Garden Goddess In Progress

It's Canadian Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada. Where I live (in Southern Ontario) the weather has been unbelievably mild for October. Too nice to spend any time anywhere other than outdoors. And so I was out in my yard all day.

I thought it was about time to continue working on the Garden Goddess I started in the spring. All I did back then was cut the plywood outline with a scroll saw and even then, it wasn't me who did the cutting. It was hubby, although I "helped" by holding the plywood steady and making sure he followed the line.

The Garden Goddess is 4 feet tall. I had planned to nail her to a tall post in my garden. It just didn't happen this year. Now I'm determined to finish her tomorrow as the weatherman has promised to deliver another gorgeous day.

As much as I have things worked out in my head, I always run into snags. The plywood has knots in it and wouldn't you know that one landed smack dab in the middle of her nose. I guess the only solution is to try and cover it with a lot more paint. I have already added layers of paint but the knot keeps busting through. I just don't want her to have a wart on her nose.

The other problem is that I am not a skilled painter. I am working with acrylic paints. I like them because they dry quickly. I hate them because they dry quickly.
Anyway, tomorrow I will add more leaves and paint the background a dark colour. I also have to do some more work on the face besides dealing with the "wart".

All in all, it was a fun day. :)

Fostering

My "cotton picker" creative life has been interrupted somewhat with my preoccupation with dogs. Six months ago, we adopted two rescues, a beagle/coonhound mix and a terrier mix. In addition to our own dogs, we started fostering as well. Since hubby and I were inexperienced dog owners, we thought by fostering, we could not only help deserving dogs find homes, but by having contact with many dogs, we would learn more about canines.

This summer we had the privilege of fostering three dogs and fortunately we were able to assist in placing them in forever homes. I was so happy to know that the Australian shepherd, Cosmo, and the beagle, Tinkerbell, ended up in good loving homes. We know because we have had follow up contact with the owners.

Below is a picture of Tinkerbell in her new "daddy's" arms. For privacy reason, I had to crop out "daddy" but trust me, he has a look of extreme pride in his face.

The most difficult part was the fostering of a black chihuahua named Frankie. I fell so in love that I desparately wanted to keep him. As much as I tried to plant the idea in hubby's head and even had some of my friends drop hints at him too, he would not go along with a third permanent dog in our house. Although a number of times he agreed that Frankie was special little guy, it was not to be. I never took a picture of Frankie because it was too painful to be reminded of the dog I couldn't have.

Come next spring and throughout the summer, I expect to have another parade of dogs in our care.

Cosmo

I have gone weeks without blogging before. If I don't have anything to say, I don't post and I don't feel neglectful or guilty about it.

Today I am going to write about Cosmo, the big dog on the left. This wonderful dog was at the rescue shelter for five months with no one interested in adopting him. When we approached the director at the shelter about fostering, we were assigned Cosmo. Neither hubby or I would have chosen him, had we been given a choice in the matter.

It was explained to us that often when a dog is fostered, they get adopted shortly afterwards. Well, dear Cosmo was only with us for two weeks and then found his forever home. We met the couple who adopted him and we approve. :)

I can't believe that after only two weeks, I could fall in love with a dog so quickly. I wish we could have kept him, but we already have two dogs and three would be too much for us. We will continue to foster other dogs.

I was going to crop the picture so only Cosmo would appear, but I thought our terrier, Della, top right, looked so cute that I didn't want to cut her out completely even though she is cut out anyway.

If you double click on the photo, you will get a better view of these two cuties. :)

Feline and Canines

A favourite template created by me paired with a vintage border print from my late mother's stash inspired this kitty. What a beautiful day today to sit outside and stitch and finish up this project.

Below are some more pics of my doggies. One day I followed them around the yard for a long time, took lots of photos and ended up with a couple of excellent shots. Too bad the blue Wubba toy ended up in the second photo. If I had photoshop, I would "erase" that and the picture would be perfect. :)

Studio Clean Up

Mrs Muir, an elderly neighbour of mine who was a gifted and accomplished seamtress and knitter passed away last fall. Her son and daughter-in-law, who are working on the house to get it ready for sale, had to get rid of Mrs Muir's sewing stash and were more than happy (and generous) to let have whatever I wanted. I brought home three big garbage bags full of fabrics and notions, dumped them on my studio floor and let them sit there for a couple of months. The place looked like an episode of the TV show "Hoarders". No wonder I haven't felt like going in there to do something creative.

This weekend, hubby and I were at a yard sale. I spotted a teak chest of drawers that I knew would fit right on top of a teak cabinet that already resides in my studio. That way, I would have more storage space for all those scraps of fabric I collect, without taking up any more precious floor space. Best part - it only cost me $5.00.

So now that things are all cleaned up in there, I feel a creative surge coming on.




















And I couldn't post and not include a few doggie pictures. Della, taken by my sister with her new Smart Phone.


























Alba, taken with Sis' Smart Phone.

























Doggies soaking up the sunshine, taken by me with my crappy old camera. :)

More Doggie Pics

Alba
























Della

Ever since the dogs arrived, I've been so focused on them that I haven't stitched a single stitch in the last 5 to 6 weeks. Taking a break is not a bad thing. I find I need to do that every once in a while and then the creative juices start flowing again. I hope to get back on track very soon. In the meantime, here are a couple of photos of the sweeties, taken on one of our very early morning walks.

These guys are keeping me on my toes. They need to be exercised regularly and constantly supervised. They are perpetual 5 year olds. As I learned after the fact, that is likely not to change until perhaps their very senior years. So with 2 to 3 daily walks, sweeping, mopping and vacuuming the floors to keep up with the dog hair and the muck on their little feet, I haven't moved so much in years. I've lost 7 lbs. Thank you doggies. :)

We Have Two Dogs

Call us crazy, but we figured Alba needed a girlfriend. Meet Della (the black and white dog). Another rescue that came home with us today. You can't tell from the photos, but she's a strange little one. If there ever was a Heinz 57.....

We chose her for her sweet temperment and in my eyes, she is beautiful. :)

Life these last few weeks has been all about dog. I do hope to return to normal routine soon and back to my art. :)