Getting old and decrepit.

I wrote in my Stitching Blog that I have 'lost my mojo' for sewing at the moment.  In addition to the reasons I gave before, I now have a physical problem that has prevented me from doing any kind of sewing by hand or on a machine.  I had a motorcycle accident about 40 years ago in which my neck was nearly broken.  As the doctors and other specialists have put it over the years when they see X rays of my neck, "You've really trashed your neck!"  It will be fine for a year or so, then I'll get an episode of severe pain where a nerve is pinched by some of the vertebrae which are degenerating over time.   In the past month I have had 8 chiropractic treatments, four acupuncture treatments, dozens of remedial massages, and taken Panadeine Forte, Valium, Nurofen, and whatever else I can find that might kill pain.  It is finally all beginning to take effect, and tonight is the first time I've been able to sit here and type for more than a few minutes.
The doctors are all telling me now that I will eventually have to have surgery to fix my neck, "but don't worry - surgical techniques have come a long way in the last few years, and it is not as invasive as it used to be."
Hmmm.   Time will tell.  

At this stage I can still paint and draw, although I get a bit headachy when my head is bent over my work without a break every few minutes, so I have to watch that.   I started the first class of six last week at the Eltham Living and Learnng Centre.  The course is called "Drawing for Fun" but the way I was feeling, it wasn't much fun!  We had to draw a border around a sheet of paper then throw it over our shoulder.  Next we had to draw all over another sheet of paper in any way we liked (I did a kind of zentangle design).  The tutor called these exercises 'warming up'.  Yup....
Then we were told to draw a knife, fork and spoon from memory.  After we'd finished that, she handed out a set of cutlery and a napkin to each person, and instructed us to set them up any way we liked, and draw them.  This exercise made sense to me - interesting to see how one draws something from memory, then from reality.  I hope I feel beter this time next week.  I think I would have had more enthusiasm for the class if I hadn't beem feeling so ill, and I'm sure once I'm back to my normal cheerfu self, I'll be able to enjoy the class.