At the last physio appointment, I was shown the latest X-ray and it was explained to me. Bone is still growing, you can see the faint shadow of it as it comes into existence. I would have to say that my favourite pastime at present is sleeping. For so many weeks I could not sleep properly because the pain in my arm woke me up every two hours, that now, when I can sleep, I could do it all day. I can understand why children, who are growing, need to sleep so much. The S&H, who was a champion sleeper, ended up tall and thin. I am sleeping all I can but still no taller or thinner, sadly, but I count my blessings, the bone is growing on me.
Unlike the exercises. This next group are difficult, some impossible. There is one where I walk my arm up the wall by the fingers. It’s a lot easier on the bathroom wall where there is that sculpted type of wallpaper, which gives me something to hang on to. I’m supposed to do ten reps but can only manage three before the arm seizes up. The one where I grab my right hand with my left hand behind me cannot be done at all and I haven’t even tried the one where I lie on the floor and lift my arm above my head. Are you kidding? It’s currently easier to let the remnants of space probe Cassini lie on the surface of Saturn for the under-ice outer-space dolphins to play with than it is for my right arm to rest on the floor above my head.
So I am doing all the others as much as I can. In one I polish the table with a paper hanky as far as I can reach. I now have a shiny table, which shows there’s a first for everything. I have started doing my old one-hour workout in the morning, mostly legs and two days ago I got out in the garden and did some two handed weeding, which was deeply satisfying.
The exercise which I am doing most of, however is of my own devising and being done hours at a time. I am drawing.
As I cannot miniaturise and it is six months and two weeks to the next Miniatura I have started plotting my novel, a large part of which involves drawing the location and places in the book. Many of my favourite novels have drawings such as these in them. A map of the Shire and the location of the Hundred Acre Wood, to name but two. These are good examples of the author setting the scene in his head. You need to do this to be authentic. It’s important to know, if you leave the building and turn sharp right, what you will see. Will it be someone living in the forest under the name of Wol? Will it be the lonely beach? The grey and forbidding Ministry of Nastiness? You have to know this stuff.
Interestingly if you draw it all out first, in detail, it helps with the plot. Also with the believability thereof. It’s a long time since you could kid the audience that three actors carrying branches were Birnam forest come to Dunsinane. If it isn’t real to the author, it won’t be real to the reader.
I love doing this. I have started waking up with ideas again, which hasn’t happened for a long time. I am using everything I have so far. All the practice in the drawing sessions, even though I’m not drawing people. All the knowledge of architecture gleaned from hanging round building sites with my father in the school holidays and all of the dolls’ houses. All of the history I had to learn for the dolls’ houses. Also, a battery operated eraser. If you’ve never used one I highly recommend it; accurate, precise, efficient and it doesn’t hurt your arm.
Which arm, is, of course, working all the time I’m drawing.
Lovely stuff, got to go, pack of thirty tiny tubular erasers to get through.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Still don’t know if I can go, can’t drive yet, need a lift, cannot find one. You can go though, www.miniatura.co.uk
2 Responses to Exercise for the right arm.