slowly she turned

I’m curled up on the sofa in the front room after a sleepless night, determined that I will be awake to sign for this scheduled Fed Ex delivery if it is required. If I have to get up early, it’s nearly guaranteed that I won’t fall asleep until 3 a.m. or so. When I was growing up it seemed like all the old people got up before dawn. Why not me?

Anyway, I’m looking forward to this package (maybe two packages) today. One is a wooden folding screen with a pegboard and shelves that I am putting in my studio to hide that huge water heater, and to use for display when I need one for a show. The other is something I’ve wanted for a long time: an electric fireplace heater. Then I can take this ugly radiator style heater to the studio. I am SO looking forward to getting back to the studio. We are supposed to get our first real cold weather this weekend, so I’ll find out how cold this unheated space is.

I haven’t been to the studio in about a week, and I didn’t stay long then. I had a relapse with my respiratory illness, and then my stomach went kablooey, and then this weekend I was dizzy for a couple of days. So, partly at the insistence of my friends, I went to the doctor on Monday and she prescribed me antibiotics. She thinks my bronchitis is the results of bad seasonal allergies, but I still think Sandy and I had some kind of virus. Anyway, it’s a relief to know that it isn’t pneumonia, which has been making the rounds in this area. Definitely a relief to see the light at the end of this bronchial tunnel, although I have thought I was at the end of it enough times that I am afraid to get my hopes up.

Best to assume the worst and be happy when it doesn’t happen, I guess. Not a positive approach, but a practical one.

I took Pablocito to the vet yesterday and he handled it really well. He let her look at his teeth and she said that his gums look much less infected. He’ll still be getting almost all his teeth extracted on Monday morning though. He’s almost a different cat now that he is on pain meds, and it makes me feel quite guilty that I waited so long to take him to the vet.

We will get the old Volvo back from the shop today. It needed a lot of work and will be expensive, but at least Sandy can drive again so having two cars will make him feel less trapped in the house while I’m in the studio. He’ll start PT for his shoulder soon. Funny thing…he fell yesterday and landed on it, not hard, but he said it felt better AFTER he fell on it. I worry a lot about him falling and that’s one reason I don’t like leaving him alone any more.

Speaking of which, I will be visiting my friend who lives in Tucson at the end of January. I saw that Tricia Goldberg was offering an intermediate/advanced three day tapestry workshop at the guild there for a reasonable price, and I have the miles to fly there practically free, so I have a double joy trip to anticipate! Tucson is a totally new area of the country for me to visit and to be able to do it in the company of the Fabulous ZhaK warms my hurtin’ heart. Now I’ll need to decide what I want to focus on in the workshop. The tapestry on the Mirrix will be cut off very soon, maybe within the next day or so!

Lots of minor life annoyances have peppered a disasterous month, but other than the occasional sleepless night, I’m handling it okay. I mainly try not to doomscroll too much, but I’m keeping up with the news. I opened a Bluesky account to follow the journalists and others there at slowlysheturned.bsky.social. If you’re there and give me a follow, I’ll probably follow you back, but expect no tolerance for MAGAs and more sweary political posting. I have zero patience any more for bullshit from any direction. I blocked someone who fussed about my profile pic where I held a glass that said “Shalom, y’all” on it. Really, people? Makes me want to become a hermit.

Reading: finished “Tom Lake” and “Rebecca.” I enjoyed them both, but “Rebecca” surprised me. I thought I had read it long ago, but apparently not. For the first half of it, I was bewildered and irritated. What a drag, being hauled through the imagined slights, gossip, and paranoia of this neurotic, low esteemed mind. But suddenly, ah! I couldn’t put it down. 

Now I have delved back into the Plantagenet historic fiction of Sharon Kay Penman with “Lionheart,” but I’m tempted to put it aside for a shorter, lighter read.

Back to art posting soon.