A Bump in the Road for a Special Greyhound . . .

It's been less than a week since I posted Part 1 of "For the Love of Dogs" . . . .a tribute to the various dogs that my husband Lee and I have been honored to own and care for over the past 20+ years.


I had been planning that last post for a while, letting it take shape it in my mind over several weeks. And, I'm so glad that I posted it when I did. . . . ..


Because, as it turns out, just a few days ago, our eldest and very special greyhound, Ride, with whom Lee and I have shared the past 10 years, began to show troubling signs of significant illness.

I took Ride into our veterinarian yesterday to be checked, and it appears that she has a tumor of one of her mammary glands, which is likely malignant.

We are awaiting biopsy results, which should come in by tomorrow or the next day. We will then need to decide, in consultation with our vet, what treatment options are possible. In the meantime, the vet put Ride on an antibiotic, an anti-inflammatory medication, and a pain medication.

It's clear that poor Ride is not feeling well, and we're trying our best to get her to eat nutritious foods. Since she's been refusing her regular food we've begun to cook "people" food for her . . . chicken and hamburger with rice, bacon, scrambled eggs, etc. Sometimes she eats it, sometimes not.

Both Lee and I are very saddened by this turn of events. But, we also realize that Ride is approaching 13 years of age, which is somewhat elderly for a greyhound. So, we're trying to prepare ourselves for whatever may come.

Please keep our sweet little greyhound girl in your thoughts and prayers.

Saguaro in a Storm

Well, my husband Lee and I are back home now, after our week-long vacation in Sedona, Arizona. But, the beauty of the Southwest is still fresh in my mind, so I'll be continuing my current Blog theme, TREASURES of the SOUTHWEST, for at least a couple more days.

Only yesterday, during my search for notable southwest-themed art on Etsy, I discovered a new shop that I'd never seen before, Desert Photography, which features the beautiful photography of Michael Heppler of Arizona.

Today, I'm featuring one of Michael's photographs, this 8 X 10 print of a wonderfully striking image of a saguaro cactus, entitled "Storm in the Desert." Clearly, it took a lot of patience to be at the right place at the right time, as well as a lot of talent and skill to compose and capture this beautiful image!

Thanks to my own photographer-husband, Lee, I have developed a strong appreciation of photography over the years. Trust me, once you've been following photography for a while, you quickly recognize who has the "eye" for it. And Michael Heppler, like many other wonderful photographers on Etsy, definitely does!

Michael's Etsy Shop, Desert Photography, is fairly new, having been opened on August 1, 2008, but already Michael's work is attracting the attention of fellow photography lovers like myself. In his shop, you'll find fine art photographs of a wide variety of Southwest images, including landscapes, flowers and wildlife.

Please take a few minutes to check out Michael's Etsy Shop, Desert Photograpy at http://www.desertphotography.etsy.com/. You can also see more of Michael's photographic art on his website at http://www.desertphotography.com/. You'll love what you see!

And stayed tuned to my Blog, because tomorrow...........I hope to post a few snaps of Lee's and my recent trip to Sedona!

Colorful Cactus

Greetings, My Friends, from beautiful Sedona, Arizona!

In keeping with my current blog theme, TREASURES of the SOUTHWEST, today I'm featuring the work of a another fellow Etsyan, Nancy Matus, of Arizona.

Nancy has been painting professionally for about 20 years. She works in acrylics, oils, and watercolors, and much of her wonderful art depicts colorful images of America's desert southwest.

Today's featured art is a digital print of one of Nancy's original watercolor paintings, entitled "Color Box". I selected this print, not only because I love the colors but because for me, it epitomizes the beauty of the southwestern desert, where my husband and I have been lucky enough to spend the last 5 days.

I hope you'll take a little time to check out Nancy's Etsy Shop, The Desert Studio (http://www.thedesertstudio.etsy.com/) to get a closer look at this piece, and to see more of her work. In her Etsy shop, you'll find original handpainted watercolors, ACEOs, ATCs, and prints of Nancy's original art. It's clear to me that Nancy loves the Southwest and I think you'll agree that she has done an amazing job in re-capturing its natural beauty in her art.

TREASURES of the SOUTHWEST

My husband and I are lucky enough to soon be traveling to Sedona, Arizona, which is, in my opinion, one of the great Treasures of the Southwest. Noted for its beautiful red rock landscapes, and for its sycamore tree-lined Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona is one of our very favorite places to spend time.

Today I'm featuring a photograph taken by my husband Lee, picturing one of Sedona's most well known (and most frequently photographed, sketched, and painted!) natural icons, Cathedral Rock, as viewed from a quiet spot on Oak Creek.

Since Lee and I try to go to Sedona at least once a year, you'll usually find at least 2-3 photographic notecards or prints of Sedona scenes in Lee's Etsy Shop (The Photography of Lee Robinson). Please take a minute to check out his shop at http://www.unclelee.etsy.com/. I think you'll love what you see!

For the next week or so, Lee and I will be enjoying the beautiful scenery of Sedona and the surrounding areas, visiting shops and galleries, trying out new (and old favorite) restaurants, and relaxing on the deck of our little timeshare condo in Oak Creek Canyon........as we listen to the rippling waters of the creek and try to get a glimpse of the great blue heron who nests along the high red rocks there.

Although I'd love to be able to post travelogue photos to my Blog during the next week, I don't think I'll be able to do that, because I don't have photo-editing software on our little laptop. BUT what I will plan to do on my upcoming Blog posts is to highlight a number of my fellow Etsy artisans (of paper or any other medium) whose work I find exemplifies TREASURES of the SOUTHWEST.

Ciao!

HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL!

Today's quest for distinctive Halloween items led me to the discovery of another cardmaker whose Etsy shop I hadn't seen before.

Elizabeth started making cards for friends and family several years ago, as an alternative for store purchased cards, and like so many of us, discovered a new passion for cardmaking.

She opened her Etsy store, Lazy Bone Creations, in July 2008, and offers a variety of distinctive and unusual handmade cards, all of which are limited editions or one of a kind designs. Elizabeth uses multiple layers of quality papers and embellishments to give depth, texture, and richness to her cards, and enjoys creating handmade cards with rubber stamped images.

Today, I've chosen to feature a card from Lazy Bone Creations that struck my eye for its haunting beauty, and for its Halloween "look." Done in shades of orange and black, the card features an embossed whimsical tree image across a hand colored background, and multiple layered pieces of handmade paper. The inside is lined with recycled writing paper for composing a personal message.

Please visit Elizabeth's shop on Etsy (http://www.lazybonecreations.etsy.com) to see more of her wonderful and unique card creations!

The COLORS of HALLOWEEN

Ahh......the COLORS of HALLOWEEN: Orange and Black! And that is the theme of today's featured item.

Since woman does not live by cardmaking alone (teehee......some of my cardmaking friends just MIGHT disagree with that!), I've decided to feature the work of a wonderful lampwork bead and jewelry artist, Eliza. I only recently discovered Eliza's work, but am SO impressed by the beauty of her lampwork beads and pendants.

The pendant that I've chosen to feature today is a striking creation made with Eliza's own striped lampwork bead, czech glass, swarovski crystal, and sterling silver. Done in orange and black (with just a touch of red), this lovely pendant is "just right" for my Halloween theme!

Eliza has been working with beads in some form or another since the 1980's. She now specializes in making her own lampwork beads and creating jewelry from them. Please take a minute to check out Eliza's Etsy Shop ("Bead A Little Dream") and see more of her lovely lampwork beads and unique jewelry @ http://www.lizajayne.etsy.com/.

She's currently having a SALE from now until September 14th!

Halloween Tag(s): You're It!

It's another beautiful day here in Salt Lake City, with just a hint of Fall in the air.......ah, Halloween will be here before we know it!

Today, I'm featuring the work of another of my favorite fellow paper crafters, Lisa, of Scrapbook Heaven. I know for a fact that Lisa enjoys Halloween as much as I do, and she LOVES to make Halloween themed cards, tags, and other paper creations.

Featured here is a fun and colorful set of Halloween hang tags created by Lisa. Use these wonderful handmade tags for gift tags, scrapbook embellishments, notes, or any other use you can imagine! The tags, currently being offered by Lisa in her Etsy shop, are made from heavy cardstock and tastefully embellished with touches of glitter and festive fun yarn.

Check out Lisa's Etsy shop, ScrapbookHeaven (http://www.scrapbookheaven.etsy.com/) for more handmade Halloween tags and handmade cards by this talented craftsperson and card artist.

Trick or Treat, Anyone?

Well, today it's time for me to feature another artist's Halloween creation.....And I'm pleased to present a wonderful handmade card by Heidi of MangiaDesigns......one of my personal favorite card designers.

In my world of cardmaking, this artist is indeed a Queen of Inside/Outside Card design.....I've purchased a number of her card creations myself, and never fail to be inspired by her work.

Not only are Heidi's cards designed with wonderful artistic flair and originality, but they are always created with the finest of materials, impeccable craftsmanship, and attention to detail.

Please visit Heidi's Etsy store at http://www.mangiadesigns.etsy.com/ and her blog at http://www.mangiadesigns.blogspot.com/

Well, that's an overview of my family and me......

I hope that you'll check back every now and then and take a little time to get acquainted.

In future posts, I hope to focus a bit more on my cardmaking and paper crafts, as well as to highlight the work of other cardmaking artists, photographers, and craftpersons.

And of course, I ALWAYS encourage and welcome comments and active participation from anyone who happens to read my Blog!

And this is my dear husband, Lee, who shares my love of nature, animals (especially greyhounds), music, and the arts. Although a land surveyor by trade, his first love (or second, if you count me!) is photography. Please check out his Blog and his Etsy Shop under Some of My Favorite Blogs , and under Some of My Favorite Links.

Lee and I will be celebrating our 24th wedding anniversary in a few months.

Here are Ride and me, posing for holiday photos. Reindeer antlers were not Ride's favorite head gear, but she tolerated them long enough for a photo!

A Little About Me . . . . .

My husband and I are the proud owners of two ex-racing greyhounds, Harley and Ride. This is Harley, in his "Snoopy" pose at the top of our stairs. Harley is four years old (still a "puppy" really), weighs in at 90 lbs, and is full of energy and affection.

And this is Ride (racing name: Emotional Ride).....her name is fitting for two reasons......even at age 12, she's VERY "emotional" AND she loves to "ride" in the car! This brindle beauty weighs a mere 70 lbs.

Ride is pictured here with her favorite soft squeaky toy, a giant spider.