The Hitman goes medical

Since March 21 The Hitman is in the hospital. He wasn't feeling so great the week before that and on the 21st he texted my friend Ily "911". She took us both to the ER, where I whispered in his ear:
"If this turns out to be just a panic attack, I will kill you..."
He is still alive, so you can safely assume it was not just a panic attack. He got an emergency operation that same evening. The cardiology surgeon told me that there were blockages in his arteries. If it was only a few they would use a balloon; if it was more they would place stents; if it was even more they would perform an open heart surgery and if it was too many for that, the surgeon would come back to me and discuss other options. And out they run, with Joe on a bed, to the OR while I was still digesting what the surgeon just told me. I had to run after them... oh well, the first operation ended somewhere at 2 in the morning and he was fine with 2 stents near the heart.

This past week had then been a roller coaster ride for the both of us: He has several severe blocked arteries among which are his carotid arteries. He passed two kidney stones and due to that and the fact that his kidney didn't respond so well to Contrast Fluids, they postponed the second operation (more stents) until this afternoon. The Hitman called me and told me that they would operate him at around 1:30 pm. I dropped everything and went to the hospital, just in time to give him a big kiss before he went into the OR.

Again he came out looking fine and all smiling. I don't know what they are giving him for local anesthesia but I want some of that stuff...
Is he out of the woodwork yet? No not yet... Neurology still have to make a decision what they will do about the blocked carotid artery. Yes, it could mean another operation... but right now I am just happy for him that he has tomorrow off from tests and such.

One doctor told us that they are amazed that he was walking and talking with all those blockages, while any other person would have dropped dead . Well, he is the Hitman...and even if you would stab in the back with a large kitchen knife, he would probably wonder what was itching...

The Gorgeous Blogger Award

It makes perfectly sense that I would receive an award for being gorgeous but to receive one for being a gorgeous blogger... well not so much. I blog barely two years now and not even that often, however I have been gorgeous all my life and I will promise to keep that up for many years to come.

Nevertheless and to my surprise Ricardo unloaded and bestowed upon me the Gorgeous Blogger Award anyway.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

As this award requires that I answer a few questions and then pass the award onto others, I will do so without further ado.

1. When did you start blogging?

I started in 2009, after much arm twisting by Ily. She was and - I believe - still is convinced that both my talents and my wacky sense of humor should not be limited to a few, but be shared with many.

2. What's your blog about?

My art, impressions and observations. Nothing specific and everything and all goes, as long as I find it interesting, creative, weird, funny or worth writing about. Rarely about politics but sometimes I cannot help myself. But mostly I try to blog with a healthy dose of humor about the things around me. Occasionally I will showcase a painting that is finished. So what I am trying to say is that I am all over the board with my blog and why not? I am having fun with it and in many ways still test riding it... it is like... uuuhhmm... me in a Ferrari, driving at full speed while trying to figure out the clutch....

3. What makes your blog special?

Well.... (this is almost the same as the typical job interview question: "What makes you special?" I once answered that question with a straight face : "I don't slurp when I eat Spaghetti." and despite that reply I got the job, which was not in a restaurant.

Anyway, what makes my blog special and I have to answer with that I am the one writing it. And the people that return regularly to my blog and leave their comments make it extra special.

4. What got you into blogging?

Ily got me into blogging and I am happy that I followed her advise. Although it took a while before my arm was completely recovered from her persistent twisting it.

5. What would you like to change in your blog?

I would like to blog more often. Not as a journal but more often than once or twice per month. I will aim for 3 blogs per month... starting... oh well... somewhere in 2011.

I present this award to the following bloggers: Riot Kitty, Granny Annie, Valentina Ramos because they are so often an inspiration to me. Of course I would love to pass this award also to Ily, but Ricardo beat me to it (darn you Ricardo, why don't you break a leg.... )

What is on my easel...

Last Saturday I finished this painting and I named it "Secrets of a childhood".Again I painted on an unstretched canvas with acrylics. The painting itself measures 33" x 35". with a band painted in blue of 4" all around it.

The subject relates to me when I was a little girl and I would hide little secrets inside certain dolls. It could be a pebble, a little note, anything that I felt to be my own little treasure and some things I did not want anybody to know about. But even though I was always a little afraid that somebody would find it, I never thought all these little things inside a doll's body would make a noise. I now know my mother would take the arm of the doll to look inside, curious what made that noise when she moved the dolls to clean, but she never said anything to me about what she would find.

Summer is almost here...

Summer's almost here ...

You should be able to see the deer moving around in your back yard!

While, here in Miami, the temperature is a lovely 81 degrees and two mocking birds are fighting over the nesting rights in our mango tree.


What can I say....

Happy Valentine..

Where did the Tradition of Card giving on St. Valentine come from? We have to go back to a time before the Christians took over the "civilized world".

It all started as a pagan tradition in the third century. The god Lupercus, was said to watch over the shepherds and their flocks and keep them from the wolves. During this time hordes of hungry wolves roamed outside of Rome where shepherds kept their flocks. So the Romans celebrated a feast called Lupercalia to honor Lupercus so that no harm would come to the shepherds and their flocks.

Additionally, during the Lupercalia, but in honor of the goddess Juno Februata (are you still with me here?) , the names of young women were put into an urn. Later their names were drawn by lot. The boys and girls who were matched would be considered partners for the year (yes, the Romans invented the friends with benefits), which began in March. It will probably surprise nobody that this celebration continued long after the wolves ceased to be a problem to Rome.

After Christianity took over Rome, the Christian Church sought to replace this holiday with something a little more tasteful (read less ... way less sexual). It changed the name-drawing. Now, both men and women could draw names. Surely, the young Romans felt cheated as they found the name of a Christian saint on their cards rather than the wonderful companion they wished for. Instead of getting a companion through the lottery, they got a saint which they were to exemplify for that year. 

The Romans were miffed. They missed their friends with benefits every February. Some ingenious Roman lads thought up an idea. Instead of hoping that the woman they admired would be on their card, they went about sending cards with their names on them to these women. This tradition has carried on to this present day. 

So if it was not for the Romans (a.i. Italians) we would not have a Valentine Day Card Tradition. Life is so much better with an Italian...(I know... I live with the Hitman!)

Happy Valentines Day

Two expositions in February!!!

Once upon a time there were two "call for artists". I entered my work for both the events... Yes I was feeling gutsy and you never know, right? 

And then I was juried into both events...

Tonight is the opening of the first event. It is the Cheesecake Pinup exposition and I have two small male nudes showing there (yes, MALE nudes.... why should all pin ups be female?). 

The show is at Galerie Jenner in Fort Lauderdale and will continue until March 31.

The second event I was juried into is the "River of Art"; an annual event organized by Life is Art here in Miami. The event is only one evening and every year 7 or 8 artists are selected to show one painting at the event. And there is my painting on the poster.... the third one from the right bottom row.

Meanwhile I am working on a new painting ...

Life is just wonderful...

What is on my easel?

Just an hour or so ago, I finished another painting and will be send to The Netherlands next week where it becomes part of a private collection.

It is painted on (non-streched) canvas with acrylics and its size is 33" x 32".

Anybody who knows me a little, knows that my pictures of my work are not the best and yet again I manage to NOT capture the true colors. 

The following detail of the painting gives a better idea about the colors.

I named the painting: "OWL"