• my art is going to the dogs,  spilling my guts,  The Zoo

    A Woman and her Dog

    me-n-codes-in-texas

    I am so sentimental. I took Cody on a “last walk” and made it a big deal. We took pictures, stopped and rested in all the shady places, and had petting fests. It was great.

    exploring-ft-stockton

    He was happy, and I was getting through the grieving process that I had built into a bigger deal than it needed to be. This goodbye went exactly the way it needed to. I stayed for a week and watched Cody act like a puppy again with five other dogs to play with. He likes my brother, he LOVES my sister-in-law who gives him treats all the time. He is going to be a happy, healthy, well-cared-for dog. In fact, they’ve already taken him to the vet, and his tumors are benign!  What a relief!  He’s already better off because of his new home.green-house-in-stockton

    Me, well, I’m okay too. Of course, I will miss our walks and all the times he follows me around with his big sighs and adorable puppy eyes. I’ll miss cuddling with him when I’m cold and having silly conversations with him. But there are a lot of things I won’t miss. Like DOG HAIR EVERYWHERE!  The slobbers, the constant having to hurry back in case he needs to go outside to pee when I’m gone—the worry!! I worried about him all the time. I’ve always been a helicopter mom, and I was no different as a dog mom.

    downtown-fort-stockton

    We walked downtown, and I took some cool photos of old buildings. You know what I will miss the most besides his constant adorableness? The feeling of being safe with a big dog. I could walk in neighborhoods I didn’t know without fear. I could walk at night (not that I did, but I could if needed). I could walk by scary guys and know that Cody would growl and take a chomp out of them if they even dared to act aggressively toward me. I loved having a big dog. He was a kitten in spirit, but he could look scary when he needed to, and I always felt safe with him.

    texas-dog

    I hope we both live long enough to be reunited. I like to dream of all the lives we might someday have.  But if this is the only one we got, it was pretty good!

  • artsy fartsy,  house-sitting,  my art is going to the dogs,  Niece-com-poops

    It’s just fun fun fun when you’re house-sitting.

    commercial for San Diego

    The niece-com-poops are visiting and we are up to all sorts of no good. Blue pancakes in the morning, wild dress up parties in Annalie’s room, art projects galore and of course some outings to all the local tourist spots. Bethany‘s town has a lot to offer. You should come visit her.

    kids

    I’ve been running around after them, wildly trying to clean up. It’s amazing how much more mess three kids can make than one. But then they are the niece-com-poops so making messes sort of runs in their blood. Not to mention my mom is here and she’s been sewing up a storm so there is material and thread all over the place.

    My mom sewed three skirts for me, a skirt for Bug, a hat for Bug and a skirt for Bug’s stuffed green bear all in one day! I think Bethany’s house brings out the creative juices in more than just me. CC has also been here sewing and even put up some cute pink skull coffee sleeve thingys in her shop.

    I haven’t doing much besides yelling at the kids and cleaning up their mess. But that’s okay. I’ve had lots of time to be creative already. As you can see below:

    Lefty Dog Mug

    Lefty Dog Mug

    I picked up the pottery we painted the other day. This dog mug is a lefty mug. It wasn’t supposed to be but when I painted a dog face at the bottom inside of the mug (not shown–see shop for details), I painted it upside down. So yay for lefties! Or yay for Marci who already bought it! Thanks Marci.

    blue cat smudge plate

    I also painted this blue cat plate but when I was in the drawing stages, I accidentally went to brush off my eraser shavings with a paper towel that had a bit of black paint on it. DOH! I wiped a big black streak around the middle. Thankfully, most of it washed off but as you can see there is still some residue on the left and over the cat’s head. I should have drawn something to incorporate the smudge but when it was all wet and covered in pencil marks, it was really hard to tell the difference between pencil residue and paint residue. Excuses, excuses…

    What is it with me and messing up my pottery? It must be my signature. I think I’ve messed up every piece I’ve ever painted. Sure, it gives everything more character but it also makes it so I can’t sell them full price and since I haven’t figured out a way to buy bisque cheaper yet, that’s not really working out for me. But I can’t complain, it’s a hobby that almost supports itself. Which is a lot better than other hobbies I could take up. It’s in my shop for cheap, if you’re interested.

    Blue Bear Bug Mug

    Now here’s a piece of pottery that Bug and I sort of messed up on purpose. It’s a collaboration. First, I drew on the bear in pencil. Then she painted it with a flourish and then I outlined some detail over the top. I think it’s rather cute. It’s in our shop but if it doesn’t sell, that’s fine with me.

    cousins

    So that’s what we’ve been up to. Don’t come home, Bethany, we’re having too much fun. Just kidding. Hurry up and come home and join in the fun with us!