Put one Foot in Front of the Other Foot…

Got the Lab results last Wed, the CEA count is back up a little to 37. After visiting with the oncologist today, he is not really alarmed. We were hoping for under 10, so I am a little disappointed. However it will be what will be – so no point in borrowing trouble. We will just hope it stays in this range for a while. We have appointments for May to get blood-work  and see the good Dr. again. In the meantime will be putting one foot in front of the other and getting some bird watching and art done in between sneezing from the seasonal allergies. It has been so warm this winter, the plants are convinced it is spring and they are springing with a vengence!

Today’s art exploration is: learning to wrap feathers with sinew to attach to the dreamcatchers. Sinew is now made with polyester and is heavily waxed, so no disgusting animal parts, LOL. Glad to live in the present hi tech world. The top feather is wrapped, then a silver cone bead was added…..the middle is plain sinew wrapping…and the bottom is wrapped with a copper cone bead added. I am sure my wrapping will get better as I go, since there are so many feathers on one dreamcatcher. Stay tuned….dreamcatcher coming!!!

Have to post the current Christmas card update….no I have not forgotten, and have kept up with the monthly quota. I have a total of 15 now! Wish the glitter showed up better in the photos, they do not look quite the same without it. Everything looks better with some bling!

Good luck with changing your clocks! We are so blessed to live in Arizona where we do not go through the “daylight savings change your clock twice a year.” That does not keep us from being confused about what time it is where you live though. So we do have sympathy pains with the whole “daylight savings” phenomena. The parrots all think clocks are for chewing on, so that is a good thing to them. The cats, as usual, are indifferent to the whole “time” concept. They only care about “meal time” because to them the rest of the time is “nap time.” Speaking of nap time, that sounds like a great idea……zzzz…..’til next time….zzzzzz.

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Resting Week, New Elk WIP

This has been a good resting week, I have felt good, but a little more fatigued than usual. It could be due to the build up since there are only three more chemos……or it could be because the weather is rainy here, which is very unusual in Arizona. A little more hair has disappeared, but I still have enough to comb forward to have bangs with my hats. The chemo tan is getting darker, wonder how long it will last after chemo is over?

Elk – Pastel Pencils on Black

The elk is being redone on the black media board. I am liking it better so far. Didn’t get out the good camera, but will next time! SO the camera phone is Ok, but does not do justice to the colors. I didn’t get as much done this week as I would have liked….maybe it is because friends have been taking me out to eat this week, LOL. Mary, Delia and Tom, Thanks so much! It was so wonderful seeing you all and getting out of the house for a while!

The birds and cats are all napping in this wet cold rainy weather, I think I will grab a book and curl up with a nice fuzzy blanket and so the same. Feel free to join us!

Hyacinth Macaw Party!!!!!

During my rest week, we were invited to a Hyacinth Macaw Party. Usually I don’t get out a lot, but this party Mici put on, was not to be missed! Most of my bird friends were attending, so I rested all week to be able to go for a while. Mici’s place is beyond amazing, we got the tour of the rescue horses, birds, goats and who could call the visit complete without the “Watch Pig”. Joey the celebrity bird, with his friend, Paco, crashed the party…..they are not hyacinths, but they do have some blue on them, so guess that counts. Everyone had a wonderful time, got plenty of visiting time with the hyacinths, lots of scritching, kissing and cooing going on…..then we were treated to one of Mici’s “snacks only” spreads. all I can say is if I need to gain weight, I know where to go. Noelle was still in a cannoli coma the last I heard. Lori lost her son to all the activity for a while, last I heard he was full and tired out. Well even though I rested all week, only made it about an hour before fatigue set in, but it is an experience I will never forget. Mici and Fred are amazing, compassionate people, it is an honor to know them.

My phone decided to do a fitware update on my camera while we there, so I did not get any photos, luckily hubby took the ones here.

THREE DOWN AND NINE TO GO! Made it through another chemo week, slept until Friday afternoon and am awake and back to my new “normal”! Had a visit with the PA on Friday, and we are scheduling a petscan right after treatment six, to see how things are going and how well the chemo treatments are working. SO the fight goes on! My family is sure the chemo is helping. They see an improvement in my pain levels and energy levels, so I am sure we are winning the war. Keep those prayers, positive thoughts and well wishes going! Thanks so much!

Tea For “Too” or “Too” Much Drama?

Red Vented Cockatoo

Yeah! We had rain in Arizona yesterday! A little bit of hail too, but we survived one of our two or three rainfalls this year. We didn’t even melt….though some of my friends refused to get out of the car fearing they would melt…..just DID not happen. LOL, we still don’t quite know what to do when it rains here. Most Arizonans think rain is the signal to go out and DRIVE. Doesn’t matter where, just get out there and fill up those streets with traffic, so that anyone who really needs to get somewhere can NOT do so! Also we seem to think it is time to shop. We had to go run a couple of errands, and after finally realizing that the rain was not going to stop, we went to the grocery store….I think everyone in Arizona was in that store! SO while waiting to go to the store, I got some more work done on the Red Vented Cockatoo. For those of you who don’t have parrots, a lot of parrot people call cockatoos, “Toos”, I probably have told you that since I did the “Too” Much painting as a WIP on this blog, but you know I forget things, so you will have to deal with some repetition! Oh yes, I forget things, so you will have to deal with some repetition.

BTW, how are you guys liking the background? This one has been rattling around in my head for a while, so thought to try it out with this painting. Comments are appreciated. If I forget to get back to you right away, don’t worry, I will eventually remember to check for comments!

SO since the RV “Too” is native to the Philippines, I need to go research native trees of the Philippines to get ideas for the branch. See ya soon with the final!

Another One Bites the Dust………….

Charcoal dust – that is. It is time to step away from the Great Blue Heron Drawing!

Dust is on my mind today…….charcoal dust, house dust, dust bunnies. Speaking of Dust bunnies…..why does everyone else have dust bunnies while I have dust kitties and dust birdies? When I sweep, I find enough cat hair to make a cat, and there are enough feathers to make another VERY large parrot. Don’t mind the charcoal dust, because it is lost in the dust kitties and dust parrots roaming the house. It is not like there is enough dust in Arizona anyway, LOL! Dusting is a futile exercise here. As soon as the house is dusted, you must go back and begin again. If the AZ dust hasn’t settled yet, one of the critters has shed hair or feathers, which combine with the dust to form dust critters that roam the house, insinuating themselves in every nook and cranny. Then they hide until you have finished dusting only to appear and stick their little dust tongues out at you. Na na nana naa na! It is time to start a watercolor, LOL, and get away from all of this dust for a little while. Aaaaaaaaaaachooooo! Achoooooooooooooo!

Ready or Not………!

The last few months have ZOOMED by. Maybe it was being so busy that made it seem so. A new piece is started, but that is not the focus of the blog today.  Just had to post a few photos of what has kept me so consumed over the last few months. The mat cutter is getting a rest, the packaging and labeling are all done, and the finished pieces are all framed, Audubon Gifts From nature….ready or not, here I come!

Audubon Show 3

Audubon Show 2

Audubon Show 1

 

 

 

Burrowing Owl WIP cont…….again

A TALE OF TWO CATS……or……..WHO SAYS CATS HAVE NO SENSE OF HUMOR

Rusty, a Red Tabby, a street kitty rescued from starvation, fleas and homelessness; Dante, a long haired Tuxedo Cat, shy, raised indoors from a kitten. These guys are best buds, opposites attracted, only having a residence in common. Rusty naps outside on a beautiful fall day in a sunny spot in the back yard. Rusty grins as Dante begs him to come back inside where it is safe and warm. Dante frantically scratches at the patio door, meowing to get the human’s attention to bring Rusty in from the dangerous wild area outside. Rusty stands, stretches walks a few steps closer to the house and settles back down for a nap. Dante calms down, thinking Rusty has come to his senses and is coming in to safety, then gets frantic again for his friend. The human hears the noise and opens the door to let Rusty in…….Rusty rolls over on his back and laughs at Dante and the foolish human. It is not anywhere near mealtime……………..This scene is a common one around our house. It only serves to reinforce my theory that animals have a sense of humor, especially cats, parrots and ravens. We are still trying to answer the age old riddle, why is a raven like a writing desk??????? Not being really good at riddles, think I will just laugh and go on.

As you can see the Burrowing Owl painting is advancing, it may even be finished in the next week. Oh… I hear some scratching at the door and Dante is meowing, better go check to see if Rusty is ready to come in!

Burrowing Owl……….Cont….

Here is today’s update on the burrowing owl………I know TWO updates in one week! Just trying to get one in while there is time! Life around here is subject to immediate changes, so always be prepared. I hear splashing in the other room! That means it is bath-time for the birds! If one starts bathing, pretty soon it is a BATHFEST! So guess who gets to clean up afterwards! Sounds like I had better grab the mop! Later!

Burrowing Owl WIP

Birdie

The Burrowing Owl painting has been started. It was quite a job to dig myself out of the paper-mache this week, as the parrots continue to chew their way through any and all papers. They are also working on wood, nutshells, toys and anything in their reach. Birdie seems to think night time is a really great time to work on her nest of chewed up newspapers. I heard sounds like chicken clucking coming from her cage and looked inside to find Birdie’s head sticking through a hole she had chewed in a piece of newspaper. It was just TOO funny! Of course, the newspaper does not stay in the cage so well when it is chewed, so it falls to the floor, leaving several inches of chewed up newspaper on the floor a day. AS LONG AS they stick with newspaper and leave my art paper alone, guess I can’t complain TOO much! Hope you enjoy following along with the Burrowing Owl WIP. See you soon with the next installment!

Bald Eagle WIP – Done!

So………………. I am still waiting for some responses for the Kickstarter project, and had time to finish this eagle! Hope you enjoy! Miss Libby is such a beautiful subject! The Kickstarter Project voters have made their wishes known, and the next painting subject will be “Burrowing Owl”, so stay tuned folks! Would like to get Burrowing Owl going and completed in time to have prints and cards for the Show Nov 30 thu Dec 2, so have to get cracking!!!

This is a wonderful time of year in Arizona, the weather is cooling off, we can finally go outside without getting heatstroke! Whoooo Hooooo! Don’t have to wear oven mitts to drive…….No one is frying eggs on the sidewalk……..butterflies are making an appearance since they are not afraid of getting melted….can touch the mailbox without getting third degree burns……..