An interlude from the norm

Hello everyone. I don't know you, but I'm sure that you've all heard about me at some point. I'm Kate's daughter, Sarah, and today I am guest blogging while she chills out in her bedroom.

Ahem, yes. First of all, I'm sure that you're all wondering about how the surgery went. To answer that question as simply as possible: it went extraordinarily good. We left for the hospital around 4:30 in the morning, got a great parking space since there wasn't a soul around, and checked in. Following the prep, the surgery started at 8:00 and ended somewhere around 8:40-8:50. Apparently it went very well - there were no major issues and everything went quick and clean. After another four and a half hours we headed home and that's where we are right now. My mom is tired, dizzy, and in some pain, but her bleeding in minimal and according to the nurses, she's handling everything very well . . . and her leg doesn't hurt anymore. She'll be slow moving for the next two weeks, but all should be good. So yay for that. :)

Also . . . since I'm a guest blogger, I was asked to guest blog about something not so . . . medical. In fact, I think my mother wanted me to talk about Copic Markers for a little bit (she kept hinting that I could talk of it on this glorious guest blogging day), since I have some experience using them and you're all art people.

So yeah. If you didn't know already, Copic Markers are a well-known brand of markers that are made in Japan. I don't know their origin, but many of the comic book artists in Japan use them with such skill that one might think they are using watercolors instead of markers. There are hundreds of different colors that are shockingly vivid and each pen has two nibs. But a cool thing? Even though they're quite expensive (generally $5-$6 a marker) you can buy replacement nibs and ink. So in the end, you save money and it's kind of awesome. :D I have 30+ of the markers, most of them being the "Sketch" type. There are multiple types of Copic markers, Sketch being one that has a fine tip and a brush tip nib, while the traditional Copics have a fine tip and a broad tip nib. Either way, if you're interested, take a look around copicmarker.com, or take a look at this picture I colored using them. The scan isn't that fabulous - it put these strange light/dark bars in the colors - but it kind of shows what Copics can do, despite my limited mark coloring skills.

Umm, yes . . . I'm going to stop babbling now, but have a nice rest of the day ladies (and gentlemen?).

Quote of the Day: "If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don't write, because our culture has no use for it." -Anais Nin

Yes . . . I know it has nothing to do with anything that I've said previously . . . but despite its harshness, it's one of my favorite quotes on writing. We should all try to put as much as we can of ourselves into our projects, be they writing or not. The more you invest yourself into something, the deeper it becomes, and the more valuable it will be to yourself and everyone around you.