Where've I been??

I haven't been posting or being very creative lately due to a few reasons.

1. Shoulder surgery
2. I started working
3. The holidays came
3. Continued back pain
4. Camera shit the bed

I think I've mentioned it elsewhere and perhaps here too. I had to have shoulder surgery on my right shoulder last July and it's been months (before and after) since I was able to use my arm, thus the creative part of me was laid up, except for crochet.

I also started working again after not working for nearly 12 years due to disability - back troubles and chronic pain. I got hired at PetSmart and I love my job! I am a pet care specialist. Basically I take care of the needs of all the live animals in the store with the exception of the area devoted to the local humane society. The first 4 weeks of work we weren't open and everyone was working full time in order to set the store from bare walls to grand open ready. The pay was great, but my back and legs hated it!! It was also beginning to be the holidays and that in itself is added pressure and stress, let alone working full time for the first time in 12 years!! We weren't doing our normal jobs, we were stocking shelves according to plan-o-grams. YIKES!!! Once we opened, I started my regular work and it's a breeze, relatively easy for me when I have my pain under control. I just recently got put on to regular part time hours and that's wonderful!

The work caused my back and legs to act up some and made me a little bit grumpy. I've dealt with chronic pain for all these years and I know how I have to deal with it in order to be successful with anything in my life. I need to be in control of the pain, and because of being on my feet and legs for 8 hours a day I wasn't in control! I recently started going to the Pain Clinic and had two series (starting last June) of epidural steroid injection shots in my spine. Sounds yucky, and it was! However, as painful as those few minutes that the doctor was actually injecting the thick liquid into my spine was, the lengthy relief I gained from the shots was excruciatingly sweet! Virtually no pain for months! I couldn't believe it!! The problem now?? It's time for another round - I have an appointment for next Wednesday.

I think this will be the last ones though, the next step is "zapping" the nerves that come through my my L3 and L4's. I have a bulging disk and arthritis in this area, causing pinched nerves coming directly from my spinal cord, thus the low back pain, the numbness of the sides of my legs all the way down to my little toes, i In a nutshell?? I have Peripheral Neuropathy. Oh joy!!

And finally, our old Kodak Easy Share kinda sorta shit the bed. It still works, but the picture quality for the closeups is bad and the battery door is broken - thus needing a piece of duct tape to hold them in. Not the best of situations!

We bought ourselves a new one - x mas present to each other, a Panasonic. I'm still playing with it, learning how it works etc... but it's WAY cooler than the Kodak!! The pics were taken with the new camera!!

This is my new kiln for Precious Metal Clay!!


This a pic of my newest PMC project. Silver lentil shapes that will be filled in with poly clay and decorated with mica shift. These are unfired.

YAY!! I, hopefully, will be posting a lot more stuff lately as things seem to be slowing down a bit and I'm able to make and keep a more - all around - productive schedule.

That's the plan anyway. *sheepish grin*