It is a good thing that the convalescent hospital is only about 12 minutes from here (remarkable, considering where we live) because every time I go to visit The Queen, she seems happy to see us and then tells us to Scram, 5 minutes later. I am trying to figure it out but she no longer asks to get out of there. I guess that it is the very nice lady in the next bed who has made it all bearable. I dunno. We went in before lunchtime yesterday, with me hoping to get back here in time to put in an afternoon in the frigid garage. Not so fast, my friend...no mama in the bed. We tried to track her down but decided to head down to InNOut for lunch (yes, Placerville has one of THOSE) before trying AGAIN. Sure enough, she was back in her room, this time actually eating sitting up in a wheel chair! Turns out that she had been lucky enough to be seen by the visiting podiatrist who was kind enough to cut her foot claws, a task that we attempted but were not able to complete without the right tools. He did an awesome job and mom's roommate was probably sad that she got her hair done instead of her toes, the way that she was "butting in".
So, bottom line is that mom has been diagnosed with COPD, which is usually a disease of smokers (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). When I read the symptoms on good old Web MD I said...oh, NOW it is obvious. Those of you who know me personally had probably heard about how mom sang as a chorus member at the SF Opera for over 25 years. She always complained of sinus headaches and probably for the past 30+ years she has had just constant sinus and bronchial problems, for which she refused to see anyone. For as long as I can remember, mom talked about Scenery Dust making every costume dirty and how it got into everything. Scenery dust is PAINT dust. Now it is as though she had been a miner. You open your lungs to breathe deeply to have a powerful voice and in goes all of that C R A P. Believe me, when I was a singer I worked in clubs BEFORE the ban on smoking and I always felt like I had had a lung full of that stuff every night. So, there you have it...she has had shortness of breath and constant mucous and a very tough time, which has escalated in the past 5 years. Now that she is on oxygen, she is making sense and is no longer talking gibberish. Interesting, eh?
Now, on to happy things. We woke up to a light dusting of snow yesterday, which I adore because of how it makes the bare oak and maple branches into these magical black and white pieces of art. It is like supreme eye candy to me. We were surprised at that point to hear people in the driveway when we finally went into the living room yesterday. Rod hollers...there are two trucks of CARPENTERS outside. They missed the dry days and decided to come today! I immediately thought...the news said that both highways 50 and 80 were closed and so magically, snow or no snow, our number was suddenly in play. (They have been working on projects for the poor folks who got burned out in the South Lake Tahoe area.) One day...ONE DAY gave us this scene. The only thing left is the west wall of my studio and the garage door wall, to complete things enough for the truss guy to climb the hill with the truck and the boom.

I'll see you at Stitches West! I'm attending the market on Friday and will specifically look for you!
Posted by: BalletMommy | January 29, 2008 at 09:58 AM
Yippee!! Can't wait until you are actually IN that beautiful place...all organized and such! Then I can come and yammer whilst you do your magic ;)
The picture of the sky is Awesome!!
Happy Days!
Posted by: Sheila E | January 29, 2008 at 11:06 AM
See you at Stitches West on Saturday...hope you haven't been cleaned out by then!
Posted by: Carrie Mc W | January 29, 2008 at 01:19 PM
Three weeks, can't wait... Glad your mom's happy to be where she is, meantime.
Posted by: AlisonH | January 29, 2008 at 05:08 PM
Wow- amazing what enough oxygen to the brain can do- glad your mom is feeling better. People's behavior frequently improves on O2, also. What a beautiful sky picture. Thanks.
Posted by: Laura in ALameda | January 29, 2008 at 10:42 PM
Holey moley, 'scenery dust'. Who knew.
Enjoy watching your studio appear!
Posted by: CarolineF | January 30, 2008 at 05:41 AM
i am so glad to hear that they have a diagnosis and are able to get your mom the treatment that she needs. it sounds like she is in a great place which should ease your mind a great deal. the photos are awesome!
Posted by: marti | January 30, 2008 at 08:17 AM
Reading Laura's comment, I'm suddenly thinking of my friend Lynda, a postpolio patient--when her oxygen levels got too low, she would get very combative and antagonistic, and the paramedics had a time with her--she wasn't rational. Once they got oxygen going, she was her sweet self.
Posted by: AlisonH | January 30, 2008 at 10:42 AM
Wow, what a beautiful sky pix. And I'm going to miss SW - dang...
I'm so glad your mom is improving and the studio is moving along... all good news!
Posted by: kit | January 31, 2008 at 08:18 AM
Makes me wonder what OTHER things in the world can create health problems that we don't know about yet.
You are going to have a dedicated craft space. I am so jelaous.
Posted by: Carol | February 02, 2008 at 08:37 PM