See Tilly Grow

In mid January, we adopted a standard poodle (Tilly) from the Humane Society. We couldn't tell at the time because she was covered in a mess of hair, but she was in bad shape.


Look at her now. Her weight has doubled, and day by day, she is learning to fully trust us.


She might actually be the best dog ever.

Clearing House

Sarah Hazel Art Studio is clearing house.

On the table (literally) are eight paintings from 2005-ish that will be given away. For my gentle readers, this offer is on a first come first served basis.


Up for grabs are from left to right, starting on the top row: Sister Friends (24" x 30"), Little Cowgirl (16" x 20"), Tea Party (20" x 24").
Middle: Apples and Pears (11" x 14").
Bottom row, left to right: Aspens (16" x 20"), Garlic and Tomatoes (11" x 14"), Paperwhites (11" x 14"), and Sisters Fishing (22" x 28").

Donations accepted (but not required.) Only one painting per collector. All work unframed. Unless an adequate tip is included in addition to shipping costs, no shipping. I, Sarah Hazel, retain the rights to all images.
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*Thanks for the overwhelming response. All paintings are now gone.

Cottonwood Revisited

After the project for the American Heart Association was turned in, gone, no longer at our house, I kind of missed it.

So, I painted the image again. This time, instead of being painted on a giant art heart, it's on a 36" x 48" canvas. It's quite large (for me.)


Now, this isn't an exact copy....it's only inspired from the original. Some of the same techniques were used as were used in the last piece. Such as, this was painted in thin layers with drying time in between. The sky got three layers. The field got at least three layers, and I don't remember how many layers of paint are on the tree. Also, I loved the color scheme of the art heart and wanted to work in that same color scheme again. The purple, blue, orange, and yellow form a tetrad on the color wheel, which was an accidental discovery after the art heart was completed.

The Smell of Freedom

One of our friends named Minh immigrated to the US from Vietnam as a teenager. He tells the story of when he and his family arrived in Guam. Riding to the military base from the boat in the back of a pick up truck, he smelled the air and thought to himself, "That's the smell of freedom." After being in a communist oppressed country, everything was new and beautiful to him. Years passed and he never smelled that particular scent again. But while visiting a friend in New York, he smelled it. He excitedly exclaimed to his friend, "I smell it. That's the smell of freedom!" His friend was puzzled. Undeterred, Minh explained his first impression of being on free soil and how powerful a feeling it was to him as a young man and how he associated that smell with the smell of freedom. This was the first time he had smelled the same scent since his first moments on free soil. His friend said, "You like that smell? Dude, that's a skunk."

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Last night I went to an artist talk at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston by my friend and fellow artist, Jonatan Lopez. Jonatan and I first met in October 2008 during Fresh Art's MADE FROM IKE exhibit benefiting Americans for the Arts at the Caroline Collective. I immediately liked his work and almost as immediately, commissioned him to make a pit lantern for us out of our old Weber grill. He and I have been in several shows together since then. We have lots of mutual art friends, and consequently run into each other on a fairly regular basis at various openings and art events.

Ours is an unlikely friendship. He's Latino, young, and energetic. I'm a middle aged white woman. Lately, he's been more and more extreme in the message that's attached to his art. Me? I'm the exact opposite. Very unextreme -- in life and the art I create.


I like Jonatan. He's kind, friendly, thoughtful, a hard worker -- qualities that I admire in anyone. He's a real go-getter. He's constantly exhibiting and expanding his repertoire artistically. He's moved from metal sculpture to performance art to installations to film to curating -- he's talented. Did I say he's talented? In the last two years, some (not all) of his shows have exhibited a decidedly darker view of life. Religion, sexuality, politics -- all are fair game in his artistic expressions, always pushing the envelope, and in his own words "questioning and defying mainstream views." Whether or not I agree with his "in your face" message doesn't mean that it's not OK for him to preach it.

His current work is clearly striking a cord within the Houston art scene. Good grief. He was giving an artist talk at the Contemporary Arts Museum! Last year he had an exhibit space at Project Row Houses. Those are big deals. I like Jonatan. I like him as a person. I believe in him as an artist. He's incredibly talented and thoughtful. I can fully endorse his (as he called them) decorative arts, including the two pieces in our own personal collection.

The current religious, sexual, and political work is causing me a crisis of conscience to endorse. It's hard to separate this newer art from the message. The message is the art and the art is the message. It doesn't mean that I don't like him; it's just that some of his art is not what I would ever choose to display in my living room, except, of course, for the two pieces that we already own.

Jonatan's artistic freedom of expression is applauded and accepted, especially by the art elite, or at least it seems that way. I'm pretty open to artistic freedom. I don't even mind that Jonatan creates what he creates. More power to him -- honestly. I'm continually impressed by Jonatan's artistry. I want all the best for Jonatan. What really happened at the talk last night, and the reason for this extended explanation, was that I was uncomfortably bombarded by Jonatan's political, sexual, and religious views through his artistic expression. I just wasn't expecting such a visually graphic lecture. Shame on me for being naive.

I'm proud of him for all that he is accomplishing in the Houston art scene. Freedom of expression should smell sweet to all of us, whether we have a crisis of conscience or not.

Babysitting

The Amazing Reese and I sometimes babysit our niece and nephew. Last time, they went in Tilly's cage all by themselves -- promise.

Let Things GO With The Flow

As a child vies for attention when his mother talks on the phone, my thoughts are competing for attention in my brain. With so many competing ideas in my head, formulating a single train of thought is almost impossible. One thing, does it do any good to sit here and stare at an empty computer screen when I can't think of anything (instructive, uplifting, constructive, compelling....) to say?

Today's thoughts are thoughts of introspection, and I'm not sure that you, gentle reader, actually want to go on a tour of my brain.

1. There are several instances in my life where people have believed in me more than I have. The Amazing Reese is one of those people. He daily encourages and enables me to live well.

2. Over the weekend, through the magic of facebook, I heard from a high school era friend. A wave of memories followed. It made me realize that I'm very much the same person, even though I've changed a lot.

3. Every day I make choices in how to live. For instance, every morning I choose coffee.

4. Not everyone understands or appreciates my way of living. A lot of people want me to be someone different. Why is this? Why would anyone want someone else to not be who they are?

5. Some days I don't fully understand myself. Does that matter? Do I need to understand everything?

6. I would like to have all of the health benefits of running without the actual running part.

7. It sometimes makes me sad that I don't enjoy running anymore. Then I think of all of the other things that use up time that are less physically strenuous -- like for instance, drinking coffee.

8. I love Jesus but I drink a little.

9. I'm 47. I wish I were more fit, but not enough to do anything about it. See #6 and #8.

10. Sometimes, even at artistic or creative events, I realize that I'm a little bit outside the box. Then I think that if I were in the same box as everyone else, it would be very crowded. Even though I don't mind boxes, I would prefer not to be in one.

Flat Elizabeth

The field trips continue. This time, Flat Elizabeth came to visit all the way from Hillsdale Elementary in Hayesville, Ohio. Her Aunt Gail brought her over to see the mural on the back of the house. (She loved it!)

Flat Elizabeth also enjoyed petting our wonderfully gentle and friendly poodle, Tilly.

Spring Verses Winter

In winter sleeps the morning sun
whose rise is slow and sure
In spring the morning starts to rush
the dawn is quick, then done

It's noisy in the springtime, yes,
the land has been at rest
A slower pace in winter months
gives way to busyness.

A shouting match starts off the day
between the cat and jay,
and then a man begins to mow
and blow the grass away

One might assume that all is new
and great because it's spring
It seems my mind is winter full
and springy thoughts are few

When will the paint flow free again
and inspiration come?
Abide my soul till that day soon
and I will paint the land

Come join me one, come join me all
let's paint together now
that spring has come. Come sunshine fill
the air, my heart, my whole.

Heart Unveiling

The Go Red for Women art heart unveiling event last week was super wonderful AND at my favorite restaurant, Brennan's -- yum. (That the event was at Brennan's didn't have anything to do with my attendance, though it didn't hurt.) While sipping on red wine (for heart health), we learned in an informal presentation that the number one killer of women is heart disease. Also, five times as many women die from heart disease than from breast cancer. That's a big statistic.

At the end of the evening, Reese and I headed downstairs to the bar for a bowl of turtle soup, a Brennan's signature dish (probably not on the heart healthy menu.) In a transcendent state of conciousness from the deliciousness of the soup, somehow it registered that we didn't have a single photo of the heart and me from the evening. So, after (literally) sopping up the last drop of soup with crusty white bread, (also not heart healthy,) we headed back upstairs to take a photo, just before the heart was to be taken out of the ballroom.


Fellow artist Kermit Eisenhut's heart is behind mine, with the yellow roses and the stars and stripes, and a sliver of a glimpse of artist Nicola Parente's heart behind Kermit's.


Here I am with Kermit -- super nice guy.


And this is me with fellow artist Nicola Parente and Michael Piana, both also super nice.

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On a personal note, my own grandmother died suddenly of a heart attack when she was 63. I was 10 when it happened, and remember the deep grief of realizing that she wasn't HERE anymore. As a child, we would visit our grandparents in North Carolina every summer. Usually, when we were leaving, Grandma would cry and hug me (us) all tight. The last time I saw her, the family was driving away in the station wagon, and instead of crying, she was laughing and running beside the car while waving good-bye. That's a good memory.

I still miss her.

Francesca

She was walking past his office door one afternoon. Reese was irresistibly drawn to her....the way she walked, scurrying as if in a hurry, but somehow not getting very far. He opened the door to get a better look. Yes, she was a beauty all right.

It had been a while since he had seen, much less been this close to such an amazing creature. He reached out for her and had second thoughts. What about his wife? What would she think? He reasoned, "It is cold out. I'll just let her in to warm up a bit."

Her name was Francesca. She was trying to get somewhere safe to spend the night before it got too dark outside. She was hungry, too, not having had a good meal in who knows how long. He let her have the leftover strawberries from his lunch.

The more he stared at her the more enchanted he became. He couldn't put her back on the streets. Not that night. He just couldn't. So he called his wife on the phone. "Sarah darlin', there's a sweet little creature here at the office. She's tired and hungry and needs a place to stay. Should I put her back out on the streets? Or bring her home? I'm sending you a photo so you can see what I'm talking about."


"Oh, Reese!" I said, "Please bring her home! She can live in the pond with the fish."


And that is how Francesca the turtle came to live in our back yard pond.

Hearty Cottonwoods

When first asked to create this art heart, even before it was delivered to the house, all of my thoughts went to constructing a painting for the heart in my brain. Several ideas were sketched in a sketch pad, but it wasn't until I started drawing on the actual heart that the realization hit me that most of my sketches wouldn't translate well to the three dimensionality of this heart shape. Since this was to be created for a particular person in the Circle of Red Society, I e-mailed her and asked some basic questions to defibrillate the creative process.


Based on her answers, this heart combines her love of the wide open skies of West Texas and the cottonwood tree.....the cottonwood because it so hardy and the bark has great character.


This BIG art heart gets picked up this afternoon to be on display for the American Heart Association Go Red for Women reception Thursday evening. Tomorrows private event is at one of my favorite restaurants of all time. I'm so excited....and a little nervous....


After the art heart paintings were finished, I found this poem on the internet. The cottonwood has indeed grown into my heart.

Cottonwood Summer
by Jack Peachum

“You may have your mighty oaks—
Go on– listen to your whispering pines,
Tend your pretty flowers—
For I’ll outlast them all—
I can grow anywhere, any time—
Give me an inch of your ground,
And I will bury you!
I ask nothing of you, neither food nor water,
I thrive in the drought and I rest in the cold—
Next year I’ll be stronger,
My roots going deeper,
And some night I’ll creep into your room,
Plant myself over you, cover you up,
Bind you to the sheets—
My branches will grow out of your heart.”

Reclaimed Remnants

Occasionally, not often enough, I volunteer for the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. Whether it's working in the garden, being a gallery attendant, or serving wine at an opening reception, it's always fun. While serving wine at one of the opening exhibit events, I met and fell instantly in like with Kristi Rae Wilson, a current resident artist there.


Once upon a time, Kristi found a Ziploc baggie of fabric remnants. Finding it prompted her to create an entire new body of work, in which she combined the fabric remnants with scrap sterling silver to arrange and fabricate decorative, functional, and completely contemporary jewelry. This most recent body of work is called "Intentions of an Anonymous Quilter."


On the side, Kristi works for Buffalo Exchange, a clothing store that sells new and used fashion, some of which was donated by the store to incorporate into the new jewelry pieces. Last Friday night, Buffalo Exchange hosted a show for Kristi which showcases the re-purposed remnants....which is where I come in....


Kristi asked if I would please serve drinks at the opening reception, which, of course, I was delighted to oblige. If any Houstonians are out and about in the Montrose area, and are interested in seeing the work up close and personal, stop by Buffalo Exchange and take a peek. The show will be up all week.

Heartily in Favor

The American Heart Association has a campaign that focuses on bringing awareness to women that heart disease is their number one killer. The campaign is called Go Red For Women (usually symbolized by the red dress). There are numerous volunteer groups that promote the Go Red cause. One of those groups is the Circle of Red. The Circle of Red is under the Go Red umbrella and is comprised of 11 women who have volunteered and financially supported the Go Red cause. As part of their membership in this exclusive Circle, these women will receive an art heart, one of which I was asked to create.

The Circle of Red has given to the campaign, so the art hearts indirectly assist in raising funds and directly help build awareness. The hearts are to be unveiled to the members of the Circle of Red next Thursday evening at a private event.

In this final phase of preparing my heart, after consulting two different art supply stores and a hardware store on how to seal it, I went with the advice from the hardware store guy. A minimum of three coats of Rust-Oleum crystal clear enamel will be applied to it, with drying time in between. It's such a tall piece that I had to climb on a ladder to be able to evenly and effectively spray the protective finish on it.


Also, in anticipation of the heart unveiling next week, as silly as it sounds, instead of cutting my own hair, I actually went to the salon for a proper hair cut. Even though I'm mostly confident in my own hair cutting abilities, it usually takes about a week or so of snip snip snipping before the hair is properly even and all that. This way, with the heart unveiling next Thursday, I'll not have to fret over whether my hair looks OK or not. Well, at least if it looks goofy it won't be from a bad cut. It will just be from misbehaving hair.

Badge Season

It must be badge season or something. Another group came over this morning for a "meet the artist" field trip. This was a mixed group -- a cub scout, boy scouts, and some American Heritage Girls. (It was the first that I had ever heard of American Heritage Girls.)

They were originally going to come over yesterday, but it rained here in Houston, and as a big part of the "tour" is the mural on the back of the house, the field trip was rescheduled for today. I was glad that we did, because we have a simply wonderful tree house in the back yard.....and when an artist talk is less than fascinating to the 12 and under crowd, there's always a tree to climb!


Aren't they adorable? They even named one of the goldfish -- Rainbow.

The Boy Scouts

In order to earn an art badge, Troop something or other came over yesterday to tour a "working artist's studio." They were delightful guests exemplifying true boy scout manners.....friendly, courteous, kind, cheerful, and clean.


In addition to learning about an artist's life, of special interest to the scouts were the pet goldfish in the backyard pond. The boys were fascinated that the fish were so friendly and tame. They thought of names for the new fish -- and I'm sorry to say that Shadow is the only new fish name I remember.


In honor of such fine young men, I hereby name the new fish Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Obedient, Thrifty, Brave, and Reverent.

Heart Break

Daughter Anna suggested taking a break from the BIG HEART to give myself some breathing room. She knew I needed it. Almost all of my mental energy, waking hours and even my dreams have been devoted to the big heart project. (OK, that's not entirely true. It just seems like it. I have actually dreamed about it though....several times.) So, at Anna's suggestion, and because the red bud trees are already starting to lose their blooms and put on leaves, I took the break from the big heart to paint en plein air -- in the back yard.


It was incredibly refreshing to temporarily change direction. (Right after this photo was taken, a gentle breeze blew the canvas off the easel. Had to repaint some of it.)

The big heart is really close to being finished.....really really close.

Happy Days

When we first moved into this old house, it had a screened porch (of sorts.) In reality, the rotted screening did nothing to keep out bugs and mosquitoes. Every now and then we would have lunch or supper on the porch, but in effect, it was unused space. As our daughters got older and space became a valuable commodity, it became evident that something needed to be done to the "screened" porch. Enthusiastically, I decided to enclose it....so Reese drew a diagram for me showing how to frame windows and run wire.

Week after week, board after board, from the floor plate to the wiring to the window framing and even a built in bookcase, I built our new study / computer room. The room even passed city inspection thank you very much.


Delightfully, in the last few weeks, two of our grown daughters have moved back home. (Three of the four are living here.) But that meant that the house needed to be rearranged to accommodate everyone and their things. The former screened porch former study computer room has now become a very pleasant art studio. There's still some tweaking to be done, and I've yet to actually use it -- that's today's work -- but I'm looking forward to happy days of painting ahead.

I Heart Working

I do. I really love working. It was a long day, though, and there's still so much to do. This is a big heart.


There's definitely a learning curve to painting on....a big heart. The paint doesn't flow off the brush like it usually does on a canvas surface, and it takes a lot more paint to cover the area completely. Of course, part of that might be because it's a really big heart.

Another thing to note, when standing in front of the super three dimensional part, it's virtually impossible to discern what's what of the design I sketched. So, I've been looking at the heart reflection in the mirror (see photograph) to make sure that the design is going where it needs to go.

Bread to Thrive

Why Evelyn Gibson ever trusted us is beyond me. We were 21, newly married, newly pregnant, barely able to afford first and last months rent while we looked for work that just wasn't available in California at the time. Reese passed by her store, Gibson's Natural Living every day on his walk to the temp agency. Every now and then he would get temporary work, and we would hurry to buy groceries. Groceries at the time consisted of a large bag of grapefruit, peanut butter, a chunk of cheese, and tortillas. We would come home to our one bedroom bungalow duplex and put the groceries in the cooler. We didn't even have a refrigerator.

One day, on his way home from not finding work at the temp agency, Reese stopped in Evelyn's store. She was demonstrating the wonders of the Magic Mill wheat grinder and the Bosch mixer. She was baking bread, cinnamon rolls, pizza crust, grating cheese, all kinds of wonderful things with this amazing machine. Reese came home and got me for the next demonstration, partially because Evelyn handed out free samples at the end, and we were hungry. But really, Reese was sold on the healthful benefits of fresh bread made with freshly ground wheat berries.

Over the course of a month or so, we became friends with Evelyn, but other than friendship, there was nothing else in California to keep us there. We heard that there were jobs to be had in Houston so we went to the store one last time to say good bye. To our surprise, Evelyn was offering us an incredible deal on the Bosch mixer and Magic Mill wheat grinder. Even with the deep discount, at 800 or 900 dollars, it was WAY out of our price range. Evelyn was insistent that we take the machines with us...along with a 50 pound bag of wheat berries. Part of her reasoning was that if I ate freshly ground whole wheat bread, our baby would be healthy. We could barely afford a $20 down payment. What was Evelyn thinking? We were moving halfway across the country in our 1950 Chevrolet panelwagon (named Lucille)....she would never see us again. She said, "That's OK, you just send me a dollar a month if that's all you can afford until you pay it off. I want your baby to be healthy."

Sure enough, Reese and I had a beautiful healthy baby girl, and another one, and another one, and another one...all while Reese baked and I ate our wonderful fresh bread.

Months later, when our first IRS refund check came in the mail, we sent Evelyn the final payment for the bread making machines. To this day, I thank God for Evelyn Gibson. (Reese still bakes our good bread and I still feel like it's a luxury to eat it. In fact, he made a fresh batch on Monday night. Yum.)

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Tilly has been responding extremely well to training. Our leashed walks are enjoyable 80% of the time. (She still pulls a bit.) She is remarkably obedient upon correction. (For instance, I corrected her once for jumping on the counter the first week we had her and she hasn't done it since....) She has learned to fetch instead of playing keep away. She walks into her crate at night without fuss -- all good things. So, without thinking twice, when Anna and I walked to the farmer's market yesterday, it didn't even occur to me to crate her for the 30 minutes (or less) that we would be gone.

When Anna and I got home with bags full of fresh produce, both dogs were at the front door to greet us -- so sweet. We are teaching Tilly to calm herself before we pet her, so after a moment of ignoring her, she sat and waited to be pet. (Good girl!) Skipper, however, was more than his usual neurotic jumpy self. He was noisy, wiggly, and completely underfoot.

Because Anna needed to be somewhere, I started cooking supper right away forgoing Tilly's late afternoon walk after which comes dog supper. It wasn't until dinner preparations were well under way that I noticed....a half eaten loaf of fresh baked bread on the floor just outside the kitchen. Arthritic Skipper can't jump on the kitchen counter.....I called Tilly to the kitchen to fuss at her. The look in her eyes was more like, "Oh, you're praising me? I like this game. I must be good at something. What? You like me, right?" It amused me; I had to turn away to keep from bursting into laughter, so Anna started scolding her. Anna went on and on with a finger wagging bad girl Tilly don't jump on the counter don't eat people food....etc, and still Tilly just looked at her thinking that she was being praised. Just as Anna asked, "Did you eat the bread?"....Tilly (with her eyes) answered, "Bread? What bread?"....and then Tilly let out a long, low-toned, big dog burp.


I think that Skipper, in his neurotic wiggly greeting when we got home from the farmer's market, was really trying to tattletale on Tilly.

To be fair, the Amazing Reese's freshly ground whole wheat bread is delicious, and most likely good for Tilly....but we certainly don't want her jumping on the kitchen counter and eating people food. Guess she's not quite as well trained as I thought.

Everything's in Bloom....

Even though I have a lot to do to get the big heart ready for its official debut in a few weeks, it's hard to resist the blossoms in the yard right now. This is another quince, which is in full bloom in the garden. This painting is 9" x 12" oil on linen. (I might HAVE to paint the redbud tree tomorrow. It's absolutely glorious.)


The red on the big heart is just an undercoat for the real painting, which I'll start any day now....depending on whether or not I can resist those redbud trees. :)

The Process

Years ago, at the suggestion (prodding) of a few friends, I started this blog as a way to talk about the artistic process. Several years after that, at the suggestion (prodding) of another friend, I started adding everyday stories to mix it up a little as the artistic process gets quite boring at times. This is one of those times.

The big heart that was delivered on Tuesday is commanding a huge amount of studio floor space, air space, and space in my brain. Before it was delivered, I had a really brilliant idea of how and what to paint on it. After seeing it, however, that idea flew out of my head like a butterfly caught in a hurricane. It has taken the better part of the week to sketch and draw idea after idea hoping for another lightbulb moment of inspiration.

Sometimes during this phase of an art project, I'll tone the canvas with a relatively neutral undercoat so that the surface isn't stark white....just to do something. But it just so happens that the big heart was coated with interior paint, so someone came over here yesterday and repainted it with exterior paint....and this being humid Houston and all, the big heart is still not dry. More than 24 hours later it's damply sticky. Which means that one more day goes by without putting color on this big heart....which is both good and bad. It's good because hopefully I can refine the heart design and perhaps fully map out what to do. It's bad because I work in oils. Oil paints take longer to dry than acrylics. On top of that, this big heart will need some sort of finishing coat on it to protect it from the elements, as, when all is said and done, it will most likely live outdoors. All of these steps take time. Time. Time! This project needs to be fully, completely, and in all ways finished and delivered by March 21st. Yikes.

That was the boring art process story.....


This is the fun art story. Since the big heart project is on pseudo hold, I took time to paint the quince blossoms from the back yard. It's such a happy little bush when it blooms. This is an 8" x 8" oil on canvas.

Heart Delivery

Be still my beating heart. As the Amazing Reese always says, it's not nervousness, it's nervous excitement.

Hmm, no surprise here, but I'm a little fuzzy on the particulars of this project. All I remember from the phone conversation is that the painted heart will be donated to some event for the American Heart Association. It's an extreme honor to have been asked to be a guest artist for the event, whatever it is.

The heart (to be painted by yours truly) is six feet tall including the pedestal and rolling base. The painting surface of the heart part is over three feet tall and three feet wide.

Better put on my thinking cap and get busy. It needs to be completed by March 21st. That's only one short month away.

Progress...

Tilly caught her first fish today. I was amazed, proud, and slightly disappointed all at the same time. Poor little fish.

Tilly pulls when we go for walks so this week we've been focusing on leash manners. All of the dog training advice says to keep changing direction when the dog starts pulling. We change direction so often that we end up walking in circles. I get dizzy.

Yesterday, I strategically placed lawn chairs in the back yard so that we could practice her following my lead without the distractions of being on the front sidewalk. We walked in and around the chairs over and over again. We do all right together until she sees a squirrel.

This afternoon Tilly was on her leash tethered to the lawn furniture while Hilary and I worked in the front yard. She chewed clean through her leash....twice. Her actions can't have anything to do with leash manner training....can they?

Tilly is napping at my feet as I type this. When she sleeps she relaxes. When she's relaxed, she toots. Right now it STINKS in here. Guess what just happened.



In addition to all of the Tilly training, I did take time to paint. "Big Trees" is both true to life and filled with imagination, if that makes sense. It was the neighbors trees that I wanted to paint, not the cars, houses, and trash cans around it. So after the tree shape was corrected, I took the painting to the studio. and then had fun with the rest of it. This painting might actually be finished. I'll let it sit for a week and then decide.

There was also time to work on chores. (House repair chore -- replace two tiles in bathroom and re-attach towel bar -- done.)

Something Fishy

If this sounds like a crazy lady fish story....it is. I've trained the little gold fishes in our back yard pond to come when I call. (Here fishy fishy.) They are so friendly and not at all afraid when I put my hand in the water to pet them. Yes, I literally pet my fishes....AND talk to them. They like me.

Naturally, since the fish are so tame, if anyone (or anything) comes to say "hi" the fish gather at the surface to pass along greetings as well. Lately, the neighborhood cats have discovered the fish pond. The fish population has dwindled in the last few months from 15 healthy fish to five fish in various states of health. Some of the fish have completely disappeared (been eaten) and others been swatted by fish predators (cats) and now feebly drift along the bottom of the pond. It's so sad.

The Amazing Reese knew how distressed I've been about the poor fishes. For Valentine's Day, gave me a dozen little goldfish. I couldn't have been happier. He looked at me very seriously and said, "Now, please let me know how your new pet fish are getting along in the pond." Bless his heart. He KNOWS.

Poodles were originally bred to be water dogs, and when trained are highly efficient water retrievers. The day before yesterday, Tilly started noticing the goldfish in the pond. She's endlessly fascinated by them, and has spent hours watching them and running around the pond. She sticks the length of her nose in the water and blows bubbles at the fish. It's adorable. Because she's a water dog -- and honestly at this point I'm surprised that she hasn't jumped in the pond -- Tilly started playfully pawing at them. Uh oh. To the newly injured little gold fish limping at the bottom of the pond, I'm guessing that it wasn't so playful. But, at a dollar or so a dozen, we can keep the pond stocked with fish out the wazoo and Tilly can be the water dog she was created to be. Only, I guess these new fish recruits might not become my pets....oh well.


The weather was perfect yesterday for plein air painting. After working on the painting in the studio one day last week it was nice to be outside again. The painting is very incomplete -- not even close to being finished -- but since this was originally designed to be an art blog and not a Tilly blog, I thought that it best to throw in some art references.


Weekly chore update : replace outlet covers in living room and study -- done.

For Reese

Roses are yellow
Carnations are pink
I love a big fellow
who never wears pink

Sunflowers, poppies
iris and daisy
my love for this man
is borderline crazy

By that I mean it
grows and it grows
like flowers in summer
and pinkish primrose

It's Valentine's Day
but it feels like another
Fourth of July
my heart's all a flutter

My heart skips a beat
when he walks in the room
26 years and
our love still in bloom

What will we do
tonight for each other
Loving for ever
sweet nothings to utter

I cannot express
in one silly poem
suffice it to say
my heart is your home.

A daisy is white
a rose sure smells sweet
Let's have a bite
of something to eat.

P.S.

Thanks for the dog
I sure do like Tilly
and thanks for the house
I mean it. Yes, really.

Thanks for the hard work
and loving me still,
thanks for our daughters
thanks for the thrills.

Thanks for the fun times
thanks for the sad
thanks for the life
together we've had.