Balls of Fun



Ginger Cookies (pre-oven)

Oreo Balls (pre-chocolate coating)



Sweer and Sour Meatballs

A double batch of sweet and sour meatballs, double batch of ginger cookies, oreo balls, banana bread, walking and bathing the dog and four loads of laundry.  All of the things I did *instead* of working on any of the paintings I need to either begin or complete.  Funny how much I can accomplish when I'm procrastinating.

A Roxy in Progress

I'm at a standstill on this one and have been for a little while - not sure how to add the feathery fur on top without losing the looseness that I like about what's there now...

Part of the problem, perhaps, is that I hung it up on my wall and have grown to know and even like it as a "finished piece", even though it clearly isn't when compared to the photo. For myself I'd be fine to leave it as is, but since it's purpose is to end up with Roxy's Mom, I really do need to figure out how to add the fluffy stuff that is so unique to this sweet little dog. Wish me luck!

G-Lo Sports A Cool "Do"



George-Louis



This is George-Louis; an adorable Coton de Tulear who is very well loved by his daddy...who on occasion likes to give him some fun fur-do's, so that's how I opted to paint him. My challenge now is to paint my Dad's dog in time for Christmas. That, and a painting for the International Women Celebrate exhibition in Ayr this winter. 

Hmmm...I don't know which one frightens me most!

Mona Lucy Smile

Oh wow! I *DO* still remember how to log in to my blog...no more excuses I guess.

Nothing "new" to add at the moment, so for today I'm just posting a painting I did of my favourite fur-girl: Lucy.





Lucy poses with her portrait









All Paws on Deck



 I did it! :)
Nothing like the other painting. Now on to do some more...

Learning How to Fail Without Being a Failure

So much for everything I wrote in my first blog entry. My convection is still immaculate in every way.

I haven't done much cooking. (Well, not any at all if I can't count canned soup, peanut butter on toast and the like.)

Did I say that I was going to eat better and get more exercise? I certainly haven't.

I suppose I should be grateful that nothing disgusting has happened on the train for me to describe (lately), but still - I haven't been able to think of anything to write at all.

So what have I to show for the time since my last entry?

See the painting I've posted of the black dog? This poor fellow (Dhalgren: my boss' long-haired Whippet) has been waiting for me to fix/finish him since I started painting him last winter (early months of 2009). He's been staring at me day after day after day, daring me to figure out what it is I need to do for him to look right...for him to be good enough to give to my boss. Day after day after day I have failed to meet the challenge. Afraid to destroy the parts of him that I liked in the process of fixing what I didn't, I have left him alone for months; avoiding eye contact with him and letting the whole thing become an overwhelming obstacle to my ability (and desire) to paint him or anything else.

Last weekend I found myself in a local art gallery and was left feeling inspired to try my hand at my own painting again. Surely I could do this, and if I threw caution to the wind and "just did it" I could end up happy with the result, right? Wrong. The Dhalgren painting ceased to exist that afternoon. I couldn't make it work and so painted over the entire image with the background colour, and now only a shadow of him remains on the canvas. A ghost of what could have been a success but wasn't. So how do I keep this from haunting me?

The painting was a failure. *I* felt like a failure, but here's what I'm trying to learn from it: Failing at something does not a failure make. I will only be a failure if I give up and let it beat me; if I run away from it; if I keep avoiding the act of failing (something I've done all my life). And when I think about it, I realize all of that actually makes me worse than a failure - it makes me a loser.

So, using the painting as an example, here is how I am am going to try to see things from now on:

Avoiding the completion of that painting = failure. This is unacceptable. I don't want to do this anymore.

Trying to complete the painting and putting it out of its misery when it wouldn't work = successful failure. This is always acceptable, and something I'm actually proud of. Accepting my failure wasn't easy to do.

Painting again because I'm able to leave the "failure" label attached to the painting instead of wearing it around my neck = success.

Accepting failure as a necessary part of life and learning from it...AND moving on from it to try (and possibly fail) again = huge success!

Wow. It hits me as I write this: I am allowed to fail over and over again and still be a huge success!!! How amazing is that?!?!?

I should blog more often. The revelations can be incredible... :)

They Make it a Home

I'm between two anniversaries. One bad, one good.

A year ago last month, I lost my little friend Sophie. I adopted her as a kitten 14 years earlier, and she was with me through thick and thin, tears and laughter, marriage and divorce, move after move...until it was time to help her travel across the "Rainbow Bridge"; a place you learn about when you lose your pet and your friends are desperate to help you feel better.

There were some positive things I tried to focus on: There would be no more litter box to clean. No longer would I step on those gravelly bits that I swear she intentionally clutched between her little toes so she could scatter them throughout the apartment. Cat hair no longer collected on the furniture, on the floors, or on me. I could breathe better at night and my eyes weren't so itchy. I didn't have to rush home from work...or from anywhere, for that matter. And that was just it. I didn't have much reason to be home, period. She wasn't there to greet or to need me anymore. She was gone.

My house didn't feel like a home without her, but I couldn't replace Sophie with another cat. I didn't want a cat that wasn't her. I thought very briefly about getting a pet rat (company without being too tied down - the best of both worlds perhaps)...until I learned that they leave drops of pee wherever they go (ew!). I decided instead to swing in the opposite direction towards a larger commitment. I'd get a dog. Looking back, I can see that I was a little impulsive about it, but at the time I felt it was the right thing for me to do.

It was a year ago now that I met my little 8-year-old, 9 pound Chihuahua mix for the beginning of the adoption process. I fell for her immediately. By mid-October I passed a home inspection, and then brought Lucy home with me Oct. 30th.

And so now I have hair all over my floors, my furniture and my clothes. There is grit (of all kinds) tracked in from the great outdoors, I have itchy eyes, I don't sleep well for fear of rolling over and squashing her, I have to rush home after work to feed and take her out for her walks, however miserable the weather....and I couldn't be happier.

I have a wonderful reason to come home again. :)