Well, I'm going to gloat yet some more....
I've had another of my ATC cards posted on a different swap group's homepage. This is so cool! Twice in a week - wowee! I am completely tickled. I've posted it below so you can see which one everyone went nutso for. Damn, if this doesn't stop my head is going to swell way beyond proportion - if that happens, somebody please slap me back down to my regular size already! Just remind me of how stinky my peotry writing has become...



And so today is the last day of March, and that means one thing to me - tomorrow NaPoWriMi starts over at PFFA, and I am already breaking out in sweats because slow death is hovering nearby. I mean, I haven't exercised the poetry muscles for months now, and I know they're rusted stiff. My poor muse. She's already ten sheets to the wind with anxiety in anticipation of the coming torture I will put her through. I figure the real reason I signed up again this year is because, truly, I am a masochist. There's just no other explanation. But then again, so are all the other folks who've signed up. I guess we all get into partaking of this poetic communal misery and downright embarassment...heh.

Well, we'll see what happens. I'm going to be optimistic and brainwash myself into believing I'll be able to come up with some halfway decent poems, and that my muse will be strong enough to fight off another stroke.

T-minus 1 day to go. Let the upchucking begin!

So, I'm going to gloat a little. heh. ATC_World - one of the groups I'm trading ATCs (artist trading cards) with - has just posted a card I made on their homepage as the card of the week. I am totally surprised and flattered and humbled. The card (which I've psoted below) was one of a set of 8 I made for a swap that mimics the look of stained glass. You can see the other cards in the set on my ATC blog - Cookalas House of Cards (there's a link on the right).

It was a new technique for me, but not all that hard. First, I drew the image on the card, then I squeezed a line of black glue over all the lines to mimic solder. When the glue dried, I colored in the image "panes" with markers. The results were amazing in that the cards really did look like stained glass. The hardest thing was squeezing a steady and uniform flow of glue from the bottle - too much and you got a blob, too little and you got nothing or a non-uniform thickness of line.

I've been getting back lots of wonderful ATCs from other artists, too. Each of them is like a miniature work of art. By studying them, I'm learning new techniques and ways of seeing. I think it was Harry who said I should post the cards I was getting back, and I'm thinking maybe I'll start a third blog for just that purpose.

And so with that I leave you. And remember, go call your mom.

So, things have been quiet. I'm almost afraid to say that for fear it will change...but pops is out of the hospital and back at the nursing home. Can't say for how long this time. We met with the nursing staff and they're going to start giving him an appetite stimulant. If this doesn't work, then it's just a matter of time. But any way, that's not what I want to talk about.

Well, April is National Poetry Month, and you know poetry is very near and dear to my heart. Over at PFFA they're having a NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writers Month) challenge again this year. You have to write a poem a day for April - 30 poems in 30 days. Aiy! I did it last year and nearly sucked all the blood out of my muse. I didn't write didlysquat for a long time after that. A lot of people didn't.

But guess what? heh. I've signed up again. I swear, I'm a masochist. I really am. I was lurking and I saw the notice up in Challenges, and I started to feel left out and out in the field, or something like that. Even though I had a major brain drain after last year's WriMo, it was a lot of fun to be a part of. So, yeah, I'm doing it again. I'm hoping it will get me kick started again with writing poetry, somthing that's nagged at me since last November, when I pretty much just stopped.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

It always amazes me, when I come back to my blog and take note of how long it's been since I signed in. When I started Cheesecloth Moon, I had hoped I'd be able to post something on a close to daily basis, mostly put out my poetry and match it to photos, if possible. I guess things have a way of getting left by the wayside when life intrudes.

I've been so busy lately, it seems like I never have time anymore to do the things I like to do. *sigh* I do a lot of sighing these days. I miss my poetry, but my brain is too loose right now to concentrate on it. I miss going out on my photography excursions, and poking around the arboretums, shores and beaches, and communing with nature. I miss lurking at PFFA, and reading my web buddies blogs. I've decided I don't like being grown up and taking care of business at all. There's no fun in it.

These days all I have time for is running to the nursing home or the hospital (btw, pops is back in the hospital for the 3rd time, same thing - kidney failure), or cleaning the basement or getting the upstairs ready, or taking care of mom's estate. The only thing I've kept up with is making the ATC cards - but I have to because I've signed up for a number of swaps. Besides, it's the only thing that's been keeping me sane these days.

And I'm always exhausted. I'm running on empty, and I've begun to fear that it's just a matter of time until I shut down and coast to the side of the highway, get stripped and rust away...

Well, I'm whining here, and I hate to whine, but that's how my life is right now. No fun, too much drudgery to take care of, no time for myself, ick ick ick ick ick.
I'm tired of it. I want to run away to a tropical island and never come back. But I can't. So it's buckle up and shut up and just get things done, and try to keep a glimmer of hope that better days are coming. I just hope they get here soon.

Well, I've been neglectful of late, being so busy and all. But I'm home early today because of the snow that hit us mid-morning. So I found myself popping in at some of my buddyblogs. Natch, when I get to Julie's blog, there's a new quiz. heh. Julies's a sucker for quizes same as me. So, here it is. (Oh, and Julie, if you happen to visit, I think we should both move to Australia)

Which country should you REALLY be living in? Australia G'day bazza! You're a yokker. A true Aussie. You love the beach and barbies, as well as sport and sex. Life couldn't get any simpler, and thats the way it should be. C'mon Aussie, C'mon!

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

On a maybe happier note, pops is out of the hospital and back at the nursing home. This is good, but I'm feeling a bit pessimistic about it. If the nurses at the home don't follow through on my instructions to keep him from getting dehydrated, his kidneys will fail yet again and he'll end up back in the hospital. And each time this happens, it weakens him considerably more. Eventually, if this keeps up, he won't recover.

I can't tell you how hard it is to have to sit by and see this happen. I almost feel like we've signed his death warrant. We can't bring him back home because of his dementia. We have to depend on the nursing staff to keep him healthy, and that's really scary. Now, instead of worrying about him being home alone I worry about him being in the nursing home. I wonder if he's any better off, considering what seems like an inaptitude of care he's getting, even though this home is light years better than the other one. I mean, I can tell them what they have to do to keep him well, but will they do it? There's just no way to know, but time will tell.

So, it looks like my life is going to be on hold for awhile. In the meantime, I'll be taking turns with my brother checking on pops at the home. Thank God it's only a 15 minute drive, though the parking is horrendous. If you can't find a spot across the street, you've got to park in a lot that's a 10 minute walk away, and it's friggin cold out now. *sigh* Why is it that things always have to be so hard? You get a little break in one sense, and then lose it in another.

Well, I've got to toodle. So much to do so little time and all that. Have you hugged your mom today? Or called her? Do it now. You'll be glad you did.