hilarywhates-art-studio.com

Off we went to the hospital on Tuesday, me expecting that maybe the foot would be x-rayed through the plaster as it was before I was discharged after the op., followed by a quick chat with the consultant and then home. Instead I was shown into a room where a woman advanced towards me, whizzing power saw in hand, and proceeded rapidly towards my foot. Gulp! Removal of the plaster was followed by removal of all the stitches. I had heard moaning and groaning sounds from various people, obviously experiencing similar to myself, so decided to keep very still and quiet, and was rather pleased not to flinch once. It was an odd experience looking at my foot, as it wasn’t my foot in that the shape has changed so much! It then got all wrapped up again in lots of lint and padding and finally a synthetic plaster cast. I could choose from various colours, and finally decided on pink! Poor Bob was practically welded to the seat by the time all this was done. To assist my recovery from the trauma he decided the best course of action was to drive to the nearest pub for lunch where he proceeded to buy me a very large glass of wine! It was delicious!

I’m managing to get around quite well on crutches now, so can sit in the kitchen and prepare and cook, put washing in the machine, and even wash-up if I have to. So at least I’m not completely helpless. The biggest problem is not being able to carry hardly anything, and of course, being stuck in the house unless someone takes me somewhere and brings me back. Even going out of the front door is a problem because the step up back into the house is really high (which I hadn’t particularly noticed before) and I just can’t do it without assistance. I need a step building but with one week to go before Christmas it doesn’t seem very likely!

Christmas is another thing altogether. I keep having conversations with people who seem to be running around like headless chickens all for the sake of one day! I’m forced not to do that and it is just great! I’ve ordered some things on-line, bought all the ‘dry-goods’ and freezable items in November before my op., am making my Christmas cards at the moment, and the boys put up the tree and decorated it, with me supervising, yesterday. And that will be it! Everyone is, of course, expecting Christmas here, as per usual, and the fun bit - all being together and having a laugh - is the most important part of Christmas to me anyway, not all this ridiculous overspending on things that people get into year-long debt to provide. Last year I gave everyone Oxfam presents and I think that approach is far more in the spirit of Christmas. This year I am completely broke so my present will be providing Christmas cheer (even with a pink plaster on)!!!!

It’s a beautiful sunny day and would be nice to go outside - but Bob is at work and the boys are in recovery from Friday evening and probably won’t emerge until it’s dark again anyway! This is a very, very good way of appreciating just how easy life is when everything you have works properly - don’t ever forget it!!!!

Something a lot of people will be doing I’m sure - all in the name of Christmas. However, for me it has a slightly different meaning. Last week I had surgery on my right foot and I mustn’t put any weight on it at all for two weeks. I have mastered using crutches pretty well, but find I can either move about on crutches or hold a cup of tea, doing both is not recommended! Having to ask people to do things and being dependent to such an extent is frustrating, although I have been very, very lucky to receive wonderful support from Bob and my sons. I’m gradually working out how to do things which require use of both arms which are already fully occupied with crutches and will obviously have it all sussed just about the time the plaster comes off.
So at this busy time of year I have to sit with my foot in the air, waiting for other people to do things (unless I can figure out how to do it myself) and gradually realising that all the Christmas preparations I did prior to the op were in fact rather incomplete!!!! I quite like the idea of making some things, but of course every time I sit down to do this I realise that everything I need is somewhere else and I can’t keep asking ‘can you just get me ….?’ The internet seems a likely target therefore, although by the time I get to the door on crutches the delivery person will have departed - and how am I going to hide things if I can’t carry them? Frustrating - but only for a few weeks - so I consider myself very lucky, and indeed this brief insight into disability makes it all too clear how easy is it is overlook the very real effort involved in just getting out of bed, getting washed, getting dressed, getting things out of the wardrobe, cupboard, putting things away, etc., etc. All physically and mentally demanding - and that’s before you even get down the stairs. By the end of the day I feel exhausted just from the effort of doing just a few of the things that I normally take completely for granted!
Maybe it’s time to get plastered … where’s the corkscrew?

Whoops!  It’s ages since I wrote anything in my journal.  My excuse is that I’ve been so busy ….. but then, aren’t we all?  I’m working on a computer all day long, so I try to do other things in the evening/weekends, although inevitably check emails and ebay.  However, there is no point having this journal (blog) unless I put things on it.  So from now on … watch this space!

An all too familiar sight at Brooklands …..

We were flying in an eight seater plane on a wonderfully sunny day, and suddenly the islands appeared before us! Here was my first view of a really beautiful place, and seeing it reminds of a brilliant Spring holiday

Here is our view of Jensen Button’s car from the truck. It’s challenge for a podium position sadly came to a dramatic end when the car slid on it’s own oil as the engine gave way and headed straight into the gravel in front of us at Brooklands, very well alight. We were asked to return it to the team at the end of the race. We had to wait in the pit lane while all the presentations were made and the trophies handed out, so all the guests in the hospitality suites were busy taking photographs. We had hoped to bring in a different car ….. !!!

I visited Silverstone last night to take down the small exhibition I put up before the Grand Prix.  A lot of my website cards had been taken (or thrown away - who knows!) and as there has been an increase in the number of visits to the site I think people have been having a look. I was glad to have had the opportunity to go through all my work again and it has in fact made me decide to do some more landscape work relating specifically to physical place, rather than marks and memories of what has happened there.  As always doing something triggers something else!  That’s why it’s important to be prepared to try new things - you never know where it might lead, and usually it’s quite interesting anyway.

Monday, 5th June 2006
So, the passes have arrived and it all kicks off for us on Thursday afternoon with signing on. Should be an exciting few days - looking at BBC weather the forecast is for 27 degrees on Friday - expecting to be rather warm in black overalls sat in the truck!!!! So glamorous! It will great to see everyone and just the whole atmosphere at Silverstone will so different for a few days.

Tonight I will be preparing everything for a small exhibition I am putting up in the Silverstone ‘Village’ Hall (bar area) tomorrow evening - very exciting to have been given the opportunity to put up some of my work, but also scary. I find all exhibitions nerve-racking as it’s presenting my work for public scrutiny and I suddenly think that everyone will hate it! Anyway have made lots of little cards with my website details on and will just see what happens.

My plan is to try to write something everyday - keep a diary whilst at the circuit and take some pics and then attempt to put them onto this journal as I go along. However, we have quite a few ’social’ engagements so may not have time to put everything on until after the event - will see how it goes.

Am thrilled that my new site is now live. I will be adding words and pictures very often, so bookmark my website and come back to visit soon

Back to site:

www.hilarywhates-art-studio.com