On the Palette

Cadmium Orange: I finally got my butt in gear to make some headway into completing the paintings I want to take with me next weekend. It's very difficult to hole up in the studio when it's cloudless and nearly 80 degrees outside. In fact we are now running the air conditioner on a daily basis. Temperatures on Sunday may reach close to 90.

The long range forecast for Summerville next weekend looks excellent. High 70s and sunny skies! Excellent weather to shop for art.

Brilliant Purple: Ben had a terrific semi-annual checkup yesterday at his pulmanologist. We have started weaning him off of the Orapred (pulmonary steroid) and reducing all of his medications related to his breathing. This is indeed a huge milestone! During the very few occasions we've actually succeeded in getting Ben off of the steroids we've seen an incredible increase in cognitive skills. We may not experience the kind of stuff going on with Kaytar or Jennelle just yet but who knows?

Raw Sienna: Okay, confession time. I haven't made a big deal about this yet but a recent development has me a tad worried. Let me first say that getting old sucks. I've been watched very closely my my ophthalmologist the past year or so. That test they give you when they dilate your eyes at a checkup so that you end up with a massive headache and the rest of the day is ruined? It's to check something called "pressures." If you have high pressures then it could signal the beginning of glaucoma.

Well my pressures have been up there with the springtime temperatures. I started using drops back around Christmas and they've worked like a charm. The latest problem? In the last couple of weeks I've gained a few "floaters" in my right eye. These little boogers appear as little dark spots throughout your vision field. This situation according to the the eye doc might mean I'm gaining a detached retina to boot!

Swell! I finally achieve my lifelong dream to be a visual artist and now I go blind. And before you comedians begin pondering what I was doing locked in my bedroom as a teenager I was learning to play guitar, a completely different kind of "wood" than your dirty minds were thinking.

Now (for KimmyK) playing loudly through the headphones: Queensryche