Art to Reduce Stress

Did you know that it takes a gallon of water to produce one almond?  I didn't. Did you know that agriculture uses 80% of our state's water?  I didn't realize it was that high!  So if I cut my showers to half the time I do now, it isn't going to have that big an impact. I'm okay about not growing grass.  I do understand the need to cut back. It seems we have a much bigger problem because the water is going to run out. The water underground is being used now by agriculture. That took millions of years to develop. It hasn't taken long to use it up. Okay, end of my rant on our water situation. What I now want to figure out is what can I have instead of grass. I did get three waist level gardening units that I have to put together.  But it is small and I am going to grow my own veggies. My friend Barbara does this we will talk about each of us deciding on some veggies and sharing them.  My daughter Shelley is doing her vegetable garden too.  Now, they never did put in a backyard, but her picture is a little scary.

Kevin and Shelley's Vegetable Garden

It goes before the city council  to put in a watering schedule. If your street number ends in an even number, you may water your lawn Sunday , Wednesday and Friday. If your street number ends in an even number, your watering days are Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.  Businesses do not have limitations. Now if this is a serious drought, why would they not be included?  This seems very scary,  but, they are acting too casual.  Why is this?  Okay, end of my rant on our water situation.  If all the grass died, which it should with this, I want to think about how to make my  yard inviting without it costing a ridiculous amount of water.

My oven now works. The element I ordered did the trick. I called a plumber to see about the water getting to the fridge for water and ice in the door. Water comes to the door. Still have a problem with the ice maker. I left a message with the appliance repairman about coming back for that.  Next week the plumber is coming back to replace the pipes attached to the house. But, he needs to know where the emergency shut off valve is. I don't know where it is.  I messaged the water company. Their message is I need to call and make an appointment for them to come and turn it off, then turn it on. They got back to me too late. I'll call them Monday morning 

Major events happened this week.  My great-grandson Conner turned one and his sister Coco turned three. My friend Marykay's daughter Rachel (named after me) had her first child, her daughter Eva Ramona. I also had friends who married. I'm so happy for them!  And life goes on. 

My art class, called Healing Art with Nina Landgraff at Bakersfield College was good.  We stood up with our hands in a prayer position our eyes closed and noted which way we leaned. She then had us do a drawing exercise to help get ourselves in balance. She first had us drawing the number 8. She asked us to determine if the upper part was the same size and shape as the lower part.  So we turned it sideways still drawing over it to make them be more in line. Then she had us do it with our non-dominant hand.  Then we did two eights next to each other trying to keep the same proportions. Then we drew both eights at the same time using both hands at the same time. Then we outlined the eights at the top and where they join in the middle to make a heart. She said to do this daily until we could stand without being pulled any direction.   Mind and body interact with each other and the idea is to get them working for you instead of against you.  I love the idea.  I recommend this class for anyone in the area.  

Then we did a finger painting selecting two colors and white. I've included Nina's (she's our teacher)  and mine. Then she had us do a background with several colors, then draw some squiggly lines to make grape vines, then with our fingers put in grapes and then more squiggly lines that the vines use to hold the grapes. Also a couple of grape leaves. The ocean and lighthouse pictures are done by  spraying water over the paper and then making a white circle and come back with the bright color around it until it is only the bright color.  The dark color goes around all of this following the circle at the top and going back and forth at the bottom.  Then work in white for the reflection and come back on the sides for the rocks and lighthouse.  Then perhaps put a boat in the water and birds in the sky.  Fun!  I'm going to do more of this.  Only one more class, but I have really enjoyed it. Learning how the body and mind work together to help or hinder us can be helpful to get the resources on our side. I appreciate having that knowledge.  I liked practicing it too because you get a better sense of how to do it.  I will take it again if I am not overwhelmed with other events.  I have to pace myself.

Nina Landgraff's Finger Painting with  Acrylic

Nina Landgraff's Finger Painting with Acrylic

Nina Landgraff's Finger Painting with Acrylic

This is My Finger Painting with Acrylic

My Perspective is Way Off!
My Lighthouse is too big!  But it was supposed to be Fun and it was!

Class with Carol Bradshaw went well. I find it helps to watch her do it, though I feel I need to see it more than once. So we went over the graduated wash and then worked on a variable wash. She also gives wonderful tips to make our pictures even better. One she said was to go back to the mountain range and drop a little more color at the top of the range, but not solidly. It will make it look more real.  By the way, she recommended Mastering the Watercolor Wash by Joe Garcia.  Very helpful.  I think I am ready to frame the green peppers and the seaside port.  I'm still working on my butterfly- perhaps nesx weekend.

Carol Bradshaw's Layering Flat Washes

Carol Bradshaw's Layers of Gradated Washes

Carol Bradshaw's Gradated Wash Using Two Colors
Coming From Each Side

My Painting-Seaside Port

My Painting-Green Peppers done in Hooker's Green

Trees on a Flat Wash with Some Color Removed from Trunks

Trees on a Gradated Wash with Some Color Removed from the Trunks

So a birthday party was held for Conner and Coco. It was a nice event.  It was held outside.  Very windy and when in the shade, quite cool, but I couldn't handle the sun.

Conner, One Year Old and Coco, Three Years Old

Conner Enjoying a Birthday Cupcake

Billy and Conner Going Down the Slide

Picture of Billy, my grandson and Conner, my great-grandson

Father and Son

This afternoon Barbara and I are going to a matinee put on by the Bakersfield Community Concert Association featuring Los 3 Ortiz.  A Cuban/Venezuelan harpist, Alfredo Rolando Ortiz will be performing with his two daughters.  They do folk, popular and classical music from many countries.  I'm looking forward to it.  Then we are going back to this great little Chinese. restaurant called Ching Yen which is so tasty.  With Barbara I usually go vegetarian and have found it delicious!

This is an article called "How Do You Want to Die?" From Nextavenue.org   

http://www.nextavenue.org/article/2015-04/how-do-you-want-die?utm_source=na_socialmedia&utm_medium=na_socialmedia&utm_campaign=na_socialmedia


That is it for the week.  I hope you are doing well and finding things to enjoy in life.   See you next Sunday.                   Rachel

Such a Variety!

I know I repost things on Facebook because I agree, that it reminds me of me or those around us, it is funny or it is cute. So there was this one of a woman who goes to handle something, gets distracted and keeps moving never getting anything done. 

That is not quite me.  I do get things done, but not necessarily the intended thing or I get a lot more done than the intended task.

For example, one morning this week I knew I needed to pick up a few items for my art class. I thought I'd take my pills with me. I left my water in my bedroom. I go to get that and decide I need to make the bed. I then can't find my cell phone. That whole process leads me to change the batteries in the smoke alarm in the garage because it was beeping.  Now I don't remember where I set down my pills. So I decide to take another load of laundry out to the garage to start. When I bend down to put the laundry in, I see my cell phone on top of the washer. I put it in my pocket. I go to the living room to get my purse and see my pills. I go back to my bedroom to get the water. So during this process, I made the bed, changed the batteries in the smoke alarm, started a load of laundry and moved a load to the dryer in addition to getting all the stuff I thought I needed for my drive across town.   Is that multitasking?  There have been times I have spent all day and into the evening doing this. This last incident was only an hour. 

In my class with Nina Landgraff, she had us do exercises using acrylic paint. We drew a fairly large circle on two pieces of paper for acrylic.  Then we divided the circles into twelve wedges.  Then we did a color wheel but the labels we put on each color was the emotion we sensed with that color. It would not necessarily be something that others would feel. She suggested we keep it up to note how we are feeling or to pick a color to help us out.

The second circle, she asked us to put the colors we were feeling then. She told us not to overthink it, and it was okay to have the same color in different wedges. 

Then we took one of the colors that evoked a negative feeling. We were asked to put the color on the paper, then start mixing colors we liked in with the color we didn't like.  In the process of doing this, it would help in looking at the color in a positive light and then have a positive feeling about the original color. This is what I did.  The blue was somewhat of a negative color to me.

Class with Carol Bradshaw at the Bakersfield Art Center was very good.  We brought in the washes we had done and then we started a picture of mountain ranges using a wash with each one, but making the next one just a little darker. It was a good experience.  She suggested we get stencils to put on our washes. So I now have some I got at Michael's.   She also suggested using a little more pen sporadically on my seaside town and put a flag on the largest boat. She wants me to darken the green on my butterfly picture.  She has talked to us to think of mama, papa, baby for size of areas and for intensity of color.  My yellow and green are similar in intensity, so I need to make a change. It will be done before class, but not this blog.  We also worked on doing several washes of mountain ranges. I still need to put trees in.                                                                                                          

I used a brush for stenciling, but with watercolor- little detail.

I used a watercolor brush and different colors- lots of detail

Chimneys outlined, sporadic use of pen for outlining and flag on one boat

Five layered washes.  In final picture, I won't have pencil in it.
I'll also put in trees                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

The Helping One Dinner was very nice this week. I identify with the woman, Elisa Analla, who was honored this week. Very touching. She got lots of support which I feel will really be helpful to her.  Since the event was on Saint Patrick's Day, they had a traditional meal done by The Marriott of corned beef and cabbage. The Marriott has been doing a lovely job being the venue for Helping One Woman in Visalia.  Martha and I went to The Runway for breakfast.  Quite good and a nice setting!  It's at their local airport.

I sent a message to my endocrinologist about the question of taking calcium and Prilosec. My friend Vicki who brought this up is smart and I didn't take her concern lightly.   She thought that the Prilosec would affect how much calcium my body would absorb.  Well my doctor told me to take calcium citrate instead of calcium carbonate because calcium citrate does not depend on stomach acid to break it down. I always  wondered why there were two types of calcium.  I think there are other calciums too.  Pharmacists have told me it didn't matter which one I took when I asked in the past.   I also found calcium carbonate to be much more common and cheaper than calcium citrate. You really have to check the label. 

Because I have been juicing, it has thrown off the levels of Coumadin in my body. So it has been increased to accommodate my change. I'm glad they are able to adjust the dosage, because I think the increased greens and therefore Vitamin K has gone up. But these greens have multiple benefits and I want to continue it. 

I saw the doctor at the pain clinic. He said in addition to the compression fracture, I have several discs that are slipping. I'm going back on morphine with Percocet and I'm scheduled for two separate injections in my back with cortisone which might lessen the pain.  I will have to do the injections of Lovenox again around this. Ugh!  I never thought I could get used to it, but I think I am.  My friend Janet will be my driver again.   I need to learn that if it happens once, it is possible it will happen again instead of fooling myself that I am over something. Really, I have been learning to think like that, because it is so much less stressful if you have in your head it could happen again. Because when I do it this way (it won't happen again, I'm disappointed that I have to go through it again.  I just cope much better if I leave that option on the table.  I also don't want to take morphine unless I have lots of pain, so I will not use it regularly until I have to. 

Janet and I had lunch at Muertos. Good food!  I had the Ahi tacos. The horseradish sauce was so hot but tasty. I think I'll ask them next time to thin it out some to cut the heat. It was almost hard to breathe. Janet had a very hot burger, but she loves the heat.  I took her over to The Bakersfield Art Center which she really enjoyed.  I love showing this place off to friends. It is so nice. My teacher Carol Bradshaw was there with another student. It turned out Janet had met her when she walked her dog Poopy. Since Poopy died six months ago, she cannot  get herself to do the same walk she used to do. Too painful. 

I went out to lunch with my friends Lisa, Charmaine and Janet at The Pyrenees Cafe in old town Bakersfield. The setup was very good as were the Bloody Marys.  I didn't care for my Ossobuco (tough and made with beef), Lamb Shank (Janet said it was blah) and Fish and Chips (Charmaine thought it was too bready).  Lisa got a tuna salad which she liked. The dining room was remodeled but maintains the feel of the family dining.  I don't know if I'd go back but there were a lot of people there. We made a reservation and I would recommend doing that if you go there. 

I went to the Baby Shower for Meagan who is due in early May. It was good. They held it at a pizza parlor and had extra foods beyond what they provide. Very enjoyable.  This will be my second great-grandson. His name is Kason. 

Barbara and I saw Insurgent. I didn't like it nearly as much as Divergent.  It was more action and much less of a story line.   We then went out for Chinese food at Ching Yen on Columbus Street. The food is fresh and tasty. Since Barbara is vegan, she ordered the food. We each had enough for another meal.   I loved it. I don't know why I don't think of this place when I think Chinese;  it would is worth it. 

Here is an incredibly cute picture of Meagan with Conner sitting on Kason (Meagan is pregnant and due in about six weeks).                                                             

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Another full week!  I hope your week went well.  I'll see you next Sunday.           Rachel