Ceilidh, from 2011

Recently our son Jeff and I were trying to remember how old our shared Scottish Terrier, Ceilidh, is now. She went to live with Jeff during his college years to help him through a bit of depression, then she chose him as “her” human permanently. She now lives with him in Ohio.

To determine her age, I went back in my sketchbooks — these are from 2011. The blog entry to the above sketches reads as follows:

“ Ceilidh insisted on tackling the front steps by herself after the first few times, running from me before I can pick her up. But she is still wary of coming down them.

Sort of like us. In life, it's much more exciting to go forward when we are feeling "up". Harder to function on the down side.”

a trip to Buc-ee’s

Yesterday we drove to Madisonville, which is roughly half-way to Nacogdoches, where our youngest son lives. After graduating from Steven F. Austin University, he found a local job to support himself as he continues on to grad school.

His dog, Ceilidh, has been staying with us while he was busy with the job search but he was more than ready to get her back. She used to be my dog; Scottish Terriers are notorious for stubbornly choosing who their true person is and she chose Jeff. Both are so happy to be together again! We met Jeff half-way to return Ceilidh to him.

Sunday sketches

A bit of doodling and sketching from yesterday . . . and a bit more after a day of driving, fetching our Scottish terrier, Ceilidh, home from college. She has been on an extended stay with our youngest son who is finishing his courses at Stephen F. Austin university in Nacogdoches.

(I call it doodling if drawn more from my mind, sketching if from on site or from photos.)

met on our walk

Ceilidh and I were walking one morning when we found this Basset had escaped the fenced-in yard he shares with a gorgeous German Shepherd. They had a wee romp, then I opened the gate to let him back in his yard.

a sad bunny tale

More and more as I interact with wildlife in our new home in the woods, I think of Beatrix Potter's experiences with the creatures she came upon at Hill Top.

However not every story has a good ending. After six months extended stay with our youngest son who is in college, my Scottish terrier, Ceilidh, is back home. She loves playing in her little fenced yard and, being a terrier, loves to dig holes. So we thought nothing of her starting a new one first thing.

Unfortunately, she dug up a rabbit nest. Local wild rabbits, thinking the dog gone for good, nested in the center of Ceilidh's yard. She did not try to hurt the babies, only wishing them to play with her. But the parents abandoned the nest and the babies died. We had hoped they would return if we kept the dog away but they did not. These same rabbits often sit just outside of her fence, knowing she can't reach them.

some old favorites

Sometimes a sketch just works. Without planning, it just gracefully becomes more than I first envisioned. This 2011 fountain sketch from Excelsior Springs' Hall of Waters brings me joy whenever I see it, not only because I was happy with the results, but also because it brings up so many memories of sketching with my sketchcrawl buddy, Kate.

Not liking the recent changes, I am gradually closing my Flickr account --- Why continue using a product that gives me a headache? I'm actually glad the changes have pushed me into closing the account. It fits the "discardia" I've been doing lately (simplifying everything in my life, getting rid of whatever is not needed), greatly simplifying my posting sketches on-line. It's even pushing me to finally start posting things on Facebook, where so many artist friends have moved their posts to.

Most of my sketches on this blog have been linked back to my Flickr site. Meaning: delete my Flickr and the pictures disappear. So I am slowly reloading each picture directly to this blog. In the process, I am rediscovering sketches I had forgotten about . . . and having a fun time doing so!

       

These sketches of my Scottie, Ceilidh, when she was a new puppy made me literally laugh out loud! At 2 1/2 years old, she is just as bouncy, silly, and mischievous as shown in these sketches.

 

And sketches of our children and grandchildren always bring smiles and memories.The upper bit is Quen having a chat with his dad, Matt. Below is Jayna right after donating her long hair to Locks of Love. First time she had short hair since babyhood.

how I spent the 37th International Sketchcrawl . . .

. . . and the previous day. We took a quick trip to visit old friends now living in Arkansas. They were like parents to us when we were teens and in need of a caring, listening adult. Very dear to both of us.

It rained the whole time, but Ceilidh was still able to have fun running circles in the huge backyard, chasing squirrels, birds, chipmunks, and deer. I also saw a pair of pileated woodpeckers, though not long enough to draw them.

Our friends live in a forest near Norfolk Lake -- lots of tall oak trees which were just beginning to turn color.

 

Here, a quick sketch while waiting to eat breakfast before leaving for home. Very thick fog soon changed to more rain and heavy winds -- we stopped for a late lunch in Parsons, KS where I drew this Texas longhorn skull hanging on the wall.

Ceilidh's Wednesday

Yesterday just wore Ceilidh out; she spent the whole afternoon snoozing in this old overstuffed chair.

First, I combed through her shaggy coat -- which she does NOT enjoy. Then I took her to the groomer's for a haircut. While she was there, I drove to a local shop that had replaced our windshield --- it rained last night and the windshield leaked.

They fixed the leak but had not finished drying out the car, so I took the car to pick up the dog, go buy dog food, then take it back for them to finish.

I walked home (only 7 blocks), which Ceilidh did NOT want to do. She is getting so lazy!

This is the final page of this sketchbook; time to go start a new one.

Ceilidh on the job

Having a recent problem with vertigo, I've been spending a lot of boring time laying still in bed. Better than the world spinning around me, I guess. We rigged up a way for my very short Scottie to get up on the bed with me if she wants to by moving an ottoman in from the living room.

 

I also used my journal to record when each attack of vertigo happened as well as the current meds I'm taking to lessen the effects. It will be helpful this morning when I go in for an MRI.

finding pennies . . .

For about 12 years I have been finding pennies wherever I go -- when I least expect it. Today, while walking Ceilidh, I found a nickel and 2 pennies; none of them were close to each other.

It has become a sort of private joke between me and the Lord --- His "wink and a smile" to me, reminding me that He loves me and has blessings planned for me.

(all images on this blog can be seen a bit larger by clicking on them)

lazy cat and dog

Bill and I were watching a movie we had taped last week about a girl's reform school where some of the girls were firefighters. As one of the characters spent her spare time sketching, I began to sketch Ceilidh and Bearcat -- they seemed to be bored with the whole thing.

I really messed up on Bear's face -- doesn't look cat-like at all!

(That chair's arm protector seems to always be askew, so I just drew it that way.)

Expectation

Not sure what Ceilidh is expecting . . . . a passing dog? another robin in the yard? Our renter coming home to greet her?

She seems to be happy just waiting.

"Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him . . ." -- Psalm 37:7

how I spent Thanksgiving day

Bill has now been "on-call" for 5 Thanksgiving days in a row. (It's just how the calendar schedule comes up on a 4-day rotation; his boss doesn't see any reason to change it.) When he is "on-call", he can't leave town in case someone needs propane (he's the service-tech, not a deliveryman, technically making him "on-call" 24/7 anyway --- too bad he isn't paid doctor's rates! He doesn't even get overtime if called out on holidays because it counts as fewer than 40 hours for the week).

Enough griping . . .

All of our family is out-of-town, so we make no plans on Thanksgiving day, knowing Bill will probably be called out at any moment. I've now developed a habit of watching the Westminster Kennel Club dog show every year. This year Ceilidh watched with me. Really, she did! She actually stood up for a closer view like this at one point, though it was when the Great Dane was shown, not the Scottie.

my two Scotties

Maxwell was my Scottie until I took him on an extended stay to our son's home SW of Houston last year. Our granddaughter, Jayna, asked if he could stay and be her dog. Maxwell really wanted children in his life (children were the only people who gave him attention in the puppy mill he was rescued from) so it was easy to leave him.

My new Scottie, Ceilidh, has adjusted well to living in an apartment without children . . . . but she LOVES visiting Maxwell and running free in his backyard. It seems Maxwell has befriended the rottweiler on the other side of the privacy fence. He sticks his nose through the broken board in greeting.

After leaving Jason's, we headed for Kristen's home in NW Houston . . . . and a basset-beagle named Peaches.

on the road for Bill's 60th birthday

We just got back from a quick trip to Texas --- Bill requested a birthday party and that means going where all our kids have moved. Usually we make the drive all in one day; this time we left after Bill got off work Thursday, driving only part-way and getting a motel room overnight.

Because her legs are so short, we don't let Ceilidh jump on beds. A vet once told us that jumping off could hurt her back. So she claimed the overstuffed chair in the room as hers, until bedtime when we still kennel her. She's still a puppy, after all.

We prefer driving back-roads when we can --- nearing Jason's, we pass this grain elevator in Richmond. I've always wanted to sketch it. This is not accurate at all (drawn in ink without pencil first) but it was fun. Maybe I'll try again later.

Ceilidh sleeping . . .

. . . changing her position three times as I sketched this. Adding the plaid background was just silly fun.

I thought I would sketch her more often than I do. But now that she has finally decided naps are OK, she usually takes them underneath whatever chair I'm sitting in at the moment. When awake, she's way too active to capture a sketch of.

Maybe I should have named her 'Tigger' for her bouncy ways.

Argh!

Most of my sketches of this wee dog, Ceilidh, have been from photographs because she would never be still for a moment. Too easily stimulated, I've had to put her in a more closed kennel for "down" time or she'd never take puppy naps and get too wound up.

Now she is growing up (6 months old) and chooses to take some naps on her own. Finally! I thought --- now I can sketch her from life!

But no, the places she chooses to nap are hiding under furniture where I can't see her.

So . . . just a caricature of her today. Pentel pocketbrush pen and gouache.

munching cicadas

This event took place on 22 July, when Mikala came to visit us overnight. But I didn't get around to journaling it until this week.

When I took Ceilidh out early in that morning, I noticed this cicada struggling to move around in the grass. It had been injured in some way.

Ceilidh's Arkansas souvenir

I used this stick to lure Ceilidh up the hill leading to our friend's house; she seemed just about ready to squeeze through the holes of the back fence --- I obviously could NOT follow her through those holes and into the woods, so I tricked her into running after this stick.

Then she proceeded to chew right through the hard wood.

teething puppy

Our vet, Dr. Beth, has been concerned about Ceilidh's teeth --- her lower left canine pointed inside her mouth instead of out, forming a slight indentation on the roof of her mouth.

Right after a regular vet check-up last Monday, this tooth fell out. Followed by at least one more baby tooth every day we were away on a trip to Arkansas to visit friends. Ceilidh's permanent teeth are coming in so fast, she appears to have grown a goofy grin overnight!

We came home over the weekend but other "catch-up" tasks have prevented me from finishing up some trip sketches. Hopefully I'll upload them soon.