Week 12: Audrey and Revamped Studio

Well hasn't this been a crazy week!  If you have even ventured into a grocery store you can see some pretty crazy people going literally crazy.  I spent the week taking time to get some extra things so that we are all stocked up for a while should anything crazy happen.  It went from toilet paper and water to rice, beans, and of all things lunch meat.  Really?  Hey, too each his own.  I bought enough so that Ginger can keep making her wonderful bean soup!  And for those asking, yes, I am still working.  Things still need to be fixed in houses and apartments and we have a couple of remodels we had already started.

That has not kept me from my camera.  We were able to do some social distancing and gathering with our neighbors, Audrey and a proud Mom and Dad.  So with my new camera lens which has a minimum focusing distance of 4 ft allowed me to keep the recommended 6 ft!  Lol.  For the record everyone washed their hands and did not touch their face, except Audrey!   Here are some favorites:

This was Daddy's favorite I believe, throwing her up and yes she loves it.  Mom, not so much!

This was the last picture of the night and my absolute favorite  Probably in my top 5 of shots.

So yes, I can still get out and get pictures even though we have had such rain and humidity.  We did have a cold front come through.

And Sophie, not to be outdone, was looking really cute this weekend:

Resting on Mama and looking at me like, Dad, another photo!

So this weekend I decided to revamp the studio.  A cluttered studio is really hard for me to get creative in.  Plus it was time to clear some dust off and just get things organized.  And the final product is:

 Everything was kind of melded together with the acrylic pours actually becoming a thing with me now, so I decided to get some separation between the photography and artwork.  I mean I had this going in my head a couple of weeks and finally I was able to make it happen.  Some of my art friends will understand.  It is my sanctuary, my creative space and when it is in chaos it seems I am too.

So after dinner last night I laid down on the couch because Sophie likes to take a little nap on me after dinner.  Well, I moved around and suddenly I had a pain in my side.  Personally I thought it was a pulled muscle but no matter what I did I couldn't get it to go completely away.  Massaging it helped but it just came back.  Went for a walk to see if I could stretch it out and still the waves of pain.  Of course my first thought went to several years ago when I had a kidney stone, I could not get comfortable and this was just like that.  I had already vomited once, but then I began to again.  Yep, kidney stone.  I found out later that the kidney and GI tract are connected by nerves so that is not uncommon.  Well, I asked Ginger to pray, we asked our neighbor to pray, Ginger asked her family to pray and we headed to the er.

For those that don't know the hospital is on lock down.  They have stations set up before you even go in.  And you get interviewed, and Ginger could not go in with me.  So I had my temperature taken and they were going to take me to an isolation room.  So they took me back, I sat down where I was all by myself, and no lie, the pain left.  I was still nauseated, but no pain.  I called Ginger and said wait, I may be getting out.  I waited another ten minutes, saw two people in gurneys from ambulance go by and new it would be a minute.  So I walked up to the front nurse and said, well, my pain has gone away can I leave?  I mean I did not know if I would have to be kept there.  Nope, I had not even been triaged yet, it was as if  I was not there except for getting my name taken off the list.  I got my name off the list, walked out and got in the car with Ginger.  We went and got some Emetrol for the nausea and 5 minutes after taking that I was better.  In an hour I was drinking a bunch of water and eating crackers like crazy.  And today I have felt fine.  If you did not believe in a God that heals, this should convince you.  Ginger had prayed I would pass the stone and not even know.  Well, I did not know.  All I know is I walked in in pain and I walked out pain free.  Prayer works everyone.  I mean I could go on with different instances in my life but this is just another of God answering prayer.

Do you know the scariest part?  The hospital.  The isolation.  Let me tell you, I have read enough Stephen King books (and I am thinking of the Stand) that I was like, get me out of here!  Don't get me wrong if the pain would have continued, I would have stayed.  And the likely culprit for the kidney stone?  Dehydration.  Not enough fluid.  From not having enough at work to yesterday, it just caught up.  Needless to say I am drinking my water!

So I do not know what this week will bring.  Well, I know one thing, acrylic pours.  I am ready to get into the studio and do some.  Ginger herself said I need to get in there and do one, just for me.  So I am going to do a bigger one, just for me.  And I am going to take more pictures.  I have my nature lens set up for the birds and squirrels outside, just waiting for the weather to cooperate! 

I have a wonderful, praying wife!  She is such a blessing.  Speaking of which she has been doing much better since she went off the extra medication she was put on to combat the anxiety attacks.  It actually made them worse!  Now that it has tapered off she is doing much better.  We had this issue with another medication.  We went up one pill and everything went out of whack.  Went down and everything went to normal.  Of course it helps that Hallmark Christmas is on all weekend! 

Hope everyone stays safe this week!  Thank you all for your love and support!  Talk to you next week!

Baa