Thank goodness that’s all over, all the preparation for Open Houses is done, and the first weekend has passed. I managed to get my displays done, somewhat later than I would have liked, and when asked by my friend why I was so unprepared I wasn’t sure, but then it hit me, oh yes, my hip replacement was scheduled very unexpectedly with short notice and messed my planned schedule for the year, I had set aside May and June for preparation but of course my priorities changed. Still, I managed it with half an hour to go, lol and even managed to make some new pieces, different variations on my current range.

Now that’s done I’ve masses of other jobs to do, but today I’m taking it easy. I got up at 11 this morning, lovely, having been lounging around drinking tea and reading a book by Alan Bennett, not my usual read but entertaining. All the effort last week has caught-up with me and I plan to continue having a leisurely day, as I’m supposed to anyway still being on stick leave and all. It’s been fun watching a bit of daytime TV, yes I know, very naff, but I’m really getting into House at the moment. Up to recently we couldn’t get Five but now they’re cranking up the signal we’ve had more viewing choice. This brings me to walking sticks and disabilities in dramas.

What is it about stick users on TV? why do they always get it wrong? Lots of people who meet me think my left leg is the problem because that’s the side I use my stick. Unfortunately many people who buy themselves a stick don’t use them in the best way, as they haven’t been shown and then they copy what they’ve seen on TV. Even Rick thought I was doing it wrong, tchhh. However I almost always see people using sticks in the wrong hand on telly dramas and in films, very amusing especially when Doctors do it in Hospital dramas! I’m guessing that if a stick was used properly it would have less of a dramatic impact, and I’m also thinking that Hugh Laurie aches like mad after filming! Serves him right. Ha.

I have a zillion and one things to do today, OK not really, but I do have lots to do and I shouldn’t really be here talking to you but I am so there. Yesterday was my 6 week from hip hop day, and it was a good one. No more blood thinning jabs in my belly and I got rid of my sexy white compression pop socks just in time for the hotest day so far this year and spent the day sporting a cool pair of shorts. I even managed to get a steaming hot mug of tea down the steps into our garden so I could sit and slurp on my favourite bench. I also haven’t had any painkillers since Sunday night, how cool is that? I have to admit having a moment at 12 noon yesterday, as that was when they woke me up in recovery and I felt so chilled. This whole experience so far has been completely different from my last surgery, where I was still on crutches and using a wheelchair after 6 months, but here we are, 6 weeks on and I practice walking in the house without sticks when I feel up to it, although I do still need my crutches. Chalk and cheese.

Half way through my recommended recovery period and I think it’s going really well, now all I have to do is pluck up the courage to try making beads again. My brain has been and is still so ditzy and slow that I haven’t dared approach the flame for fear of doing something stupid and burning myself, also my mobility and flexibility constraints have made me wary of trying to sit for any length of time in my studio or reaching to get things and forgetting my hip precautions. Add to this my tiredness after short times of activity and you don’t really have the best of situations. So I’ve decided to leave well alone until I feel I can enjoy making glass beads in safety.

I do have lots to do to get ready for Open Houses this weekend. I’m setting up my first display at the 2×4 Studios in Horsham today and have several jobs that I must do for that, including fitting out my flat display cabinets, deciding exactly what I want in them and how I’m going to arrange and display them. I also have to get all the ’stuff’ together to make my sales, for example packaging, a sign to explain what I do, a mirror etc…..phew. See you later.

Open Houses as part of the Artists and Makers Festival in West Sussex starts this weekend and continues the following weekend. I am exhibiting in 2 places, my first and main venue is at Edith Barton’s house in Plummers Plain, where I will have my tall cabinet of designer glass bead jewellery. Edith has once again opened her summerhouse in her huge garden to display her work together with mine and 2 other local artists, Thea Taylor who will have sculpture on display indoors and outside, and Katherine Haynes who makes bags and lampshades from bubble wrap.  We are discussing having demonstrations like we did last year, and I may be taking my equipment to make handmade glass beads again, this will depend on how energetic I’m feeling by then. Come and see our artworks, enjoy some refreshment while you watch a demonstration and have a leisurely stroll around the garden whilst admiring the sculptures.

My second venue is in the 2×4 Artists community room in the Drill Hall in Horsham town centre. I will have a smaller range of jewellery for sale, but in different colours from the other venue, so don’t forget to check out both places. The room will of course be displaying many pieces by my fellow artists in the group, including paintings, mixed media, textiles, sculpture and printmaking. Studio artists will also be opening their doors as always.

More information is on my events page and by clicking on the links to the festival website where a pdf of the festival guide can be downloaded, and a festival map can be viewed. Unfortunately this map doesn’t so far appear to have our Horsham locations marked on it, oh well!

5 weeks on from my hip hop yesterday. Progress is good, I’ve moved to using one stick or crutch around the house (the crutch is turned around so my arm is not inside the arm hole) and I try to walk without it several times a day, to get me used to being fully weight bearing on my new joint. Next week will be a milestone week as I can finally ditch the gorgeous white compression pop socks, the latest in fashion statements, not, and I can stop having blood thinning injections. Also I will have my 6 week checkup where I will find out when I can start driving again, if I can abandon my hip precautions and generally start getting back to a more normal lifestyle.

Further news on our very own Squirrel Loftkin saw that little blighter in our loft the day after he arrived, but Rick kept banging the soffits and scaring him off. He also installed a noise scarer thingy that will annoy him and hopefully any other small furries that contemplate taking up residence at the top of the house. We also have Everest coming first thing tomorrow to block up the hole he made so hopefully that will keep him well and truely out. I have to admit though, that he looked so cute peering out of the hole and blinking away, but looks far cuter doing it in a tree.

The end of another working (well, not for me) week. I’m feeling so tired after I’ve done my numerous exercise sessions, walks outside, trips up and down the stairs, getting my lunch and all those mugs of tea, that I’ve decided I’m not going to do any work for another week or so. Hah. So there. My goal now is to actually finish reading the last Terry Prachett book that I started over 2 years ago, and somehow didn’t manage to finish quickly like I normally do. I think it may have had something to do with the final Harry Potter book which came out last summer in time for our family holiday as I normally only seem to get time to read on holiday.

Of course this not working malarky might be a bit of a risk as I have Open Houses coming up, both in the 2×4 Artists communal room in Horsham and at my friend Edith’s in Plummers Plain. Also I’m considering not doing the fair at Winchester Cathedral, I just don’t think I can take the pressure at the moment, and I’m finding that if I want to be awake enough to work then I don’t do as much exercising as I should be doing if I want to get better quickly and maximise my hip’s potential, which after all is what this voluntary stick leave (Rick coined that one) is all about. So there we are, nearly at the end of another weeks recuperation at home.

On another note, Congratulations to Peter Westwood (Rick’s work mate and one of the lead developers of Wordpress - I use this for my blog and various pages of my site) and his Bride-to-be Sam who are due to tie the knot tomorrow. I hope you both have a lovely day and wish you all the best for your new life together. I probably won’t be at your evening party, but I do hope you have a great time.

4 weeks on today. The sun is shinning and I’m kinda housebound. Rick went back to work yesterday so I’m home alone for the daytime now, oh well, I’m a growed up girlie so I should be able to cope. I still can’t get over how fast the days go at the moment, especially as I don’t seem to be having as much fun as I thought I would, mainly due to my brain still being on a go slow, and I want to do stuff but can’t be bothered. How bad does that sound? Still, if I was not self employed I wouldn’t be expected to return to work for at least another 2 weeks, if not 8 weeks from now. I think I should take my own advice and not be so hard on myself.

Today’s excitement was lots of very loud scratching and noise that emanated from the roof and could be heard all over the house and outside in the back and front garden. I hobbled outside to the back, looked up and saw a squirrel peeking out from under one of our roof tiles, very cute but immensely annoying as the racket continued for about 2 hours then stopped. I hate to think what the damage is like in our loft. We suspect the poor thing went in then got stuck and was trying to get free, at least we hope it hasn’t set up a nest. I guess we won’t know for a few days.

Hi there again. I’ve been putting off posting today as I can’t seem to be light hearted, I’d remembered but also forgotten how hard it can be getting over hip surgery, one day you’re really up there, make lots of progress and feel really happy, and the next you can be in the doldrums, and soooooo tired. Today is one of the later, I’m tired of seeing the same view and really annoyed that I can’t find the 2 projects that I was planning to do while recuperating. I started a Kaffe Fassett tapestry 14 years ago, the last time I had surgery, and haven’t had time to finish it, and now that I have, can I find it anywhere? can I heck. It’s the perfect piece of art to pick up and put down as I feel, but it just ain’t in any of the places I thought it was, and I’m too immobile  to wriggle around in cupboards to look for it. Nnnnrrrrrggggggg.

OK rant over. Guess what I did yesterday? I walked all the way around the block, which is apparently 1 km, yay! also I’ve been practising using one crutch and putting more weight through my hip so I can be more independent, and now use only one for most of the day excepting for my daily walks. I have no idea if I’m on track with my improvements but hey we’re all different, and I am getting there, one day at a time. I’ve also done a little work……some of you will have had some email replies, but I haven’t managed all of them yet, please bear with me, I’m still on sick leave (with a bit of tinkering)!

Oh dear, what has happened? I think somebody swapped my husband for a super efficient house proud android. It’s 3 weeks today since I was on the slab, and Rick is being so efficient that it’s getting a bit scary for him and me. My parents came to visit today and apparently he was fretting about the mess my mum was making in ‘His’ kitchen while she made their lunch, he then proceeded to wash up and tidy up after her when she wasn’t looking. He’s got all my pain killer times programmed into the kitchen timer after each dose and is constantly surprising me every evening at 6pm when he has to administer my blood thinning medicine (this is an injection into my poor belly which has been turned into a pin cushion come dart board). What I want to know is why he can’t always be like this, tidying the kitchen after each use and keeping Mount Washpile to the size of a mere foothill? This morning he came down to an exploded pumpkin that I never got around to using, apparently it had given up the ghost overnight (no pun intended) and had collapsed into a heap while spewing it’s wet contents all over the worktop and down the washing machine. hee hee, rather him than me to clear that one up. Now all I need to do is persuade him to tidy the rest of the house. I suppose a girl can dream.

Wednesday we had our own Springwatch here as I sat gazing out of the window, with several different birds swooping around and being really bold as they bobbed around just outside where I was sitting. We have had a resident pair of robins for a long time living in the holly tree overhanging the corner of the garden, and a pair of Collared Doves that squeak every time they fly by, but on Wednesday we also saw 3 Coal Tits, 1 Great Tit, and a thrush or two. I’ve also recently seen a type of Finch or Blue Tit, I’m not sure which because I didn’t have anything to hand for reference. We also seem to have 3 ducks that keep appearing in our road, and a few months ago had a peacock parading around the road too. Of course this isn’t as posh as where Rick used to live with his parents, in their house which backed onto a large mansion which had a huge garden with 2 Peacocks and a Peahen. They looked wonderful as they would often hop over the fence into Ricks garden but in reality were a complete and utter pest as they used to eat all the plants and poo everywhere………and remember we’re talking BIG birds here, with BIG appetites and BIG…..well, you get the idea.

Of course the ducks found the only pond available! a small puddle by the edge of the road.

I missed a great blog title last time, so I thought I’d use it today, especially since just over 2 weeks ago I was clamped to the surgeons table. The last couple of weeks have flown by, Monday I had a really good day of new achievements and felt so much stronger, but yesterday was so pooped after all the excitement that I started this post and gave up, all of which is completely normal for this type of thing. At least the heatwave I predicted will be with us by the time I’m able to cope with the steps out to the back garden (I hope).

So what have I been doing? Not a lot really, just sitting resting, watching telly, doing the occasional sudoku and being waited on hand and foot. Of course I have my exercises that I have to do several times a day, and my daily walk outside that I try to increase the distance of each time, and I do make the occasional pot of tea. I even managed to do lunch on Monday with my daughter, but shhhh, don’t tell Rick (he does know really). And I have to scale the giddy heights of our stairs every time I want the loo, which in itself takes more time and energy than when you’re fit and well. So time is passing really fast, I’d forgotten just how much longer everything takes to do when you’re on crutches and limited in how you can move. Even the simplest of tasks like carrying a mug of tea (remember I have both hands on crutches) and putting it down takes a lot of planning and thought. It really does help give one an appreciation for what it’s like to be badly disabled.

Roll on 4 weeks from now………….