Category Archives: Photos

So Thankful

The global postcard ‘heART exchange” is on again. I am late to the party, but I made the deadline. Whew! Even managed to make bookmarks from the scraps! Louise Gale hosts, she is amazing! One of my art Super Heroes! I have taken part before, and maybe you have too. If not, check it out! There are several swaps each year.

Very simple. Create three postcards, and get three in return. I created these with stamps, texture sheets, a nail head, a stylus, and a palette knife.

I was under the gun, trying to beat the postwoman. Save myself a trip into town. In my haste I made about 10 mistakes. Addressed the envelope upside down, then forgot to take photos, and had to cut one open with a xacto. Ha ha! The recipients will have a good laugh. And now I am hoping that I did not switch two of the cards, while I put them into the envelopes! Fingers crossed!

Can you see where I had to squeeze forgotten letters in? LOL In my defense, I was also receiving important news at the time, so a bit distracted. Yes, I can spell thankful. LOL

Happy Messy Desk

Well, I did not want to share earlier, and no worries. All is well. Or will be soon. Our Thanksgiving was a bust. But we will all be together in celebration next weekend.

My folks both came down with the flu. They have not been this ill since 1993. Just heard from the doctors that Pete has pneumonia, and they will be keeping him in the hospital for three days. Scary, but glad to know he is in good hands. They have him on oxygen as his levels were low. He is also diabetic, so we have to be extra careful.

Mom is heading home with antibiotics for treatment. They are both at the tail end of the flu, thank goodness. Contracted from neighbors at Bible study.

I won’t be visiting him in the hospital. I have meant to post about this, but the holidays did not seem the right time.

Good news is, I have FINALLY found a doctor that knows what is causing my chronic cough.

HALLELUJAH! AMEN! THANK YOU SWEET JESUS!

The gerd is one aspect, and the acids from my stomach may have damaged my lungs some, still waiting on test results. I found paperwork from previous visits in So. Cal., stating that my esophagus is ‘dilated distally’. I showed him the finding, and now we can do something about that too. The doctors never mentioned that to me before, we just moved on to scheduling for the next visit.

And I have asthma. Hallelujah, a definitive diagnosis! And my lungs are down to 25%. Not good, not good at all. But he is confident he can turn things around.

When I left the doctor’s office, I cried. Gave thanks to God over and over and over. Called a friend. Called my Mom. And cried some more. I have had these issues since 2007. The cough is what led me looking for an answer. And led to my Lupus diagnosis. A late December cold. Overworked and not sleeping enough. You know how it is. But three months later, I still had a cough.

I had honestly, just about given up.

So no hospital for me! I can’t afford to add to the list. But I am sorry, I won’t be able to keep Pete company. ( I know he won’t want me there. 😉 )

Prayers most welcome!

Late in posting this, and I shared it on IG. But you can get a closer look here. A slightly different view of Mingus.

Mingus Morning After. 2017 SMD

So yes dear friends, so much to be thankful for!

Thanks for you good thoughts and prayers!

Six more days of sales on the way!

Enjoy!

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Eucalyptus on my mind.

Eucalyptus trees have a minty, pine scent with a touch of honey. There are more than 600 eucalyptus species throughout the world. These trees hold a strong place in my childhood memories.

Meeting my oldest and dearest friend. Rainy nights, and foggy mornings. The crunch of fallen bark. Sticky leaves in my hand. If you have ever breathed in their fragrant scent, you are sure to never forget it.

Victoria Street tree portrait. Riverside CA. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

Seven Days

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Day 1.

Seven days, seven B&W photos of your life. No people, no explanation.

Another memory from the fire. The day that I drove my friends brother to see what the damage was, we walked through the remains of both houses. We took photos, so that the two families could see for themselves. Residents were still not allowed back.

We found a few angel chotchkies that had sat on his mother’s kitchen windowsill. And all the knives were sitting upright and perfectly spaced as if they were still in the wood block. Only they were now on the floor, and missing all of their handles.

Some of the adobe walls of her parents house were still standing, leaning slightly. And all along them, on both sides, was a pile of sand. Adobe that had been shed.

Ok Sheila, where are you going with this?

At my friend’s house, (same property) I found a perfect Sea Biscuit. Pristine white, just sitting there. I reached to pick it up, and it disintegrated through my fingers.

How in the world, does a delicate sea shell survive (almost) a wildfire?

Day 2

Day 3

We celebrated my brother’s birthday last weekend, HaPpY BiRtHdAy Brother! When he arrived at the house after dark, he accidentally ran over a King snake. King snakes are immune to the venom of other snakes. Including Rattlesnakes. They take on snakes and prey larger than they are, and kill by squeezing the victim to death. They are not poisonous. If you look closely, you can see that the stripes are not all perfect.

My brother didn’t want to hurt him, so he moved the snake to the other side of the street. But I, and my brother’s wife, told him the humane thing to do was to kill him quickly. It was obvious that the tire had clipped the snake’s head.

I kept getting close, to get a good picture. Everyone told me to back up, but the snake was barely moving. Besides, that was the most exciting thing to happen during this seven-day challenge!

So yeah, I am a weenie about spiders, but I can handle snakes.