Monday, August 29, 2011

More Oil Pastel Mania!

The weather has certainly turned very pleasant. Temperatures are in the 60s to low 80s degree fahrenheit. I got my Auto PAP machine but getting the benefit from it has been not easy; I still wake up in the night and feel tired in the morning. I went to a help forum and found out that is a common situation; it can take awhile to get used to the mask and everything else.




Here are more of the Oil pastels I have done this summer. They are all 18" x 24".
Rocky Hill

Squash Blossom


Calm Evening Sky


Root River Bottom Land


Tree On Cliff

Foggy Pasture

Pickwick Mill, in progress









































































Thursday, August 18, 2011

Working on a new Me!

Two months again have passed before an update. This summer has been different for me. In May my left knee got very bad and painful, cortisone shots weren't helping. Finally I got X-rays done of that knee. It was become worse with bone spurs all around and being uneven. This was enough to recommend an off-loading brace. Despite being a bit larger than the largest ready-made brace, the PT opened up the top frame enough to fit my thigh. With better mobility I can move around more and combined with calorie counting I am losing weight.
This past week I also had a sleep study to check for sleep Apnea. Sunday night I was wired up with lots of sensors and was in bed by 10:40 PM and woken up at 6:30 AM. I had to get up in the night to use the restroom, which required the technician coming in to unhook me so I could get out of bed! That day at home I was very tired and went to bed in the middle of the day for three hours.
The doctor's consultation recommended a second test using the CPAP since the test showed two incidents of mild apnea. Fortunately, I could get in the next night. I used the nose mask, was in bed just after 10 PM and got up at 5:30 PM because I was awake and bored. Using the CPAP was a success! I got the very important prescription, went home and was active all day, doing extra activities, like cleaning, which I don't normally do.
Don had researched online for a travel sized Auto CPAP and we ordered it along with the mask, heated reservoir and some other accessories last night. I am looking forward to being more alert and active all day.
Because of the severe knee pain this summer, I did only the bare minimum of gardening and yard work. After the knee brace I was catching up with yard work and then the major hot and humid spell hit! It was really too dangerous for someone in my physical condition to do much work in that weather and the brace was uncomfortable in the excess humidity. After what seemed to be weeks of this the hot spell broke. Finally I partially drained the watergarden and fixed the leaks were the old and new liners joined. The water does drop slightly but that could be from evaporation or leakage from the water features.
Next post I will show more of the oil pastels I have been doing this summer.