Pink Paint and Roses

So much to tell you!

Let's start with a big resounding HAPPY HOLIDAYS! to all of you! I guess we are all officially in the planning and shopping phase of the season...whether we like it or not. We haven't had any snow here just yet, well maybe a flurry, but once that first snowfall comes it will feel like a lot more like Christmas. I'm not sure how you girls in Cali do it....without snow I mean. I'd actually love to hear how you get yourselves in Christmas mode without it.

Onto so much to tell you....I have a job! I'm working at a beautiful boutique that just opened at the nearby mall. It is independently owned, not a chain and is bursting with gorgeous treasures! It's a garden shop, lots of fresh flowers, iron arches, cement birds, etc. All of todays pics are courtesy of the shop.

 

The owner is a lovely woman with great taste and the shop is a total reflection of her. Isn't this tub of ivy and roses the greatest!

 

These potted flowers are actually glass ornaments!

Lots of luscious flowers! What a great way to spend a day, surrounded by beauty and actually getting paid for it!

 

This was my 1st attempt to make a hand-tied bouquet, not too bad but needs some tweaking.

Lastly, thank you for all the inquiries and kind notes about my little Piggy who was a very sick girl. The Doc ended up doing surgery on her trachea last Friday to try to open it up. We brought her home late Saturday and by Sunday evening we were resigned to the fact that we would have to let her go. It just wasn't fair to watch her suffer. Her breathing was real wet and both eyes were almost sealed shut upon waking for all the discharge. All she did was lay around and wouldn't respond to us at all.

Monday morning I started work and had planned to call our Vet when I got home. I walked in and there she was greeting me at the door, weak but there she was! Tuesday morning she was showing somewhat perky behavior and yesterday evening she was running around the house chasing our other dog and begging to eat everything in the house (hence the name Piggy) and acting very spoiled from her last 3 week ordeal of the trachea/pneumonia ordeal. Miss Piggy has decided to hang around awhile, probably heard us talking about Prime Rib for Christmas Dinner and doesn't want to miss any morsels. We are thrilled and so grateful for all the good thoughts out there. Thank you again.

Countdown to Thanksgiving

Two days to go and so much to do. There are Ebay packages waiting to get to the post office, house to be cleaned, last minute groceries, etc. I guess we're all in the same boat...not the Mayflower.

Speaking of the Mayflower, have I ever told  you that my brother-in-law is a direct descendant of a passenger on the Mayflower? I thought that was pretty cool. My oldest daughter researched his name and it comes up often in history books...and it actually is mentioned several times in reading about the Salem witch trials. And there it is, BIG NEWS, you'll sleep better tonight knowing that. LOL

UPDATE ON PIGGY:

Piggy went back in the hospital yesterday morning after a very scary night on Sunday. I slept on the couch with her for fear that she might not make morning light. She did but she's a very sick little girl. I had posted a few days ago about her having pneumonia and a collapsed trachea, well the combination is very bad. I spent the morning in tears praying that it wouldn't be Piggy's last day with us. I kept thinking about some very good advice that I received once about how you know it's 'time' in an animals life, and that was that when they stop doing their favorite things, you will then know. Well Piggy wasn't interested in two of her faves, eating and going for a walk...but her third favorite is cuddling and she wanted lots of that and I was happy to oblige. I think I need it worse than her. Does 2 out of 3 count?

Our wonderful vet met us in the waiting area, took one look at her and shook his head. He led us to the back and told us that this is a very critical time and that he wanted to perform a procedure to try and draw some of the mucous out which will help her breathe better. At first I objected as he had said last week that he wouldn't put her under anesthesia due to the respiratory issues with pugs and Piggy's was already compromised with the double whammy of pneumonia and the collapsed trachea. He said it would be a light sedative and we had nothing to lose at this point. We agreed. It's still a wait and see situation and I won't know more til this afternoon. God willing, she'll enjoy a bit of ham with us on Thursday.

I don't expect to have a minute to blog before the holiday, so I will leave you with this....

This Thanksgiving, I have a list of things that I am thankful for:

I am very thankful that Piggy is fighting. 

I'm thankful that my daughter and her fiance found a house that they love.

I'm thankful that I keep two sizes of clothes in my closet for fat days.

AND

I'm always thankful to have a great family and a ton of good friends, all of you included.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone.

Greetings Earthlings!

I adore lawn ornaments but this is ridiculous! Look at the size of him next to the house....he's enormous! Seriously, he's not really a lawn ornament, he's a mascot and is stationed just outside a gas station in Wilmington, IL. Should they ever want to give him up I have a place for him in my backyard. Guaranteed that the neighbors would love it! 

I've Discovered Etsy!!!!

Yesterday, I discovered Etsy! Oh yes I had been there before but that was a long time ago. I was so excited about all the great handmade items that seem to have made for me..or at least for people like me. If you are just starting your Holiday shopping you might want to check them out.  I bought myself a little something too....I mean how could I not?!

This is the piece that I treated myself to. She's called Tiny Skater and was made by Rhea at Sweet n Shabby Roses. She also sells on Ebay and has a blog. Go check her out! Gorgeous vintage'esque holiday fare!

Then I found Berry Lane. What great prices on pillow covers! Lots of altered treasures too! Website and blog.

Before I go, I wanted to share this one too, Little Pink Studio. This Etsy seller offers all sorts of awesome items for all you altered art gals! If you want to see what she's up to, visit her blog. Check out her pink and aqua valise gift idea for your altered artist. She will actually fill them with goodies in the theme of YOUR choice! What could be better!

Love these Fleur's!

Ladies, start your holiday shopping! Only 38 days til Xmas.

oh poor ailing Piggy

First order of business is to thank Mary and all of you for the warm birthday wishes a few weeks ago. What a nice surprise to see my birthday announced on kind Marys blog. What a wonderful person that lady is. I can't imagine how much time and effort it takes to do nice things for EVERYONE like she does.

It was a good day! I woke up to find cards and gifts all over the kitchen table...nicely wrapped I might add.

The hat box was a gift from my husband and inside....

all wrapped in vintage hankies (he did a fab job but raffia? to tie them up?) were these...

FUN, FUN stuff!

We had a nice leisurely day and went to a few antique shops that I like and finished off meeting the family for dinner. All in all it was a great day!

This is Piggy and she is ailing.

 

I've been busy taking care of my sick Piggy this last week and a half.  I had told you that my daughter Sarah had adopted a puppy from Animal Welfare right? Well turned out that Charlie had kennel cough and then Piggy started coughing. Off to the Animal Welfare Clinic we went to get her meds, we went there because they were familiar with Charlie and would just give us the drugs and off we'd go. Well thats the problem...that is exactly what they did.

Two and a half days later poor Piggy was worse, lots of respiratory noises, slime out of her nose and eyes, lethargic, etc.  We took her back again and they took xrays and diagnosed her as her virus has turned into pneumonia. Ok, so more meds and back home. After a full weekend of her condition staying absolutely the same we rushed her off to our regular vet, this man is a saint! He will and has done house calls for us and works til late at night if needed. I thought to take the xrays that the clinic took and he had a look at one and called me in to see what is very obviously a collapsed trachea, with the pneumonia being secondary. She stayed overnight at his hospital to start antibiotics and that gave Doc time to think about what happens next.

Apparently collapsed tracheas are a condition that happens to smaller breeds. The normal 'fix' if you will, is surgery but NOT for pugs. Pugs have very weird respiratory issues and anesthesia can be deadly to these guys. Doc says NO surgery. We are trying out some drugs to help the secondary condition, pneumonia, which will hopefully alleviate the first condition. Doc says that he is cautiously optimistic'. She can't wear collars any longer, nor take walks as she struggles with her breathing. We think that if the pneumonia clears up and it helps her trachea problem then we shall buy her a wagon and pull her around. Unfortunately if it doesn't....well I can't stand to think about that right now.

I've been around the blogs this morning visiting and see that a lot of you are getting ready for the holidays. Everyones blogs look so festive! I added my little greeting that I won on Isabellas Closet blog just above 'Email Me' on the top left. Isn't it wonderful??? Ya know if you need a little 'something-something' to jazz things up please go see Mary. She makes the prettiest web art!