I usually listen to podcasts while I paint but this morning I listened to musac. I was on the phone for an hour and a half making appointments for medical check-ups. I finally got through to someone about a new PCP I want to see but they said I have to call the insurance company and get ‘assigned’. Then I tried to make an appointment for a mammogram and can’t get in for two and a half months. My colonoscopy will probably be for next year.
I want to get check-ups this year. I guess you could say that’s my New Years resolution. I want to make appointments and make sure I’m healthy. I have new insurance that I got through the marketplace and I’m using it this year. For fun I made an appointment with a medical intuitive. She too was book far out in advance. I couldn’t get in to see her until April.
The holidays were good. I flew to Denver just in time for a winter storm that brought three inches of snow and negative 15 degree temperatures. On the way home from Denver I waited four hours for my flight to leave. I will say that I feel extremely lucky that I even made it home with my luggage. I think our flight to San Antonio was the only one that made it that day. The. Only. One. When I got to SA there was a sea of bags in the baggage claim area for people who couldn’t get home all day. It was stressful, for myself but also for others. There were a lot of people with kids and no clean clothes or coats or boots for them until their flights were rescheduled. That must have been a nightmare.
I got home on Sunday with a searing headache that lasted about twenty-four hours. It went away Monday afternoon but about an hour later my throat started hurting. In the morning I tested positive for Covid. It didn’t surprise me after the week I’d had. It just seemed fitting that I would end the year and the trip with Covid. No one I was with all week got it though. Not sure how that works. It’s supposed to be extremely contagious but the three people I’d been talking to, eating with, hugging hello and goodbye with, did not get it. I guess that’s good, but still strange.
I spent New Years resting and recuperating and I’d like to say I’m ready for the new year. Along with my doctor’s appointments I’m also going to start doing more commissions. When I was booked last fall it felt great. I loved it and would like to do as many commissions as possible. I’m going to start focusing on my neighbors. I live in an historic neighborhood and a lot of people here love their homes, so I’ll see if they want house portraits. I’m also doing pets and kids so we’ll see if they’re interested in that too. I can contact dog lovers, maybe find some dog shows or agility shows. I may even contact pediatricians see if I can put a flyer up in their office. Realtors might help with the house portraits.
I worked on a painting of Jefferson high school that I’d been working on before I left. It’s weird to take time off from painting and then come back to it. I always wonder if I’m going to remember how to do it. I’m still happy with what I’m doing. I think I’ll finish it next time. A family friend requested a commission of the school, so I’ll start that this week.