HOLY HEART NURSE LOG

"Holy Heart Nurse Log," papercut photograph, art marker, and India ink on 11" x 14¼" copy paper. Isaiah 61:3-4, 11.

GRADUATION GALORE

It's been a couple of weeks of the last days of high school and preparing for graduation. Final concerts. Award nights. Church blessing. Rehearsals. And, finally, graduation and parties!



Our church had a wonderful Blessing of High School Graduates. It included laying on of hands and a quilt from our Quilters. After graduation, we held a party with a menu of pan-Asian dishes: bulgogi (Korean BBQ), chicken satay skewers (Thailand), Szechuan chicken salad (China), mango crepes (Southeast Asia). It was great food and I got to grill for a few hours.

UPGRADED MARTY

I now have new and renewed equipment for the backyard dojo. I made my standing bag (Marty) into a hanging bag by adding paracord, a carabiner, and a couple of ratchet tie-down straps. It was stuff I already had, so there was no cost to upgrade.



Add in some MMA gloves and it's time for a new workout in my rotation. Kickboxing and combat sprints!

SHAKTI MAT

Turning these...



...into these.

6,440 ABS plastic spikes on my new Shakti Accupressure Mat become indentations that bring relief and release from pain.

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The past few days have been a challenge for my body.

First, I accidentally struck my shin with the mine (back of the blade) of my sword on a full swing. I definitely bruised the skin and tissue, because it was purple and swelling almost instantly. I also apparently bruised the bone. Definitely a good amount of pain. So: ice, elevation, and naproxen, and an attempt at sleep.

Second, a day later and it felt as though my body rolled back fifteen years in time, but that wasn't a good thing. I was unable to walk. Following lines of nerve pain, they point back to my problematic lumbar disc, but also to one of my cranial discs too. (Ugh!) So it was back to using braces and my cane. And making sure I move through this with qigong exercises, because I still can. (I'm not quite ready yet (again) for the bullshit that doctors will provide as they try to diagnose me without listening to my decade-and-a-half of body knowledge and experience.)

Third, I realized that much of the inflammation in my body contributing to my bulging disc and its attendant nervous system problems is likely due to seasonal allergies. Yes, there is an underlying condition but it is gravely aggravated by the allergic response.

Therefore, I ordered a Shakti Mat. Of all the things I had tried over the years, accupressure (and accupuncture) was the only one that I had avoided. I changed that and I'm glad I did.

•

My mat arrived the next day. After work, I laid down on it and was able to stay on it for 20 minutes. Instead of feeling much pain and/or discomfort from the mat, I felt good. Symptoms were greatly diminished. A few hours later, I thought I would try it for another 20-minute session. I got onto the mat and when I woke up I realized 40 minutes had passed. I had told The Wife that I didn't understand how someone would be able to sleep on this "bed of nails" as I had read in a number of reviews and yet here I was. 

I ordered the mat with much skepticism, but figured I would give it a chance. It transformed pain into calm and quiet. I'm a believer!

OHOLIAB

"Oholiab," sidewalk chalk; charcoal; gold spray-painted moss, leaves, and laurel twigs; and stacked pebbles on 18" x 24" concrete board.

Oholiab was the apprentice artist and craftsman who helped create the Tabernacle and it's furnishings with his master Bezalel, as found in Exodus 35–39.

KOAN

A koan of movement, where solid oak bends like a reed in the wind. Dogiri sword drills.

PENTECOST HEAD

"Pentecost Head," papercut copy paper and crepe paper on 8½" x 11" cardstock. The source paper for the profile was "proof of concept" test pages that my church's youth group used when creating an Advent banner. Image is inspired by Acts 2:1-4 and Romans 8:14-39.

POLISHED SWORD

A polished sword is a happy sword.

SWORD DRILLS

Sword drills in some beautiful warm late-spring weather.

Time: twilight. Location: backyard dojo.



Stance: waki-gamae.



Cut: gyaku-gesa.

NATIONAL DISABLED PET DAY

Today is National Disabled Pet Day. This is Wrigley. He doesn't know that he is disabled or differently-abled or specially-abled. He's blind, but he isn't stopped by not being able to see. He's just Wrigley.

When we were trying to adopt him, the shelter was trying to dissuade us from taking him home. They focused upon the challenges he would pose. They focused on what he couldn't or wouldn't do. It turns out that he was a scared dog who had probably never been allowed to just be a dog. It's apparent that the person who owned him before us didn't let him do anything. Then he was dumped into a kill shelter. Then he was uprooted again and placed in a no-kill shelter, but they treated him like he was a liability.

It took him some time to warm up to us and our household. We had to earn his trust. We had to show him that he wasn't going to be confined or shipped off somewhere else. We just let him be a dog. We let him run around and explore.

Occasionally he runs into something. But most of the time he is trying to get his fellow canine housemate to play with him. Or napping. Or he's begging for a treat. Or he's trying to snuggle in someone's lap. Or he's barking to let us know what he wants. Or barking because he heard the word "walk" even though he's not really going to be his best at walking unless he's off his leash.

Wrigley inspires me with the way that he lives his life, the way that he moves through the world. I'm glad to know him.