a new passion

 hi there!  long time no see.  

 life has been flying by for sweetie and myself with home renovations galore that made play time non-existent for a while and my art studio inaccessible to anything other than storage.  the studio is still pretty full and not able to create in, so during my painting hiatus i started crocheting as a craft i could do on the couch that wasnt (too) messy.  i started with blankets and then i tried a sweater that didnt work out well.  i've made scarfs and hats, and then i made a colorful cardigan that was well received by many on the street as i wore it out.

 

i then made my first amigurumi/plushie/animal for my sister-in-law and swore no more stuffed things!  and for some reason i made another stuffed thing down the road.  and now i'm consumed with ALL THE CRITTERS! 

 

where it started

where i was at a couple months ago

 

 

i have a lot of clothing made for these little mice, 

and i love them all!

i've found that, with other crafts, buying yarn and patterns are a different hobby than actually creating with said yarn and patterns.  i hear that often, and it's the case with me, first with paint supplies and now with beautiful yarns of all weights, colors and materials used, and ALL the amazing patterns from such skilled and talented designers.

sweetie has made it clear that he supports me in this new venture, not asking me to sell until i'm ready, if i ever get ready.  but there will come a time that my crochet items exceed the house limitation and i'll need to bring my items to a market or 80 in order to gain more space for us. 

we just finished renovating my new bedroom (new sheetrock and everything!), and i'm in the process of organizing my yarn and making it a beautiful, creative area for myself.  i'm really in love with my new space and excited to finish organizing and decorating my little nook.  still a ways to go with unpacking and lugging totes of yarn and such, but i'm thrilled by my vision coming to fruition and knowing i'll soon have my art studio back to paint in as well!

 

 i do hope you are having a fabulous day!

 

until next time,

jenny 

merry new year, and all that jazz

hi there!  merry holidays and new year, 2023!  it's been many, many months since blogging here, and with reason;  i've done no art-ing in all that time.  none.  zilch.  nada. 

my year has been filled with gardening and canning the fruits of my labor.  it's been filled with love and sadness.  it's been filled with learning, with anxieties, with lyme disease pitfalls and ill health.  it's been filled with a growing depression, and also laughter with sweet hubby.  life has been full, but with a stagnation of my creativity on paper and canvas.  the studio became more and more of a holding place of things that didnt have a home and a place for when a quick decision was needed to put something.  my creative space was in a sad state, and the limited movement created by such a state meant i went to the studio, took a quick turn and left, knowing i couldnt fling paint the way it needed to be flung.

my kids came at christmas and as always asked if i'd done any new paintings.  the shame i felt inside myself knowing that i havnt used my creative juices for so long was tangible and has now been turned into action.  i asked some strong people to help lift heavy things out of the studio, and i decided that the huge, my sized, "besties holiday" painting that i blogged about in my last post must be painted over in order for me to want to hang it in my home.  it's been in the way in my studio for too long, but i just cant hang it in a prominent place when it isnt my style.  it's not my personal style, but i still have it up in my store so i can buy myself a tote or a small print if i want to.  i have a new story in my head that i sketched out the other day.  i've searched my personal archive and unsplash and have printed out about 20 reference/idea images for this project.  and so, the stage has been set that i will soon be creating a new piece.  a many layered, multi-focused painting that will take time to complete.  (that's the plan, anyway...)

sketch of my thoughts so far

 

today i have started with tidying and organizing the studio in order to be able to move around.  the next step will be to gesso over the old painting before the fun process of a layered, drippy, colorful underpainting.

say goodbye

for the new year i've got many ideas and two daily planners to keep me moving in the direction i wish to go instead of wallowing in my mud;

i've been off facebook since christmas eve, and it's been so freeing to be off such a soulsucking non-activity.  my plan is to stay off it for as long as i can/want, and then if i go back to it, to limit myself to 1 hour 3 times a week.  (i'll try to update on social media when i post here, but i hope to soon update the blog to include a subscription by email).  i also want to limit my youtube time for the same reason.  it's time for me to live my own life, not to watch others live theirs, and not to wallow in others dramas.  my time on fb and utube must be purposeful and healing, not for low vibration activities;

i've got to get my health back on track.  lyme and co-infection symptoms have been tiptoeing back and thats a scary thought.  i will be going back to my old journals and notes to see what helped me when i was under an integrative doctors supervision, and i will do more research to get myself back to a good place.  i also want and need to lose some of the weight i've been slowly gaining, so i've got a plan for that as well with habit tracking my exercise, a yoga challenge, food journaling and just trying to be as active as i can;

i've decided not to do any art classes this year, which was a big decision as i enjoy the community created within the Lets Face It group on facebook.  since i'm restricting my tech usage, since i havnt been working on classwork, since i've felt bad comparing my work with others, and since i know my own style... well, it seemed a waste of money to continue this year.  i've got a list of art goals i'd like to work on this coming year, and a backlog of classes i could work on if i decide i'm stuck and need a push;

i've got a list of foods and recipes i'd like to can, and i would like to learn how to make a good homemade bread (one of my sons is heavy into breadbaking and delighted the family with a couple loaves baked during our Family Game Day on january 1st).

all these things combined with seed starting and planting my gardens this spring and early summer should help me off the couch, leading to a more healthful and enjoyable life-worth-living for me.  

i wish for you all things wonderful in the new year!

until later,

jenny

big ideas in 2022

hi all.  yep, it's been a minute since i've posted.  honestly, i've been on a painting hiatus, concentrating on my spiritual health, trying to educate myself and to delve into lifes' mysteries.  i'm a libra, so i look into things from all sides, and oh, there are so many sides to the mystery of life and the earth we live on!  the muds run deep, lol.

but, i'm back!  i spent some time with my tarot deck the other day, and it gave me some great insight to some places where i might stumble in the coming year.  since then i had an idea that will bring some forward motion to a dream sweetie and i have.  forward motion made by me, instead of all from him, so this gives me an added push for my idea to work;  i need to be of financial assistance with making the dream happen.

our dream is a big one, with a big, ongoing income stream needed, and my artwork hasnt been forthcoming with the flow.  i get awesome drips here and there, but it's time to come up with a product that will give more of a flow wherever it's seen.   that means affordable to the masses and with a feeling that people will want in their homes.

i think i found it!

it feels good!

i have a stack of these wooden slice ornaments that i've used to affix prints of personal photos as gifts, but i'm about to experiment with affixing prints of my paintings.  i think my paintings would look great as minis hanging in various unexpected spots in a home!  i can imagine them in windows, hanging on lamp switches and drawer pulls.  i've also made some photo ones with magnets behind the wood slices and can imagine my art on fridges all around the world.  that thought makes me smile!

i was able to affix one print today, and i think i want a thicker paper, which means stronger medium to attach to the wood.  i also need to ponder how i want the edges to be.  do i want to decorate where the paper meets the wood so it's not feeling so abrupt?  do i want a matte or gloss finish?  (leaning towards matte finish, so the glare wont be too much in some light).  do i want some of the inner wood to show, instead of only the bark? 

 

i'll be experimenting with decorating this one

each wood piece is so different that it's going to be a process to size each and every print for each ornament and to cut each print to the unique shape of the wooden piece.  that's going to take some time for each piece so i'll still be taking care and putting my energies into them just like all my artwork.  i want to make these affordable for people to consider buying them, but i'll need to consider if this will be financially feasible to make any profit at all with these. or maybe i should concentrate on the bigger original paintings to sell and to put in my shops for people to put on mugs and other merchandise. remember, this will be helping to finance our big dream!

i can see these anywhere a little pop of color is needed in the home!

 

these little guys need a name now.  i've got some ideas for that as well, but here's my problem with naming these little gems of a product.  i have original paintings on canvas, and original mini paintings on canvas.  those are self explanatory; "paintings", and "mini paintings".  but these are prints on wood.  i feel they need a 'product name' and it needs to make sense with who i am as an artist and my artwork.  my art business name is HeavenSpirit Creations.  my art is spiritual and uplifting; joyful; has something to say; makes you feel connected; sends a message.  so the name needs to convey what it is and what it is presenting.  or at least has a name that gives some sort of feeling in that direction.  sweetie likes the name "Whimspirations", which is a cute name, but my art isnt whimsical in my eyes.  even if my art becomes cute in a mini size, it really doesnt say "whimsy" to me.

my name ideas i have that i like so far are;

 

Tiny Intentions

Tiny Totems (but not all will be of spirit animals, so not the best)

Hanging Altars

Tiny Guides (not my favorite)

Rooted Offerings

Rooted Altars

Mini Alters

Rooted Intentions

Rooted Visions

Rooted Treasures

Tiny Treasures

 

as you can see, i like the double meaning of the word rooted here.  rooted, meaning very strong and firmly fixed, and they are also made of wood from a rooted tree.  i really enjoy the imagery of that.  out of my list of names, what is your favorite?

 

 

looking good on my own altar space

 

 

for now, i'll be starting to make these with prints of some of my original paintings.  since i have almost 200 paintings, i'll be picking favorites that will work well for the circular piece of wood.  it's gonna take time to get a good supply going, and while i work i'll be able to figure out a name as well as think about cost to make and how much to pay myself for the time and artwork.  it'll be a process!

until later,

jenny

 

 

studio changes

hi friends!  i hope things are going well for you; that life, or even just this minute, is peaceful and you find some joy in each day.  that's my wish for you.

this post was written over a period of time, so you will see some past tense along with present tense as i wrote and re-wrote things.  time frame is a little off.  i'm just leaving it.

there has been some excitement in my little world of late.  i had a bit of money in my art account and thought a treat was in order for Heavenspirit Creations to get me back to adventuring with creativity, so i ordered a huge moleskine sketchbook and a neocolor set.  i'm excited to get to work with these new products!  of course, i made a bit of a mistake and gave sweetie the wrong neocolor link so we ordered the non water-reactive set instead of the water-reactive set.  sweetie helped me out and ordered the correct item so i can get it quicker than waiting to return the wrong item and re-place the order, and it must have come from a different dick blick warehouse cause it got here two days before the first order was to arrive (and my first order seems to be stuck in fedex limbo instead of arriving at my door)!  i was dancing around and hugging the beautiful colored crayon set, joy, oh joy! 

now to decide if i want to just keep the other set or if i will be returning it...

 

the other shipment arrived the day after it's delivery date

 boy they werent kidding with the "xtra large" on the moleskine description!

and... i decided to keep the other neocolor set, big surprise

 

the bigger (HUGE) piece of studio news started with feeling a bit of "grabby hands" for the studio of a favorite artist of mine on youtube.  her name is sandi hester and she has a wonderful, genuine and fun personality.  her videos are engaging and beautifully edited and her art is colorful, really loose, and kind of folk-art-ish.  she is a joy to watch and learn from!

anyway, i was watching sandi create in her beautiful studio and started dreaming of a "not-in-the-cold,  messy cellar" studio for myself.  my studio gets way too cold for me in the wintertime, even with a heater, it has gotten that damp smell in the spring, and we've blocked the entry with cellar junk.  it's not been conducive to creativity and i end up bringing bits of supplies into the main house and making a mess for a few months before having to bring it all back down to make room for family gatherings, only to start the migration again when the holiday blues get me needing to create.  it's gotten to be a huge drag.  so... i was dreaming.  and my dream took me to creating my studio with the living room/tv room i was in.  we have a larger room we can do our daily living in, that i had dubbed "the christmas room" for all the time we (don't) spend there, but we'd have to do a lot of organizing, purging and (sweetie, anyway) heavy lifting to make it all work.  i did my "honey? i looove you..." opening, and sweetie was on board with the re-arrangement, cause he knows it would serve me better- he tries to make my life better every chance he can- and he likes it when i'm creating (i got a good one!).  

hubby needs his 'geek room' organized and cleared of non-essentials for his gaming, then we can more easily move things out of the way into his room while figuring out how to consolidate the two living areas into one.  the 'christmas room' might be larger, but there is little wall room in which to place furniture, so thats a big issue.  i'll be cleaning out and purging items from a cluttered room upstairs i lovingly call my 'crap room' that has a lot of craft supplies and just junk, and hopefully creating a spare bedroom and game library from some things in our living area now that wont fit in the new living area.  my new art studio will have the essentials; paints and other mediums i'm currently using, easel, desk, and a small couch that lucy-pup and i can snuggle on where she can look out the window (cause i'm mean and her favorite spot on her comfy couch by the window will be gone).  the cellar studio will be my art supply surplus like canvasses and mediums i'm not currently using and the stuff from the 'crap room' like my beads and fabric.  

 

 

lucy in her favorite spot

 doggie tv will not be the same, poor girl

this weighed heavily on my heart during the whole change 

"how to make it work for lucy?!"

 

"Operation Re-Arrange-the-Whole-House" was started over the weekend of july 25th with the big job of clearing out sweeties geek room that consists of a heavy gaming table that needed to be moved several times to put a large rug underneath.  he was a tiny bit sore after that!

but the results are fantastic!

(dont you love the gaming table he built a few years ago?!)

i only have 4 more rooms to go!  (whomp-whomp-whomp)

here is the little area i've been creating in,if you can spot it in the mess.  this used to be the "christmas room", soon to be the living room...

sooo lovely... 

this was during the transformation, dont judge.

artwork was done under the paintings to the right.  

notice pixel-kitty in the box?  he was 'helping'

 

 

and after, august 2nd, the new living room, still in progress...

 

 

i had a belly ache over the living room for several days, because everyone was unhappy about the lack of space.  pixel kitty adored his huge cat tree in the middle of the room, now he barely uses it.  so, now i've upset dog, cat and hubby!  pixel and lucy have to get used to being in the house as a whole together, where lucy pup would guard 'her' small tv room from the cat.   it's been... an adjustment, but things are getting better by the day.  pixel was running through the house this morning, and loves being in my studio without harassment from lucy.  lucy likes being in all the rooms and is getting more exercise.  keeping my fingers crossed!

we still have lots to find places for, but on whole we're getting used to general furniture placement.

 

 

before, the second floor 'crap room'...

this room you can judge, it was naturally a pit

again, pixel-kitty 'helping'

 

soon to be a game library, and to have a bed for spare bedroom... 

 

no photo yet, will update later. it still needs a lot done to it, but some has been purged, and some has been moved already. 

before (but after clearing a path to get in), my cellar studio...

just a heap of mess!

and during, august 2nd, my studio surplus room...

 

lots of organization needed here!  the two big shelves in the soon-to-be spare bedroom will be coming down here for art supply storage.

and, now, the main event...

before, the living room (with a lucy in her spot at the window)...

 

 and after, august 2nd, my main art studio...

(lucy is currently in the new living room, under the blankets)

 

 

 

the main studio is pretty much done, though i want to get each art medium organized in a better way.  this room is perfect for me!  it's big enough to hold all the supplies i work with; it has space for personal books i hold sacred, and my incense type things; and i have space to do workouts and yoga as well as a little loveseat for me and pup to relax on!  (and, yes, i made sure lucy is comfortable and can look out the window)

i might make a proper studio tour later.  right now, i need to rest after all that switch-a-roonie (switch-a-roomie?) we were able to do!

until later,

jenny

whats next (AKA buried treasure)

as I worked on organizing my art studio yesterday I came across more works in progress I'd like to concentrate on after them waiting patiently for a year or two.

some of the works are just interesting backgrounds, but three are dear to my heart and I'd love to get them on the wall instead of being thought of as cluttering the studio.

a soon to be rendition of my childhood homestead

from a photo of my daddy as a child with my grandmother

a sketch from a very cropped, very fuzzy 

but cherished photo of my grandmother and me at the beach.

hopefully I can do the memory some justice!

then I have my newest from my free reference site that I'll be working on;

and thats a look into my painting future!  it's now September and I have lots of personal house-type things I have planned before Christmas rolls around, some of which involves bringing my painting area back down to my studio instead of where the Christmas tree will be in the heart of the home.  I might be kind of cutting the expectations close- especially since I'm dealing with more health concerns which may or may not involve knee surgery.  I figure I have a selection of paintings to choose from if I get overwhelmed with the other life-stuff and the muse comes calling.

until later, 

Jenny

procrastination in action

this is what happens when you start cleaning in the studio, I guess.  you came across some brilliantly colored and textured old backgrounds that have the beginnings of a sketch (this time of an elephant), and decide to play instead.

see the top portion of this painting?  thats how all of this was.  red/orange textured paint and a simple sketch that I needed to figure out.  I love his energy!

found a 'before the before' shot. close to how it started today

and I just looked up his meaning here and am floored again with how animal energy comes to me when I need it.  I was looking at the painting, searching for it's title.  and the words "at ease" came to me.  the background leaves nothing to be at ease about, but he is standing sure of himself, grazing on what is around him with his trunk at his mouth.  he does not seem troubled or tense about what is going on around him at all.

the article says ;

Do you have a long, hard journey in front of you and need strength to make it through? Are you taking care of friends or family during tough times and need support? Elephant, as a Spirit, Totem, and Power Animal, can help! Elephant teaches how to nourish the mind, body, and spirit, so you are strong during trying times.

just floored.

so, he will be titled "At Ease"

Elephant teaches how to use what is around to nourish us, to listen to the guidance of the Elders so we remain calm and sure footed when times are difficult.   this is the way to help our tribe.

time to meditate on this totem coming to me at this time.

until later,

Jenny

amazing results within the great pause

last I wrote I was about to give a new medicine a try for Babesia.  luckily the medicine wasn't as costly for us as it could have been, and also luckily for me the side effects have been minimal.

this medicine is called mepron (I'm on the generic), and my life is so much better for it!  my main issue with the medicine is that I must take it with a high fat meal.  those get me queasy, so I've been dealing with a yucky tummy twice a day for 2 months now.  poor sweetie is careful with the smells of his own meals, as its like dealing with a pregnant wife these days.  and, right after a queasy-making meal, I must force down this thick, yellow, paint-like substance that doesnt taste all that wonderful.  it's not been fun, but it has been a life saver so I deal with it.

it's worth the yuckies!

a few weeks ago I found a strange rash(s) on my knee.  they were not a bruise, as when they disappeared they didn't go all the colors of the rainbow, they just faded as quickly as they popped up.  I let my lyme doctor know and we both suspected bartonella, so am on a couple more tinctures to help with that.  my energy level has decreased since getting the rash, so another reason I'm suspecting another infection.

they got even brighter red than this

the tinctures I'll be on for a while, but the yucky medicine I'll only be on another month- unless we decide differently.  I'm counting the days!

while I've not been called for creativity on the canvas, I've been able to do hard work in the yard, helping to build raised gardens and planting them and various other jobs. I'm glad for the spring, as I'm able to get off social media and go within while getting my hands busy in the soil.  it's been very healing even before the harvest.

the gardens have been my canvas

this year we built 3 raised beds at 4'x4' doing the square foot gardening method.  we also have 9 "buckets 'o stuff" that were planted mostly with left overs from starting seeds inside, but 4 of them planted with potatoes.  I transplanted some others here and there on the property to do what they wished, and sweetie built a watermelon spot 

I love sitting on the bench, just being with my gardens

the potatoes are doing great, and this one has some flower buds starting

this mess I started clearing yesterday.  

some are raspberries, but there was a ton of tree babies in there.

on the left of the path is my hidden sitting spot under a lilac, but you cant see it

some of "the wildlings" with their wooden stakes to climb, 

and my watermelon area

I also have some sunflowers (bottom left) that were grown for this spot

my next project is to learn to can and preserve my harvest so I can have the healthiest food possible during the cold months!  

Lucy and I send you our love!

until later,

Jenny

health update

I went to my new lyme doctor a few weeks ago and she wanted to take more blood for even more testing.  she wanted to do a better lyme test with one of the best labs to find lyme and co-infections just to see if we can tell for sure what I'm fighting.  igenex is the name of the lab, and, while they still do have some trouble finding the nasties because nasties like to hide, they have a better chance at finding what tick-born infection(s) is/are raging in me because they have been perfecting finding Lyme disease since 1991.  it's all they do!  I've been waiting, not so patiently, for the results which could be back any day now... or in a few more weeks.  who knows.

the doctor also wanted to see if I have any food related allergies, so I ticked off all the foods I eat and might eat and we had them all tested.  basically I omitted any meat, minus chicken, as I still ate a bit of chicken 'bacon' with my eggs at breakfast.

turns out I'm having to re-adjust my whole life again.  these tests range in allergy from 0- 5 and the highest I tested was a 2 on egg whites and white beans, and I tested at a 0/1 on many things, including egg yolks.  the doctor wanted me to omit the level 2 allergy foods and limit the other ones, which include;
cow milk,
wheat,
almonds,
casein,
gluten,
banana,
spelt,
whey,
ginger,
kidney beans,
green beans,
and yogurt.

while I havnt had actual milk in a long while, I did enjoy my cheese and yogurt at times;  eggs were a must for me;  bananas were getting into my regular daily diet for muscle cramps and helping create a creamy healthful smoothie lately; almonds seem to be a substitute for gluten free items; and I still have no idea if "white beans" is a type of bean, or any white bean (a search defines "white bean" as "a white kidney bean, such as cannellini bean", but that still doesnt answer my question, since kidney bean is on my dont eat list, too.  and I just noticed that garbanzo beans aren't on the list tested at all, so are they related or in that group and I shouldn't have them???  if so, thats a HUGE issue*)...  so, after getting this news I kind of slipped into a woe is me kind of funk, not having any clue what I was going to eat and wishing I could forgo eating altogether.

*edit; sweetie did a further search and found white beans to be concerned about are kidney, navy and pinto.  hopefully that will be the end of my confusion over the 'bean issue'

I eat a large, yummy salad for lunches these days

Lyme disease patients hold several diets close for healing (and the diets are different for every person, but some do paleo (high meat), some do vegetarian or vegan, so its another confusing situation, and one to work through with my own body symptoms).  my bariatric diet says to limit, or better to do away with, things that bulk up in your tummy; rice, pasta, grains...  and now these new limitations!

smoothies with coconut yogurt are a staple still, minus the banana

boy am I glad for the internet, guys!  I have found many helpful vegetarian and vegan food blogs and am compiling recipes and tips galore.  the first few meals I've tried have been tasty and I know they are more healthy for me than store-bought foods.  it's strange shopping for ingredients and coming home with hardly any ready-to-eat stuff.  the biggest issue I'm having with it is that I dont yet have the energy to chop and cook most of these dishes, so sweetie has been stepping up YET AGAIN to do the cooking that I need.

sweetie has bought a cabinet 

and is in the process of building it into our peninsula

for my pantry goods.  

he's planning on building a shelf on the side for some cookbooks, too.

it's been about 2 weeks of eating better, and 1 week of in depth research (how much research am I going to have to do for all of my issues!?), and I'm feeling a bit more confident that this might be more do-able than I had feared.  I didn't think this new limitation would be sustainable for me in the slightest.  and I'm still just winging this whole thing.  if eating vegan means I have a little bit of brown rice in a certain meal, then I've decided to do it every once in a while.  with all my modifications, I've decided a bit of 'living' here and there won't hurt.

I've not gained any energy yet, but have let go of 3 pounds so far, so it's a step in a good direction, and I dont mind going 'mostly vegan'.  I do eat fish, but the rest of my diet is pretty close to vegan.  never thought I'd get to this kind of eating, but I'm happy to do so.  for the critters and for myself.

here are a few links to vegetarian/vegan sites that have intrigued me, in case you're in the lookout, too;

Jessica in the kitchen; has free printables of how to stock the kitchen, budget friendly tips and the most yummy sounding coconut chickpea curry recipe that I'm excited to try

she likes food; is a mostly gluten free vegetarian/vegan blogstress that has lots of one pot meals, kid friendly food, and Mexican inspired dishes.  I'm excited to try her spaghetti squash enchilada boats

forks over knives; is a wellness site with health information as well as tasty, plant-based recipes that are free for all.  I'm looking to try their chickpea omelet first!

holistically engineered;  follows a low-carb, grain free, paleo diet, so not vegetarian at all, but has some good vegetarian and gluten free recipes.  just use the search engine to find something suitable.  I tried their cinnamon "rice pudding" and it is yummy!


I'm hoping that all of these changes gives me some tangible health benefits soon.  I'd like to gain some energy in order to start making my own meals so I might stick with it in an easier way.  and to give poor sweetie a little break from caretaking.

*EDIT; I have test results. 

I have an active babesia infection, possible (probable) lyme and tick born relapsing fever. she wants me to get on the cancellation list to get in sooner so we can discuss treatment, and told me of what she'd like to put me on. lets just say $$$. I've been researching others experiences on one of the most costly meds and most say it's a miracle drug. soooo... we'll see what this new chapter brings.

until later,
Jenny

introducing frank the skeleton; a halloween tale (photo heavy)

my sweetie loves halloween.  I mean, he is passionate about it.  he's gotten a big outside display going now, thanks to friends and family getting good deals on after-halloween sales and giving him halloween decorations for christmas.  he sits outside with his cauldron of bite-sized treats waiting for trick-or-treaters to come.  though, in our neighborhood there is usually a non-stop parade of kids, so it's practical to sit outside anyway.  he goes 'reverse trick-or-treating', which means during a quick lull in kids he will take said cauldron of goodies and go to our neighbors houses to let them have their pick.  a few of our adult kids and some friends will sometimes come over to hang out by the fire with us,  all because sweetie is such a kid on this day.  halloween is a big deal for us!

this year we saw some life-sized (for me, at 4' 11") skeletons at a good enough price and sweetie grabbed one to bring home and call our own!  he carried it by it's neck around the store like it was walking by his side, making people smile to watch, and buckled him in the car to go home.  I was happy and excited to add to our growing display.  (we're gonna need a bigger yard, soon).

sweetie's been stressed out at work and I thought a little intrigue and lightheartedness was in order so I decided to make his coming home time a little brighter by displaying our new purchase in different scenarios, ala "elf on a shelf".

the first day, October 2nd, saw our new skelly, frank, getting rid of some unwanted pounds;

actually, I wasn't sure this was going to be an ongoing thing,

but the reaction I got from this first surprise cemented the idea of doing it all month

on October 3rd frank wanted to read sweetie's fortune;

what sweetie saw when he walked in the front door

a crow friend stopped by to see what cards would be dealt

October 4th had frank helping to take Lucy-pup outside;

but he kept passing out from losing weight from day1, so needed to sit and take a drink of iced tea before sweetie got home;

I think pixel kitty is confused by the whole situation

on October 5th sweetie was home for the weekend.  frank wanted to enjoy some fresh air while we took Lucy for a walk; 

"I'll just wait here"

he might have fallen asleep by the time we got back to the car.  

who could tell- no eyelids...  or eyeballs, even!

October 6th was my birthday and sweetie took me to the fair.  frank didn't seem to miss us much;

sweetie was back to work on October 7th and frank was cleaned up neat and pretty to welcome him home that night;

I had a load of laundry to do on October 8th, and frank was kind enough to give me a hand.  what a nice houseguest!  

frank was being a little silly on the 9th.  he'd seen pixel kitty hanging out on the cat tree and wanted to see the house from that vantage point;

on Thursday, October 10th frank figured he needed a good scrubbing from all the fur he sat in while on the cat tree;

"hey!  a little privacy, please!"

on the 11th I caught him coming out of my bedroom after he woke from a nap;

Saturday, October 12th, frank decided to help sweetie with yard work;

he couldn't stop playing in the pile, though, so not much help was had;

"wheee!"

it was D&D night on October 13th, and frank wanted to join in on the fun.  sweetie said if frank helped set up he *might* be able to be a guest player;

after a busy weekend frank fell asleep with some light reading on Monday, the 14th;

frank had a mishap on the 15th.  he fell down and broke his wrist, poor thing!  he took a look at sweeties 3D printer, but found the break is in too bad of a location to be able to fix...  frank has a sad;

he's holding his own hand,  hoping for a cure to his dilemma

**cries**

sweetie surprised me the next morning, the 16th, when I went to move dear frank, and I couldn't find where his hand had run off to!  I figured it would have fallen out of his other hand in the night with pixel kittys rampages (cause "pixel is crazy", said in the manner of the SCRUBS line "hooch is crazy", if you know the tv show).  I looked on the floor near where frank was located and couldn't find it, said oh well, and went to move him, only then looking directly at his face;

he must be very hungry by now 

to be gnawing his own hand!

saddened by his new lifestyle change with a missing hand (well, not missing anymore, just not attached), frank went to mope.  he was soon joined by a pack of alpacas trying to cheer him!

see the cute little alpacas on either shoulder?

on October 17th frank wanted to meet my sweetie at the front door;

no slippers or beverage with him, though

frank decided to check to see if the bathroom sink drain was leaking on Friday the 18th;

even minus a hand, he's still quite handy

another busy Saturday for sweetie and myself.  when we got home on the 19th, we interrupted this cozy interlude;

bun-bun assured me frank was a gentle-skele-man 

Sunday morning on October 20th was a quiet, relaxed time spent at home, just chilling on the computer with the family;

Monday the 21st was spent with me on the couch.  frank kept annoying me by asking what we were going to do that day.  he would not let up, even though I told him I wasn't feeling well, so I put him in a time out;

someone pointed out he looks like he's peeing.

guess he was mad at me.

and look at pixel, egging him on!

the next day, October 22nd, frank apologized for being annoying (and then peeing in the corner while in time out), by making me a vegetable pot pie.  he's forgiven, the scamp;

"ta-da!"

Wednesday October 23rd and all is well.  frank was feeling dapper and tapping his toes to some internal music when sweetie got home that night;

he reminds me of Jimmy Durante 

without his famous nose

"ah-cha-cha-cha!"

frank got on the floor to play with the critters on Thursday the 24th;

Lucy wasn't sure she wanted to be friends

even though she likes bones

 "really, mommy?"

pixel was ok to give a good sniff

and then frank fell over with the giggles

frank said TGIF on the 25th, and stopped to smell the flowers;

 he's been envious of sweeties mustache, 

so got out the pretty paper and tape

you may notice he planted his hand.

he said it was to see if he could grow another one

I told him I dont think it works that way, 

but he wanted to try

Saturday we did some more preparations for our halloween display, and frank got into the spirit of things;

he hasn't taken off his mustache yet, here.  

maybe he thinks its a costume?

on Sunday the 27th, frank was getting pretty anxious to open the candy.  not, yet, frank!

he doesnt think we'll have enough candy for kids AND him

stop trying to eat through the bag, frank!

frank's not a patient fellow

October 28th and halloween is getting closer!  frank seems to be getting ants in his pants, or something;

frank fit

so frank sat

just like pixel

our crazy cat

frank heard through the grapevine that we're expecting rain on halloween, and he got a little glum;

"please don't rain on our special day"

pixel saw the sadness settle in and tried to comfort poor frank

frank even did a little sun prayer for a favor

Wednesday, October 30th had frank happier, as he heard trick-or-treating would be postponed until Saturday for rain and high wind worries.  frank went upstairs to chat with pixel... possibly to plot something.  I worry about them telling secrets; you just never know whats next with those two!

"yo, dude, wash your knee!"

it's halloween!  sweetie had the day off, so we went shopping and came home with a couple new pets for frank;

I think they like him

pixel wasn't so sure about things, though.  

he had a 'fuzz incident' a bit earlier, but I didn't catch photo proof.

he was swatting it, and his tail was HUGE

friday, the day before the big trick-or treat day, and tension was high for frank!  he knew he had one big day of the year, and he had to be on point with the scare.  I caught him giving a pep talk to some of his co-actors;

"I know you'll all do a great job!"

I caught pixel listening in a little later;

looks like he didn't agree with some of the spooky talk.

either that or he wants to be part of it

sweetie came home with a surprise.  when we went shopping for on-sale pets for frank on halloween I got the thought of getting this guy only after we had gotten the chihuahua skeleton, and cracked myself up;

meet "Ferter"

(please tell me you got it, so I'm not over here cracking up by myself)

todays the big day!  November 2nd, trick-or-treat day for our town, and sweetie and son #4 had some help putting things together;

frank met Steve the dragon for the first time

frank saw how many parts Steve was in and passed out.

he does that a lot

"you put tab A in slot B?  are you sure?"

yay! all together now...

YAY!

"look at me, now I'm a dragon!"

what are you dragging?

"NO!  me!  I'm a dragon!  nevermind"

frank has Steve all tied up for tonight

and even Lucy is pleased with the display

resting time

sweetie still setting up

frank now has a sword and a guard dog at his side

part of the cemetery

pretty!

the night was very busy with tons of happy kids (they were circling the cauldrons, 5-6 deep waiting at times!), lots of neat costumes to see, some pups to give special treats to (the owners were thrilled), and lots of praise to the mastermind behind the amazing display!

sweetie was in his element

frank and the whole cast of characters got a lot of complements

and a few photos were had with them

"bye everyone!  thanks for letting me play!"

"now into the trunk I go, until another spooky day"

I hope you enjoyed our tale of frank.

until later,

Jenny