"Snow" is "Beaux" and he is perfect!!

My new pooch is home and settled in! Gosh, I cannot say enough good about this dog!! First of all, I have changed his name from "Snow" to "Beaux" (french spelling of course, to honor his heritage) and he is as darn near perfect as can be!! Really, you cannot argue with how intelligent this breed is, and he has proved to be the smartest and most loving dog ever. What a treat!! Not to mention that he is a purebred, snow-white miniature poodle with excellent conformation and unparalleled carriage. He literally "prances" when he runs!

I picked him up last Friday evening and took my daughter and her husband and kids along. Snow was an absolute peach. Even though he had been "fixed" earlier that day, he let the kids pet him and sit beside him and walk him and even brush him! He was so patient. And he was so good that I stayed for dinner with my daughter's family. We ordered pizza and Beaux just sat at my feet under the table while we ate. (We had re-named him on the way home and that was the name that we ALL agreed on.) Immediately my daughter wanted to trade me for the rowdy puppy she is working with in her own household. No way!! Beaux is mine!!


And so we have had an extremely pleasant weekend. Beaux has shadowed me both in the house and out in the yard. He loves to ride in the car. He listens and learns fast and has not had an "accident" even though he is learning a new environment. He is affectionate and appreciative and such a great companion. All who have met him so far want to steal him away from me, but I know he wouldn't go!! I'm so pleased with his temperament and I'm so happy to have taken a "rescue" that needed a home. Sometimes I feel like I could be a "rescue" myself, so having Beaux to keep me company now is a wonderful thing. I truly appreciate the efforts of the rescue ladies who found Beaux and fostered him until I could take him in.

If you are thinking of a new best friend of the canine variety, won't you please look into a rescue?? Go to http://www.petfinder.com/ to find a needy animal in your area. Chances are there will be a pet that needs you even more than you need him/her. And if you get in contact with the rescues in your area, a pet that is the breed you need for your lifestyle will come along sooner or later. Please do support your local pet rescue operations.

my new best friend

Meet Snow. He is a 4 year old purebred miniature poodle with a snow-white coat. He is also a rescue dog in the Dayton Ohio area. I met him this morning.


I actually had the appointment to meet a different dog, but the rescue ladies were smart enough to bring several dogs that I might be interested in after interviewing me. I am so glad they did!! Oscar, the dog I thought I wanted, had little interest in me and vice versa. But Snow came right up and introduced himself and sat on my lap and let me know he'd like to come home with me. Even when the other dogs were running and playing, he sat with me and didn't leave to join the action until I put him down. He chose me first, so how can I not choose him??

He isn't quite ready to be adopted. He needs neutered and he needs some dental care while he's under anesthetic, so I will go back and pick him up later this month. That gives me time to get ready for him and buy the things he'll need to feel at home. I'm so glad to have found him! He is such an elegant little guy. He "prances" when he runs and he buries his head into my elbow when I am petting him on my lap. He's so smart and affectionate and we will be good buddies, I'm sure.

But about the name, Snow. I can see how that name was given, and the rescue lady says he has been resistant to having his name changed. So I'm thinking of "Beau" since it sounds a lot like what he is used to. But I'm more partial to "Jaxon", and "Jax" for short if he will get used to it. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. And I could change my mind again before I go and get him! What do you think???

Ravelry

It's the hottest new knitting community on the web. I waited until I posted a knitting blog to sign up, which was just a few minutes ago, and then checked my status. Here's what I got:


Found you!

* You signed up on Today
* You are #31791 on the list.
* 20007 people are ahead of you in line.
* 0 people are behind you in line.
* 36% of the list has been invited so far


This will be FUN!!!!

on the needles now

I've gotten lazy! After all that yardwork through early summer, I finally retreated inside when the heat started. and after about a dozen dishcloths, which I LOVE to make and give away, I started a pair of socks. Soon it will be time to start wearing them again and this is a lovely pair. The pattern is Snowflake Lace from MagKnits (great source for free patterns!!) and KnitPicks Essential Solid in Superwash. I reinforced the heel, but otherwise the pattern was followed. Next I wanna try two colors of yarn! So many patterns.... so little time.....

blast from the past

I was going through my old portfolios this morning and it reminded me that I don't sketch and paint often enough. I want to, but there just isn't time to do everything! I've said before that my hobby is hobbies, and that dreadful job that supports me sure takes up a lot of time! Anyway, I thought I'd post some older artwork that I've done. Friends have asked to see it and so here it is, with the usual disclaimer that I cringe over some of it now because I can see things I would do differently. ah well, that's why I need to do new stuff!

This is one of my favorites, an oil of some zinnias in my garden. I don't think it photographed especially well.


Another oil in my back garden. I sold this painting but am glad I have a photo of it because this giant mulberry tree fell down in a storm. It's gone!


I used to do a lot of portrait work. This is an oil of friend's daughter who is all grown up now.


Another friend's daughter, also nearly grown. This is colored pencil.


I did a lot of pet portraits, too. This is also colored pencil.


I got away from the commission work as I just didn't enjoy it. I prefer to just paint for myself now, but I don't get around to it much. One of these days.....

two years today!

I spent most of my adult life fighting my weight. It felt like a battle to the death and I think it would have been except that two years ago today I had weight loss surgery (WLS). It saved my life.

WLS is controversial and becoming more common now but it took me a long time to come to that decision. My family doctor had been urging me for about three years, not just because of what I weighed, but because of more serious health issues. I had high blood pressure even on medication, high cholesterol even on medication, a heart murmur, irregular heart beat, two total knee replacements, depression, sleep problems and no energy. I felt awful much of the time. I could barely get myself to work. I couldn't keep up with my house and my kids would have to come over and help me. At 53, I was too young to feel so old and disabled.

Finally I realized that the weight really was going to kill me and that I was going to be dreadfully miserable until it did. Besides the health concerns, every day was a struggle with food, clothes, appearance and self-esteem. After 30 years of dieting I was fatter and sicker than ever and I didn't want to always be remembered in such a way. I had truly done my best to control my weight on my own and I had to face the fact that it hadn't worked and wasn't going to. I took another look at WLS.

The miracle was discovering a WLS called Duodenal Switch (DS) rather than the more common RNY. For more information on these surgeries, see the links I have posted in the sidebar of this page. Suffice it to say that when I read about the DS, I knew that this was a surgery I could live with. Not an easy way out by any means, but a possible salvation. I went through the qualifying process with doctor, surgeon, psychiatrist and insurance and two years ago today I was "switched". Then the recovery began.

I am now a different person - 100 pounds lighter. I no longer take blood pressure or cholesterol medicine - both are normal without it. I no longer worry about what I eat or what I will wear - I am normal in that respect for the first time in my adult life. Food is a joy, clothes are fun and I think about what I need and want to do everyday instead of how I look doing it. I don't dread getting out of bed or seeing others or having work to do. In fact, the picture below is something I'm very proud of!

Two years ago I could not pull weeds in the yard for even ten minutes. The blood would rush to my head and I would have to get a drink of water and sit down. You can't get much done in ten minute stretches. But take a look at this photo - this is the brush I cleared out of my yard just this week! That's seven bundles as big as I am tied up in twine and seven yard bags full of twigs, etc. This pile out for pickup stretches halfway across the front of my house. Mind you, I also work full time, so this is just the work of a couple weekend mornings and the evening the trash goes out. I bagged it all and carried it to the curb and you'd never know that I have two titanium knees. Not bad for a 55 year old, huh?

WLS isn't for everyone and I do believe you need to exhaust all your resources before you choose surgery. But for some of us it is a life-saving procedure. It requires lifetime compliance in taking supplements and getting proper nutrition and that cannot be neglected. It is worth it to escape the prison of obesity and I can say that I am happier and healthier than I've ever been. I am grateful and joyful over this every day. Life is wonderful.

pizza adventure

Nary a soul loves pizza more than I do and I've been working on perfecting my home made pie. This weekend I got a "peel" and some quarry tiles to put on the oven bottom to see if it would give me a better crusted pizza.

I have a dough recipe I really like (Wolfgang Puck) so I made it up and spread it on the peel. I tried to keep it dry and loose so it would slide off.


Alas, my fresh sauce was too runny and I knew as soon as I put it on that it was sogging the dough and it would never slide off the peel. Drats! Two attempts to get it into the oven proved that I was just going to toss the toppings all over the oven, so there I stood with a superhot oven, a dough-y pizza on a huge peel and nowhere to set it! Yikes!


I finally got the peel propped onto the stove and used a spatula to roll the pizza up like a burrito, toppings and all, and unroll it back onto a pan. Pretty messy, but a recovery nonetheless. Daggone sauce.

It did take the peel to get the pie onto the tiles so low, but was pretty easy since the pizza was on a sturdy pan. Hmmm... this could work.




The thing that turned out best was the crust bottom - nice and browned like I wanted.

So it was a good enough tasting pizza, but the dough was too thick, the sauce too runny. I think I can do it better the next time.

cleanup in aisle 2...

Actually, the cleanup was in my back yard this past weekend. I have very big old trees in my yard and the Ash drops branches like crazy. I'll have to have it looked at soon before it does some real damage to my house or my neighbor's, but I came home Friday to find another limb down. Fortunately it fell between the gas lamp and the mosaic pot. Phew!


Another view shows that it went right up onto the back porch, which meant I had to go out the front door and around to have a look at it.


Saturday morning I spent about an hour and a half trimming off all the small branches, cutting them up and bagging them into empty mulch bags. Sunday morning I got out the Gator and made quick work of the large branch. What a tool that is! It only took about 20 minutes and it paid for itself just with this cleanup job. Wow!

And in case you're wondering, it's the Alligator Lopper by Black and Decker. It has really helped me get my yard cleaned up!

zinnias again...

oh, how I love zinnias!!

honestly, there is a special place in my heart for old-fashioned zinnias...

more of the garden

Honestly, I cannot get over my garden this year! Every day I rush home from the job to enjoy it or to work in it and I could not tell you the last time my television was on. And I am seriously neglecting the computer as well! But that is a good thing when the weather is pleasant and your attention is diverted to the outside. Right on schedule, the daylilies are blooming in July...


And I have been anxious to post my new play area for the grandkids. It took some thinking ahead of time and then I was able to install it in a couple days. I moved some large logs from an old firewood pile to create a back "wall" for the play area and then put down a bed of gravel as a base. Along the logs are bins for sand, gravel and various toys that the kids like, all with lids to keep the contents dry. The "floor" of the play area is a large checkerboard made of 6" pavers, half of which were spray-painted black and all laid into the gravel base. Naturally, I had to teach the grands to play checkers (and they aren't all old enough yet to enjoy the game) but they LOVE this play area.


Another view...


I enlisted the kids' help of course, since it IS their play area, to make some signs. I suggested to AJ, the 8 year old, that he might want to make a sign that says "kids only" but he ammended that to say "KIDS and NONNA only" ("Nonna" is me - Italian for "grandmother") as well as "No adults unless invited". Isn't it just perfect??? Oh - and it was his idea to call the area the "PLAZONE". Even though he is only eight, he is into creative spelling and told me that he purposely left the "Y" out of the word "PLAZONE" since it would "read well" with just a "Z". I agree, and even though I do have a degree in design, I think he is WAY ahead of himself at age eight. He also instructed me to attach the signs to the stake at an angle so they would look like they had been made by "real kids". Of course, I did! Makes a Nonna proud!


There really is a path through the wooded part of the yard behind the play area, so Josey made a sign pointing to the Secret Path. She is my little princess and did a wonderful job, don't you think??


And here are a couple more photos of the sitting area. This year I put a glorious hibiscus into the huge mosaic pot and I will try to winter it over when cold weather comes.


And the cobalt blue pots are just delightful. Every evening the solar lights come on at dark and make little glowing spots in the dark. I cannot express how much enjoyment I get from this garden each and every day. If I'm not out in it, I'm looking out the window at it, so I enjoy it from every angle. How fun! Thank you, God, for blessing me in this way!

life in the garden...

This summer, life so far has been all about yardwork for me. After several years of being unable to do my yardwork, I totally delight in spending several hours PER DAY working in the garden. I've been too busy to post here, but will try to catch you up on the local events. First, one of the new gardens I installed this year is the Bird Hotel. Lots o' birdhouses, many adorned with stars, grace my biggest tree - an Ash that I hope will not succumb to the borer that is invading this area. Keep in mind that my garden is an Artist's Garden, not for the finicky type...


Also this year, I put out a few tomato plants and they are doing quite well! Look at these little beauties just waiting to be part of a salad next month!!


This evening there was a very busy butterfly gracing the coneflowers. She did not seem to be shy and so I got a photo of her.


Meanwhile, the hummingbird that generally frequents this feeder was sipping nectar when I sat down with my camera. Alas, my noise scared the little hummer away. He/she is a tiny thing with a ruby throat that I hope to capture on film soon. But this evening I sat and waited and waited and it did not return. Maybe next time...


And this is the absolute ultimate - I have a Chain Saw!! You do not know how amazing this is, but I have purchased this little gem and have been clearing the brush off the back of my property for weeks. What a beast of a tool! Makes a woman proud! And powerful!!! Yeh!!! Don't mess with me, ya hear???

back to sketching

Time to get back to sketching! I can't believe how I cycle through the projects at hand, but I always do and I am no longer going to try to figure out why I do what I do. On again, off again, on again, no matter.

Lately I have been working in the garden like crazy and finally I am wanting to sketch again. I got out last year's garden sketchbook and picked up where I left off. First, a little explanation...


And then an easy sketch of a plant and a couple little birds sitting on a porch table:


This evening I sketched the hummingbird feeder after taking a bunch of photos of the garden. Hopefully I can get some more detailed sketches soon of what's happening in the garden this year.

SP10 Package arrived today!!!

Well, I must say it was very nice to come home from work today and find a package I've been anxiously awaiting just sitting nonchalantly on my porch! My secret pal had let me know it was on the way some time ago so I had been on the watch. You see, I joined this secret pal knitting group and very much enjoyed sending off packages to the young lady I was given to spoil. Only one problem - my original secret pal assigned to me dropped out! And so, after not getting any packages, I reported it and I was given an "angel" secret pal. Now these are pals that do extra duty! They swoop in and rescue those who didn't recieve any gifts because - well, because they are just extra nice knitting pals who care. My angel pal is Karen and I am so tickled with my package from her! Just look at this:

the package has arrived!


Right on top is a card labled "read me" - how fun!! (I feel just like Alice in Wonderland, wondering what will happen next!)


Every message I had from Karen had a lovely knitting image on it and this card did too. I'll have to ask her where she got them!


A lovely note inside. I blurred out the personal stuff just in case...


WOW! Look at that book! It is filled with the lovliest patterns and photos ever! I don't think I would have splurged on it so I doubly appreciate recieving it. I adore books and I can't wait to try something out of this one. The photography is so luscious that I can just pore over the pages while deciding what to try first. The lace is so elegant! And look, too, at the yarns my pal sent me! Gorgeous chenille just begging to be cast on and some Knitpicks Essential that will make a delicious pair of socks. The color is Inca Gold, which is actually a yummy brown and much prettier in person. It will be fun to anticipate picking out a pattern for it.


And then, if that was not enough - a whole skin care package!!! Now I'm a girly-girl from way back and I just love all the personal jams and jellies you can get. Look at all these products! Notice the little jar of capsules you can break open and spread on - each one is a little present. And I am going to break into that bottle of lotion with the suspended beads of vitamin E in it yet tonite!! Even now I have a bath running so that I can gather up the whole collection and play in the tub with them all. That's a big girl's idea of fun!!


Thank you so much Secret Pal Karen - you are very much an angel to volunteer to make sure that an abandoned pal still gets a gift. I am nominating you for BEST PAL and if you don't win it will not be because I don't think you are the very best! I appreciate your kindness and generosity and I thank you for a most pleasant surprise that I will enjoy for a long, long time.

ps - I am going to affix your "read me" card inside the book with an inscription of how I received it so that I always remember where I got that lovely book. Thanks so much again!!

no way I'm MABEL!!

This is totally the weirdest poll I've ever taken. If you can get from "Starr" to "Mabel" in any way, shape or form ~ you are on another planet!! Go take this test and see how far off it is for you!!!

Your Old Fashioned Name Is...

Mabel Saynsberry

What's Your Old Fashioned Name?

catching up...

Well, it might not seem like it, but I have not been a total slacker! Last evening I was catching up on blogs of friends and I was totally shamed that I have not posted much! Really, I am as artistic as ever, but I get so dang distracted and don't keep up with any one thing, including this blog. But honestly, my first love is drawing and sketching and I do still do it from time to time. If I could indulge in one Big Regret, it is that I have not figured out how to have drawing/painting/sketching in my life every day while having to make a real living! UGH!! Does anyone know of someone who needs an apprentice to keep? I'm there!!

So anyway, my favorite program - bar none -is SURVIVOR!! I was so excited for the last season to begin that I copied the logo. That was in February, of course...


I did do one "everyday matters challenge" recently ~~~


Today I was just starved to draw something and picked up the nearest thing to hand...


And I have to say that I did follow the Survivor season and absolutely fell in love with Yau-Man. If only we had more men like this in the world!!

love my grands!

Today, I cannot help but brag on my grands. If you have made it as far as I have in this life, you will know that the grandchildren were worth waiting for! Oh how I love those little guys even if I don't want them with me all the time!! And isn't that the beauty of it?? You get to have them for the best of times and send them home for their pathetic parents to deal with. Ain't it sweet justice?? I am grinning sooooooo big over that!!

Meanwhile, I came home today to a gift! It was cookies made by my five-year-old grandson Colin. He had searched out the recipe himself ~ chocolate butter cookies in the shape of pretzels (with red sprinkles) ~ and his mom helped him make them since he and his older siblings were home sick from school and needed some entertainment. Colin wasn't thrilled with the cookies themselves, but he did bring me a bagful and leave them for me while I was at work today. Naturally he decorated the baggie they are in ~ he wrote his name and drew a picture of me, along with a heart for love. Personally, I think he is a budding Rembrandt and will keep that precious baggie as a remembrance. Then, if he gets famous it will be worth a mint. If not, I can torture him with it, right?? In any case, I love it. I do know that the child is gifted no matter what.


And the cookies were tasty, too! I held off eating any until I photographed them, but then I promptly gobbled down two of the four. Honestly, they were very good! So I called Colin for the recipe, but he is too busy playing outside in the yard to talk to me right now. Hmmmmmmmmm. I guess I can wait for his recipe secrets, but the rest of the cookies will be gone by the time I talk to him again.....

Pickled!

Sometimes even I wonder how I get interested in the things that I do! Of late, it has been making PICKLES! So, between working, yardwork, visiting family, knitting dishcloths and socks, studying Italian and working Sudoku puzzles, I've been researching pickle recipes and shopping for ingredients. Weird, huh??

I'm still experimenting, but I am focusing on FRESH pickles, not canned. I've made some sweet pickles, some authentic dills without vinegar, some kimchee style cabbage with Korean chile powder (whoo boy!!), some carrots that were wayyyy too sweet, some carrots that are just pickles and not sweet, some bok choy, some HOT cauliflower and so on and so on. When I get through the experimental phase I will keep the recipes that I like and go from there.

I do like the idea of Fermented veggies rather than just pickled, but we'll see how that develops. Meanwhile, aren't they gorgeous?? I love how they look just as much as how they taste!

Hmmmm...... should I plant some cukes real soon?????????? I know that they grow and multiply much faster than the grocery store prices would have you believe.......