falstaff

we lost our boy falstaff this morning
bernie went down to feed everyone...and found that he'd died during the night
both of us have been crying on and off all day

he was such a character......
he made us laugh all the time
and we marveled at how tame, how personable that drake was.
he was a feral bird until he came here
and somehow he decided we were his family and he just got so amazing
we are going to miss him so very badly
he was always one of the first to greet us when we went out to the ducks
and he listened so well.....

i hope in his little duck heaven he gets his wife serafina back
and has a deep pond to swim in

catching up

well first off the captain is doing ok....not like when he lost emma
emma was the love of his life ......and while he was a good husband to stella...he didn't love her
so he's ok

i miss her

now onto an update
we so far survived the cold
we have oil in the tank for the furnace so i am listening to susan and staying in bed mostly at night
it's helping
i am still tired though
but i am WARM..... i don't remember ever really being warm here during the winter
i can feel my toes!
i have been actually sleeping without a hat on!

i also couldn't do the mri
i got nuts in the tube ( didn't fit in there and couldn't stay on my back that long)
so we're going to have to try something else

i haven't proofed columbine yet either as the weather and my body haven't really let me
but
the HUGE news is i finished the indian corn painting
the consensus is that it is a good painting
well..... there are areas i could have done better with though

now yesterday and today i covered my soon to be new work surface with torn and crumbled/wrinkled old paper (like i think 35 year old paper)
it was an old jacki collins trash book i had laying around in the books.....
of course after i got it all stuck down with glue i found an......ahem passage so i had to cover that over
but after i seal it with acrylic floor finish and then buff over it with sienna wax it won't matter
i was going for that old book page color
and i couldn't find a paint that worked then i thought
WAIT,....... how about an old book that is not readable!
i would never do that to dickens....but jackie collins ......yeah it's worth more as wall paper then as a book
now another note to self: try and remember to actually EAT during the day
forgetting and then wolfing down supper with bernie isn't the way to treat your body

now the other thing i realized.... i still don't really have a studio....even though i have a studio
i was doing that work surface in the kitchen..... and slopping glue all over the place
that got me to thinking
really i've never had a studio....even though i am sitting in the studio
i haven't ever had a room totally of my own to get as messy as some of my projects get without getting flack for the mess
i really do need a separate studio out of the house *but attached due to weather, cats and a weak bladder*

i imagine not here
hopefully soon though


ok till next time

we lost estell yesterday

my beloved but really weird little yellow budgie
capt cuttle is lonely and it's just he and i now
i think we are both going to miss her....... i told the capt we'd get him a new friend.... a boy though
no more girls..... i've lost all three girls

i was and still am terrified i'll lose him
the past few months have been rough on the animals around the herron house

the weather has been rough on me too
without sleep so i can keep the stove going
(we're out of oil for back up heat at night so i'm up all night now)

the wood gods had/have smiled on me for now and the fruitwood logs are dry enough to burn hot
but not for very long.... so i stoke hourly

we've put bread out spread with bacon grease and peanut butter for the wild birds
and split the 'clean the fridge' leftover with the chickens and the wild animals

but if this extreme cold doesn't stop soon.......i don't think i am going to survive
every winter is harder

on this day,..........

a long time ago
we became a family
yes, it's our anniversary today.....
i got bernie a watch...he got me a card and juju hearts

we bought ourselves a steak for our dinner
we've been together so very very long.....
and boy we've sure had our ups and downs
i get mad at him a lot for him doing dumb stuff
but he's been trying so hard since i fell in december to do all the chores-his and mine
he's also realized that my body after all these years of hard constant physical work ....is wearing out-
and that i am in pain more often then not

i'm sorry i've again not been around...monday bernie got home after he had hurt himself at work
he's got a bruised rib and is off work for a few days
i went to the ortho monday and will be going back after an mri
there is definitely impingement in my right shoulder
so between the two of us..... we are a mess!

in print and painting news...the columbine on black paper is at the printer
we'll go next week maybe to approve prints
my wood duck is almost sold out .....there are i think still two prints left of that run

and i am still painting corn!... but i long to move on to the next painting which i hope is more spring like ...
if my shoulder would cooperate

so there you have it
oye
the good the bad and the ongoing

oh my......well we have been busy

a whole week later...
we ended up getting a storm sunday/monday
i'm still in pain but have been painting a bit
we've picked up the prints and i am busy getting them ready to ship to their new owners
we dropped off the next print that will be done (the columbines on black)
and we're trying to keep warm
we also found out that our uphill neighbor who's made our lives miserable died last wen......
and i finally received my daniel smith color charts
a few short lines to sum up a very busy week for us
as it's been so cold, i am coming down to stoke the stove at night
we are also going to need a tank of oil and probably another cord of wood
so since typing is killing my shoulder this is it for my update
(it's a fly by posting)
take good care folks.....stay warm and safe