a bit of an explanation...

If you looked at the writing on the journal pages in my last post closely, you may have seen that I wrote a good bit about someone being sick (good eyesight, Mom!). So I thought I'd better explain: Prescott was sick last week, and it was a bit of a rough couple days. (He's better now, thank goodness.)

Last Monday evening, he started favoring one of his hind legs, and that progressed over the next couple days to being so stiff and sore (? we're assuming, anyway) that by Wednesday, he wouldn't really walk at all, which was quite worrying! I carried him down the stairs and to his bed where he rested all day till I could get him to the vet. He just laid there, snuffling with a runny nose, and generally looking pathetic:

here he is, looking pathetic, with a 104.5 fever...
(fyi, a dog's normal temp can go up to 102.5)

I got him to the vet's office where he looked pathetic for Dr. V. and tried to hide behind the exam room chair (not his usual behavior, at all). The vet prescribed an anti-inflammatory steroid and a painkiller to help reduce the pain in his joints, and took some blood for a battery of tests. 

She thought it might be Valley Fever (a fungal infection that's endemic to this area; it lives in the soil and is usually asymptomatic) or tick fever (a bacterial blood infection that can be carried by dog ticks), but those both came back negative (thank goodness!!) and by today, he's almost his old self again...  

almost back to normal!

He doesn't have quite the energy necessary to keep up with Bisbee just yet, but everything else seems normal enough. We don't know what exactly happened to him, but hopefully it was some sort of a weird fluke and once we wean him off the steroid he'll stay his chipper, energetic self! (Like I wrote on one of those journal pages, 'it would be nice if we could all just be healthy for a while!') 

And now, a totally random photo: part of my snowman collection, decorating the niche in the hallway. Ariel keeps trying to jump up here and mess with them, so Tom had to arrange them across the front of the shelf as a barricade to stop her- lol!! (so far it hasn't really worked, either... she's such a stinker!)

NSD 2012 (3rd installment)

And now, for something totally different... I switch gears from vintage inspired heirloom possessions to bright colors and doodling! 

but first: my Mom did say she remembers at least trying to make cookies with the springerle rolling pin... "They could have been used for building brick though. Anise flavored and very hard, at least the ones we tried were." (And that's why I only use the rolling pin as a decoration- lol!) Although it might be interesting to try as an experiment. I think I read somewhere that springerle cookies were sometimes used as Christmas tree ornaments; I guess if that's the case, it wouldn't matter if they were hard or not.  

So, now, back to the scrapbook pages. All weekend long, the scrapbooking website Two Peas in a Bucket- yes, I know- don't ask me where the name comes from; that's just what they call it, lol!!  Anyway, all weekend long they hosted special events and challenges for National Scrapbooking Day on their message boards. My "Fresh" layout fit the criteria for one of the challenges (altering the chipboard dresses and and the picket fence), and I wanted to complete some more of the challenges.  This layout meets the criteria for 'bright colors,' don't you think??

I showed these photos on the blog before, but I hadn't scrapbooked them yet. I know they're not technically 'good' photos, since they're blurry, but I think the blurriness capture the feeling of movement I really wanted to use them to record the memory of Bisbee and Prescott having such a good time playing in the backyard. This layout was made for the challenge 'Bright Colors' and I think it delivers. It's a double-page layout (meaning the pages will stay together like this in my album) made up of one 6x12 page that holds the long, epic title, and the 12x12 page that holds the photographs. The paper is from the American Crafts Amy Tan Sketchbook collection, and it works perfectly for the fun, playful feeling I was going for with these pages. It has multicolored watercolor-look backgrounds, coupled with black or white doodling, and a very hand-drawn feel. I got this paper in a variety pack purchased at the most recent scrapbook store yard sale, I think-I would never have bought this paper on my own, but I quite like how it turned out here.  

The long, epic title on the lefthand page was all done to be tongue-in-cheek; this is not a 'serious' scrapbook layout at all. The title was made using my vintage typewriter, and practically every set of small letter stickers I own, along with a couple mini alpha stamp sets, with teal blue, cactus green, mustard, orange, and black ink. It took about 2 1/2 hours to actually do (why do I do that to myself?!? lol!) but I really like how it turned out.

The journaling/title reads: "Throughout history, there have been stories of pursuit- epic tales of glory, thrilling tales of the hunter and the hunted... Aesop's Fox and the Grapes; Jason and the Golden Fleece; Sylvester and Tweety Bird; Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner. and now, there is: Prescott and Bisbee"  haha!! They spend sooo much time chasing each other, running crazily around and around the backyard, and every once in a while, one will 'let' the other one win. (except Bisbee cheats sometimes; she hides behind things, or plops herself down on the grass, to get a break and catch her breath- lol!!)

I added in a couple strips of another patterned paper (the hearts) to bridge both pages, but other than that, I didn't really add anything (didn't need to!) This is one of those layouts I'm really glad I have completed, and I'm sure I'll be glad to look back on it once it's in my album.

One last layout I started on Sunday afternoon, before I had to pack up all my crap stuff and head back home. Another one for the 'bright colors' challenge at the 2peas website! This layout also fit the criteria for a 'chevron' challenge as well, (the huge blue floral chevrons I added next to the title) and a third one called 'the final stretch' since I've had these photos printed for months, and never got around to actually doing anything with them.  The photos are from my trip last year to Artfest, and don't fit any theme or anything, so I felt pretty comfortable just choosing random paper and colors to put with them. (some people might think the paper overwhelms the photos, and yeah, maybe it does from a purely 'design' standpoint, but I really like the fact that the paper and mood captures the fun, and the visual 'overload' that was a big part of Artfest for me.)

I spent a ton of time on these chevrons, too- way too long, actually! I thought it would be easy to just hand-cut chevrons, but I should have known better, since I've always been 'math challenged' with stuff like this. I started trying to just mark them out with a pencil and ruler, but I kept getting the angles wrong. I finally resorted to googling 'chevron images' from the internet and tracing one that I thought would work. Even then, something looked wrong about them when I cut them out! By that point, actually, I think ANYthing I did was going to look wrong... so, I stuck them down and called it good. I finished up the journaling and white pen doodling when I got home. (just couldn't let National Scrapbooking go that easily, I guess- lol!! Actually, 2peas is leaving their challenges open through May 13th, so I have another layout in process- right now it's on the dining room table!) 

still here! a photo post--

yup, we're still here, and still doing stuff- I just haven't done anything with my photos lately! (I'm actually embarrassed to say that most of my recent pictures are still hanging out on the camera...) But, here are a few of them that I did rescue from photo cyber-purgatory!!

we took all three dogs to the groomers a month or so ago; no way are we patient enough to deal with all that hair!! Melissa and her staff at Puppy Love Pet Stylist always do a great job with them- Doesn't Krista look happy?? (Bisbee and Prescott are probably thinking, "come on, let's get home- it's dinnertime!")

a cool-looking early evening sky (the colors were much more vivid in real life)

everyone waiting at the door- must be dinnertime!!

Prescott's "olyphant" toy hanging out at the top of the stairs, waiting for him to come back.

"unpacking Christmas" from the coat closet. (I'll post some pics of the decorations, too!)

yesterday afternoon we went out for lunch, then attended a performance of Handel's Messiah given by the Scottsdale Choral Artists and Scottsdale Arts Orchestra. [The performance venue was a (large) Lutheran church-- notice all the organ pipes in the background? We didn't get to hear the organ yesterday, but I would definitely love to- it's one of the largest church organs in the state, and has over 5,000 pipes!]

when did this happen??

it seems like just yesterday we brought home this little ball of fur...

And now he's 13 months old already!! (and still growing into his legs and ears- lol!!) He's still really gangly and clumsy (and he's huge for a Sheltie), but once he finishes growing in his coat-- which could take a couple years-- he will be an absolutely beautiful dog. (Not that he's not now, you understand; he just looks a bit "unbalanced" with that big mane of hair and a "still un-Sheltie-like" look to his body.) this side-long look says, "enough posing; throw the darn frisbee, already!!" He is the master of the side-long look, that's for sure.

Three.

Three. Three is the number of Shelties we have now.

(Well, since yesterday, anyway.)

L-R: Bisbee, Krista, and Prescott, waiting to come inside.

This is Krista. She is about four years old, and is the sweetest-tempered, most docile dog I think I have ever met.

She was a show dog, so she's very attentive, and very smart-- it only took her two tries to get the hang of going up and down the stairs. Next up: teaching her to pee in the gravel instead of on the grass.

beauty shop for dogs (warning; lots of cute pet pictures ahead!)

this first picture was from last weekend; I was laying down watching TV, and Ariel decided she wanted to lay down too... now if I could only get her to walk on it when my back hurts!

Prescott, being cute: he loves chewing; he demolishes rawhide chews very quickly which can upset his stomach, so most of the time he has to content himself with rope toys.

Bisbee, just being her happy self!

those were the before photos, by the way-- today, both of them went to the doggy beauty parlor for a day of beauty! well, three hours of beauty, anyway. We give them baths, but we don't have the skills (or the patience- lol!!) to do a good grooming, since their hair is sooo long. This is one of those things that's worth paying for, at least in our opinion, with long-haired dogs. The place we go to is here in town, so it's very convenient-- the Puppy Pet Stylist. Melissa (the owner) loves them (apparently they're very well-behaved; too bad they aren't always like that at home!!), and when I got there to pick them up, she said, "do I have to give them back??" Prescott was ready to come home-- they were pretty excited after not seeing me for a couple hours; maybe he thought I left them?? never!!

this is an after beauty shot. Their hair is so soft and silky after having a bath and blow-dry at he groomers; too bad it won't last! Butters approves, apparently (or maybe she just thinks they smell funny?!?)

Prescott didn't like the bandana, so I thought I'd see what Bisbee thought of it-- whaddya think: is there a future for her as Little Polka Dot Riding Hood?? (she is sooo patient, in letting us to do things like this to her!)

Ariel, on the other hand, wasn't too impressed with their new hairdos: well, I can't put it off any longer- I'm off to finish the laundry, now that I've given you an extra-large dose of cuteness!

random weekend pics

busy as a...

(well, I haven't been, really-- the bees have been very busy in the prickly pear, though.)

Ariel, sunbathing ... I'm sure Butters was curled up somewhere napping, too, but I don't know where.

Prescott: what did I do? (I'm not sure, but probably something!!) Bisbee, relaxing on the tile till dinnertime.

these last two pics are of a card I made for a co-worker whose last day at work was Friday. It was sad to see her go, but we'll keep in touch.

closeup of the butterfly punches-- this card was very simply made with two different Martha Stewart punches: one makes the bigger butterfly, and the other makes the medium and the small ones.

(I love butterflies-- can you tell??)

I hope everyone had a good weekend, whether you spent it sunbathing, working, or relaxing!

random wrapup

the camera had so many pictures on it that the memory card was almost full, so I had to do some photo editing and organizing. So, here are a few random photos to start off the weekend... Butters and Tom relaxing on the couch in the evening. Now that it's chillier outside, the cats are a bit friendlier and enjoy snuggling, something they wouldn't do during the summer.

The perfect cigar ash... you know it's a good cigar when the ashes hold together this well! The late afternoons are cool enough now to relax on the patio, finally. We don't often have time to do it, unfortunately.

Playing puppies-- they look so vicious, don't they?? Every once in a while someone yips like they're actually hurt, but I think all that fur is a good insulator to avoid injury. I'm so glad that Sedona and Bisbee can keep each other entertained! (although we still do plenty of playing with their toys, too...)

A beautiful pink and peach sunset reflected in my side mirror a few weeks ago... the skies here turn such amazing colors sometimes, it's almost unbelievable.

A photo from over the summer at Tom's family reunion-- one of the traditions is enjoying (I say that loosely!) limburger cheese. In this picture, Tom's grandma and his dad's cousin Ron are offering us some. I did try it last year, and it was better than I thought it would be (this year, not so much... this time, I couldn't get past the smell). Have a good weekend, and stay tuned for more randomness coming soon!

who knew, continued... (a bit of a rant)

who knew that canine dentists would be soooo very expensive?!? I took a personal day off work yesterday to drive Bisbee up to Scottsdale to the dental specialist our vet recommended. We waited about 30 minutes till we got in to see him; he looked at her mouth, asked a couple questions, then proceeded to tell me he would need to clean her teeth and take x-rays before he could tell exactly what was wrong... and that this all would require general anaesthesia, and that it would cost over $900!! (Mind you, that expense is all before diagnosing whether she really has a cracked tooth, and then add to that whatever it would cost to fix whatever might or might not be wrong!)

I'm actually pretty miffed that they didn't tell me when I called to make the appointment that all those costs would need to be incurred before diagnosing anything (and believe me, I did ask). And when I said "I can't afford that," he proceeded to (maybe innocently enough) make me feel guilty about not being able to afford it! (read the following in a placating tone of voice) "Now, I'm only trying to help your doggie, after all..." and "well, how much did you expect it to cost?" Not that much, that's for sure!!! Don't get me wrong, we love our pets, and I would do a lot for them, but we certainly don't have that kind of money, even without the awful state of the economy right now... I wish we had endless funds to spend, but really, who has that kind of money?!?

So, we came back home, I brushed both dogs' teeth (they like the beef-flavored toothpaste a lot), no more super-huge rawhide bones for either dog, and we'll keep an eye on her to see if it gets worse... if so, we'll go back to our regular vet and go from there.

On a totally different subject, we're halfway thru another marathon of Deadwood episodes- we're into season two, and waiting to find out how the annexation of the town to the Dakota territory will turn out. Seems the politicians are only in it for the money, and there's opportunists coming into town to capitalize on the political unrest... not so different in the late 1800s as what goes on today, I guess, just with less bathing, and (maybe) more whiskey!

who knew???

who knew there were animal dental specialists, and that a dog could chip its tooth by chewing on a rawhide bone?? It just defies explanation... but, Bisbee is going to the doggy dentist tomorrow, to have a chip on one of her upper canine teeth looked at. We have no idea how it happened; she could have banged her head on the coffee table playing with Sedona, or chipped it on one of those infernal pieces of gravel she's always trying to eat. Hopefully it's nothing too terribly serious (or too expensive- did you know they can do root canals and crowns on dogs?!? I've been reading lots of canine dental info on the web, and it's making me a bit nervous about what to believe.

She has lots of years of chewing ahead of her (just no more ice cubes or big, honking huge chew bones, to be on the safe side--), so cross your fingers that it's something minor.

on the other hand, during all that surfing, I did find an interesting blog- Your Pet's Best Friend- (written by a vet) : check it out here.

random photos from the past week or so

fun mail earlier this week from my sister Jackie... Our Lady of Guadalupe dishtowel, embroidered on a flour sack towel by my Mom... cool embroidery pattern by Sublime Stitching!

The planet Venus, taken by Tom with our regular digital camera. Taken earlier today thru the telescope in our backyard. Venus has been extraordinarily bright the last few weeks in the early evening and into the night, but it's actually so bright that it can be seen during the day, too... pretty cool, considering Venus is actually 25 million miles away when it's closest to Earth!!

Bisbee's newest trick, "Shake." It's hard to believe she's going to be a year old next month!!

Sedona and Bisbee, actually sharing the chair for a few moments. This is a rare occurrence, since usually when they get close to each other, they end up wrestling and chasing each other thru the house.

thankful 2008

okay, so this is a Thanksgiving weekend post, not a Thanksgiving Day post, but I'm still just as thankful...

for my family- for my Thomas (I can't put it into words without sounding sappy, so I won't even try); for the furry companions we share our lives with, both canine and feline; for my family members all across the midwest (even though we don't get together very often any more); for my friends, both new and old... companionship of all sorts makes this journey through life sooo much more interesting!

(Bisbee is sacked out on the couch next to Tom... she's the funniest dog ever!) Sedona, patiently waiting for me to take her picture, so she could get up... I never knew I was a "dog person" before we got her; I'd only ever thought I was a cat person, but dogs are so much more sociable than cats... one's not better than the other, it's just different. Plus it's just a riot, watching Sedona and Bisbee play together (there's no way I could get pictures of that, though, so you'll just have to trust that it's hilarious)!

I'm thankful that we have a comfortable home, decent jobs, medical benefits, and the means to have the things we like in order to to be comfortable... (this is the "Before" picture of our Thanksgiving Day spread, which included roast duck, a wonderful bottle of Shiraz wine, sweet potato casserole, a relish tray, and homemade bread). I'm also thankful we live in such a beautiful (although seemingly inhospitable) part of the country, and that I have a chance to see Nature's majesty every day when I drive through the desert.

I'm thankful that I have a creative personality, and an outlet for all the ideas that float around in my head... every once in a while I talk to people who have pursuits that aren't creative/artistic at all, and they give me a weird look when I tell them that I like to spend my time painting, cutting, and pasting. I can't imagine NOT being like this!!

(I'm also thankful that both our employers gave us a 4-day weekend, and that we don't have to get up early tomorrow!)

weekend snuggling and "Snuggies"

our weekend was full of snuggling and Snuggies, so I thought I'd share some pics with you! It's hard to think that we've already had Pandora and Butters for just over a year... I am still amazed at how we got them- as easy as: walk into the pet store to look at dog toys, and walk out with two kittens! I guess it really is true that the Universe gives you what you need when you need it, because it was just about a month after we got them that we had to put Cleo to sleep... I think it was time for her to join Phoebe over the Rainbow Bridge- she was lonely the last year without Phoebe, and the dogs were just too energetic for her. Pandora and Butters, on the other hand, give as good as they get when it comes to the dogs. It always makes me laugh when the dog chases the cat thru the family room, they disappear into the living room, then come back, but on the return trip the cat is chasing the dog!! These pictures are somewhat deceptive; Pandora and Butters are ultra-cute and cuddly here, but they can be terrors when they want to be!! I have to keep the door to the art studio closed, otherwise you never know what will happen- Pandora lives up to her name; paintbrushes end up where you least expect them, pencils get shot around the floor like hockey pucks, and corners of paper, magazines, and books get chewed on until I bribe them with kitty treats, which is what they want. (like Tom says, they're pretty smart for something with a brain the size of a marble! And yet, they don't come when you call- why is that?? I know, I know, it's because they're cats...)

In order to "get" the pictures below, you have to first visit this website, the As-Seen-On-TV home of "the blanket with sleeves." It's one of those short info-mercial type things we've been seeing on TV lately. It's sort of ridiculous; buy a "Snuggie" and get a mini book light, free with purchase!! That was really hilarious to both of us, and set us off- why not an oil filter, or a free toaster, with your Snuggie- why stop at a book light?? (and that word "Snuggie" is just really funny sounding if you say it a couple of times... try it!) Anyway, I decided Bisbee needed a Snuggie of her own (because Sedona wouldn't have let me do it to her), so I went into the bedroom, pulled one of my tee-shirts out of the dresser, and put it on her:

She looked so ridiculous, I fell over laughing and made Tom get the camera right away!! I had no idea she would be literally swimming in my tee-shirt... it's short sleeved, but the sleeves are longer than her legs!! (the poor girl; she's looking at the camera like "what did I do; why are you laughing?!?")

So, whaddya think- is the "Sheltie Snuggie" the wave of the future?? It definitely wins the cuteness award, at least! (or maybe it's just Bisbee's cute, furry face that helps it out!!) Have a good (short!!) workweek, everyone, and enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving full of gratitude, companionship, and good food!! (I think I'm actually going to brave the crowds on Friday and go shopping... my favorite local stamp store, Frenzy Stamper, e-mailed a special 20% off coupon- how could I not?? If I do manage to survive Black Friday, I'll be sure to show you my spoils!!)