This year’s vacation was a lesson on just “being” for both of us. This was not something I wanted to do; It’s something I had no control over.
Dave and I flew into Maui on the 11th. On the way to the rental car shuttle I fell. I had fallen several years ago in the LAX airport on our way to vacation. That time I injured my shoulder and when we returned home I started on several months of physical therapy for my frozen shoulder. Both falls have these in common – airports and rushing.
This time I fell landing on my knees and hands, but instead of messing up my shoulder, I twisted my back. For those of you who have chronic back pain, I really feel for you. Back pain is really hard to live with. I’m fortunate that it was just a sprain.
Anyway, we got our rental car and made it to our condo. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the story. A day after we’re in Paradise, Dave got sick. There were a couple days when he didn’t even want to eat – which for my foodie hubby is pretty unbelievable.
I pushed myself to walk on the beach every day because of concern that I might have more problems if I just took it easy. With my shoulder, I didn’t move it for the two weeks we were gone and it took forever to get it unfrozen. I didn’t want that to happen with my back. I bought a heating pad and took Ibuprofen. Dave walked with me on days he felt well enough to get out.
So our plans for our vacation, which included several hikes, had to be scrapped while we just spent our time “being.” There were a few days when we felt good enough to go out to eat. Mama’s Fish House is our favorite restaurant on Maui so as we were sitting there I asked the server to take our picture.
Dave’s dessert was a work of art: Liliko’i chocolate mousse in a pastry seashell. Yum!
I really hate to be sick. But for me, it’s even worse on vacation. Since returning home I’ve continued that state of just “being” while taking anti-inflams, muscle relaxers, and doing some floor exercises the doc prescribed. Unlike on Hawaii, I’ve spent a lot of time sleeping. However, I’ve found the more I am active – walking or just standing – even though my back hurts, I feel better in the long run.
After almost three weeks since my fall I’m just now feeling like I want to create some art. Here are a couple of the mandalas I drew and colored the last two nights.
I also have been looking at this 3-ply cotton cord I dyed before we left. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I’ll be feeling good enough to sew it up.
So if you don’t seem much creativity on this blog for the next couple of weeks, just know I am here and looking forward to not just “being,” but creating.
Oh, on a happy note, Icy Delights will be open for registration tomorrow! I’m looking forward to seeing all of the beautiful fabric and clothing that my students will produce. If you are interested in this class, check it out here.
Thanks for dropping by.
Linda
Sorry to hear about your fall. Here’s wishing both you and your husband a speedy recovery
Yvonne,Thank you so much.
It’s no fun being sick. Hope you both feel better soon and that you’re back to creating in no time.
Hi there!! I ran across your blog awhile ago and love it! Thanks for sharing your art with us!! I’m wondering if you could help me with two problems I have encountered 😬 My kids and I have been sun printing today with Setacolor. Problem number one…they aren’t getting white underneath. Faded color, yes, but not white. Do we need to leave on longer??? And then #2, we were going at it and then realized the time and the sun was going down 🙁 Can we rewet tomorrow and try again?? We’re doing kitchen towels and the paint is already on. Just hoping we can rewet. Your help is greatly appreciated!! Thanks!!
Linda, So sorryt o hear of your and Jacks Ills. Must have been especially nasty when on vacation. I hope you recover quickly.
So sorry to hear about your fall, Lynda! I have been dealing with a bad shoulder the past few weeks, and sympathize with your pain. And yes, moving has helped me to heal, strangely enough… that and visits to the chiropractor – my first time! I’m almost completely back to normal, and hope you will be very soon as well. Take care, and I look forward to more creative inspiration from you soon!
Judy, Thanks. Oh, I do remember the pain from my frozen shoulder. I thought it would never heal. Glad you are almost back to normal. Every day I feel a little bit better. Thanks.
Barbara, Thank you!!
Sherrie, Thanks!
Hi Renee, Glad you found my blog. Let’s talk about what sun printing is. Wet fabric is painted and then covered with objects (botanicals, stencils, lace, etc). Once out in the sun, the water evaporates from the exposed surfaces of the fabric. The covered areas are protected and stay moist. While the sun works it’s magic, the water from the covered fabric moves to the drier exposed fabric, pulling the paint pigments with it. There are a couple reasons I can think of why you didn’t get complete white images. First of all the masks or whatever you are using to block out the sun need to have good contact with the fabric. The second reason may be because your humidity was low and the fabric dried fast not giving it time to move the pigment out from under those masks. Also, sometimes when it’s not hot enough, the pigment doesn’t move. Also be sure and leave the fabric out in the sun until it’s completely dry and avoid checking on the process (lifting up the masks). Rewetting won’t help. You can repaint the fabric and put in the sun. You won’t have white images, but that would make an interesting effect. In fact, I think I’ll try that in the Spring. I hope that helps.
Oh my Lynda, I will take a lesson from you about rushing. I hope your back is feeling fabulous in short order and that Dave is feeling his normal self again. I send you tons of healthy energy so you feel, as the commercial goes, “like it never even happened.”
Love the cotton you dyed and your mandalas (very healing!) and the green growth would seem to be a theme of healing also! 🙂
Take great care of you and we’ll catch up next time!
Christina, Thank you so much for you well wishes and energy. And thanks for dropping by and commenting.
Lynda,
Thank you so much for your response about the sunprinting. I was so caught up in my own problems that I completely disregarded your own problems with your back. I do pray you find relief and have a quick recovery. Despite your pain you took the time to respond, thank you! I felt like I read a lot of different sources and don’t remember any mention of humidity. Such a key factor that I either overlooked or didn’t know about!! Thank you for the “science” explanation of what is occurring! Now I tell my daughters too. While we had direct sun and warmer days here in south TX, the humidity is low right now. Definitely the culprit! In the end, I have a 3 and 5 year old that are pleased with their projects, and our last towels where we layered paints and scrunched the towels turned out much better than our first ones. This will be a fun project to return too! Thanks again!!
Renee, No problem. It helped me to take my mind off of my back. Thank you. I am still in a lot of pain, but I’m feeling much better – seeing progress and that’s great. Glad your towels turned out good. What a great project with the kids!
Take care, Lynda. I love reading your blog posts. This one about “just being” was especially meaningful. I’m glad that you and Dave found joy despite the changed trip. Hope you are feeling great soon!
Susan, Thank you for your kind words. I’m glad you found it meaningful. Sometimes we just have to stop and listen – or in my case I had no choice but to do that. I am fortunate because I know it’s not a chronic situation. Every day I am feeling better and better. Thanks again for your words and dropping by.
Lynda, hope you are both on the mend. My back feels better with ice. Your meals looked fabulous! We all need “being” time more often than we want to admit. I haven’t accomplished much this past month with “chilling” time!
Jane, Thanks. Seems like it’s a slow process! Sometimes we need to just “be” or chill! Thanks for dropping by.