Merry Christmas!

OK. Enough of being "dogless". I have paid a deposit on a new walking partner. These past few months have proven that I simply will not stick to daily walking without the needs and encouragement of a wee friend. Besides missing those wonderful puppy antics! Scotties just make me laugh --- so full of charm!

(this photo card was designed by the breeder, Pam Spicer-Lindloff of www.scotties-n-greys.com/ )

For those who don't know, I took my 4-year old Scottie, Maxwell, with me to Texas for an extended visit with one of our sons and his family last spring. While there, 4-year old granddaughter Jayna asked if Maxwell could stay and be her dog. How could I say no?

Actually, I had been warned ahead of time that she would ask. She and Max have been buddies since they first met as babies --- she was 10 months and he was 7 months. And Maxwell NEEDED children in his life. When we went for walks, he would look so longingly at children or even yards where they had played.

 

I adopted Max from a Scottie rescue group --- the first 6 months of his life had been spent in a cage at a puppy mill. He was never peopled and was fearful of everything --- definitely NOT a Scottie trait! But the owners of the puppy mill had grandchildren who would play with the new puppies. So he bonded with children and not adults.

Now that he has lived with 2 children, he is 100% Scottie --- full of energy, mischief, confidence, and joy. I am so happy he is now living the life he was meant to live . . . and thankful that our son and daughter-in-law were willing to provide all that he needs. I do miss him . . . he is coming for a visit this week!

Meanwhile, I went as long as I could without a dog in our home. Bill finally said "you want one so just do it!" I found a wonderful breeder in Oklahoma who is obviously as in love with the breed as I am. No, my new baby is not one of these puppies --- she hasn't been born yet. There is a waiting list so I won't bring one home until maybe March or April. But she is on the way!

from last week's mtng.

Like most people, I've gotten busy with pre-Christmas activities and forgot to post my doodles from our weekly prayer meeting last week. Because of scheduling conflicts, we met on Thursday instead of Wednesday.

This was the last meeting for this year; we'll start again in January.

I remembered these notes and doodles today --- after hearing that one of our members' husband had a heart attack. So we were each praying again on our own this morning. He is scheduled for a triple by-pass next week; this happened just before they were to leave town on a trip in their camper. I'm so thankful it didn't happen after they left!

We are trusting the Lord to show Himself strong on their behalf and provide all that's needed, including healing.

waiting with Mom

Tuesday I drove Mom to another eye appointment, where she is getting a series of injections in her right eye.

After a very long wait, she finally saw the doctor; he said her eye was doing so well that she did not need her shot this time. Yeah!

almost done

For some reason I have a hard time finding motivation to work on any form of quilting. Or even hand-sewing nowadays . . . something I used to love to do.

Thankfully the newest grandchildren stockings are nearly finished. Just stitch together with the linings at the top, add some decorative cording, and a few more buttons / charms to embellish the crazy-patch.

I sort of like the insides of the crazy-patch, where some of the embroidery shows through the muslin backing and some doesn't.

Neocolor tin's palette

For those interested, these are what I found to place in this skinny palette. I filled it with some extra pans of watercolor I had stuck away in a drawer. Some are colors that will be replaced with better pigments after they are used up. Others are favorites (like American Journey's ultramarine and burnt sienna).

Visual Journal in old planner

Life has been busy lately . . . normal for this season's preparations. I haven't had much sketching time. This journal spread was from Wednesday's prayer meeting, but I hadn't had time to post it.

Lately it seems easier to carry my sketch journal inside this old Franklin-Covey planner cover than to carry a purse. There are pockets to tuck an ID, credit card etc. I can just slide my current journal into the pocket where the calendar section used to go.

The watercolor palette is an idea borrowed from Cathy 'Kate' Johnson --- a Neocolor II watercolor crayon tin, spray-painted inside with white enamel, and outfitted with the basics. My tin is a bit larger than Kate's, having come with 15 crayons instead of 10. But it still fits in the back zipper pocket of the planner cover.

The WC pans are attached with rubber cement; if I wished to, they could be removed and the WC crayons put back in --- painting the inside cover white makes a handy mixing area for them as well.

You can see more on Kate's tin by clicking on the following links:
outside tin
attaching WC pans with rubber cement
an early assembling of tools

For more on my using this old planner cover, you can click here.

morning tea

Preferring infused tea over using tea bags, I own several infusers. But this silly little spoon infuser is the one I most often grab. Just stick it in the loose tea leaves, close it on about a spoonful, and stick it in the mug.

I once sketched a tea mug while the infuser was in it . . . . looked like I was stirring my tea with a large safety pin!

new journal

I really should be working on Christmas sewing projects, but a new sketchbook was calling . . . . As usual, I first do some kind of illustration of my current palette. These are the most basic tools I use.

(Yeah, I was using water and paint on our upholstered footstool without any protection underneath. My kids would have been SO in trouble for this.) ;^D

Following Liz / Borromini's idea, I'm going to try doing light preliminary sketches with red lead instead of graphite. As soon as I find red lead for this mechanical pencil, that is. Until then, I am using a red Col-Erase pencil made by Prismacolor.

Another trick learned from Liz: that paper with heavy grid lines --- even with this 140 lb. paper, I can faintly see the lines through the paper, making it easier to write in straight lines. Thanks, Liz!

last spread of this journal . . .

. . . some notes and an angel from Wednesday's prayer meeting.

Saturday in the country

Bill was told by a friend that there was a light commercial sander available on Craig's List. We drove 40 miles east to see it on Saturday.

While they drove to another farm building to check it out, I stayed in the farmyard with two sweet border collies, sketching.

In a back pasture lies this strange little hill with a cross on top. The rancher said it's where their church meets for sunrise service. He also told us that the hill has been there longer than their family can remember (several generations) --- rumor has it that an old American Indian was buried there on top of his horse. I also found this old hedge stump fascinating.