Kermit The Frog

My daughter made this little bird house may years ago. It is nailed to a post on my patio.

We kept hearing LOUD frog chirps for the last two weeks and one night I walked out on to the patio to let the dogs out and there he was...Kermit the frog in his house :)

I think this one moved his house here from behind the painting that is on the patio LOL!

Vatican Art!

Maitland Art Center -visit the Florida International Museum,

St. Petersburg, Florida, Wednesday, April 30, 2008.

Pictured below:
Giotto di Bondone, Bust of An Angel, c. 1310

This may be my only chance to get anywhere near this art since Italy is far away and an expensive trip :(

BUT I am going to LOVE this trip to the museum!

Now... if I could just get a Papal audience while the Pope is here in the states!

SOLD!

One of the 9 miniature acrylic pear paintings sold
Comma Gallery







"Afternoon" 5x5" sold-- framed -I never did get a great picture of it!
Comma Gallery






"Poppies Galore" oil -24x24" Sold
Comma Gallery

"Another Morning" Acrylic framed-Sold

The Gallery at Metro in the March ALOC show

Onward!

I cannot believe that it is April!
When I last posted I was in so much pain-- I remained in pain till last week.
After seeing a dentist and getting xrays that showed nothing and getting the first antibiotic -
then going to my regular DR and getting another antibiotic, a prescription for Prednisone and taking 3 ibuprofen 3 times a day and a Cat scan.

Then going to the ENT Dr and getting a high dose prescription for Prednisone, another prescription for antibiotics and an MRI and hearing tests (they thought I had a brain tumor...) A week later I thought may be I would call and ask for my results since they weren't bothering to call me... no tumor... jeesh and I almost ordered my pink burial casket...

Then I went back to my Dr. , got on Naprosyn twice a day-- long acting ibuprofen sort of... and a lower dose of Prednisone to ween me off the high dose Prednisone (which the ENT DR did not order...) and verify that the neurologist that was recommended to me was good . Whats the neurologist for? Well the thinking was I had trigeminal neuralgia - because I was having extreme shock like pain on the right side of my face down the 3 branches coming from this nerve... what can be the cause of this? a brain tumor... which I did not have. what else? MS. what else? who knows? So I am waiting to see the neurologist -an appointment a month a way-- it gets closer, I get more in pain...

I go on vacation easter weekend to St Augustine, Florida. Easter Sunday I was in so much pain we left early and NOTHING for pain worked on the way home... I got home proceeded to take old prescription for codeine, two hours later an old prescription for Demerol, two hours later a shot of whiskey- which made me happy I was in pain... and finally at 10:00PM I took my husband's prescription for morphine from his heart surgery-- I finally fell asleep at Midnight -- still in pain...

The next morning I was not in pain ... till I accidentally bit down on my right back molar... ahhheee! Why would God allow this type of pain? Essentially electric cattle prod pain distinctly coming just from that tooth....An abscess had finally localized and off to the dentist again I went... put on another very strong prescription of antibiotics and told me to take whatever I had already for pain... two days later I was in the chair having my first root canal.
Now mind you I am 98% out of physical pain but the financial pain continues.
I don't have dental insurance... we all know how much a root canal and the resulting crown costs here in America...
Well I have a high deductible on my health insurance ... guess who paid for 3/4 of the MRI and CAT Scans....?
Now I hesitantly say I am healed!
and during all this I sold 3 paintings Yipppeee!

If You Don't Have Your Health You might be in Dante's Hell

If you don't have your health--you don't have much. Surviving on faith is what I have been doing since my last post. I found out have a hearing loss issue in one ear...which led to a CT scan and an MRI and a week long scare that I might have a brain tumor. Nope... no brain tumor. Praise God. No issues with sinusitis...the ENT DR. TMJ is fine. No bad teeth- report from the dentist.

3 courses of antibiotics and two courses of prednisone later-one of which was high dose, and now the general consensus before I am to meet with the neurologist is that it might be trigeminal neuralgia.

So I am stuck alternating ibuprofin and tylenol. I have discovered two minor reliefs that I can use when its really bad...nuprin topical cream... you know the stinky stuff you put on your hands for arthritis? Yup that's it... it stinks but it does help- then there is the old tried true toothache medicine Orajel®... well then your are speaking like Bill Cosby in the Dentist routine "Lookkkaaa whattthhh yyyaaaa donnneee to my lipth!

Let me tell you about prednisone... the little dose pack is nothing. When your Dr puts you on higher does of this wicked medicine such as 60mg... all of Dante's Hell is realized. My last dose was Tuesday and I am still "not right". I won't go into all the side effects I had and have, but suffice it to say, I will have to be in a coma before I take that stuff again.

And the bottom line in all this? No painting going on in my studio here. But I do anticipate feeling better day by day as these prednisone side effects wear off. One thing to note if you do have trigeminal neuralgia yourself: those vibrating tooth brushes are not a great idea. They just irritate the nerves in your face more and can actually trigger an attack.

As if all this wasnt enough .. my grandfather has been in and out of the hospital for the last two weeks and they finally did surgury yesterday. He is not a happy camper but rest assured, he will feel like his old self soon enough. God Bless great grandparents!

I Am Surviving

I have to apologise... seems like I do a lot of that, but well...Everytime I say OK I am going to post on my blogs once a week and then check out everyone elses... something crazy happens.

My excuse this time is a 3 week sinus cold that has I think ended finally and left me with a flaming toothache. I guess I will be in the dentist chair next week blahhhhhhh... So when I am not up to par I do only what I have to do and remain comatose the rest of the time. I have had the pictures of my show at the Apopka City hall since I hung the show... so now without further excuses other than bad photography. This particular show will hang till the end of February and The brand new Apopka City Hall is so beautiful! There is original art all over that building! There is a total of 5 panels with 10 of my paintings there so stop by sometime!

Quote:

Look to your health; and if you have it, praise God and value it next to conscience; for health is the second blessing that we mortals are capable of, a blessing money can't buy.
Izaak Walton English biographer & fishing author (1593 - 1683)

Tag I Am It

Tag I am It

Well I have been caught errr tagged by :

Robin Maria Pedrero's Blog
http://pocketfullofcolors.blogspot.com/2008/01/tag-i-am-it.html
So, here are the rules: 1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog. 2. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. 3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. 4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Hmmm... 5 facts about myself...

1. I am a confirmed procrastinator to the 10th degree- I have a PhD on this subject. My motto is "the 12th of never is too soon..."
2. I lived in Hawaii during my years 8-16 years old. As a result, I hate poi and I know how to dance Hawaiian, Maori and Tahitian dance. NO, I will not demonstrate... No I never learned to surf-- I got too many belly burns trying...
3. I collect glass balls, marbles, paperweights. My favorite artist Josh Simpson is now too expensive for me to obtain by normal means....must find Mini Me...
4. I love animals, if it weren't for my husband... I would own a zoo...
5. I have never done these things but I just "KNOW" I can do it right off the bat... :
skiing; water or snow, golf, snowboarding, fly a plane...

Now drum roll please I have victimized a few people with this game...
1. http://jeanleverthood.blogspot.com/
2. http://lorisart.blogspot.com/
3. http://croulier.typepad.com/rouliers_rusty_reliques/
4. http://carolbarberart.blogspot.com/
5. http://lynxes123.blogspot.com/

2008 New Years Resolutions and Blah... Blah...

2008 Resolutions:

hmmmm I have been thinking about these for the last few weeks- If you know me well... I have lots of lists and they continually get revised (when reality sets in...) There are lots of crossovers on each list; like "diet" makes it on to the prayer list, as well as the goal list, as well as the grocery list...

My resolutions tend to revolve around whatever I am currently thinking about at the time. I frequently steal other peoples resolutions for my own, as they are great ideas and I feel that is a compliment to them -if I can remember to give them credit :) Please forgive me if I list one which you "just know I stole from you..." I don't always remember where I saw the idea :) And most importantly... my brain is getting old I love this idea which is on Tracy Helgeson's Blog but I don't think I have a list on my blog from last year...

To tell you the truth I am a little tired of making resolutions and not keeping them. I did keep one that I made last year-- I did read the entire Bible front to back. I have always wanted to do this. Not to boast that I have done it-- because way to many people have read it all far more than once... But I wanted to get the flow of it, so as to deepen my own personal study and faith.

Well that's the only resolution that I kept that I know of... I lost my list;)

So it is 12:30 AM and I am up drinking coffee with little rescued Topaz at my feet and staring at the computer... None of these are in any particular order.

1. I am going to drink MORE coffee. I get more done when I drink more coffee.

2. I will finish the book Ben Hur and then pick another classic to read- essentially READ more.

3. I will not "buy" Christmas gifts for anyone over the age of 18. ( excludes homemade gifts and food)

4. My husband and I will retire our stockings and give to the church and charities instead.

5. I will fix the damage on my car fender, get it serviced, get it cleaned and detailed- then celebrate it, THANK GOD it is paid for as of this last month, and name it (It's a black beetle).

6. I will start cooking at home and entertaining at home instead of going out to dinner. ( for health as well as saving money)<--- this will be a work in progress.

7. I will strive to make it to at least 2 art events a month (this does not include the required functions that are part of Comma and Creative Spirit Art Gallery of which I display art.

8. I am going to let my hair grow out. I am sick of bad hair cuts and having to pay for them.

9. At least once a month I am going to paint "en plein air" with a limited color palette.

10. I will go to mass at least once during the week - besides on Sunday.