Boring?

Facebook is a wondrous place. But it can be scary, lol. You reconnect with old friends and they ask after you and your life. How to describe it? Will you come up lesser in their eyes? Will you be judged if you're not a rocket scientist, a published author, a doctor, a nurse, a...?

I am proud to be a mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend. I live a quiet, secure and comfy life. I am with the love-of-my-life and we are rather "settled" in our ways. We go out for dinner and drinks, the odd movie, away for a few days (together [wink]), out for a drive, visit with friends (often at home), but we both enjoy our homelife.

Boring? Maybe for some as we don't "party" or reconnect a lot with old friends. We have each other and a full life. A good home, great kids and a largish family. Most of our family (brothers, sisters and parents) are in the immediate area.

My husband is the main breadwinner. I originally worked outside the home as a Health Record Administrator and then as a Property Manager. Then came our two boys, now aged 24 and 20. My husband supported me as a stay-at-home, full-time Mom. It was/is a good life. I was there, and still am, for my husband and kids. I run the home. For some years, I bred Shetland Sheepdogs (20 years) and showed them in conformation and obedience. I also joined a couple of women's groups and dabbled in decorative painting and now papercrafting. I get out to the painting conventions with friends and work closely with a good friend managing a large booth. Here I get to reconnect with old and make new friends. I teach decorative painting occasionally and also papercrafting techniques. These are my hobbies and give me a creative release, fun and socializing time.

Boring? No. Anything but. My life is full and fulfilled. My best friend is my husband of almost 30 years and I look forward to growing very old with him. There aren't enough hours in the day, lol. We will continue to pursue our own hobbies (the above for me and RC Cars, Slot Cars and photography for him) but at the end of the day... we will sit comfortably side-by-side, watching must-see t.v. and talking about our days and just basking in the glow of a continued romance.

No fairytale, just very real and very fulfilling, and no boring life here .

~Shelley

What is wrong with this picture?

We bought a new dog bed for the dogs. A little on the small side, but it was inexpensive ($6.00!!) and cute and we thought, "what the hey, one of 'em might use it - probably little 'Squeak".

So... Molson really doesn't use any of the pet beds. We originally bought a few for the older dogs, Hunter and then Whisper. Hunter mainly. But then Whisper decided she really wanted Hunter's so we bought one for Whisper who then staked the new one out as hers and wouldn't let anyone else near it, lol. So off we went to get another and she staked it out too and would almost have a hissy fit when either of the two newer ones were occupied, lol. She'd huff and puff and stomp and stare and then throw herself to the floor in front of the occupied one and block whoever was on it - even while the one a few feet away was empty! If she got to the prime one first (whichever one would change on a whim) she'd growl and snarl to warn the others away. I think ONCE we actually caught all of 'em on the same bed at once and that was only because Whisper pushed her way onto one occupied by 'Squeak and Shimmer and lay almost on top of them. Ya, really. But they all left Hunter and her bed alone. She had the prime spot right beside the kitchen table where I'd sit with my 'puter.

Fast forward to now. No bed beside the kitchen table. Two in the familyroom a few feet apart. We cycle them around and now have extras to replace those that are destined for the wash.

Molson does his own thing. 'Squeak loves company. Shimmer gets tired of sharing with her daughter any spot she has laid claim to first. She gets too warm and 'Squeak is just too chummy and cloying, lol. So Shimmer has decided that the little pet bed is quite perfect as there is no room for 'Squeak (Shimmer barely fits). 'Squeak has taken to her Grandmother's ways of stomping and huffing and puffing and staring if Shimmer won't share the small bed. Until now... hubby and I watched in shock and awe as the little weasel pushed her way onto the TINY pet bed with her mother. She just 'bout pushed Shimmer off, lol. I grabbed my camera in
disbelief as Shimmer put her head up as if to implore me to save her. What a sight. The big pet bed, usually shared, remains empty. Molson snores blissfully unawares in his own little world elsewhere.

~Shelley

Hmmmm... waz up?

Well, I did go to the Quebec painting convention. Salon des Arts Decoratifs. It was, indeed, spectacular. Apart from the communication and culture shock, the people are by far, the friendliest, neatest, chiquest (my new, made-up word, lol), youngest group of painters by far. It is just... well... energizing.

I was tired (and still oh-so-sore) from the show the previous week, but I tell you, you don't have time to let your feet grow roots, lol. My French language skills were a tad lacking this year (I claim the aforementioned tiredness ) but most people were so patient and appreciative of any attempt, however much you massacred the French language ;-).

The show was in St. Hyacinth this year. It's about a 1/2 hour east of Montreal. Beautiful area. I used my friend's GPS and dubbed it "Jeannie" (for genie in a bottle/box, lol). I tell you, if someone had heard me talking back to that little piece of modern technology, I would've been committed, lol. You should've heard me when "she" would tell me to make a "legal" U turn, lol. Not. I really enjoyed it, though, and "she" sure helped me. Since then, my sweet hubby has bought me my own GPS.

The show was so busy, the four days passed in a blur. It was sad to say goodbye to my friends (new and old) but good to get home.

New. Not much. My oldest has come to stay for a couple weeks. Something about needing a break? Whatever. It's new and different and... okay, I'll say it... strange, lol. 24 is so grown up and mature and adult and a mom is not s'posed to question every little thing. Right? As if. We'll give him that space and privacy. For now .

Am still playing with the papercrafts. So satisfying. Instant gratification. I'm just in the midst of controlling some of my chaos so that I can plan a little workshop for some friends and create some Stampin Up cards and gifts for Christmas.

Have also been doing some painting and just finished a set of 4 winter landscapes adapted from a Dorothy Dent design. Will post a pic when I touch up a couple. Tomorrow I'm going to start a Kelly Hoernig design of a little "Jingle Bear". Colour Pencils. Do you hear me singing "Jingle Bells", lol?

Any-who... can't think of what else to say right now, so I'm just gonna hit "publish", lol.

~Shelley

Just playing, lol...

Been playing on my favourite time-waster site . Jigzone. Love the puzzle-a-day and their archived puzzles. Can make them as hard or easy as you want and just have fun without taking up a horizontal surface, lol. Found out, if I make an account, that I can "make" my own puzzles. Too much fun!

~Shelley

Convention News

Well, I got to the New England Traditions (NET) Painting Convention on Thursday, October 6... but my checked bag did not!

That also meant… no undies, no toiletries (which I paid a king’s ransom for at the tiny store in the lobby before it closed), no medication (my blood pressure meds, lol) and NO MAKE-UP or face cream.

The worst part?! They KNEW where our (myself and one other nice lady) bags were! They were circling endlessly on the WRONG carousel, but they figured they couldn’t get them up to us on time! And we weren't allowed to go down to the PUBLIC carousel and get them ourselves. Chain of custody?! So they sent us thru Customs who said “no way, we can’t let you in without luggage”! So… I left Customs (at 11:50 a.m. – flight to leave at 12:10) and went all the way back to the Westjet Desk, grabbed a nice lady (literally - yes I did, lol) who told me to go back it wouldn’t be a problem and I said “not without your escort, lol”. She walked us thru Customs' initial check-in and vouched for our bags (the fact that they were somewhere in the Toronto International Airport and would follow "later"), but couldn’t do anything at the actual check point/conveyor belt to hurry us thru (U.S. Customs were on "work to rule" so we were advised to "make nice"), then waited on the other side, talked to the Am.Eagle flight crew and had them hold it. We knew there were later scheduled flights to Boston but they said probably won’t get stuff ‘til sometime Friday. Grrr. Oh well. No use crying over it and stressing. Shit happens. After a hot two days in the same clothes, my bag arrived about 6 pm at the Best Western Marlborough, MA. I ripped into that bag sooooo fast for clean, dry clothes, lol. Never felt so good, lol.

The show venue for the New England Traditions Painting Convention was beautiful. People were wonderful, hotel comfortable, apparently the classes (rooms and experiences) were great. The only drawback was the loooooong jaunt to the Trade Show, but what a beautiful set-up for the Exhibitors and the customers! This chapter has done a wonderful job of putting on a show for all. Gawd forbid if there had been inclement weather, though. The distance, in my opinion, of the hotel and classes from the Trade/Exhibit Building is prohibitive. We saw few registrants come on lunchbreaks or breaks as we would at other shows with classes and exhibit areas housed under the same roof.

Our booth (Willow Wolfe and Princeton Brushes) included Rebecca Trimble this show, one of our Signature Artists. What a doll and a fantabulous artist http://www.rebeccatrimble.com/ ! It was so nice to finally meet her in person and see her artwork, watch her paint and just get-to-know her. Her style is folksy and clean with limited colours and I picked up a couple packets and can't wait to do 'em. She'd brought quite a few of her new book, Rebecca's Collections Vol 2, and it was a sell out.

I had little opportunity to leisurely browse the floor, but what I did see was awesome. There were at least 50+ booths and I tell you, it was a shopping mecca for the convention goers.

The service and food in the hotel restaurant was sub-par. One word – indifferent. They didn’t seem to care. Rebecca Trimble and I met in the main restaurant for dinner on Friday night and sat, and sat, and sat. It wasn't busy. Anything but. Most everyone was at the show's Banquet which was sold out. We were still sitting, trying to get someone's attention when Willow arrived from the airport. We waited a bit longer, again trying to politely enquire as to when we might be served when I decided to be proactive, lol. Got up and went over to the salad bar and grabbed a plateload of buns and butter and brought it back to the table! Got their attention then... they weren't happy, lol. So dinner finally arrived and was plunked onto the table. No one bothered to follow-up whether everything was fine. Halfway thru our meal, we finally nabbed the indifferent waitress and pointed out that my steak didn't have the mushrooms that were s'posed to be with it. I got lectured because I was only letting her know now?! Then, the waitress went away and came back with her order book that she plunked on the table beside me and proceeded to tap with her finger and say "see? I did NOT write "no mushrooms" ". Huh? I said we weren't implying she was in the wrong but maybe she might like to let the kitchen staff know? She said no she wasn't going to tell the kitchen staff that tonight. Huh? Let me tell you... it didn't get better, lol. In fact, this same surly, indifferent waitress was in the other restaurant for brekkie the next morning. Argh... she's stalking me, lol? None of us were looking forward to having our next meal there, but with little choice and no transportation... Let me tell you, I wasn't comfortable and just the thought of pulling up a chair in that restaurant made me queasy.

Saturday night we got a “get outta jail free card” and a nice lady, Ginny, who was in Willow's class drove us off the hotel site to a local Italian place, Allora. What a huge difference. Great food, great company, great location and service. It was energizing. I had Ch. Parmesan. Yummy.

At the end of the final day, after packing up the booth and ensuring that all the boxes would arrive safely at their next destination, I took the long walk up the hill to the hotel, not looking forward to eating in the restaurant there, but feeling too tired to ask the hotel shuttle to take me elsewhere. Donna Scully was packing up her car when she saw me dragging my butt up to the hotel and surprised me with the offer of dinner somewhere and a chance to visit before she hit the road. I thought… another git outta jail free card! With no hesitation I said yes and we had a lovely couple hours.

My van showed up on time the next morning and whisked me to the airport (only about 45 minutes, as my ride in on the Thursday was - some registrants and teachers had taken 2 hours or more to get to Marlborough from Logan International in Boston because of traffic). I checked in early and decided to go thru security to just sit and rest in the Air Canada lounge. Of course I had to go thru the full check because the buzzers went off - my bracelets. The lady screener was friendly and explained everything as she went about her business. I kibitzed with her and she thought I was a riot... heehee. I commented on this and she basically said my mantra, "life's too short to get your short's in a knot...". Told her she was terrific. One of the men on the line was fascinated with the commentary we carried on, lol, and then asked about the Pandora bracelets I had on. So of course I had to share about them . Then it was time to relax and await the flight. It was a cramped little puddle jumper and booked solid but the flight was only just over an hour so it was manageable. Just. Although the initial taxiing was taking so long, my seatmate and I thought sure we were maybe just taking the highway to Ottawa. It was a bumpy ride the first half (new pilot? 'Cause sure wasn't the weather) but I was able to tamp my queasiness down.

Home. So nice to be home. Had a nap then a great meal out at Swiss Chalet. Did groceries today, laundry tomorrow and updating my books/booth schedule etc... off to the Quebec show on Thursday and back Monday. Whew. Salon des Arts Decoratifs http://www.salonartsdecoratifs.com/ . I will be driving so no chance of losing my luggage, lol.


~Shelley

A little lost

I'm a little numb and bruised today. It's not really a bad day, if you call saying goodbye to a furry friend and helping them move onto a less confusing, painfree life is a blessing and a gift we can give them. It's just kinda the speed it took, like a snowball rolling down a mountain. It's with a sad heart that I write her obit today.

Whisper: December 29, 1997 - September 12, 2011

Yes, she was aging fast. They always do once that process starts. Didn't mind carrying her up and downstairs; she'd actually resolved herself to her new role of demanding mistress of the house, lol. Take her out, plunk her onto the soft grass, give her behind a pat and gentle push and she'd do "her business", maybe run 'round for a bit and sniff all the neat yard smells, check the back gate area and warn the construction workers and passersby that she was the Queen of all she surveyed, then wander back to the patio and yip or whine until her servant appeared to usher her into her abode. She wanted her "dues" when and how she wanted them, lol.

Her arthritic discomfort was getting worse and the pills gave limited relief. Her hind end was getting weaker and she'd softly collapse occasionally then look a little befuddled. Her sleeps were longer and deeper. But boy, could that tail still wag and that body still enjoy the petting and scratching. And she was always right there at the door pushing her way thru the others and demanding her share.

Saturday night we went out to dinner and when we came back I thought she was "listing" a little. Her behaviour was a little more clingy and she was a little more unsteady on her feet. We both voiced our thoughts that her time was getting nearer and time for serious monitoring. The next day she seemed back to "her normal". I met with my eldest and tried to pave the way. I was met with denial and a cold statement that I'd never been forgiven for the passing of another favourite from about 7 years ago, Sheena. Sheena, the matriarch, was 17 years and one week when I had to make the decision for her/us. I was hurt. I've always tried to be honest with the kids (and myself) and do the best for the furries and them and pave the way for the facts of life and the gift (yes, it is that; as hard as it is and it HAS been hard over the years) of being able to help them to the Rainbow Bridge. Oh well. He (my eldest) and I went birthday shopping for something for his girlfriend and had a good day and I made sure I convinced him to factor in time to come home and make a card for his girlfriend and I'd drop him to work on time. It was my way of ensuring he see "his dog" while the opportunity was still there. Whisper was as good and healthy as an old, arthritic dog could be and was very happy to see him and get extra attention and treats. That tail was a-waggin'.

She had lots more smelly dog treats than normal that day, ate a huge dinner drenched in chicken bouillon and looked for more. Had her evening scratch and pet and outing and after two extra special dog cookies (rather than the 1/2 the dogs usually got for "bedtime-cookietime"), we all retired for the night.

I was awakened by my youngest son sometime around 1 a.m. Whisper was seizing. It was not her "normal" short epileptic episode (she'd started having small seizures at about age 8 and they lasted mere seconds to a couple minutes; they occurred sporadically about every few months and were not too momentous for her or us). This was something more and not pretty. I got her settled some, hubby awoke and looked after the both of us and we determined it was time. No time to wait 'til "regular hours".

Her last couple hours were calmer and with her favourite people and we said goodbye and let her go peacefully to the Rainbow Bridge. I am sure she is smiling and running freely again and painfree and lording it over all the others. The Queen Bee.

There is a hole in the household today. The three young-uns are a little unsettled as am I but we will carry on and each day will get better. Should be interesting what happens with the furbaby hierarchy now that the Queen Bee has passed on the torch. Very interesting .

Whisper? Waggy tail? Where's that waggy tail? Gooooood girl. We'll miss you, but know that you're painfree and happy and wagging that tail madly, dancin' and lookin' for your "dues".

~Shelley

Whisper

She's getting old, lol. The arthritis is getting the upperhand. We're now carrying her up stairs almost all the time. Very few exceptions. She can still make it downstairs most of the time. But she doesn't like to. And she doesn't like to get her feet wet in dewy grass or rainy grass, so she mostly goes on the patio stones. Each stone is 18" square, so by my calculations, the pic I took (one of her shorter trails, lol) is about 15'. Please let me decide on the signs for her needing to be a "downstairs" dog before she breaks her housetraining due to old age! Argh.

We had a four-legged visitor for a few days in August. He was busy as 6 month old pups are. The younger ones got used to him and would "tune him up" periodically. Pebbles just shrugged these times off and went about his merry way. He's a good pup. Whisper is 13-1/2+; she doesn't have to "put up with it" and doesn't. The photo shows her greeting Pebbles, lol. Thank goodness she is much slower moving as she ages .

~Shelley