Lawd, have mercy!

Watch out...

your dinner plans might be rearranged!

This lady demonstrates that she may be on the menu rather than the crabs she intends to boil! For a granny- she's really quick on her toes! And, the German Shepherd is trying his best to help her corral the little buggars!

Dog Days of Summer... a whole 'nother perspective

I have two sick dogs.

A new one we captured a week ago and a very old one.

Wednesday evening Mr Wrigley (13) awoke from a nap and at first I feared a stroke. Turns out he has an inner ear infection and the whole world is spinning- we could tell that by the way his eyes darted everywhere. Our friendly veterinarian Dr W- diagnosed it over the phone that night and recommended Meclazine (thanks Mae for supplying it at 10 o'clock at night) and said he'd see us in the morning.

The same day he got sick, Lil' Miss Reddie had trouble adjusting to the new diet and required extra walks. To make matters worse, one of the medication for inner-ear is steroids (which makes him very thirsty) and we have to take twice as many walks. For an old crippled dog- this is getting more and more difficult. Have you ever tried to walk a drunk home on 2 legs? Try 4! It ain't so easy and at first we did a lot of donuts cuz everything in his perspective is turning towards the right. UGH. That first night was awful, to say the least. I have never had more bugs bites or less sleep, even when we camped all the time.

Socially, Miss Reddie has very much attached herself to Wrigs, though- and he rests better with her nearby and she enjoys the companionship. Right after we got the shots- Byron (drove into work late so he could help us) suggested we take him to my parents house as they have a really nice paved kennel in their garden. That worked pretty well; Mom, Dad, Sandy-dawg, Reddie and I all played nursemaid. I set up the hammock (that friend, Lynette, gave us last year), next to the pen and we all enjoyed the breeze. All things work together for good, eh?

Last night- both dogs slept comfortably and I slept like the dead! This morning- they are both laying in our front yard enjoying the cool. Tabby Tom loves to keep them company and frequently noses each one of them, just as if to say "I'm glad you're home in my garden".

Later this morning, I'll go and check on Mae (I rearranged her apartment this week) and make sure she's still satisfied. I'll probably have to drag the hammock home- so I can relax outside with the dogs and the bullfrogs in the salt-pot on my patio. But- Dad will have to drive over and check on us... He serves the best lemonade to his garden guests... and he spikes it, too! YUM!

The Greatest Show on Earth

and it wasn't a circus!!

Au contraire! It was a BLAST!!

The best part?? People showed up! Real, actual warm-blooded human people! Yippee!!

Of course... I'd begged several. I did feel like I'd imposed on some hot Summer afternoon plans (lemonade and surf, perhaps?) but made the deal sweeter with a table of goodies! So- begging is good, right? Right! Besides... you have to experience art sometimes!!

Oh. Yes. The pictures!! I knew you'd want to see them!! Thanks for asking!

The group photo is of most of our paper-making class. (R-L) front row: Cara Wilsey, Ed Martin (former HSU Art professor and paper guru) and Becky Kight. Back row: Sally Dixon, Laura Larsen, Morgan McMurray, Victoria Walsden and our instructor, David Stoddard.

2nd pic- MIL, Linda, me & friend, Diane.

3rd pic - my Mom, Cindy K and me examining one of my paper dresses.

4th pic - Mom & Me cheezing it up!

Lastly- my BFF, Kim, me and Joanie!

On With the Show!

Summer school and activities are a little bit (well, much more!) informal.

Yesterday the invitations went out.

Today is the Official Opening and Reception.

Today. Wednesday, June 25th. (Note to Mom- no, I was not responsible for getting out the invites this time!)

Since we'd not heard anything- I figured we'd be doing it on Friday. Oh, well. Today it is. Not enough time to get an appointment at the salon or get a much needed manicure. Like I would have done that anyway?

But, I forgot to even tell B about it! He was already asleep and dead to the world when I got the message last night. Oh, well.

I don't really expect it to be a big affair anyway- it's Summertime. In the great big scheme of things, this is probably to my advantage. It's not a big deal (to any but those of us in the class!).

So... on with the show.

Pulp Couture

These photos are from the 2nd week of papermaking studio.

I had been all prepared to enjoy pulling paper with moulds and deckle for the more traditional (flat) compositions that I'm accustomed to making. Then, he wanted some 3-D pieces and suggested molds or casts. I experimented with a few flower molds and kept racking my brain for something to cast.

Finally- it hit me! Kim's wire dress form has had my intrigue ever since she purchased it, to be honest- I've wanted one ever since!

Now, how to get the dress to stay on there and come out of the form? Well- why not a half dress? The first day molding went well and it only took one day to dry. Day two was spent with more experimentation and the overbeaten abaca moulded a little thicker seems to work better. Seeing retired instructor, Ed Martin's, studio and his methods and meticulous documentation of each project makes me realize I need to document more indepth.

Mid-day, I realize I want to do this project as my series but will need more forms. Called Kim and she knew just where to find them at Hobby Lobby, and it was my lucky day since they were on clearance! I loved the differences in sizes and shapes that she found.

The first two are the dresses in progress. The third photo is the dresses drying. And, the fourth photo is a mounted piece.

What a surprise to discover that I really did enjoy the 3-D process and now look forward to sculpting and ceramics when it's time for those classes.