Tuesday 19 November 2013

Catching up...

While I haven't painted every day since I last posted,
I have done something creative each day 
whether it was with brush, pen, hook, or camera.

I spent a few days on the silhouette bonsai project
adding two more layers of paint
and doing some re-shaping.
I'm now finishing off rough edges
where the Burnt Umber slipped over
onto the canvas sides.


After tidying up edges, 
I'll do two coats of varnish 
before it can go to it's new home. 
The full dimensions are 145cm (57") wide by 104cm (41") high.


To check out posts by other AEDM members for Day 19, click HERE.

On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of babysitting 
one of my two gorgeous granddaughters 
while her parents did some gift shopping. 


We had a blast! 
Naturally, we painted
and Mikayla created a masterpiece 
for her Mummy.


Then it was "Simon Says" time with the Wiggles. 
Mikayla is obsessed with the Wiggles!


All this activity just plain wore her out. hehe 


During our painting session, 
I did a quick watercolour sketch too.


Watercolour butterflies in pocket Moleskine watercolour notebook. 
I roughly detailed with a Faber-castell PITT pen.

The past eight days have been very busy 
with what seemed like a gazillion appointments varying between 
doctors, specialists, vets, and meeting with people
from the Aged Care Assessment Team for my Dad.
I'm pleased that I managed to squeeze in any creative stuff in at all.
I'm looking forward to a quiet, relaxing day
where I can just veg out.

We've had severe storms daily for the past seven days, 
One of the storms graced us with TWO INCH hailstones!!

Brad and I were at my parents' house
when one of the hail storms hit.
It sounded like a heavy shower of rocks
was continually pelting the roof.
Luckily we had covered my car with carpet rugs and quilts
or I'm sure it would have sustained some hailstone damage.
Some areas had hail the size of tennis balls 
so I'm glad we escaped that at least.

Of course, poor Cody was extremely stressed.
His body shivers violently non-stop
and he pants like crazy which is a worry
because it can lead to dehydration.
I had a very scary time
once before with Cody and dehydration
due to storm stress.
You can read about that HERE.

In light of the daily storms,
I sought advice from our vet.
As we all know, stress can be damaging to the body,
so the vet prescribed some Xanax (a sedative) for Cody. 
It initially made him very drowsy and clumsy 
which is what it's supposed to do, I guess. 
With last night's storm,
I lowered his dose by half and,
though he was still stressing a bit,
his shivering was much milder.
and he seemed calmer 
without being drowsy and clumsy.
The vet said that his memory of the storm
would be lessened too which appeared true.
Normally, he would fret for a while after a storm,
but he seemed to calm down fairly fast.

A pic of Cody, taken in October, a less stressful month.
Bless his little heart.


I think that catches me up for now.

~ Love, Light and Peace ~

25 comments:

  1. I've been wondering how you are lately?!! and here you are with a really packed update. We heard about your storms over here and glad to hear that your car was not damaged! I saw a damaged one in Ikea carpark the other day and oh my goodness the pits on that car were so deep all from hail! glad your well and poor little cody, our dogs get v nervous too if theres a storm!

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    1. It's been the usual crazy-busy here, Krissie. Thanks for dropping by. xo

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  2. I love what you did for the silhouette bonsai project. beautiful! And those are some serious hailstones!? Wow. Cody is adorable! Are you on Instagram?? If you are find me at keithawynn - I'd love to see regular pics of your art on there!

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    1. Thanks, Keith. Yes, I'm on Instagram and have Followed you. :)

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  3. Beautiful and heart warming post and beautiful bonsai tree. Great work, Serena.

    http://agagasiniak.blogspot.co.uk/

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  4. Gosh, I started to wonder where you were and if you had just dropped off the AEDM map like a few others I followed along this month long journey. Thankfully that was NOT the case, and I was glad to catch up. I feel for Cody. I owned a Chesapeake Bay Retriever who was afraid of gunshots and fireworks. He would hide or crawl under a piece of furniture (if he could find something that was tall enough) on our Independence Day. Taking him to hunt pheasant and quail would have been a futile activity. So I can really relate to Cody's dilemma.

    Thanks for explaining the root beer in your comments on my blog today. I appreciate that, and will store the information away for future use.

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    1. Yes, I know....things got too crazy for me to post daily. Yes, poor doggies. My parents had a German Shepherd who was terrified of storms. It doesn't matter how big they are, their fears are the same and my heart goes out to them. No worries on the root beer float....I had no idea that it tasted just like our Aussie sarsaparilla until I lived over in the States for a time and tasted the root beer. :)

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  5. Love how you split the painting into different panels! It looks great!

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    1. Thanks, Abigail. My son wanted a multi-canvas for his bedroom. I'm pleased with how it turned out. :)

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  6. The bonsai looks magnificent! Mikayla has gotten so big!! Painting with Grandma--what could be better?!
    Sounds like the half dose might be enough for Cody. Glad it helped him. Happy to see a post!! :):)

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    1. Thanks, Rita. Yep, we can't believe how much Mikayla has matured in the past year since Madelyn came along. I think it will be trial and error for a bit with Cody until I get the dose just right. Thanks for dropping by....I hope to post more often. :)

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  7. LOVE the bonsai, Serena! This has really turned out fanstastically! Your grands are so sweet... aaawww... To sleep that peacefully! ;o) LOVE those watercolour butterflies...*swoon* Glad all is OK there after the hail... and with Cody too. He looks pretty happy now. ;o) ((HUGS))

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    1. Thanks so much, Tracy. I must admit I'm pleased with how effective the silhouette bonsai looks on the multi-canvas. I'll try to get a photo of it on my son's bedroom wall once we've hung it up. I'm hoping the Xanax will help....we've tried just about everything else, right down to aromatherapy collars but sadly, he is a severe case. xo

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  8. Hi Serena. Love your Cody, he is very sweet and just adorable as is your beautiful GD who has your eyes by the way. Wow, she has grown. Time does fly, doesn't it? Your work on the silhouette bonsai project is just totally awesome. Someone is going to be very happy with it. Nice work on all and that hail is huge. We've never had anything like that around here and it's a little scary the way the weather is these days. Take care friend.

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    1. Thanks, Gloria! Yep, our summer storms can be deadly and they seem to have become more frequent as the years have passed. I don't like them at all. xo

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  9. I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with you - first off your granddaughter is so beautiful and sweet looking - and must have fun when she visits gramma. Cody looks very relaxed. Your bonsai tree - wow is that beautiful or what!!! Sounds like you've been so busy and also having quite the storms! Not sure what is going on with your dad (must have missed a post) or maybe it's a routine check up. Anyway - hope you all our doing well and so nice to see what you have been up to.

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    1. Thanks for dropping by, Sandy, and for your lovely compliments. Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's and Dementia a year ago and his health has been declining quite rapidly ever since with a few stints in hospital too. We nearly lost him in April to a septic and burst gall bladder...he had emergency surgery that the doctors did not expect him to survive. Very scary time. The Aged Care Assessment Team offer in-home help and respite for Mum at this point in time. It's been an emotional roller-coaster ride as it's been very difficult to see my Dad so frail and helpless compared to the strong, healthy man he was in his younger years. Life certainly can be tough at times. xo

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  10. Thanks, Tracy. Yep, the rugs saved it from a million unwanted dimples, that's for sure. :) xo

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  11. I am doing a bit of catching up as well. Glad to know that you have kept up with you're sketches. Cody is too cute. Love the pictures of Mikhela no doubt she is as talented as her grandma

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  12. That was so nice that you had an Art day with Mikayla! My, she has gotten so big and is so pretty. God bless her.
    Love your butterflies and the photos of little Cody.
    Hugs

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    1. Hi Norma,

      Yes, Mikayla is certainly growing up fast and she's so much fun.

      Love and hugs to you ~ xo

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  13. Poor Cody! I sure hope you haven't had anymore big storms like that. I just love the artwork you create. Always so beautiful! And Mikayla is just precious. Wishing you all the best as you sort things out for your dad. Hugs, Tammy

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