The year is starting full of medical issues. The main one being a severe case of cellulitis on my right calf which devolved into an open wound and has required an ultrasound, visit to an urgicare and multiple trips to the doctor. After a courseof strong antibiotics, its on the med and the wound has mostly closed I'm still changing the bandage daily and go back to the dr. again on Friday Feb. 3rd. It's not hurting as much, but bothers me in other ways, such as not being able to lie on my back to sleep. I'm just glad it's improving and can't wait for it to be completley healed. I've had cellulitis before on other areas, but none has been so severe.It's been an icky, painful experience.
In better news, several art projects are going well. I recently found a drawing I'd started in 2018, which I'd put aside and forgotten about. It's the outline of a tree and inside are squares with varous forest elements such as a raccoon or acorns or wildflowers, etc. This time around, it's going better, and I have more ideas for it I call it the "tree box", though I know I'll need a better name when it's eventually done. I'm hoping to be able to transfer it and begin inking within a couple weeks. I also got another idea for a pen & ink of a sidewinder snake in the sand that I'd like to finish for the Cold-Blooded Creations show in Aug.I'm still trying to get the idea clearer in my mind before starting the preliminary.
The weather has been a sort of roller coaster. Many snowy days or rain and fog, with the occasional warm days in the 50's F whic feelslike spring. The snow is never very much, usually an inch or so and often melts within a day or two. Usuaully before the next snowfall, so it doesn't pile up. We've had that wet kind of snow which sticks to everything and makes it look like a Christmas card several times & I never tire of the beauty that it brings.
So a sortof bumpy start to the year, but not without it's bright moments. I'm trying to feel optimistic for the year to come.

This year was an improvement over the previous one in that I got out of the house more, since the car waskept running most of the year. I went to parks and walks more, though not as often as I should've. It was uplifting mentally, as well as good physically. With the car working, I relieved my sister of grocery shopping duties & bgan doing curbside pickup for everything, which included more take out food, which livened up my meals.
The year brought a return to my going to doctor's office, since some began refusing to renew prescriptions unless I came in for an exam. I was pleased with the safety measures in most doctor's offices, so that helped me deal with the fear of Covid. I also took the steps in medical buildings whenever possible. Along with all the other chronic and temporary health issues, I learned I have glaucoma, which is still only raised eye pressure, which is being brought down with eye drops. The dr. assured me that I shouldn't lose my eyesight, since it's a treatable disease these days, but it still took a lot of adjustment for me to come to terms with the diagnosis. I've still got a lot of outstanding problems that need to be dealt with in the near fuure, so the early art of next year will be filled with even more appointment and new doctors to see.
I read 137 books. the quota is lower thna last year due to the thickness of some of the tomes. there was the 900 page newest Outlander novel, a history of Africa that was about the same thickness and an excellent history of the Medieval period by Dan Jones that was 560 pp.Those were sprinkled among reams of cozy mysteries.
I completed 2 paintings, wich was too few, but one, the commission of hummingbirds took 7 months to do, with it's triple layers of rose leaves and flowers. The research for that created one of the loveliest days in summer, when I visited a community rose garden to sketch and take photos. Another pleasant day was when I made a couple curcuits of Clague Pond when the trees were at their peak of autumn glory. On a more recent winter walk, my sister saw a mink by a pond ear a medcal building. We were thrilled at seeing the creature scampering away.
Basil was in god health most of the year,though there was a brief illness in summer with an ear infection and bare patches on hsi skin. Thankfully, that cleared up after treatment & he's back to his silly self.
For next year, I'm hoping the health isues can be resolved without turning into something horrible. I'm hoping to get to more parks more often & d more walks, even around the neighborhood. I'm hoping I can paint more pictures, listen to more music and read lots of books. I'm feeling fearful and positive at the same time, which is a tricky frame of mind. Thanks for the decent year, 2022.

On the face of it, July was not a good month. I started the month with Blepharitis, an eyelid inflammation, and am ending the month with a sinus infection, so I haven't felt good physically. Both has made my eye hurt a lot, as well as being sensitive to light, so I haven't been able to follow through on all those plans to visit local parks. I'm hoping that when the sinus infection recedes in a week or so, that I'll get back on track.
There was also more car trouble, with my brakes cracking on a trip to a pet shop to pick up hay for Basil. That was a tense drive home and resulted in my car being at the mechanic for 10 days while they did an expensive set of repairs. But now I have it back & it's running well.
Since I haven't been able to go sketch roses, I switched my artistic attentions back to the tundra swan painting, which is very close to being done. Just have to finish the beaks and legs, which have been giving me a lot of trouble, but still making progress.
I'm also framing my Star Tortoise drawing in order to send it to the Cold-Blooded Creations show to be held in FL next month. They didn't have it last year, but resumed this year, so I need to send something, even if not the usual array of work like I usually do. I just don't feel up to doing everything involved in sending a box full of pictures. The tortoise is the newest one & hasn't been exhibited yet, so at least I'll be in the show.
Basil is doing fine at the moment & has a new willow ball to chew on, as well as pulling the paper off the 2nd level of his house & walking under it as if it's a tent. He's such an entertaining little creature.

I've been getting out more this summer; not only doing curbside pickups, but going to parks, which is rejuvenating, as well as having a destination. With the holiday this weekend, I won't be able to do that until at least the middle of next week, but that's OK. I need to go sketch and photograph some roses for the hummingbird painting, which is underway, so maybe I'll do that next week, depending on the weather. The painting is going well & I'm happy with it so far. The background came out exactly like I wanted and now I'm nearly done with a tree trunk I've added to the background to give some depth. The roses will probably be the most complex component, as I need to get the leaves and flowers arranged in a pleasing manner. I have some ideas on how to do that and hopefully seeing some real ones close up with help with that.
Basil is doing fine now and with the air conditioning working so far this summer, I'm not as worried about him as I was last year, when I was fearful of him overheating. Since he has longer fur, I wasn't sure how that was affecting him, but thankfully he was alright through the season. He's a big fan of willow balls to chew on, so I try to keep them continually on hand. They usually last a few weeks, maybe a month, depending on how energetically he chews. I recently ordered a new batch of 5, so that should keep him busy for awhile.
I've also been thinking of getting some new plants, but have to plan for the temperatures and won't order from long distances, with the slower rate of mail travel. Prices have also gone up since last year, so I'm trying to narrow down what ones I want most. There's one called a Persian Shield which has pretty leaves which are almost metallic. Another is a polka dot plant, but it seems to be harder to find this year and more expensive when I do, so i may wait on that one. There's a few other candidates, so I continue to winnow down my list. Etsy is where I find the best variety with good prices, so I've been looking for places in the northern states, though so many plant dealers live in FL or CAL, which is just too far for the plants to travel. So many things to consider! There's only a limited window when it's best to ship them, so I need to make up my mind soon.
So, I'm being more active & feeling more hopeful this summer, which is a nice change.

With the car running now, I'm enjoying using the curbside pickup options which is available at most stores & restaurants. I've taken over grocery shopping for myself, giving my sister a well deserved break. She still has to get my prescriptions though, since my pharmacy does not have curbside options. I can now also get take out food, something my sister is resistant to for some unknown reason, so have been enjoying more dietary variety. I also got to go smell some lilacs n a corner of someone's yard a few blocks from here. I missed them for a couple years, which was disappointing, as their smell is the essence of spring. This year I even took some photos of them.
At the beginning of the month, I took Basil to the vet to get his nails trimmed, as they had started interfering with his walking and learned of a bunch of other problems while I was there. He was running a fever and had blood in his urine, all of which was alarming. The vet gave me a couple kinds of meds, including Baytil liquid antibiotics. he liked the berry flavor of that for about a week & then did not want any more, even though we had to do the twice per day routine for awhile longer. In the end, it was all worth it, as the vet was extremely pleased with his progress on the last visit & even commented on how much more feisty he was than the earlier time. He's been very bouncy since returning to full health, which is wonderful to see.
There's also been some news on the art front. Someone I know on Facebook asked if I could do a picture of hummingbirds for her mom for a Christmas gift & I agreed. I'm still working out some of the details, but will start it soon. The same person wants a picture of manatees and that one I have all figured out, but since there's no deadline, I should really do the birds first. After not doing any shows since the pandemic began, I received word that the Cold-Blooded Creations Show is being held again this August. I always ship my paintings down to Florida for it. I even have a new picture, the Indian star tortoise that I did last year in pen & ink. So I'll get that framed & send it along with a couple older paintings. I'm please that part of my life has been reactivated again.
So despite disturbing news in the world at large, there have been positive developments in my own little corner, which is pleasing and feels hopeful.

This week has been the extreme opposites of Cleveland weather. It snowed on Easter Monday and Tuesday, covering roofs & ground and sticking to trees, then on Saturday was 83F/25C. I actually have a fan going, as it's a bit toasty in some rooms. I had a bowl of soup for supper tonight and regretted it, since it only made me warmer. My sister told me it was to get chilly again by midweek, so it seems this roller coaster weather will linger for awhile.
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With the nice weather comes the urge to g for walks, but I'll admit to be nervous about falling again after last December's incident. I was watching one of Rick Steve's travel programs on TV and notice that in Europe, people use hijing poles for walking, so I ordered a pair online and hope that they give me reassurance & steadiness in walking around the neighborhood. They will have various tips for different kinds of surfaces, including pavement, so I think they will help. I had thought of using a cane, but these might be more practical at this time. Perhaps the novelty of them will will encourage me to go out and use them? I'm hoping so. They will be here by Thursday, so I'm going to think positive.

It was a month filled with grief. Beginning with posting a piece about my departed mother based on a photo of her hands I took when she was in hospice. The middle of the month brought news of the deaths of 3 people I knew in one week. The first was a fellow artist and acquaintance on Facebook, the second was a friend I met on a game site & then talked to regularly on FB. Last year she got snappish with everyone & I sort of pulled away, since I didn't know how to respond to the often mean sounding comments. I have since found out it was from her COPD worsening & the lack of oxygen going to their brain makes patients of that disease short tempered. I was glad that our last exchange had been decent. The third person was someone I knew in high school, who had always been kind to the lonely teen that I was then. We reconnected as adults & talked occasionally on FB. It was overwhelming having so many people pass away all at once and my tears were for memories as well as their loss.
My sister said that part of my reaction was because it meant fewer people to talk to and it's true. In my Covid isolation, sometimes I feel desperate for communication, so every person counts. Naturally any loss brings up thoughts of my own mortality and the Big Questions of Life. As well as thoughts of other losses.
The grief is lessening somewhat and I'm starting to feel better. I just hope it's awhile before anyone else I know passes away.

Russia invaded Ukraine this week and I know I'm not the only one trying to absorb that fact. Twitter provides some very up to the minute info, even more than traditional news outlets. I recall following some previous battles on that platform, including the Syrian attacks on the Kurds and sometimes it was a little too graphic for a wimp like me.
For some reason, it seems odd to have a war in a city, but I should know better, since they've always been. That's why, for centuries, walls used to be built around cities. Of course, now walls won't help, with the weapons nowadays. I guess I think we, as a species, ought to have grown out of war. To have evolved enough that we know it's to be condemned and avoided, like slavery or child labor. But it seems that we will never learn, as long as there are greedy and power mad leaders in the world.
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The swan painting is progressing slowly. At one point it was not working at all, so I put it aside for a week. When I went back to it, I could see what needed to be done and I'm still doing that. I'm working from dark to light, which I don't usually do, so that's been a challenge. For awhile, the birds blended into the grey winter sky, which was frustrating. But now are starting to stand out, as I put more white on them. When I put the black beaks on, that will probably help more. It feels like this painting should not have taken as long as it has, even for me, but I need to just ignore that idea, since there's nothing I can do. No one is timing me anyways and it's more important to do a good job, rather than the speed of completing it.
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On Feb. 23rd, I celebrated Basil's Adoption Day, marking one year of having him. It doesn't seem that long and at times, it feels as if we are still getting to know each other, though I suppose that's an ongoing process with any pet. I hope he trusts me a little more after all this time. He makes me laugh & has provided so much company as I continue the pandemic isolation. He does things a little differently than the other piggies I've had and that makes me treasure his uniqueness all the more. I hope we still have years of companionship to go.

The sun was shining brightly on last night's snowfall this morning, which clung to the trees & fence, making it all look like a 1950's postcard. 'Snowstorm Landon' started on Wed. evening & continued till the wee hours on Friday, bringing at least 9 in. of snow in my area. The gusty wind made it drift, so it was uneven, but quite beautiful. The wind made the snow blow off the roofs, looking like smoke, but soon reached white-out levels. And the plows couldn't keep up with what was coming down. In my apartment driveway, they decided to plow the snow up against the garbage bin for some reason, making it difficult to reach the door to throw bags in & impossible for the garbage truck to reach it to empty. If they are waiting for it to melt, it will be awhile, as the piles of snow are easily 4 feet high.
There are tracks in the snow that look like a rabbit's, but at first I imagined they were a coyote's. I really want to see one & they have been spotted frequently in my suburb, so I continue to hope that I'll be lucky enough to see one trotting across the grass surrounding my building. I don't want to be out when I see one, as I know I'd do the "Hi, doggy!" routine, but spotting one from my window would be the best scenario.
My sister hates to drive in snow, understandably, but enjoys it when she doesn't need to go to work. I know that's a common outlook. It is easy to focus on the beauty of snow when you're not worried about sliding off the road or getting stuck in a snowbank. There are people who hate snow altogether, no matter their situation and I don't get that attitude. I don't think I could live somewhere where it didn't snow at all. I like having 4 seasons, even if some are longer than others. This winter we've had more snow than in recent years, some of which Lake Erie didn't even freeze over. This year it has, so that's good for the environment and reduces erosion.
My sister hopes this week's snowstorm is the last bad one of the winter, but based on the track record, I doubt it will be. The big storms are more frequent this year and I bet there's still one or two to come. Now that our predictions are written down, I can look back and see who was right.

Yesterday was the Lunar New Year & the Year of the Tiger began. I've always liked the Chinese Zodiac, because all the signs are animals. I know most of the Western ones are animals, but they've also got the Gemini twins and the Scorpion, neither appealing and even an inanimate object, the scales for Libra. Most of the Chinese ones are furry animals, with a rooster, a dragon & a snake. All perfectly acceptable.
I was born in Year of the Rat, which is the most powerful sign & aren't even allowed at feng shui ceremonies. You'd think a dragon would be the most powerful one, they are bigger and magical. But I don't know the story behind all of the symbols, so maybe there's a reason I don't know about which explains the Rat?
I've always wanted to see one of the lion dancers on the New Year celebrations, but haven't so far and Covid is making it less likely that I will. Maybe someday.
There's less desperation in marking the Lunar New Year than the one on Jan. 1st. There are certain things that you wis for and hope for others, prosperity & success among them and there's no resolutions, just joy in the moment. I know there's a religious aspect to the day in some areas, too. It feels like a more exciting and less pressurized event all around.