MY BIRFDAY I BE FOUR by CONLEY

Mom say I git to rite my own blug taday cuz it be my forth birfday I be fore taday. Years ole. I before be three now before. Ha ha Llewis, I be FOUR see I do nose how to spellit.
Enyways dis whut I dun so far.
Got lotsa goodies, xtra wons.
Got turnkey in my brefass an lunch. Now da toikey all gone gone get uh...chikie. Mom Say Chickie inna dinner.
Got hole buncha peeterchips. Pieterchips. Pita chips while Mom gib da odder maleman not da reglar maleman but Steve da maleman we usta hab before Rich da maleman now but sumtime still git Steve when da odder MalemanRich he on vacashun she gibbin Steve he Cwissmuss card (It got dem green peeces ob paper init cuz alla time we libbin in dat oder place he an Rich (da reglar maleman) see we gets are male ebberday.) she leeb a whole goba piter chips onna desk BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. I getem befour she git back. Liddel Basset pun dere.
Den heer sum pixchures me helpin Dad do he crossedworts. Dat Nigel on he lap but IT MY BIRFDAY so I gets da place ob honor. Dat so yes it is.
Almoss time for dinnr gotta go heer da pichurs.

See I gots da bess spot. Nigel he gotta reed ebberfing upsiderdown.

Dis look da same but Ise tappin Dad wif my liddel dellycut footie. (He pretenning I not.)

Whass dat one dere? Dat 1 down:  six ledders for "pest" beginnin
BASSE?

Naw naw cant be DAT, hey you nose you got a liddel mustart on you lip? Hey lemme help you wif dat here....

Ok I all grownup I gib Nigel a chance at dat mustart two. Dis be Conley goin ta get dinner at four years ole!!

Lub an Hugs ebberbuddy.

MOMPERSON HERE TO CORRECT MY MATH. CONLEY IS 3, NOT 4.
OY

UP & DOWN

It has been a strange day. Up and down. At first I got up early hours and tried to take Nigel out to express his bladder. DOWN. He is heavy. He didn't WANT  to go out. I couldn't see. Have you ever tried to see if your Basset is peeing in the dark? Even with a flashlight: how do you hold the dog up, express his bladder, and hold the flashlight? Suggestions welcome.
So I puff puff puffed into the house, tucked everyone back in and went back to sleep.

When I got up my montly stipend had landed in my bank account. UP. I immediately ordered 2 CDs and a DVD. Fed the dogs, cleaned the kitchen, took my shower and headed out shortly after John had left for his day of volunteering.UP. I went to Michael's and did not find what I was looking for. Canvases were 40% off and every one I looked at was warped. DOWN.

Went on to HobbyLobby only getting lost once. Called GPS system aka "John", or Husband. Got directions. Got to HL. Found exactly what I needed for twice what I had hoped it would be: DOWN/UP.
Spent more than I wanted but when I got home and went over what I had it was fine.UP.

Started cutting the first print block. It came out exactly as I had hoped and I printed it and was delighted. UP. Got the news that  Teddy Basset had passed away and that Bazzle had as well. Major DOWN.

Cut the second block. It sucked. DOWN.
Heard Beth Hinchcliff was out of surgery and going home a in couple of days, MAJOR UP UP.

Did another sketch and happier with it, cut it. Happy with the cut but have not printed it yet. With luck it will be a good partner to print number one. UP? (Won't know until later.)

First print: Part one.

             There is more to this. Much more. I hope. UPDOWN.

SOME DAYS YOU JUST SHOULD STAY IN BED

When we moved back into the house in September the first thing that went wrong was the water. I did a load of laundry and the washing machine unloaded into the utility room tub, the toilet and the bathtub. Remember that? And it was days of work and they finally had to dig up the whole front yard and replace the pipe and it cost a lot of money.

So last night, very late I decided to do a laundry of dog stuff so John would have clean things for today while I was at the Gallery, and then this morning, I put some of MY clothes in and did a laundry, and as I was standing there doing something else  noticed that the water was backing up into the utility sink. I instantly turned off the washer as I heard John scream at the same moment: TURN IT OFF!! It had backed up filling the toilet and working on the bathtub.

WHAT????WTF????? AGAIN????THAT WAS FIXED!!!!!!!!!

No, no, apparently no it wasn't.
So here I sit, no bathroom, no washer, dogs whining and crying and howling and barking and snarking, Nigel doing his continual whine, which makes me want to kill him at the best of times. Cooper wanting out (run, Forrest, run!) and if I go get the wine bottle now, at not quite noon, John is sure to notice.

DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

It is the day after Christmas. Actually now it is the night after. Everyone is gone but the dogs are still in high gear, more or less. They have been restless, agitated, up and down, in and out....
Anyway the house looks...
And I am......

"It's morning. Why isn't she doing something? Why is she just wandering around the house? Why doesn't she settle down?"

"Good grief she's been in and out of that kitchen a thousand times. What on earth is she doing?Doesn't she know we're trying to sleep?"

"She's thinking about running away. I know she is. I hope she takes me with her..."

"She didn't even make the bed right. Look at this mess! Oh well I'll just make the best of it."

This is my dining room table. It is actually fairly cleaned off. My good crystal still has to be hand washed. Actually everything does as my dishwasher no longer works.

My kitchen with the FIRST load of dishes done. It is waiting for me to put away the dry dishes and do the next ioad.

These are partially done. They need to be put away but I can't do that until the rest are done and of course i can't (heh heh) cook until these are put away.

This is my fridge crammed with leftovers. Never the biggest fridge to start with, it has a lot to do to stay cold right now. This was this morning. It is amazing how fast leftovers go in this house.

And in case anyone is worried, this is the treat box for the dogs. Please note it is overflowing. The dogs have noticed that, you bet.

Hope you had a good Christmas, too.

CHRISTMAS DAY OFF

Instead of trying to clean,(I didn't get it done) cook, entertain and write I thought I would just put out some photos I happen to like. And Happy Holidays to you, too.

                                        Mitchell (pup)

              Who knows? Looks like Mitchell's collar, however.

                                   Rescued Llama

The Mama Raccoon who raised her children and havoc in our attic one year. Eventually they were "removed" by a Pro. She is on top of our roof in this photo.

One of my most favorite International Kennel Club show photos.

Quiller pretending he really wanted to go swimming in Lake Michigan with me. (He hated every second of it, but was a good sport.)

                           Keeneland Race Track at dawn.

                                  A chicken. If you needed
the written information, consider getting your eyes checked soon.

Polar Bear with Ball. There is an entire series of him in the pool with the ball and trying to get it out of the water.

                What a Happy Quiller looked like, in his prime.

"Uh hi, I just moved in next door and was wondering if I could borrow a few of your sheep?" (A stray BCollie at work.)

   Quiller, puppy. He never let go of that leash as long as he lived.

                          Quiller at Gettysburg Battlefield

    The Park Forest Aqua Center. Must have been a slow Day.

                                           Llama

"Hey could you open the book to the Chickadee page?" Little Beemr, putting in some time studying in case she ever gets out the door.

Happy Holidays to everyone.

WHILE THE REST OF YOU CLEAN AND COOK

Today I start cleaning and cooking. Mostly cleaning. My bed is not even made because I have been working on a painting and wanted to finish it, one little detail I have had to change, altho if I did it over(and I may--this is on paper canvas and I may re-do it on the real stuff)and so the first thing this morning, I was up and squeezing paint onto my paper plate palette...
The subject, instead of my usual landscapes, are horses: a team of Percherons in the farm classes, altho these two were clearly used in the hitch classes as well, spotless, manes roached, hooves polished---

This is the photo I took. And this is the painting I wanted to do. That they lost in translation is a given. I am disappointed that the tremendous power of these two gorgeous animals was somewhat down-sized. Something about them defied my brush. Also I did the painting at home, in home lighting, which is very poor, I admit. This was the first rendition:

As you can readily see, a grave difference. Looking at them the next day I had a horsie thought: why is one wearing blinders and the other is not? At the horse show itself I took hundreds of photos and set them up to run on the computer in a loop, so that the handlers and owners coming into the Hospitality Suite could see their horses on the screen. One handler stared a long time at a pair of farm team horses and then said "Why does he have a crupper  on one of them and not the other?" This is the kind of detail horse people see-- a crupper is a piece that runs from the harness under and around the tail. No one had an answer of course, but I felt the same way looking at my painting. I looked at the photo:

Because, obviously, I had left out the second set of blinders. DUH.
So in they went.

 Then a REAL artist looked at it and noted that the throat latch wasn't quite right, and so this morning, I changed that. Now I think I am done but maybe not. Paintings are so often works in progress and sometimes the progress extends for years....I have known artists to see one of their paintings in a show and correct something the next day when no one was around. Hardly anyone notices except the painter.

Fini I think altho making the far horse a little darker might not hurt.
It was fun

ESPRESSO IS MY FRIEND

Last night I tucked the dogs into bed between 10 and 10:30, letting everyone out to pee and etc., and getting Nigel settled.

At midnight, Cooper came in and wanted out, so I got up and let him out.
At 2:30. Cooper came in and said his tummy hurt and he needed out so I got up and let him out. He was out about 15 minutes.
At 3 a.m. Llewis came in and said he really really needed to go out so I got up and let him out and let Conley out as well. They were out about 15 minutes.
At 4:30, right on time, Nigel insisted it was time to get up, time to eat, time to pee, time to sleep on my bed. And so I got up and fed them, and let them out, and made my bed (padding for Nigel) and did his morning ablutions and by then it was 5:30 and I might as well just do the damn laundry.

This is why I say, Espresso is my friend. Coffee doesn't even come close.

Espresso_still_life.jpg

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photo from Google

EXCITING DAY

Yesterday was such an exciting day for the dogs. John ran errands and I stayed home.

Nigel had distinct ideas on what one should do on a day when the sky is grey and the weather motley.

Llewis and Conley went out to "play" which consisted of Llewis cleaning Conley's face and then wandering around the back yard hoping to find a dead squirrel.

Nigel continued his vigil in the house, ever alert for intruders. AND waiting for the Treat Master to return from errands.

Llewis and Cooper went out but didn't go much further than just outside the door. In case something really neat happened inside, like me dropping an entire steak on the floor.

Conley went outside also, but apparently wanted in again.
That's it.
That was our day.

A GRUMPY LOOK AT WEATHER

It is almost Christmas. It is not cold here yet, altho we have had a sprinkling of snow. I know many people love cold weather, like to ski and sled and run around dressed so they appear to be variations of the Michelin Tire Man, but I am not one of them.

I prefer the warmer climes, and I know that the worst is yet to come.Someone said we are halfway through winter. Humbug. We are no such thing. Here in the midwest winter may not start on schedule but it can hang on like a cat on a screen door. April blizzards are not April Showers. And I know that shortly I will be longing for robins and green grass and going outside without spending 45 minutes looking for my other glove so my hand does not freeze to the steering wheel.
I will be tired of foggy eyeglasses, snotty noses, tracking snow into the kitchen and then slipping on the wet floor.

I like the idea that the seasons change. I just wish winter were like maybe two weeks long.

So, with that in mind I have gathered warm and comforting images of warmer weather--- some of it so warm that clothing sticks and rivulets of sweat dribble between shoulder blades.
Nevertheless, I prefer that to spicules of frozen hair when I go out after a shower....

Petunias. Actually I hate petunias, but they do evoke warmth, sun, a growing season, green grass....pollen.

BEACHES!!! I love beaches. I love hot sand and the surf. I love trying to get the sand off my wet butt and discovering I am the only woman on the beach who weighs more than 75 pounds...

Florida sun. Florida birds. This one was stalking the causeway between the mainland and Sanibel Island. We were there (oh so long ago) in May so it wasn't scorching.

I love Pelicans. The Pelicans are like freighters. They lumber, but they can do amazing things. The Ospreys come in like fighter jets, but the Pelicans have staying power.

Summer fun in the dust and heat and broiling sun. There is, actually, a cow in that dust someplace, and the horse knows where it is even if the rider doesn't have a clue. With these horses you hang on and pray and let the horse do what he is bred to do. Which is, catch the cow. (More or less, of course.)

August. The Iowa State Fair. This is the Industrial Arts building, and all the people are mostly in this building to see the life-sized, refrigerated butter cow. Yes indeed, made entirely of butter....

At the Fair everyone gets involved in the horse shows. How did they get the stirrups  up that short and WHERE did the find the hat???

And then there are the adults....

I like summer. I love bumble bees. They look cuddly. Probably they aren't. Oh well.
Come back some day when the wind is howling and the snow is piled against the cabin door and you still have to go out and chop more wood.....