Happy Memorial Day

To those here in the US, let me wish a safe and happy Memorial Day holiday. For most people, it’s a 3-day weekend that includes trips to the lake, boating, fishing, picnics, friends, and family.

Our Memorial Day celebration is much quieter. We’ll be staying home — it’s raining today and will probably rain tomorrow, as well — and I’ll be getting ready for Sketchbook Revival, which begins on Tuesday.

Just a quick little update. Because the retinologist I’ve been seeing was injured in an accident and is out of his office this month, his office referred me to a different retinologist. My appointment there was yesterday, and after an initial examination, this doctor decided to go ahead with the planned treatment — an Ozurdex implant. This is a biodegradable steroid sponge which was injected into my left eye. Yes, my eye hurts. Hopefully this will do its job — to release a steroid that reduces inflammation over the next three months.

I got very little sleep last night. I was told to sleep sitting up or at least with my head propped up, and for someone who doesn’t even like pillows, this was extremely uncomfortable. I finally settled into one of our recliners and dozed off for a few hours.

Now, I’ll be spending the rest of the day trying to remember what it feels like to be human. At the moment, I feel more like a slug or a sloth. My “big plans” for the day involve fixing a pasta salad and doing very little else.

Tomorrow and Monday I won’t be posting. My whole body needs a good rest, a “stress break”, to be honest. Once I have a bit more “get up and go”, I’ll start assembling a little “SR Kit” — for the different media I’ll plan to use during Sketchbook Revival. Oil pastels are on my list, as well as graphite and gansai. Maybe I’ll throw an ink pen in there, too. No oil paints for now, no acrylics, no colored pencils. Just a few of my favorite art things. I do have a mixed media sketchbook ready to go. It was much easier this time around to purchase a sketchbook than attempt making one.

So, while I’m taking it easy over the next couple days, I’m wishing everyone the best. Happy holiday if you’re here in the US, and have a happy weekend wherever in the world you are. I’ll be back on Tuesday to share the first of my Sketchbook Revival posts.