Friday, June 22, 2012

Friday-8:45am

It really is true what they say up here.  "Don't like the weather?  Just wait a few minutes."  LOL!  You can have a day that starts out with mostly sun and blue skies... 
...where you can catch a few rays...
...if somebody doesn't wake you up... 
...lurking around with a camera. 
Bird flew by the porch screen! 
Wait a while and you could have rain and thunderstorms...
...later on blue skies and fluffy white clouds... 
...have more rain...and then, by evening...well, it looks like the clouds can't decided whether to clear or gather for more rain. 
There was a beautiful, ominous orange cloud sunset.
Did it rain again?  Don't know.  I went to bed---LOL! 
I didn't see Dagan and Leah on Wednesday night for Sacred Circle.  A old college friend Dagan hadn't seen for a few years emailed him that he was driving up early for a class he had on Thursday and wondered if Dagan had the evening free.  So we postponed Sacred Circle until this coming Wednesday.  I'm sure they had a great time, so that was nice.  :)
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Me--I watched a touching movie (definitely was a nose-blower for me) called My Afternoons With Margueritte.  It has subtitles and Gerard Depardieu.  Just a lovely, lovely movie.  An accidental meeting in the park and a discussion about the pigeons...well, it changed both their lives.  One of my favorite movies I've seen for a while.  :)
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Well, I quit taking the Devil's Claw altogether (new herb trying for arthritis pain) last night.  Can't take the acid reflux anymore.  It does say if you have an ulcer you shouldn't take it.  I don't have an ulcer, but from the years I was prescribed high doses of Ibuprofen for my arm...well, I ended up with a very touchy stomach.  I put up with acid reflux problems for years and still had them when I went off the Ibuprofen.  Wasn't until I weaned myself off all my meds (for pain and acid reflux and IBS) that I finally was rid of the acid reflux 98% of the time!!  Oddly the IBS got a little better, too--but the pain got worse, of course.  They quit making the pain pill I could take, Darvocet, and I get sick from anything related to morphine/codeine, which is most of the rest of them.  Which is why I tried the Devil's Claw.
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The Devil's Claw had been bothering my acid reflux all along to some degree...and hadn't noticeably helped with the pain or flexibility.  When I went up to the full dose this week--well, it's been bad for me with the acid reflux.  Affecting my sleep (besides the panicky dreams over the fast doodling--LOLOL!) and bothering me all day long.  I put up with that for years!  But it has been so long now that I don't even have anything in the house for it anymore.  That is how much my life has changed since I weaned off all the meds.  ;)  Sure, I've been feeling less pain lately--but I always feel less pain when I am out of the humidity.  Hasn't felt any greater relief than I would normally have, so I can't tell if the Devil's Claw was doing anything or not as far as the pain goes.  But it is awful on my stomach, so that was the end of that.  I just couldn't take it anymore!!  Done.
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So, I can't really say whether it did anything at all.  Couldn't give it enough of a chance, really.  Oh, and I took them with food, too, as suggested.  If you have a touchy stomach, I wouldn't recommend it at all.    I would imagine that it will take a few days for me to get back to normal.  I didn't take it last night or this morning and I am still suffering right now.  Devil's Claw is not for me.
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But, I really try not to let how I physically feel put me in a bad mood or ruin my days.  :):)
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I've been playing with the watercolor journal page.  Hard to tell by looking at it, but this was five layers of misting, if I remember correctly.
First I tried misting the plastic paper plate holder with a blue color and it virtually disappeared into the background.  I didn't like that.  After that dried, I tried a gold mist.  Still too light.  Let that dry and tried a copper...whoohoo!  Can you see me now?!  LOL!  Darker than I expected, but I liked it.  Let that dry.  Then I did an overall misting of the page with the gold mister and let it dry.  Added another layer of gold and let that dry.  Was that five?  I think so.  ;)
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Here's another shot with the flash so you could get a better idea of the shimmer that's all over this page.   
In the meantime...I never got an email to tell me about that class starting.  So yesterday I went searching on Traci Bautista's website.  
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Okay, I admit it.  I can get overwhelmed with these complicated websites that have so much crammed onto a page with so many links...
Well, I guess (from the email I did get welcoming me to the class) I had signed up only to be a member of her website in general, but not for the Doodles Unleashed class specifically.  So, I am signed in as a member of her class for sure now (although it looked like my picture was already in the members list...and I still never got an email about the class starting).
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Anyways, I found the first class--and bookmarked the page!  Two videos to watch and a class file to download.  Got the pages printed off...but was disappointed that there is very little information and mostly just pages of her artwork.  ??  There was no supply list or schedule of what we'd be doing.
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Now, I knew I had seen a listing of what we'd generally be covering in each class someplace on her cluttered Doodles Unleashed class site...so I went back and I did find an actual schedule with dates off on a side link (hope I can find it again--LOL!) and I have till July 18th to finish this first class.  I didn't find a supply list.  I'll have to look again when I'm fresher.  
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But--in the video--we are doing the first class on "illustration board".  Which I do not have and wasn't even sure what it was.  I went on Dick Blick (pause so several of you can giggle at the name) and searched around.  Illustration board is thicker/sturdier and won't buckle with all the collage and such we are doing to it.  So, I'll have to order that in July before I can start the lesson.  And I hope I can find a supply list for the entire class in the meantime so that I can see what all I will need and won't have to buy something else each month, you know?  I really thought I would have almost anything we would need, but then...I didn't have illustration board--LOL!
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Funny.  Those girly faces that are so popular are really not my thing and that is what we are doing on the first class--LOL!  Well, stretch myself, right?  In the meantime while I wait until I can order the illustration board in July, I can look for scrap papers and tissue papers for collage...and maybe practice drawing girly faces?
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Another funny.  It actually got cooler last night--upper 50s, I think--I had the place closed up and the AC on very low...well, the AC partially iced up during the night.  So, it's been off and thawing out.  Tiny pieces of ice are falling off now and Karma thinks something is trying to get into the apartment through the air conditioner--ROFL!  She's watching the AC most intently.  Probably thinks it's swallows.  ;)  Anyways, I hope it works okay after the ice melts.  It happened before a few years ago and worked just fine after all the ice melted.  I really have to start paying closer attention to the weather when I have the place closed up.  ;)
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Goodness!  Time to get moving!  Time to begin the scribbling on top of the watercolor page.  I'm at the nightmare point--LOL!  Have a good one!  :):)
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"Confidence, like art, never comes from having all the answers; it comes from being open to all the questions."
Earl Gray Stevens

29 comments:

Queenie Jeannie said...

What crazy weather!!! I woke up this morning with an awful headache - we're in for rain, no matter WHAT weather.com says!!

Sorry the devil's claw didn't work for you. Always worth a shot, right? I hope you get back to better sleep and happy tummy soonest!

I LOVE KARMA!!

We leave Italy in 18 days. *scared!*

Catherine said...

From someone with similar digestional complaints, I totally sympathise. Feel better! Pretty page though!

Beth said...

I have a bad tummy too and sometimes I can eat anything I want with no problem, other times the least little thing will set it off. I think 99 percent of mine is stress related.

Have a great weekend!!

minnemie said...

Love the effects of your mistings!!

Deanna said...

What, no snow?


All of that misting really turned out cool. Like how it turned out.

Debbie Jones said...

Hi, I am a new follower of your blog. I love your kitty and cloud pictures. Sorry to hear about your problems with Devil's Claw. Some herbal supplements will cause issues...digestive, etc. I will look forward to reading your posts. Have a great weekend.

Marianne (Mare) Baker Ball said...

Love your art. :-) Glad to hear about the Devil's Claw. I found I could eliminate reflux by simply not overeating. When I do, I take a digestive enzyme, which works great. I have a question...your "note" that is right under your "leave your comment" title - how did you add that? In my layout, I can't find how to add text just above the comments box.

DJan said...

Good that you have discovered how that herbal product doesn't agree with you. I hope you will be better now that you aren't taking it any more. I also love your shimmery page, Rita. It's quite lovely.

Janie Junebug said...

I love your shimmer, baby. Sorry to hear the devil's claw didn't work out. Acid reflux bites the big one. What's Sacred Circle? If you don't mind my asking, that is.

Love,
Janie

Fallingladies said...

Wonderful cloud photos, and i may have to see that movie, sounds great!

Megan Adamson said...

I love your shimmering, it looks really good!
Sorry that your Devil's Claw didn't work for you. Have you thought about any homoeopathic remedies?
I took Milk Thistle for a stomach upset and that helped me a lot.

AliceKay said...

It's amazing how the weather can change so quickly sometimes. We had stormy looking clouds when I got home from work, it rained while I was eating lunch, the sun came out soon after, and then it got hotter than what it was before it rained. It's cooled off a bit since the sun has set, tho...thank goodness.

That class sounds a bit confusing to me. I hope it works out for you, tho.

Sorry to hear the Devil's Claw bothered your stomach. I've had an ulcer before...not fun...so when I started taking the Aleve for my neck and back, I had to take Prilosec for the reflux it caused. I still have problems, but nothing like before. I hope you find something that will help ease your pain.

The watercolor journal page is looking good. Love the shimmers. :)

Love that quote, too. Nice one.

Hope you're having a good Friday. Have a great weekend!

TexWisGirl said...

sure hope your a/c is okay! yikes! not a good time to lose it. :)

i love your skies - the blue w/ big white puffs are gorgeous.

Murr Brewster said...

I don't know about Devil's Claw, but those pharmaceuticals that try to contend with acid are evil, evil, evil. I'm pretty sure the answer lies in getting all your good bacteria back on the job again by eating right and heaving in the probiotic stuff: sauerkraut, yogurt, etc. The rest is a road to ruin.

Said from someone who doesn't have the problem, I should add...

Dave said...

Hope you get all organised in time to do the new project Rita. That acid reflux in unpleasant. Have you tried a glass of milk before taking anything that causes this? It sometimes works for me - Dave

Dana said...

We have that crazy weather here, too. Right now it's still nice, so I'm crossing my fingers that it'll stay this way for the outdoor birthday party my son is going to attend.

Happy Saturday!

Unknown said...

Wow Rita your sky shots are super!i like your pages a lot:))

carol l mckenna said...

Karma knows how to live! We had same weather here in MA ~ High 90's for 3 days then thunder and lightning and now there is a marvelous breeze today ! ~
On your spraying watercolors ~ start with light colors ~ can always go dark ~ harder to go light over dark ~ just a tidbit from the 'art world' lol ~ Have a wonderful weekend ^_^ (A Creative Harbor)

Dee said...

Dear Rita, that acid reflux sounds bad. I don't think I've ever had it, but I can imagine. It's too bad that you can't take pain pills, but I suspect that with your usual equanimity you've developed the ability to let yourself simply "be" with the pain and so the mantra "all shall be well" may filter through your mind.

I so like the page with the five mists. Lovely. Truly lovely.

What are "girly faces"?????

Peace.

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

Where to start ok maybe it would be a good start if my fingers would hit the right keys and I stop making so many typos.......grrrr....

Isn't it amazing how the weather can change so much in a day. Reflux sucks I have reflux problems and often nothing helps with me I get that tight nauses feeling and I hate feeling like I want to throw up all the time..........I have never heard of Devil's Claw

Love the art work very nice but have to say I love the photos of Karma a bit more........lol

Rubye Jack said...

I was a big fan of the Darvon also. I can't take tylenol because of my liver and it was the only thing that had aspirin. Not that aspirin is good for you. Anyway, I take codeine occasionally now and it always gives me bad acid reflux. I take Prilosec twice a day. I wonder why Murr says these meds are so bad. I'll have to go look it up.
You sound good!

Karen Smithey said...

Your pictures are so lovely! I grew up in Michigan, where we also had very changeable weather--I've lived here in CA for 27 years now, and I still miss summer thunderstorms and rainstorms. Don't miss the humidity, tho!

I don't think you should go for the 'girly glam' faces if they're not your thing! You can come up with your own stylized doodles--maybe a whole series of 'Karma cats'? (must confess: I am a huge fan of your Karma!)

Hope your acid reflux gets better soon. I'm glad you stopped with the Devil's Claw--those natural things can be wonderful, but they are chemicals, too.

pauline said...

oh Rita... sorry to hear about your health issues... not good. I hope everything settles for you soon (including your stomach!). Love the sky pics! Those orange clouds are gorgeous. And Karma... always such a sweetie. xoxo

Kymberly Foster Seabolt said...

You give me hope for UPS which has had a small bottle of hair product in transit for over a week now. Here's to hoping it was on the next truck right after your chair cover's transport! :)

Harvest Moon by Hand said...

Your weather sounds as crazy as it has been here. Have had flooding of the river a couple miles to the east of here. It's the run-off from the big floods up in Duluth.

The pictures of the clouds are beautiful. All the different colors changing the white puffy clouds to pastel portraits.

I really like what you've done with the watercolor page. You are so creative!

Toriz said...

Glad Dagan and Leah had fun with their friend, and hope sacred circle can happen this week! :)

Sorry the devil's claw didn't work out for you because of your touchy stomach.

Far Side of Fifty said...

Hey, Just catching up with you! The gal with the Doodles Unleashed must not be very organized..no class list of supplies..I would email her and ask for a list! Some of those artist want all kind of fancy supplies..when something you have on hand might work..give it a whirl..let that perfectionist part of you have a rest:)

laurak/ForestWalkArt :) said...

LOVE your cloud shots and karma lazing in the sunny spots!

your watercolor journal flowers are beautiful!! i really like the blended background.

i can't watch subtitled movies...it seems like i miss too much of what's going on...because i'm focused on the words!

have a great week rita! feel good!

Intense Guy said...

I wonder when you will actually be missing the drying vent flapping in the wind....

:)