Tuesday, August 24

from the other hand

it's been a long time, but i thought i'd pop in for a little visit to say hi and let you all know i miss you!  i also wanted to extend some big thank yous to all for the messages of healing, and spirit lifting!!



lyle and toni made and sent me this fabulous hand garland which they signed, and suggested I have all my care taking medical team on this journey sign, to leave me with words of hope as i go on my way.  how cool an idea is that?!

click photos for a closer view
and note the fabulous envelope it came in - also artfully decorated to the hilt!!
also pictured is a pretty bracelet of pearls and charms, generously strung and mailed to me by a new found friend, Mary Luna, after the 30 days, 30 journals interview i did.  she writes of the bracelet that:
"These pearls of promise are promises that 'you are encircled with the love of many friends and family and spirit beings who are cheering you on... A promise of continuing courage and strength and the ability to live in the moment...A promise of 'this, too, shall pass away...'  A promise of 'soon, you will regain your strength and unite with your love of creating and blessing the world with your uniqueness...' "
and the angel filled accordion book in the upper right hand corner travelled farthest, from my pal across the pond, Whitney Anne.
O, that I were an Angel
and could have the wish of my heart
Why should I desire more 
than to perform the work
to which I have been called.
and my new pal Amy, who works right here at the hotel, knew i've been making fruit smoothies in my room, so she and her husband surprised me with a fruit bouquet!!  Generosity and caring abounds, for which i am blessed.


i have been touched and inspired by each and every one of you, with all your messages - silent and spoken, thought and sent, i thank you.

and i am healing well.
i had my cast removed yesterday, so fingers are free to do this typing, though my thumb is still tender, thus the lack of capitalizing.  i just need to take it easy for a couple weeks, do my exercises and soon i will be good as new.  i'm still a bit swollen and black and blue, but it sure feels good to be able to scratch where it itches :)

journal pages
ⓒ2010

these journal pages were done over a few days time, with my left hand.
asemic calligraphy lends itself well to ambidextrous writing and is really good exercise for the old brain, too!

journal page-detail
ⓒ2010

i only have one week remaining of radiation treatment.  i am so very glad that soon it will be over.  both mind and body feel as though we are slogging through a murky marshland much of the time.  occasionally rising and alert, happy for those periods of lucidity!  weekends have again become appreciated as much as when i was a child, longing to hear the sound of the bell on friday afternoons...

33 comments:

  1. sounds like the surgery well. yeah! just take it easy

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  2. Hi Karin. How very nice of your friends to do that for you. Hip hip hooray! Glad you are almost through. I thought of you the other day when I was painting my hands and my feet. I said a prayer for you. Glad to see you are able to post a little and do some painting. You are in my thoughts, take care.

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  3. I'm happy to hear that things are going well and the hand is healing! loved seeing the photos! I'll have to try the asemic writing with my right hand and see if it looks at all like what the left writes! xxoo lyle

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  4. karin, you sound good. solid.

    all these gifts say so much about you. it is a joy to read this post.

    i wish you continued healing and health. i am glad your radiation will soon be ending. what an achievement that is!

    and, i imagine you will be going home to a new studio. :)

    much love
    kj

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  5. Sweet thoughts from me as I doodle about in my head. Sorry I haven't been more present but I have been thinking of you.

    A ramdom quote from my Tao Te Ching for you...

    "Heaven and earth
    begin in the unnamed"

    -mooling

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  6. so glad that you are feeling up to posting, I miss you. and that calligraphy thing still makes me sick with envy, even from your "other" hand, I really have to learn how to do it!! Best & blessings

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  7. Can't keep a good girl down...Can't subdue the artist- must create ! So pleased that you only have one more week left of sizzle! LOVE you! Love your FB profile picture- so beautiful, YOU!

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  8. Amy Russell-Butler8/25/10, 12:42 AM

    You are such a special person, full of life, and light and goodness and all that other "good" stuff. You deserve all the love and encouragement that you get because you give so much of it unselfishly. I'm sooooo extremely blessed to have met you. Love you, take care,

    Amy - (and John says "me too :)" )
    p.s. can't wait to read the books!!! Thanks :) xoxo

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  9. I'm soooo happy that things are going well Karin. Yay for getting your cast off! I can't believe you only have one week left of chemo. The light at the end of the tunnel just keeps getting brighter! You sound in really great spirits. I could do a little dance for you, right here, right now!

    Blessings to you dear one. xxx

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  10. Lyle and Toni are the best, you can't want for better friends on your side. Your pages are beautiful. Since I am left handed I will lend it to you any time you need an extra left. Glad you are almost through and your hand is healing. xox Corrine

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  11. Glad things are going well and what lovely gifts you have received. I was inspired by your hands post and traced my hand in my journal, really must post that to the blog. Love the work with your left hand!

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  12. Such lovely gifts. So good for your sweet soul.
    May everyday feel like a FRiday as soon as possible.
    Big get stronger hugs and loving thoughts coming your way.

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  13. That feeling of Friday!
    I am excited you are almost going Home.
    Light and blessings on you.

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  14. love your hand garland, how cool is that! so glad you are nearing the end. and you did that with the left hand!! wowo,I bow to thee!! xoxox
    sending love and mantras, all is well always....all is well always...

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  15. oh you have such wonderful, caring friends!! :)
    I'm so glad too, because they help so much when you're literally alone - well, except for docs and techs, and occasional visits home!
    sending you hugs and waves of wishes!
    p

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  16. Its good to hear you are healing so well. Long may it continue. Love to you sweet lady xxJ

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  17. Your "care" package is such a wonderful way for the members of your team to express their feelings. Their hands and hearts care for you--and the paper hands speak of what's in their hearts. Lovely too that your treatment is winding down and you are on your way to a new normal. Blessings...

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  18. I'm so glad to hear that your treatments will soon be over for you but even more glad to hear of all the love and gifts and hearts who have shared with you and comforted you through this time. It was my wish for you!

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  19. Well look at you, still making beautiful things while you recover from surgery.

    So VERY close to the end of the radiation treatments, too! Keep up the awesome fighting spirit, Karin. It's working well for you so far :)

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  20. One more week...one more week...YAY! I'm so pleased the cast is off and there is light at the end of the tunnel. It goes without saying, your journal pages are always amazing and the asemic writing intrigues me no end. As for the hand garland...it really is a wonderful idea.

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  21. Love you and am perpetually amazed at your unflagging creative powers ... xoxo

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  22. Thanks Paige, yes, all went well and I am enjoying some down time with pleasure reading :)

    Hi Gloria, hands and feet painting sounds like fun! Thanks for all your good thoughts- they are vining their way to me!!

    Hey Lyle, who knows, you may find it even easier withbyour other hand! I find my non dominant has a more angular look, but my thinking brain doesn't interfere nearly as often as I'm moving along. Thank you again generous, creative one! xox

    Oh thank you kj, I am so moved and inspired by all the care everyone here shares with each other - it's just wonderful! As far as the studio goes, it's going to be a long while yet. It has been in a stand still for weeks, after there was a bit of a wigging out of one of the carpenters and we let that crew go and went in search of another. So the new guys start on Monday... So unfortunately, I think I'll be hotel living a bit longer than planned. I got quite sick during our last reno, trying to live there while it was happening. At least I am with good people here :) xox

    No problem Rose, been thinking about you, too! Hope summer is treating you well, and we'll connect soon. xo

    Thank you miss Linda Sue! I love you, too!!

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  23. Dear Amy, you have helped making staying here at this hotel more like staying at a friend's place -I thank you! Happy vacation, enjoy your r&r! xoxox

    Thank you Heather! I am now counting down days, rather than weeks :) it's only radiation now, chemo is thankfully over with! Then all outside treatments will be complete, and it will just be meeds, given I can tolerate them this time around...

    Yes they are Corrine! Generous, fun, creative people with the biggest hearts out there!! And thanks for the extra hand! xox

    Hi Megan, cool, I will come by and look fornyour hand pages, I'd love to see them!

    Thanks Kim, and your rocks arrived yesterday, so I will be sprinkling their messages here and their through then hospital again. It's really fun to seenhow fast they get plucked up! I leave them on my way in and they are gone by the time I leave. Everyone enjoys an uplifting message. xox

    Yes, that Friday feeling! I really do recognize I'm holding and have a release after my treatment on friday's, knowing I'm free until Monday! I try to release each day, but don't fully until Friday... Tomorrow is my final Friday! Woohoo:)
    Thank you mansuetude

    I know Cat, it is SO cool! Yes, thank you, all is well, now and always...

    I sure do Patti! Thank you! Sending you hugs and healing wishes, too. Xox

    Thank you Jasmine! xox

    Yes Hannah, they are strong symbols for me to feel embraced and encouraged by, that's for sure. And I share them here because I feel the giving, caring energy within them radiates out to all and helps encourage and inspire others, beyond me.

    Thank you Peggy!

    I will svasti, as I know you do as well. xox

    Yay yay yes Robyn! The light is shining brightly :)

    Love you, to Jaliya! Thank you my friend.
    Thank you to All!

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  24. Karin,
    So happy to read that your hand is healing well...that you are feeling the strength and love of friends surrounding you through gifts and messages. Your spirit is indomitable, you are such an inspiration for me. Thank you.

    gentle, gentle steps,
    Laura

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  25. Hey K
    Also wishing you, sending you handfuls of All Best as the healing hands continue to make their magic.

    Journeying on...journeying on
    xoxo

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  26. Go Karin! You are almost there! How wonderful are those gifts, cheers, and thoughtful thinkings you've been getting; hearing about it restores my faith in people- at least some of them :) I like the asemic writing, and as a special ed. teacher I can tell you that using the non-dominant hand is good for brain hemisphere integration. Can't hurt to be integrated, right? Love to you always!

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  27. hi Karin

    glad you are better and everything went well.

    Beautiful presents you got. Have been thinking the beauty of the continious flow between the giver and receiver.


    the other day, I was reading a new Tao th Ching book. I read this and it reminded me of you.

    Yin and yang aren't sentimental.
    they exist without moralizing.
    they are regardless of our wishes
    within the ebb and flow
    of every pregnant moment.

    take care
    M

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  28. What a neat idea of the hands.....so cute...

    You are an inspiration to us all....and I pray healing will be fast and furious...

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  29. I'm so happy to hear that you are starting to heal. I hope the recovery will be speedy and that you can have the strength and ability to spend as much time as you want creating. My warm thoughts are with you.

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  30. I have a new baby boy for you to hold close to your heart just for pure enjoyment and total healing!!! I am so grateful to hear you are almost completed with the radiation process. I am sending you white light for pure healing and continued growth and strength. Imagine and live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

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  31. I am so glad to hear you're almost done with the radiation treatments
    Just stopped by to give the Blog of Substance Award. Thank you
    for sharing your journey with us

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  32. i am happy to read your post. the hands are nice and i like your art

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  33. those journal pages are absolutely devine. Like looking at Soul.

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