Watercoloring As Lifesaver

I cannot emphasize the power of watercolor painting (for me) strongly enough.

After months of summer-induced inertia...of anhedonia...it is, once again, my watercolors that are bringing me back to life along with the cool and cloudy days now that the fall season has arrived.

The paintings don't have to be good. In fact, most of mine are complete nonsense, which has always delighted me. 
The quality of the paintings is beside the point.

There is something about water + paint that brings me a serenity that I cannot explain.

What a relief it is to feel creatively alive again.

Oh, by the way...today is Johnny Appleseed Day.  Happy birthday, Mr. Appleseed.

World Lung Day 2023

After a double lung collapse (pneumothorax) - 100% lefty, 75% righty - which is quite rare & comprise only 1.3% of ALL lung collapses - I have a deep gratitude & appreciation for my lungs being that somehow they bounced back from that VERY close call (if I'd waited 2 more hours to go to hospital I wouldn't be writing this).

I wish I could convince people to not abuse theirs.

Anyway, they deserve their own goofy artwork 

World Smell & Taste Day

Today is World Smell & Taste Day.

I haven't smelled a thing since 2009 which means I also do not taste anything besides salty, sweet, sour, bitter - I cannot taste flavors although somehow I inexplicably can still cook well & can tell if a cup of coffee is good or not.

So I thought I'd post this gem today that I doodled years back...which actually wound up being used in a TED talk - you can't make that up, right?

I wish I could impart to those of you with working noses and taste buds what it is like to no longer have those senses.

I wish I could explain that it's like living in black & white in a technicolor world - how I can no longer recall smell-associated memories or make new ones and how I don't know if I smell okay or my house smells okay or what my husband/daughter/dog smells like or what cookies/pies/cakes baking in the oven smell like or what fresh cut grass smells like or crunchy fall leaves. The list is truly endless.

Not having these things - and so so many and much more - anymore has robbed me of an integral and significant part of the whole being alive experience x 10,000.

I struggle each and every day to keep my head above water and not think about all that I've lost while also hoping that there isn't a gas leak or fire because I'd never know. I have special alarms for explosive gases and hope to God they work properly but there's no real way of knowing, ya know?

Anyway, here's the TED talk. You can skip to about the 8:02 mark in case you're so inclined.