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Customers and Their Spirit Animals
I’ve mentioned a number of times what I do for a living; I’m an artist. Specifically, I sell paintings of animals and specialize in pet portraits. My style varies, depending on the painting, but my custom portraits are messy watercolors and generally quite colorful, focusing on the vibrant personalities of our pets. The colors that…
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Sewing for the Dogs
Years ago my mother-in-law bought me a sewing machine for Christmas. It wasn’t really on my wish list, but she’s a practical person and gets a lot of use out of her sewing machine (especially with 11 grandkids and one great grandkid). She even sewed the dresses for my bridesmaids and flower girl at our…
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Benign and Cancerous Tumors on our Dog
Our dog has had benign tumors for a while, but when some new growths appeared and began growing at an alarming rate, we knew it was cancer.
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A Brief Visit to Pennsylvania
A few weeks ago I went to Pennsylvania for a couple days. It had been my plan to visit my hometown this fall, but Ivan’s schedule is unpredictable, to put it mildly. His call shifts end up being 14+ hours overnight at the hospital and that’s outside of his usual weekday hours. I couldn’t leave…
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The Separation of Health and Fitness
The Balance I’ve mentioned plenty of times that I try to stay fit. But, let’s be honest, fitness is tough. Sure, I exercise a lot. I run at least 5 times each week and try to do some strength training as well. We eat pretty well, avoiding prepared foods and eating meals centered around vegetables and whole…
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Out With the Old, In With the New (toys, that is)
Babe doesn’t get excited about toys. She never has. Occasionally she’ll lay down and chew on a rubber toy, but that only happens once or twice a month. Babe is more of a food-driven pup. And when she’s not eating, she’s snoozing. It’s a nice, even life for her. Banjo is extremely toy-driven. When she’s…
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Dog Days of Summer
The dog days of summer are upon us. They have been, I suppose, for just over a month now, according to the expression, and there are still a few days left. We’ve certainly noticed the heat. With a full week in the 90s, the grass turned brittle, the trees drooped and the dogs were less…
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Cooling Off
We’ve had some pretty hot days recently, temps hovering in the low to mid-90s. Our house stays pretty cool, thankfully, maintaining the chilly evening air that we let in as we sleep. First thing in the mornings, we close up all of the windows and draw some blinds. It works pretty well. We’ve only used…
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Whipped Cream for the Win
I posted not too long ago about a little trip we took with Babe to Starbucks. We treated ourselves to some lovely caffeinated drinks and Babe got her own cup of house-made whipped cream. Babe loves whipped cream and, as it turns out, so does Banjo. We try not to give them too much since…
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10 Things All Dog Owners Know
If you have ever had a dog, you know what I’m talking about. These guys bring so much love into my life, I can almost overlook the utter insanity that they embody… almost.
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I Tested Watercolor Pencils With My Pet Art
Painting pet portraits is my full time job. Although I usually use watercolor paint for my art, I also enjoy trying out new products, like watercolor pencils.
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A Backyard of One’s Own
For 2 years we lived in a 2-bedroom apartment on the third floor of a Brooklyn walk-up. We did not have a backyard, like most people in Brooklyn. We shared the streets. We shared the parks. For 2 years before Brooklyn, we lived in the Caribbean. Our studio apartment in Grenada afforded us many things:…
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That Whipped Cream ‘Stache
Babe is a spoiled little pig, so she gets all of the noms.
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Connecticut, How Do I Love Thee?
Well, Let Me Count the Ways The People. Look, I’ve spent the past 2 years living in the unhappiest city in the country, according to the CDC. And maybe that’s not something I was acutely aware of, but I have been very aware of how friendly and helpful everyone has been here in Connecticut. Aside from…
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And Now, New England
So Much Has Changed For four months I’ve been telling myself that I need to post something. And it’s not that I don’t have anything to say. And it certainly isn’t that I haven’t taken photos to tell the story. It’s just that so much has changed, where do I start and where do I…
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This is the Birthday Cake We Gave Our Dog
Our dog’s birthdays are celebrated in the same fashion as human’s–with cake and festive hats. We get dog-safe cakes at specialty shops and our pups love them.
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A Light Dims: Saying Goodbye to My Grandma
Trying to cope with the sudden death of my grandma, I wrote a consideration of life as a light that doesn’t go out with death, but merely dims. Memory endures.
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Life is Crazy, But the Dogs Still Love Me
I’m going to make a little admission here: my life is somewhat insane right now. In 6 weeks (holy crap balls!) Ivan will be receiving an email that is going to change our lives. He’s been interviewing for the past 2 months for residency positions all over the country. Ivan’s not the only one, either. Medical…
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Banjo’s First Winter
It’s been over a week now since the big winter storm hit Brooklyn (and the entire northeast coast). It was the first real snowfall we’ve received all winter and Banjo’s first experience with winter. Babe is not a huge fan of snow or cold or leaving the warmth of our bed when either snow or…
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Babe is a Blonde… or Maybe a Brunette
I got some wigs. I’m not really sure why except that I really enjoy using props when I take photos and I’m always looking for something fun and new. For example, I have a roll of burlap, two 10×20-ft. sheets of muslin fabric, a 6×35-ft. roll of white paper and three 2-ft.-sq. vinyl decorative background…
Off Topic Mom
A mommy blog for babes and pups.