Saturday, September 25, 2010

BLAH BLAH BLAH

from:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/small-cool-2010/small-cool-2010-whitneys-well-organized-home-teenytiny-division-1-113215

That's how I sound to myself. Just like the teacher in the Charlie Brown shows.....blah, blah blah.....
It's definitely not a good title to catch a persons attention but....I'm kinda of sick of myself, going on and on and constantly changing my mind.
One day I'm all about lusting after a new house, which is really ridiculous since I can't afford a new home. But I will scroll through the design/decor blogs and dream. Or I'll get on a local realty company web page and search through the listing and peek at the insides of homes that would be the answer to my prayers.
If only I had an extra room. Or a garage. Just a  little bit more space and I would be happy. Then I would have more room for my STUFF.
Then there are days when I think maybe I should just rent a storage unit. I could have all my stuff in nice labeled containers and be so organized.
Then other days I will happen across some website like Tumbleweed http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/houses/ and think, Ahhhh.

Simple living and downsizing.

So that's what happened to me the other day. I saw an article in MORE magazine about 3 different women living in SMALL spaces. One of them, Leslie Webster was living on a houseboat that was only 250 square feet with her blind dog Lily. (I think my deaf dog Blue would be in love!)

It was so tidy and white and stylish.

I went to her blog and I LOVE IT! I am now her newest Follower!
                                                      http://asimplelifeafloat.blogspot.com/
Now if she could live and thrive in such a small space, what is my problem?! OK, yes. I have several more pets but...I have almost 550 more feet! Three times what she has! Of course all my friends and family find it had to believe that I 'm living in such small quarters as it is but....how much space do I really need?
So what's the problem? It's ME.  If my Dad was still around, he'd tell me to quit whining about it and do something about it!
So why do I have SO much stuff?
Well, I'm always hunting for things. To recycle, or sell or use in an art project. So my basement is full of "vintage" items and my spare room is so full of art projects that I can't squeeze in there to do any of them! I have bought enough art SUPPLIES that I could be snowed in for months and not run out. All this stuff has become suffocating. I spend my time moving it around and organizing it and THINKING about what I'm going to do with it and then I get so overwhelmed that I go outside and work in the garden or get on the computer to whine about it or get in the car and hunt for more STUFF.
So, I've said it before but I'm putting it out there in the blog world in an effort to force myself to actually do it.
I AM going  to toss and pitch old clothes and drive them to Goodwill and NOT go inside.
I'm going to take photos of this vintage stuff and actually post it on Etsy. I'm going to get rid of things that will take too much time and energy to FIX. I have to stop thinking how much something cost me and just get rid of it. I have stop spending money on new STUFF. I have to clear out the spare room so that it can be my art room where I can actually create something. I need to stop STARTING, and start FINISHING things.

The computer, the blog world is the hardest. I just CAN'T give it up. I tried to spend less time last week and now I find all my FAV blogs with so many great posts to read! I've been waiting for the Practical Magic Blog Party and now it's here! I want to visit all those great posts.....
OK
So, I realize that I can't accomplish this all in a weekend but I have to start somewhere.
So I'm off. Wish me luck with keeping my focus!
I will try to keep only what is beautiful or necessary as the saying goes! (I found that on Leslie's blog too!)
XOXO - Cindi

Sunday, September 19, 2010

IT'S NOT NECESSARY TO BE ALWAYS NICE.

I watched the movie "The Lovely Bones" yesterday.
It made me think about another movie that I have watched many times.
The Vanishing.

The Vanishing was made in 1993 and Nancy Travis is one of the lead players, Sandra Bullock has a smaller part and she is the one who vanishes, so you know this is an older film but it is one of the best thrillers I've seen. Nancy Travis's character is more like the way we should try to be. Strong and wise.
Both of these films make me think about how women are conditioned to be polite and friendly.
I, myself have done it. I've been afraid of being rude and not helpful and then my intuition has kicked in and I realize that something is not right.
We women need to realize that it's not necessary to be always nice. It's much better to be more concerned about our own safety and to Hell with what a stranger thinks.
I hate to even think about it, I prefer to think that people are mostly good but...
Follow your Intuition:
"Listen to your body's signals. Sometimes your body senses threat or danger before your mind does. Your breathing or pulse rate may change, or you might feel a sudden chill on your skin when around certain people. Pay attention to whether you feel peaceful or prickly around others, and you'll be able to make better decisions about whom you befriend."
 (from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0846/is_2_25/ai_n15675045/ )

I will give TWO examples of how naive I've been or what I like to call STUPID.
Last winter a man came to the door asking if I'd like my driveway and walkway  to be shoveled. He said that he and his friend were unemployed and trying to make some cash. He would be glad to do it for $20.00. I told him I only had $12.00 in cash and he said he would take a check but I said I didn't have any checks (OK, I do, but I'm not TOTALLY stupid). So, he said OK and then said that he didn't have a shovel, that his friend had his. Well, my shovel was sitting right there in my enclosed porch so I opened the door and handed it to him and the $12.00. Then I went inside and locked the door. I watched him for a moment as he shoveled the sidewalk and then I went to my purse to see if I had a few more stray bills. I found 3 more and went to the door. He was gone...with my shovel! I told my sister about it and she was LIVID. She couldn't believe that I had opened the door, let alone gave him any money. I tried to explain that I felt bad for him and wanted to help. She made me promise not to ever do anything like THAT again. Of course in my defense I had to mention the fact that SHE was always leaving her front door unlocked during the day and even though she lives in a GREAT neighborhood, OPRAH had a show where they said wealthy neighborhoods are targeted and usually during the daytime. She replied that she had a ton of kids going in and out all the time plus two dogs and she wasn't worried and besides the neighbors would notice anyone strange.....
So I was pissed that I had tried to be nice and I ended up having to go buy another shovel.

Then this summer, just a few weeks past, I was working in my garden at the side of the house. I was moving some yard lumber from between my house and the neighbors when this man yelled up the driveway and asked if I needed help. I said No, I was fine. Then he walked up and asked if I had a phone for him to use. My cell was laying on the bench and I wasn't sure if he had seen it but I let him use it. It was about dinner time and a lot of people walk up and down my block. There were also a lot of people driving by coming home from work. As he tried to use it, I just felt weird. Then he said he couldn't get it to work, so I took it and tried to dial it for him. He took a step closer and I took a step backward and he mumbled a "sorry'. It was ringing. I handed it to him and stood a few feet away. All these thoughts were going through my head. I was thinking that if I had to I could probably scream really loud and the neighbors would hear me. I also thought I could pick up my shovel and hit him with it but what if he grabbed it and hit me instead? I thought that I should have just said that I didn't have a phone handy and that I don't talk to strangers. Isn't that what I'm always telling my nieces? Be rude if need be, but be safe. I looked back at my gate. No dogs. They were probably back there sleeping on the picnic table or trampoline. Blue was probably snoozing at the backdoor on top of the stoop. I looked back at the man. I felt so uneasy.
Then all of a sudden I heard this ROAR. Blue was at the gate. His bark meant business. The man froze, handed me my phone and walked off...I didn't tell my sister about that one.

 

I might have a house full of small dogs but I will ALWAYS own one big one.
Someday but NOT soon, when Blue starts to get elderly, I'll get a puppy.

I want to get this but I probably will get...

so that it grows into this:

I have people laugh at me because I lock my car at work. It's in the parking lot next to the building where people are coming inside and out constantly so it should be OK. My co-worker asked if I REALLY thought someone was going to get in my car and I said NO, but if I always lock it, it will be a habit and I won't forget.
The same goes for always locking my home, even the front porch door. That way I just will always do it. If someone comes to the door, they will be outside, not halfway in the house.

Here are some Personal Safety Tips-

HOME:
Keep your windows and doors locked at all times.

Do not leave a key in your mailbox or under your door mats.
Never let a stranger in your home to make a phone call.

Do not say you are not home on your answering machine.
Never give your social security number, date of birth, or personal information of any kind to people you do not know over the phone or Internet.
If you purchase a new home, have the locks changed.
Have your outside lights on a time and/or motion detector.
If you are gone for a long period of time, have someone pick up your mail/newspaper or have the service stopped.
Have a friend or relative check on your house occasionally.

Keep your garage door down and locked even if you are home.
Bicycles are items that are stolen frequently. When you and your family are through riding them, make sure they are put away securely.

WHILE OUT IN THE COMMUNITIES:
Do not take short cuts or walk in or near any open alleys or deserted streets.
Use caution in parking lots: always have your car key out and ready to use.

Do not walk in poorly lit areas, doorways, parks or malls.
Do not accept rides from strangers.
ATM USE:

Do not use ATM card at the same time or day of the week.
Use ATM machines that are inside of stores where there are people around.
Make sure that no one is watching when you enter your PIN number.
If you make a withdrawal, put the money away immediately. You can count it when you're safely in your car.
If you are using the ATM at night, have someone with you.
Be aware of your surroundings at all times, but especially at dawn and dusk.
Kinda scary. But better to be a bit scared and paranoid and SAFE.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

BARKING UP THE RIGHT TREE

We have been having some drama around here lately. And it's all because of the family that has moved in. The best that I can tell, it's just a single female and her baby. But they are driving us (me and my dogs) insane!
They apparently are living up in the gutter on the top corner of my house. My house is VERY tall and the willow tree has many branches that almost reach the roof. So this MOMMA keeps jumping from the roof to the tree and running across the branches and then flying across to the branch of the big old DEAD tree of my neighbors (the neighbor that never cuts down anything or mows his lawn.) She has been teaching her little one to follow and all this activity is just driving my dogs nuts.
Blue has actually GALLOPED around the tree and my little Ruby and Vera bark in this hi-pitch hysterical tone that just makes me teeth hurt to hear it.
Then there's Ralphie. At first I was afraid he might have a heart attack from running back and forth, back and forth, back and forth following those two from tree limb to house to limb. He was getting so hysterical that he accidentally jumped up into the tree.

 After that he was doing it all the time. I'd look outside and there he would be. In the tree.

I, who have almost caused accidents with my car because I have braked suddenly to avoid hitting one of their kind, started seriously wishing I had a gun and knew how to use it and I'd blow them away!
Then the other day I heard this unusually sound and ran out to the backyard and there was Ralphie with the baby in his mouth! I screamed so loud that I shocked myself. I was screaming " Drop it! Drop it! STOP! STOP! NO! NO!" and running after Ralphie with the pooper scooper. As all this was happening I noticed that Momma had run down the tree trunk ready to get Ralphie. He finally dropped the baby and the poor thing was was just lying there. I picked up Ralphie and looked up as I carried him into the house. Momma just sat on the limb, giving us the death stare. We went inside and I came back out to see what could be done but the baby had gotten up and ran up the bush and onto the fence.

I was so upset. After that we didn't see them for the rest of the day but then the very next day they were out again. Everything was semi-peaceful for awhile and then suddenly the barking started again.

The baby was holding onto the end of the weeping willow branch and Ralphie was springing up in the air trying to get it. After a few laps around the yard, I caught him again and took him inside. I watched from the window as Momma ran down the branch to her baby and I swear she was talking to it. Then she ran back up and looked back like, "this is how you do it" and her baby followed.
I had the day off today and I had so much to do. So I left Raphie and Jimmy at the kennel overnight so that I could get some of my work done without a bloodbath.
So I have no idea what to do now. I guess I'll hope the baby learns and grows fast and they eventually move on to another home.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Finished the Wips...............

And I'm totally NOT happy with them. Maybe next time, I'll photograph the WIP's but not post them and then finish them and if I'm happy with the results I can post it then! BUT if I'm unhappy, no one but me will know how awful they were!
Maybe it's because lately I've become obsessed with ADO and all the artists Etsy shops. I just sit there and stare in envy. Then I look at my crude work...Ugh!! Lumpy, bumpy and horrible lettering, to say nothing of their sad whiskers....AAARRGGHHHH!!!!!!
So here they are:

It was hard to get them to stay on the table!
They didn't want to be photographed,
and can't say I blame them!
They kept trying to run off.
Well, all of them except that crazy white one.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

MY OBITUARY?!

OK, this post might creep ya out a little bit but that is not my intention. Several incidents have happened recently that have got me thinking about my obituary. Well, sure the main one would be when MY SISTER asked if I had a "will" and instructions for what I wanted done when I died....................
OK, my first reaction wasn't happiness but when you stop and think about it, it is good to have a PLAN. It would also ease my heart to know that she just doesn't have Animal Control back up their van in my driveway and load it up.

Yep, I can see where that could be a definite possibility! I HAVE told her that in the event of an early demise, she is to put my animals in the care of my youngest niece "Lily" and my good friend Amber who is the Head Vet Technician where I work.
OK, now for the other incidents that got me thinking about it again...
This past week a couple of my Blogger friends have sadly lost their beloved pets. And while in the animal world I suppose you could say that they had lived long lives, but to us humans their time with us was too fleeting and yet long enough to leave a big hole in our hearts.
Then over the weekend I was outside watering my flowers. It was that time of night, dusk/twilight when it's no longer light out but it's not really dark yet either. I was absent-minded as I watered the patch of flowers between the sidewalk and the street. I live on a busy street but being a holiday weekend there really wasn't any traffic. Just a random car every now and then. It was so magical and still. Just the sound of the water spraying on the flowers.Then a few feet to my right I could just barely see something fluttering back and forth over the flowers, briefly touching their faces and swooshing backward again. I strained my eyes to see. Was it a dragonfly?

Or maybe a little hummingbird? I just couldn't tell.  I know that my nieces would have said it was a fairy and I was entranced. It kept fluttering back and forth and away when I would lean forward to investigate. This went on for a few moments and then as it fluttered back out again, a big SUV whizzed by. It was gone. I frantically searched the air. Nothing. Probably swept up into the grill of that car...so small that they would never realize...is it wrong to feel profound sadness over something that I was just barely sure was there?

Then there's the little dog that boarded at my kennel this weekend. Every time my owner brings her in I can feel myself holding my breath during her whole stay. She's almost 16 years old, weighs 3 lbs and 2 oz. and has lost most  of her hair. She SHOULD look like this:

She's a little black Pomeranian. that you have to carefully stand on her feet or she falls over. Once she balances herself, she'll kinda stagger and then run like a little spider.

So over the weekend the girls would call me with different questions and I'd ask how Brandy was doing. She had developed diarrhea and the Doc had put her on medication for it and she was having more trouble than usual standing. She was eating, but just barely. I was praying that she would hang on until Tuesday morning when her mother would be back in town.
So Tuesday morning I got into work early. Brandy was a mess. We bathed her and I went to call her Mom but she was just walking in our front door. I explained how she was no longer able to control going to the bathroom and how she wouldn't stand. I hate this part of my job. The woman was devastated even though she knew it could happen at any time. I was just glad that the little dog had hung on until her Mom came back. So her Mom released her to Heaven.
So you can see how these series of incidents would make my mind go back to the obituary thing.
Then I started to think...if I wrote it as I wished it to read, it could be a positive thing. A little map to help me get back on track of what's really important to me. So, I'm working on it. I want it to say that I was surrounded by love. Love of my animals and friends and family. I want it to say that I was true to myself and enjoyed my life to the fullest. I want it to say that I loved creating and that I was a  caretaker of rescued animals. That I didn't need the expensive trappings of life but took pleasure in the simplest of things.
AND then yesterday was full of JOY. The weather cooled down to 67 degrees and it was SO windy. I LOVE windy days. I was with 3 of my dogs and another little "boarding" dog at work and we were outside in the big enclosed grass covered play area. The dogs were speeding by in huge circles as they played. Blue was romping around and the day was so glorious that I wanted to take my shoes off and twirl in the green grass like a little kid with my arms searched out in the sheer joy of being alive.

But I didn't. I might have missed a "poop" and I didn't want everything to screech to a halt! LOL!
So, Life is Good. And I see no reason why I can't squeeze another 50 more years out of it. Beatrice Wood did and so did Georgia O'Keefe. So I'm going to start on the obit. and then put it away. I know that  I want it to say that I was a FOLK ARTIST. I am going to start calling myself that even though I feel scandalous doing so. But it's kinda like being in the corporate world. You have to dress the part and act the part BEFORE you can get the part (job). If you do that, then other people can visualize you in the part also.
I know there's some saying that goes something like Luck is 90% of being prepared and 10% of being in the right place at the right time.
I also want the obit to say something like "she lived her first 50 years like a Golden Retriever"

Happy, friendly, hardworking and an eagerness to please. Loyal to a fault and would always be there even when she got kicked, she come back and try again.
"And her second 50 years she was like a cat."

Loving to those who deserved it. Reserved, aloof and made people accept her on her own terms.
And if she was kicked, she would run away and wait...
until your guard was down and you were sleeping
and then she's run up and bite your feet threw the covers!

I also want my ashes scattered with my beloved pets on a cool windy day. And then I want my friends and relatives to dance barefoot in the grass celebrating my life.
And if I decide to have a gravestone to mark a place in my favorite cemetery, I want it to say "I'll be Back!
So as morbid as it sounded to me in the beginning,
I now think it's a good idea.
A way to remind myself what is really important to me
and how I really want to live my life.

WIP'S

IF I POST THEM, THEN I GOTTA FINISH THEM!!! LOL!   RIGHT!?

Monday, September 6, 2010

ZOMBIE ON EBAY

Just a quick post for those of you that don't follow my other blog: http://bigwhitedogblue.blogspot.com/
The little Zombie is on EBAY starting tonight. Details are on the other blog or on Ebay.
Wish me luck!

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Quack Quack Quack

Sometimes you can being have a "not so good" day
and you come home
and find in your mailbox a new friend!
I won this little guy in a giveaway over at Sandy Mastroni's Blog
http://smastroni.blogspot.com/
She is a SUPER TALENTED ARTIST and a SWEETHEART of a person.
Please go to her Etsy Shop and check out her creations that run from
ADORABLE to CREEPY!


http://www.etsy.com/shop/sandymastroni
Thank you so much Sandy! It wasn't until I opened up the box and held this little duckie in my hands that I remember the CHICKEN pull toy that I had as a very little girl. My parents had photos of me pulling it around even when we were on vacation in Florida.
In the photo I am dragging that chicken around with one hand and
 I have a REAL "Stuffed" baby alligator in the other.
 (OK...even then I had my light/dark sides!)
Boy, I wish I still had the Chicken and the Gator!
But Hey! I got my Duck for new memories!
XOXO - Cindi