It's been a difficult week in our lil animal kingdom. Just over a week ago, Mom's golden retriever attacked the Spawn. The dog has been getting gradually more aggressive over the past year. I had a long talk with the vet and it was time to have the dog put to sleep. Her age, health, hip problems, etc. all played into the decision. I felt especially bad for Mom as the dog was her constant companion; however, it this case Alzheimer's is a blessing. I kept a close watch for the last week to make sure Mom was ok and... I don't think she's noticed anything is different.

Our other dog (who was always very much the Beta dog) has relaxed completely over the course of the week. She's actually started playing again and the constant anxiety is gone.

Meanwhile, Herbie came down with a bladder infection. The vet gave him a long-acting antibiotic shot, but I also need to give him pills twice a day. Ever try giving pills to an uncooperative 13 pound cat with an attitude? Me either. I've been managing, but it's not nearly as much fun as it sounds.

And life goes on.

Hugs,
HP

*Hikes up tool belt and cracks knuckles*

Yeah. I fixed the washer. ALL.BY.MYSELF. Had to change out a part. Did it while Poohbare was at the shop.

I thought about playing bad 70's porn music and acting the part of the repair tech, but... ew.

Hugs,
HP

Good gawd! Apparently the vapor coming out the furnace vent behind our house has been freezing in... um... unexpected ways.

[IMG]http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r620/stupidstuff0102/ice2_zpse4822a31.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r620/stupidstuff0102/ice1_zpsc7a55d83.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r620/stupidstuff0102/ice3_zps1e42cfc1.jpg[/IMG]

Sorry the pics are a bit blurry, but it's hard to hold the camera steady when I'm laughing.

I'll take it as a compliment. My son has already laid claim to one of the paintings. I told him it wasn't finished and he said it's finished enough for him. Silly kid. He's still gonna have to wait a few weeks til the paint is thoroughly dry... maybe longer... just cuz I'm ornery.

Hugs,
HP

Since Mom has been .... "difficult" to deal with of late, whenever possible I've been retreating to the spare room and messing with my oil paints. I've got a couple canvases fairly much done; just need to do some fine-tuning and details... which I can't til the current layers of paint are dry... so that's in a holding pattern for a week or so. *grumble grumble*

The upside is I've found I'm completely serene with a brush in one hand and a palette of paints in the other. I'm just winging it without a sketch, playing with various techniques, and am pleasantly surprised with the results. If I don't completely screw up the paintings, I'll try to remember to blog pics of them when they're done.

Gotta go now. There are more potential ideas to be pondered.

Hugs,
HP

Yeah....so.... I'm reading some random story on Yahoo! and there's a bunch of pics of new moms holding their infants and as I'm paging through them, I come to one in particular and stop in my tracks. What's that in that in the background? I turn my laptop and ask Poohbare "Hey! What's THAT look like?" He stares... laughs... "No way." I agree: No way!

... still...

[IMG]http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r620/stupidstuff0102/wtf_zpsd857d43c.png[/IMG]

Stuff. Things. Blah. Blah. Blah. Pretty well sums things up.


Great big huge congrats to Faith and Mick.


Hugs,
HP

Yeah....so... I finally finished the last of the quilts on Monday, got it washed/dried/ironed and wrapped on Tuesday just in time to be put under the tree on Wednesday. Whew! *pats self on back*

My skills and my sewing machine are not professional quality by any means, but overall, I'm satisfied with the results. The kids all seemed to like the quilts and they will definitely keep em warm.

We had an amazingly good day yesterday and it was the best Christmas I can remember in ages. The only thing to dim the day was that Poohbare wasn't here. He was on the road so he could spend the evening and today with his granddaughter. I don't begrudge him that for an instant. She's growing up fast and the time together is important.

I hope all of you had the merriest of Christmases.

xoxo
HP

p.s. Here's a pic of the kids with their quilts.
[IMG]http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r620/stupidstuff0102/quiltsedited_zpsae3dc07f.jpg[/IMG]

Today I feel very old, sore and creaky. Between doing about 12 loads of laundry, cleaning the house, working on a couple quilts for the kids, and wrapping all the Christmas presents, this old broad is done in.

As always, Ever Helpful Herbie was busy making his own contributions. He was climbing in and out of the dryer, playing tug-of-war with folded stuff in laundry baskets and knocking things onto the floor, attacking wrapping paper, pushing packages off tables, biting/puncturing tape, batting spools of ribbon around... he was extraordinarily busy today. For a finale, he knocked over the shredder while I took a short nap and had a blast strewing it across half the spare room floor.

It's an early night for me once the pain pill kicks in.

xoxo
HP

Yeah...so... I've been super busy getting prepped for the holidays. In addition to that, my son turned 24 yesterday. I asked Pixie (for those of you who remember Dragon and Pixie) if she could set her magical crochet hook to work and make the kid a viking helmet and beard. She is an absolute wizard and he LOVED it! He wore it around for an hour and a half in the house and still had it on when he gave hugs goodbye and left for home. I kept catching him glancing in the mirror and grinning from ear to ear. Goofy kid.

I'm working on quilts for the kids using the most gawdawful clashing fabrics I can find. Herbie the Wondercat has been, as always, my trusty assistant. Mainly, he's decided his job is to lie on the fabric WHILE I'm sewing and when I turn the fabric, he turns with it. *sigh* He sure keeps me laughing.

I've got one more quilt to go and will start cutting the squares for it in the morning. Tonight I have a magnum of wine that's about half gone. I expect to likewise be half gone before much longer.

xoxo
HP