Random Dog Intermission

No real reason other than I'm so happy he's feeling better these days.

Happy December 10th - take a breather

I hadn't looked at what days of the week these would fall on, but PEACE seems pretty perfect for what may be a chaotic weekend, as we continue onwards through the holiday season. Also, hello, world and US events.

Chickadee-dee-dee-december 9th!

Who doesn't love chickadees?! Although until we put the feeders out (December 1st) I felt under attack by these little guys. Every time I went outside they started zooming around yelling their fool heads off. Now I am the one yelling at them "Hey! You! Why don't you go scare that squirrel off the feeder! He's eating YOUR seed!" But they don't really pay any attention.

Let's see. Holiday list... today I have some cards and two small packages ready to mail! AND dropping off some holiday cards for sale at the local book store (very exciting!)... and this weekend will involve cleaning out a space for the tree, hooray! And then working on one last card design that I'll finish for next week... phew...oh yeah, and work! Right. Work.  Heh.

Not being holier-than-thou... December 8th

I've been thinking about my writing on here, and how easy it is to appear like a benevolent, creative, gentle, soul... who only shops local, heats with firewood, cares for an aged dog... someone who gives to all the correct causes, and is always kind and generous. I asked my Mom if I sounded trite or pompous... and she said, I sounded like I was figuring things out.

Good answer, Mom!

I think it's just as easy to be holier-than-thou online as it is to be a bully. And I have a bad reaction to people that I think sound like they are Living the Good Life, and Only the Good Life. You know, the ones whose photos only show the clean side of the room, post "I signed this petition" statuses repeatedly on Facebook, and post recipes using organic wheat and homemade cheese. You know what? I bet they still eat M&Ms once in a while (sidenote: OMG have you tried the coffee nut M&Ms? I give you permission to go buy a bag and eat them. It's good for the soul). So this is my reality check day, complete with my darling little lady bug balancing her halo.

I ordered from Amazon yesterday. A few things. I called around the area and no one carried what I was looking for, and the one place that did charged almost double and would have been a 45 minute one-way drive. I'm printing my cards on white cardstock, which surely must have been bleached to be so stark and crisp and clean. I'm currently using a medication for a virus I could probably fight with just a homeopathic (which I am also taking)... but it would probably linger for a month or so, and might show up again shortly thereafter. My "office/studio/spare bedroom" is in a state of chaos, including an overflowing trash can that probably has things that could be recycled in it. We have back-up gas heat that is set around 62, so I really don't have to worry about Bad Things happening if the fire goes out at night. It's true that I care for an aged dog. No reality check there. (Except I sometimes tease him. And he's blind. I bet I don't get a halo for doing that.)

There we have it. Living the "I'm Trying My Best to Keep Everything Balanced" Life. And you know what? I still think I could rock a halo.

Happy December 7th!

The list is getting whittled down. Tiny Cork Frog must have blessed me. Yesterday included Packages (some) being mailed, Cards sent off to have samples printed, the Car checked out and declared Fine (at least for the moment), and I had a laugh filled impromptu get together with a good friend (Hi, Brenda!)...

What will today bring? I'm going to interpret my snail and mistletoe today as a sign to keep it slow and steady... remain hopeful... and be open to love in any form!

Happy December 6!

I have so many lists going right now, it's a little ridiculous. My brain seems to be in a constant chaotic swirling combination of butterscotch chips, new alternator for the car, urine sample from the dog, what to make for supper, and which book project has the earliest deadline. It's not pretty in there. I feel like Tiny Cork Frog is my current spirit animal...

December 5th... and it's a Monday

Hoo-boy, this snowman is way more chipper than I am this Monday morning.

Despite the whole "practice what you preach" concept I'm feeling pretty behind in Life right now. I am, however, feeling smug that I did this calendar ahead of time, so that all I need to do each day is post images.

My favorite snowman is from the movie and book "The Snowman" by Raymond Briggs, here is a quote from the beginning: I remember that winter because it had brought the heaviest snows I had ever seen. Snow had fallen steadily all night long and in the morning I woke in a room filled with light and silence, the world seemed to be held in a dream-like stillness. It was a magical day...and it was on that day I made the snowman.

If you haven't seen the movie, find it! It is absolutely lovely and joyous and has a great score.

December 4th, and all is well...

The outside star is up! I'll try and get a good photo of it to post here. As usual, there was some muttering and grumbling, both of the good-natured and not-so-good-natured kind... but it's up, with no injuries, or major pieces of the house being ripped off.

For some reason I imagine spiders enjoying Christmas... wrapping presents, tying bows, making wreaths... and despite my phobia about Real Life Spiders, I've grown rather fond of my own. They are good for dispensing words of wisdom. The one appearing here on the 4th of December is letting us know to just stick a bow on it and move on. Call it good enough, and stop stressing over the little things.

December 3rd?

Holiday check-list? Status quo. There's a rumor that the big outdoor star will be ready this weekend, but you know what? If it's not, that's okay. There's still plenty of holiday spirit going on!

And don't be nervous... I'm sure there's some holiday love heading your way!

It's December 2nd!

Not much has changed on the holiday check-list from yesterday. But today's image is a Christmas Cactus, which made me think of my Mom's ridiculously happy blooming cactus vs my happy  but-not-really-blooming one. Mine is on the left. One bloom. Mom's is on the right. RIDICULOUS. Side by side comparison makes me pout.

Which made me think about how many times I compare myself to others this time of year. How many kinds of cookies did I make? When did I mail cards out? How nicely wrapped are my presents? And are they homemade presents? Is the cashier looking at me funny because I didn't put change in the local cause donation jar like the customer in front of me? Even though I know these are silly thoughts, it still takes up some of my energy—wondering if I should try harder to be more creative/diligent/timely.

This thinking pattern is part of what makes Me "me" and I try to accept it and laugh at it... but I thought it was a good time to remind any of you whose thoughts wander down that same path of something important: You're doing fine.

Happy December 1st!

December 1st. Cards not made. Tree not acquired. Large star for outside not screwed together. Cookie ingredient list almost finished. Work deadlines vague. Donation list done.

Musing... pre-Holiday panic

I know, I know... December gets a little crazy for pretty much everyone. I'm preaching to the choir... Myself, I'm anticipating at least one large project arriving mid-month, and my other work always seems to kick into high gear as well... Then there is the traditional "ohmygodhowisChristmasonly3weeksaway" panic: card-making, cookie baking, present shopping, and general list-making... oh and the tree and lights... right...

I really wanted to make an Advent Calendar, but knew I had to set some limits. So this was a one-shot, no rough drafts, get-it-done and prepped-to-hit-publish sort of project! Which is why it ended up looking like a bingo card. My 2017 calendar is already on my to-do list for next year — only to start it in June!

I'll be posting each day here and on Facebook, hope it brings some smiles to everyone!

Are you a "snow person"?

Brainstorms

I love brainstorming, I had it as a service on my business card for a while because it seems like clients appreciate my approach of putting all the ideas out there — even if you know it's Bad, because I think you need something to throw away to truly appreciate what's Good.

Some of my friends have been subjected to this approach when they ask my opinion about a decision... I can make a list of  Best Case to Worst Case like no one else. I'm yet to figure out how to market this.

Anyway, I brainstormed my own list of creative projects to get done for the holidays... and managed to whittle it down to TWO, because lo and behold maybe I have finally figured out that 3 weeks in December fly by much faster than in any other month (except May, it seems like May goes by pretty quickly too)... and today I actually FINISHED one of them. There were no outtakes, no second tries, it just had to get done. And I might have even giggled to myself a few times.

Oh, what is the project? You'll have to wait until Thursday to see...

Practice makes perfect

I'm not good at practicing, which is an underlying reason that I never took up music or sports. (Sports may have been because I'm also not that competitive. Not a great asset to have in a team player.) I tend to be a "If at first you don't succeed, give up for a few months and then try it again. Maybe." sort of person. Art also fell into the "practice" category, and I never took to sketching, the idea of working the same thing over and over until I ended up with something that I liked... It just made me cranky. I could see in my brain how I wanted something to look, and when I couldn't get it on paper immediately... I would stop.

This spring I decided I needed to practice practicing, if I ever wanted to start doing some sort of art again. I still got tangled up in this notion of "practice makes perfect." I pictured asking myself "Is it perfect now? How about now? Is it perfect this time?" and my stress level kicked in a couple of extra notches. But I hauled out all the sketchbooks I've stashed over the years and had at it.

Today I heard myself (well, it was over chat, so technically I read it), anyway, saw myself type this:

Yup. Maybe, just Maybe, I finally understand what this practicing thing is all about.

Seasonal Denial

Word: Disentangle

dis·en·tan·gle    disənˈtaNGɡ(ə)l/   verb

1. free (something or someone) from an entanglement; extricate.

2. remove knots or tangles from (wool, rope, or hair).

Last week I got myself hopelessly tangled up. Not with yarn (although that's a mess, too) — but with my brain and heart. Waiting on test results for the Weary Dog wore me out. Premature speculation from the vet was pretty much the end of me. The final verdict is that he is dying... but not yet. Just like many of us. Antibiotics down the gullet for a few weeks, and a change in food, and fingers crossed he will be the spunky character we're used to, careening awkwardly around the house. In the meantime, it took the better part of the weekend to disentangle the chaos.

Reminder to self: Stop, Drop, and Roll with it, baby.

Shine

Strong, but Weary

Lyttle weighs 8.8 pounds. That's about 0.8 pounds up from last year, and that is fine by me. He is a rescue, adopted several years ago by someone who became a dear friend of mine (but that will be a different musing). Best estimate is that he is currently 16 years old.

Due to his early abuse he has permanent nerve damage in his lower back and legs, and a kink in his esophagus. He's got attitude, the good kind, and gave me a fantastic stink-eye the first time I met him.

Walking him has always been an exercise in patience, between him being a bit wobbly, a bit fearful of bridges, and a bit of a busy-body. In the last few years he has become a bit less fearful, but that was an unfortunate companion to him going blind. Walking is still an exercise in patience, mostly because it takes more effort to be a busy-body with only partially functioning ears and a decidedly questionable sense of smell.

He's strong. He's dependable. He likes keeping to a schedule. He lives with us now after he stayed with my friend until her dying day (yup, another musing).

We visited the vet today after 24 hours of him not keeping anything down. I was a wreck. He was stoic. Poking, prodding, an anti-nausea shot, and blood drawing. All with a bit of stink-eye and a smile. Until I took him outside to get a urine sample. At that point, I put him on the ground and he fell over. This isn't THAT unusual, I'm sorry to say. So I tried again. And he fell over. He stared at me as only a blind dog can, and I got it. Weary, he said. I'll be okay. Just a little weary. So we came home.

Comfort Zone

I had no intentions of writing much on this site, I just wanted a place to put my sketches, maybe include a little nature-based info. But things change, and I feel like I need to add a few words.

If you are watching social media or the news you know that right now there is a movement to wear a safety pin to indicate you are a safe person: you are someone that people who are vulnerable can feel safe with.

I'm not wearing a pin. There, I said it. Actually, I usually have safety pins on my backpack straps, and occasionally zippers, so I am thankful the safety pin hasn't been chosen as the emblem of something Horrible.

I'd like to think that instead of wearing a pin, I am making more of statement by smiling, by listening, by paying attention to what's going on around me, making eye contact and letting people know "I see you. I'm aware of you. I'm aware of what's around us." People may not notice a safety pin hanging off my zipper, but they will notice that I hold the door for them, that I scootch over a little so there is some extra room for them in the line for coffee, that I frown at the person on the cell phone that starts crowding us, that I offer an extra hand if they are carrying something heavy. Ask someone if they are okay if it looks like they aren't, when you ask "How are you doing?" — mean it, and listen to the answer.

I know it's not that easy. This isn't a judgement post, I simply don't want to spend too much time discussing who is or isn't wearing a safety pin and why. Talk to people. Acknowledge people. Let them know you are a Good Person. Don't make them have to scrutinize you searching for a sign — because chances are some day you'll forget to wear the piece of clothing you've pinned it on.