my heart

We lost Dudley this past Sunday morning. Saturday night he experienced a seizure that left him gasping for air and foaming at the mouth. We rushed him to the ER vet and they put him under seizure watch to see if he had another one and what exactly it looked like. They called us at 3:00 am sunday and said that he'd had another and that he was having a hard time breathing. We asked the vet if it was her dog what would she do and she said that he was suffering and to put him through surgery or anymore testing would be hard on him. We had to say goodbye. just 3 weeks after losing my Cosmo. I can't really describe these last few weeks. I think when the hurt is so bad, you instinctively turn to nature. The little becomes big. The minute, amplified.

I wrote this 2 days before we lost Dudley. To help explain my pain for losing Cosmo.
but really can you? i tried.

my heart
Alertness beckons beautifully in the mist of the unknown
with each leaf rustle, i feel the pain of letting go.
Amplified and stunning....my mind keeps repeating "no"
and it hurts like hell

It was only a few days of suffering for him
seeing him dwindle away
Life became fragile
I held him close and breathed him in
so I could take on some of his being.

to bottle it up in my lungs and repair it and breathe
it back into him.
i feel his spirit so keenly.
my body ached as if something came in and robbed it
of part of my own essence

the knowing of loss
it is not something missing
but something now embedded so deep that the
sky takes on a different kind of blue.
a blue that is so stunning and clear
that it hurts my eyes

i can still feel his fur on my cheek.
oh he is still here
a light that only flickered for a moment
until he was transformed into something brighter
than his physical presence.

for Cosmo and Dudley

my sunshine.

A beautiful gift from the talented Micki Wilde

When I opened this painting, we cried.

A perfect memory and tribute to the kid, my pood.

Thank you Micki. Words can't express how blessed I am

to hang this on his altar....

near the santa suit, green frog, poodle papers, and collar.

Ornament online workshop

I'm so excited to announce I'll be a part of Christy Tomlinson's

12 Artsy Ornaments online workshop!!

here's the project for my portion of the class....

and here is all the info written from Christy about the class:

When does it start: Tuesday December 4th

what is it: It's a Five day mini workshop. Each day for five days (tuesday-saturday) 3 new ornament/holiday projects will be posted by one of our fabulous teachers!  We will have all sorts of fun projects including ornaments, holiday decor, gift giving projects and more!  

who is involved: This workshop will include the following teachers:  Margie Romney-Aslette, Jeanne Oliver, Chrissy Gardner, Alisa Burke, Mindy Lacefield, Juliette Crane, Shea Fragoso, Debbie Murray, Junelle Jacobson and Christy Tomlinson.....

only $24.95 or if you sign up before thanksgiving weekend, its only $19.95!

Cosmo

Dudley Elf and Santa Poodle

We said goodbye to our poodle of 14 years last night. He was a tough little guy. He was diabetic for 6 and a 1/2 years.....living much longer than the average 2 years life expectancy of a diabetic diagnosis.

This is us yesterday at the end.
When I knew the decision had to be made to let him go.

I'm hurting. empty. 

numb to certain surroundings

yet some of the most minuscule are amplified

the simple is bigger. the big now small.

we grew into our own together. he loved snout kisses

barking at our neighbor dog Zeke Carlisle.

he loved watermelon 

and rides in the car.

he stood aside as Dudley rooted his way to the water bowl

patiently waiting.

He was simply the love of my life.

8/15/98 - 10/31/12

During this time, I'm taking a break from all that now seems small.....Facebook, email, twitter, etc. 

For the next few weeks, I must take this time to fully feel and grieve. I'll be deactivating my facebook account on Friday (11-2) and won't be answering emails. If you send me an email during that time please resend it in a few weeks.