  They say they will also have to replace the galvanized pipes which are rotting that go to my house.  It will be done Wednesday which will be a full days work. 

In addition to this, I found that my washing machine drum will not turn, so everything was filled with water. Ugh!  It is amazing how much can happen that we have to deal with when they belong to us!

Okay, I have gotten really emotional today.  Coming home, I couldn't stop crying.  I so want my daughter Shelley to be okay.  She cares for everyone else, but she doesn't get much of this in return.  I have been kind of a basket case.  Perhaps, I had too much wine.  So I'm stopping here.  I'll see you next week.          Rachel

The Amateur's Guide to Death and Dying

I watched a live discussion on Google+ about Richard Wagner's book The Amateur's Guide to Death and Dying (http://theamateursguide.com).   It was well done.   It was on a site called The Death Chicks. They are also opening up the subjects of death, dying, grief and bereavement. The two women who were hosting this were Patty Burgess Brecht and Myste Lyn.  These would be worth checking out. Dr. Wagner, Ph.D. wrote another book for children titled Longfellow and the Deep Hidden Woods which covers the topics of death and bereavement.   Dr. Wagner talked about the initial anxiety we feel when faced with issues of death and dying.   He then (like me) jumped in rather than run away from from these topics.  This was when I worked with people who were dying in a hospital and later when I worked in hospice as a social worker.  I had to really think what was my anxiety about.  Initially, I just got myself to sit with someone who was dying. I noted that people seemed to appreciate that.  I let them guide our talk. I read Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's book On Death and Dying.  I remember people being upset if the one who was dying did not die in the order proscribed, or if they left out a step. I thought this was presumptuous that we would know better.  I couldn't imagine telling someone how they had to die, to do it right. Given that,  I did learn so much from people who let me be there with them. I think the biggest thing we had to offer was to allow people to do it their own way and to give some of them permission to leave us.  I believe our presence is what can be helpful for the person who was dying  and for those close to the person dying.  if they wanted you and/or they developed a relationship with them.    One of the other points that was brought up was that we experience all sorts of losses as we age- our body changes, we develop aches and pains, we can't do all the things we used to....  There are really many, so if we allow ourselves to deal with the earlier losses, it will help us to experience in a meaningful way, the loss of our lives. I want my friends and family to understand this especially as it pertains to me.  I ordered the amateur's guide for my Kindle and the children's book from Amazon.com.  I hope to discuss this and hope they will order their own copy.

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In my art class we are drawing a short-haired dog.  I'm doing my friend Barbara's dog, Patti who died. She was a pug/miniature English bulldog mix.  I took a poor picture of her and tried to lighten and reprint it, but I lost the ability to connect my pictures from my iPhone and iPad to my main Apple computer.  Darn!  I'll continue to search for this ability.  It is a very helpful application.   One of my issues is I can't see the fourth leg. My teacher Carol told me it would be better to have the fourth leg, even if it was only to show the toes, etc.  so when I put the legs together, it looks unnatural like she is doing a pirouette.  So I drew her on tracing paper and drew several legs to see which one I preferred.  Tomorrow I will get the contour drawing done for Tuesday's class with Carol. Then we will work on details, such as the nose, eyes, mouth and fur.   There is another student in my class; her name is Ronna. She wants to draw cats and dogs. She started classes a year ago and doing very well.    I got carried away putting in some detail on my Dog with Seven Legs.  It is on tracing paper.  The leg I settled on is the fifth leg from the right side.  There is a very lightly drawn foot right next to it, but I've settled for the darker one.  

Dog with Seven Legs

While visiting my step-mom Kate, we went to a local bookstore Vroman's in Pasadena where I purchased some books that I wanted for reference in using my Apple products. I read the pertinent parts for sharing photos,  iCloud, Airdrop, wireless printing and keychain.  I watch young people do this with no problem at all; while I need to do each step deliberately.  I do best with a simple visual guide along with the explanation.  I had lost ability to transfer pictures I took on my iPhone to my MAC.  That issue is resolved now.

We also went to the Norton Simon Museum for a guitar concert on Friday, but we had the wrong day. It was no problem, since it is a lovely art museum. We focused on 19th century art. 

We then went to a tasty Afghan restaurant called Azeen's Afghani Restaurant. I love the use of yoghurt in the sauce. So delicious!

On Saturday we ate at a small restaurant that is informal called Sweet and Savory in San Marino.  I had been there perhaps two or three years ago with my brother Ben accompanying us.  I remember feeling that the chicken salad was very special, so I ordered it again, though there was a chicken curry that she let us have a sample which was very tasty.  I told her I remembered the last time we were there and that I asked her about "what is that taste" and she had said then, "If I told you, I'd have to kill you".  In the end, she fessed up that it was the mustard she used, but she would not give me any further information on it.   It looked like a seeded mustard, Then I had a fruit tart and Kate had a bread pudding.  We shared this.  Very tasty.

So Saturday we went to a concert of two classical Guitarists doing Italian pieces played by the Odeum Guitar Duo doing A Tour of Italy. Fred Benedetti and Robert Wetzel were the performers and they have CD's of their music.  I imagined walking around a formal garden with my glass of red wine while listening to this music.  It was very appealing to me.  Since we had the wrong date for this, we had tickets to see a play called  called A Flea in Her Ear at A Noise Within Theatre Company in Pasadena Saturday night too!  We ended up with seats in the center of the second row for the guitar concert.  Can't beat that.  The play was a farce premiered in 1907.    It was opening night for the play in Pasadena and they had a full house.  From the responses in the audience, it was well received. It was written by Georges Feydeau  Lots of fun.

On Sunday, we had breakfast at Green Street in Pasadena.  Delicious!   That is a very pleasant coffee shop.

So we did have one incident on Sunday.  Kate goes out for a seven mile walk every morning.  For some reason (I think it may have been the heat, though it wasn't that bad), I woke up before Kate came home.  I decided to get everything ready to go home and took a load out to my car.  Well it set off her house alarm.  Her four cats went nuts with me.  I didn't know what to do and when they called they said they were contacting the authorities to come out.  In a short time period, Officer Leach came out (wearing bermuda shorts ).  I didn't have any information to give him which would show I had a right to be there.  I offered him a cup of strong coffee and he said he just ate.  He actually was nice and hung around outside for a while before driving off.  He saw Kate as she was coming around the bend of her street.  So that was the excitement of the day.  I now have the information I need to give my bonafide so I don't get the evil eye next time.

It was a pretty exciting week and I'm ready for a little rest.  To bed early this evening.  Thank you for reading and I will see you next Sunday.                    Rachel

Returning Home

Well, finishing up last weeks blog was sure difficult doing it away from home.  I'm not sure why it was so difficult, because I felt like I should be able to do exactly what I do at home. Hopefully I can work this out.  I feel I'm limited in travel if I can't work that out. 

I gave the picture I drew of Piper, their Cocateil, to Debbie and Jacquie. They felt the face reflected Piper's personality. I'm glad they liked it.

Barbara took off to do ancestry research at Fort Ross. After I finished my blog, Jacquie, Debbie and I went to three wineries.  Coppola Winery was the nicest because they also sold a lot items you might associate with entertaining with wine. It was a great museum of the movies Francis Coppola wrote, produced and directed. That was fun. The grounds were beautiful. They also had a pool that people were able to use. I didn't check this out because I was not interested in using it.   Actually, all the grounds of the wineries (the other two were Clos du Bois and Trentadue) were beautiful and the wine tasting was nice. The wines were not wines that you could buy at home. It is interesting that now they charge for wine tasting between $5 and $15 to taste four wines. I remember when wine tasting was free. 

On the way home, Barbara and I stopped in Santa Nella for their split pea soup. I have fond memories of it as did Barbara.  Well I will never again push to go there. I thought the soup was terrible. Barbara felt it tasted like canned soup. So I have that out of my system!  Ugh!

I had my Red Hat group this week. We met at Sorella's which is a nice Italian restaurant. I had the Fettuccine and Clams. It was delicious. Each of us had something different. All of us liked what we had. It is further from my home than the other restaurants. Perhaps that is why I haven't been there in a long time. I will have to include it as one of the restaurants I frequent.  

One very important benefit from our Red Hat group is that we share life issues we deal with to get emotional support. The fact is we all have issues, a lot of them similar. We can share what we have done or what we think we might have done in that situation. The other role, is just a listening ear. Most of our experiences with the men in our lives is their desire to fix our problems, though much of what we deal with may not be fixable. Just being able to talk is a great value to us. It lets some of the frustration and steam dissipate. My group wants my daughter Shelley to join. She is not 50 years old, so she would be a princess until that time.  I would love that. We are looking at some social events occurring in our community.  Our group would like to go as girlfriends.  They look like fun outings.

We had no art class this week. I did draw another owl different than what I've shared. I've thought about using colored pencil to finish it. I had such a hard time separating the contact paper for my walking owl.  I used it to cover the owl so I could do a flat background. This owl is actually at twilight. The sky has a lavender look to it because of the time. What I would like to do is put the lavender over the owl after I've painted it. What I don't want to happen is ruin the look of the owl, that going over in the lavender could smudge the color underneath. I just want a graded color over the owl to show the owl belongs there.  The other thing I want to accomplish is redo the parrot drawing with very thin lines for the feathers.  I received the Rigger brushes I ordered yesterday. So hopefully the right tool helps. 

I have slept a lot this week. I had not gone to a Chinese restaurant, so I think I can rule out the use of MSG. One friend left a message saying"I know you are out having a ball, so I won't call you on your cell phone."  Actually, if either phone rang (which one did), I would sleep through both. 

Here is where I'm at on my art work. They are works in progress obviously.  I'll do more on them tomorrow before class.

I thought of finishing this with color pencil

I put contact paper on the owl to be able to do a flat wash over it.

My friend Janet and I went to the Red Pepper. They have good Mexican food with style. Very relaxing time together. 

This morning I went out with my granddaughter Kayla for her birthday. She turned 15 yesterday. We went to Anita's, but they no longer do a Sunday Branch. You can ask for the lunch or breakfast. We had breakfast. Kayla had a  a green chili breakfast burrito and I had chilaquiles.  Then we split a banana chimichanga with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Anyway,  I missed the buffet breakfast, but the food was tasty and was actually too big.  I love their Menudo and I'll get that next time. 

I am feeling very tired again. I'll lie down to rest and my pattern is to fall asleep, wake up late evening and back to sleep until tomorrow morning. 

That's it for the this week. I hope your week went well and that this next week goes well.  See you next Sunday.               Rachel