finally got ox gall

and a palette knife
more paper too

and approximately 48 mpg on the prius
which as a passenger is uncomfortable
due to no left arm rest
as a driver it's not bad except i felt like i was sitting in a hole

now onto studio news
i have finished a fourth frog in the series
i have two more to go but no reference right now

i am however going to revisit some goddesses/female myths
as a series
probably a horizontal format and maybe larger
(and i'm also looking at studio easels with a smaller footprint then mine has------ which is lost someplace in the recesses of the basement)

i would like to do half sheet painting (15X22) and full sheet paintings 22x20.........
so i need to get a big easel up here soon

ok now this morning (it is finally spring!) i transplanted some pansies and that petunia, and some baby lettuces (from the planter i seeded two weeks ago)
i've got more to transplant and some spinach too
a tiny bit at a time

i am also starting to get a bit used to my fawnie not being around....i miss her so much
sometimes i don't realize and i call her
the others still are looking and crying for her
it's so heartbreaking
i miss my ducks and budgies and mr quail too
i wish i could give mrs quail a friend ........... but with my health this rough .....no new poultry or cats
i may get the captain a friend but probably just one
he's doing ok again now-- however he does miss birdie friends
i play youtube budgie videos for him a few times a week

so that's about it
i have work to do
i am procrastinating
as i am still recovering from that fall and i tire very easily
i hope all of you are well and it's good weather where ever you are

i am hoping

that life can settle down again now
stuff is still up in the air for some things
however i took today to work ON the studio
washing brushes..... rearranging stuff
general things......

we got some plants yesterday that i am hoping to paint
*two pansies and a petunia*

they will be in the house for a bit as we got them, but then we got snow and tonight is going to be frost!
i am going to be lighting the woodstove in a few

i am having a dilemma, over my irl name for the domain or should i go with duck?
folks call me duck.....
(which makes me laugh whenever they do, i do actually like it)
or folks call me vi
which i am so very used to for 15 years now

i got a new site all set up that is optimized for mobile (it's not live yet though)
i need business cards now too
oye
and the other day while i was down at B&N i was trying to get my color nook fixed so that i could use it as a digital gallery and could organize the photos in an order i could live  with....... the 'expert' there was less then helpful
(and a bit of an attitude as well.....i sure wasn't impressed)

so now what?

a new to us car

after bugging bernie for forever......we have bought a PRIUS
it's the smallest entry level one
it's a 2013
we got a good deal on it
(i hope it's a good car, as it is 6K below list which makes me wonder)
we traded in my beloved van for it
plus put savings on it
and financed part (my calculations seem to indicate that due to the gas savings, we will in reality only be paying about 50.00 a month extra )
we're expecting in two years to get a second car and/or upgrade this one
i will miss my van so much
but the gas savings are not to be sneezed at

painting continues

i'm about half way through the orchid painting on black paper
it's ok
i'll see how it goes

i am thinking too, it's time to go back to a 'big' painting
something like wood ducks that is involved and takes a while
and is a part of a series
i would really like frogs
but i haven't gotten any to study so frogs it isn't at the moment

as the weather is warming up, i am getting a bit better, the neti pot is working on my allergies for the most part
i am trying to adjust to life after fawn
and after falstaff, phoebe, and the budgies

life isn't the same at all here
it's so much quieter

this week bernie has to take a trip through work for a seminar, and we arent' looking forward to it
i'll be without a vehicle
we're going to keep the ducks and chickens in, and double feed and water everyone

we talked about it and decided that risking another fall for me was not an option
so that is our solution

oh and i got some lightbulbs!

i hope you all are enjoying the weather where ever you are

i'm painting again

while i wait for a frog
i am working on an orchid on black paper
in gouache
cause apparently i have totally lost my mind

so i have laid in two of the flowers on the spike (my birthday orchid)
and i am continuing with the painting

i realize now that the lighting issue has become critical in the studio
and that the next burst of energy i get i need to finish with the rearrangement
as it's still awkward and it hurts my shoulder

spring has finally come it seems to us
for which i am grateful
although the furnace is continuing to run off and on
capt cuttle is touch and go
and thaddeaus peabody has had to be outsmarted again
this time with cardboard covering the screen door from the studio to the main house as he's figured out how to scale it and go through the screen

he's sleeping with me every night now and i am sleeping so much better
but he thinks he can go sleep with bernie during the day and he just can't

bernie's birthday came and went
he had a problem with the van....the power steering went
so we had to take it in for an emergency repair
(he couldn't do it in the driveway )
i think we really need another car

next week the van is going in for some much needed body work
while bernie is at a seminar
i'll be on my own with no wheels
in case of emergency

so that's what is happening in my neck of the woods

how about you folks?

continuing on

spring has finally arrived here in the mountains......
i saw snowdrops by the duck pens
it goes my heart good
today it is so warm out that i broadcast lettuce seeds.....the other day i broadcast some spinach
we'll see

thaddeaus peabody has taken to busting out of the studio ( he really is a card that one)
and coming up to sleep with me
we've decided that this is a good thing as i've been having problems sleeping lately
except when he's up there
i still am not sleeping well but i sleep better and stay asleep a bit longer
calpurrnia isn't interested in coming up so it's the boy only

in studio news:
i finished the study/painting of the shells......
it was done in watercolor with colored pencil
everyone seems to have liked it so while i don't think it would make a print on it's own
i think it maybe would make a card
next up..my birthday orchid as i don't have frogs yet
and my new work surface is wonderful- but i must deal with the lighting as soon as i can

this week is bernie's birthday....... it's a biggie--- 60!
and no one thought we'd last together past maybe a year!

other odds and ends:  my fibro is wandering around my body......my back is better only to have my wrist in pain
oye
capt cuttle is still hanging in there
i am not sure if he's better or worse
the others seem to be ok

and i am about to attempt to start some flower seeds

so that's it
that is the news
 take good care everyone

another month

april started with snow......
and with what looks to be another pending loss here
capt cuttle isn't doing well
i have hopes but not many as he wasn't doing well when stella died
but then rallied and i thought he'd be ok

i am meanwhile working on what may be a study of small shells that blaidd sent from florida....
i'm almost done
i couldn't use my arm to lift the paint brush so instead i just did watercolor washes with color pencil rendering
they (in the painting) don't look anything like the models
i am hoping for 'representational of the species'
sounds good right?

my birthday was subdued ..... i got a few wonderful presents and cards
lots of well wishes
a cake!
and a quiet day (bernie was sleeping as he'd worked the night before)
bern got me a miniature orchid so that's my next painting.....
(currently with the rush to paint the backlog i am just doing what i have and not worried about series too much, however i do miss doing my series)
maybe i'll do a series of just the orchid next.....different views?

in other local news, the up hill neighbor has put their house up for sale
i said that they were going to
i hope the next neighbor is at least civil .......... or stays on their side of the line and minds their own business

so basically that's all the news here
i've been having some rough nights with allergies and fibro pain
thaddeaus is sneaking up here and there to come sit with me
the little shit came up (with some help from daddy) this morning but started to stick his nose all over under the bed and such......then sneezed like crazy...only to do it again somewhere else in the room
i had bernie bring him down and i followed

now folks are telling me spring has come to their houses......but not in this area yet
so i hope soon
it's been a long cold hard winter here

i hope where ever you folks are.....spring has come to you

reflections on turning 58

i never thought i would see this age
i was so sickly as a kid i figured 16 was being optimistic-
i had gotten so many things that 'almost' killed me (really they should have but somehow i got medical attention in the nick of time)
then i figured with all the crap wrong with me......maybe 50 was shooting pretty high
now on the eve of 58
i find myself surprised
i also find myself very reflective of the people that i have now...the people i lost
and the people that lost me

i still am of the impression that this would be a giant classroom here
that is the only logical explanation of some of the stuff i've witnessed, some of the history i've read
i do wonder what comes after, although i was given i believe glimpses
and visits

i also wonder why i was given a predisposition and drive to do what i do....to paint, sculpt, work with my hands, read, study, explore how things are made.
why me?
why was i given this when i had a profoundly handicapped cousin...

there are times when i enjoy parts of my life..... like when i am learning something new.....
and it's working
or i make a huge stride as a painter.....
when my animals are healthy, my garden does well
when i hear people laughing with me

i don't enjoy this fibromyalgia stuff at all ......the unexplained insane pain
the energy level below that of a corpse
the inability to heal fast (4 months and counting from that last fall in december)

and today, on the eve of my 58th birthday
my inability to paint like i am used to

now my goals for the remaining years of my life
well they include a bunch of stuff

1. feeling better and more movement 
2. us moving to a deltec (that is now my dream house, a net zero energy round house)
3. putting my work to work... for our retirement income
4. enjoy my life more

that's pretty much it
there are a few other things ...odds and ends...but those are the big ones

so there you have it
on the eve of 58

life without fawn

it not easy, i keep telling myself she's sleeping by the window
or she's in the crate under the covers

i miss her so badly

i am slowly trying to adjust to life without her in it
for a tiny little cat she sure left a HUGE hole

some of what is going on...
i am turning in a local facility to the attorney general for non disclosure of fees, that they are trying to charge me

i am trying to get back to work

i am contemplating a few projects to work on, one that involves a pond
and one that involves old folk/fairy tales

right now i am sort of avoiding the shells on my table that i've been planning to paint
as i am needing light bulbs (of all things huh?)
and i don't have any to put into some lamps for temporary still life lighting

meanwhile monday is my birthday.. fawn was my birthday present 10 years ago..... and i find it so ironic that she left me before my birthday.
can you tell how much i miss her and how lost i am?

the other two laperms are just as lost without their grandmother

well, to finish up the birthday thingie....i was supposed to get me a present,
and then bernie said 'the van is going into the body shop in mid april'
so much for that

so that's what's up with us here
i've also been having a rough fibro flare, so can't get the seeds started or some other stuff done
but i am hoping as soon as the weather turns and keeps up a bit more stable

take good care

fawn 12/1/1999-3/11/2015

we lost her
i can't even begin to say how deep this hurts
the day after falstaff died, fawn threw another clot and was paralyzed
not in pain
eating well
but unable to move her hind legs
so we took her to the vet and had him do acupuncture
then we took her home and took care of her
moving her
keeping her clean
making her legs move
she started to recover
started to move her tail on it's own
started to have feeling coming back and movement in her legs
then
a sudden final fatal stroke/clot
it was over so fast
when i realized there was no coming back from that one i begged her to go
so she wouldn't suffer
she stretched out her paw but didn't leave until bernie promised her he would take care of me for her

i still can't face that she's really gone now

this was a nightmare end to a nightmare winter
where we lost so many of our very old animals
even though we did everything we could not to

i would love to tell you all how amazing and special and heroic this cat was
but really i can't find the words
i can hardly see the screen through the tears

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

the blizzard that wasn't and why prints are delayed

we canceled print pick up tuesday due to the snow
and the printer made other plans
we could have gone anyway on tuesday as the snow didn't actually happen
but since the printer was going to see his mom and take her to lunch we figured
we'll wait the week
so tueday next is the new pick up date
and i shall chant 'all things happen for a reason'

now on facebook the consensus is the columbine on black paper for the next print-
followed by the blue jays
now the next print or prints will be put up on kickstarter..... i don't want to use etsy yet as a venue
as there have been too many 'borrowing' of images from there
and besides i like kickstarter, i like the idea of crowd funding
so a kickstarter with stretch goals it is
if the printer is on board with this

now as to the state of my poor drawing arm/shoulder
i have one area that is still bad.............unfortunately it's the exact area that i desperately rely on to control my hand and brush
i continue doing the pt and now added 'walk the wall' which is no where near as much fun as it sounds....... but i do feel like it's loosening stuff up in that shoulder
yes i know i need a dr
yes i know i could also use acupuncture.....

this is it for now..me and my pt from the last time the shoulders were a mess

cause right now... the co pay is way too much for two times a week

catching up

first off...... we've kept busy
the first prints of my painting 'wood ducks' are being picked up tuesday
there are i think 3 left available out of this run
they are giclee prints ....... the image is 'life' size ...the same exact size as my original painting
and they are 75.00 plus shipping, (usa only at this time)- and they will be shipping next week
i want to make sure they are perfect
i have to finish making up the cert/auth to go with them
and i am going to sign them again
if anyone is interested let me know (and obviously the copyright won't be on the prints)

we're trying to decide on the next painting to have made into prints- that one probably will become a kickstarter......... this was sold too fast to do a kickstarter on it

i have to say i am pleased with the prints...... and they are rated for 200 years

i've not really been able to control a brush yet, but i am getting closer to it..... and i have been trying to keep busy...as this fall was not only bad but triggered a BAD fibromyalgia flare
and the changing weather hasn't helped at all

phoebe's absence is huge-- for a little duck she sure had a lot of presence.....
lilli is missing her the most i think out of the ducks
fawn is holding her own...she's sensitive to the weather too - but she is also slowly improving

now today we had snow.... it's melting a bit though....i think we had about 6'' ..bernie plowed us out
and went to sleep late so i won't wake him
as we are again to get more snow.......(and we have wood coming wen)

we got the bearing on the van fixed but we now have to do the timing chain/belt thingie
and as soon as we can i am going to be going to the occupational therapy dr and acupuncture to try to get to the point where this not being able to control my brush, maybe won't happen again...

so that's the news more or less from this end
keep safe everyone

phoebe may 2008---jan 2014

i'm going to miss you so much my little duck

a month

and while i am getting better, it's still pain filled days
and no painting
i can't control the brush

however we did go to the printer and we'll be going back tuesday to see what he can do with my painting
we chose the wood ducks
now i am waiting for proof and prices
we'll do a short run ..offered through kickstarter
and if it is successful we'll do a second painting.... eventually getting to cards
the paper and inks will meet archival specs and last between 200 and 400 years.. maybe longer if properly framed

i can't type long on this laptop keyboard without pain so there is the update

almost a month

since i fell due to my broken painting chair..... dec 14/15 was when i fell
i am still having trouble
in the midst i had a few hard swollen lymph glands under my right arm  too- which now seem to have calmed down
i am doing pt exercises as per the rheumatologist suggestion
i can't paint yet
i am not a happy camper
however.....i DO have an appointment with a printer (barring unforeseen issues) on tuesday

and my new chair arrived monday jan,5...... bernie put it together the 6th
or maybe the 7th
i tried to paint but realized my arm is not ready yet

typing on the laptop kills it too
now both knees are in trouble since that fall as well.......
the right never recovered from the fall in april.....so it's really really not a happy camper

and i am almost helpless.... which i despise- i couldn't even pick up the ice pack i dropped!
i ended up in tears of frustration.  well shit yeah....it's almost a damn MONTH
and i am so not used to this
but it's obvious i am going to have to figure out how to change how i work cause i think this last fall was a warning shot over the bow.......

now the printer...... i am going to be doing ONE painting as a print edition.......
i was hoping for the corn but it maybe the wood ducks or another painting
i have to get prices and proofs etc
but the idea is to print one painting...... presold as a kickstarter.....
to fund the chair, the scanning/printing of the painting, and to find the scanning of the next painting (and depending.... i sure could use more brushes and a few new paint tubes....not to mention paper)
i figured kickstarter again as this way, if i don't get enough buyers.... no one is out money but me for the scanning and the artist proofs

and i was considering a limited run of 10-15...... i know susan suggested i have a second painting as a stretch goal...... but what i would really like to do is keep it small enough that i can pick up the prints, and go directly to the post office with them (having put their shipping stuff together prior)
so that they don't come into the house at all..... this way no contact with bird dander in the air......or cat dander in the air..
(susan pointed that out. bless her a thousand times over)

ok so maybe this enforced month off was beneficial ....... as i was so bored and upset i found the printer!