Still no juice!!!

My neighbor took these photos. Tree branches lean heavily on my main power line, broken branches lie in the right foreground......still no electricity. Second major storm for Oklahoma. Blizzard of 2009 and The Triple Threat 2010.

I am hanging in there...thank you for your prayers and encouragement. I will not give up.

I wish I had new art to display....but at this point breaking and cutting glass seems so far away from me now. I had a setback in my progress with my ankle but I am back on track and feel more hopeful. During that time when I was not able to have much mobility, I was getting discouraged. I had difficulty controlling my thoughts about my future and became fearful. My little house on ten acres hidden in the Oklahoma wilderness had always brought me so much peace, privacy and solitude....but the more I was confined, the isolation of my home was squeezing me in, and slowing draining my usual upbeat spirit away.

I reached out to my family and friends for prayer. My Dad encouraged me by sharing with me the inspiring story of the Winston Churchhill historical "NEVER GIVE UP" speech and my Mom shared with me a quote she has kept in her Bible for a number of years. I would like to pass it onto you.

"Do not look forward to the changes and the chances of this life in fear: rather look to them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. He has kept you hitherto -- and He will lead you safely through all things: and, when you cannot stand it, He will bear you in His arms. Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow, the same everlasting Father who cares for you today, will take care of you tomorrow, and everyday. Either He will shield you from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations."

Francis de Sales

Its not the destination, but the journey...

Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog. The following photos show how my ankle injury is progressing. No, its not art in the literal sense...but yet it is art. Each person doing what they do best, each day....in many ways.

I haven't been able to break or cut any glass in some time. I do miss it and wonder how this side journey will have affected my work in this medium. Funny - my art has always been about taking broken pieces of glass and found objects, soldering them together, creating an original, edgy design...I guess this applies to "broken ankles" too.

Enjoy...

Have you ever been scared of your own foot before?

I was trying to get re-acquainted with my left foot's new look...it was skinnier, had long scars on either side, wrinkly, still swollen, darker and hairy. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - and in this case Dr. Edmonds and his staff thought that my ankle looked GREAT. All of the photos that follow were taken by my boyfriend, Jim Brown. He photographed the whole event even though he felt a little queezy seeing my ankle for the first time after the gauze had been removed.

The "A" Team

There are many other
people that have provided support along the way. These three were the main people who are helping me get back on track. Fonda - a nurse at the clinic. I like her positive energy, smile and reassuring personality. Dr. Edmonds, an artist in his own right. He is the talented Orthopedic Surgeon who helped know how to put my ankle back together. This part has to be done right as I told him that I wanted to be able to hike mountains when I am eighty! When I first met him I know he would do a great job. Curtis, far right - he helps to provide support to what Dr. Edmonds has done. He took off my splint that I had worn for fifteen days and replaced it with a beautiful blue cast.

..I get by with a little help from my friends...

My fifteen year old Boston terrier/poodle mix named Pongo has been a faithful companion. Although I had to keep an eye on him as he seemed to be enjoying my heating pad a little too much.
My friend Linda, from Norman.

My friend Bobbie from Edmond.

My friend Lynn, aka "Queen C" from Stroud.


My Mother, who lives all the way west in Redding, Ca.
We talk just about every other day and she gives me tips on how to make things easier, she also encourages me. She, herself had both knees replaced a few years ago. This experience I believe helped her to relate to what I have been going through. Once a momma, always a momma, even though her baby girl will be fifty this March.

My daughter, Ryan came out this past weekend. She painted my toenails for me...something I could not reach far enough to do. Even those little things have become to mean so much.

So many people praying for me everyday.....I am blessed.

This man is a KEEPER!

I am not sure I can find words to describe how much this man has helped me in this part of my life journey. He was there when I fell. While in excruciating pain, he helped me get to my car and to the ER. He told me he was there to see this through...and his actions have matched his words.

Numerous drives back and forth from the city to the country, doing anything he can to help me be comfortable, to heal and to keep moving forward. Life is a journey. Life is a highway...I hit a big bump in the road, but he has helped me stay on course. Thank you Jimbo...

Taking off the splint...

Curtis gently pulled away the gauze that had been put on right after the surgery.
Curtis was cutting away the layers of gauze.

I held my two legs together. Can you see the differences? Without much use, the muscle shrinks in size. The discoloration near the bottom was where all the trauma had taken place. This will subside with time.


A close-up of my leg after the gauze was removed. The thin skin and wrinkles were a good sign actually. This was a result of the many hours I had kept my leg elevated. Dr. Edmonds carefully stitched the skin back together so that the design on my tatoo matched perfectly.

Getting my new cool blue cast!

Step 4) This is what it looked like in the end. There were many colors to choose from...red, lime green, royal blue, maroon, black, hot pink....I wanted to choose a color that would calm me down and give me good energy.
Step 3) He covered it again with some material that he dipped in the water. He molded it around to the shape of my leg. When it dried it was hard as a rock. He said this was fiberglass. COOL ehh?

Step 2) After that he covered it with some thicker gauze - gently wrapping it around and around until the initial gauze was completely covered.


Step 1) Curtis covered my leg with some thin gauze. This went on first.

My pepper!

I am so proud of my pepper! I enrolled in my first art class at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. The class is call "Studio Sampler". The teacher will expose us to colored pencils, pastels, acrylics and oils. I thought this class would help me to know what medium I want to learn more about and practice. Today we worked with colored pencil. She had us choose any item to draw and I choose this big red pepper. I have a lot of fun and I look forward to next week.

Lounging at home...

This is me using my "roll-about". My boyfriend put a basket on the front so if there is something I need from another room I can drop it in my basket. When I look at myself in this photo I just shake my head....but - you gotta do what you gotta do...and that is called "ADAPTING" to circumstances of which you have no control.

I usually have my laptop on, I can get work done, and communicate to others during my isolation!!!! I go back to the orthopedic surgeon on the 19th of Jan. I have been doing everything I can to stay healthy and heal.

This is how I spend most of my time - it seems the best position for my splinted leg is by propping it up with pillows and letting it lead on top of my headboard. It is actually the most comfortable place to be.

Surgery is behind me now...so relieved!

This x-ray was taken looking down on top of the front of my ankle. The bottom part of the photo is the beginning of my shin and the top part of the photo would go on further to show the top of my foot.
They had to put a plate in on the left side of my ankle, which required five small screws to be secure, and then they also had to put in four more longer screws on the other side to hold everything together.

It was quite a break. Hard to believe so much metal put into that one small section of your foot. Dr. Edmonds did the surgery.

I had lots of bruising on the side and behind my knee. I thought at first that maybe this was caused by my fall, but the Doctor later told me that this was because of me elevating my foot. (Which is what he had asked meto faithfully do). He said that the blood had to pool somewhere and this is where it ended up pooling. Better here than in my ankle area.

The Doctor cut off the old splint before surgery. My ankle looks pretty good huh!!! There was some bruising underneath my foot, but because I had kept it elevated, and drank lots of water my body had more of a chance to heal well. I was ready for the surgery as I had been hobbling around on crutches for nine days, yet I felt apprehensive as most people do before they go completely under.

This is before I went to surgery. I think the morphine helped me smile a little bigger than I felt. I am so glad the surgery is behind me and now each day brings me closer to a full recovery.

Happy New Year!!!

Thanks for all of your support these past nine years.

Our lives are an occasion - rise to it!!

God Bless you all and have a great 2010