Sundrip Journals
I started working on an abstract sunflower when she was born. I went with it. It was more fun than the free flow of thought I intended to release.
I’ll work on this piece for a bit, which is on canvas, and maybe a small abstract still. We’ll see. I’m happy I didn’t give up!
Live Free. Create Well.
Faith MMagdalene
Somehow, at age 54 I’ve picked up a new nickname, Ladybug.
Two of my caregivers who don’t know one another call me Ladybug.
It’s the strangest thing.
My younger parts like it.
We don’t draw or paint them. This is one of the first we’ve done. It makes me want to go read about them.
I like bugs quite a bit.
Faith Magdalene
Today Sunshine Sam had a prolapsed anus which is when part of the anus slips out of its little designated spot. You can see the pink like bubble on Sam’s butt. It’s very painful.
The best thing to do in this instance is to not panic. He’s going to be OK. A nice warm bath with a little honey in it for 15 minutes sent his little part back where it’s supposed to be. The interesting part is, I got the reverse of the prolapsed anus on film.
In the below one minute excerpt you’ll see Sam’s facial expressions change, his back clinch, his eyes blink, and expressions of this manner.
I’m not a film producer; just a girl with a frog. Sorry for the huge video. However, the moment was too cool to keep to myself.
Sunshine Sam is part of a family of three Australian Green Tree Frogs. He and his siblings are eight years old.
Be safe. Be Authentic.
Faith Magdalene
I have something to tell you about my dog Van Gogh. I sent him back bc of his behavior. It’s been bad since we moved here. He’s been fighting with ALL the dogs here, and winning, but still starting fights.
He jumped the mailman unprovoked one time.
Scared a little girl
He growled at my caregiver twice, snapped at her and seriously tried to bite her, all in the same day.
Tuesday he ferociously barked at a dog he previously whipped. The owner quickly moved away but that wasn’t good enough for Van Gogh. He began to wrestle hard with me to break free out of his harness. Then a cat popped out of the bushes to run away from the barking and commotion. Once Van Gogh saw the cat he struggled more and was free.
Van Gogh was angry and out of my control. I didn’t know him any more. I haven’t known him for a week. He’s not acting like the dog I adopted. The honeymoon was over!
The behaviors, specifically the aggression is frightening. When he jumped at the mailman there was zero warning at all, none! He looked at him, growled and jumped. Had he not been on a leash the mailman would have been bitten.
When Van Gogh ran away I immediately called the rescue center I got him from and told them to come get him. I knew he was coming back home because early on when we first moved here I began to teach him how to get home by smell, just in case we ever got separated.
After he fought me I put on lavender perfume and went downstairs. There he was! Wild eyed. Not sure if he wanted back on the leash, but he came anyway.
In the past week he’s peed on me, my wheelchairs, the bed. I just can’t do it anymore! He hasn’t been the same since I move here.
Before this happened I stayed in prayer for a week trying to figure out what to do about him. Then Tuesday he went and fought me to get out of and out of his harness! That was the last straw. So, Van Gogh is gone as of Wednesday morning.
The bruises he left on my leg and chest are quite large and deep! It’s ugly what happened.
I am relieved. I am saddened that it didn’t work out but I’m relieved that it’s over.
Faith Magdalene
I’ve been wearing my shoe without that so called prosthetic I hate so much. It seemed to be going just fine. No issues, or so I thought. Lol
As it turns out a well established spider web was in the toe of my pink cross. There was a small piece of cereal in the web, Lucky Charms. I’m not making this up.
I wasn’t sure what to feel. I was horrified, intrigued, humored and humiliated; simultaneously. I’ve decided to go ahead and do what the surgeon said is an alternative to wearing the prosthetic. I’m stuffing my left shoe. All left shoes get stuffed. I am not walking around with a spider housing addition at my stump. It’s wrong.
The little picture in the photo is a very, very old white sketch on top of encaustic art. I melted Crayola wax, slowly and moved it into position. I enjoy encaustic and print making very much.
Faith Magdalene
I prayed, “your daughters need Parenting because this is just a plant. I don’t even want a long break from her over a plant. We need a Father to work with His daughters.”
I am pleased that my very emotional friend and sister has calmed down concerning the African Violet plant. We met over Zoom and handled things very well. I was so grateful! So grateful!
I’ll meet with her again Monday evening and the project we’re working on will be finished. We’ll have done it. The absolute impossible a few years ago!
Unfortunately this plant appears beyond redemption. It’s name will not be called. There will be no resurrection. Lol 🙂
I don’t know what to do with it. I really don’t. I’ve got some leaves cut in half, some as full leaf propagation. But, some wilted in the moss, some simply didn’t make it after being in the trash. Never in my life have I ever felt so bad about a plant dying. The saga has ended. I’m pretty sure. I think. I hope. Lol
Faith
Dr D asked how I was able to manage the trash three times? Honestly, it was mind bending hard. I went back three times because I felt like I’d failed or like I had something to prove. She said I threw it away to hurt her. I had to get it back.
I got a second text saying despite retrieving the plant, my efforts were not enough. It felt like I’d been punched in the chest. But that was the end of my emotional loan to the situation. It’s a plant. If she needs to go off the deep end over the plant then so be it but I’m jumping off the train. I will not argue over this. No response to texts about this mess.
This friendship isn’t over despite Dr D suggesting it might need to work towards that way. No. It needs a little break while she gets her mind right. He said, she’s going to do it again, then what? I said, yes she is, because unlike me she doesn’t have a PhD every week. This puts me at an advantage in the friendship.
As far as how I got through dealing with the trash, I planned it out. First I dressed for it. I had friends to call. I kept in mind my up coming appointment with my psychiatrist and psychologist on the same day. I have a certified nurses aide daily.
I was well covered to take the risk of going in the trash. I didn’t do it without back up or coping skills. Am I ok? No. But I’m not in hospital crisis. I’m not self harming. Things will calm down with a few art pieces and a few pots of tea.
Faith
Remember the brown Dr Martens I was super in love with? I purchased them after someone gave a surprise donation via PayPal?
Well, I had to go back for the black ones 🙂
These shoes are very amputee friendly. I can dress myself which is huge. I feel so normal and like myself in them. There’s nothing about them that’s been altered to fit that ever changing stump. I now have two really cool shoes that expand just right.
I even got the black shoes nearly half off.
Dr. Martens for the win, again. I swear I want to write him a letter and tell him how his shoes make me feel normal. I wont cause that’s weird, but I’m really happy this style hit the market.
I’m also grateful for fun compression socks 🙂 Fun compression socks and these shoes? I don’t know what to do with myself!
Faith
I found a jar of honey in an old supplies from the pandemic era. It had crystallized.
I didn’t want to go through the trouble of doing the double boiler thing to melt it down and shake it up but I do want it decrystallized. I can’t do the dishwasher method either. That’s where you place the honey in the dishwasher for three cycles and viola, no more crystals. However, I do have a coffee mug warmer, and time.
How it unfolded
The full process took about 30 minutes for six ounces of crystallized honey. The honey tastes just like I remember. 🙂 I know exactly why I buy from this particular beekeeper.
There are two beekeeping families with superior products who keep me coming back.
My wonderful full-time caregiver enjoyed the cinnamon and honey I made for her. Now for lavender and honey, lemon and honey, etc. I purchased a quart and the taste sizes are only one ounce so there’s enough to play with. 🙂
Well, I’m off to do end of the month tasks. Try not to worry they say. It’ll all work out they say. I’ve got evening care added on two days a week now, due to memory issues and others from long covid. They’re making sure I eat, too.
Faith
I don’t deserve pretty dentures after the way I treated my natural teeth, that’s the way I thought anyway. So when it came time to choose the color of my dentures I didn’t want to choose a pretty white. I was going to choose a coffee drinker white, or a color warranted by someone with obsessive compulsive disorder who could no longer brush her teeth because of issues. So when the dentist asked about color and showed me examples I said I didn’t know. She automatically picked a beautiful color. In shock I said, “Really. I can have that?”
It’s been 8 months since I had teeth. I eat without difficulty, but I didn’t look like myself. My self-esteem tanked. I didn’t know it could go lower, but it has.
I cried when I put in the new dentures today. I couldn’t believe that I look like me again. My lips were full again. And I just naturally smiled again! I couldn’t believe how different I felt about myself by putting in a very pretty pair of teeth that I didn’t even feel I deserved. Yes, I gave them back, but in three weeks time I’ll pick up my first pair of hand crafted dentures with my name in them.
I got the idea to ask for my name in them because a woman who was killed on Forensic Files was helped to be identified by the name in her dentures. No lie.
Soon I’ll start the YouTube classes for speech therapy with dentures.
I’m excited. Best of all, I’ll have my dentures before time to go on my trip.
Happy Faith 🙂