Today

Today will be a squeeze.

Early breakfast, then off mid-morning to the Y for another different class new to us. It sounds similar, kinda a mix of cardio, strength and stretching. But we (wife & I) never know til we try the class.

It’s the drive in Austin traffic that’s the real time killer. Not as bad as some places, worse than others, but more than anything – where what we’re going to is located from us AND at what time 😊

Then back home, quick lunch, and I head to the Old Bakery & Emporium (OBE).

If I’m lucky, 30-45 minutes heavy traffic, each way.

Unlucky is stuck in stopped traffic.

W/no time limit, lol 😂

Once there, I want to re-stock some prints that’ve been selling.

Also, first of each month a new show goes up in the limestone walled gallery upstairs.

But first (this is where I come in) the old show must come down, inventoried – plus old price stickers, labels, assorted hooks removed from the walls. There’s some free rolling temporary walls for hanging pics, limestone walls in most places, and heavy wire mesh in still a few other spots. So it’s a fun assortment of work. I like it 😊

I’d helped every month with taking down each month’s shows since early last year, til my surgery end of June. Today marks the 1st time I’ve been “released” by the Dr to help (no more 8 lb weight limit).

Today though, also marks the last time I’ll be able to help take down a show til “maybe” the end of October, otherwise end of November. Long time.

But my wife says I’m strong, and’ll heal quickly.

Again.

I’ll let her be right 😊

Again 💕

Yesterday

Yesterday was a squeeze of a different kind.

Stayed home most the whole day while my wife ran chores.

I assembled some 8x10s and 4x6s with foam backings & inserts into clear sleeves. At OBE I’ll make an inventory list w/item #’s sequenced from my most recent re-stock, then one of the reg employees (I’m a volunteer w/the other group of artists showing our art there) will print price stickers to put on the art, so I can take the art print pieces to the different areas where that size and subject matter (Austin, paintings, Texas, etc) are exhibited.

Uh-oh, I may’ve merged some of Today with Yesterday, lol!

But only a touch..

That’s ok.

Anyway, other chores yesterday were bills to pay, blogs posts to write, walk, fix my lunch (since Sheila was gone the belly of the day) – though she, of course, had it all sorted and fixed into separate containers to re-heat.

So I guess you could say I had to eat my lunch more so than fix it 😊

I did, I think, though, lay the groundwork and lots of the framework for having posts continue through Friday’s surgery and into Saturday, Saturday probably setting up to be harder to pull through than Friday’s surgery, considering Friday I’ll mostly be asleep w/anesthesia. Linger it does…

Getting up, middle of the afternoon, middle of the night, after being cut up and sewn back up, that morning, esp getting up – dragging the IV stand to the bathroom with me each time I need to go, is a dance of not-stumbling, lol! Nurses promised me, last time, it was good for me. Uh-huh 😏

So I pushed a bit through the minutes of the day. Watched them turn to hours, half a day, most the day, and Sheila was back home, with hair cut so beautifully I could see the lift in her step. We smiled, chatted; she gave me a chocolate the beautician gifted her and ate it walking the 100 degrees to check the mail over by the apt offices. Not as easy to check as the house we lived in nearly a decade. But 2/3’s easier getting to the youngest grandchild in traffic and heat – worth it.

Got back, pushed back into the minutes of the day again. Two and a half days to surgery. Searched my digital files for a photo of a bowl I know I’ve had five or more years. Needed it for a short story I’ve had in a charity book compilation almost same number of years. I plan to post my story on my site. The Yoga Bowl. Saw a blue bowl with swirl designs in our Tiffany-style metal shelving by the Vermont hard wood maple dining table from Sheila’s mom. Carefully took it out to the balcony in the heat. Took some quick shots. Didn’t like them. Repositioned myself. Caught some shadow angles from planters surrounding the bowl like mesh work on the concrete floor. Too oblong. Would have to crop it. Took three shots. Glanced at them. Knew they’d be enough. Carefully took the bowl back inside. Switched from the iPhone to the iPad and worked on the image. Cut the image to a square. Deepened the shadows literally 1/100th and could see the difference. Swiped a dialed down saturation brush along a line. Good. Dabbed it on the edge of a shadow lump. Too much. Faded it half. Too much. Unfaded it less than a quarter back. Pulled my head back. Looked at it like I was glancing at it. Just noticing it. Liked the way the highlights in the bowl glistened through the cobalt blue still in shadows. The Yoga Bowl.

Sheila let me work a little more til she saw me stagger. I needed a break.

“Don’t forget we’re going to that new class in the morning. Better rest.”

“Okay.”

“You make breakfast tomorrow?”

I reviewed in my mind what we had on hand. Banana, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, grapes. Half a nectarine. Yogurt. Vanilla milk. Walnuts. Pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Fresh wheat bread. Coffee.

“Yeah.”

She went on doing something in the kitchen.

See, we learned a lot what to expect from June’s surgery.

We try to keep surprises to a minimum 😊

It was time to rest….

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My Related Blog Posts

• Aging Gracefully – When Yoga Breathing Paid Off In the ER
• Aging Gracefully – Walking’s Paying Off After Surgery, Step by Step
• Aging Gracefully – My Post-Op’s Gallbladder Lesson: My Core’s Gonna Hurt Even When I Laugh

Plus –

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Related Amazon Search & Products

Surgery Recovery

I do like to point out I pick my selections to showcase from my Amazon searches. May not always be the case, or wholly always the case, but for now, I prefer picking titles and book covers and gift items that just really appeal to me. There’s lots more to choose from, but only have so much room, lol! I hope you enjoy —

Thanks so much everyone! 😊

Adan

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