Sweet, Sweet Sophie - Furry White With Caramel Brown Laced With Black

February 17, 2014 was a very sad day indeed. My sweet, sweet Sophie- 15 years old- had to be put to sleep. For the past couple of years, she had started to decline. Was basically deaf, blind from cataracts, we had to keep pee pads down because if you didn't let her out within 3 seconds of waiting at the sliding glass door, she'd go over to the same place and pee. At least she was consistent and not incontinent! And, she had doggie dementia. She knew her way around the furniture, but mostly slept as older dogs do. When I came home at 2am from work, she would jump about and be excited like her younger self. And, ADORED cat food! She never wavered from her mission of licking the cat bowls clean, hovering over the cats until they finished eating. I remembered how vibrant she once was, but those memories weren't triggered until I looked at the old photos of her. For too long we could no longer go to the beach she so desperately loved. Instead, we went to the Pitt Street Bridge with a child's wagon to place her in when her legs started to flag. Fortunately, I started her on the crock pot diet- homemade dog food- which slimmed her down, alleviating her arthritis. But, she still tired easily. She had forgotten how to play tug-of-war and to wrestle, which broke my heart, but when I'd come home in the early morning she'd kind of remember and would throw herself down on one shoulder and wriggle about. Then, on a Sat, even though the back door was open, she peed then pooped on the pads. "Back door's open" I said, though I knew she couldn't hear me. She walked over to the carpet, threw up and collapsed. She'd had stomach problems in the past, so her laying listlessly about wasn't too unusual. I just wasn't sure if she'd bounce back given her age. On Monday morning, I knew she was dying- especially when her urine was a very dark brown. Yet! She managed to get up and walk to the stairs in an attempt to climb up them to where KitKat's bowl sat. Cat food hunting till the end. I picked her up, lay her down and she never arose again. She was anemic and had an enlarged spleen and liver. And, didn't have long for this world. So, I stayed, whispering in her ear, stroking her fur while she slipped into her final sleep.....I will miss you, you silly, neurotic, always a smile on your face, (that sweet, sweet face) Sophie.

Bright Fun Circus Colors Hide a Dark Secret

February 22, 2014 found me joining my friend, Carol Herard, in her protest against Circus Animal Cruelty. I hadn't seen her for awhile so I wanted to support her and her group in their efforts to make people aware of the issue (they were there multiple days and times with various sized groups). I have learned so much over the past few years! Especially in the area of animal cruelty. I was so ignorant for most of my life- it's a shame really. Hopefully, I can rectify that by helping others come into knowledge and reduce, if not abolish, senseless acts of cruelty to innocent animals. 

A Dusting of Pretty White Snow and a Bit of Ice

On January 29,2014 we had a snow "storm", which consisted mostly of ice. Two hours north, Columbia was completely blanketed, bringing life as they knew it, to a standstill. Even Atlanta suffered (unfortunately with multiple deaths from the refusal of letting schools out and there was a massive accident involving a school bus on a highway). Ours was bad enough that I actually missed 2 days of work- that pesky ice made traversing the bridges impossible. Police cars were stationed at the entrances of bridges and, in my case, at the beginning of the IOP connector. So, I walked. There was so little snow that I didn't consider it worth the remaining 3 mile trek to the beach for I didn't think there'd be any. Alas, I was wrong judging from photos taken by a friend of mine who lives on Isle of Palms. No matter! I saw egrets,  a night heron and one tree in particular was covered in robins and cedar waxwings. Plus, the ice-encrusted foliage was beautiful to behold. I must admit, however, it was mighty nice to get back home and thaw.

Thick White Goop Can Turn Into Art

On January 24-25, 2014, I attended an art class teaching how to utilize various mediums. It was held at, of all places, a retirement home for nuns on James Island! As the photos depict, the room we used was just perfect and it overlooked the harbor. We started with the basic liquid gel, which can be used just like ModPodge, and ended up with  really thick medium that could be sanded. I loved it! Besides the project using the 3 small canvases, we also employed two larger, longer canvases along with paint and found objects. It was quite fun and eye-opening to what is probably an endless array of possibilities. Watch out all you styrofoam locked away in that storage building!

Christmas Red and Green in January

England for a week, followed by another in Paris, is where Travis and Emory had spent their Christmas holidays. It was Emory's graduation from law school gift to Travis and a last big hurrah for the both before attempting to start having a family. After visiting with Helen (Lewie, unfortunately was out of country) they were off to Paris, landing in a quaint, tiny apartment right across from Notre Dame (where Trav had proposed). They literally heard the bells on Christmas morning! Mostly rainy, it didn't matter as they were able, on this 2nd trip, to enjoy their stay leisurely, as opposed to the more frantic pace of most 1st time tourists. Complete with a tiny kitchen, Emory even made Christmas dinner. Le sigh...... Therefore, the family festivities had been put on hold until T and E could make it down to Charleston. Always a delight to see them, how much more exciting to be regaled with European tales! The only damper on our official gathering was that Page had broken her leg while visiting them earlier and was moving about in a wheelchair.

A Purple Octopus Swimming On a Glass Green Sea

Spent some fun times with Amelia Littlebear to start off the new year. First, we went to the fabulous toy store downtown on King Street called Magnifilous Toy Emporium. Of course you want to get at least one of everything, but..... and I did find a couple of silly items to put in Travis and Emory's Easter/spring basket. Later in January we went to a painting class at Rock Paper Scissors. That was too much - fun, and laughter, a bit o' wine. In retrospect, my octopus didn't turn out half bad. 

I Need New Brown and Black Pastel Pencils.....

These are the last 4 portrait commissions of 2013. And, every one of the pencil sharpeners that I have doesn't work worth a hoot. So, with this much detail work, I needed to sharpen my pencils, but they tended to get chewed up and shorter, and shorter, and shorter as I tried to get a point. Le sigh.... But, I really like the way they all turned out, and I 'm happy to report that everyone was thrilled with their pieces. Now, let's get some more for 2014!!!!