Alabama Snow

Snow does not come often to Birmingham, Alabama. When it does, it is an event. Even when most of the country is buried under several feet of the white stuff, a few inches can elicit really strange behavior around  here. I mean it can make us do some really strange things!   My friend and I have been trying very hard to persuade another friend to join us in water aerobics class, as our other friend suffers greatly from arthritis. She has been reluctant to join us in the pool due to some body image issues. So we planned a "surprise" desensitiation party. How were we to know that the day of our surprise party, we would get a surprise of our own!?!We decided to view it as an opportunity. We are women. Hear us roar!!

Feet Again

Funny how feet keep showing up on my blog. I think feet are important; and if you have ever had any kind of problem with your feet, I know you will agree. Last Wednesday my sister-in-law had surgery to correct some painful distortions caused by her long-time nemesis, Rheumatoid Arthritis. Since she traveled from out of town to have the surgery here in Birmingham, my husband and I went to hold her husband's hand during this same-day surgery experience. She had asked to stay over night as she knew the RA would present problems.  She had to come off her RA meds for the week before surgery as those meds affect her autoimmune system and might hinder healing. By the time she went in, she was already in considerable pain. Unfortunately, the medical staff decided she did not need to stay over night. Sooo, we followed them home to help them get  into the house, get settled, etc. Today is Monday and we just returned home. The pain from surgery has been negligible, but the pain from the Rheumatoid Arthritis has been horrendous and for a couple of days made her totally dependent on all of us for activities of daily living. She HATED this. Happily she is now able to transfer from bed to chair or toilet with minimal assistance. We are taking bets on whether she will ever have the second foot done as scheduled.

Inner Animal

This was a detail from my submission for the Inner Animal Challenge by Interweave Press. It was not selected, so I hope it is ok to put on my blog. My inner animal is an elephant. I have loved elephants all my life and feel a deep connection. Elephants embody many qualities I strive for in my life. They are wise, calm, loyal, patient, strong, fun, protective of their friends (especially their girlfriends); and, ok, wrinkled and fat. Sadly, elephants are also vanishing. This is not a quality to which I aspire!

This was my first time ever to use a stock photo. Finding just the right picture that was free and royalty free was a challenge for me. Having my computer crash in the middle of the whole process while I was manipulating the image was even more of a challenge. I screen printed the background onto denim cut from an old pair of husband's jeans; or it might have been from the one's that were waiting for a new button. By the time the deadline arrived, I was racing to beat it and did not "finish" all the embelishment I had planned. Since the piece was not selected, maybe I have time now to tweak it a bit. While I had fun screen printing the background, I can see that it would not show off well in a magazine which might be important. I'll do better next time.