Today is a Better Day

Thanks for your kind words about Anders. Since I'm far enough out of the funk that I was in, I can post about happier things now. :)

Here is Moonshadow, my girl kitty:


















And Clementine, my boy kitty:
















I just posted the "Moonshadow Broom Ride" video on flickr, too.

They are keeping us entertained, to say the very least.

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Did you know that tonight is a Blue Moon?

Joe and I might go snowshoeing after it gets dark. For Christmas, I got Joe (and myself) showshoes, which are sure to get a lot of use over the coming years. If you've never tried showshoeing, and are fortunate enough to live in a snowy state, I suggest you rent a pair (maybe from Rutabaga if you live near Madison, WI) and try it out. It's a great way to get outside when the temperatures drop and you can't garden or work in your garage or go to outdoor concerts.

But since it will be about 10 hours before we venture out, I've been finding things to do indoors on the last day of 2009.

I'm currently taking a break from sanding wood. Wood that will soon be painted and block printed with new designs for 2010. Since I'm temporarily only working part time, I thought it would be good opportunity to make some key racks. Something I swore I wasn't going to do again. But if I've learned anything about myself in the past year, it's that get bored with things quickly and hate commitments and feeling like I have to do something. So, lately I've just been going with the flow and doing whatever seems appealing at the time. And right now, creating new patterns for the racks seems rather appealing. Especially since I haven't touched my art stuff in almost a year, and it's not something that I have to do anymore.

Okay, well off I go to paint! I just bought some new colors, which I will most likely enhance a bit with other colors. I can't help but to mix things! Does anybody else have a serious obsession with mixing? Cereal, beverages, paint...it's all fair game.

Cheers!

RIP, Puppy.

I'm having a really hard time with this post.

Today I bought a computer. Came home, danced around the house and sang the "we have a computer" song, sang the "Now I can show everyone our new kitties!" song, and then sat down to start editing and posting photos of said kitties.

My phone rang. It was my mom. I've never, ever, heard her so sad, she was just sobbing and sobbing. My mom is very strong, and to hear her like this was very hard for me.

They had to put Anders down this morning. The dog I talked about in my last post.

I knew that it was going to happen today, but it didn't really affect me quite so bad until I heard my mom on the other end of the line. I guess I just tried to keep it at the back of my mind most of the day.

My mom kept saying how she had nobody to give her last bite of food to (something she started doing when his hips started getting worse and worse...she knew the end was near soon) and how he's just laying in a hole in the back yard. Ugh. I'm terrible when it comes to talking to people who are crying, because no matter the circumstance, I can't keep the lump from my throat or the tears from my eyes. And that's what's really doing me in now- knowing how much she is hurting over this.


















(left: me and kevin with anders, within the first week we had him. right: me walking anders. i hated this photo till tonight.)

We got Anders when I was in 8th grade. I was 13. I remember the day my mom and brother brought him home. He was tiny, but had huge paws.

Over the years, he proved to be a great dog. He never barked. Never dug holes. Never chewed shoes. Didn't even stop the people who robbed my parent's house (okay...not so great...but goes to show just how loving he was).

He was fun to wrestle with. Fun to take for walks (he'd usually take me for the second half of the walk, grabbing the leash in his mouth and showing me the way home as soon as we'd turn around in that direction). Fun to chase around the yard. Always knew to be careful around babies and older people. Loved other dogs and cats. I could go on and on. He was a great companion.

I didn't think I was going to have this hard of a time with this. Geez, now I sound like my mom. But really...this sucks.

It's amazing how much animals can do for our well-being, isn't it? I will miss Anders very much. Hopefully I am back with a happier post tomorrow. For now I'm off to get some rest.

Happy Holidays

Hi everybody!

I hope your holidays are going well.

We are at my parent's house and I was all ready to post photos of my kitties, etc. but then I realized that I switched my memory card in the camera this morning before leaving home. Dumb.

I didn't unwrap a computer this morning, which is okay because it wasn't on my list so I wasn't counting on one. What I did get was pretty great, though.

From Joe:
2 Van Morrison LPs
Pajamas (our new Christmas Eve tradition)
A new robe
Lotion
AND, my favorite...he wrapped a pair of tickets to a hockey game (Minnesota Wild vs. Detroit Red Wings) in an LP that we already had...trying to be sneaky and making me act like I was excited to open something that I knew we had. Anyway, the hockey game happens to fall on my birthday, which is awesome!

The story behind it was that Joe was supposed to go on business to MN over my birthday. I was really looking forward to going with and shopping in Minneapolis and St. Paul while he was at work. But then he found out that he wasn't going to go to MN anymore, that he had to do some other cities instead, which I wouldn't be able to go to. I was bummed, but it was okay. He felt bad and so he got me hockey tickets so we had a reason to go to Minnesota over my birthday (not that we wouldn't have a reason without them...this just makes it more fun).

I should add that we have been to the XCEL Energy Center before, for our anniversary, to see Neil Young, and that's where the Minnesota Wild plays.

So one month till I get to go to Room and Board, West Elm, IKEA, and all the cute little shops downtown!

Any suggestions?

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From my parents, I got some really great books, along with some other useful stuff (hello, bench grinder! my tool collection is growing quickly!). The books I got, which I'm very excited about:

Attracting & Feeding Backyard Birds
A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants (yes! 1097 pages)
A Practical Guide to Growing Vegetables Fruit & Flowers.

They will definitely prove to be useful over the next few decades.

Well, for now I should be going. I wish I could write enough posts to pop up over the next couple weeks, but my childhood dog, Anders, is very excited about our kitties and wants to be their friend, but unfortunately, they do not feel the same way about it. So I should help Joe keep Anders away for now. Poor pup.

Still the Same

Hey everybody!

Hope you are all doing well.

I have lots of fun stuff that I wish I could share, but I am still without a computer.

Just wanted to check in and say I'm still here and miss you all! I am seriously jonesing for some blog-reading and google-searching. Like, bad. It's really weird not to have answers at my fingertips anymore.

Can't wait to show you the kitties we found! Hopefully by next week, although some recent circumstances are going to push the computer-buying back again. One day...

Alright, well off I go. Take care and enjoy your holidays if I don't get back here before then!