Illustration Friday: Communication

brief explanation :]

If you stand back and look at it, you'll see this is a photo of my ear. It's supposed to be about how listening is an important part of communicating.

Photo Friday: Textured

Photo Friday: Self Portrait 2007

not feeling very creative this week

Illustration Friday: Gravity

Gravity is breaking me,

Burdening the air I breathe.

Heavy hearted I heave

Ever since you betrayed me.

-

What did I ever do to you?

Was my friendship so small?

You used my weakness to pad your fall

Ripping my home in two.

-

Ok, so you had a weak moment.

This I understand,

But under the heaviness of your hand

My mistakes become torment.

-

I don't deserve this atrocity,

Yet you offer no apology.

-

written for Clay, Feb. 18, 2007

-

Now that I look at this post, I don't think the photo is that clear. If you look close, the tree that has fallen has split another tree in two, right down the middle. It was really interesting to see. The photo doesn't do it justice. Oh well, it reminded me of a difficult time that a friend of mine has gone through, so I wrote this poem for him.

Mom's Page 2

This is part of a project I've been wanting to do for a while now, but kept putting off. Mary Sebbins Taitt's post "Thinking Of My Mother" has motivated me to work on it. She just recently lost her mother, and I can only imagine what she must be going through.

My mother has Alzheimer's, and I know the time I have left with her is limited. She was an artist, also. I say "was", but she still likes to color. When I go visit her, that's what we do. The background in this piece is her work. The activity director at the nursing home makes copies of pages from coloring books for the residents to color.

I'm feeling compelled now to vent my frustration with the system that my mom is dependent on for her care. I don't normally write politically oriented commentaries, but I'm appalled by the ineptitude [I couldn't think of a better word; feel free to insert your own] of our Social Security/Medicare/Medicaid system to take care of our elderly. How can a woman who was born in this country, worked all her life and never used welfare, and has been qualified for this system for several years now suddenly not qualify!?

Let me back up and give a little history. My mom was already receiving SS when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. I took care of her myself, but had to work, so I wasn't with her all the time. When her dementia got worse, I was able to get her qualified for an in-home care program designed to keep the elderly at home and out of the nursing homes. Her cognizant skills improved considerably after having a care taker come to the home a couple of hours a day five days a week. Then one day the omnipotent powers that be decided to assign her a new case worker. This new case worker, Donald Lockhart, decided with his infinite wisdom that my mother didn't qualify for this program. It was a mistake. "We don't babysit the elderly", he said. "Then what the hell do you do", I screamed back at him. He gave me some "by the book" answer, but basically it's left up to the case worker's discretion. Within a few months of his decision, she declined to the point that I was no longer able to care for her, and we had to put her in a nursing home. Now the tax payers are paying thousands of dollars a month instead of hundreds for her care, but that's not what upset me the most. We could have delayed the progression of the disease for a little while. We're talking about a human life that Mr. Lockhart obviously wasn't concerned about.

Well, it's been a couple of years since that decision. We finally found a home with a good activity program. She even showed some improvement again for a little while, but now there's a possibility that she's going to lose this care as well. Social Security has stopped her checks. They say she doesn't qualify, but they won't tell me why. They don't recognize Power of Attorney, so they won't talk to me. The nursing home thinks they may be able to find out why. They have forms my mom can sign allowing the nursing home to receive information. The lady that's helping us thinks her checks were stopped because she worked for the school district for a couple of years. The school district has their own retirement system which my mom doesn't receive. I've been told, though, that if SS upholds their decision, she will be cut off from her Medicare and Medicaid as well. Worse case scenario, the nursing home will pressure the family to come get her. If we don't, they'll call Adult Protective Services. How can our government spend millions of dollars on young mothers who have never worked a day in their lives, or illegal aliens and their children, and then deny my mother needed care!?

Illustration Friday: Crash

Feeling a little sad today. I've been on such a high lately that
I hope I'm not crashing. [brief explanation: the pieces at the
bottom of this pit are taken from a photo of my face]

Photo Friday: Sky

Illustration Friday: Sprout 2

This was inspired by Studio Lolo's post for sprout at http:/studiololo.blogspot.com

Illustration Friday: Sprout

I've had some strange things sprouting in my backyard

lately. Mabe it has something to do with the ice storm we

had a couple of weeks ago. I've never seen bright red

mushrooms before.

Photo Friday: Strange

wind blown icicles...

these are things you just don't see every day in Houston!

This funny little guy kept me amused when I came home
for lunch today. He obviously mistook his reflection for an
intruding male and kept angrily pecking my window. I've
never seen a bird like this before. Anybody know what he
is?

Illustration Friday: Red 2

Photo Friday: Brother

Illustration Friday: Red

Photo Friday: Fast

Illustration Friday: Super Hero

The Neurological Avenger fights the affects of a head
injury he received in a motorcycle accident. In spite of neurological damage done to the right side of his body limiting his ability to walk, write, and balance, he has been able to regain some motor skills and transform his body and his life. A focused super hero whose only weapons are Determination and Commitment . Even when he didn't feel like it, he continued to push himself and never gave up.





!!!Wonder Lynda!!!
Battler of the evil villain, Breast Cancer. In spite of the menacing pain this enemy inflicts on her bones [because it has spread to her bones] along with the effects of the chemo drugs, she continues to work out regularly. When others get discouraged, she courageously pushes on with an inner strength that surpasses, I think, even her own understanding.






!!!Diabetic Man and Ellen!!!

To the rest of the world he's a 72 year old type 1 diabetic, insulin dependent all his life, missing half a lung, with a herniated disc in his lower back. But, when faced with the possibility of losing his legs, he turns into Diabetic Man, defender of his precious health. Barely able to walk when he first started, he can lift 180 pounds on the leg press now, and does 3 sets of 20 pushups. He's packed that old walker away in storage.




His faithful side kick for 53 years, Ellen helps him in his battles as well as fighting a few of her own like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. In spite of neck, wrist, and hand pain, as well as numb feet, she can do 3 sets of 20 reps on the T-bar back row lifting 45 pounds. She sais she wants to be able to lift her husband in case of an emergency.




These are my heroes. I have been blessed with the privilege of working with these amazing super heroes on a daily basis, and they inspire me.

Illustration Friday: 80s

To me the 80s seemed materialistic and self indulgent. It's

when "crack" and "x" [ecstacy] became popular. I did this

drawing after my brother's accident in '88. It's called

Death in a Glass and Pennies. It was to big to scan, so I lost

some of the detail in the pennies.

Photo Friday: Peaceful

Couldn't make up my mind...

Photo Friday: Sister

Illustration Friday: Buzz

Illustration Friday: Phoenix

I'm learning how to use Photoshop today. This is my first

project.

Photo Friday: Best of 2006

As I was going through my photos to pick a Best of 2006, I
realized that 2005 was a better year for my photography
[I bet you can guess what my New Year's resolution is for
this year]. So, I picked this photo not because I thought it
was unusual or creative, but because it was my first time to
parasail, and when I look at it I remember how amazing it
felt.

Illustration Friday: Peace

Photo Friday: Weather