Personal Symbols WIP

But I’ve been quietly stitching here in the studio. It’s always a good way for me to contemplate other things while I keep my creativity going. It’s been a very good thing for me this past week. It’s not done yet. I need to add more beads, but I needed to take a break from it.

I have a busy week planned. I spent a good part of today running errands. Tomorrow I have several appointments and then Dave is playing poker with friends, so it will be a nice quiet evening here at Casa Saperstein. Then on Wednesday, I’m speaking about the Baha at the Fountain Hills Hearing Loss Association (HLA). I hope to get some time in for drawing in-between appointments. It’s been a while since I’ve spent time alone with my sketchbook, but that’s OK, too! I’m hopeful that Thursday and Friday will be quieter and that I can focus on art for the majority of both days. Next week is my treatment (already!), so I think that some art time prior to that is just what I need!

L’Shana Tova to all my friends who celebrate Jewish New Year.

Seven totes finished!

Doll I made for Joanne

And it’s August! Sheesh! Where did the summer go? This weekend is the kick-off of Art Unraveled and Joanne is in town. I’m heading out to see her in a while. It seems like just a few weeks ago I was meeting Joanne in Chicago planning my trip to France. And then again, France seems like a lifetime ago.

It’s been a busy week here. I spent Monday, Wednesday and Friday working on art. Monday I made some collage packets and I did some art for CreativeTherapy. Wednesday I finished creating some totes. And today I made some dolls and my name tag for Art Unraveled. It was relaxing and productive.

Art Unraveled Name Tag

Tuesday and Thursday I volunteered for Cochlear Americas as an Awareness Advocate. I’ve mentioned my volunteer activities with this in the past. I went with the education coordinator for our region to talk about the Baha and how it has helped my life. I got to meet a Constable and a Voc Rehab specialist, both of whom have single-sided-deafness (SSD) like I do. It was a long day, but well worth it. I think both of these people will be on the road to getting Bahas and making their lives easier.

I volunteered again Thursday, to speak in front of a group of Vocational Rehabilitation counselors for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Most of these people were, themselves hearing impaired or deaf, so it was an interesting morning. The education person spoke about the cochlear implant and the baha and I told my story. They asked questions and, I hope, we were successful in educating them. We were down in Casa Grande, which is about an hour or so south of where I live. Luckily the education coordinator lives near me, so we carpool when we go to these things. Wednesday I did some final preparations on the gifts for my friends… Or so I thought. I made some totes and finished sewing all of them up. But one of my friends received a tote from me just a short time ago. So, I decided that I might do something else for her. But I was tired and I knew I had a long day scheduled. So, I went to sleep early.

I enjoy doing my volunteer work. It makes me feel like I’m giving back for all I’ve received. I’m speaking again this week for other Vocational Rehabilitation counselors and I was just told that this would be teleconferenced across the state. It will be fun, I’m sure.

More soon!

So, right now I’m at home getting my monthly IV my treatment so I can be “ready” for the trip with my balance, hopefully, AOK!

This week I did the usual running around to get as much done as possible before my treatment, since I never know how it will affect my energy levels. I’ve also been working on the next few CreativeTherapy catalysts. I’m planning to set up some posts with my CreativeTherapy responses to publish while I’m gone. I hope it will work! I just have one more to do and then I’m covered for our trip.

I’ve still been exercising and I’m feeling pretty strong. Yesterday I went to do some volunteer work for Cochlear about the Baha. This was to meet some of the audiologists in the area and to show them that we’re available to share our experiences with potential implant recipients. I love to share my story, since the Baha has made such a difference in my quality of life! We all met for lunch at the beautiful Vu Cafe in Fountain Hills. I had never been there before, and it was small, but lovely. It overlooks the Fountain Hills Golf Course, which is beautiful. And, of course, since we’re in the Valley, there are always mountains in the view, too!

Since we’re having temperatures over 100 degrees each day this week, I’ve been careful to stay inside and to manage my energy. And, I’m getting more and more excited about our trip! I’ve found that I had some success with Rosetta Stone, but it was difficult to use for me because of my hearing loss in my left ear. However, I did find a less expensive substitute: I’ve been learning French with Coffeebreak French, a free podcast. I went ahead and paid the small fee to get the printed lesson guides and extra lesson information. It has been very good to learn and it is quite a practical learning guide. They teach some good conversational French, which is what we need for our trip! I highly recommend it if you’re interested in learning French.

So that’s my update for this week. Not much going on art-wise. I have done some doodling and some work on the catalysts, but I won’t show them until they’re published on the CreativeTherapy blog on the appropriate Sundays.

After that, I stopped at a quilt shop I’ve been eying for a long time! I haven’t taken the time to visit in a while, but it’s also been a while since I have bought fabric… So, I went ahead and treated myself to some fun fabrics I couldn’t live without! They’re to the right! YUMMY!

And today’s drawing is an EDM Challenge. It’s Challenge #2 – Draw a lamp. It’s the lamp from my art desk. Monochromatic, because the lamp is a brown and white antique-looking Ott Lite. I like it and it’s my constant companion on my table.

That’s all for now. Back to doing some other projects I can’t share until after Mother’s Day!

First, we met for a great dinner at Lockwood, the restaurant in Joanne’s hotel, The Palmer House. I went up to Joanne’s room and we exchanged gifts. FUN! Joanne loved the tote I made for her and said she would definitely use it! She gave me a fantastic doll pin that represented each of us and a fun tote from Target that features spoons! How apropos! We had a lovely dinner and planned to meet the next morning for breakfast at my hotel.

Tuesday morning we met for a long leisurely breakfast. We talked non-stop! And then we went to the Chicago Art Institute. Because Joanne is a member, we were able to see the Edward Hopper and Winslow Homer exhibits without tickets. I had my walker, so we had to find our way through the maze of elevators and floors. I suppose a map would have helped, but neither of us picked up one. The fabulous docents and guards were very willing to help.

We enjoyed both exhibits, but were both pretty tired from standing so long. And, well, we can both always eat! So, we went to the Garden Cafe in the museum for a lovely lunch. We both splurged and had dessert – I had coconut sorbet (YUMMY!) and Joanne had some fabulous-looking ice cream with chocolate sauce. We sat and talked for quite a while and then both decided we were “museumed out”! So we went to the gift shop. It is always fun to walk through museum gift shops. We had fun, but suddenly, I became quite tired. I purchased my gift for Angie and we headed back outside to catch a taxi to my hotel.

We sat in the hotel and talked, waiting for Dave to complete his day of meetings. He came in around 4:30 and we had 5 pm reservations at a lovely little Italian restaurant within a short walk of the hotel, Volare. It was a great meal and very affordable. I highly recommend it. All three of us enjoyed our food!

From there, we grabbed another taxi and wen to see Wicked. Now, for those of you who don’t know, The Wizard of Oz is my FAVORITE movie of all time. Wicked came to Phoenix, but was completely sold out in a short time, so I didn’t get to go. When I found out it was playing in Chicago, I emailed Joanne from my Palm Centro and asked if she was interested in seeing it with Dave and me. We were so lucky to get Center Orchestra tickets! I got an FM receiver from the Auditorium so I didn’t miss a thing. That, combined with my Baha, made for a great experience! If you get a chance to see the musical, do! It’s funny, filled with lots of great dancing, costumes and satire. And the music is so much fun!

The next morning, I met Joanne at her hotel. Our plan was to have breakfast and then to go to the Blick Art Materials across the street from her hotel. It called to us. We had no choice but to visit this two-story art materials mecca. We had so much fun that an hour quickly passed! Joanne was able to get a bunch of Golden’s products she needed for her Art & Soul classes. I was able to find a few things I couldn’t live without that could easily slip into my suitcase! We went back to her hotel to drop off her bounty, sat in the lobby and talked, and then went to a nice long lunch.

I walked back to her hotel with her and we said our good-byes. It was a lovely time, especially knowing that Joanne is coming to Art Unraveled in August, so we will have more time together soon. It was a fabulous time, as we both knew it would be. I’m still amazed at how friendships can become so incredibly strong over the Internet and then can blossom into “real life” friendships.

Wednesday evening, Dave and I went to dinner at Shula’s in our hotel. We were both tired and wanted to have a quiet dinner, which we did. We both needed a good night’s sleep, since Thursday was our travel day and Dave had an early breakfast meeting.

Thursday morning, I slept late while Dave went to his meeting, and then I took some time to draw. I hadn’t taken much time to draw while Joanne was there, since we had so much to share!I was definitely ready to return home. The flight was pretty bumpy, but I didn’t get sick – a huge victory!

I added in some pictures I drew while i was in Chicago. They’re really quite simplistic, but it felt good to have a pen in my hands and to truly observe things. I don’t think I’d have noticed the fabulous columns that make up the Wrigley building without observing it to draw.

Today I’m preparing for our family to visit for Passover. My 7-year-old niece, Eliana, is coming to visit with her parents. We’re having two Seders here at the house. We’ll bring my FIL and MIL over for them and for other days during the week. I’ll be doing art with Eliana! She wants me to teach her some things. I’m happy to oblige! Uncle Dave will teach her some magic tricks, too. It will be a fabulous week, if I can keep track of my spoons!

So, I got up and showered, dressed for a day of volunteering for Cochlear at the Devonshire Senior Center. They were having a health fair. I was to meet Melanie, another volunteer, at the center. Melanie is lovely. We met last month at a volunteer luncheon and we hit it off. She uses cochlear implants and is as happy to share her story, as am I. We had a lovely time and met many people. By 12:30, I was exhausted. I knew I still needed to finish packing and I had to have lunch. The senior centers do offer us some lunch, but with my food allergies (and there are many!), I usually can’t eat what they are kind enough to offer. I brought a protein bar; it was just enough to hold me for the time I was there.

I came home, ate a salad, and finished up a drawing (sorry, can’t share it. You’ll see it on the creativeTherapy blog (link in the sidebar!) this evening!) and then I went to finish packing. I finished and had a quick dinner with Dave.

We went to bed early so we could catch a 7:20 flight. That was a rather short trip – 3 hours, much of which we both slept through. Arriving in Chicago was a shock to our heat-of-the-desert bodies for the first time in over a year I saw my breath. Egads! What were we thinking?

We had reservations for dinner at Bice Ristorante with a group of friends and colleagues. Habing been cooped up in a plane and then a taxi, we chose to walk the short distance. There were a few flurries, but at our brisk pace, we didn’t feel too much of the cold. Dinner was lovely – good food, good friends, and good service.

As we headed out, our unhappy surprise was that it was sleeting. We hailed a taxi and went back to the hotel.

This morning we had a quiet breakfast together and Dave went off for a day of directing his neuromuscular course. I plan to take a walk later and to have a day of relaxation, drawing, and window shopping!

When I did the free motion quilting, I, as usual, created more quilted fabric than I needed. I knew I would figure out something to do with it, and I did. You see, I was lucky enough to participate in the Cyber Fiber Exhibit Postcard Exchange with the fabulous Susan Lenz. In February, I offered to trade out a postcard for this fabulous one Susan created out of a full-sized quilt she made a while back. Well, unfortunately, the mail being what it is, the postcard did not show up, though Susan sent it on February 3rd. I emailed Susan after a few weeks and told her I’d not received it. We were both disappointed, but we were willing to accept that these things happen and that we’d trade at another time.

Well, much to my surprise, Saturday’s mail brought with it the very postcard! I cannot tell you how excited I am to own this beauty! It’s even more intense and the color is SO much deeper in real life! I love it.

Anyway, back to the leftover quilted fabric! LOL

Today I took some time and created the postcard for Susan. I made it out of the base fabric left over from the tote and I added a decorative collage of vintage kimono fabrics. But it still needed something to balance it out. So, I added in the fiber from my huge (and I mean huge!) stash of fibers. I’m pretty happy with the result here, too. A lot had to do with the color of the background fabric, which I love, but I also like that it really represents my style.

Tomorrow I’m volunteering for Cochlear again, showing off my Baha implant and answering questions about it. I always enjoy helping people learn about this so it will be a tiring, but good day!

OK. Now I’m off to figure out what to do with the rest of that fabric and to pull together stuff for my trip!

We went to lunch and then came back. While they were cruising, I spent some time organizing and scanning family photos. When they moved from Massachusetts, they brought with them folders, boxes and old magnetic (aka photo destroyers!) photo albums. I was determined to rescue what I could. I spent a lot of time working on just that and I presented them with the first of what I suspect will be three albums filled with photos. In addition there are larger photos that I’ve unearthed that are in frames and others that need new frames. These along with the super secret project I’m working on, will provide them with a wall of family photos and other goodies!

When we returned home from our day of visiting, I went straight to “Napland”. I had no choice but to nap. And it was a GOOD nap!

Yesterday, we had our monthly Cochlear Awareness Network Volunteer luncheon. It was my first day driving in about two weeks and my first outing alone since the treatment. I was feeling great in the morning and I took my time to shower, dress, and put on make-up. Then I sat for a while and read email. The goal was conserve my spoons. I also left early so I did not get stressed about the drive. It was a bit of a drive from the house. So, I went and arrived without any problems. I got out of the car and walked up to the front of the Sweet Tomatoes where were all meeting. Just as I was about to get to the door, I lost my balance and fell – hard. Lucky for me, I have learned over the years not to use my face or my hands to stop my fall. I landed squarely on my right knee. I recovered quickly and stood up, walking into the restaurant. I did not look at my knee, but I knew it was going to be black and blue and swollen. Later I found I was right on the money… I have a very sore knee with lots of pretty colors on it!

I stayed through the luncheon, where I met several other volunteers and some of the staff from Cochlear. I was the only person with a baha implant. The rest have cochlear implants, even most of the staff! I will likely be doing more work for Cochlear coming up. I really do enjoy it. It’s a great way for me to get out and help others with hearing impairments.

And, I got home fine. No problems. I had hoped to stop at the health food store or some thrift stores, but after the fall and two hours of socializing, I knew I couldn’t do that. I had to get home. And so, I did. And not a moment too soon. I almost fell again in the studio. So, I’m using the quad cane right now. That’s OK. I’m not having vertigo, just some imbalance.

Last night, my darling husband, Dave, came home with some fun mail for me. Connie had made these awesome spoon earrings for me. And the timing of their arrival could not have been better! The card reads, “You can never have enough spoons.” Isn’t that amazing timing? To the left you can see these beauties!

And today, I’m feeling much better. I had a dental appointment today. I have had some difficulty with my front teeth. See, two of my incisors never grew in. Their absence bothered me for most of my life, since the canines stood out and looked like fangs. I had porcelain veneers placed on them about 12 years ago. Well, like anything else, they wore out. And, to be honest, though they were the best that dentistry had to offer at the time, they were always HUGE and they always caught whatever green veggie I had eaten last. (Not a pretty sight!) So, since it was time and I’d had some problems with my two front incisors wearing off due to the veneers on the teeth next to them, we went ahead and did new porcelain veneers on all four teeth. Three weeks ago, this started, and the temporaries were amazing, but I was excited for today. I got the permanent teeth today. A better shot of them is to the right!

I didn’t do much after the dental work today, except to come home and catch up on blogs and to conserve my energy. I am doing some drawing, but nothing is finished enough for me to share it. I will share some later in the week. Signing off for now!

I’ve mentioned in the past that I have a chronic illness called Auto-Immune Inner Ear Disease. I’ve talked about the vertigo and the treatment I’ve had; however, on my 21st birthday, I woke up deaf in my left ear. Sensorineural Hearing Loss is a potential effect of both the treatments I was doing at the time and the disease itself. I was in my senior year of college and I had struggled with intermittent hearing loss. There was nothing they could do for me until I lost the hearing completely in the left ear. I was hooked up with the State Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. They got me all the things I needed to succeed in my classes, including a CROS hearing aid. They helped me to advocate for myself, and I graduated with honors. For a long time I struggled with my hearing impairment. You’d think that being deaf in one ear was really not that big of a deal with good hearing in the other ear. However, it can be very difficult.

When you have unilateral hearing loss, there are several problems, including the fact that you cannot hear in a loud room, you can feel isolated, you don’t hear in stereo, and you cannot localize sound. I have been to trade shows where I have heard someone call my name, but I had no idea where it was from. Imagine the sound is coming from the left and you (a) don’t hear anything; (b) think they’re talking to someone else because it sounds far away; or (c) turn to the right! When you hear in just one ear, everything sounds like it’s coming from that same side. And people think you’re ignoring them if they call and you don’t respond! Not a good thing when your business is communication, which mine was!

For many years, I wore a CROS Aid. Or rather, wore it and turned it off most of the time. It was very annoying to hear the conversations behind me better than the conversation at our table at dinner. So, I turned it off. But I had to strategically sit so I could hear and read lips. This was the only thing available for me for over 15 years. And, convinced I had no other option, I used it and I worked ten times harder than a hearing person to catch what was going on right in front of me. It was exhausting and stressful. But for many years, it was all I knew.

Then, in 2004, I went in for my semi-annual hearing and vertigo evaluation. At the time, my vertigo was well-managed, but my CROS Aid was pretty useless to me. I had very stable hearing in my right ear, and the audiologist and the Ear Nose and Throat doctor (ENT) suggested I look at the Baha Implant. I was leery. I had never heard of this, and it had apparently just been approved by the FDA for unilateral hearing loss. I figured nothing ventured, nothing gained, and I went and tried the product.

The Baha is a device that sends the sound to your good ear by using the skull to conduct the sound to the good ear. They were able to allow me to experience what it was like there in the office. They gave me a pressure head band and the processor was attached to it. Immediately upon turning it on, I heard a whisper behind me. I had tears in my eyes. We went for a walk through the corridor. For the FIRST time in over 15 years, I heard someone whisper on my left side; I heard people’s footsteps behind me; I could tell, in general, where the sound was coming from. I was sold. Two months later, I went and had the outpatient procedure to have the titanium abutment seated. Titanium has the property of being able to integrate into the bone through a process called osseointegration. This process takes three months for an adult and I could not wait to get my processor. I got my processor in August 2004. I was the first person in Kansas City, KS and Kansas City, MO to have the Baha implant.

I have been volunteering to speak to groups and individuals on and off for a few years as a result of this. Patients with unilateral hearing loss have called me and emailed me about the Baha and I’ve answered questions for them. For the most part, this has been through my neurotologists (ENT focusing on hearing and the hearing nerves), who have asked me to speak with people. However, Cochlear Americas has recently added Baha Volunteers to their Cochlear Awareness Network. I’ve become the first Baha volunteer in Arizona the past two weeks.

So, on Wednesday, I attended the Arizona Disabilities Expo, an opportunity for people with disabilities and those who work with people with disabilities to learn about assistive devices and supportive options. It’s rewarding work to see someone who has been told forever that there is nothing that can be done for them and they’re completely deaf in one ear or deaf in both. Cochlear Americas also manufactures the Cochlear Implant (CI) called the Nucleus Freedom. I will be learning more about this product, but there are a bunch of Cochlear Awareness Network volunteers who use the CI.

In short, this is just something I needed to share with you. If you or anyone you know wears hearing aids, a CROS Aid or has been told that there is nothing that can be done for their hearing impairment, I urge you to have them contact me or Cochlear directly.  If you have questions, please leave them on my blog or email me and I will be happy to answer them!

Have a fabulous day!

Now to a more personal discussion: Several of you have been kind enough to ask about my treatments and what I’m battling. I have a relatively rare disease, called Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease (AIED). AIED is marked by sudden hearing loss and vertigo. Many people who have this disease become completely deaf and require cochlear implants to hear. Others, like me, have hearing loss unilaterally and have other symptoms, such as vertigo, tinnitus, and hyperacusis. I am lucky that I am able to use a Baha, since I am deaf in one ear and not in the other. However, every time my symptoms come back, we worry that there is some damage to the “good” ear. I take immunosuppressants daily and I am also receiving additional immunosuppressive treatments intravenously monthly – the “monthly treatment” I talk about in this blog. I won’t bore you with the details, but if you’re interested in more information on my disease, the Baha, or the treatments for the disease that I have tried and am now on, please contact me directly. I will be happy to answer specific questions you have.

I write about this because I have had some severe hyperacusis the past few weeks. This morning, I called my doctor about the pain I am having with “normal” sounds. It has made normal conversation difficult. The television, which is usually my white noise companion during my day, is frequently off. If, however, it’s on, it is either.muted with closed captions or very low with closed captions. Sound is hard on me right now. Especially the sound of dishes clinking, silverware, beeps and other high pitched sounds. Tomorrow I see my doctor at 7 am. Yes, it is an ungodly hour; however, the sensitivity is worse first thing in the morning and late in the evening.

I doubt there is anything that he can do to help the symptoms, but I do want to make sure that there is not much, if any, change in my hearing. If there is, I will likely be put back on prednisone, the horror drug.

On the good side, I met a new friend today. Rosaland and I are taking Sue Bleiweiss’ Joggles Class together. We met up today at a lunch spot downtown, near Rosaland’s office to do “show and tell” and to get to know each other. It was quickly apparent to us both that this was going to be a good friendship! We’ll get together again after Dave and I return from a trip we’re taking next week.

Other good news (no, really, it is!): I put myself on a diet. I’m only eating complex carbs and protein. No rice, potato, sugar, or other quick carbs. I have not, however, given up coffee! I have just changed it up a bit so that I’m drinking almond milk rather than soy milk, saving over 15 carbs per serving! I’ve been doing this for almost a week and I feel better already. I also don’t crave things as much as I used to. It’s been a good transition for me. I’ve done this before with much luck. I just need to stick to it. And I need to start exercising. That’s the next step.

So that’s the story from artsyfran studios. Art to come tomorrow!