Painting Project

 Our local Ladies Club decided last fall to start creating a rock snake that will be installed near the library, here in our village. We gathered once a month to paint rocks with any design we chose. Three of us actually painted the head of the snake at the first meeting, so it will be interesting to see how those get used. As there were a few rocks left after our last meeting, we were invited to take them home and finish them up there.  Well, I have lots of paints so I made off with one.

I was one of the ones who had previously painted the snake's head. I had found a rock that just told me that was what it was. I put a penguin on another and finally, I painted a face on the last one. So what would I put on the one I brought home?  

I placed it on my desk and waited for it to suggest something. I turned it around and still, it didn't suggest anything in particular. Then I remembered one of the other ladies had stood a rock on its end and I wondered if this one would do that. As soon I placed it on end, I knew immediately, that this rock was a dog! 

I searched internet to see if I could locate a picture similar to what I was imagining on the rock.  I found a couple that were very different from one another but had features in the right place to fit on my rock. Even as I started painting I was not sure which way I would go. I decided to place the nose and eyes. The shape of the rock defined the snout and ears. After that, I just let go and let it become whatever dog it wanted to be.  The great thing about painting with acrylics is you don't have to worry. You can always paint over anything you don't like.

I could likely refine this a bit more but hubby says, "Don't touch it!"  What do you think?

Getting My Ears On

My hearing aid is past it's warranty period and basically worn out.  I have needed a new one for the past couple of years but I have been putting it off. With Covid-19 restrictions I wasn't going anywhere anyway and really only had one person to annoy by making him repeat eveything. 

I found myself tuning into the radio news several times in a day to try to catch what was being said. I'm not sure if that's a hearing problem or if I have just lost my listening skills. I gave in last fall and went for a hearing test. That's when I found out things had changed. Not only had the prices gone up but the warranty period had dropped from five years to just three. You get a trial period with new hearing aids in case that style or model turns out not to be the right one for you.  But I still was not getting to places where it could be tested properly so I decided, once again, to wait. I saw no point in wasting my warranty period when there was little to hear anyway.

But hey people, dispite the fact that there is a new Covid varient speading rapidly normal life seems to be making a comeback. I have been to visit family and friends and attended both the Legion Senior's Lunch and the Ladies Club dinner this past month.  I couldn't follow conversations in any of those situations so I went back to the audiologist. 

My last hearing test had apparently expired so I had to do it over again. There was no change and though I felt like I was not hearing as well, I just need to learn to listen again. People think that comes naturally but really, it's a skill. I need to practice.

I will be getting my new aid just in time for an upcoming event where I may get to talk more than I have to listen. There will be a small crowd there and I expect a lot more noise than at the meals I have attended. This will be an excellent testing ground to see what adjustments will be needed to my new assistive device. I do expect I will still need some people to repeat things but maybe I will at least be able to watch tv without closed captions.  One can only hope....