LearningArt

2011-02-06T20:15:00.000-08:00

I'm going to try an Etsy-related widget here.

It's called Pocket Shop and is billed as a portable version of my esty shop for blogs or websites.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T08:21:00.000-08:00

With the preparations for Thanksgiving dinner, and then the following downtime, I wasn't able to post my Thanksgiving blog earlier.

I hope that everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving had a wonderful day! (I hope those of you who don't celebrate Thanksgiving also had a wonderful day!)

I had decided to go ahead and make a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, even though I wasn't sure how many would be here for dinner. My elder son and his wife recently moved out of state and are just getting settled and my younger son was not sure whether he was scheduled to work. So we thought that there might well be just my husband, the medical student who is living with us, possibly one of his classmates, along with me for dinner.

Come Thanksgiving, I tend to channel my Mom, who cooked for holiday meals as if we were being visited by a battalion (at least), who'd been on short rations for a month, so despite my conscious decision to pare down the menu, given that the turkey would be about 12 to 14 pounds, there was going to be FOOD and leftovers galore, but I decided to go ahead with the turkey.

Wayne,the med student,suddenly had a contact from a cousin who wished to visit this week and we agreed not only to the visit but to have him join us for Thanksgiving Dinner.

Then we heard that there were some students from Taiwan that were friends of his cousin, who had been in the country for about six months, studying at NYU and they asked if it might be possible to invite them.

So, where we thought that we might have four to six people,we ended up with eight. (It turned out that my younger son and his girlfriend were not able to come, after all.)

We had a wonderful time! The three girls were delightful; very enthusiastic and curious about the custom of Thanksgiving and the food. They enjoyed everything and even took pictures of the turkey! They were unfamiliar with Reddi-Whip and this provided an some impromptu entertainment.

They were completely enamored of my dog, Meka and our cat, Carolina.

The conversations were enjoyable and easy.

It was wonderful to be able to share dinner and our home with people we would never have had the opportunity to meet otherwise. It's good to see ourselves from another point of view!

Another benefit was that it cut down on leftovers, though it still didn't eliminate them completely!

November 11

2010-11-11T18:34:00.000-08:00

Of course, today is Veteran's Day, the holiday previously known as Armistice Day, but before it was either of those, it was my grandmother's birthday.

My maternal grandmother, Anna Brilinski Mattes was born on November 11, 1891 on the Lower East Side of New York City. She was one of three children; she had a brother and a half sister.

The family was not well off and she went to work at what we would consider a very early age. She worked as a domestic, a "mother's helper" for a wealthy family at 15 years of age and married my grandfather at 18 years.

She had three biological children and provided a home for one of her nephews when his mother died. She also provided short term foster care for babies with health problems.

Most of my childhood she and my grandfather lived in the apartment beneath us and they were a very important presence in my life. When I was quite young, I remember walking with her to neighborhood shops, but these became less and less frequent as her arthritis worsened. She gradually became more and more housebound, but was still central to the family. When my uncle's wife died, he came to live in the apartment for a couple of years along with his daughter, who spent much of her time with my brother and me, more like siblings than cousins, until her dad remarried.

She was an excellent cook but as time went on and her mobility decreased, my mother took on much of that role for holidays and family gatherings.

The entire extended family used to visit frequently.

She died on June 10,1961, just short of my 16th birthday. On the day of my birthday, one of the gifts I received was a card and sugar cube corsage (as was the fashion in those olden days) that she had already bought for me and had ready.

I have my grandmother (Mom-Mom) to thank for a number of things, among them:
1. A love of food
2. A good basis in cooking skills
3. A predisposition toward arthritis
4. A hearty and infectious laugh that I'm told is like hers
5. Great enjoyment of company /socialization
6. A love of singing
7. An impatience with pretension and self-promotion

Happy Birthday, Mom-Mom!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2010-11-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

My Dad, Matthew Waddell was born on November 4th, 1915 in Glasgow, Scotland and came to this country with his mother and sister at age 7 to join his father who had preceded them.

Even as a child, so the family story goes, when asked his nationality, he would say that he was "Scottish by birth but American by choice".

He was a young man of 17 or so, in the midst of the Depression, when his father disappeared. Within the next couple of years, after high school, as a means of helping his mother, by adding some income to the household coffers, while removing a mouth from the dinner table, (and to satisfy the urge to travel that seems to be inherent in many Scots) he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps.

He worked in several C.C.C. camps at various locations in the western US, doing infrastructure improvement and forestry projects. He learned valuable skills and got to see parts of the country he would not have seen otherwise.

Here he is at a camp in Montana:

Later, he became a merchant seaman and when World War II broke out, he volunteered for service, because due to a punctured eardrum, he was not eligible for the draft. He became a medic in the army with the rank of sergeant. Much of his time in the military was spent in sea duty, accompanying troops, back and forth between Europe and the U.S.

Just about that same time, he also met my mother and they married in 1942. They spent much of their early married life with numerous intervals of separation due to his military service.

Here they are as newlyweds:

He had several jobs after the war until he began work at Chase Manhattan Bank, where he worked until his retirement at 62 years.

He had many interests, a great sense of humor, was widely read, and enjoyed life! He and my mother were an extraordinarily complementary couple. My mother was an extremely practical person. Dad was the more whimsical partner. This carried through all aspects of their life, even decorating, and made things like wallpaper shopping, quite the adventure and an early case study in negotiation for us children.

He was a great dad to my brother and me! He was very involved in our school and church activities. Family trips were always fun, whether we were fishing, going to a museum, walking around and in our own city or traveling to places like Washington, D.C., Gettysburg, or, much later, St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands.

We were very involved with both our nuclear and extended family, so family time of all sorts, visiting relatives and celebrating birthdays and anniversaries were important to both my parents.

Here he is with me at the zoo:

...at a family picnic, shown with my Grandmother and me at about 4 yrs:

He and my mother had the chance during his retirement to travel and they made the most of those opportunities.

He maintained his interests in photography, reading, language, tinkering and home repair. He was a completely devoted grandfather to all four of his grandchildren.

Both Mom and Dad dealt with serious and ultimately terminal health challenges in a brave and dignified manner.

Dad spent the last 6 months of his life in our home in Brooklyn and died May 3, 1992.

He taught us about fidelity, passion, relationships, patience and good humor.

Thanks Dad!

Our Weekend!

2010-11-01T20:53:00.000-07:00

Last week we noticed a swelling on the ear flap of Meka, my assistance dog.

I researched the symptoms and they fit those of aural hematoma, which is caused by bleeding between the layers of skin of the ear.
I took him to the vet and he was, in fact, diagnosed with an aural hematoma.

The vet stated that the treatment with the best chance for permanent resolution was surgery. We set up a date for surgery on Friday 10/29. She did drain it with a needle but advised that it would likely refill again, but would give him a bit of relief until the surgery could take place( if by chance, it actually resolved, the surgery could be canceled).

So, at 8:30 AM on Friday, we brought Meka in for his surgery; we picked him up again at 4 PM.

He came home with a bandage on his head and one on his leg where the IV was.

We were instructed to remove the bandage the next day and use the Elizabethan collar whenever we were not able to directly observe him to make sure that he didn't scratch or paw at the stitches.

We also have an anti inflammatory and antibiotics we need to give him.

He was fairly lethargic the rest of the evening, but went out readily for a brief relief break at about 11pm, then we all conked out.

Photos below:

Yesterday when we got up David went to the kitchen and the kitchen light blew out and blew a fuse, we thought, but actually blew a breaker further along the line. So, we had to get maintenance and it was determined that the fixture had a short, so I had to quickly do some shopping online to decide what I wanted and where to go for it.

I went to Home Depot and got some fixtures and got back as quickly as I could so that the maintenance man would still be available to install it. He did. I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with the first choice of placement, but at least we have light where we need it, the breakers aren't tripping and I can have things moved later if necessary.

Because the maintenance man was working on the ladder in the kitchen, I didn't get lunch until 2:30 PM, then needed to do a couple of errands and went to Mass at 5:30.

Later, we removed the dressing on Meka's ear. The wound was still pretty raw looking.

I re-bandaged the ear and for overnight we placed the Elizabethan collar on him ( no photos of that yet).

He bumbled about in a pathetic fashion, trying to judge where this thing will fit and where it won't and how to move with it. At some point during the night, he decided to join us in bed, a very rare occurrence without an express invitation. In true doggy fashion, he made himself comfortable. The cat moved to another location, then another. Meka continued to spread out and David was soon clinging to an edge of the bed with an edge of the blanket.

I slept through most of this and woke fairly refreshed.

Today we plan a relaxing day, no plans except to greet trick or treaters!

Tornado in Brooklyn and Exercise Milestone

2010-09-18T11:56:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a very bizarre storm here in Brooklyn, with thunder, lightning, hail and lots of wind. It might have been a tornado, they hadn't definitively classified it yet. Lots of trees were downed. Today the weather report stated that winds were clocked at 109 miles per hour. Very dramatic and scary.

This week was the first time I was able to do three water aerobics three times in the week.

I got to the afternoon class twice and an evening class on Wednesday!

Below are a some photos of the storm and aftermath.

Happy Independence Day!

2010-07-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

Our cool spell here in Brooklyn is over; it's heating up. We're moving into the high 90's.

We're having some friends over this evening, about six in all. In the past, we've watched the fireworks from our living room window, but this year and last, the location of the fireworks was moved to to the Hudson River on the West Side of Manhattan rather than the East River, which is visible from our living room.

We'll still be able to see some of the highest bursts, but not the full show. However, while this will change one part of the "tradition", it won't dim our appreciation of our time together.

I prepared a menu that I'm pretty sure that everyone will like; won't blow the calorie budget too badly and didn't require massive amounts of prep.

While I think that I will likely go somewhat over my limit, I've planned ahead, so that I meet my nutritional needs and minimize the damage.

Since this change is supposed to be for life, there has to be room for celebration and variation in our circumstances, so I'm not worrying about it.

I'm also giving some time to thought and prayer for our nation.

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful Independence Day weekend and that those of you who are traveling have safe journeys!

The first photo below is of a flag and bunting bedecked Brooklyn Borough Hall, the others, of fireworks past:

Happy Canada Day!

2010-07-01T21:02:00.000-07:00

We are both native New Yorkers, but we have a Canadian medical student living with us and we decided to help him celebrate Canada Day...

Not to fear, I've duly logged the piece of cake...

New Landmark

2010-06-27T21:05:00.000-07:00

I stopped off at Target on Wednesday after my Feldenkrais® Class and bought a caddy for the shower, to keep my shampoo and conditioner off the floor. It was a tension pole with wire baskets and needed to be assembled.

Saturday morning I thought we would put it together. WRONG! The instructions were terrible, but we figured we could work it out. WRONG! We got really close, but it wasn't fitting against the ceiling correctly and I couldn't seem to get it adjusted. The ironic part was that I hadn't even considered it a "project" which is kind of a dirty word to my husband. He was getting more and more frustrated and annoyed and I was becoming exhausted. I finally decided that it wasn't worth the trouble. I took it apart and returned it.

While I was out I stopped at another clothing store because there was a sale. I bought a couple of pair of capri pants and blouses. I wasn't sure about size ( I have been wearing size 22/24 and figured that I might be down a size and so I took a 22, a 20 and just on a whim, an 18. When I tried them on, I was amazed that the 18 fit quite well and the others were much too large!

So, while the scale has not changed since last week, there have obviously been some changes.

Some of my pants were getting too big and some were actually falling down but I never thought that I'd lost two sizes. So now I don't know how the ones that stay up are even doing so. On Monday I plan a closet purge.

Some of you who have visited before might remember that I was having a hard time figuring out a reward for myself for reaching the halfway point to my original weight loss goal and almost to the quarter point toward my new goal. I think I've found it!

In another piece of good news, I've gotten clearance from my doctor to begin my physical and occupational therapy again and to get back to the Y to do my swimming and water aerobics, though she did caution me not to start them all at once.

What the last few days brought me...

2010-06-23T12:27:00.000-07:00

It is very hot here in Brooklyn, NY and I've mostly stayed indoors the past two days.

As I mentioned in my last blog, I've been fiddling with the various nutrient numbers, but the good news is that there are lots of local (or at least more local) fresh fruits and veggies out there now. I'm now able to eat them and I'm making good use of them.

I had beautiful strawberries yesterday and this morning, had them in a smoothie. Below is a photo. Isn't it gorgeous?

This morning's breakfast:

Yesterday we washed the shower curtains and liners with some towels and added some of Meka's vast collection of tennis balls, to add some friction. Many of them were downright filthy and needed a bath. So, we got clean shower curtains and liners, clean soft towels and a bin full of clean tennis balls, which as my husband says, is the answer to the question "What do dogs dream about?".

Washed Tennis Balls:

The last of my birthday roses while still intact, are moving toward the end of their rose life. Isn't the texture of the petals extraordinary?

"Faded Rose":

As for my extended birthday celebration; today, David (hubby) found yet another birthday gift hidden away-a lovely caftan and my friend, Jane, has sent me seven books by Alexander McCall Smith, mostly one at a time, the last three, together, arrived today!

Celebrate Good Times!

2010-06-18T23:55:00.000-07:00

I meant to get this posted two days ago, at least, but revelry and recuperation intervened.

Wednesday was my birthday. My husband, David, was very attentive. He gave me numbers of gifts all wrapped individually thought the day and made a reservation for a mid afternoon luncheon at one of my favorite restaurants in a nearby neighborhood and invited his sister and her husband as well as several other friends, five additional people, in all. We had a great time!

There were also calls, cards, emails, flowers and gifts from other family members and friends.

I am truly blessed with people who love me and show that love in many ways, not only on birthdays and such occasions.

It had been typical in my family of origin to have several different birthday celebrations with different groups of relatives and friends, so the birthday stretched on to the birthday week and even the birthday month! It's a tradition that I strive to maintain for myself and highly recommend to others.

So, last night I hosted a group of my friends who call ourselves the Fearsome Foursome and we celebrated my birthday together. We have known each other and met regularly for about 37 years.

Of course, given that I'm still in recovery mode from the recent health challenge, I had to take one day of recovery time for each day of celebration,

Below are some images taken during the day, my birthday breakfast, one of the bouquets I received, one of our houseplants and a picture of the view from our living room:

How I got here and how I'm doing...

2010-06-15T23:28:00.000-07:00

It's the day before my birthday, so I thought that it might be time to reflect a bit on my history and process.

Among many other aspects of my family history and culture, I came from a family whose genetic makeup makes us very efficient at storing energy for times of famine.

Both my grandmother and mother were also wonderful cooks, as were my aunts.

Both maternal grandparents and my paternal grandmother were overweight (I did not know my paternal grandfather).

My mother struggled with her weight most of her life, but in her late 40's and early 50's she dieted and lost significant a amount of weight and kept it off. Ironically, she developed swallowing problems due to Parkinson's Syndrome in her late 60's and in her 70's became unable to eat, requiring supplemental feeding by tube.

After being an infant and young child who didn't eat very much and apparently worried everyone, (they literally believed that my survival was at stake) the family went to great lengths to get me to eat more. Eventually, I learned that eating pleased the people I cared most about; that food tasted good; that seconds were at least as good as firsts. I grew up; puberty hit and weight trended upward.

I was a tad overweight but managing within a few pounds. I was not particularly devoted to sweets or junk food, nor did I do a lot of emotional eating (though, one might argue that the learned behaviors around portion size had a basis in emotion).

While at college, I hurt my back, and, in retrospect, probably had my onset of MS.

I ended up having lots of medical intervention and medication and less and less physical activity.

So, between my skewed sense of portion size and my limited ability to exercise on a consistent basis, I began gaining weight in earnest. I spent numbers of years gaining and losing the same 20 to 30 lbs.

After a while, I stopped dieting and stayed within about a 25 lb. range without it but was unable to either lose weight or exercise.

In 1973 I had back surgery, which stopped the worst and most persistent of my pain but did not stop all of my issues.

Sometime in the early 1980's I was diagnosed hypothyroid and a couple of years later, with osteoarthritis.

In 1983 I was diagnosed with MS.

In 2005 I had knee replacements and have gradually been able to increase my ability to move with less pain.

Between 2006 and 2009 my blood pressure and cholesterol were creeping up.

I knew that by losing weight, I would decrease those factors and I worked really hard but the going was extremely slow. I was still only able to do exercise episodically.

Late in 2006, I joined Spark People but there were lapses in my tracking and I didn't use many of the other tools on the site except for reading some of the articles.

Still, between 2007 and 2009 I lost 25 lbs.

Late in 2009 I began being much more assiduous about my tracking, got access to the services of a nutritionist, who made some very specific suggestions about portion sizes, gave some good feedback and provided some personal accountability, and found a way to get back into exercise in a way that didn't set me back.

I showed the nutritionist the Spark People site when we were tracking and charting intake. She was quite impressed, not only with the tracking and reports but with the information available.

More recently I began to consider seriously the things I was reading here about better results being obtained by people who use more of the Spark People tools and resources, including the Community features. I began to consider that many aspects of this advice are very familiar to me and that I believe them to be valid in other areas of my life. My education and training is in Clinical Social Work. I do educational and support groups because I believe in the power of education and mutual support, so why maintain my heretofore "lone wolf" approach to weight loss? Wasn't that a self-defeating blind spot?

I began to use the login point wheel, to read and respond to other members' blog posts and messages. I resumed posting on my blog.

I also began to do more than pay lip service to looking at this process as more than a "diet" and to commit to a lifestyle change over a long period of time. Seeing it that way makes it less discouraging when setbacks occur and easier to see them as mere setbacks rather than moral lapses or defeats.

I had been making steady, though slow progress, until my recent illness at which time, even though I was unable to eat adequately or exercise at all and was stuck for a month at the same weight. I received wonderful support from my family and friends and from my SP friends, of every vintage.

I think that at another time I might have let myself believe that it wasn't worth continuing the process. Instead, I took the counter-intuitive step of building up my intake to the lower end of my calorie range while maintaining a balance of nutrients and doing whatever minimal level of exercise I can, when I can.

Today, at my weigh-in, the scale finally moved; down 2 lbs!!!

It's just another step, but one in the right direction.

Some "historical" photos:

Using My Down Time

2010-06-06T15:12:00.000-07:00

At the time of my last post, I was coming back after treating an MS flare with steroIds. Less than a week after that, I became very ill with a sinus and gastro-intestinal infection, and required a ten day round of antibiotics. I am still in the process of convalescing, so I have to proceed slowly with my plan to increase my exercise. I have an appointment for a follow-up visit with my doctor tomorrow so I'll see if I can get an "all clear" to resume physical therapy and swimming.

Because of these issues, I haven't been doing much in the creative realm lately, but I have been getting the urge, so I've begun some sketches which I might be able to carve into stamps. This is a project that doesn't require a lot of time to set up and clean up, so it allows me to work within my current energy levels. Once I've got something completed, I'll post some photos.

I'm looking forward to being able to do some fabric dying and painting again in the not too distant future.

Since I haven't had a lot of energy for anything else, I've been watching the sky a lot, clouds, changing light, sunsets; stocking up on inspiration for when I'm ready...

Another thing I've been doing is listening to podcasts. Among those I check in with regularly under the craft heading is CraftyPod. I really enjoy the wide variety of topics covered and the thoughtful way they are handled!

Here are a few sky photos by my husband, David, which can serve to illustrate some of my sky watching :

My (Re) Debut

2010-06-03T22:33:00.000-07:00

Today was the first time that I taught my Awareness Through Movement® (Feldenkrais Method®) class for more than a month.*

* for more information on The Feldenkrais Method® and my practice you can check here:

It's just an hour class with a half hour travel time each way, but it was the first time that I was able to even think about the process of getting out, much less manage to teach.

It helped that the weather was good, although quite warm, but with the air conditioner on, it was comfortable.

I was able to stop by Target on the way home and picked up a few things I needed.

I hope that I can manage to keep it going...

Sunday, May17

2010-05-17T22:50:00.000-07:00

Today was another mild and sunny day.

After being too fatigued to get to the Mass we usually attend, I was able to get up and out for 9 AM Mass this morning. We left immediately after David, my husband and Meka, my assistance dog returned from the morning walk.

Because this is not the service we usually attend, we were able to see and greet a number of fellow parishioners that we don't usually get to see.

When we got home, we did a few of our morning routines that we didn't get to do before we left (medications, read a bit of the Times, did a couple of exercises) then I made an omelet with shallots, plum tomatoes, feta cheese, olives, basil, served with a garnish of arugula leaves for the two of us. It was more like brunch in terms of timing.

We had a relaxing day; made and received a few phone calls, did some email and SparkPeople stuff, watched "On the WaterFront", which I'd never seen all the way through, even took a brief "lie down", had a small snack.

After the movie, David took Meka out again while I went to the YMCA to join up. I brought my suit with me and used the pool for the first time.

I use a wheelchair due to mobility difficulties due to my MS. The pool provides a means for me to do physical exercise which does not cause the same level of fatigue and overheating that many other forms do. It also reduces that pesky hold that gravity usually has on me (until I get out, when I notice the work I've done).

The changing area and shower are small but manageable for me since I can stand and transfer and walk short distances.

The pool has a water powered lift which makes getting into and out of the pool much more "do-able"

I went during the "Recreational Family Swim" time and used the time to do many of the exercises I did during the Aquatics program that just ended, along with stretching, water jogging and finishing with a short swim. I stayed just short of an hour and then wended my way home.

I'm going to try to do the Water Aerobics tomorrow.

I'm thinking about beginning a new craft project soon-looking for the right inspiration.

Here are a few projects past...

Time to Switch Gears

2010-05-15T22:27:00.000-07:00

After a very gray day yesterday, it was a bright sunshine-y day today; always good for my mood.

Early in the day I had all kinds of thoughts about getting out for a while.

Did some stretching and a few strengthening exercises.

Got involved doing email, SparkPeople, some online genealogy research, spoke on the phone a bit and did a bit of housekeeping, then got dinner.

One other thing I did accomplish was to generate some ideas about fun things to do (possible vacation or stay-cation ideas).

By late afternoon I was pretty fatigued.

Total non-sequitur, but thought I'd close with a view from our window:

May 14, 2010 (Not feeling too creative in the headline department)

2010-05-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

It's been threatening rain all day today, so I'm glad we seized the day and did a Trader Joe's run yesterday. The rain held off during the day but I just heard some thunder.

Today was my second day without any prednisone.

Things are beginning to settle and I'm more able to see what my functioning is actually like.

Earlier in the week, I did my last Aquatics class of the series on Monday and went to Occupational and Physical Therapy appointments on Tuesday.

It was interesting that I was able to complete the sets of strengthening exercises that I usually do, however, I would not have been able to do any more than that. Several weeks before my flare up, I could have, and did, do two to five more than the set as given, if I felt able to do so.

When it came to the balance portion of my session, I was able to some tasks at almost the level I usually do, but was easily fatigued, and of course as I became more fatigued, my balance got worse. The tandem walk was really poor.

It was good to see what was really happening in terms of the routines I had been doing. I now have a baseline from which to judge my progress from here on.

By next week, I hope that I'll be all set up with my YMCA membership which will mean at least one session in the pool per week and more if I can manage it. That is, by far, my most preferred mode of exercise.

In the meantime, while I still have a bit of a "buzz", I figured that I would get going on some exercise time, particularly since I wasn't able to do much in the way of exercise for the past several weeks, due to the fatigue I was experiencing due to my flare and the subsequent medication course.

Wednesday, I tried out my new SparkPeople CardioBlast DVD (Walk it Out Workout), previewed the Fitness Starter DVD and used the Inflatable Balance Board that I ordered.

Thursday I did some strengthening exercises and the Inflatable Balance Board. At this point I can just about stand with two feet on the board for one minute at a time.

Today I did the one mile easy walk using the Leslie Sansone DVD and the most of the Resistance Band workout on the Fitness Starter DVD.

Of course, I was not able to do any of these workouts without stopping several times but I did complete them.

I know that there will be times when I won't be able to do what I've planned, but I want to know that:
A. That I'm doing some exercise on a regular basis
B. I'm doing what I can, when I can

In the meantime, I'm increasing my intake of fruits and veggies.

Trying to put it all together...

2010-05-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

Something's brewing weather-wise today...It's been looking threatening all day and there's been thunder and lightning this evening. I'm glad that I decided to do my Trader Joe's run yesterday.

I've recently been treating a flareup of my MS and have been tapering off the medication. Today was my second day without any prednisone.

Late last year I began to work more seriously on weight loss by logging my food on SparkPeople.com and have been maintaining a blog there.

When this flare-up got to the point that the Neuro and I decided to treat it, I was particularly concerned about the potential for weight gain both as a side effect of the medication and as a result of increased appetite, also side effect.

That brings us to now.

Things are beginning to settle and I'm more able to see what my functioning is actually like.

Earlier in the week, I did my last Aquatics class of the series on Monday and went to Occupational and Physical Therapy appointments on Tuesday.

It was interesting that I was able to complete the sets of strengthening exercises that I usually do, however, I would not have been able to do any more than that. Several weeks before my flare up, I could have, and did, do two to five more than the set as given, if I felt able to do so.

When it came to the balance portion of my session, I was able to some tasks at almost the level I usually do, but was easily fatigued, and of course as I became more fatigued, my balance got worse. The tandem walk was really poor.

It was good to see what was really happening in terms of the routines I had been doing. I now have a baseline from which to judge my progress from here on.

By next week, I hope that I'll be all set up with my YMCA membership which will mean at least one session in the pool per week and more if I can manage it. That is, by far, my most preferred mode of exercise.

In the meantime, while I still have a bit of a "buzz", I figured that I would get going on some exercise time, particularly since I wasn't able to do much in the way of exercise for the past several weeks, due to the fatigue I was experiencing due to my flare and the subsequent medication course.

Wednesday, I tried out my new SparkPeople CardioBlast DVD (Walk it Out Workout), previewed the Fitness Starter DVD and used the Inflatable Balance Board that I ordered.

Thursday I did some strengthening exercises and the Inflatable Balance Board. At this point I can just about stand with two feet on the board for one minute at a time.

Today I did the one mile easy walk using the Leslie Sansone DVD and the most of the Resistance Band workout on the Fitness Starter DVD.

Of course, I was not able to do any of these workouts without stopping several times but I did complete them.

I know that there will be times when I won't be able to do what I've planned, but I want to know that:
A. That I'm doing some exercise on a regular basis
B. I'm doing what I can, when I can

In the meantime I'm increasing my intake of fruits and veggies, too...

Coming to the end; starting at the beginning...

2010-05-13T22:44:00.000-07:00

This most recent group of blog posts were begun to help me both document and cope with this recent flare-up and its treatment. Since that particular aspect is coming to close, I thought that I might reflect a bit on what's happened.

The timing of those posts also coincided with a decision on my part to to make use of the many resources available on SparkPeople.com and to involve myself more in the community there, which is definitely a major resource.

As I wrote about my own experiences and responded to comments, I clarified and expanded my own thinking and perception.

As I read other members' blogs and pages and wrote comments, reaching out in recognition and support; reflecting upon the thoughts they expressed; I was able to see our common concerns and struggles and put my experiences (and those of others) in perspective in yet another way. I was frequently touched.

So, while I was blogging about an MS exacerbation, medication and side effects and attempting to avoid having my weight management efforts derailed by those things, I was also letting myself be known and sharing my perspectives on my life. Other members' expressions of support validated my experience and concerns and gave me further issues to ponder. I was able to get back to exercise as soon as I could (probably sooner than I might have if I hadn't been using the site).

I'm now trying to figure a way to make sure that I continue what I began once the urgency of this particular set of circumstances is ended. I'd like to expand on what I've begun.

One of my tendencies in the past has been to get caught up in the everyday, and then,before I know it, it's weeks or months between posts...

On the subject of food, I've been devouring a package of arugula for the past couple of days, as salad and sandwich ingredient. Tonight there was some left and I wanted to use it, as well as some parsley and basil, before it was past its prime; so I made pesto and served it with whole wheat pasta. Most of the time I only make it with a single green ingredient, basil or arugula. I was quite pleased with the "multiversion".

I also made a relatively low calorie bread puddings, with 1% milk that came out very well. We had it for dessert tonight and it will be available for a couple of more days.

Below is a photo of a couple similar bread pudding from times past:

May 10th-Progress and Community Building

2010-05-10T23:38:00.000-07:00

This morning I was able to go as planned to the Aquatics Program that began in March.

The program was a time limited research program run by the School of Health Professions at Long Island University,Brooklyn Campus, which is, happily, right across the street from my home.

I was really pleased to see that I was able to participate fully and with less limitation than a couple of weeks ago It was great to see it through. Since I'm still winding down on my prednisone, I was concerned that I might have some rebound of my symptoms.

Today was the last session of the series and I was glad not to be a "drop out"..

While I was tired, I didn't need to crash immediately. I did take a nap later in the afternoon.

Since it's a research program they did pre- and post- program physical therapy evaluations. Those measurements will be available to participants as soon as they are able to be analyzed and reported if they wish to have them. I am going to request mine because I think it will be useful.

Tomorrow I go to my regular Physical and Occupational Therapy sessions with half the amount of medication aboard than I had today, so we'll see what happens…

Another recent development with relationship to SparkPeople is that in addition to becoming more active on my blog, I've also been reading blogs by other members and more of the articles as well as using other resources. It does help to be more involved in the community, giving and receiving support!

It is one of those lessons that I get to learn over and over again in different parts of my life.

I'm heading off to bed pretty soon and am ready to get into a calmer space.

Below is a cloud photo:

May 9th, Mothers' Day

2010-05-09T23:12:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty tired but I wanted to post, both to reflect on the day and to hope that yours was as you wished it.

As I've been mentioning for the past couple of weeks, I'm embarked on a course of steroid treatment for an exacerbation of MS. I'm currently tapering off.

This is always a process involving many unpredictable variables and effects.
I haven't done it for quite some time and never in the midst of a weight management effort.

Mothers' Day and the whole week before it has provided the opportunity for a great deal of reflection.

I've found myself thinking a great deal about my Mom and my two grandmothers; all the things that I learned from them and the relationships of love and caring that surrounded them.

I miss them and yet still have them with me everyday.

In turn, I also had the opportunity to muse on my relationships with my husband and sons.

We celebrated our 31st Wedding Anniversary on Wednesday.

It is amazing to consider the speed with which two baby boys turned into 30 year and 29 year old men who have begun their own lives and families; quite dizzying and not without conflict and disorientation.

I was lucky to have a Mothers' Day greeting call with the elder, who needed to work today and an invitation for my husband and me to a local restaurant with the younger son, his significant other, her son and mother.

We had a lovely, relaxing and delicious meal in a Spanish restaurant.

The dinner posed a challenge to my SparkPeople member identity but I'm actually pretty pleased with my response which was of planning and flexibility. I made conscious choices and not random reactions; looking over the menu ahead of time to plan and making food choices earlier in the day to allow some leeway. As it was, I'm pretty sure that I logged everything and while I wasn't present in the kitchen, my best estimates tell me that I ended the day within my calorie range.

Yes, I could have been heroic and passed on the tapas altogether, but I wasn't and didn't. I did, however, limit myself to small portions and resisted the pull of the "clean plate club" into which my dear Mom and Grandmother initiated me when I was a child, with all the best intentions. (It's OK gals, you got me through childhood and it's up to me now!)

Even if it turns out that I made a mistake or so and the total went above the range, it's not about the numbers, but the choices.

The medication and the flare also put my exercise pattern off but tomorrow I'm returning to the Aquatics Program I began in March. It's the last session of the series.

In addition to my Physical and Occupational Therapies, I'm planning on taking advantage of a Summer Promotion at the YMCA and joining sooner, rather than later so that I can get back into a kind of exercise that I think has been really useful and start building back up.

Did I say I was tired? This was much longer than I'd planned.

I hope your day was as full of love and learning as mine, no matter where you are on the "motherhood spectrum". 211

Below are photos of my mom and me and the boys and me.

Step Down...

2010-05-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

After yesterday's high point, I'm having a bit of a low; more in terms of energy than of mood.

I've also had a scratchy throat and stuffy nose, but likely that's allergy related. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it! But just in case it's a cold, I'll take the extra rest.)

We did do quite a bit yesterday and I went from 60 mg. yesterday to 40 mg. today, and there is a weather front coming through with large wind gusts, so a bit of a change in energy is not too surprising.

We have plans with family to eat out at a local restaurant for Mothers' Day tomorrow so I decided to just go with the flow today and rest as much as possible.

Both Meka and I were getting a bit "antsy" by early evening so I took him out briefly but we didn't get too far. The wind gusts that were being forecast started in earnest and we hustled ourselves back home. It was quite alarming.

The last walk of the evening was almost equally brief because of similar conditions.

I've really had an increased appetite today and due to the throat issues I've been hydrating like crazy. I worked hard not to go overboard and though I've ended up at the top of my calorie range for the day; didn't go over.

Thanks to all who've expressed support!

Here are some tulips for all of those who nurture me and you- the true description of Mothers.

Happy Mothers' Day!

Oh What a Beautiful Morning!

2010-05-07T21:41:00.000-07:00

OK, so it was more like afternoon ish...

But is was beautiful; sunny, clear, warm but crisp...little bit of a breeze...

Did I say sunny??? Did I say it was the first day out of the house for seven days except for a mercy dog walk??

Then maybe you get the picture.

My health aide and I went down to Trader Joe's to do some shopping, then to a wonderful local ethnic and specialty grocer on the next block (hadn't been there in ages and she'd never been there-so got to show her around).

Then on the way back home we stopped at the YMCA to check on the terms of membership and take a tour, particularly of the pool. We liked what we saw and since they were having a Summer Promotion, there was additional incentive to do it sooner rather than later.

We had a great time, talking and joking and laughing most of the way there and back.

She was also excited about it and she's going to get her own membership.

Since part of her duties include escort and assistance with exercises, if required, this is a reasonable way to use her time when I go and to gain some benefit too.

By George! I think I've started a Spark!

Two Days More...

2010-05-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my first day on oral prednisone, which is the method used to taper off from the truly high doses of the first three days of intravenous infusion.

It really felt great to be free of "hardware" and to be able to take a shower without wrapping my arm in plastic wrap.

One of my husband's sisters was visiting from California and staying with another sister in Nassau County (not too far).

She came in on the train to Manhattan and my husband met her there after concluding some earlier appointments, did a bit of sightseeing with her and then returned here to Brooklyn, at which point my other sister-in-law and her husband drove in and arrived at just about the same time.

I had planned on ordering in but upon thinking about it, I decided that whatever my taste buds might be telling me that I might want (Thai, Mexican,Italian) might not go down well with my intestinal tract.

I remembered that I had some IKEA meatballs in my freezer and so I made a sauce, put the whole thing in the crock pot, made some noodles, and dinner was ready when we were with minimal exhaustion factor.

Also, I knew exactly what the calorie counts were and could manage my portions more intelligently.

We had a lovely visit and dinner. They brought a decorated cake which added to the celebratory spirit of the day.

ONE YEAR LATER!!!!

2010-05-04T18:10:00.000-07:00

Wow, I knew I was behind on my posting but a whole year!!?? AAAARGH!

Part of my neglect has had to do with the fact that I've had several health setbacks, first some repetitive stress injuries and then a slow starting, kind of long lasting flare up of my MS, so I haven't been doing too much on the creative side that didn't also have a practical purpose at home.

My priorities were placed in attempting to manage everyday life and responsibilities to family, friends and community while also trying to get better. I've actually made some progress but recently realized I needed a bit more help, so I'm doing a round of steroid treatment.

Here's a nutshell version of last year. I'll try to keep it in some sort of order, maybe reverse is best, since the medication decision is the most recent.

The previous post shows a photo of our table at last year's MS Walk. We did not participate at the Marketplace tables this year because I was too fatigued. I did, however, sign on as a "Virtual Walker" to raise funds and exceeded my fundraising goal, thanks to wonderful friends, relatives, neighbors and colleagues.

I've been going to Physical and Occupational Therapy and to an Aquatics program for people with MS and up until the flare-up, had been improving my endurance and my ability to do some of my crafting without pain. However, I still haven't had a sustained level of energy that would allow me to conceptualize and realize a complete project.

We were able to have all of our usual family celebrations of birthdays and holidays, though sometimes with a revised level of expectation of the work I required of myself to do that.

With the help of other family members we were able to assist an elder family member to deal with a medical emergency that then required a new living arrangement in an assisted living residence.

So, while the external crafting of art has been suspended for a time, the art of life has gone on...

The photos are some of the "practical art" that has come of the year.

May 4th- final infusion

2010-05-04T17:35:00.000-07:00

...Sounds like a movie title...

Today was the final day of my Solumedrol infusions which brought my dose down to 250 mg. of Solumedrol.

From here on I'll taper the dose down using oral medication.

Thus far, I've felt very empowered by being able to check in for support at Spark People and to be able to log my food intake and to figure out strategies for keeping up with the appetite increase without blowing the calorie budget.

Day 2

2010-05-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

Upon waking, I noticed tightness and soreness in my jaw and neck. Mild massage and stretching as well as acetaminophen helped the jaw soreness but the headache remained. I discussed this with Kayron when he visited and took a 2nd dose of acetaminophen at 3PM.

The RN from VNS visited again to observe my technique in preparing and connecting the infusion. Once he arrived we discussed the effects mentioned above and the fact that I was having some discomfort with the IV site so he moved the IV to different location.

My headache and metallic taste increased during infusion. Gauge set at 100 (2 hours and 45 min. duration)

My gait has improved slightly.

Vision issues are still intermittent.

Ability to focus seems somewhat improved.

Still feel very fatigued and a bit jittery; appetite increased; still very thirsty.

I realize that this is fairly clinical and sketchy but I don't feel too literary today.

April 30th - Day one, Solumedrol Infusion

2010-04-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

The medication and infusion supplies were delivered last night and just about noon today, a nurse from Visiting Nurse Service arrived for my first infusion.

He took my medical history, explained the services of the agency and the specifics of the infusion procedure, discussed my previous experiences with it. He then inserted the intravenous catheter which stays in place (if all goes well) for the five day duration of the infusion. He then instructed me in the procedures for mixing the medication with the glucose solution, setting up, connecting and disconnecting the medication from the tube (catheter) that remains in the vein. He remained for a couple of hours to monitor the progress of the infusion while he input data into the record.

He'll be back here tomorrow, but it's my understanding that the next few days I'll be on my own, unless I run into a problem and call for help.

So unless I misunderstand the plan, if I don't need further help, someone will be back to check in on Tuesday and to remove the catheter.

We planned to do the infusion slowly and started it quite slowly. Within the first half hour, though I was feeling and looking quite flushed and so we decided to dial the flow back a bit further. The whole thing took about three hours.

I'm already hungry, but I'm trying to be really careful to stay in my calorie range.

I'm thinking of dividing the meals into more smaller, more frequent mini meals for the next few days so that I don't get ambushed by the munchies.

Well, It Looks Like It's An Exacerbation, After All!

2010-04-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

After having lots more ups and downs within the past several months, than is usual for me or than I like, I've discussed it with my neurologist and decided to go on a course of IV steroids.

Yesterday and today I've had a particularly hard time, with blurry and double vision; gait and balance problems as well as massive fatigue.

I'd been really trying to "ride it out" and had been minimizing how bad I'd been feeling because I was hoping to avoid taking steroids, because the side effects are pretty unpleasant for me; not the least of which is weight gain (..and I've been doing pretty well up to this point...), stomach upset, and also agitation and sleep problems.

Having decided, there was some arranging to do, so there'll be a bit of a delay in actually getting it going.

I'll be doing it at home, so the medication and supplies need to be ordered and delivered and a referral will be made for a visiting nurse to come to do the infusions. Naturally, the various insurances will be involved.

More Ups and Downs

2010-04-07T22:22:00.000-07:00

The increased fatigue that I had been experiencing in late February and early March, improved for a while but then over the last couple of weeks, I've had another increase in symptoms, which were particularly intense over the past weekend, including Easter. I was again experiencing intense fatigue along with gait problems and some visual symptoms.

Last week, I found myself unable to go to Aquatics or to my Physical and Occupational Therapy Sessions and had trouble even getting out of bed.

I've been trying to do what I can until I can get back on track in terms of exercise, but I've been continuing to log my food and water intake and have been resting.

I was able to visit with family on Easter and to get to Holy Week and Easter Services at my parish, even though I wasn't too lively.

On a lighter note, when I got dressed for church on Holy Thursday, I found that the skirt that I planned to wear was quite large in the waist. This was the first time I'd really had a chance to notice a significant difference in my clothing.

By Monday, I felt a bit better and once again got to my programs.

Below is a photo of our Easter Eggs, some of our Easter Dinner and of the tulips on our table.

May

2009-05-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

May is almost over and I've just recently accepted the fact that it is, in fact, Spring.

I had a great wedding anniversary on the 5th and a wonderful Mothers'Day!

I've also begun slowly to add some more computer and crafting activities back into my repertoire since my hand has considerably improved with therapy.

We participated in the MS Walk 2009 and MS Marketplace, in particular, which was a tent where three other Chapter members and we sold our handcrafted items. We had a fun day; beautiful weather, sold a number of items and donated 10% back to the Chapter.

It was a very long day because we had to be there to set up before 6:30 AM. We were done by about 2:30 and home by 4PM, having come back over the Brooklyn Bridge under our own power.

Since we didn't pack anything extra and really hadn't much time to spend on photography, the only photos we have are cell phone pictures but here they are:

I have written here about my shop on Etsy and about crafting nights at least once.

Another aspect of Etsy is the grouping together of members into Teams for the purpose of mutual support and promotion.

I recently joined the NewNewYork Team which ia composed of Etsy members who live and or work in New York City. I'm just beginning to find my way around the workings of the group and hope that I'll be able to be a truly active member by Fall. You'll likely be reading more about this as time goes on.

Sidelined

2009-03-31T06:28:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted or done much crafting at all for most of two months because I developed tendonitis and synovitis in my right hand and arm. I've been going to Occupational Therapy twice a week.

Even though I'm left handed, most tasks, computer and otherwise, actually take both hands. So I've been limiting myself to those things that are absolutely necessary, using speech recognition on the computer where I can, and spacing tasks out, in order to rest my hand and arm and give it a chance to heal. I felt fairly virtuous about it for the first week or so, but now I'm feeling fairly frustrated and ready to get back into action.

At this point, I'm adding a few things at a time back into my repertoire and trying to find the easiest, least stressful way to do it. At least my Feldenkrais® training has given me tools to do that.

I do need to get a few more items ready for sale because we're participating in a new aspect of the MS Walk, staffing a Members' Business Table where we'll display and sell our crafts.

What's in my Etsy shop?

2009-02-23T20:55:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I've become enamored of needle felting and am in the process of adding new pieces to my etsy shop.

I've also added the two books that David and I published which combine his photography and my writing, as well as framed prints of David's photos.

Here are some of the items that currently appear in my shop:

Craft Night at EtsyLabs-2/9/09

2009-02-15T07:37:00.000-08:00

This was the pre-Valentine Craft Night and we worked on needle-felted hearts, among other things.

This was perfect synchronicity for me because I'd recently developed an interest in needle-felting and had purchased a small kit. I'd seen some felted items that attracted me and was interested in three dimensional objects in particular.

A couple of weeks ago, I completed a needle felted heart on a base of felt. It was three dimensional, but rather flat. I went to Craft Night in search of answers to some of my questions. I got the answers I was looking for and, as usual, had a wonderful time!

The evening was very well attended; pretty much a packed house for part of the evening..... The teacher for the evening, Nguyen-Le who owns the knitknit shop on Etsy.com was low key but very helpful and supportive.

I found out how to make my pieces rounder, received inspiration and had fun; what a great Valentine!

Thanks Nguyen! Thanks Etsy!

Below are my earlier endeavor, craft night products and some items I made later, all transformed into wearable or use-able form and now in my etsy shop (www.felden.etsy.com):

Craft Night at EtsyLabs

2009-01-12T17:08:00.000-08:00

Just came back from Craft Night at EtsyLabs.

Tonight's project was creating a sugar scrub; a really fun project. I made mine with grapeseed oil and vanilla oil (and sugar, of course); smells wonderful! This demystified the process and allowed us to try it out without a major investment in materials. I think this might be the start of a whole new period of my experimentation in the area of bath and beauty products, though I don't know if they'll make it to my shop.

I always enjoy my Craft Night experiences, not only for the projects themselves, but for the opportunity to meet, speak to and interact with other crafters.

Here are some examples of items similar to what we learned about already on Etsy.com:

Sweet Treat Whipped Cream Fluff Sugar Scrub by AnitaCraftyCreations

Foaming Bath Butter Sugar Scrubs with Jojoba Spheres by TheMermaidsTreasure

Foaming Sugar Scrub by EsanSpa

Satin and Lace SASSY Apricot Sugar Scrub by damagicmirror

A new year begins...

2009-01-05T19:49:00.000-08:00

Christmas and New Year are behind us now and I'm already a bit behind on postings!

It seems that we no sooner got finished at the Craft Fair and we needed to prepare for Christmas at home. While we decided not to do the full court press on decorations, we decided on having a small gathering of family and friends for dinner on Christmas Day. We did the exact amount of cleaning necessary to prepare for guests and did some cooking and a lot of baking ahead of time.

Here are some cookie photos:

Think there's a market for this art form on Etsy.com?

Then came the day after Christmas (Boxing Day, St. Stephen's Day) and we had a health scare with Meka, my assistance dog.

After preparing for and beginning our Christmas celebration with "Midnight" Mass on Christmas Eve and serving dinner to family and friends yesterday on Christmas Day, we awoke today with expectations of a lazy day of recovery and minor clean-up.

When Meka, got up to eat, I noticed and mentioned to my husband, David, that Meka seemed to be limping. He came back to lay at the foot of my bed and later when he attempted to get up, he seemed unable to do so and looked limp and lethargic. We were finally able to coax and cajole him up and got him to walk, though unsteadily. Once walking, he was able to continue, however his gait was not normal and fluid and as soon as he began to slow down, he seemed to want to sit or lie down or lean on who or whatever was close at hand.

I called our vet but upon discussion, we decided to take him for immediate emergency evaluation.

Meka stayed overnight at the Veterinary Emergency and Referral Group here in Brooklyn in order to receive supportive treatment and to be monitored.

After taking a history, the vet had noted that Meka was exhibiting neurological symptoms arising from two distinct areas in the brain, brain stem and cerebellar regions.

We could not recall any reason to believe that he had ingested anything toxic, nor had he suffered any trauma.

They did blood work and x-rays which were essentially normal and unremarkable.

After determining that the facility was fully staffed throughout the night and that his neurological status would be monitored throughout the night and could receive treatment as necessary, reluctantly agreed to have him stay.

I checked in by phone for updates at least five times between getting home and 5 AM.
The reports varied from "somewhat worse" to "more or less the same" to "somewhat better" throughout the night but all the staff I spoke to agreed that he was "sweet" and that when offered food, would eat (that's my boy!!).

Later in the morning, I had just picked up the phone and was just about to call to check in again and to say that we would be coming in to see how he was and what our next step would be, when the phone rang. It was one of the vets from VERG who told me that Meka was doing much better; that he was walking and moving more normally, was wagging his tail, seemed in good spirits, obeyed commands. He stated that he would like to discharge Meka this afternoon!

So, at about 4PM on the 27th of December, we went to collect him.

As I waited for a staff member to open accessible entrance door, I turned my wheelchair around and there was Meka, returning from a walk with a vet tech.

I don't know who was more pleased or excited!

We completed all the necessary debriefing; his IV catheters were removed; follow-up appointment made and we were on our way.

After settling him in, I needed to get to church because I was due to act as Lector at 5:30 PM Mass. Having done that, and answering lots of questions as to Meka's whereabouts both in church and on the way there and back, I arrived home to find David taking the photo below.

As you can see from the picture, he doesn't look quite his ebullient self; he's a bit weary looking and has his shaven "cuffs", but is not deterred from a good chew on a tennis ball.

We're had a follow-up appointment on Tues. with the staff surgeon who specializes in neurology at the center where we had Meka seen on Friday and Saturday. He said that he believed Meka had experienced a transient ischemic attack (TIA); that there was no way of knowing if or whether it could happen again or preventing it from doing so without exposing him to medications and or procedures which have their own risks and expenses. He stated that he didn't see a need for follow-up unless we saw further symptoms.

We'll do regular follow-up with our regular vet.

At the moment Meka's pretty much back to his old self and continues to do well. All in all this is the best outcome for which I could have wished.

I've got a few new items ready to post on etsy.com within the next couple of days, and plans for several more soon after.

December 15, 2008

2008-12-15T06:52:00.000-08:00

The St. Boniface Craft Fair is now history as is more than half of my inventory.

I spent some time updating my site, making sure that the correct items are listed on the site.

Thought I had a picture to post but hubby, a professional photographer, but new to cell phone cameras and very tired, must have had shaky hands because the only photo we thought to take is REALLY blurry! ...Would have been cute, too!

Gearing up for the Craft Fair

2008-12-10T10:42:00.000-08:00

The Craft Fair at St. Boniface is this Sunday and we're gearing up for our first venture as vendors.

We have our inventory all set and are figuring out display options.

The other night I completed delivery of a local order for three of my scarves, which had been ordered online. The really great part of that is that you get to see the person's reaction immediately. It was wonderful to hear that the pieces were even better than they looked online!

Just signed on for a Christmas Fair

2008-11-16T22:33:00.000-08:00

I just agreed to participate as a vendor in the Christmas Fair that my church is holding.

It is the St. Boniface Christmas Fair to be held on December 14, 2008 at St. Joseph High School, at the corner of Willoughby and Bridge Streets, Brooklyn, NY 11201.

Many of the articles in my etsy shop will migrate there for the day and some will go to new homes from there. If I'm lucky, I might have to re-stock the shop!

Here is a flyer :

Premier Post

2008-11-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

I opened my Etsy shop less than a month ago and I've learned a tremendous amount about my own process, about selling online and on etsy.com, in particular, and about the massive amount of talent as well as abundant support out there.

I have been roaming around the etsy site, reading blogs, how-to's, attending chats and craft nights, and shopping all in the pursuit of information and inspiration.

I made two sales, thus far, but would certainly like more. I also had an inquiry about a custom order, which was quite nice!

There is a site that I've visited recently, which I feel is worth pointing out. It was actually featured in the Videos section of the Storque; The Black Spot Books.

The books are handmade from drawing paper and "olde leather". The artist also sells some other items, jewelry and prints.

All evidence a remarkable sensibility. Take a look for yourself at the http://www.blackspotbooks.etsy.com.

Meantime, I've been both gathering previously made items from every nook and cranny and producing new work to put online. Check them out at: http:// www.felden.etsy.com and get a quick peek below.