Slow Week

This past week was just a damn quiet and slow week. The weekend was still filled with sunshine and pleasant temperatures, but that changed significantly last Monday. The temperature dropped from 20c to 10c. The sun gave way to strong wind and rain. In short, we had autumn weather again and there was no longer an opportunity to enjoy all the new greenery in the garden. Not something to be happy about and especially now that I wasn't feeling great anyway, I wasn't happy about this. I already felt semi-invalid, and I also developed a mild fever from an early infection. Rest, and extra vitamins, with an occasional ibuprofen, were the only options. Fortunately, the fever subsided after 2 days and the wound showed no further signs of infection. And so it's time for me to look for some other activities than just resting. Now there was a problem, the proverb "After rain comes sunshine" is perhaps as well known in the Netherlands as anywhere else. And yes, it will certainly be the case that sunshine will come after rain, but this week the rain is very persistent. And let me be honest, I didn't feel like looking for activities in the rain this week!

Feeling like a couch potato

So most of my days this week have been spent indoors, sitting on the couch, doing small jobs around the house that can't wait, watching a lot of TV, (completely against my habit), and reading a lot. I slept a lot more than normal because rest naturally helps to heal. And yes, of course, I went for a walk with Skipper every day. He certainly needs his exercise, and so do I of course. But the activities in the garden that he is used to in addition to his daily walks were not available this week. I didn't feel fit enough for that. Fortunately, Skipper sensed very well that I needed rest and he was much calmer than normal. Dogs are masters of adapting themselves. Every time something unexpected happens I am impressed.

But gradually the greatest misery begins to come to an end and I feel that healing has begun. I just noticed that I felt less fatigue, the fever from the infection subsided after two days, and the wound looked very calm. And that immediately made me start to get the itch to do something more. Sitting on the couch every day, watching TV and reading gets boring very quickly. I would prefer to go out again, but that again! That damn irritating Dutch weather, and the fact that I feel better... but still have a wound made my partner tell me. "Let that wound heal completely before you go out again. Don't take unnecessary risks!". And yes, he is right!

What Am I Going To Do If I Can't Go Out?

But I still wanted to do something different, so I looked for an activity that I could do indoors. Which is not strenuous, but it kept me busy for a while. I briefly thought about making a new painting, and I was looking forward to that too... but unfortunately, no canvases in stock! A new pyrography project was canceled for the same reason. No nice wood to burn in stock. For a moment I started to think whether I should cut down the oak tree I had fallen against so that it would no longer be in the way. But no, that didn't work. That oak tree is not mine, and it has been there longer than I have walked this world. So I decided to leave the oak tree where it is ... After all, it is a beautiful old tree.

So what then? Watercolor was another option I considered, but to be honest, I'm not very good with watercolor yet and I'm not getting the results I'd like with it yet. Practice makes perfect, and of course, I just have to be more involved with that. But right now I just wanted something where I didn't have to think so much. I was mainly concerned with keeping busy so that I could do something else such as watch TV, read or sleep. Just be busy, without thinking. Without too much effort. And then I saw the set of colored pencils that my partner had ordered for me a while ago. And that would be it. I was going to make a drawing with colored pencils. Looking for a subject, I first looked at my photos and there I came across a monkey. Nice! But that photo, although I think it's a nice photo, was not the right reference photo. So I looked for another one that could serve as a reference photo. I finally found one to my liking.

Drawing With Colored Pencils!

With that reference in mind, I started a first sketch and then filled it in with colored pencils. The result is not perfect, far from it. But it's not terrible either. I took some artistic liberty in terms of color. Why not? I still have to learn how to draw realistically, and yet, despite my not-so-perfect drawing, I felt something of pride. Proud that I managed to at least get something on paper that you can see is a monkey!

What Will Be Next?

And now, with this project behind me, I'm thinking about what my next creative creation will be. I don't know yet, I don't know what I'm going to do yet. Am I going to make another drawing? Am I going for a painting again? Or will it become pyrography again? And am I going for an animal again? A landscape? Or a portrait? Maybe something abstract or pure fantasy? A cartoon? The possibilities are endless, the ideas sometimes come in and hang in the corner of my head, not yet thought out, but that can change at any moment. It remains a process of constant development.

Rest, Action, Reflection And Creation

And so life continues, an endless cycle of ups and downs, of rest and action, of reflection and creation. But hopefully, soon we will have better weather and more action because I am ready for that again.

^{And of course, I forgot to take pictures of the process to share that ... just realized that I could share it on Hive when I was done with the drawing}