my god-- i simply cannot comprehend the devastation in the gulf coast-- i have been watching tv since the very beginning of the news of the hurricane-- partly because i live in florida and was keeping an eye out just in case it turned or did something weird and ended up here!
i see the damage and hear the stories and yet my mind simply finds itself on overload...frantically trying to put the pieces together.
last year i went through two catagory two hurricanes here -- and the damage was horrendous-- my other house lost part of its roof and i had to wade through water -- the ceiling was down in the master bedroom and it was simply the worst nightmare i have ever been through...
we couldnt get contractors, dumpsters, ANYTHING- it took literally months to get the roof repaired and fighting with the insurance company was simply unbelievable-- see the earlier posts about that damn ordeal--
as i see it there is NO WAY those cities will ever be rebuilt- and NO WAY people will be returning to whats left of their homes in six to eight weeks-- just from my experience i really dont see how anything is going to be accomplished-- forget the damn city and HELP THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL COMING OUT OF THE WATER...
no food, no water, -- i doubt any of us can imagine that--
at least when jeanne hit here i was prepared -- thankfully i had another house that i had just purchased or i would have been homeless too-- but i had tubs , bottles, buckets, anything i could get my hands on that would hold water filled up-- i had food and friends staying with me who brought food-- i only lost power for a short period of time but friends didnt have power for months-- i rescued others and brought them here to take care of them--

the emotional stress was horrible- and lingered for months after the initial storms-- we all walked around like zombies and i am sure we suffered from second degree stress or post traumic stress--
can u imagine losing everything -- not knowing what is happening -- starting all over again but where? how? and with what-- no car-- no clothing-- NOTHING--
these people are suffering now but they will suffer for months and perhaps years after this-- the long term devastation from this ordeal will linger for a very long time--
if i have learned nothing else living in a state where storms occur-- i WOULD NEVER STAY if a CAT 4-5 hurricane was headed my way-- CAT2 is bad enough
the noise, the wind, the fear, is so unbelieveable... and i am protected well with excellent hurricane shutters--
i dont know what will happen to these poor people-- i can only pray and send money to red cross -- its such a helpless feeling .....

Well its been a hard week or so-- "A" has had vertebrae disintegrate -- T6 is totally gone and now she is a half an inch shorter- T345 are affected too -- when i spoke with her on phone her spirits were good however and we joked about not being able to ride camels anymore-- which we both were relieved about-- our camel riding in Mongolia was not the most pleasant part of our adventure for sure!!
Then Wednesday i got an email from darlene who said "A" is having to have surgery--not sure exactly why or what they are doing but i would imagine it has to do with T345 ... first report was surgery went well and she was in recovery then moved to ICU-- but later i got another email

"A's"doctor performed another surgery late yesterday evening to reposition a screw, which a post-op scan revealed was too close to her aorta. It took about 20 minutes, and she is doing fine.

now i get an email this morning that says there is a strong possiblity she may never walk again
"here is a significant likelihood that she may never walk again, even more likely that if she does it will be with the FDR-type leg braces and fore-arm sling crutches. We are all hoping we are wrong. "
i am devasted as i simply cant imagine my vibrant friend incapicated in this way-- my god we did two avon breast cancer walks of 60 miles!!!

i dont know what to do-- i want to go to houston to see her but know this is a hard time and it may be better later to go-- i have written robert and asked him what i should do--

this is so hard--

arlette's sudden illness really threw me into a whirlwind of fear and helplessness... of all i know the worst thing to do is to give into the fear-- easier said than done sometimes-- i had to continually remind myself to bath her in positive healing energy and see only the healthy outcome....

after i talked with her i did feel better but with cancer one never REALLY knows and even though she sounded good for that short period of time on the phone, i wondered if it would last...

i so wanted to hop on a plane and be out there with her but that isnt at all practical and there is nothing more i could do there than i can do here--

what can i do for my wonderful friend who has given me the most incredible experiences of exploring thailand, laos, mongolia, china... two avon breast cancer walks of 60 miles each.... the memories of our times together flooded over me and i cherished each one and was thankful of having her in my life....

what can i do to cheer her and to show her how much i care about her? the question tumbled around my brain and suddenly I KNEW...

i would make her my handmade cards and send one to her EVERY DAY!!

and so for the last week i have been working on the cards-- tossing all other responsibilites aside-- and pouring over ideas and techniques..creating long into the night and early morning hours --


making a card a day has been challenging-- its easy to send someone a card-- they only see that one and basically its over-- but having to make something different every day has been a real experience and one that has pushed my creative boundaries and forced me to try new techniques, different colors, and allowed me to do some wild and crazy ideas that have been in the back of my mind..

the first card i sent was an angel-- unfortunately i didnt take a picture of it -- but i made it so it can sit on her bedside table and watch over her-- i used sherril kahns petroglyph angel and used purple inks and glitter to decorate it--



the second card was actually a CD-- you know the ones you get in the mail - i painted it black then collaged a picture of a bird on it and cut out letters from magazines to spell out-- JUST STOPPIN' BY TO SAY HI...then added sliver glitter around the outside edge- it took me forever to cut out all the letters as i did her address too -- but i think it came out pretty cool and she will get a kick out the quirkiness of it! i drilled a hole in the top of the cd so she can hang it in her room --






i havent taken pictures of all the cards but will post the ones i think are majorly cool--
i spoke to arlette last nite only to find out she hasnt received any of the cards but the very first one -- what a bummer -hopefully this week they will start rolling in for her--

ok gotta go clean this dirty house-- making cards is great but i have left everything else GO-- and now i have a ton of cleaning to do--

i have just found out my good friend arlette- who i have traveled all over the world with -- is in the hospital in houston undergoing tests for myeloma a type of cancer i have never heard of-- i am so scared-- and she is so far away-- i am going to call her and find out how she is doing to ease my mind--

http://cancer.healthcentersonline.com/bloodbonecancer/multiplemyeloma8.cfm
the end of the link is this
multiplemyeloma8.cfm

wow cant believe its been so long since i have posted here-- things havent been crzy but busy--
the dang waterfall and patio arent completed YET-- but at least i got the landscaping done and my million plants out of pots and in the ground-- everything looks sooo good--

i have found two sites of interest--
What Can I Do-- offers alot of info and suggestions as to how each of us can make a difference in this messed up world of ours--
http://sowhatcanido.blogspot.com/

See a Secret Share a Secret-
http://postsecret.blogspot.com/#112336672438650161

this unusual site actually encourages people to send in their deepest darkest secrets- by creating something artistic post card size and sending it in--

although disturbing and sometimes very sad-- it is an interesting site and one that i feel offers people a new chance on life by relieving themselves of the guilt and shame they feel over choices they have made or things that have happened to them-- so instead of being a simple "reality" blog-- it does offer healing -- check it out--