A feeling of "I should post"
24 Jul 2024 03:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wayfaringwordhack ...has been nagging me for weeks. And yet, as per my usual feelings, once I get the window open, I feel rather unmotivated and instead wander away, leaving the check-in for another day or month.
Our return to France went well overall (none of the Murphy's Law travel mishaps rated on the Absolutely Catastrophic Scale), as I mentioned. One thing I didn't go into was finding a nest of 10-12 mice in a drawer when we arrived at midnight. We dumped them out the front window, leaving the shredded debris of papers to be sorted later. Happily for us, if not the mice, the mouse invasion came to a quick close with the demise of two adults the following day in strategically-placed traps.
I was happy to note that my allergies were much less debilitating than they were last summer, and after suffering a mere three weeks or so, I was feeling pretty normal. Sadly, near the end of that J had to return to Lebanon for work, a whole 3 days early due to an error on the part of the travel agent which was, sadly, irremediable.
And the day he left, Ti'Loup started experiencing weird stomach pains, involving extended burps and bouts of nausea. We are still running tests to find out what is wrong, for lo though we are three weeks on from the onset, he has yet to kick whatever it is. He has an appt for an abdominal ultrasound on Monday. I hope we'll get some answers. At least the virus that all three kids came down with, beginning with Farmer Boy last Wednesday, has run its course, and they are all back to normal in that regard. Dealing with feverish kids, who are delirious during the night hours, is no fun, let me tell you.
And in the midst of this all we have had our second year running of bats believing our house to be an ideal place to start a colony. It began with me finding 4 momma bats and their babies stuck in our sink one morning. That same day we found 15 more (14 adults and one baby) hanging in the living room drapes. We have found way more bats in one go than last year, and there continues to be bats getting in--and tragically, babies being abandoned--but overall, I feel there is less death than last year. I gave up keeping any kind of total, but I hope we are at the end of it for this year. I hope to get someone to come install a net on our chimney pots to keep this from happening again next year, if indeed that is where they are getting in. I can't think of any other places...
On the art front, I have been productive despite a slump in motivation and the typical artist angst of "What am I doing? Who do I think I am kidding?" which are completely silly thoughts to have since all my endeavors are just for my pleasure and fun. I am such a perfectionist (a ready-made excuse for failure if ever there was one) and have a supremely realistic view as to my lack of je ne sais quoi (call it "spark" or "genius") in terms of artistic skill. This is a deadly combo when contentment with one's creations is at stake. Still, I carry on, knowing that this too shall pass. Been creating one way or another for long enough to know that for truth.
There. I have posted something. Hooray, for I consider that a good first step in overcoming the blah.
Post-script: And a second step, ahem, would be to do some housework. I feel so blah about housework that the lethargy is crippling. But if only I could get everything in order, I would feel so much more relaxed. Seeing as how we will be having guests very shortly, I really, really, really need to get on the ball with it.
Our return to France went well overall (none of the Murphy's Law travel mishaps rated on the Absolutely Catastrophic Scale), as I mentioned. One thing I didn't go into was finding a nest of 10-12 mice in a drawer when we arrived at midnight. We dumped them out the front window, leaving the shredded debris of papers to be sorted later. Happily for us, if not the mice, the mouse invasion came to a quick close with the demise of two adults the following day in strategically-placed traps.
I was happy to note that my allergies were much less debilitating than they were last summer, and after suffering a mere three weeks or so, I was feeling pretty normal. Sadly, near the end of that J had to return to Lebanon for work, a whole 3 days early due to an error on the part of the travel agent which was, sadly, irremediable.
And the day he left, Ti'Loup started experiencing weird stomach pains, involving extended burps and bouts of nausea. We are still running tests to find out what is wrong, for lo though we are three weeks on from the onset, he has yet to kick whatever it is. He has an appt for an abdominal ultrasound on Monday. I hope we'll get some answers. At least the virus that all three kids came down with, beginning with Farmer Boy last Wednesday, has run its course, and they are all back to normal in that regard. Dealing with feverish kids, who are delirious during the night hours, is no fun, let me tell you.
And in the midst of this all we have had our second year running of bats believing our house to be an ideal place to start a colony. It began with me finding 4 momma bats and their babies stuck in our sink one morning. That same day we found 15 more (14 adults and one baby) hanging in the living room drapes. We have found way more bats in one go than last year, and there continues to be bats getting in--and tragically, babies being abandoned--but overall, I feel there is less death than last year. I gave up keeping any kind of total, but I hope we are at the end of it for this year. I hope to get someone to come install a net on our chimney pots to keep this from happening again next year, if indeed that is where they are getting in. I can't think of any other places...
On the art front, I have been productive despite a slump in motivation and the typical artist angst of "What am I doing? Who do I think I am kidding?" which are completely silly thoughts to have since all my endeavors are just for my pleasure and fun. I am such a perfectionist (a ready-made excuse for failure if ever there was one) and have a supremely realistic view as to my lack of je ne sais quoi (call it "spark" or "genius") in terms of artistic skill. This is a deadly combo when contentment with one's creations is at stake. Still, I carry on, knowing that this too shall pass. Been creating one way or another for long enough to know that for truth.
There. I have posted something. Hooray, for I consider that a good first step in overcoming the blah.
Post-script: And a second step, ahem, would be to do some housework. I feel so blah about housework that the lethargy is crippling. But if only I could get everything in order, I would feel so much more relaxed. Seeing as how we will be having guests very shortly, I really, really, really need to get on the ball with it.
no subject
Date: 24 Jul 2024 02:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 24 Jul 2024 02:30 pm (UTC)And, wow, mice and bats. That's a lot to deal with. I hope that is easily remedied.
Know that you are a very talented artist, and I hope those doubts will resolve themselves soon. (Doubts are so miserable.)
I'm glad you posted. It's good to "see" you.
no subject
Date: 25 Jul 2024 07:59 am (UTC)Thankfully, we haven't had more mice since that first couple of days, and I do think the bat problem is at its end. It petered off around this time last year, too.
no subject
Date: 24 Jul 2024 08:41 pm (UTC)My father taught art and always insisted that perfectionism will swallow you whole if you allow it.
Im hoping for the best medical outcomes and for new-found energy in housework and always in artwork.
no subject
Date: 25 Jul 2024 07:58 am (UTC)Yes, the perfectionism is a ravenous beast with an impossibly wide maw.
Thanks for the well wishes!
no subject
Date: 25 Jul 2024 04:27 am (UTC)And wow, all those bats! My dad had a couple of bats get into his house, and he was horrified by how easily they could hide--as you say, in drapes! If just two can be traumatizing, I can only wonder what more than 20 are like. Eeek!
I wish for you some genuine relaxation and some things to enjoy without much effort 🙏🏻
no subject
Date: 25 Jul 2024 07:56 am (UTC)The thing about the bats is the babies getting separated and dying. Seriously, if the bats wanted to come and go, it wouldn't bother me that much. But there was that time last summer that a mom dropped a baby on my head and somehow another in the bed with me bit my back when I rolled over to get the baby off my head. 🤪 I can do without that type of incident.
no subject
Date: 25 Jul 2024 11:07 am (UTC)... Though I mean, I guess even if you didn't, you're still here, so clearly you didn't get rabies.
That's my big fear with bats: they say they can bite you without your even necessarily feeling it, so if, for instance, you find out a bat got into your room while you were sleeping, it's advisable to get rabies shots. Bats are the most common carriers of rabies in the United States ... and a guy died last year after waking up with a rabid bat biting him. (Yes! I have a rabies phobia!)
no subject
Date: 25 Jul 2024 11:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 25 Jul 2024 01:15 pm (UTC)Apparently it's about that here in the US, too, so I guess that's good odds.... (she says, totally not put at ease...)
no subject
Date: 25 Jul 2024 08:06 pm (UTC)