Sketchy Week of Checks and Balances






Last week was a week of checks and balances.
While cleaning the garden I saw that my neglected cymbidium was in full bloom.  Three canes of bobbing flowery faces.  It hadn't bloomed in years.  + Yes!

Then I tweaked my knees picking up that potted orchid.  - Ouch!

The next day, I limped out to the mailbox because I couldn't do much else.  It's usually filled with junk mail.  Not this time.  Just one business size envelope.  A $250.00 check from a gallery.  +Yes!

Not being able to stand long periods put an end to working in clay.  I do most of my clay work standing.  I decided to do some sketches instead.  While taking a picture of this sketch I dropped my camera.  A $250.00 point and shoot camera.  - Ouch!

My knee was feeling better.  + Yes!

While writing a post for 1 Simply Home I thought the house would never get done.  The holdup since fall was the septic tank.  The ground water level was still high.  By Presidents Day weekend it had gone down, but would they put it in during the holiday?  We weren't sure. It was a window of opportunity.  We knew the rains were returning. - Ouch!

We got a phone call yesterday. They had put in the septic over the weekend! And the electicity is in, too!  Jumped for joy...YES!YES!YES!

And with that,  I tweaked my knee again. No worries.

There's a hummingbird nesting just outside my window.  Yes!

last photo taken by my now defunct (dropped) point and shoot camera
done on printer paper and with an  mechanical pencil

Comments

  1. Sometimes I don't like the see saw of life, but what can we do but keep holding on. Congrats on your home and 1 Simply Home.

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    1. "but what can we do but keep holding on"
      And sing while counting our blessings......

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  2. Oh, I hope your knee gets better soon! A lovely sketch! She reminds me of the paintings of Alex Katz, somehow.

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    1. Sketching is absorbing at times. I sometimes want to paint some small simple portraits. But clay always calls me away.

      Thank you, Midori. I will have to look up Alex Katz.

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  3. Lovely sketch! So happy for all the plusses -- and well BOO on the negatives. Hope your knee is better soon! And that soon we will be reading about your big move into your newly crafted home and that you find a camera for less than the $250.

    YES for the hummingbirds - they symbolize love, joy, and beauty and since they fly backwards, they teach not to dwell on our past.
    xxoo

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    1. That hummingbird is fierce! It built its nest in a small tree by our breakfast nook window. Every time we go out onto the deck it buzzes us. I can not even get near the pineapple sage which has red blooms. The doves fly away and will abandon their eggs. Not so with the tiniest of birds. They have dragon hearts.

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  4. Ahh Charlene, your sketches and clay-work are so akin to each other, and unmistakeably your style - beautiful.

    Life's ups and downs seem more evident during these mercury retrograde cycles. I've had my fair share this time 'round too :(

    My knees get worse in the winter, especially the right one. I've found good relief in applying Arnica ointment - with a pinch of cayenne pepper mixed in - before going to bed and sometimes on very cold mornings. Helps me a lot.

    What a wonderful mail delivery! At at the right time too :) Hope you can get a sweet little camera.

    I love the look of wee Hummingbirds. We don't have them over here, but wish I could see one in person. I like your description that for such a small creature, they have "dragon hearts".

    Your home is coming along beautifully. It looks perfect.
    It's a dream of mine to have a self-sustaining property with a passive solar home - the ultimate would be straw-bale, but over here, people panic at the idea... bushfires. They can't get their head around the fact that it is even more stable than an exposed wooden house when well rendered. Oh well.

    That "turkey tail" bracket fungi is gorgeous!

    Your kitchen is awesome. Looks like you certainly dotted the i's and crossed all the t's to me ;)

    And... I think we all, big and small, need a hollow beneath a tree - a secret sanctuary :)


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  5. Hello Vicki---I tried several times to leave a comment on your beautiful blog. It is not coming up with the code thing either. I will try again but meanwhile I will comment on your post here :)
    I love that you had something special for the boys to purchase for their mom. There is something honorably and precious about boys buying gifts all on their own. Such love in their gesture as well as in yours. What a golden day you had!

    It's hard to get people to understand that straw bale houses are no more flammable than a stick house. But it is understandable--wild fires are so frightening and devastating.

    Thanks for the suggestion for my knee. I will look for the ointment. I keep walking on it--aches and all. At least it isn't looking like an old rutabaga anymore.

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