Weekly Photo challenge … Victory
Not wanting to dwell on the last few weeks. Just to celebrate my ‘phased’ return to work and some dry points done as I attempted to ‘work’ for an hour or two yesterday.
Silent Sunday
Saturday …
Six weeks into absence from work; the pain is now manageable and the mood is better. I cannot attribute one thing to this improvement, but it has not been without considerable effort. It would have been easy to succumb to the original medical advice and taken prescribed drugs and to be honest I was keen to be pain free. Little did I know these so called medicines where harmful even in the short term, addictive and were not guaranteed as a long term cure!
I am pleased that although I am not yet drug free or even pain free; I am in control (ish) and out of the woods.
Today, I celebrate with a car journey to Essex not a million miles away but will require some sitting which still remains painful. However, I have a contingency plan and remain hopeful.
Today I send messages to those who journey today and thank those who have made it possible for me to enjoy a bit of normality …
A week or so back I planted some lily of the valley tubers … I would like to draw them but without a live image I am at a loss. But the result sketched while grizzling in my gloom a day or so back is pleasing.
Friday Snapshot …
I am looking forward to returning to work next week, albeit with some medical appointments factored in and selected coping mechanisms in place. I am sure the time is right and I am hopeful that this time next week I will be posting a snapshot from Special Collections.
Sadly,while at home reading has not been the most comfortable experience but dipping proved to be most enjoyable … this book was very lovely bought recently on a trip to Bankside Gallery in London.
Fine print : East Anglia’s artists celebrate 20 years of the Norwich Print Fair.
Wednesday ….
This week I celebrate Maria Arango Diener, a printmaking artist living in Southwest USA. Maria has been widely exhibited in regional, national and international venues. It is her aim to complete 1000 woodcuts, to this end she ‘coerces’ fellow printmakers to collaborating on monumental puzzle woodcuts and then goes on to promote ways in which … Artists can make peace!
I was delighted to be part this wonderful enterprise and see myself in print … Thank you Maria.
Weekly Challlenge … ornate
The mood in the world of Nela Bligh is not inclined to ornate at present; so these two guys are as good as it gets. In a gap in my daughter’s bookcase they tetter. Almost, vying for my attention as I grizzle supine on the bed; debating between TENS or ice packs.
So any ornate in a storm.
Monday ….
It is Monday, when usually I can reflect on the previous week and maintain some hope and good spirit, but today it seems this is not likely.
Last week, while struggling to get a balance in the management of back pain, I increased the levels of acupuncture, began physiotherapy and osteo manipulation; so for three days I was pushed, pulled and pierced with needles. So it was not surprising to find on Saturday I was feeling a little out of sorts and still in pain.
I have also wrestled with some sort of eating pattern and more important to sleep. By Saturday the latter was beginning to a cause a problem with my drug taking. After only 4-6 hour sleep a night for weeks, I have 18 hours or more to keep pain free! this is not a joke …. the pain is at times ghastly. As a result on Saturday, at 5.30 pm, in a situation where I am inconsolable and at risk of ‘overdosing’ on the phone to 111, working out ways in which it get some relief; before I can sleep and begin the routine again.
I have over the last few weeks been in contact with the Out of Hours service … mostly me, supine, crying and stricken in pain; they or rather Dr Ahmed on Saturday, kind and supportive; working out ways which I can get through the next 4 or so hours … without considering an OD or using more harmful drugs.
So after careful thought I was offered a little, weird but happy mix; a cream of capsicum to warm and relax the painful muscle, and, just in case, the heat is a little more intense than the pain in supposed to ease, an analgesic, that is not quite so invasive but still without harmful side effects or risky when close to an overdose situation; as an Ibrufon gel might be. Also a herbal sleeping tablet … joy!
So the next few days will be spent getting well; eating, sleeping and nursing my poor back with love.
Silent Sunday
Saturday …
After a month of pain, so far the prognosis is not so good. My back is still very sensitive to sitting and standing; in the short term this has been difficult enough at home even while able to take rests and be watchful. When I return to work where I am pretty much desk bound I will have to be inventive and ensure that I don’t sit or stand for prolonged periods, breaking the day and tasks into comfortable chunks and not thinking so much about the urgency of getting something done. Unfortunately, lying supine in the library will not be an option.
Sadly, it is not just my work which I enjoy, but my art might prove to be problematic. Sometimes, I can sit or stand on a project not noticing how long I have been working without a break. At first I didn’t relish the idea of curtailing my art, blogging, tweeting, research and my beloved job.
Until, I thought about how this can be approached playfully or at least cheerfully. I felt like I had been set free; it is not going to be an easy transition … working out ways in which to not sit or stand for long periods is serious stuff. I am hoping the playful element will in turn help to alleviate the pain and the acceptance of thereof.
In the view of above, I began this lino cut … I thought about not doing the complicated drawings on paper and subsequent tracings, merely drawing straight on the lino …. let’s see how it develops
Alphabe Thursday … Z is for Zelando
Zelando o solo ele da
No mais longínquo sertão
A terra se torna fértil
Para quaiquer plantação
Com abundância da água
conclima do nosso chão
Ensuring the soil of it
In the far hinterland
The land becomes fertile
Any extra for planting
With plenty of water
on the surface of the land.
I understand little of this last verse in my Dicionario Brasileiro de literatura de cordel … happy days
Coat Hanger Doll's House 