Hi everyone. I’m joining #WeekendCoffeeShare. It’s past 10:30PM, so I should really be in bed and I certainly shouldn’t be drinking coffee. Then again, this is a virtual get-together, so I’ll gladly pass you a virtual cup of your favorite beverage. Let’s catch up.
If we were having coffee, first I’d talk about the weather. It’s been quite unpredictable but mostly chillier than I’d like and also rainier. At the end of last week (I believe) I was even awoken by a thunderstorm in the middle of the night. And if you know me well enough, you’ll know that I hate thunderstorms.
If we were having coffee, then I’d tell you that, thankfully, it wasn’t raining on any of the evenings we did the walking event I mentioned last week. That is, not during our walks at least. I’m also proud to say that I completed the event and earned a medal. I’ve always been surprised at the fact that participants in the big Nijmegen four-day walking event only earn an actual medal every five years. Of course, I can probably guess the reason: the medals we get are cheap and not something a neurotypical adult would appreciate. As such, participants in the Nijmegen thing are as happy with a simple mark of completion as I am with the medal. We also got free ice cream at the end of the event (well, those who’d actually completed the event and earned all their checkmarks). I chose whipped cream-flavored ice cream.
Did I mention that originally, my staff had agreed with me that I’d use a wheelchair as needed during the event? That wasn’t an option according to the staff accompanying me. I sort of understood, but was annoyed at the lack of clear communication. Thankfully, I was able to complete the event on foot.
If we were having coffee, then I’d share that I had two physical therapy sessions this week. One was on Wednesday and it was originally intended for another dry needling session. However, because of the walk that evening, we decided to do the dry needling on Friday and for the physical therapist to just loosen up my leg a bit.
On Friday, I had my second dry needling session and it hurt like crazy. Afterwards, I got a bit dizzy. However, it’s now nearly 36 hours after the treatment and at least for now the pain is less than it was last week. I’m also hopeful that this will actually in a few days turn out to have significantly lessened my leg pain.
If we were having coffee, then I’d share that I haven’t been very crafty over the past week. On Monday, I created a polymer clay bear using a new-to-me skill: filling it up with tinfoil. The foil needs to be crumpled very tightly to prevent air bubbles forming in it and there’s also the risk of air bubbles getting trapped between the clay and the foil. Air bubbles will expand and can cause the layer of clay to crack. This happened with the bear too, but still, I’m pretty content with the result.
If we were having coffee, I’d say that I did enjoy thinking up new ideas for creations. I badly want to craft a standing unicorn someday, but it needs a wire armature. I had been reading up more on sculpting with clay, but my book doesn’t include a unicorn or horse (it’s a book about creating animals). So what did I do? I asked ChatGPT. It came up with what sounds like a pretty doable tutorial. I did have a few questions that I asked in a polymer clay group on Facebook. I still need to figure some things out, but I’m confident I will be able to create a wire armature someday and as a result craft a standing unicorn. I already got one of the student staff here quite excited for helping me make it.
A Multitude of Musings 
congrats on completing the walking event, and, I hope you can craft that standing unicorn soon! Xx
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I hope so too. Thanks for your kind comment.
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Congratulations on finishing the walking without needing the wheelchair. The lack of communication is maddening and I’m not even actually involved.
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I agree. It’s pretty much the norm here that staff hardly communicate clearly though. Thanks for your kind comment.
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Congratulations on completing the walk, Astrid. The bear looks so cute. Thank you for your weekend coffee share.
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Thanks for your kind words and for your compliment on the bear.
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It’s cold and windy here, that’s good that you managed to complete the walk on foot.
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Oh I’m sorry about your weather. It’s winter where you are though, right? Thanks for the compliment on my walking.
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Yes it is winter here and it is bloody cold
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Oh okay, that sucks. You live in Australia right? I once heard some joke that those in Australia might not be able to handle the cold (as your winters are milder than ours) but you are at least great at handling the heat.
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Congratulations on completing your walking event. I’m curious. How do you do your clay sculptures with limited vision? They are always so cute.
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Thank you so much for your kind words! I do my claying completely by touch, as I am now totally blind. I used to have some vision, so do understand a little about color, but I do get help from my staff too. They help me choose the colors and also help with the really fine detail work, as I have poor coordination in my hands too due to mild cerebral palsy.
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You are amazing!
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Good job on completing the walk challenge! I just wish the staff had better communication skills. That bear is so cute! I love it! I hope you get the chance to create that standing unicorn soon – it does sound like quite the challenge.
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Thank you so much! Yes, I really hope I’ll have a chance to create the standing unicorn soon.
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You’re welcome.
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Hi Astrid first off congratulations on finishing the event without using the wheelchair. that must have been quite a feat.
I confess I am curious. What is dry needling?
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Thank you for your supportive comment. Dry needling, as far as I was told, is a treatment in which the physical therapist uses tiny needles (the kind otherwise used for acupuncture) to stick into a muscle to cause it to twitch (contract and then relax). This supposedly helps with pain from muscle knots. The pain I experienced while being treated is from the twitch.
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Hi Astrid, interesting. I have had acupuncture but I am not sure it helped. I wonder if dry needling would help to rejuvinate my muscle. Something happened duringr my knee op and the muscle is not fully responding to exercise
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I’m so sorry your knee is acting up. Dry needling, for clarity’s sake, is different from acupuncture, because with acupuncture, the needle only goes into the skin.
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I hate thunderstorms too, we’ve had quite a bit of rain but no storms yet. Phew!
Well done with the walking event. I would be happy with the medal too and what a treat to get some ice cream. I am glad your leg is feeling better, especially with the walking.
Using tinfoil with your crafts sounds so interesting and a great idea. What a cute little bear!
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Thank you so much for your kind comment! I’m glad you didn’t have thunderstorms recently. The medal was really pretty and of course the ice cream was delicious. Thanks for the compliment on my bear.
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