Yes, Deer

Well, the woods are lush and green now that Spring is in full swing, which makes spotting the deer a wee bit more difficult.
Do you see that female there?

Here, let's zoom in for a closer look...
She seems to like the salt lick a lot.

And there’s not much apple corn left, but she’s nibbling away.

Oh, my, something must’ve startled her; she has her front leg up.
They tend to lift their front legs when they’re a little disturbed.

But, not to worry, apparently it was a false alarm.

Then I decided that I wanted a photo of her face, so I tapped the bedroom window so she’d look up. Shame on me! J

And just for comparison, this is the same view in the wintertime.
See how much better we can spot them then?

Again, here it is with the woods in their grand greenery-ness. (?) It's not exactly the same camera angle, but you get the idea.

Getting to watch the deer is just another reason
that I feel like such a Lucky Dog!!  :)  TGIF everybody!!!!!

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

(p.s. You can click on any of the photos for a larger view.)

Quote o' the Day

"Money can't buy happiness,

but it sure makes misery easier to live with."

-- Unknown

Workshop Weekend

Well, I am coming down from my high, catching up on my sleep, and basically, slowly recovering from a jam-packed fabulously fun weekend….!!!  :)

It began with a Sunday School party on Friday night: a potluck with a Mexican theme. Talk about good food. Wow. And good Mexican food. I made my corn-avocado salsa that I copied from Café 501’s Santa Fe sandwich.

Yup. Good food, good friends, and good times.

Then on Saturday and Sunday, I attended a 2-day workshop taught by Linda Schneider. Linda is from Spokane, Washington and came to teach our calligraphy guild a workshop on “Ornate Pictorial Calligraphy”.

It was so much fun! Some of it even piggy-backed on the Zentangles program from the other month, so how perfect is that? And the material we learned on Sunday was even cooler, because we used a pointed pen, with all of the grace of its thicks and thins.

Here is a sample of what I did on Saturday with Micron markers:

And this is from Sunday, working with the pointed pen:

(Practicing these Christmas trees really helps!)

And isn’t that a cute little dress, just in time for Prom?

I have yet to try Saturday’s content with the pointed pen, but I think that will be the next experiment for Studio Time. (!)

And then last night was our regular monthly guild meeting, and Linda also graciously agreed to give the program. She gave a mini-version of some of the material from Saturday, especially Saturday morning--which was particularly handy for me, since I had missed it!

Yes, you see, for the first time ever, I overslept and was late for the workshop on Saturday morning. Horrors!! I set the alarm right (a.m., not p.m., or the usual mistakes), and the best we can figure is that I actually slept right through the alarm.

I never sleep well during a workshop (from all the excitement), but good grief, I’ve never been late to one!! Mr. Engineer-Man checked it out, and said the alarm actually only beeps for 60 seconds, so the best we can figure is that I must’ve finally gotten in some good sleep phase and just didn’t hear it.

Obviously I set 2 alarms for Sunday morning! Ironically, though, I didn’t need either one of them, because I woke up almost every 30 minutes during the night, wondering what time it was, hoping I hadn’t overslept again. Sigh and aarrgghh!

Thank goodness, I am used to feeling like sludge at a workshop, because I definitely had sludge for brains. Fortunately, there’s always enough chocolate and caffeine at workshops to get me through! Haha

You know, there’s a reason I’ve been a Workshop Junkie for 30 years… Workshops are so special.

They are a slice of set-aside time, spent with precious people of like minds, meeting new friends and bonding closer with old, studying and learning something new, and having the opportunity to put aside your real life for 2 days and enjoy being in a wonderful atmosphere of creativity and growth. It’s fabulous. I love it every time, regardless of the subject matter, and despite a lack of sleep!

And this workshop was no different... It was magic!!!

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Sunday Scripture

Psalm 40 verse 5

Many, O Lord my God,

are the wonders which Thou hast done,

and Thy thoughts toward us;

there is none to compare with Thee;

if I would declare and speak of them,

they would be too numerous to count.

Updates. StarDate 201004.23

#1. Well, Roly-Poly and Gimpy must be doing okay, but there has been a strange absence of raccoons lately.  :(  The food is gone in the morning, so someone’s eating it... But all we’ve seen lately are skunks and possums. Boo. Where are those cRaZy raccoons?!? Don’t they know we put the food out for them??

#2. I finally finished the scarf for my nephew and am slowly working on my silver triangle shawl.

But I can’t knit much because…

#3. My tennis elbow is still not very happy. And the doc wasn’t so helpful. Unfortunately, it gets a little better and then I use it (duh), but then apparently overuse it, and am now in a vicious cycle. Aarrrggh.

This week I’m trying something new: heat.

My good ol’ rice sock buddy that got me through the winter (see January 6 post) has yet another use. I zap it, and since it’s so floppy from tons of use, I’m able to wrap it around the elbow area to warm it.

And so far, my elbow has really responded well to it. I am hoping that this is real progress. That would be so wonderful! But that’s kinda weird, because most things on the Internet were saying to ice it, and I thought that would be good, too, because that’s what helps my back so much. But it just wasn’t helping like before, and somehow I got the notion to use heat instead.

Once I did and my elbow seemed to love it, I googled “tennis elbow” and heat, and got some hits that indicated that the elbow area doesn’t normally get much blood flow. So the heat helps get more blood flow to it and helps it heal. Sounds logical to me. Hopefully this will do the trick, because I’m really sick and tired of not being able to do normal things, like pick up a mug of coffee. Oy. I mean, it’s Spring, for cryin’ out loud, and I need to be out there weeding and planting flowers! Double-oy.

#4. Life with the little dog continues to be Heaven-on-Earth. ♥  The kennel cough has cleared up and we have one happy dog! One thing that is especially nice is, he doesn’t seem to have issues with a collapsing trachea, like our other Pom did. What that translates to is, he can lie on his back without choking, and thus wriggle on his back in utter bliss. Such happiness!! It makes me smile just to think about it! 

It also means that I can get photos like this:

It’s too bad that he can’t just relax and enjoy himself, isn’t it?? Hahaha

And

#5. The highlight of the week was the afternoon that Mr. Man and I went to the annual local art show downtown. We had the best time ever. The weather was nice and cool, the art was fabulous, and we even splurged and split a funnel cake.

In fact, Mr. Man told the guy that we wanted it piping hot, right out of the grease... so hot that it would burn us. Hahaha Ya know, a lot of times those vendors want to fry ‘em ahead of time and give you a cold one. Ha! That’s not even worth the calories!! So, sure ‘nuff, it was too hot to even pull apart--just perfect. And I even choked on the powdered sugar!  Good times. ♥

And… we even made a few art purchases. (!) One of them is a gold pottery plate with inset dichroic glass made by our friend, Ed Taylor. Ed is an artist who learned some pottery techniques from a Canadian friend of ours, who used to snowbird in Texas. It’s so nice to have a connection with the artists and the art that we collect, and this is actually the third piece that we have purchased from Ed. This latest piece has transformed my “rustic” hearth into something a bit more colorful for my tastes, and I couldn’t be happier.

Here’s hoping that all the artists sell tons of pieces at the art show and make enough money so that they can continue to create their art for years and years to come. ♥

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Quote o' the Day

"Forgiveness is giving up the hope for a better past."

--John McDougall

Photo Op

Three lucky dogs together in one photo!!! J

Yesterday we took a little time out for some family portraits. (!)

This is a rare event. I hate having my photo taken, because I am so UN-photogenic, (thank heavens for digital cameras--with unlimited shots maybe I have a chance for one to be okay!), and we don’t usually get out the tripod so that we can both be in the picture, just because of the extra hassle.

Plus, I'm usually the photographer of the family, so a photo of Mr. Man and me together is most unusual. So, like I said, this turned out to be a red-letter day! Who knew?

But the woods have leafed out beautifully, and they’re still that fresh green of Spring. Later in Summer, they get deeper, more emerald green, but today the woods seemed like a perfect backdrop for some pix with our new little doglet on our new deck.

Man, it’s hard to get a photo where all 3 of us looked okay! Like I said, thank heavens for digital cameras and the delete button!

And for some reason, Mr. Furball seemed a wee bit nervous the whole time. Like we were gonna drop him over the side or something. Very odd. So getting a shot where he looked like his normal happy self wasn’t gonna happen... But he looks soft and cuddly enough, which he definitely is.  :)

(The cats gracefully declined to be included…)

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Quote o' the Day

“What if the only real failure
is the failure to play with all your heart?”

– Michael J. Gelb

Sunday Scripture

Isaiah 55 verse 9

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are My ways higher than your ways
and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Fun Squared

So here is the other square piece that I have made.
It’s from last Friday, a week ago…

(Can you tell I’m hooked on making these?)  :)

(I have to get my fill of things before I move on! Haha) (We do the same thing with a new restaurant. We OD on it at first, and then put it into the mix.)

So, when Mr. Man saw my blog yesterday, he assumed that I had posted the one from a week ago, and he thought, “those colors sure came out wrong!” Ha!

You see, I am FOREVER whining to him about not being able to get the colors right on these things. Rarely do I photograph or scan a piece that it comes out looking just like it does in person. It is the bane of my art+computer existence. And I am so clueless, I don’t know how to fix it. I am not a PhotoShop wiz. I don’t even own PhotoShop.

The “Trust Your Journey” piece that I posted a while back? It’s not purple and yellow in real life. It’s magenta and yellow. But, truth be told, I actually like the computer-version of that one better! Haha At least some times there’s an Up side to this mess! J

But most of the time, something blue comes out purple, or something purple comes out blue… It’s a little maddening, and the poor man hears ALL about it.

Apparently, so much so, that when he checked my blog yesterday, he just figured that the colors came out wrong again, not even noticing that was a whole new piece.

Now, I don’t know how he could’ve thought that...

After all, it’s not like the other piece at all! J This one is a Bible verse and it’s done with a pointed pen. Hellooooo! Hahaha

(And I thought only calligraphers didn’t read calligraphy pieces!!)

To more and more squares…

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Friday Fun

I got to play a little bit after finishing my OP homework today and decided to explore the Square Theme some more.  :)

Using a Post-It note as a mask, I taped off the square with drafting tape. Then I filled in the square with pastels, removed the tape, and wrote the alphabet around the perimeter.

I used a white charcoal pencil and wrote in my fun voluptuous cursive style that I developed last year.

While this may not be an earth-shattering piece, I think it opens up some good possibilities to explore in the future. (!)

I like the square motif... I like the lettering going around the edges... And I always love the colors on black--you know me! Haha

Plus, it was just a little bit of fun after the hard work of OP capitals and ligatures!!

TGIF, everybody!!!!!!!!!!

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Quote o' the Day

"Color gets all the credit, but value does all the work."

-- Unknown

Strike a Pose

Not to be outdone by the new dog, Lover Boy is now posing for the camera! ♥ Cute, cute, cute!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog
♥

Quote o' the Day

"To feel rich,
count the things that you have that money can't buy."

-- Unknown

Zentangles

I can’t believe I’m just now blogging about Zentangles! We had a program at our calligraphy guild meeting month before last, and we have had more fun learning how to make these!

Zentangles are sort of like doodling, although its creators, Rick and Maria, would probably be a little horrified at such a simplistic explanation. This method, though, is a little more structured than mindless doodling, with a lot more emphasis on its meditative aspect. (The “zen” part of Zentangles.)

There is an official website, and they have a blog, a kit, and lots of archived newsletters with instructions for new “tangles”, AKA patterns. www.zentangle.com

They embrace a philosophy of creation, deliberateness, and possibilities. (Their website says it better than I can!)

In fact, the whole process is one of multiple small strokes that result in a complicated look. So their logo or motto is:

The elements are simple and very easy for everyone. Kids and adults alike enjoy the focused process, and you don’t have to be an artist-type at all. After all, most people enjoy some form of doodling naturally.

Here are two of my latest Zentangle creations. I have also tried shading them with a Tria marker instead of a pencil, and have really enjoyed the look. It’s kinda more contemporary than shading with a pencil, but I like to do both.

There are lots of blogs on the Internet that feature zentangles, if you’re interested, and they’re easy to “google” and find. But none (to me) compare with the beauties that Maria posts on their official blog. I just love seeing hers--they’re so 3-D and organic.

http://zentangle.blogspot.com/

ANYway, so there’s another thing to get addicted to.
I mean, enjoy. Ha-ha!

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Sunday Scripture

Psalm 116 verse 15

Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of His godly ones.

Pix of Springtime

Does it get any better than this??

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Quote o' the Day

"Be with those who help your being."

-- Rumi

Hidden Treasures

Well, we’ve had the little dog a little over a week now, and it has been a most wonderful week indeed.

(Good grief, why did we wait a year to get another dog??
Haha Oh well.)

So we have been enjoying getting to know this little dog, and getting him used to our life and routines, while learning his. For example, he loves to go up to the Studio with me and he takes naps while I work/play, and he loves sleeping on the big bed with me while I read and work on my laptop.

But he doesn’t seem to like being walked on a leash, and doesn’t much care for being out on the deck like I would imagine a dog would. Odd.

Well, who knows… Maybe he was at a breeder who kept them in cages. I have no idea what his first 7 years were like. They must have been pretty good, though, because he is extremely loving and sweet.

I’m afraid we constantly compare him to the Pom that we had for 14 years, noticing similarities and differences--we just can’t help it. And the this little dog is so much like our other dog that sometimes it’s like looking at a ghost. It’s just about too good to be true, for which we are very grateful. Adopting a 7 year old rescue dog is a gamble, to say the least. And so far, it has been a joy.

Oh, not that there haven’t been some challenges, too. The poor thing apparently contracted kennel cough last week, so he has been coughing and hacking all week long. It’s been so hard to listen to. I can only imagine how sore his little ribcage must be! But I took him to our vet and he’s on meds, so hopefully that will clear up soon.

But he does the cutest thing that our other dog did not:
he hides his toys in corners. (!)

For some strange reason, I have a slew of cat and dog toys collected over the years. Really, a whole basket full. And for the most part, the cats don't play with many of them, but to this little dog, he has found the mother lode!  :)

Anyway, I gave the dog a little faux-fur toy shaped like a bone (hopefully it’s a dog toy), and he walked off with it in his mouth and promptly went and deposited it in a corner of the room.

(This green mouse is a cat toy. I hope the cats don't mind dual custody!)

Well, I thought that was cute, but just a one-time thing. But then later I started finding other toys in other corners.  :)  And today, he took his little pig ear chewy thing and, instead of chewing on it, he took it to a corner of the Studio and put it down and then I heard digging noises on the carpet. I guess he thought he was burying it! Haha I didn’t know dogs did this! How funny!

Anyway, it’s just so cute I can hardly stand it. I wish I had a video to share. Pix will have to do for now.

I guess I will be finding lost toys and chewies for years now…  :)

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Happy Resurrection Day!

And the angels said,
"Why are you looking for the Living One
in a cemetery? He is not here, but has risen."

Luke 24 verses 5 and 6

Happy Easter, everybody!!

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Quote o' the Day

“How far would Moses have gone
if he had taken a poll in Egypt?”

-- Harry Truman