Book sale haul...

Yup, book sale time again!
I was determined to exercise some self-control today. I did manage to buy less than usual, but I shopped among the slightly more expensive books instead of the 10 cent room. (Hardbacks 50 cents; paperback 25 cents; children's books 10 cents.) I got some bios, some literature and some children's books. (Some of those children's books are really art inspiration for me!)

I've read The Pilgrim's Progress a couple of times, but it's been a while. I've always wanted to try The Inferno.

I couldn't leave that little BP book behind! The other little book has pretty miniature paintings in it which I thought might work for collages.

For some reason I'm a fan of Skippyjon, the cat who thinks he's a chihuahua, lol. Audrey might like the nature stories and I'll read it, too!

I like stories of lady shepherds. Vicarious farm-work.

The Greece travel guide has lots of pretty pictures, once again for collage. The other book I've wanted to read for a while.

Grandkid books. (After Grandma admires the pictures.)

I think Audrey will enjoy these. She gobbles down information!

These are for me. Lots of cool artwork!

I read The Gulag Archipelago when I was a teenager, so I thought this might be good, too.

I'm doing the Goodreads Reading Challenge, so I can't complain about having nothing to read. My current book is The Apothecary's Daughter by Julie Klassen.

Yes, she's the same author I was complaining about for using sentences from Austen and Bronte books. She does a lot less of that here, though I did notice such surnames as Elliot and Willoughby. I have to admit she's done a fair amount of research, and this one is interesting. She's a Christian author, so the romance angle is refreshingly innocent.

That's all my news for now. Thanks for coming to visit!
Have a cozy evening!
Shalom.

Finished ATC's...

Just a quick drive-by post to put up pics of my finished cards. :)

No call from the doctor yet. I hope Nana Diana is right that that could be an indication that nothing really big is going on. I'm feeling pretty good.

I had a good visit with my old deli pals this morning. I'm so glad we've decided to keep in touch with each other. I really do miss their faces! We're sort of like a Band of Sisters. We've been in the trenches together for many years, lol. We're going to do a Secret Pal thing where we draw a name and send little gifts and notes, etc. to our pal throughout the year. Then we'll exchange gifts and reveal who our pal is at Christmas each year. This is a good bunch of gals! Thank you, Lord, for old friends.

I'm thankful for all of you blogging friends, too! I really enjoy keeping up with your lives!

God bless, hugs and shalom!

Bits and bobs...

Micah took this sweet picture of Adele the other day. She said she used an app on her phone to make it black and white. I think it's so cute. They were having breakfast together after taking the big sisters to school.

The "deli gals" monthly breakfast is scheduled for tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to it! My doctor should also call me about my ultrasound results. I hope the two events don't interfere with one another. My brother was asking after my health and asked on a scale of 1-10 how much pain was I feeling. I'd say a "one". It really doesn't hurt much. Just the occasional dull twinge. But it just shouldn't be going on in that same spot for two weeks. But, I guess I'll see what he thinks in the next day or two.

I'm not a Super Bowl watcher, so I've been doing some drawing for an ATC swap. This particular swap is "open theme", meaning we can make the cards on any subject. His only requirement is that one card is of a NON-anime, NON-Disney cartoon character. So, I did all cartoon characters. These are some of my favorite characters from my kids' childhood. I only have them drawn. I'll paint them in the next little while. (I like to take a picture at this point in case I mess up when I paint them, lol.)

I finished The Ladies of Ivy Cottage and gently lambasted the author in my review. ;)

"In her author's notes at the end of The Ladies of Ivy Cottage, Julie Klassen says, 'I have attempted to honor a favorite author or two with fond nods to her work.' She refers to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. (Were there more?) I must admit that I was a little annoyed to find her pretty much lifting whole conversations and characters from these books. Did she step over the boundary line into plagiarism? I remember having my grade docked once in college for doing something much less obvious.

Having said that, I did finally get into the book, despite the occasional flare up of irritation each time she inserted another familiar sentence...or two. I came to care about the characters and wanted to see what would become of them. Dash it all! I'm looking forward to Book 3 in the series. There are a couple of characters whose lives are still dangling in mid-air." :)

I did give it four stars.

I think more reading is in order this evening. I threw my back out this morning! Micah said, "Gee, Ma! You can't catch a break!" Ha ha!

I hope your favorite team wins!
God bless and shalom!

Ah, more health news...

Well, the allergic reaction drama seems to have played itself out, only to be replaced by something else. Since Monday I've had a little stabbing pain in my right side, which sometimes (just for variety) radiates around to my back (kidney?). I tried to ignore it for a few days and then decided it might be good to get it checked out. My doctor may grow tired of seeing me on his doorstep.

So, I went in for a checkup today and I now have an appointment for an ultrasound in the morning. He, at first, suspected it was my gallbladder, but the pain seems to be a little lower than that. Anyway, hopefully the ultrasound will shed some light on things. My bloodpressure was down to 105/something, and is usually in the 117/75 region. That's probably why I feel sort of cold and fatigued. Updates to follow. (Sorry!)

The good news...MY TAXES ARE DONE! Yay! Next on my To-Do List is the annual reapplication for student loan payments. Then in March and April I'm on call for jury duty.

Sorry, no art at the moment. Just not feeling like it the last couple of weeks. Hopefully tomorrow's checkup will reveal something that can be fixed, and all will return to normal. Whatever that is! :)

My current reading book is called The Ladies of Ivy Cottage. It was slow to begin with, but I'm getting into it more as I go along. So, I think I'll read and relax tonight. Oh, and check some blogs!

I'll be fasting after midnight, so I'd better do some eating while I can!
Thanks for stopping by, friends and family!
Shalom to all. :)

Hooray for B12!

Hopefully, this will wrap up my yacking about health matters. I know it's really exciting for you all to read about every detail. But I did want to mention that I took a B12 tablet yesterday (which I've had all along, I just wasn't taking them) and the effects were almost immediate. First of all, let me mention that I had looked up symptoms of B12 deficiency and saw many that matched my own. One thing that had concerned me was a feeling of muscle weakness. When I tried to write my hand didn't want to cooperate. After the B12 that weakness went away, my mind was clearer and I really just felt good! I wasn't expecting such a fast result, so I don't think it was a placebo effect, but I sure do intend to keep taking it! I read something by Dr. Weil where he said it isn't possible to take too much. The ones I got at Walmart are 1000mcg, and the recommended amount for an adult is 2.4mcg's, so I was concerned about taking too much. He also recommended a B-Complex, which I will buy when I run out of these. I guess I hadn't been eating enough meat or something that I needed for B12, but it sure is a necessary thing! I'm not sure if this has anything to do with what I thought were allergic symptoms. Maybe I was just mistaking my symptoms for allergies and it was really a need for B12.

Poor Micah and the kids are dealing with a stomach bug now. It just seems to be one thing after another lately. Let's all just stay home, okay? :)

I'm slurping on a smoothie and trying to eat better. This one has raspberries, blackberries, kale, oj, grape juice, melon and a little banana. I use mostly frozen produce since I can't use up the fresh stuff fast enough. The oj and grape juice are mainly to thin it out. Tastes pretty good. Yesterday I added a little powdered milk and turmeric. It's different every time, but that makes it more fun!

Jody, if you're reading this, do you guys still drink coffee? Or just tea? I'm trying to decide if I should keep coffee as my one treat. I would have to have sugar and creamer in it, so it breaks the rules, but I had a headache this morning and I wondered if that was what it was from. No coffee. I did get a small one at the store when I picked up my mail, hee hee. Headache's gone.

I felt like doing a little art today, but I didn't want the mess of watercolors, so I did some color pencil drawing. This is copied from an ATC I did a long time ago. It was kind of a fun change of pace. I just used some Crayola colored pencils. I'd like to do more of this sketchbook sort of thing so I can actually save some pieces. Perhaps I can come up with some paintings and drawings that could be printed up on blank note cards. I may get my ideas from old ATC's that I've given away.

I'm reading Idyll Banter, along with a few others I've been reading for a while. I think it's a pleasant read. I enjoy his style and humor.

You folks have a pleasant evening. I'll be checking up on you!
Shalom!

Makin' changes...

I don't mean to go on and on about my allergy thing, but I thought some of this might be helpful for someone else somewhere along the line. I've decided to start following a "way of eating" (I hate the word diet) that includes as many anti-inflammatory foods as possible. This is a good idea for everyone; I'm just more motivated since feeling so lousy! I've, actually, been trying to eat healthy for some time, but then I start sliding off the wagon and drinking pop, eating at McDonald's, keeping junk food around the house. You know. If this anti-inflammatory diet will make me feel better I'm ready to do it!

I just had a smoothie containing kale, super blend (broc., cauli, carrots, brussels sprouts, etc. shredded in a bag. I get it at Walmart.), a small banana, orange juice, 1 T. non-fat dry milk, probably a T. of oatmeal, turmeric (a sprinkle), 1/4 of an apple, and a little lemon juice. Basically, stuff I already had around the house that was on the "okay to eat" list. It was green and chewy, but drinkable. I know it probably isn't possible, but it seems like I could feel my body cooling down as I drank it! I also took a garlic capsule.

Anyway, I got my list of foods from WebMD. Here's the link. I could have searched through multiple sites, but knowing myself well, I decided to just stick with this resource. If things get too complex I have a hard time sticking with it. This is just common sense stuff we've all seen before. I just needed to refamiliarize myself with the rules. So, I'm throwing out the sugar, processed foods, etc. I don't have a ton, so that's good.

I'm learning that I have to make more of an effort to take care of myself as I get older. I can't keep giving into those gluttonous urges to binge on junk. It comes back to bite me! I have an appointment on Monday to see the doctor again and let him do a blood draw to check other things. He mentioned wanting to check for something that had the word lupus in it. I'm not expecting that to be positive, nope. But I also don't want to be irresponsible and do nothing. If I feel a whole lot better by Monday I may cancel, but for now that's the plan. I'm not itchy right now, but I feel "puffy" in the face and neck, although I don't really look puffy. My blood pressure was higher than usual at my last doctor visit, but hopefully the dietary change will take care of that.

I've also been trying to remember to focus more on the Lord when I'm not feeling well. It always helps to remove any fear. And allergic reactions can be fear inducing! It really brings home the fact that we are completely dependent on Him for our next breath and heartbeat. Any feelings of self-sufficiency and independence go down the tubes when your health fails and you feel vulnerable. It makes me so grateful to know He will never leave me and all will be well.

I just wanted to share the painting I received from another person from our January canvas swap. I repeat. I didn't paint this! :) This gal is a professional, I think. She's from Canada. I just thought it would make a pretty thumbnail for my blog post, lol.

Thanks for dropping by! Have a wonderful rest of your week!
Shalom!

A visit to my doc...

I went in and saw my primary doctor, Dr. Ericksen, today. He seemed to agree that the steroids weren't the best idea. I told him I wasn't sure which symptoms were  my original allergies and which were caused by the steroids. One of their hundreds of side effects is hives! So, I left those meds with him and will continue using Benedryl. He said to give it a couple of days and if I don't get better he'll do some sort of blood test. He couldn't do it today because the steroids I took yesterday would have effected the results.

I rewashed everything in the house thinking maybe there was something in the laundry detergent. I bought a different brand (Seventh Generation) and then realized that the brand I was using was also supposedly fragrance free and made for sensitive skin. I don't know if there still might be something in it I don't like. I had bought different brands than usual the last time I shopped of laundry and dishwashing detergents, so I replaced both of those.

I'm still getting a red, hot face with a little swelling and some itchy spots here and there. I've gotten rid of everything strawberry. So, hopefully that will do the trick. Prayers appreciated! I don't want to be hypersensitive to everything! The Lord still heals, so I'm believing for that! (I'm hungry and I don't want to be afraid to eat!!) LOL!

Thanks friends and family! Y'all have a good evening!
Shalom!