Dive bomb!  I wonder what the blue jay saw on the decomposing leaf covered ground, and what was he eating in the leafless persimmon tree.  The sun is out. The sky is a clear blue with fluffy white clouds streaming by. The clarity after the storm.  This winter we certainly are having our share of storms with floods, landslides, broken levees, fallen trees, and evacuations. Three weeks worth, so far. Fortunately, the Husband and I haven’t had to experience any of that, knock on wood.  With all this rain and reports of oversaturated ground, some people probably believe our drought is over.  No more need to conserve. We can go crazy with lush lawns, landscaping, and vegetable gardens once again. Nope! Uh-uh.  No, siree, Bob, and Nancy.  Parts of California, including our area, may be good for water this year, if that, but the drought is far from over. We need it to rain throughout the winter and early spring, gently and kindly, alternating with dry days. Maybe then, our reservoirs and grou

Bunnies dancing through fields of wildflowers towards the sea. This week I’ve been participating in The Happy New Year Challenge, hosted by Artist Karen Abend , a free five-day event with prompts from Artist Gaia Marfurt . The drawings on this post are from days two, three, and four. You can see day one’s piece here .  The challenge has been fun. And, self-revealing of sorts.  Hearts Born While doing this challenge, I’ve learned that prompts tend to freeze me up rather than free me to create. That’s bothersome. Maybe my deeper self is reminded of art time in grammar school when I felt discouraged and timid to draw, paint, paste, and craft my creations because they didn’t look like the ones the teachers favored. House and Fly flying high and loose in the cerebellum. Another aspect of the challenge that reared up my young insecure self was sharing my work at the challenge’s Facebook page. I got one, two, once three, likes for my work while others got double digit and triple digit likes.

  (1) Heel, toe. Heel, toe. That’s my mantra as I learn to walk with my new left knee joint. Heel, toe. Heel, toe. (2) My usual way of walking is shuffle, shuffle, shuffle, scrape, dang, stubbed toe. I definitely want to kick that habit. (3) I’ve learned a new set of acronyms and technical terms related to knee replacement surgery. TLKR stands for total left knee replacement, which is what I had. ROM stands for range of motion. The goal is to have a ROM of 0 to 120 degrees, with zero being a straight knee. To do most normal activities, I need to bend my knee at least 120 degrees.  (4) Extend, bend. Extend, bend. Another new mantra of mine.  (5) Yesterday marked three weeks since my TLKR surgery. Yes, it already seems so long ago. I’m glad I did it during the winter. All the rain and cold temperatures keeps me from working in the yard. Okay, I admit I sacked leaves the other day. It was great knee bending practice.  (6) Did you know that many, if not all, U.S. insurance companies author

Merry 1/2/2023, One and All!❣️ It’s a blustery California winter day outside my window. Lovely! In all this cold, angel’s trumpets, orange roses, and pink geraniums are in bloom. The lavender plant says to not forget her. And, now, the rain is showing itself. Hurrah! I’ve made no resolutions, unless my staying the course with trying out stuff as well as practicing stuff a bit more consistently counts.  This morning I practiced walking up and down  the sidewalk with my trusty walker. Happily tired me out. My first new try for 2023: I signed up to do a five-day Happy New Year creative art challenge, co-hosted by artists Karen Abend and Gaia Marfurt . Via email, I receive a prompt each day and do whatever comes to mind.  Today’s prompt, the first one, was a bellish blob shape. This is what came to my mind: A timid, yet daring, heart who put on green sneakers and snuck outside to ride on her sensible, sturdy skateboard. Do you think she’s sporting a new knee joint under that skirt? Knee-h

  My wise Mama liked to say, “If something doesn’t work, oh well. Try again.”  And that was my aim throughout 2022, The Year of Experimentation.  Try this, try that. Give that a try. And, if a try doesn’t work, try another way. Try until I am satisfied and then give another way a try. Why not?  Here are some  highlights of my 2022:  1.  Paints poured and roared over paper, canvasses, and other surfaces. 2.  Beads and buttons and bits of jewelry were strung into sun catchers. 3. Fabric, paper, pictures, and etcetera were turned into cards, collages, calendars  hangings, and a headboard. 4. I got over my fear of sewing elastic, as well as practiced patience ripping out worn-out elastic from pants and skirts. 5. I got back into writing poetry . 6. I’ve opened the folders of an unfinished project I started, oh my gosh, 40some years ago, about the history of Filipino Americans in my hometown and county, where I was born, raised, and returned. 7.  I discovered that the slips I grew from a sw

My words found sound today, day 5 of my new left knee replacement adventure. Ouch! The first thing I saw when I was rolled into the operating room was a full set of hand drills. Wowza, to say the least. That’s for another day of story.  Today I’m joining in with the Friday Writings fun hosted by Poets and Storytellers United. The prompt is all about repetition. I’m trying my hand with a Blitz poem format created by Robert Keim. Enjoy! Roll for Many by Su-sieee! Mac Rock of ages Rock and roll Roll on by Roll with me Me fa so la doe Me no go Go lightly Go gently Gently be mine Gently live Live lively Live sweetly Sweetly go I Sweetly go you You my sweet dude You my always Always and forever Always will be you and I I laugh at ants I fly in joy Joy joy joy Joy we sang Sang sung and sing Sang over hills and hills Hills of joy and love Hills so very green Green lands of green Green lands of joy Joy joy joy Joy I sing for you You I love You inside my heart Heart to heart Heart of the Earth

It’s 11:13 p.m. I ought to go to bed, but I don’t feel sleepy. I ought to. We did a lot of heavy moving this afternoon, the Husband and I. We rearranged the garage to let Sally Forth rest indoors. No go. All we needed was a foot. Alas there were no more inches to give, so back onto the driveway she went. The Husband set the alarm for 5:15 a.m. I need time to wash myself in some kind of special soap, dress, gather my thoughts and big girl panties, and skedaddle to the hospital. There I’ll be stripped, put in one of those indecent gowns, and prepped for knee surgery. Can you hear the saws grinding? Just kidding. I’m ready for it. Only took six years of distractions to get me to tomorrow.  It’s 11:23 p.m. I’ll finish my cup of water, turn on the modem, take one last look at Facebook, and off to bed I go.  Here we go, Knee-haw! 🙃