April, Spring At Last!

Very nice - spring is lovely
double digits here today - spring - our snow is melting.....
Nice weekend in paradise .. good!

Thank you for this feature Darice! I feel honored!

Congrats Cynthia,.....you're in good hands here..and that's not an April fools,....Darice rocks!!!!

Love the pastels in your work.

Marty

Thank you Marty! I trust Darice completely!! I am glad you love the pastels.

I am still wondering Marty about those porcupines. The one you mentioned that was so aggressive toward you, do they have tendencies toward contracting rabies perhaps? I never knew porcupines would be aggressive! No wonder you get such incredible shots. The steps and hours you put forth described in your writings is an all day experience and some times into the night as well.

I will be starting another piece of ART this week. I get really excited because I already see it inside my head before I even put the first pencil stroke in to do the drawing first on the canvas.

It was 84 degrees here today! Actually it got hot to me in the full sun so I sat in the shade for a while. Time to enjoy spring and be thankful. I am so very thankful.

Thank you Darice for your kind words about my art!! I really liked what you typed! :)

Yes Cynthia, I would say you're correct and that it was rabid,...was the reason I avoided it at all cost.

I won't ask what and will instead be pleasantly surprised seeing your new art piece when it is complete, Cynthia.
Have fun and enjoy the entire creative process,...I know you will.

Nothing to report,....This morning looked more like the first day of December rather than April,....was a raging snow, sleet and rain storm morning,...it's not often I'm shoveling @#*#@! snow in April,.....forecast says more coming to,......Where's global warming when you want it?????

Hope no one got fooled tooooooo badly today by any practical jokers.

Seeeeeee I'm being good today,.........sit,...stay,....good boy..

woof woof

Marty

You are most welcome Cynthia. It's my pleasure to help promote the active members of this group. It's because of all the active comments here in the discussion threads that keeps this group in high ranking on FAA. I have a suggestion for you Cynthia, your BIO needs a little work. It should focus more on you as an artist and less on your personal life. Take some time to read different artist bios here on FAA. You can choose to do it in first person or third person. Try both and see which one you like best. Writing Bios can be a great pain in the rear. Most artist hate writing about themselves. If you need help, just ask. All of us here will give you good feedback.

Marty, no one has played any April fools jokes on me yet. But the day is still young here.

Pat, how is the moving going? Are you worn out yet?

My Banyan Tree painting is now on it's way to North Carolina. It should be there Thursday.

I agree whole heartedly with you Darice about my BIO! I knew it was sad and pathetic. Truth is I am not a writer! I don't have a clue. I will take the time to read the other BIO's of other artists to try to get a better handle on what it is I need to say.

Sounds exciting about your Banyan Tree painting! I know when I have shipped paintings I worried about them like I would a beloved pet cat or dog! However mine never traveled the great distance that yours is! Wow! I can't imagine the shipping for that. Fed Ex where I live has always done well by me.

Marty I feel better, not jealous any more of where you live! Your description of snow, sleet and rain storm sounds horrible. See the grass is truly NOT greener on the other side after all! :) LOL!

Pat I swore I would never move again after we moved into the house we have lived in now since 1992. I hope you have plenty of help.

Deb, I was admiring your mermaid art pieces. Lovely and very creative.

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Debbie, what a horrific thing to see. Was the lady hurt bad? Crazy drivers are out of control. There are a lot here too. I'm constantly watching out for them when I walk to the gallery, which is about a mile from my studio. I hope your nerves have settled down now that you are safe at home.

We had a report that a tsunami may hit us by 1am. It was caused by the earthquake off of Chili.

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I pray you are safe Darice!!! If you are able as I don't know if a Tsunami means you need to evacuate, please critique my profile description! I tried to draw inspiration of how others were written on here at FAA like you recommended. Thank you for bringing this to my attention once again.

Deb what a nightmare to witness! People need to slow down. It is crazy where I live too.

Anyone else please feel free to critique my profile statement as it was sadly lacking before. I am not a writer and it is extremely hard and difficult for me to write it.

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Thank you Deb!

I am worried and Darice. Chile had a 8.9 devastating earthquake and they have been warned of a Tsunami possibly coming to where Darice lives. I remember one of fellow artists on here also writing to us that she was moving to Chile. I pray she has not been there when this happened!

Everything here is fine so far. Thank you for your concern Cynthia. Tsunamis can be big or little. There is a great warning system in place here in Hawaii. The beaches are all closed until after the threat. We live above the evacuation line so are very safe if a big one does hit. James would know more about tsunamis than I, he has lived here longer. I'll go check out your bio. I'm sure you did a fine job.

We've made it through the tsunami scare here in Hawaii. We have a few things to worry about here in paradise; hurricanes, tsunami's, sharks bites, stinging box jellyfish, occasional earthquakes, Kona winds and vog, and my cooking on a bad day. Today the birds are singing and the sun is shinning so everything is aloha.

I just wrote a story on tastinghawaii.com about "Hawaii Island Hopping". It kind of gives you a quick overview of our islands. It must be cocktail hour somewhere... where's Pat?

I am so relieved to read you are o.k. Darcie! You to James! I am no longer jealous of you two living in Hawaii any more! LOL!! :)

I have my preliminary sketch almost done and will be able to apply layers of paint tomorrow! It is taking me 5 hours to do the drawing first! Of course I have to take breaks, stand, stretch, potty breaks........etc..

Another warm day with blue sky, birds singing, flowers blooming, just gorgeous! Pollen count is so high it looks like a yellow fog outside and makes me cough a lot. So I will stay inside and draw for now.

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Deb this is beautiful! I left comments and liked and favorite on this one in your comments section!

Today I'm sitting on pins and needles. Nervously waiting to hear from UPS and my customer on the delivery of my painting. This is the first time I used the UPS store to pack and ship a painting. I'm feeling a bit out of my comfort zone, being the control freak that I am. I know when I pack paintings they arrive to their destinations fine. Trusting strangers with my paintings is HUGE! They are like my babies. The best way for me to let go is to get lost into painting another painting.

Debbie, I love "Seven Feathers"! You are so talented.

Cynthia, thank you for your concern. I don't think there is any place on Earth completely safe from Mother nature. We all pick and choose the part of the world that suits us best. Good thing we have a huge world.

James, I plan to island hop to Molokai one day. I know I keep saying that but you just wait, I'll get over there! I spent 32 years saying I'm going to live in Hawaii........I hope it wont take 32 years to come visit you......hehehe

Pat, How's the moving coming along?

Marty, Oh Marrrrtyyyyy, where are you Marty. Can you come out to play?

I thought I heard buzzing in my ears,....

Ohhhhhhhhhhh,.... it's Darice,....

Helen,......Helen,....can I go out and play,...can I,...can I????? Darice is here with my new friends???

Can I,.... Can I ??? huh,...huh,.....please,....pretty please.

Awwwwwwwwww right,.......yaaaea......gimmeee a high five,.....permission granted,.....I am back.

I'm looooozin it,......cabin fever,...snow,...sleet,...rain,....dead brown trees,...nothing green in sight,.....now it's mud season,....repeat again.

That's why they call Mainers,.....MAINiacs,.....geeeeez,......I think I've reached that bouquet I was talking about last week.

Aloha and hello to all,.
As you can see I haven't,..yet,.......and I put emphases on the word YET,.....lost it all.

Been predisposed or is it disposed,...not sure?????

Been following the thread though.

Congrats on your sale Darice,..on your Banyan Tree painting.....to a customer in North Carolina none the less.
If my geography is correct,......thats not exactly next door to Hawaii,....was it sold on line?,...or to a tourist visiting your gallery?
I totally understand your concern for safe delivery,... that is your lil baby,...for sure.

Deb I kinda groaned inside about the accident you witnessed,....something like that can really stay with you, am thankful it wasn't worse,....that would stay with me for awhile I know.
Long story but I do understand.

Darice & Jim,...good new the tsunami didn't materialize,....I remember a few years ago when it was televised nationally that Honolulu and vacinity was evacuated on a potential alert too.
After all you are sitting out there in the Pacific by your onesies,...you can't just drive on over to the mainland. Am not familiar with all the fail safe's in place but am sure the public is well indoctrinated what to do,...and not to do,...if.

Love, Love Seven Feathers Deb,.....your art work is wonderful,...seven thumbs up from this guy,...well done.

Jim,...that story on tastinghawaii.com about "Hawaii Island Hopping".

That must be a great tax deduction,....eat on one island restaurant,...book a hotel on another island,...get on a plane go and eat there,....book another hotel,..go fly and dine there,....then get down to work and slave over the computer writing and re-writing long into the nights,...all that research and more research and possibly revisiting the restaurants,.........you know to,...be absolutely,.sure,..that the food was delicious.
I don't envy your lifestyle,..one single bit,...noooo sireeee.
Hey,...that's why you get the big bucks,....right????
Someone has to do it.

Okay,...what have I been doing,...
Actually I'm having my first display showing,...from April 24th thru May 29th at a popular Mid coast Maine organic food Cafe.
The have 27 feet of wall space and I have been pulling the show together on this end,....funsies,...funsies,....funsies.
,..I made an investment and I'm having FAA do a fair portion of the printing,...there will be FAA canvas,metal and acrylic prints in various sizes done from my FAA webpage. Approximately 25 prints are involved. The show opens with a wine tasting event,...
.I PROMISE,... I will NOT be the life of the party,....as I am here.
Unless the wine is really, really good,....and I'm really, really nervous,.....then all bets are off!
Helen will be with me,....... and save me from embareassing myself. ;-)))

So if i'm slow here,...now you know why,....I'm only one people.

So that's all the news,..that is news,...from here

For you youngsters out there,....That's an old Rowan & Martin show ending line from 'Laugh In" of many years ago.

To be continued,...

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,...I finally made a sale,.........read above,.......to myself. ;-(((((

Be well,...Be safe

Marty

I am so glad Darice and James were spared from a Tsunami!

By the way James I tried that recipe Grilled Honey Ginger Salmon and both my husband and I loved it! I was actually able to cook it to perfection this time! My husband was not able to find orange zest so I substituted orange peel. I loved the way the marinade caramelized on the grill!

Darice thank you for critiquing my BIO! LOL! I took the liberty of copying and pasting your much better version! :)
I started applying the layers of paint today to my new piece of ART and I am just now able to take a break and see what everyone has been up to!

Darice I understand your anxiety over your "baby", your painting on it's way to North Carolina! I used UPS to ship a painting to Wisconsin and it was during ice and snow and it was delayed and once it got there everything was perfect! I am sure your painting will arrive to its destination perfectly! The only thing you can do is distract your mind from it.

Marty congrats on your first showing! How exciting! "Laugh In" was one of my favorite shows! Does anyone remember "Hee Haw"? Do you remember the "Gong Show"? Getting ready for your show will help to take your mind off of cabin fever!

It was another beautiful spring day here, temperatures in the low 80's and a male hummingbird visiting my feeders. Traffic is really getting crazy around here as celebrities and news media start making their way into our town for the Masters Golf Tournament.

First things first, Cynthia I am glad that you liked the salmon recipe, but just for the record, orange zest IS orange peel. You make zest with a kitchen tool called a "rasp" or "Microplane", which is rubbed along the outside of the orange making a fine, almost powder like cut called "zest". No big deal, if you minced the orange peel, only the outer orange part, not the pith, then you would have achieved almost the same thing. OK, that's your cooking lesson for the day.

Marty, I wish I could write off trips to the other islands, and get free meals, however my website is non-profit. I do it for fun. I could change that and start putting ads on my website, but then it would be ugly.

Darice, we will get together one of these days. I hear Larry Ellison is going to start a film festival over on Lanai, sort of like the one in Aspen. Cool idea. Larry is the billionaire who recently bought most of the island of Lanai and is now putting his money into more hotels over there and will hopefully by sponsoring the World Cup next year in our waters. It's nice to have rich neighbors.

So no one has mentioned the earthquake in Chile. I wonder if this will change Pauline's mind about moving?

I bought a fish out of the back of a fisherman's pickup for dinner, an opakapaka, sort of like snapper. I already cleaned it an now it's time to cook it. Aloha!

Marty, thank Helen for me. Letting you come play has brightened up my day with laughter. Congratulations on having your first show!!! 25 prints is a good size show. I'm sure it's going to turn out well. Having a strong partner makes all the difference in the world. Helen sounds like a good one to me.

Cynthia, glad you liked what I did. But really it wasn't much. All your words are there, I just rearranged them a bit. Enjoy that spring weather.

James, having rich neighbors is nice.....I can't even imagine having the kind of money Larry has. One of my eighth grade student's father just bought a five acre lot on the ocean in Olowalu (it's just outside of Lahaina, and it's one of my most favorite places). I'm looking forward to the free coconuts Sarah has promised me after she learns how to climb the trees ;-)

I had a good day in the studio today. I managed to get three miniature paintings done and now I'm set up for tomorrows 9am student. I have a new student starting at 3pm tomorrow too. It's going to be a busy day.

Only kidding Jim,....
If I did what you do,....Id eat up up all the profits,...and that too,...would be for fun.

Ohhhh that,...Larry Ellison,......Oracle CEO the richest man in the world, worth over $30 billion,.....give or take a few million $$$ spillage.
I wouldn't take that cut in pay for anyone.

Hey,...I have all the money I need,.....as long as I don't buy anything,......

Jim that opakapaka,..sounds pretty exotic to me.
In Hawaiin it translates to:.....fish no good,....put it in your truck, go sell to tourist,..they will eat it,...bring back $$$ so we go have pineapple pizza.

With that bit of brilliance I'll close.

Back to my computer,...and left overs,..mmmmmmmm,..... a fluffinutter with bananas on organic wheat grass pita bread
I bet Larry whats his name doesn't eat like that !!!!!!!,..
But I will wash it down with some "Evian" spring water on the rocks.,....

.ohhhhh by the way,....Evian spelled backwards is,...."Naive."
Some brilliant Wall Street capitalist said,....I bet we can sell water to people,....they couldn't be that Naive,

And that my friend,....is the rest of the story.

Darice,.....you have a way with words,......When you mentioned ..having a strong partner makes all the difference in the world.,.....something's going over my head there?????
Helen is a good one,....you are absolutely right,....took me twice times to find her,...then chase her,...till she caught me.
She done good!!!!
Let me correct that ,....Helen is a unique and distinguished woman who while extremely intelligent is also extraordinarily sophisticated and discriminating in the finer points of determining the intellectual traits exhibited by the gentleman with whom she will remain in domicile with for the remainder of her life.

Yep,.....that's meeeeee. cool huh????

You can't make this stuff up,...it just happens.


To be continued

Be well all

Marty

I enjoyed looking through Gene's work. Tell him nice job on the sunset and I really like his Fire Dancer.

Pat, your friend Janice does indeed do fine work.


Boy was that bad English or what!

Morning all.
Janice is the gal who taught me all about gels and inks. She is so creative - it kind of bursts outta her - she has been the best thing that happened to me in Cobourg.
I may be MIA for a few days as we loose our internet here in the next couple of days and won't be re-connected til I get to the lake.
I will be back.
It is still windy, rain nad cold here - awful awful weather - yikes!!!

Cookies anyone?



I made these lemon cookies yesterday. They are not crisp, more like cake with a nice lemon tang and lots of powdered sugar to lighten your lips.

Morning all.
Those lemon cookies look luscious James - please send me a dozen a.s.a.p.
Another rainy, wet cold day - yup spring in Canada - think Maine is getting bad weather too.
Time to move to Hawaii!!!

It's next month already,...happy May 1st all

Been occupied dealing with Gluteus Maximus,.....no it's not a relation to Agador Spartacus or Julius Ceaser.
Actually it's a pain in the butt of sorts,.....according to the chiroprachter,.... it's the strongest muscle in the human body and when it is stressed and tightens up,...it is equally as intense in discomfort. You have my word on that.
So here I am sitting on an ice pack,...typing away,...not as cool as it sounds. It's like an itch you cant scratch,....wish it were an itch.

Hope everyone's doing aok,.....am kinda out of the loop right now.

Whose the May featured artist in the group Darice?

Great looking cookies Jim,....Lemon one of my fav weakness flavors,.....hope they tasted as good as they photographed.

Rain again here,....couldn't have mud season without it,...ahhhh yeppp,....slosh,....slosh.

Next comes the black flies,....Maine's state bird ya know!!!!!
Kinda like no see-ums,.....just more of them.
Gotta get all the outside work done soon,....so I don't end up feeding those pesky little flying teeth nuisances.

There's a local group headquartered in nearby Machias,...called The Black Fly Breeders Association,....and their motto is,......We Breed em,....You Feed Em.
They got that right.
Yes,...I am a fully paid up member too,....and have a bumper sticker to prove it.
One thing about Mainers,...they know how to laugh off the peskiest of all kinds of problems,....maybe that's why I like this place soooooo much ;-))))

Okay enough wisdom from downeast.

Will say good night to all,....and seek out a comfortable sitting,....or laying,...or suspended animation position to illeviate old Gluteus Maximus,...I said to Helen,...I am truly a pain in the a$$,...pun intended.

I think I'd rather pass a few kidney stones,....to cheer me up.;-)))))
Be well all.

I'm off to occupy and distract myself ANY way I can find,......tooooo bad I don't drink,...I'd be well soused early on.

Marty ;-[[[[ ;-[[[[[[ ;-(((((( #@**&%#$## ;-p

To be continued,...later

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Wow, May got here fast!! Last week I was thinking I needed to work on our next featured artist but just couldn't find the time. Now this week is almost over and I'm two days behind. Not sure if I can get to it today, Marty. Hopefully tomorrow. I have two people in mind. Both use to be very active in our group, both have made lots of changes in their lives. I hope your backside feels better soon. By the way, how's your show going?

Hi Debbie!

James, those lemon cookies look wonderful. My mouth is watering!

Pat, it's raining here right now. Here where we live we get rain almost everyday. Granted its a nice warm gentle rain. Mostly it rains at night and stops by the time we leave for work. I love the rain. It makes everything so green and clean. We have very little dust here, which makes me happy. Because dusting all my little nick naks are no fun, here it's a breeze.

Cynthia, how's the backyard renovation going?

Well it's that time. Time to get ready for work. I have two back to back students today. It's going to be a busy one. Have a great day everyone.

Marty that sounds painful. Hope you are feeling better soon!

The backyard is looking much better Darice! We now have a cardinal nest complete with momma bird and daddy bird taking turns on the nest in my blooming pink rose bush! Actually it is sweet to watch as the male cardinal flies in just to land long enough to feed the female cardinal. Yes the male feeds the female! Gene is going to try and capture on film.

I have a question for anyone on here concerning galleries for original paintings. How does one go about getting their original paintings allowed into a gallery? I have never done that before. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

James that recipe looks scrump delicious!

Everyone have a wonderful day! :)

Happy hour ya'll - will help pains in the bu--! Actually I used to play tennis and know about the kind of pain you are talking about Marty - no laughing matter.
At lake (paradise) water way down, wood stove on (even though it says May on calendar).
Salut!

Sounds terrible Marty, all we can do is hope you get better.

It's raining again! Tomorrow is golf day. I made a bunch of peanut butter cookies for the boys and girls. You never know what people will bring for lunch, kind of a pot luck deal. If it's raining again in the morning Kimberly and I plan on sitting around all day and eat cookies.

Been cooking all day, barbecued chicken for dinner but now it's time for happy hour, I'm with you Pat.

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Deb I left comments for you about this painting! :)

Morning all.
Debbie I love your ocean paintings - the depth you achieve is wonderful. Brilliant work.
Enjoyed happy hour - who knows maybe there will be another one today. Life as a retiree is tough - how will I amuse myself today.
I love looking at photos of Abbie's new puppies on fb - I just LOVE puppies!!!

Happy Saturday all,
I've been waiting to see that art piece completed Deb, I'll tell you that one ain't gonna sit around long, wonderful showpiece of your talent you have created, again.
This one is my fav now though ;-))) ;-))))
What's the actual size of that canvas?
I can visualize a theme variation series of paintings on the way you handled the visual on this Deb. It's beautiful and ominous simultaneously in an intregueing way.
Been sitting on ice here,......different spin in an over used phrase.
Back out to do a bit more yard work,....before the imminent black fly invasion,.....am NOT giving in to maximus what's it name,...I will work thru it, sore or not.

Be back later
Enjoy the weekend
Marty

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Debbie, for a person who has never been to Hawaii or has swam in the ocean, you sure know how to capture both on canvas. I do believe you were a Hawaiian mermaid in your past life :-). Your work is special, well exiquted and thought provoking. Continue to paint what you love, don't worry about sells. Each one of your works is waiting for its true owner to discover it. Keep posting them on FAA/ Pixels you never know who will come across them.

Marty, go get um tiger! Show Maximus who is boss! Just don't over do it.

There was a land slide on on the road to Hana yesterday. It closed the road for the night. It just reopened. There are no reports of anyone getting hurt, thank goodness. For those of you who have driven the road you know how narrow and curvy it is.

Last night we changed up our routine a bit. Every Friday night we go out to dinner and visit our two favorite galleries then meet up with an artist friend for ice cream. Last night we went to the Pioneer Inn for dinner and a show. A fantastic jazz singer, Melveen Leed, was our entertainer. Tonight we are going to anther jazz concert. A friend of Charlie's puts on a jazz festival every year. He gave us tickets. I'm looking forward to another night of not cooking ;-).

I'm still working on getting a May featured artist. The one I picked just messages me to let me know she couldn't do it this month. So I'll be contacting the next person on my list. Hopefully we'll have a new feature up by the end of the weekend.

Have a great day everyone!

Back from golf today, won $17 smackers, but it cost me $52 to play... you do the math. Anyway it was good to get out in the sun with my golf buddies.

Meatball sandwiches tonight, I love those things.

Cocktail hour again Pat, It's a wonder how it comes around the same time every day. Have a good weekend!

Marty here,...still sitting on ice,...Brrrrrrrrrrr

I've been very lucky Deb,...never req'd surgery,...have had a lower back problem,...off & on since my teen years,....someone thought it would be funny if they pulled a chair out from under me when I sat down,....landed on my tail bone on cement floor.

Fortunately it has been an sporadic injury,...occasionally spasms, but,....99% of the times I can tough it out and it passes or I go for long long periods with no problems,....Wife says I am 70 and be careful,....I act like I'm 07 and go hell bent with total disregard,..hmmmm and get,.....(see I told you)
When I was putting up the display last week I was hyperactive with nervious engerny,...and jumping up and down running on adrenalin,...onto a high bench, off,...on,...off,....on,...... to hang 26 images,...as if I were invincible,...I'm not the strapping young man that Uncle Sams Misguided Children,...USMC,... made out of me when I was 17.....still misguided,...between the ears. ;-))) though.
Any way's I use a rebounder every day,...it's a small tramboline kinda thing that you bounce up and down on for 2 or 3 minutes and it stimulates all your joints via the the multiple compressions of each repeatitive bounce,.....has worked wonders,...several years ago I had to hold onto my thigh to barely walk,...nothing helped,...doctors, books, ....then Helen found this,....it's been miraculous for me plus I see a good chiropractor bi weekly for a tune up. I also hike with a fairly heavy shoulder camera gear bag,..that contributes I'm sure too.

Yep,..Darice,...I'll show Maximus who is boss,...can't you tell ??????

Hey, Jim,....If you play,...3.06 rounds of golf a day,...you will break even,....do the math ;-))) but you gotta keep winning the $17 smackers consistently.
I remember a funny( B.C comic strip),...about golf,..

You want to know how to get more distance from your driving wood??
yeah,...how do I do that???
Put vasiline on the hand grip,........hahaha, chuckle, laugh,..chuckle,...It just painted a nice visual in my mind.

Moving right along,.....

That's a good size painting Deb,.....you just have to do another with a similar theme,...you know,..collect the whole set motif,...I love the image,...I don't know if sharks are popular as art,.....your handling of that painting could easily start a trend in the art community.
I can see several similar ones hanging in a Acquarium cafe or its public spaces,....You need to research that Deb.

Hi Pat,....Hi Cynthia,....not ignoring you,...just on a roll in my own world,....

Everyone have a great remainder of the weekend.

Be well all.
Marty

Morning all,
Bonus our rocket stick (internet connection) appears to be working from home so... I am back.
The road to Hana - oh yikes - drove that once years ago - OMG - scary!!!
Raining still, cold and wet - does summer/spring ever come?????

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Darice your Friday night sounds like a wonderful time!

Hello to everyone on here! :)

To the sufferers of back pain on here have you tried the anti gravity chair? I think it is absolutely wonderful! It does wonders for my back! I had back surgery in 2013. That is what my twice weekly physical therapy is for in the water with a trained therapist. If you have not tried an anti gravity chair you owe to yourself to see the difference it makes. For me it relieves all pressure in the lower back. Of course you feel as if you are going to tip over backwards when you first try to sit in one but they don't tip over.

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I am sorry to read of your daily back pain Deb. When I was first injured I could not walk. I could not use the toilet like a normal human being because to walk made me scream. Yes scream. I know the agony of an injured back to the point I could not walk at all. The morphine they gave me at the emergency room was what got me up and walking. I take NO drugs today for pain. Nothing. The drugs they give you are too addictive and would have destroyed my liver, kidneys, etc. So I weaned myself slowly off of all the extremely addictive drugs they had given me. The truly best thing I have found for pain is water. When I enter the pool all weight is displaced and I feel normal again. My surgeon told me that I should be in the pool every day. He ordered physical therapy in the pool for me that insurance agreed to cover. Thank God I have a pool in my back yard. Has your doctor Deb told you that the pool is the best thing for you? If not I would be greatly surprised. It is one of the best things for injured backs. When I go there are people paralyzed from the waist down in the pool with me working with their therapists. They say they feel normal again in the water too. So my best advice for you is water! As far as the anti gravity chair goes I think it depends on the type of injury? Obviously it is a good thing for mine. Obviously not a good thing for yours! Let me know how the water works for you? :)

My surgery was $75,000.00 and covered by insurance. My surgeon specialist was 1500.00 just to walk through the door and to see him. He said my back is a mess. Thus began my career of ART. I can never work retail again. I am completely deaf in my right ear with tinnitus and losing the hearing in my left ear as well with bouts of tinnitus in that ear from time to time. I am came close to committing suicide just over the tinnitus alone. It is 24/7 and never stops. Never. I focused on my family and did not end my life because I figured they were worth fighting for and they would never understand. I realized if I could learn to live with tinnitus I could beat anything.

Now I know you don't share my faith but now my faith has played a huge part in my life. My faith teaches me that Jesus Christ died for my sins and my healing. I have met people that have received miracles from Jesus. I have received miracles in the past from Jesus as well. So for me I take these problems to Him.

My son was sent home to die at age 6 diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. He is going to turn 33 this year. He saw Jesus as a little boy. My son is alive because of Jesus. Not budha, not santa, not the easter bunny, but Jesus.

I have faith that Jesus will heal me. He has healed me in the past so I have no doubts. My son like I typed was sent home to die. He shared with both his father and I at age 4 how Jesus appeared to him, talked to him, loved him and he is alive because of it. So for me there is hope.
He saw angels and Jesus. I myself have had an encounter with Jesus so I could never deny that he indeed rose from the dead.

I don't go to church. I hate religion. Religion kills. Jesus brings life and hope.

I am so far behind on a painting I have been working on. But eventually I will get it done! :) I started trying to actively market myself to make sales and it cost me precious time on my love and that is painting. I am trying to get permission from Zatista to sell my original paintings on their internet gallery. If they say yes to me it would mean I would have to take some of my paintings off of FAA because they demand no reproductions of your art. I would still be on FAA just not with the some of the originals I still have to sell. I have not made any print sales on FAA so far so that does not seem to me at this point and time a problem.

To everyone on here I hope you all have a wonderful day and enjoy your talents! I don't want to leave anyone out when talking on here. I think you all are a great wonderful group of people on here! :)

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Morning all,
Debbie & Cynthia you have had tough times.
I have to admit I don't share much personal stuff here - just about my silly banana walks and such..The internet is not always a safe place - life is often not a safe place.
Take care you gals....
Now a little bit of yard work and I am off...

Happy Monday everyone! Amazing stories are being shared here. Thank you all for your strength and courage in over coming life's hard knocks. We each have seen some pretty tough times and we have all lived to tell about it.

OK, are you all ready for the new featured artist? If so check out our new discussion http://fineartamerica.com/groups/la-creme-de-la-creme-.html?showmessage=true&messageid=1880239&targetid=1880239#1880239

You'll all be surprised!