Happy New Year 2014

 On the last day of 2013, Tullen and I wish you all a Happy 2014. The Annus Horribilis 2013 is soon over and against all odds I am alive and recovering. Tullen and I will go on to make 2014 a happy and wonderful year with all "normal" activities.

What you can imagine from an abstracted painting

In a few days the great Norwegian artist and painter Thore Heramb can celebrate his 97th birthday (born Dec. 29th 1916). His works of colorful abstract landscapes are well known, but is it possible that some of these paintings also cover something else?
Let your imagination run wild. This is a landscape called "Autumn" made in 1981.

However, if you look closer and want to see something else, is it possible a conversation by two animals/dogs? The young learning from the old?

Abstracted paintings and beautiful colors can hide many treasures.

Happy birthday Edvard Munch

Today it is 150 years since our most famous Norwegian, the painter Edvard Munch, was born.
At his 70th birthday the King of Norway, Haakon 7, sent this telegram to Munch:

"On the occasion of the birthday I send to you my best wishes and a thank for what you through your art has helped to make known the name of Norway. Haakon R"

 I have for many years made my imitations of Munch´s most famous paintings. Some would say that copying famous art is plagiarism, but most of the artists in the history have developed their own competence by copying or "stealing" the best of the Best.

If going back through my 1838 blogposts since early 2005, you will find many versions of my Munch imitations. Here on his 150th birthday I will give you the last of my Munch works without further comments.
I hope you will at least like some of them: (click on the images to extend the photos)

Christmas is coming closer

Second Sunday in Advent.

Last painting goes to the crew at RMM Team 1

My last painting, Turquoise, ended up as a gift to the Healing-post at RMM Sunnaas Team 1.
In ten weeks they have taking care of me together with the physic team and the ergo team rebuilding my strength, functionality and health.

The receiver on the photo is Nurse Ingvild, who together with nurs Marianne have had coordinating responsibility for my healing. On the photo below Ingvild is performing the last inspection of my leg wounds before I could go home for a weekend break from the hospital. On Monday I an discharged.

Finding my iPhone

I have not lost my iPhone. This blogpost is only published as an recommendation.
But the App Find my iPhone is a real helping tool if one ore more of your computer devices are missing.
You need to sign in to iCloud, but maybe that will help you if your devices are lost or stolen.
Click on Find my iPhone link and learn more.

Both my iPhone and MacBook Air are still at Sunnaas.

Today´s sharing

 The long stay in Norwegian hospitals is close to an end. One of my favorite FaceBook sites is I support nurses and today´s pamphlet tells everything about why I am still walking around on earth. I am not even above the clouds (and will probably not end there either, but the value of the job nurses have given me last 4 months (and earlier on too) make this image a truth.

Another truth and may be closer to the sky is the market value of the Norwegian oil Fund. Every Norwegian citizen has around 1.000.000 nok in the  fund. Take good care of the money for the generations to come, but investments in Norwegian infrastructure and health-care can be improved.

Anne-Marthe got the Pink version

As well in nursing, ergogenic and physiotherapy students are an necessary support to the ordinary staff at Sunnaas. The training and practical work they are doing are important to enhance the competence in the Norwegian Healthcare and Rehabilitation.
My trainer in physiotherapy through the last eight weeks, Anne-Marthe, has been an important factor to move from wheelchair to own frets when moving around. Therefore she got the Pink painting.

According to schedule I will leave Sunnaas within 10 days. Now I have to make the finishing touches on the Turquoise and find out the address for this painting.

Tourquise

Trying to finish my third painting "Tourquise" before one of my patient-friends ; Kissinger, went home from Sunnaas, and almost made it. He decides though to have the Yellow painting.

That is ok as long as he likes that best and will have it in his living room back in Lillehammer. The big question is what will happen to the other two before I leave here mid December.

Lunch-group making Chicken Curry

Under the leadership of our "patient-colleague" Omish Kumar from Delhi, India this Tuesday meal in the Lunch-group (ergogenic) was an original Chicken Curry. The group members are in different rehabilitation processes but training of kitchen activities suit almost everyone

 The Curry was perfect but I believe that some of us had accepted it even more spicy.

The Indian rise was also tasty, but next time we would like to add Nan-bread to the meal.

Sunset

For me, reciding for the time being on the western coastline of Nesodden, the sunrise is difficult to catch by camera. The sunset is easier and today at 3.40 pm the sky looked like this.
I am simultaneously working with a painting where the sky is Turquoise (remember the previously Yellow and Pink sky), and looking at this image you see that all these colors appear on the evening sky. The heaven is blue perhaps, but the sky is a beautiful mix of different colors. Select your own and start painting.

Saturday physio exercise

 Although it is Saturday and a quiet day in the corridors at the hospital, the physio-room is open for self-training.
Warming up on a bike for half an hour and making the distance of almost 6 km is a perfect start for leg press and leg curling, and some other muscle strengthening exercises.
Discipline is important in the rehabilitation process, and staying at the hospital instead of having free time at home, require these kind of activities.

Keeping yesterday promise

As promised in yesterday blogpost I finished the second painting in this series today.
If inspired I may work out a third during next this weekend and the coming days at Sunnaas.

Fun with colors

I believe I have made various versions of this theme (strange houses with nice colors in silent landscapes), but this painting (Acrylic on canvas 50x70) made here at Sunnaas, have resulted in nice feedback from other patients, employees and the art teachers.
Another painting in same series will be finished before the weekend.
Any market out there?

Happy birthday from doctors and nurses

When 66 you can "do as you will", says the text in the song, but still these persons have the mayor part of my decision process in their hands and heads.
Within two more weeks my wounds have to be healed and my muscles have to be stronger before the discharge date will be set. The crew at Sunnaas are doing their best to help me in this process. Today they made a great contribution when singing the birthday song in my rom. Thanks.

Evening update:

The afternoon / evening Team 1 staff entered my room with more congratulations and birthday song.

Hopefully the night crew will let me sleep when they enter their job close to midnight. But once again: Thanks to all greetings and good wishes from you all.

Another painting from ergo therapeutic activity

I know I have presented some versions of this painting on FaceBook, but today I finished the work and can present the final version in my blog.
An interesting process is behind it where the teacher (she is an artist) gave me some ideas of how to create my own color scale based on only the three basics (Red, Blue and Yellow) together with Burnt Umber and White.
Depending on a target meeting tomorrow and probably a more specific end date for the Sunnaas stay, the work with another painting will be started.

A small victory is also a victory

Celebrating the victory in one match against the team of employees at Sunnaas.
Hee a photo from the local newspaper "Amta" together with member of the National Team´s "Olav Hansson (born 23 July 1957) is a Norwegian ski jumper from Vestre Aker in Oslo who competed from 1982 to 1987. At the 1982 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oslo, he won a gold medal in the team large hill and a silver medal in the individual large hill", and Odd Leif (on my team) during the tournament.

The complete article (in Norwegian) can be read here by clicking on the image:

Fighting National Team in Shuffleboard

As you possible have understood the activities at Sunnaas is ongoing from early mornings till late evenings. This Tuesday it all started at 7.45 am when the engineering works outside my window wake me up. The job to build a new part of the hospital is going on in parallel with the care for patients.
After sore treatment the aerobic take place. In old days we would called it morning gymnastic, and it is really nice after a long night in bed.
Then the lunch group is training to handle kitchen works. Today the menu was Ham Gratin. Can be recommended. (see my FaceBook for recipe)

 After lunch the free activity in the physic room and some painting in the ergo room filled up every minute of the afternoon. Half an hour to relax after dinner was absolute necessary for the evening highlight; Fighting the National Team in Shuffleboard.

The competition ended with victory for the professional National Team and the group of patients also came behind the employee team on the result list, but we had a nice time with exiting games and a lot of fun.

Ergo therapeutic results at Sunnaas

One of the activities at Sunnaas are using head and hand for rehabilitation. I am participating in several groups like making lunch, playing dart through computer games, Shuffleboard and creative activities as painting and joinery works.

Some days ago I finished a chair for small children or dolls and today I decided that my autumn painting was finished.


¨The chair is in pink

 and the painting looks like this. Hopefully you can recognize some of your autumn colors.

The photos may be a bit blurred, so next time I will join the photo group and hope for better results.

Visiting my home for the first time in 3 months

After 3 months in hospital I am tonight visiting my "old home" and will tomorrow se my "new apartment" for the first time.
My left leg is now in a condition that gives me free form the hospital routines for one night, and the physical conditions are acceptable for climbing staircases and visiting a restaurant at Aker Brygge for a Lutefisk dinner. The traditional drinks following the dinner must be a bit reduced but hopefully on another day this can also be included.
The old apartment are now sold to a family that look forward to move inn and we wish them god luck and many happy years here. We have stayed hare for almost 30 years and will of course be a bit sorry when leaving, but the times are a´changing for us as well.

From one style to another

Times are changing. We are in a go-between situation. We have one foot in the late eighteen century and the other in the 21st century.
 We are in the process of selling our apartment which has been our home for almost 30 years and have acquired a new and modern apartment.
The old one is rather big and one of the impressing views are the dining room with old and classic furniture. Stately.
The new apartment has a walk-in closet related to the sleeping room. Modern style.

For more images of the old apartment click HERE
For the new one you can see the styled photos HERE

Speedy Recovery with good help

 Two weeks after arrival at Sunnaas Sykehus I am up and walking (with some help).
 The dangerous infection Necrotizing fascists" has left my leg and body. Reconstruction and skin transplantation has taken place at Rikshospitalet. Skin donor areas are still hurting, but with the help from excellent personnel (doctors, therapists and nurses) here at Sunnaas the daily and weekly progress can be seen in real time. I am optimistic regarding the time ahead although I know that I have weeks in front of me before my functionality can be seen as fit for home return.

In there mean time I take my prescribed medicine and do planned therapeutic exercises to rebuild strength after nine weeks in horizontal position.

A recent study presented in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), shows that 10 days of bed rest in healthy older men and women and a muscle loss of approx. 30 percent and a reduction in muscle strength of 15 percent. Muscle loss in the legs was twice the size of muscle loss in the rest of the body. The study presented in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 20071, examined the effect that 10 day bed rest had the structure (muscle protein synthesis) and the breakdown of muscle (nitrogen balance), muscle mass and strength in the legs.

For me, the body weight loss was >15 kg, most muscles, and how long the rebuilding of muscles and strength will take, is impossible to say (according to science).
But be sure, I will be back.

More views from my Hospital

 From the terrace outside the big restaurant ( we normally use a smaller one for our meals ) the view is very spectacular. On the photo above you have Oslo to the right and the old Fornebu area in the middle.
The same area is covered on the photo below. I have however covered the DNV Center between the two islands (Grimsøya and Ostøya) mid left. That office was my working place for 18 years, and during some of these years I had the view straight against Sunnaas. In front the island Ildjernet is located.
Klick on the photos to see an larger image

Room with a view

Looking out the window at Sunnaas Hospital towards the Oslo Fjord and the hills at at the western coast line of the fjord. The outer frames of my rehabilitation looks fantastic and now the inner process is  scheduled with daily and weekly activities within ergo therapy and physiotherapy, medical healing and strengthening my trust of managing my life again.
The room with a view for the weeks ahead is positive for me and my family.