Scribble Picnic 🎃🎃 GHOSTober!🎃🎃 and a GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY!!

Hi Everyone,

I'd like to start by offering these 16 Williams Sonoma cookbooks to any of my Canadian friends if they would like them. Note: If you really want them and you are outside of Canada, you'd have to cover the shipping...the 16 books weigh about 15-16 kg (un-boxed), so let me know in the comments as well. :)

If anyone would like these, please let me know in the comments, or send me an email (I have a contact form on my sidebar). Canada Post offers free shipping in Canada for people with business accounts, every Tuesday in October, so I'm taking advantage of that since both Alex and I have a business account!!

They are used but in great condition! They are doubles that I have and I'll tell you, I use them all the time, the recipes overall are wonderful! I'll pick the winner on Sunday October 7th!!! :) Please check back then, I'll announce the winner on that day!!!

Today's Scribble Picnic theme is "Chicken". (please follow the link for more scribbles or to join!) The first chicken that came to mind was Foghorn Leghorn trying to convince Henery Hawk that he really isn't a chicken!

I tried some more of the scratch board style with my Acrylic Chicken. :)

 

And finally, because it is October...I had to do something scary! Do you remember the Looney Tunes short "Hyde and Tweet"? The first time I saw this as a kid, I was TERRIFIED of the Hyde-Tweety-Bird!!! Poor Sylvester is having some regrets at the moment!! :)

I also joined an Instagram challenge called "Inktober" which is a drawing challenge using ink. There are prompts to follow each day. So far I've kept up and I hope I can do all 31 prompts!  Here are the first three of the month:

"Poisonous"

"Tranquil"

"Roasted"

I've been so busy over the summer that I haven't done too much art, but now I'm really getting into it!

I started my own October challenge that I call Ghostober. Every day in October, I draw or paint a ghost or ghoul and write a short description of the tale. I have them all on My Instagram Page, and I'll post them here every week too! Here are the first three:

Bloody Mary: Bloody Mary will appear on certain nights when her name is spoken three times in front of a mirror. She is an evil spirit who may foretell the future, but at the cost of your life!

La Llorona: La Llorona is the ghost of a woman whose children were lost. She haunts the river beds, moaning and searching for them. Beware those who hear her cries or cross her path for she will bring great misfortune to you!

"The Ghost of Banquo": In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth has his friend Banquo murdered for fear that Banquo will take the crown from him. After appearing at Macbeth's banquet in ghost form, Banquo foretells the omen "Blood will have blood."

The countdown to Halloween is on! :) Alex and I are watching a horror movie each night and it's a lot of fun! How is your weather? It's cold here in the Laurentians. Lots of rain, lots of frost, lots of below zero temperatures and thankfully we have NO SNOW YET!! But it's definitely the type of weather where nobody wants to get out of bed...especially Jack. :)

Scribble Picnic: Watering Cans...Old Man Winter...Jack Is Better! 🐶🐶

Today's theme for Michael's Scribble Picnic is Watering Cans. My watercolour today is the result of water coming out of the can and splashing down! :) This was very therapeutic to paint! :) (Follow the link to see more beautiful art, or to join in!!)

I took a more realistic approach for my drawings! Bugs is at it again, poor Daffy! :) I want a gardening hat just like the one Bugs is wearing!

Just for fun :) I had to work in some kind of creepiness, I've been lacking on the creepy-scale lately...😱

I saw this image online...ain't it the truth? ;)

I woke up to knee-deep snow this morning...sigh...I had to shovel some paths before I could take Jack out or he would have sunk!

"The Big House"...this is where Jack is living for the next 3 weeks! He's doing so much better...very eager to jump around though he's not allowed to anymore. Marlene sleeps right in front of the cage to protect her big brother.

Guess what? That vet who caused all of our stress doesn't work at the vet clinic anymore. I'll leave you to your own opinions about that.

We had our first fresh lettuce last night on chicken burgers...it's been since September since we had some! It was so delicious, I can't wait to eat some more. I planted four more pots with hope that they will continue to grow well. As soon as the weather is warm, end of May, I'll plant even more outside and hopefully they'll grow nice and big!

Our Easter dinner was nice and easy. Easy is what I need these days. Crepe Roll-Ups with smoked salmon, ham and cilantro cream cheese with home grown cilantro! I also made a Blue Cheese Dip, which was heavy on the Blue, but missing some chives for flavour. I just can't bring myself to picking the ONE chive that is growing in the pot!

Dessert was Italian Cheesecake made with my Ricotta. This dessert is so light, we could eat this every week!

You know how I know that Jack is better? He's "eating" his ears again. I took a 30 second video last night of him doing that. I love this hound so much!

Jack and an Egg Hunt

Hi Everyone,

Today's theme for the Scribble Picnic is Egg Hunt. (follow the link for more eggie goodness!)

I tried something different today with my watercolours. I cut out a stencil with a very dull Exacto knife...note to self...get new blades...then taped the stencil on my paper and used my watercolour pencils first to colour it in...then applied some water to soften it up. I did the same for the rabbit, I really like the effect!

Good old Daffy Duck...so desperate to always outdo Bugs, he'll even dress up as an egg! :)

More watercolours! These eggs think they're hiding under the lemon tree...but they're not so stealthy. :)

My little Jack-rabbit...Sunday night, something happened to Jack - we have no idea what. He was howling in pain for hours...our hearts were breaking because we couldn't do anything (again) until Monday morning when the vet opened. We brought him in and the vet was stumped. X-rays showed no broken bones, no spinal damage and no blockages in his stomach or intestine. He seemed to have pain in his right hind leg. He was put on pain killers.

Tuesday morning he slipped on the snow and omg...he yelped and howled...we rushed him back to the vet and this time she saw a "neurological deficiency" in his right hind leg which could mean a herniated disc or some inflammation around one of his vertebrae. She told us he would need bed rest for a month, no jumping up on the bed and no playing. We think maybe one of the 4 other big dogs may have jumped on him or stepped on him...there is no way to know for sure. 

Our savings are sapped from all the vet bills lately. But that is the cost of being a pet owner isn't it? Sometimes it all comes in one shot! Today I'm going to take an old towel and sew him a support-harness to help him up and down the stairs. We can't carry him because of the potential inflammation so I think this will be a good solution. He's on a pain killer and another medication to help with the deficiency. The diagnosis is good, but it takes time for the healing process. Thank you to everyone who sent me their prayers and healing energy! :)

When we got home last night, I made us a nice diner meal of breaded chicken burgers, fries and ice cream sodas. Comfort food to comfort us! :) Alex and I hadn't slept since Saturday night, but we passed out last night. This was such a test on my emotions, we both felt so helpless. But at least the news is good, and if Jack's deficiency can't be cured, then he will take meds long term to help with his mobility and we will get busy building various ramps so he can still cuddle with us on the couches and the bed. We will do anything to help our pets, we love them so much!

Good news from the window garden! Look at my lettuce growing! I hope we can have a good salad in about a month or so. I'll be succession planting lettuce from now on so we always have some on hand. It's been too long since we had a nice fresh salad.

Look at this :) The zinnias that I planted on February 2nd are blooming. This warms my heart today.  Every time I look at Jack, my eyes fill with tears. Every pet owner knows that pain. We were terrified as we waited for the X-rays. All we could think about was that we've only had little Jack for two and a half years, and we were not ready to let go yet. I have to try to get back to normal, he needs me strong! :)

Crawling Back To Blogger and the Picnic! :)

Hello my friends :) Did you hear that??? That was the biggest sigh of relief you will ever hear!

Spring Cleaning is DONE...I never thought it would take this long and be so tough! Ten days in total of cleaning, with a few days off in between. My body is SO sore...this is very physical work, and I'm not buying into the idea that it's good exercise either lol...just work that results in an achy breaky body! The big deep cleaning idea was for us of course, but mostly for this pack:

Click for a better view :)

Jack, Charlie, Marlene, Pavlov, Oscar the cat and Stella (butt to butt), Leo and Dana. Alex got a panoramic photo of the eight pets together, not an easy task!! Three of the five have mystery allergies. I'm hoping those ease up now.

I have a daily upkeep plan for the house to keep it clean and dust free now. You'll note the basement is nowhere to be seen on this list...if it were up to me, I'd never go down there, but my darling Alex vacuums it regularly so I don't even have to worry about that anymore. :) I also made a Spring Cleaning Checklist if anyone wants to be inspired to get down and dirty lol! :)

I'm so happy to get back to painting!! I didn't think I'd make it to Michael's Scribble Picnic this week, but I was up so dang early this morning. Good thing! :) The theme this week is Across the Universe. (check out more lovely scribbles by following the link - why not join yourself?!) :) I felt like doing a little abstract Nebula today. What's happening on your side of the universe? :)

This is what my world looked like this morning at 7:12 am. I love the hue of blue on winter mornings!

Today Alex and I celebrate our 5th Anniversary together. :) We're having a Raclette dinner and I'm making an Amaretto cake! During the spring cleaning, we realized how much work this rental is...and how it's WAY too much house for us. We don't want to go through this back-breaking cleaning ever again on a rental...we really want to buy our own place next year, downsize and live in the woods. We put together an extreme frugal plan for the next year so we can try to buy our home a year from now. It's going to be tough, but our motivation is very high! As long as pet, car and/or dental emergencies don't get in the way, we can do it. :) 

Big ol' icicles are a sign of warmer weather! We lost internet for about 3 days and had to rely on our phones, which I now accept is a good back up for the internet-addicted lol...I'm not that addicted, but it definitely comes in handy. I'm sure I could do without it, but I don't want to. :)

To keep sane the last few weeks, I continued my daily drawings...all cleaning-related! (I post a daily drawing on Instagram)  I'm so glad to be back and catching up with all of you! :) It feels normal again. Hope everyone is having a wonderful day! :)

I was so sick that day...I think it was all the ickiness of the unfinished basement!

Charlie: One Of A Kind

Hi Everyone :)

Today's theme for the Scribble Picnic is "One of a Kind". I guess this watercolour is a self-portrait in a way. After all, I am one of a kind :) I was told once that "they" broke the mold after they made me...but I wasn't sure if that person said it in a good way or a bad way, so I'll assume he meant in a good way!! This painting is called "Thoughts". What goes on in my head, in my world and in my heart is unique to me. Sometimes the thoughts are good, sometimes bad, but they definitely are my own. :) Thoughts lately have been troubling. I can very firmly say "Oh, my shattered noives...(nerves lol)"!!!

We heard something in the woods!! (September 2016)

Swimming in the Rivière du Nord (August 2015)

Charlie, our fiesty female husky gave us quite a scare Sunday night.

Look at this poor little girl! We were sitting in bed watching a movie, when suddenly she started to whine and scratch at her face. Her face must have tripled in size, her eyes got all red and nearly closed. Veterinary emergencies ALWAYS seem to happen either on a holiday or a Sunday night...

Charlie Art

We called the emergency clinic that is just north of Montreal for advice. I have to say I was scared we were going to lose her. The drive is nearly 3 hours away, we were in the middle of a blizzard and you can imagine how much money they charge. The first thing we checked was her gums. They were still pink though it was nearly impossible to open her mouth, that was a sign that her windpipe was not compromised. Phewf. The vet tech (who was ridiculously reluctant to share information and refused to speak to me in English) finally told me to give her 75mg of Benadryl but that "it won't work anyway". What a {insert derogatory expletive if you wish, in my thoughts, I did!!!}! My gosh, how about some compassion and care for the animal instead of your damn cash register??? Anyway, we only had 50mg in the pack so we gave it to her in some yogurt, she had such a hard time swallowing the pills. :(

Charlie: One of a Kind Husky

Sunday night we were both wide awake keeping an eye on our Charlie. After Pavlov's allergic reaction and now Charlie's...we are completely bewildered as to what is causing these poor dears such allergic reactions! She didn't eat anything she wasn't supposed to, we didn't see any bites on her, or hives or physical traumas, cuts...

Her first walk in the woods in 2015 She LOVED it!

We adopted Charlie from a shelter in July 2015. She was skinny, depressed, had been abandoned and was at the shelter already 3 months when we fell for her.

On Monday morning, as soon as 8am hit the clock, I was on the phone with the local vet. We brought Charlie in at 9:30am. The swelling was going down but she was still so itchy and uncomfortable. The poor husky gal was burying her nose in the snow for relief when I took her out to pee in the morning! We didn't have enough Benadryl on hand to see if it would work or not. (btw, safe doses for dogs is 1mg of Benadryl per pound of weight...please keep some at home for emergencies my dear dog lovers!) She was given a shot of anti-histamine mixed with cortisone and a pain killer. She is now on day 3 of the same medicine in pill form. Thankfully the swelling is gone and she is almost back to normal but oh so drowsy. :(

I feel like a drug pusher lately giving all of these pills to our pets...with Marlene's bladder stones, Oscar the cat's mystery allergy, Pavlov's mystery allergy and now Charlie's mystery allergic reaction.

Yesterday I took about an hour to write a list for some major deep cleaning of this rental. Each room has a page like this one. OMG it's going to be a big job...it's an old cottage...the possibilities of things that the pets could be allergic to are endless. Even Alex and I have noticed that we get more congested during the winter. I have to get out and get some natural cleaning supplies tomorrow and then the cleaning overhaul begins. I'm even going to vacuum and wash all the walls and ceilings.

So that's what's been keeping us busy. When it rains it pours doesn't it? I don't even want to think about how much this has all cost...Dinners have been whatever we can find that's quick and easy..Things seem back to normal this morning, so I'll be cooking again today. I need some kitchen therapy before the big deep cleaning!!!

I'll leave you with some of the drawings I've done lately. One thing I'm doing very purposefully is to draw every day, despite the stressors. We haven't eaten or slept well at all this week. Drawing and painting calms me and I don't want the anxiety to take over again!

"Lost" - another patented Rain nightmare, yeesh!

Brilliance

Sunset

Enchanted Forest (one of a kind trees!) :)

Green Trees

The Sun

Howling at the Moon

Take care everyone, give your little fur-kids a big hug!! :)

PS: I have picked a winner for the book giveaway, and I promise I'll post about that soon!!! :)