Tag: Frogs

Bad Things Happen to Good People

Posted on by Faith

It’s sobering to think that no matter what we do or don’t do, bad things happen, sometimes in rapid succession.

There’s an historic example of a man who lost loved ones, employees, finances and his health in no time flat. When I think about his life before disasters struck, I can see he did everything right, then blam! When reading that account there’s something I noticed, something I missed about it 5 years ago. He asked a lot of questions to help him understand his situation.

This poor guy got a lot of flack from people who should have supported him but didn’t. True help came from an unexpected sourse. But what gives me pause is how the gentleman handled himself during the entire nightmare. He listened more than he spoke. That’s significant for me right now.

I have so much going on with my health that I wonder how much one body and one mind is supposed to take? I’m not alone in piling up devastations.

I’m shocked and horrified by what my friend from the hospital in 2018 has gone through. It’s not bad enough she has Lupus, was on life support, had a stroke, had to relearn everything from being paralyzed to the point she was only able to move her pinky finger. Do you know the fight it takes to come back from that?

She spent significant time in a nursing home which is where we met. After she left and hoped to move forward, she had cancer and needed a double mastectomy! All without the support of her parents, for whom she openly grieves. Really?! Can our girl please have a break, too?

I think I understand even better why it’s best to take life one day at a time. I make arrangements then do day to day battle towards the fulfillment of the arrangements / goals. A day at a time is hard enough. I’m not about to double up on troubles.

As it stands, I’m going to need 2 hip replacements due to avascular-necrosis (AVN), the left is first. I can hardly sleep bc the pain has been high. Sitting can be difficult.

I’m discouraged if not fearful. I don’t want to have a knee jerk reaction to anything but I do want to prepare. I’m so grateful for having a good CNA. Please let her stay!

I’m working to downsize my responsibilities. In addition to selling 5 of my largest plants, I’m going to need to downsize pets before a yet to be scheduled total hip replacement on the left followed by an eventual total hip replacement on the right.

I’m going to rehome my two Madagascar Tomato Frogs as one complete unit. They come with their bioactive terrarium. I placed them on Marketplace and listed the various plant types, hard wood, hides, lights, screen and locks. These were purchased from Josh’s Frogs as early juveniles. They remain healthy at age two.

I hate to see the Tomato Frogs go. There’s no way on earth the 100g White’s Tree Frog terrarium is going anywhere. Don’t even ask lol The only pets being offered are the Tomato Frogs. Everyone else is staying. We already know Joe Schmoe’s place is secure.

Emotionally I feel hopeful about this. I fear having hope that maybe…. maybe with new hips I might walk again. I’m afraid to put my energy into what seems impossible.

As I was writing this, it occurred to me, I shouldn’t feel stupid just because something I hoped for didn’t turn out. For some reason I thought, if I openly hope to walk again but it doesn’t happen, I may feel foolish. And I will have made others hope without pay off for their support. This is wrong. Who wouldn’t hope to walk again? Who? And what friend witholds support because their personal pay off isn’t high enough?

I fear disappointing people. If I don’t walk will I have wasted their time? l honestly feel ashamed that I’m getting ready to put my friends through yet another ordeal. The hip replacement isn’t the ordeal, it’s my blood disorder related to Lupus that has me so worried.

My hope is to listen to the support of my friends without countering it with fear of disappointing them.

I intend to speak less and hear more. I don’t mean silence. I mean that my personal expressions and opinions don’t have to be shared in full, at all times. In my private life, I need to allow others to express themselves more.

There’s a time to speak and a time to listen. If I’m talking to a friend, I’ll hear more and speak less. In a group of people I don’t know well, listen more, speak less. Perhaps by not dominating the conversation I’ll hear the tid bit I need that changes the day from burdensome to manageable.

Faith

Doing new things in this old life

Posted on by Faith

For the moment all is quiet in Frog Mansion. I’m exhausted and frankly over it. I guess the only thing left is for everything to grow in. The frogs are certainly enjoying the extra room.

I put together a 5 gallon aquarium as my prop box for plants I’ll use in building terrariums offered on Marketplace.

Poor Joe had a bad day. He was hurting just like me. I set up a little bed for him with a heating pad that I can set the temperature and the amount of time I want. It may have been overkill but I made sure he had one area cooler than the other so he could move if he wanted less heat. That’s his favorite blanket right there. Fortunately he’s doing much better.

I’ve been able to get out a bit more which has been tiring yet wonderful. I’ll be able to work at the carts that Jehovah’s Witnesses stand at downtown and in public areas. Yay! I’m going to be at the carts. I’m so excited! I love it. I love it. I cleaned the wheelchair really well. Got the wheels shining. Lol

Tonight I was able to laugh and joke with friends. We were all in a huddled in a circle just laughing with each other. It was great.

It’s so helpful to be able to get out of my little home and share with friends and strangers.

Tonight I felt my age which is not common for a multiple. But we were talking about being young in the past tense. We talked about how the young never expect to get older. I especially never thought about all that would stop working at 50. Wow. I think my left knee retired at 50. What happened to my teeth? My eye sight left the building, too. Excuse me but, I’m not ok with my hair thinning! Is it medication taking its toll or menopause, or both? Are my kidneys and heart getting in on the havoc, too? Gracious.

Menopause is still kicking my butt. It’s tearing me up! Wow. I’ve figured out that my symptoms peek every 3 weeks and that the most difficult symptoms to pop up are irritation and rage. That’s harder to manage than the constant brain fog.

Oh my gosh, the cravings. I was all over chocolate for like 2 months now I can’t live without popcorn. I’m stocked up on ACT 2 Extreme Butter as if we’re about to have a popcorn famine. I have to stop bc right now I still don’t have high blood pressure or high cholesterol. That might change if I am unable to get these cravings under control.

Another menopause issue is how easily I gain weight. It’s like the person across the table is eating cake but I’m the one who gains the weight. Due to kidney stuff and other health issues, I don’t even eat but 4 meals out of 7 days. My body is storing fat and water bc of how often it goes without. This has been a problem my entire life.

I am unable to tell when I’m hungry or thirsty. I never recognize hunger until it dawns on me that it’s 9pm and I’ve had nothing at all to eat. Today’s water intake is less than 20 oz of fluids. It’s not good at all.

I grab a cup of jello or apple sauce then go to bed. That’s it, for days in a row. I would be lying if I said I’m going to try to do better.

For some reason, the thought of using an alarm to remind myself to eat angers me. It feels like I’m being forced to do something I don’t want to do, use energy to make something to eat. After the hospitalization it became difficult to eat alone. I don’t know. It’s not good.

Art. I’m working on details in my new paintings. I’m correcting lines, adding cross hatching and shadows.

This is complete

One painting is complete. I’m so happy about that.

I llike the butterfly on her wrist

I’ve been processing the amputation in art. The above painting shows an amputation as well as another piece I started.

For the first time in forever, I need paint. It feels odd buying art supplies for some reason. I wonder if I’ll feel the same excitement when opening the Amazon box? I guess we’ll see.

Well, while nothing in this life is perfect, I’ve got few complaints right now. I’m ok, I think.

Faith

Art. Frog Mansion. Future Pets.

Posted on by Faith

What an exciting few weeks!

Art. I’ve continued to work on the three paintings. I’ve been able to sketch to help with anxiety and menopausal fueled rage. That’s been an issue for sure but I’m searching for ways to manage it.

The essential oil called Peace and Calming by Young Living has been instrumental in helping me not lose it when stupidity finds me. Stupidity always finds me. Menopausal rage and stupidity don’t mix well. I’m all but huffing Peace and Calming or their Lavender essential oil to remain calm …. and out of jail. I told my nurse practitioner that I’m going to end up in jail with how upset I can get over stupidity. I said, I can’t afford jail. She said, there’s always crowd funding. That is solid medical advice. Lol

One of the issues with painting is privacy. There is very little privacy in an efficiency apartment which means people can see artwork that’s drying. People can be so critical of my art and I’m very sensitive to such criticism. I want to give myself a little more privacy and shield myself from unwanted viewers by installing a curtain that completely sections off the bedroom area. I’m purchasing this on the 3rd so I don’t feel so exposed. I can put drying art in the bedroom area behind the curtain and feel a lot more private. Only having a nurse’s aide 3x a week has been helpful bc it provides more private time.

Frog Mansion is in the works. This project is huge! I’m waiting until I have more money and I’m a tad bit more organized to start making everything permanent in this set up.

It’s going to be insane keeping the glass clean. Sometimes I’m overwhelmed by size of the tank and of the project itself. I think once I get the drainage layer in (which I have obsessed over) and lay down the substrate I’ll feel a lot better. Today I learned I should add active charcoal to the soil instead of putting it with the leca in my drainage layer. I’ll do that.

If you zoom in you can see my frog Lentil sitting on a tree branch, halfway down, to the left. Here’s a close up of my girl sleeping.

I have no idea why Joe is sitting this way. He’s an odd boy. LOL

I’ve been isolated with Joe since March 2020. He’s been here for 3 years now. Now when I leave he cries at the door. When I come back he’s clingy. Still, I’m enjoying our relationship. He’s such a good studio cat and wonderful, cuddly friend – even if he does love the wine colored blanket more than me. He traded me for a soft blanket so I call him trader Joe.

Possibilities. Last but not least, while my current CNA is frightened by flying bugs like gnats, she’s full on for me getting a tarantula. And yes, she absolutely can bring her snake to work, though I doubt she will. Just let me put my cat up first. Lol

There’s a strong possibility that I’ll get a spider but I doubt it’ll be a tarantula. There was some talk about another praying mantid or snails. Those are the pets we’re considering for the not so distant future. 🙂 We’ll see.

Any entries with snake or spider photos will have a clear title so as not to shock anybody.

Until soon,

Faith

On making a frog paradise

Posted on by Faith

Today’s Blessing

About a year and a half ago, when the pandemic was raging, I set a goal for myself to give myself something to look forward to on the other side of the pandemic. The goal was to redue the home for my White’s Tree Frogs. I’m so happy to say that the goal will be realized.

Today I purchased a new home for my three frogs. 36 x 18 x 36 from Facebook Marketplace. It’s huge. I love it! My brother picked it up with a mutual friend. He’s a Schizophrenic young man who happens to be one of the sweetest, most spiritually faithful men I know. I think of him as a spiritual son. I was so happy to see him today.

This isn’t the final resting place for my frog paradise :-). It’s going to go where the other one is sitting. There’s lots of work to be done. I’m going to list what needs to be done and just go down the list. Fortunately I have a wonderful CNA (who shows up for work and doesn’t stress me). The CNA will assist with clean up, but I’ve got a few others helping with putting the door on and moving it to its new spot. Slow and steady is how I’m taking it. The CNA has been here for 3 months now and is quite helpful.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen. Everyone from the seller to those who helped me move it, and those who made small donations. I very much appreciate it.

Until soon,

Faith

Needed – There are 3 items remaining that are needed. I’m willing to trade art from both Available Art galleries for each of the 3 pet items at the top of my Amazon list. Mesh screen, clay balls and reptile water bowl. Please use my email address to contact me to arrange a barter situation. Contact info is on the sidebar. UPDATE – there’s one item remaining. It’s at the top of the list. Some have requested my PayPal addy. It’s on the sidebar under contact information.

Pet Woes

Posted on by Faith

Content: My frog died

Its been trying around here. First one of my frogs passed away then the tank itself got broken by a friend.

It feels silly to feel so sad over the death of a frog but this really hurt.

I especially liked Clyde because he was named after the dog I had before the hospitalization. Clyde the frog was a bit of a character. He made me laugh. If there was a bunch of commotion in the terrarium I knew he was in the middle of it. He was my ADHD frog.

Clyde as a baby

I believe it was Wednesday just before talking to my therapist that Clyde’s issue went from bad to terminal. He went from a beautiful color of turquoise to dark emerald green with lime green spots all over. That’s a bad thing. Then he stopped eating or soaking. He started looking for places to hide under. He tucked his head and he sat there.

He ended up with a bacterial infection because the temperature and humidity went haywire. These frogs will be 5 in October. I did everything the same for close to 5 years but suddenly, out of nowhere, the temps wouldn’t stabilize. The temperature was too low and the humidity was way too high, which is what facilitated the infection.

I went to my frog group but they were so unfeeling that I left the group. However, several people messaged me to assist. Long story short, the tank stayed at low temp high humidity for 7 days before the fix came along. That was too much for Clyde and he passed away. His brother Sam is now struggling but the other two are just fine.

Just like I’d do with any other animal, I sat there with him for a minute. I went from shock and disbelief straight to guilt and sadness. I apologized to him. I wanted so much to provide a full, happy lifespan of about fifteen years. He was in my care. It was a hard day.

The tank was the next thing to manage. I ended up purchasing $70 worth of equipment for the tank to stabilize the environment, but I first had to tear down the entire terrarium, disinfect it and put it back together. Well, my friend and I decided to put it back vertically instead of horizontally. We completely rebuilt it and turned on the heat. Well, guess where the heat bulb was placed? On the top panel directly touching the glass.

It sound like a gunshot when it cracked. Honestly, I was in too much physical pain, too physically tired, too emotionally spent to invest any emotional energy in the situation. It was as if I saw a wall come up and place a boundary between me and anything emotional the situation might require.

As I sat there with little expression, she looked at like, “OMG I broke her tank. Should I run?” My calm response was, “Don’t worry about it.” I’m still not angry. I’m overwhelmed.

One of the small side panels now has a large crack / shattered area in the center. While that panel of glass was still too hot to the touch, I had her semi-seal the “crack”. She put clear 3M packing tape on the inside of the panel, with a spatula. It melted. I had her do the same thing on the outside. As it cooled we added more clear tape in rows- neatly! We then stood the tank up and kept going. I need a new tank ASAP.

While the tank was being handled by morons, the 3 remaining frogs were treated with a topical antibiotic and placed in a sterile environment. The recommended medication was $90 but I paid $0 because I already had some. Dodged an expensive bullet!

After the tank was functional and all the frogs were put in, I noticed Sam was more than stressed. He’s stressed when handled. He doesn’t like it at all. Then I put meds on him and crammed him in with the other two frogs. Hours later I put him in a completely different temperature and set up. He doesn’t look good and I’m really worried.

I hope with everything Sam pulls through

When I told Snow that the tank is broken she asked if the friend was going to pay for it. I said no. I told her that sadly, I was going to do the same stupid, ignorant, common sense defying thing she did. I was going to hook it up the exact way she did. So it was six of one, half dozen of another. Either way, that tank was getting broken by one of us lobotomy victims.

It was so dumb. When I sit and think of it now it’s so obvious. LOL I wonder how many people just lost respect for me now that you know I seriously was going to put a heat source directly on glass. LOL. I may need her to contribute to the cost of a suitable vertical terrarium.

Marketplace may be a good option for me at the beginning of August.

A Frog named Lentil

Posted on by Faith

This is Lentil, my Australian Tree Frog.

Australian Tree Frog. White's Tree Frog. Dumpy Frog. This morning I woke to find three beautiful mushrooms in Lentil’s terrarium. The mushrooms grew out of a patch of orange moss that grows along side driftwood stationed close to the watering hole.

Mushrooms in orange moss.Although these frogs will tolerate being held, it’s not suggested you do so. I hardly ever hold him unless needed. Today was deep cleaning day so I had to take him out which meant photo time. Continue reading “A Frog named Lentil”

Community Grabs and Pay it Forward

Posted on by Faith

I’ve updated the Etsy shop with a few new things. I thought I might try digital downloads of tree drawings. Sometimes I see drawings and think, I’d love to paint that. I figure a creative person can take a simple tree drawing, print it on watercolor paper and have some fun for a personal project. Why not? The trees in this entry aren’t offered, this is an example of fun one might have with a simple tree drawing. You’ll find the trees that are available for instant download in the Etsy shop category Community Grabs and Pay it Forward.


The Community Grab Bag and Pay it Forward section of Etsy
Pay it Forward art is Sundrip quality but is meant as a gift to the buyer. The gift is that Pay it Forward art will be as much as a 3rd less than normal prices. Once you accept the PIF gift you must find a way to make a small difference in the life of another person. Digital downloads will be in this section as well as Experimental art. Experimental art  is art created with techniques I’m trying out for the first time such as art on tiles. They may or may not be something someone wants, but I’ll give you the chance to snatch it up. After a time it’ll get tossed because I don’t want to store it.

I think I might have to purchase a few more tiles. I love doing them. I have to work on photographing these things. I have a cell phone that I’m working with…. and shaky hands. This was taken with me leaning my hands on the desk beside a scarf.

Here is Mary Jane making sure this drawing is up to par. She’s been in charge of quality control for years.  That’s Bernhardt the Bear behind her sleeping on the job.

Flip flop the firebelly toad isn’t employed. As a matter of fact she begs a lot.

I really like crickets
crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside

That’s a face only a mother can love. I do, so does her tank mate Steve ‘the Beast’ Austin.

Pertinent links:  Etsy and Redbubble are where you can purchase art, or you can request a Paypal invoice. See the sidebar for my contact info.

Faith