Blood will Flow

I’m quite overdue a post, but I’ve been busy, busy, busy…

Yesterday I had my left eye lasered – a laser capsulotomy because the capsule behind the artificial lens was getting cloudy. I’d been warned this might happen, though I’d been under the impression it was because of the steroid drops, and that it was a kind of clean up thing. In fact it’s something that commonly happens with cataract ops, and it sounds like it should be a one off as it actually makes a hole in the capsule.

It really wasn’t a pleasant thing, even though numbing drops meant I couldn’t really feel much. She put a large contact lens over the eye and then held onto that to keep the eyeball still while she zapped with the laser. It took a while longer than I’d been told, presumably because my capsule was ‘a bit thick’ and I wasn’t enjoying it one bit.

Anyway , it’s done now, and I think it has helped, I’m pretty sure my vision in that eye is sharper now, so the clouding must have been more bothersome than I’d thought.

In happier news, I’ve finished my Bayduck Tapestry giant duck, and she’s gone to Hastings for the trail starting in June. Now I’m working on two giraffes for Edinburgh’s trail. One’s finished and varnished, the other is getting there.

Yes, they are tall! 2.5m, to be exact.

Among many things you thought you'd never say. He's under cover (just!) but the wind was still blowing dust and dead leaves around, plus I can't get to both sides of him easily so I'm just hoping that a) I've now got all his paintwork covered and b) there are no obvious drips. And LJ is deleting all the code for embedding gifs again. What the fuck, Live Journal?

Painted him lying down yesterday, then today with Paul's help and the promise of reasonable weather, we got him outside the garage and upright. Man, that was NOT easy to do. He's heavy and of course not exactly balanced... However we managed it without damaging him, though lying him down again we had to open Anne and David's back gate to accommodate his head and neck, something I hadn't considered when we got him out in the first place! LOL

Here are a few still photos and hopefully a timelapse gif (if LJ will let me load it today - yesterday it kept wiping the code).
OK LJ still won't load the gif so here's a link instead.
( Read more... )

Good news! Giraffic Park has a new home thanks to my lovely neighbours and their garage. It's still not tall enough to stand him up but I've got him on my homemade wheely trolly thing and so have been able to paint in relative comfort. It's cold and the wind swirls rubbish around but it's undercover and roomy!
Yesterday I did this much (after spending a good half hour or so trying to unwrap him without bashing his head on the floor!).

Sorry this one's upside down( Read more... )

My giraffe has arrived and is currently lying down in the newly covered alleyway between our house and next door. Sadly the new roof is about the same height as Giraffic Park himself, so he can't stand up under there as planned. Doh.
( Read more... )