A Couple of My Favorite Christmas Gifts!

Christmas  is  fun,  but  it  sure  is  exhausting!  But  I  really  enjoyed  it  with  all  of  my  family  here--it's  really  hard    for  all  of  my  kids  to  get  together  at  once  anymore.   But  when  we  do,  it's  like  turning  back  time--they're  like  little  kids  again  with  all  of  the  "fringe"  benefits  included--if  you  know  what  I  mean ; )    BUT--it's  fun  and  it's  funny  too.....

And  I  really  liked  my  presents--I  like  any  kind  of  present!   But  I  wanted  to  show  you  a  couple of  my  favorite(but  not exclusive : )  ones.  

So  let  me  explain  this  one.   This  is  from  my  daughter,  son-in-law,  and  their  dog/son  Bob.   Earlier  this  year,  they  found  a  very  serious  form  of  cancer  in  Bob's  leg,  and  after  trying  different  treatments  on  him,  they  had  to  amputate  his  leg,  which  made  all  the  difference  in  the  world.   As  of  right  now,  he's  cancer-free,  and  back  to  being  crazy  Bob  again.   If   you've  never  met  him,  you  can  meet  him  HERE.

My  daughter  and  son-in-law  are  not  taking  this  for  granted  however.   They  are  spending  as  much  time  with  him  as  they  can.   So  this  summer  they've  been  taking  him  to  a  lot  of  the  beaches  that  we  have  around  here  (we  live  on  Lake  Erie).   He  LOVES  the  beach.   And  while  they  were  there,  they  started  to  collect  beach  glass,  and  by  the  end  of  the  summer,  they  had  a  LOT.   And  this  is  what  they  did  with  some  of  the  pieces  that  they  found--a  beach  glass  family  portrait  of  me,  Lenny  (our  turtle)  and  my  husband!

How  wonderful  is  this?!    I  love  the  fact  that  Lenny  is  entirely  made  of  beach  glass pieces  that  they  had  in  their  collection---like  finding  pieces  to  a  puzzle.   The  story  behind  this  gift  is  just  as  good  as  the  gift--don't  you  think?

And  then  the  same  daughter  kept  asking  me  what  I  wanted  for  Christmas,  and  I  honestly  couldn't  think  of  anything.    And  then  I  thought--I  know!   I  made  an  Etsy  Christmas  list!   I  no  doubt  love  hand-crafted  items,  and I  also  love  supporting  other  artists,  so  I  sent  her  a  ton  of  Etsy  links  so  I  wouldn't  know  what  she  picked  out.    And  this  is  what  she  chose--

This  beautiful  necklace  (I.....LOVE....IT!)  is  from  the  very  talented  Sharon--livewirejewelery Etsy shop.    The  way  she  turns  these  vintage  pieces  into  a  wearable  piece  of  art  along  with  her  skilled  jewelry-making (love  what  she  does  with  brass)  is  magic.   And  I  want  to  mention  that  this  isn't  my  first  piece  of  jewelry  from  Sharon--I'm  definitely  a  Livewire Jewelry  junkie!!!

I  haven't  been  able  to  spend  much  time  in  my  art  room,  but  I  HAVE   been  a  little  busy  in  there--next  blog,  I'll  tell  you...

Hope  everyone  has  a  very  Happy  2012!

Bob and Lenny

So  I  figured  it  was  time  for  an  update  on  Bob.  A  couple  of  months  ago  I  blogged  about  his  health  issues--the  problem  that  he  was  having  with  his  leg--long  story  short--cancer.  Well  after  another month or  so of  treating  his  leg  and trying  to  save  it,  the  Dr.  realized  that  it  wasn't  working,  so  after  much  thought,  they  decided  to  amputate  it.   Don't  feel  bad  about  this...feel  happy,  because  now  Bob  is  back  to  his  old  self  again.

By  the  time  they  decided  to  go  ahead  with  this  procedure,  Bob's  whole  demeanor  had  changed  which  was  the  final  thing  that  made  the  Dr.  and  his  parents  realize  that  this  was  his  only  option.   Within  2  days  after  his  surgery  he  was  walking  around,  but  more  importantly,  he  was  happy  again!

 Here  he  is  just  last  week  at  the  beach--one  of  his  favorite  places.   My  daughter  says  that  she  forgets  sometimes  that  he  only  has 3  legs  now.   And  now  he  is  a  proud  member  of   the  Tripawd  Community.   As  far  as  the  cancer  goes--they're  going  to  run  some  tests  on  him  next  week  to  see  if  the  rest  of  his  body  is  still cancer-free--he  still  needs  your  prayers.   But  for  now--all  is  well with  Bob  : )

And  now,  another  new  name--Lenny.  I  missed  Leo  very  much,  and  I  knew  that  I  was  going  to  need  a  new  companion,  whom  I  know  Leo  would  have  liked  very  much--Lenny!

This  is  my  new  little  baby,  and  when  I  say  companion,  I  really  mean  it.   I  decided  to  move  my  art  room  into  the  room  where  Lenny  is.  It's  twice  the  size  of  my  original  one,  and  now  I  can  be  with  him  all  the  time--poor  thing--I  can't  leave  him  alone.

Here  he  is  in  his  little  house--actually,  it's  not  so  little--it's  4  foot  across--so  he's  got  lots  of  room  to  play  around  in,  (yes,  I  had  the  camera  right  inside of  the  tank--he probably  was  thinking---NOW  what  is  she  doing?!)  and  it's  right  across  from  my  work  table.   When  I  decided  to  do  this,  I  was  wondering  if  I  would  bother  him  too  much.  I  like  to  play  my  music  kind  of  loud  and  I  like  to  sing  REAL  loud,  but  you  know what??   I  think  he  likes  it!  He  just  watches  me  and  when  he's  ready  to  go  to  sleep,  he  does,  even  if  the  music  is  on.   And  of  course  I'm  always  talking  to  him--he's  a  great  listener.

And  he  loves  to  walk  around  the  "studio"--

He  likes  to  check  out  my  art  supplies---and  he  likes  to  stick  close  to  me--a  definite  Mamma's  boy---I'm  so  glad  about  that!   I'm  just  so  happy  to  watch  him  EAT  and  WALK--something  Leo  couldn't  do  the  last  2  weeks  of  his  life--I  will  never  never  take  his  good  health  for  granted.

So  if  you  weren't  sure  before,  I'm  sure  you  are  now--I'm  the  crazy  turtle  lady...

I  would  never  have  imagined  just  4  months  ago  that  I  would  not  have  Leo  anymore  or  that  I  would  have  a  new  and  improved  art  room  with  a  new  little  companion.   And  one  more  shot  I  have  to  show  you--I've  started  a  new  art  wall  right  above  his  tank,  beginning  with  it  adjacent  to  his  tank---he  loves  looking  at  it--

This  is  the  piece  that  Somerset  published--I  couldn't  have  found  a  more  perfect  place  for  it.   This   little  story  in  my  life  started  out  very  sad  but  came  full  circle  with  a  very  happy  ending!   (Leo  would  have  been  a  great  big  brother)

P.S.  Thanks  to  Julie,  Sharon,  and  this  Ebay  artist,  I  have  a  great  start  for  my  art  wall,  which  I'll  be  blogging  about  in  the  future--thanks  you  guys  for  your  beautiful  art!

Bob and Leo

Oh  man,  I  don't  want  to  do  this  blog  post,  but  here  goes.   Most  of  you  who  read  my  blog  regularly  know  Bob,  but  if  you  don't,  he's  probably  the  closest  thing  I  have  to  a  grandchild  right  now.   And  for  those of  you  who  don't  know  him--this  is  Bob--

Back  in  February  I  put  up  this  blog  post  about  him.    He  was  having  trouble  with  his  leg  which  actually  started  sometime  in  January.   Well,  to  refresh  everyone's  memory  there  was  a  scare  that  he  may  have  had  cancer  in  his  leg---but  99.9%--no  cancer  is  what  the  doctor  had  told  them.  And...guess what?  A  couple  of  weeks  later  he  had  another  flare-up  in  his  leg   and  after  more  tests--yes  it  was  cancer.   And  unfortunately  a  very  serious  form  of  cancer  that  attacks  the  blood  vessels,  and  usually  starts  in  an  organ.  Bob  was  lucky  in  the  fact  that  it  went  to  his  leg.

He  still  his  leg  though.   For  the  last 3  months  they've  been  doing  a  procedure on  it  that brings  the  cancer  up  to the surface--his  leg  has  had  a  cast/bandage  on  it  all  of  these  months.   It's  working...they  think----they  have  to  wait  until  the  leg  heals  and  then  they  can  do  more  tests.  

But...in  the  meantime,  Bob   just  finished  6  weeks  of  chemotherapy--but  he  was  a  trooper--he  went  through  it  well,  all  things  considered.  If  the  cancer  hasn't  cleared  up  in  his  leg,  they'll  have  to  amputate  it  and  another  round  of  chemo.   It  never  ends!   The  prognosis  for  this  type  of  cancer  is  not  very  good.  Please  everyone,  he  needs  your  prayers!

I  really  really  didn't  want  to  blog  about  this,  but  I  know  how  everyone  enjoys  Bob--and  he  really  needs  your  support  right  now.

Okay.  how  about  some  more  "happy"  news.  Leo  is  suffering and  I'm  feeling  very  guilty  right  now.  I'm  calling  the  Dr.'s  next  week  to  see  exactly  what  they  do  for  a  dying  turtle.  I  honestly  don't  know  how  long  it  takes  for  a  turtle  to  let  go,  but  if  it's  like  anything  else  that  they  do,  probably  very  very  slowly.   I'm  very  very  sad  right now.

My Classes and a Bob Update

Can  I  tell  you  how  glad  I  am  that  I  signed  up  for  Christy  Tomlinson's  She  Art  Class!    The  first  week  was  jammed  pack!!   And  she  starts  with  very  basic  designs  for  the  girls--she  shows  3  examples,  and  one  of  them  is  an  angel  which  immediately  appealed to me.  So  I  decided  to  make  some  She  Art  garden angels--

I  love  her  energy  and  enthusiasm,  and  she's  very  organic  with  her  designs,  which,  for  the  most  part,  I'm  not.    But  her  technique  of  creating  rubbed  off  on  me,  and  I  just  worked  along  with  her,  and  I  love  the  way  these  girls  turned  out  in  such  a  short  amount  of  time.   All  of  the  layers--

And  the  textures--

I  highly  recommend  this  class--although  registration  is  now  closed,  I'm  pretty  sure  I  read  that  you  can  sign  up  again  in  April--I  can't  wait  to  see  this  week's  lesson!

And  my  other  class  with  Alisa  Burke,  I'm  also  enjoying--Sketchbook  Delight.  I've  just  watched  the  first  2  weeks  of  the  class,  and  I  have  to  say  that  I'm  not  the  world's  best  sketcher,  but  I  do  enjoy  it.   And  in  these  lessons  she  gives  us  permission  not  to  be  perfect--I  know  that  sounds  silly,  but  you  when  you  hear  someone tell you  this,  it  makes  you  feel  good  about  sketching  no  matter  what  your  sketches  look  like.

And  she  tells  us  to  draw  what  we  like  to  draw  and  what  appeals  to  us.   Well,  I  like  to  draw  faces  and  collect  them  as  well--so  that  was  the  natural  choice--

This  was  so  relaxing  to  me.   She  encourages  us  to  fill  up  the  page,  which  is  never  a  problem  with  me--this  is  what  I  like  to  do  anyway.   And  these  pages  are  done  mostly  with  colored  brush  tip  pitt  pens  and  outlined  with  micron  pen (one  of  my  new  loves).  Her  choice  is  watercolors,  which  I'm  planning  on  trying  (she  has  some  great  tips  with  watercolors).  I've  never  used  watercolors,  but  have  always  wanted  to-so  now  will  be  the  time.

And  speaking  of  Alisa,  not  only  does  she  have  some  great  art  tips,  I  also  found  a  very  quick  recipe  on  her  blog.

These  tiny  red  potatoes  are  so  darn  good.  I  actually  ate  them  as  my  main  course.  In  her  recipe  she  also  added  pearl  onions,  and  a  variety  of  fresh  herbs.   I  didn't  have  the  onions  and  all  I  had  was  the  fresh  parsley--still---DELICIOUS--and  the  fastest  dish  you  could  prepare.  I  don't  like  to  cook  either.  You  can  find  her  delicious  recipe  HERE.

Okay,  and  more  thing--Bob.  His  Mom  and  Dad  were  in  a  wedding  yesterday,  and  apparently  it  must  have  been  an  adult  only  wedding,  because  Bob  couldn't  go,  and  they  didn't  want  to  leave  him  alone  just  yet.   So  I  had  a  visitor  yesterday--

He  looks  a  bit  worried,  doesn't  he?   He  kind  of  was once  his  parents  weren't  there,  but  then  he  settled  in  fine  and  made  himself  at  home.   As  you  can  see,  his  leg  is  just  about  healed.  But  he  kept  going  up  and  down  our  stairs,  and  by  the  end  of  the  day,  he  was  having  trouble  keeping  his  leg  on  the  ground--it  was  probably  a  little  sore--poor  thing.   Monday  will  be  the  first  time  in  2  weeks  that  he'll  be  left  alone.  I  think  they're  going  to  have  a  whole  new  set  of  problems!!

What About Bob??

Yes,  what  about  Bob?--poor  sweet  little  Bob.  For  those of  you  who  don't  know,  Bob  is  a part  of  the family. 

He's  my  daughter's  and  son-in-law's  dog--just  don't  tell   him  that!   Well,  Bob  has  been  having  some  problems.  About  5 weeks  ago,  when  they  woke  up  in  the  morning  they  noticed  that  Bob  was  limping,  and  then  they  noticed  that  his  back  leg  was  swollen.  So  that  day  they  took  him  to  the  Doctor's  and  by  the  time  they  got  to  the  Dr.'s  office,  his  leg  was  twice  the  size.  The  Dr.  told  them  that Bob  must  have  hit  his  leg  the day before,  and  his  leg  was  filled  with  blood  and  it  needed  to be drained.   Okay,  no  problem---

(although, in  their  mind,  they didn't  think  he  hit  his  leg  at  all)

Here  he  is  all done  at  the  Dr.'s  office.   Notice--he's  panting--not  because  he's  hot (it  was  probably  20 degrees out)--it's  because  he's  happy and  excited  (he  pants  when  he's  happy  like  this : )   He  loves  going  to  the  Dr.'s--it  doesn't  matter what  they  do  to  him  either.  I  think  he  was  proud  of  his  new bandage  too.

Well  after  a  week  or  so,  it  just  didn't  seem  to  be  healing  right,  so  the  Dr.  decided  to  re-open  the  leg, and  drain  it  again,  but  this  time--for  added  protection--this  is  how  Bob  came  home--

He  was  very  proud  of  his  protective  cone  too!!  Although,  if  you  notice, this  cone  is  a  new  kind--it's  a  foam  material,  which  was  no  problem  for  Bob  to  be  able  to  maneuver around  it  and  rip  his  bandage  off.  (He's  home  alone  all  day  --so  this  probably  gave  him  something  to do)

Well  after  he  did  this, and  after  the  Dr.  checked  his leg,  he  said  just  to  keep  the bandage  off   because  it  looked okay  and  being  open  to  the  air  would  heal  it  faster.   Well......it  didn't.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  by  the  next  week,  it  was  worse,  and  it  got  to  the  point  where  Bob  was  walking  only  on  3  legs.  I  want  you  to  keep  in  mind,  that  Bob, the  whole  time,  never  complained--he's  always  happy.   When  they  finally  took  him  back  to  the  Dr.'s  for  the  umpteenth  time,  my  daughter  told  me  that  it  looked  like  there  was  a golf  ball  underneath  his  skin.

Immediately after  seeing this,  the  Dr.  set  him  up  for  emergency  surgery.  And  what  they  found  were  a  mass  of  tiny  and  spreading  tumors  in  his  leg.   Somehow  these  tumors we're swelling  up  his leg with  blood--not quite  sure--you'd  have  to  talk to  the  Dr.   Needless to  say,  this  was  very  alarming,  and  a  biopsy  was  taken  to  see  if  it  was  cancer.  And  if  it  was  cancer,  they would  have  to  amputate  his  leg.    This  was  a  week  ago.

My  son-in-law  wouldn't  leave  him  and  fortunately  he works  for  his  very  understanding  father,  and  Marc (my son-in-law)  stayed  home  with  Bob.  But  Marc  was  bored,  so  his  father told  him  that  he  could  bring  Bob  to  work  with  him,  as  long  as  Bob  was  contained.  So...that's  just  what  he  did--

HAPPY  as  a  clam!!!---he  got  to go  to  work  with  Dad!    As  long  as  he's  with  people,  he  doesn't  care  what  the situation is.  You can  kind  of  notice  the  very large  splint  on  his  leg.   This  is  why  they  didn't  want  to  leave  him  alone  at  home--they  didn't  know  what   they  would   find  when they  came  home  at  night.

Okay--the  news  is  good--99.9%--not  cancer--sigh  of  relief!  The  Dr.  is  going  to  keep  checking  him  however  in  the  next  few  months.

Poor  Bob--he's  always  having  problems--but  always  happy!  And  in  no  time,  I'm  sure  he'll  be  back  to  normal!

Branching Out

Back   in  June  Kelly (Kelly Berkey  Designs  blog)  had  sent  me  a  pendant  necklace  as  a  gift  to  me.   She  wanted  to  thank  me  for  helping  her  with  some   mixed   media  techniques  that  she  wanted  to try.   She  sent  me  2  actually,  and  they were  of  my  art.  I  was  so  impressed  by  the  workmanship  of  them,  that  I  decided  to  order  some  more  from  her  so  I  could  try  my  hand  at  jewelry.  I  want  to  make  necklaces  with  them  and  offer  them  for  sale  at  my  last  show  in  November.

I  ordered  3  different  sets--by that  I  mean  they're  double-sided,  so  I  emailed  her  6  different  images  for  3  different  pendants  (4  of  each  set).   I  was  so  happy   with  these  when  I  got  them--

They're  really  much  better  in  person.  This  photo  just  doesn't  do  them  justice!  She  offers these  pendants  to  anyone--she  has  ones  with  her  ladies  or  you  can   personalize  them  with  your  own  art  or  personal  photos  or  even  tiny  snippets  of  personal  items  that  have  sentimental  meaning  to  you.   You  can  go  to  her  Etsy  shop  and  get  all  the  details.

Now  I   know  nothing  about  jewelry  making--nothing!   But  my  daughter  Jen  (the   marathon   runner)  does.  In  her  spare  time  she  likes  making  jewelry  for  herself.  She's  very  good  at  it,  but  never  has  much  time--she  has  a  very  demanding  job,  but  she  did  say  that  she  would  help  me.  So  this  weekend  was  my  first  lesson--the  very  basics--and  I  mean  1st  grade  basic--just  to  get  me  started.  She  didn't  have  much  time  as  she  was  getting  ready to  go   out  of  town  this  week  for  her  work.  So  on  Monday  I  made  my  first  necklace--it  took  me  all  night  long!   As  a  matter  of  fact  when  my  husband  came  home  from  work  at  11:15  at  night  (I'm  usually  in  bed  by  9:30  or  10),  I  was  still  working  away  at  it,  and  I  told  him  that  I  didn't  care  how  long  it  took,  I  was  going  to  finish  that  damn  necklace.  It  was  after  midnight  when  I  finished.   The  next  day  I  felt  like  I  was  partying  all  night---just  can't  bounce   back  like   I  use  to!

So  you're  probably  thinking  I've  made  these  intricate  amazing  necklaces--well,  not  quite,  but  I  think  they  can  pass  as  jewelry.

Do  you  think  these  will   pass  as  legitimate  jewelry--will  I  fool  the  shoppers  into  thinking  that  I  know  what  I'm  doing,  because  I'm  kind  of  just  figuring  this  out  along  the  way.  I  need  other  people's  input--I'm  at  the  stage  right  now  where  I've   been  looking  at   them  so  much  that  I  don't  even  know  anymore.  I  just  want  to  say,  that  I am  in  awe  of  all  you  jewelry  artists  out  there--there  really  is  a  lot  of  work  involved.

So  I  have  10  more  to  go,  and  Jen  is  coming  over  next  week  for  my  2nd  lesson,  and  she's  going  to  show  me  some  of  her  more  intricate  necklaces  that  she's  made---hopefully  I  can  catch  on.

And  speaking  of  Jen,  a  lot  of  you  who  have  been  reading  my  blog  knows  about  her   little  boy,  my  grandson,  but  for  the  new  readers--yes  I  have  a  grandson.  His  name  is  Bob.

Don't   let  his  looks  fool  you--he's  my  grandson!  He  came  over  with  Jen  for  a  visit.  I  don't  get  to  see  him  that often,  so  this  was  a  treat.  See  that  worried  look  on  his  face?  Whenever  he  comes  over,  I  think  he  thinks  that's  he's  not  going  back  home.  He  loves  us,  but  after  a  few  hours,  he  wants  to  leave.

This  is  what  Jen  calls  his  sad  pouty  face--

And  one  more  thing--I'm  glad  that  these  necklaces  are  keeping  me  up  at  night.  I  need  that  right  now,  because  I'm  afraid  to  go  to  bed  before  my  husband  gets  home.  I  went  to  see  Paranormal  Activity  2  yesterday,  and  I  knew, like  the  first  movie,  that  it  was  going  to  scare  me,  which  it  did.  However,  it  wasn't   quite  as  scary,   and  it  ties into  the  first  movie--so  now there's  more  of  a  storyline  and  explanation  of  why  this  paranormal  activity   is  happening  to  these  people.  But  they  both  still scared  the heck  out  of  me!

Selling Your Art in Person vs. Selling Online.....PLUS A Bob Update

I would have to say that one of the advantages of selling your art at a show is the feedback that you get from potential customers.  For example--remember the wood blocks that I made?  Well, I  received a good response from customers, but I didn't sell as many as I thought I would. Most of  the  blocks were   displayed on shelves that I had in my booth.  And  if  I had a nickel for every person who came up to them and tried to open them, I'd  have  some  decent  pocket  change now.  And another nickel for ladies saying to me that they wished  they were boxes-----so,  I took their advice, and went to the local craft chain  (Pat Catan's--if you're ever in Northeast Ohio--go to one of these stores--excellent prices), and bought me some small boxes.  They're the  exact  same size  as  the  blocks, but a little deeper.  So  I'm  making some for the show that  I'm  in  this weekend.

Another good tip--functional art sells very well, because not only is it a piece of art, it also has a purpose.

But the best reason, I feel,  for  displaying  your artwork  at  shows,  is that  people like to see the art in person.  They love to touch it.  This is what I want.  I want people to touch and see the colors up close, and ask me questions like   "what is this, or how did you do this".  I love when my art puts a smile on their face, because it puts a smile on mine.  You can't get that when you're selling online.

And there's one more thing that I should mention about shows.--Juried vs Non- Juried shows.  With the non-juried shows, all you have to do is fill out the application with the required booth fee and send it in.  They just require that your work is handmade, but you're going to see alot of non-handmade, anywhere from Tupperware to Home Windows--this is just how it is.  And you're  also going to see crafters that are not really making their craft--this is very common.

Now in the juried shows, they want to see photos, slides, or a CD of your work, and sometimes your display.  The fee is usually quite a bit higher, and 9 times out of 10, there's a non-refundable jury fee from $10.00 to $30.00.  But in the long run, they're worth it, because  for  the  most  part,  sales are  always better in these types of shows,and the quality of arts and crafts are much better.  And every artist who does the show circuit as had the dreaded "rejection" letter.  It's not a reflection on you--really--it's just that some of these shows get way over the amount of applicants that they need,  so they have their pick and choose.  It's a bit of a blow to your ego, but in the long run, it's an advantage, because it pushes you to go farther with your art.  I consider it a challenge, and I don't give up year after year   until I finally get accepted, which is a great feeling.

So enough business talk--What About Bob?  Well, my daughter told me that the night he came home from getting his tooth removed, his mouth was swollen, and he was "gently crying" all night--Awwww!  But, the next day, he was fine.  And she also told me that before they had  found out  about the cracked tooth, he had been mopey for a quite a while.  She thinks that the tooth was hurting him all along--Awwww!  She says that  he's a very happy dog now!!

But he's too cool to show it : )

Leaving This Morning & Bob

Okay, I'm off again--this time to my much anticipated art show.  It's starting tomorrow at 3:00 till 9.   I think that it's kind of a preview party thing--I'm not sure. I used up my painted papers for more art pieces.  I did a couple of "praintings" with my prints--

 

And on the next one, I just cut up one of the papers that I had and just jumbled it around and then added collage accents.  I really liked the way it turned out, and it was very quick to do.

And I used the rest of the scraps of paper for this mirror--really fun!

Today we're going to set up our booth/tent, which I like to do--set up the day before, although the temperatures are going to be in the 90's with the high humidity.  But I'm trying not to complain.  I remember all of those very frigid winter days when I'd be blogging and longing for warmer weather--so here it is!  I'll try to check in with everyone when I'm gone too!

P.S. I haven't talked about Bob lately, have I?   Well, I wanted to tell everyone that he had his yearly check- up, and the Doctor found that his back molar was completely cracked in half   (poor thing)--now of course they have to watch what they give him to chew on.  Well anyway, yesterday he had to go to have the tooth extracted, but of course with a French Bulldog, nothing is easy. I guess the molar has 3 different roots, so they had to take it out in 3 parts, so that means he had to be put under with  anesthesia  (more $).  He was at the Doctor's most of the day, but he did come home last night--completely out of it.

Fun With Bob

So every year my daughter and son-in-law go away on vacation for about a week or so.  And every year Bob comes to our house to stay.  He loves us, but by the end of the day , he wants to go home.  So when we watch him , it's always been a bit traumatic for him.  Last year it got to the point that he couldn't keep anything down, even water.  So after a $200 vet bill, the diagnosis was basically he was sick due to anxiety.  So this year a friend is staying at my daughter's house so Bob can be in his own home. But he's left alone alot, so we went over a couple of times this week to take him out.

A few days ago, the weather was nice and sunny, so we took him to the beach, or as I said in my other post--the real name being Presque Isle--

And he was very excited to get going.  Do you notice that everytime you see him that he has a shirt on?  Well that's because my daughter dresses him everyday.  He has quite the wardrobe--even pajamas.  Now when he has nothing on, it looks like he's exposing himself--poor thing--he has no choice in the matter.  So anyway, off we went on our walk--

We started out on the bike trail.

And we were greeted by one of the residents' there.

After walking for a while, we decided to head to one of the beaches--

Bob was thinking of going for a swim, but decided against it--who am  I  kidding?--he's afraid of the water!

We may not have the white sand or clear blue water, but it's a great way to  spend your day.  And if it wasn't on the other side of town, I know that I would be going there everyday.  I love the bike trail.

And I always think it's so neat to see these natural hearts on everyone's blogs, and I think---how do they find these?!  Well, all you have to do is look--they're everywhere!

Wow, look at this--someone drew a heart in the sand ; )

So then it was time to take Bob back home.  I had to change his shirt though--he got it a little dirty.

His face pretty much tells the story--we were leaving : ( 

I almost don't like doing this, because he's so sad when  we leave.

I also wanted to thank Sanda at Sanda's Art Blog  for posting this you tube video.  She got it from Tam's blog, and the video is by Jan Phillips. The description of the video is--In case you forget why it's important to create.  Thank you Jan for a beautiful video!!

I also want to mention that Sanda's having a giveaway on her blog.  You have until April 30 so there's still time--if you click on her blog name, it will take you to that  link.

My Quilt Blocks & Another Table

Okay I'm not a seamstress. I know as much about a sewing machine as I would a car  engine, and I envy anyone who does know about these 2 things.  But last week at Jo Ann's their canvases were 40% off and I found a nine pack of 4 x4 gallery wrapped  canvases.  So I collaged my painted papers that I showed you here on them

As I was making them, they reminded me of tiny patchwork quilts, which I love, so this is my version of quilt blocks!  And I wanted them to all be the same, but yet different from each other so I decided to embellish  them, which was just as much  fun as making them--

I have 3 more to make, but I think I'm going to do more--I LOVED doing these--I'm just going to have to paint some more papers though!

Also, I wanted to show you another table that I did. Star was asking me if  I hand paint all of my furniture, and for the most part, I do, but once in  a while, I'll try something a little different and start fooling around.

 I made this last year. The houses are made from scrapbook and other papers that I collaged on to the top of the table. You can pretty much do anything on furniture that you would do on any substrate, as long as you have multiple layers of a protective sealer on it. This table was pretty neat too. The top was basically a lazy susan, and it was removable--I called it my swivel-top table.

And I hope everyone had a great Easter yesterday--I did.  We went over to my son-in-law's family's house and enjoyed a delicous dinner AND  I got to see HIM  (who I haven't seen in a very long time)--

BOB!

And yes, the Easter bunny paid him a visit too--

One more thing--I just wanted to remind everyone of my giveaway on April 8, this Thursday.  If you haven't left a comment, just go to  this post and leave one, and good luck!!