I promised myself I wasn’t going to buy art supplies as a gift this year, I have way too many but... I really want paint pigments to make my own watercolors and acrylics. Just the thought of knowing I can make my own stuff like that is neat. It’s like how I learned to card and dye my own wool. I want to sit down and actually start needlefelting, maybe try to spin my own yarn.

And then there’s a kit online I like called Aromastone, you cast plaster into a cute shape, than you add a scented oil to it and hang it in a closet or put it in a dish. I could probably make it myself if I use my soap molds and the plaster I already have, I think a gemstone diffuser would be cool and it fits my room aesthetic.

A few days ago the kitten, whom we settled on the name Luna, gave me a scare. I’m still quarantining her in another room, and I noticed she had diarrhea but there blood in it as well, not a lot but enough to make me schedule another vet visit. I traveled two hours to Santa Fe at 11 at night as there’s no emergency vet in town, thinking the worst. Pro tip, don’t Google kitten stool symptoms if you’re scared to death of cancer and you’re prone to overworrying like I am. Along the way there I was even starting to blame myself, thinking I should’ve just taken her home the day I found her, I should’ve given her better food, what if I brought something from work that triggered something in her because I do work in a lab that deals with all sorts of dangerous things. I thought I failed her and I started apologizing to her as I waited in the parking lot outside the vet.

It was a long wait. The vet on the phone explained what they were going to do. They’re took a sample to check for worms, check her blood, check for polyps, had me explain where I found her, was she vomiting, anything to get a clear picture of what could cause her sudden turn in health. The silence on the other end was the worst and I felt like I was bothering them asking questions, telling them money wasn’t an issue, just please please help her.

Thankfully it turns out she had a small bit of diarrhea because she’s transitioning to new food and the blood was from a little scab on her rear that she might’ve done over-cleaning herself. Nothing to worry about. For the next few days I was told to clean her bum gently and put a dab of Vaseline on the scab to help seal out infection, give her some pedialyte to prevent dehydration, and maybe buy a sensitive stomach kitten food that has pumpkin or sweet potato. Otherwise, she’s fine, her weight has increased and her previous sinus infection is gone. I’m doing a great job helping her grow into a healthy cat.

I was happy crying all the way home. I was tempted to give her a treat, but that would have to wait, she needs to be on a bland diet for now. It makes sense. The sudden transition from whatever she was eating in that abandoned house to really good food, being away from her mom and siblings, finding herself in a comfortable but unfamiliar place, being handled by humans for the first time, that’s a lot of stressful change for a stray kitten to endure.

As of now, she’s playful, active and has a hearty appetite despite her current stomach issues, this worried me but the vet assured me that sometimes symptoms can last for a week, just keep tabs on her, keep her hydrated, and if she gets lethargic, feverish, or stops eating, to rush her back to them. And to relax, pets can pick up on a owner’s stress and get stressed too. So I've been getting into traditional art again, as well as taking a stroll along the canals looking at the autumn trees. It does help and helps to see her run up to me now, wanting to be picked up when before she was scared to be handled.

And then she bit my nose.

I’m considering making a beach box next year. Not sure if the idea is already out there, but basically it’ll be a box where I can draw on the sand, arrange shells and driftwood in patterns, just have a quiet little spot that reminds me of the sea. My bro calls it a glorified kid’s sandbox. Lol well...yeah? But like it’s not really for play, more like something meditative. Like a Zen garden, but oceanic?

I don’t know, I've always wanted something like that In the house. I’ve always liked to play in the sand when the river is dry, making patterns, using natural materials to make art. Sadly I can’t always go out there to do that, so why not just bring it inside on a smaller scale? Call it childish but it’s relaxing to me, and I think anything that could do that for my anxious little self is a good thing.

Plus I get to take out my collection of seashells, beach rocks and wood pieces that I gather every summer from California. I have a ton just sitting in a wooden crate gathering dust and they come out only for crafts. What a nice way to display them as a kind of interactive art piece.

Rio Grande follies

My favorite backroads

quarantine tag game

ARE YOU STAYING HOME FROM WORK/SCHOOL? No, I’m security for a lab but I work graveyard so I come in contact with zero people.

IF YOU’RE STAYING HOME, WHO IS THERE WITH YOU? My brother.

ARE YOU A HOMEBODY? I’m a natural introvert with a 1,001 hobbies, books, games, ect so it hasn’t affected me much. When I did go out prior to all this, I took walks in the woods and went urbexing. That hasn’t changed though. I live in a rural area with few people and urbexing aka exploring abandoned places is by definition as social distancing as you can get.

AN EVENT THAT YOU WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT GOT CANCELLED? My once a year vacation to California, but its not a big deal. I see this as an opportunity to save money so next year I’ll have an even better vacation. Plus I can focus on my garden and make it huge. And if I miss the beach, I’ll just bring it to me with the sound of ocean waves and shell crafts.

WHAT MOVIES HAVE YOU WATCHED RECENTLY? A lot of old flicks I grew up with. I just rewatched Earth Girls are Easy, Fantastic Planet, Little Shop of Horrors, the entire Poltergeist series, next on the list is The Incredible Mr. Limpet, Encino Man, House on Haunted Hill and Weird Science.

WHAT SHOWS ARE YOU WATCHING? Children of the Stones, Ocean Girl,  Tales of The Unexpected, Twilight Zone, Serial Experiments Lain, Night Gallery,  Out Of This World, Vermilion Pleasure Night, Paranoia Agent, Cromartie High School, Bewitched, Harry and the Hendersons, Mork and Mindy, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, Gilligan's Island, Lost in Space...

WHAT MUSIC ARE YOU LISTENING TO? Dead Man’s Party - Oingo Boingo

WHAT ARE YOU READING? DIYs, drawing/watercolor, craft books, zakka and gaming magazines like Nintendo Power from the early 90s as well as some old Corocoro and Ribbon manga.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR SELF-CARE? Taking things a day at a time and rotating new things every other day, this includes: Revisiting some old Gameboy games and rom hacks, playing current games like Portal 2, The Coin Game and Broken Reality, listening to creepypasta, learning to cook some new recipes, cleaning my garage, look through my pinterest inspiration boards, doing beadwork, making leather goods, learning new macrame stuff, practice learning my dad’s native language, fooling around with an old keyboard piano I got years ago, making shaved ice, working on a loom, learning to use gouache and oils, making ojo dios, drawing with milky pens, making paper mache, sky watching in the backyard, following along to corny 80s exercise videos, making a zine or comic, having a spa day, making a bonfire/bbq, making my yard bee and butterfly friendly, having my own camp out in my backyard, swim in the creek, go rock hounding, make pottery, have a pizza night ...ect.  

I’m tagging: Whoever wants to!

My allergies are pummeling me right now.

I had to go home early because they would’ve put me on the Quarantine List, which would’ve prevented me from working for at least a week (the labs are strict!) and I really don’t want to use my PTO, because as bad as I feel, it’s just allergies, it’s non-contagious. Plus I might start feeling better in a few days.

A came home and my bro was making soup, not for me, but just in general. God. The soups he makes though. lol He put vegetables in but didn’t even cut them. Whole red potatoes, whole corn on the cob, giant pieces of cauliflower, spinach, I mean... Damn... that is a THICC soup!

I’m laughing so much now. But it did taste good, so I’ll give him that. The broth is savory and the vegetables soft, which is a miracle in itself that they cooked all the way through. But I still can’t get over just how big everything in this soup is.

Ugh, my allergies reared up this week. I blame myself though. I was burning dried leaves two days ago to make ash for blue corn dishes and the fruit trees, it triggered my allergies. I should’ve worn a mask. Now I’m living with the consequences and allergy medicine does very little to help. I have to sort of ‘ride it out’ until my system stops over-reacting to a bit of harmless dust.

I just hate how it hits my eyes then my sinuses, giving me a terrible headache because everything seems too bright now, I’m so stuffed up the pressure is traveling to my eye sockets. There is a weird side effect to this though, my night vision improves. I wonder why that happens. Well at least I get something out of it for my pain. Thank goodness I’m on outside patrol tonight, walking in the cold actually helps with the sinus pressure and no bright lights to squint at. Not sure how I’m handle Thursday though, as I’m back on screen duty. I might have to wear sunglasses. That’s going to be something to explain to my co-workers. XD

I feel bad for my bro, he is so tired of winter. I think he has the same thing our mom has, SAD Seasonal Affective Disorder, because he’s exhibiting similar signs to it. The only thing that really cheered him up today was when he got a new lens that fit his camera. Since everything was 50% off at the thrift store, he got it for $20. He’d been eyeing that lens for some time. Now he’s hold up in his makeshift darkroom aka our bathroom to process his film he used today when we took photos of the Sandia Mountains.

Thing is...we only have one bathroom. >:[

NTER.

My partner in crime

Too cute dollmaker folks! Made a mini me! XD