Uh oh... Can't remember my password.

Don't you hate when that happens?

Hopefully I'll remember it sometime soon. It's been a while since I've spent any quality time with either of my Blogs. Perhaps someone will be so kind as to forward this email to me so that I can look at it and maybe figure things out. :D

Sent from my iPad

January is chugging along nicely...

Wow! I see it's bee a while since I chatted in my Blog! Christmas has come and gone and the New Year (2013!!!) is well on its way.

What's new? Well, I'd been working like crazy on portraits for Christmas commissions. They were done with TWO days to spare! Yay me!!! I'm trying to build an interest for Valentine's Day portraits, followed by Easter and all those other events in people's lives. Here's a link to my Portrait Blog. I added a slideshow of my work to the top of it, so if you're not interested in reading through everything, or looking at the "in progress" pictures, you don't have to.

My Charmed by Christine Portraits blog

I'm still working at Samuel & Co, a high-end ladies' clothing store in the Avalon Mall. I'm doing between 15 and 25ish hours/week, which is just fine with me.  I need time to do my drawing, you know!!!

Speaking of drawing, I've started work on a new portrait and need to work on that tomorrow. Hmm... I'm also trying to get the house painted. When will I find time for that, I wonder?

I have a Wedding Show to attend mid-February, and another mid-March. They're lots of fun (for me) and I love meeting people, chatting them up. Typical of me, I know.

The dogs are doing great! They're as sweet and adorable as ever, and Igor continues to attend Agility training through the Newfoundland Athletic Dog Association.

It's lots of fun for the two of us. He runs around like a little Energizer Bunny/Goat Boy, hopping over obstacles, through tunnels, across teeters and off-the-ground bridges... I'm looking forward to competing with him this summer! I hope somebody's able to take videos and photos of us! (I'm the NADA's volunteer photographer... )

Sean and Kyle are both in the market for new jobs. Still. Sean signed up with the Union and is being sent to courses that he'll need to have under his belt when he's on a construction site. Falling lessons... as in, how to correctly wear a harness so that IF you fall off something, you won't hurt yourself. Crazy!

Miranda's in Grade 7 now. High school! She's TWELVE!!! OMG!!! Time just flies, doesn't it? Even her gifts are more grown-up these days. A lovely pink toolset (REAL tools!!! Made for Women's smaller hands!!!), from Grandma Sherrill, her very own kite (this is an important thing to have around our house!), and a Bow and Arrow set from us... (Paul's idea - now he has to figure out what she can shoot her arrows into. SAFELY!!! lol...)

Her birthday party was this past weekend. A sleep-over with 4 of her girlfriends. There was very little actual sleep involved. They watched movies and goofed around until the very weeeeee hours. The last "man" standing fell asleep at 7am!

She's attending her first-ever school dance tonight. "Semi-formal," she tells me last night. Just what exactly does that mean? No jeans. Oh... okay... We had to rustle something up from her wardrobe that would be appropriate. Leggings and a cute blouse with ruffles. And make-up. Omigosh...

Well, I must move along now. I'm working from noon until 5 and have a few things to do before I leave. I have my 5-pin bowling afterward, so I should probably put something out for supper tonight. Maybe. Maybe not? Eh... Sean's home. HE can cook supper! :D

Later. Do go check out my other blog. I do good work and I so love to show it off!
Hugs from ME!!!

Moose tracks means Moose nearby... right?

I was woken to the urgent news that if I love my dogs (and you know I do!) I should get up RIGHT NOW and take them for a walk before the rain starts!!! 

Um... okay... Give me that cup of coffee and I'll wake up and give that idea some thought. No no no... Get up NOW and take the dogs for a walk because we're expecting the equivalent of 1 1/2 feet of snow in rainfall form. 

Well, that's a lotta rain, which means a whole lotta wet. I've got the day off my part-time job. All I have on my agenda is cooking supper and working on my drawing commissions (a shih tzu and a pair of pit bulls). 

SURE! I'll go for a walk with my little guys! 

Dress, feed dogs, finish coffee, bundle up for the (WOW!) wind. 

Cell phone in my pocket. Check. 

Dog leash for just in case. Check.

Kleenex in one pocket for blowing my nose. Check (hey, it's important!!)

Aaaaand away we go down the road towards the Father Troy Trail. 

Whew, it must've been kinda wet lately, because that spot between the 2nd and 3rd set of stairs that the East Coast Trails Association had built in 2010 is Muuudy. 

The disgusting bit of land below Mr. Tapper's dump pile is as disgusting as ever. Muddy and slimy. Somewhat stinky. C'mon dogs... let's keep going.

Down the stairs to Tapper's Cove. Across the crumbling dock. Up the stairs past Tapper's Cove. *huff puff* ... it's been a while and I'm a bit out of condition for climbing such steep stairs!!!

Moving along to what we call "Perspiration Point" because by this time we're sweating. It's the turn at the end of Torbay Bight, just before the cows. Keep going... 

The dogs are racing up and down the hillside beside me. Lagging behind, catching up. Racing ahead, racing back. Up and down. Down and up. They're happy. Their tails are wagging and their tongues are lolling.

Ooooh... lookie here! Hoof prints. Cow? No... can't be. There's only one set. Hmmm... I'm no country girl, but I'm a-thinking it's moose prints. Cool! A moose wuz here sometime this morning. Look at how he slipped and slid along the trail! Wow! I can see where his toes dug into the ground as he must've jumped a bit. Oh! He slipped again... look at that skid mark!

I get to the part of the trail where somebody has kindly placed six wooden pallets to get across a particularly gross and disgusting part of the trail. I look ahead while framing my iPhoto camera and notice something moving waaay ahead of me. 

It's a moose's arse. Um... where there's moose's arse, there's the rest of the moose. Right? Right!!! 

Turn around, call the dogs, move it on OUTTA there ASAP!!!! 

I had a relatively uneventful trek back home, but I kept turning around to see if the moose I'd been inadvertently following was purposefully following Me!

Luckily, not. 

November et arrive!

Egad! It's November already. I have to ask again, "Where the heck does the time go?!" ...

I was at the Holiday Inn yesterday for their Multicultural Fair. My table received a lot of appreciative comments. Yay! I didn't bring my custom-made table dressings, but made do with what was there. I'm very glad that I had my banner to hang in front of the table! Something about seeing the boxes and suitcases used to transport "stuff" hiding under the tables just doesn't do it for me. I like the spaces to look clean and attractive. Picky? Who? Me? lol...

Many people that came by my Charmed by Christine - Portraits table seemed interested in the idea of purchasing a portrait. I just have to wait and see if some of the seeds planted in their minds will germinate into actual commissions. Christmas is just around the corner and portraits are a great gift idea. Gift certificates are my latest addition. That way the gift can be presented on time, but the recipient can make the decision about the final portrait. It also removes the pressure of time off of me! Waiting for somebody to nibble.

I met a really sweet lady at the show yesterday. Not that I haven't met nice people on previous occasions! This one was particularly sweet! Sharon Christmas. Yes. That's really her name. :D She does the most gorgeous handmade jewellery I've seen in a long long time! I'm going to attach her Facebook page as a link so you can check out some of her work. She's only been in St. John's for about a year and a half, and will probably be leaving sometime in the next couple of years, but I hope to keep in touch with her.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Soul-to-Keep-Hand-Made-Jewellery-Accessories-by-Sharon-Christmas/154816227905676

The variety of ethnic food at the fair was great! I managed to have lunch from the Shalimar Restaurant again. I really do like their food. :D

Alia finished working my table for me at the end of the day. I had a meeting scheduled at Samuel & Co at 5:30 and couldn't stick to the end of the fair. She and Paul packed things up (looks better than when I do it!!!) and took it all home. I didn't get out of the meeting until 8:30 and I tell you, I was POOPED! I have never been so happy to get home and sit down to a meal that I hadn't cooked in my entire life. Thai chicken soup. Again, thanks to Paul and Alia for that!

It's 9:30 am now. Monday. I'm going to spend some time working on Cohen on the boat, my latest commission. It's a beauty! A Portuguese Water Dog on a sailboat out in Trinity. Instead of a portrait of the dog, this is intended as a memory of how they spend their summers on their sailboat. I love it! It may be my best work to date. I'm not going to be posting any progress pictures until after Christmas, as it's a gift for the hubby, but I know you're going to love it when you see the final drawing!

Work tomorrow. Off Wednesday. Work Thursday. *gulp* 20% off day at the Avalon Mall! It's going to be madness. Sheer madness! I've NEVER attended the event, but I've been assured that it's going to be a crazy crazy day. Everybody is on the schedule. Our lunch and snacks will be provided by head office of Samuel & Co. Breaks will happen whenever (?) and I'm going to be working from 9:30 to 5:30! Stores are open from 8 to midnight. Hoo boy...

I wonder if I'm going to be up for bowling that evening. ... I sure hope so! I'm in a 5-pin bowling league that plays every Thursday from 8 - 10 pm. My game's been improving steadily. I started off just breaking 100, and am now managing to get @ 150 on a regular basis. My highest score so far was this past week. 181! That number works as itself backwards and forwards as well as upside-down! lol...

The sun is shining. The drawing is beckoning. The dogs will want a stroll later. I'm looking forward to a great day today!

Ta for now!

Nearly October already!!!

Where the dickens does the time go? I mean, really...

I hear we may be getting another hurricane this weekend. Rumours.. founded or un... I guess we'll see.

I haven't written much about it beyond Facebook, but I recently got a part-time job at a women's clothing store called "Samuel & Co" in the Avalon Mall. It's part-time, @ 15 hours a week is all I was really looking for. I walked in with Dana while she was visiting from Winnipeg, looking for a casual office jacket that would be ideal for job-hunting. Something classic and classy. I had a great time "visiting" with one of the sales associates. Sherri is a bubbly lady with a great personality, and I've chatted with her on other visits. I casually asked her if they were hiring. To my surprise, the answer was "Yes." ... She had the Assistant Manager come out to eyeball me, and I walked out of the store with an interview set up for the following day.

I rushed home, euphoric with the idea, revamped my resume and tried to figure out what to wear! (these things are important, you know!)

I've now completed my 4th shift, and I'm still in training mode. I had a week off to work on the Wedding Show for my Pet Portrait biz, and am participating in the Farmer's Market in Torbay over the next 2 Sundays, with other events coming up whenever I hear of them. (I'm really trying to make a go of my portrait business!)

The training days are sort of odd things. The first day I sat in the back room, in a comfy chair, reading their policies and procedural manual. The second day I spent 5 hours trying on everything I could in the store! Princess time. I LOVE trying on clothes, but 5 hours was tiring.

The official 3rd day of training was cancelled on account of the no-show Hurricane Maria, but I've since done that one this week. It was a hoot! Spanx Training. I have to tell you a bit about it.

For those of you who don't know what Spanx are (lucky things!), they are control undergarments that are intended to smooth your profile into curvy and luscious lines. They really work. Really... They're just very entertaining to get into! I know this because as part of my training, I had to try them on!!!

There are several different styles, and the store only carries a few of them. Most are pretty simple... step into them, pull them up a bit at a time until they're sitting where you want them to be.

However, the "Slim Cognito Shape-suit" is a bit more problematic, and it's this one I'm going to describe...

Here's a picture of it:

The innocent-looking garment

This is their description of it: Spanx is shaping up and innovating yet again! The Shape-Suit introduces a zoned-compression option into the slip category. This seamless shaper, which features removable underwire and a narrow strap platform, looks like a bodysuit but provides the all-in-one coverage of a slip!

Here's how it goes on:

1. Step one foot into the garment.

2. Manage to stick that first leg through the minuscule hole at the bottom and proceed to squeeze the garment up to thigh height.

3. Stick 2nd foot through other leg, and attempt to squeeze the garment to the same thigh height.

4. Spend several minutes attempting to "S P R E A D" the garment open enough to enable you to have both thighs in. Continue to tug garment up to thigh height.

5. Manage to establish your dominance over the thigh shaping area of the garment, only to discover that your hips are now attempting to take over.

6. SQUEEZE (and twist and wiggle) your hips into the appropriate portion of the garment.

7. Pull garment up to bust-height... this will take more twisting and wiggling.

Your co-worker will be coming to the door sometime during this process to ask how you're doing. Your response will vary from muffled to garbled to outright laughter, depending on whether your squeezing or pulling, or checking out your pretzel-shaped body in the mirror while in the midst of dressing.

To continue:

8. Put your arms through the arm straps of the garment. This is best done with firm pressure applied to the strap to keep it from snapping back down to your waist.

9. Gently but firmly tug the under-wired bodice section of the garment over your bust... settle the "girls" in place.

At this point, you should be able to shimmy yourself into proper position, wiggling all those little bits into the spots where they're going to be "controlled" by the garment.

Voila! The garment, while difficult to get into, is worth the effort! (aside from the fact that the girls aren't being supported by your own lift-and-shape bra - a serious drawback from my vantage point. I'd get the open-front version where I can wear my own bra. Does the same job without all the shenanigans.)

Your body looks fabulous. Put your clothes over it and confirm the assessment by turning and posturing in front of the mirror for a few pleasure-filled minutes. Your ass looks firm and perky, your waist is flat and solid, all those little bumps and lumps are miraculously smoothed away. *smile*

Then comes the realization that what goes on, must come off... Have fun peeling the banana-skin down.

******

Shift 4, yesterday, I spent time out on the floor, greeting customers with welcoming smile. While I'm a very friendly sort, my smile was feeling a bit tired by the end of 5 hours. The rest of me was in hot pursuit, in a tired sort of way.

******

Bowling at 8, but I got a ride, so had to leave the house much earlier. Walked the dogs quickly, fed them their supper, and headed off for a few fun-filled hours of cussing at the 5-pins.

*********

Just recollecting the plane that flew over Torbay Bight last Saturday morning... Check out this picture! It's the Department of Fisheries doing a check of the cod-fishers. I wondered how they'd know how many fish there were in each boat. Now I know! They swoop down low enough, over and over, and count the fish one by one!

Close enough to count the codfish, one at a time!

*********

Saw a moose meandering through our yard yesterday (Thursday) morning around 7am! I ran downstairs in my altogethers to fetch my Nikon with the zoom lens. By the time I got back to the bedroom, Mr. Moose was scooting up the hillside so I zipped out the door onto the balcony to catch a couple of quick shots. He was motoring faster than I thought, so I didn't get as good a batch of pix as I'd hoped. Add to that the fact that I was standing on the balcony in all my glory, shivering in the early morning chill...

I hear it's moose-hunting season this weekend. I could hide a moose in the house if I had to!

Ta for now!

Happy Birthday, IGOR!

It's been a year since Hurricane Igor hit Newfoundland, causing so much havoc and destruction. (Are those the same thing?) Things are looking pretty good, although nothing but time will replace the gorgeous trees that were blown down. Hurricane Maria, which was supposed to hit us last week, Sept 16th, turned out to be a no-show. She was a bit of wind and very little rain, and I don't remember hearing about any damage. Let's hear it for Hurricane Maria! Hooray!

Our families' remembrance of Hurricane Igor, while minor in landscaping matters, is pretty awesome in personal matters. September 23rd is the birthday of our little Cavalier boy. Igor "Hurricane" Stravinsky was born during the hurricane last year and subsequently blew into our lives.

Itty bitty baby!

Not at our house yet!

Igor loves to chew! 

He and his "sister," Niki (Nikola Tesla), took a solid 3 weeks to establish any kind of relationship. Niki would wake up in the morning, take one look at this squirmy little puppy and her face would wrinkle up in what could only be called "disgust." At times, his enthusiasm was too much for her and she'd leap to the couch to escape from the little demon-dog. For the first week she was able to escape his attention by climbing the stairs. That didn't last long. Intrepid and bold, Igor was climbing the stairs at 9 weeks of age! His toy of choice was Niki. Her ears were long and silky, perfect for targeting and clinging to. Her tail was the next target.

It took Niki a while, but she finally groomed the little guy into the perfect playmate. His enthusiasm still knows no bounds, and he gets carried away with the face-licking routine. She usually gives a half-hearted growl and he subsides. She taught him to swim this summer. To her chagrin, he's a better, faster swimmer, and usually manages to grab the stick from the stream before she gets there. Stick wars ensue...

The two of them snooze together more often than not, play exhausting games of chase and dodge in the backyard, chase after tossed balls (but never ever bring them back!!), explore the hillsides and trails together, roll on choice spots of ground (Fish or snail goo, or maybe turkey droppings?) charm everybody and anybody that encounters both of them on their many rides out with their mom. (Hi, that's me!) ...

In short, they're all I've ever wanted in a pair of dogs. Thank you, Niki and Igor, for all the love you give me and allow me to lavish on you.

Happy 1st Birthday, Igor. xoxoxo

You know you're on a roll when...

It's been a funny sort of week!

First, there was the "Chicken Bone" incident on Wednesday night. We were eating supper and Paul dropped the chicken leg on the floor. Before he could reach down and grab it, the dogs were both there, snatching it up! The leg was gone!!! We figured Niki had gotten there first, so we palpated her throat and felt "the bone." She was in no distress, but we couldn't decide whether to freak and panic or not.

"Chicken bones are bad for dogs."

That's the mantra I'd grown up hearing. We were somewhat relieved to find that many people had written to say that their dogs had gone through the same experience without any trouble. There were things to watch out for, of course. But aside from the chewed-up and splintered bones that caused intestinal problems, it didn't sound too bad.

But still... I worried.

Thursday afternoon I called my vet's office for advice. She suggested I bring Niki down for a quick x-ray.

Half an hour later, the vet called me into the back room to show me the results. No bone. Not a sliver of a bone. Not a shadow of a bone. Nothing. Nada.

I handed him Igor's leash.

"DO HIM."

20 minutes later, we're looking at the inch-long piece of bone.  It had passed through his stomach, where it obviously lost much mass and was proceeding along nicely. The vet reminded me to keep an eye on Igor's output for the next day or so, just to make sure that it didn't cause any problems on the way out.

Today is Friday. He seems fine.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Friday morning:

I was sitting in bed with a cup of coffee, Niki and Igor plastered against my sides, and reading one of the Mook's books (the "Fablehaven" series by Brandon Mull). Suddenly Niki started barking. She'd spotted something down the road. I looked and spotted my neighbour down the way on his driveway throwing rocks at what appeared to be my neighbour's turkeys. I picked up my handy-dandy always-on-the-headboard binoculars (cuz you never know when a whale or seal or dolphin or what-not are going to show up in the bay) and took a better look.

Not turkeys! He was throwing rocks at a trio of small dogs! His own dog was cringing further up the driveway while he took threatening steps towards these poor little critters. They took off at a run in the direction of my house. I grabbed Niki off the bed, called to Igor, threw my housecoat on, and ran for the front door.

Chaaaaarge!!!! Christine to the rescue!!! 

The three little dogs were sniffing around our shed by the time I got outside, and my lovely neighbour, Regina (Hi Regina!!!) was also outside in her housecoat. (We're such a pair!)

Mama, papa, and baby dog. Such friendly little things! The little one, not very old, maybe 4 months, came dashing over for a cuddle while her parents danced around me in a frenzy of delight. Such sweeties!

I brought them onto my front porch and checked their collars for identification. Lo and behold, they ALL had DOG TAGS with their HOME PHONE NUMBER!!!! (Regina had already recognized the dogs and had gone for the phone to call their owner.)

HOORAY!!!!  

I called their home, and their anxious dad was down within minutes to fetch the little darlings. He had fed them their breakfast and let them out for a quick potty, whereupon they decided to go for a wander! (They crossed Torbay Road!!!)  I'm relieved that they made it across safe and sound, particularly since they had a puppy with them.

Now, here's what really gets me:

The good feelings associated with re-uniting the dogs and their owner are so strong that it made me feel all good inside all day! I'm still running on the fuel from that. The wriggly little puppy was so adorable, and the two adults were such sweet-natured things! Their dad was thrilled to find them safe and sound!

It took so little time and effort on my part. But it produced such happiness!

So... how could the big bad man down the way be so mean-spirited that he was compelled to throw rocks at these little dogs instead of helping them find their way home? It doesn't take much to be a Good Samaritan.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

I heard there was a sale on at the Avalon Mall, so I grabbed the girl-child and went shopping. We weren't very motivated to spend money, but enjoyed the time together. Pumpkin-Spice Lattes (decaf for the child) and Red Velvet Cake were delicious memories in short order.

We'd stopped off at the jewelry store upstairs... "Icing," where the girl-child and I hunted for just the right earrings for her. A woman nearby dropped a package of earrings on the floor next to her foot. She continued poking through the earrings and then walked away! I asked her if she wasn't going to pick up the package of earrings. She looked at me, looked at the earrings on the floor and said "It's not my problem."

Um... huh??

"But you dropped them!" I protested.

She walked away.

I commented loudly to my girl-child that she should never become such a rude person. I mentioned the word "cow" in the context of rude people. She assured me that such a thing would never happen.

Five minutes later the woman, shopping completed, paused on her way out the door and said, "Next time, mind your own business."

Without pausing to think, I shot back with, "You know, lady, if everyone was like you, there'd be a whole lotta shit lying around."

It felt good to have a rebuttal.

For the next time, and you know there WILL be a next time, I must memorize the following phrase:

"If everyone was like you, honey, we'd be waist-deep in shit."

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Well, that's my day so far. My son is making from-scratch pizza. I think there's still some blueberry wine in the fridge. Life is good.