Hello....Again.

Hello....It has almost been a full year since my last post...

A lot has happened since then.

Sometimes life takes a turn and you have to just sit back and take it all in.

That is pretty much what has happened to me.

I needed some time off.

A break.

Many of you know me personally and know that I have had a big loss in my life.

A loss of a wonderful friend.  It has taken me a while to be able to breathe since then.

It all seems like a giant blur. 

My friend, Jak meant the world to me and I miss him terribly.  He taught me so many things.

He made me mad, he made me happy, he was very frustrating.  He was very loving and appreciative.

He made me laugh and shake my head...I did the same for him.  

He also taught me that if you want to do something...do it now.  "Now" became a favorite word for Jak.   There is never time to finish everything that you want to do.

Do it all and do it to your best ability.  Take chances and don't waste time.  

He lived his life like only he could.  Doing everything on his own terms and doing those things

like only Jak could do them.  He told me something (actually many things) that will stick with me for the rest of my life.

One of the things he told me...Your artwork is the MOST important thing. 

He told me that a long time ago and I started saving some money. 

So....I guess that in my grief and also quite possibly a mid life crisis..I purchased 

a building to turn into a workshop.  

I will post photos along the way to show everyone the process that is involved with this.

My building is 12 x 24'.  Turning a pre fab building into a workshop is not easy.

Some things have to be done in sort of a backwards order.  Insulating and flashing for instance.

Also..if anyone has done this sort of project, I would love to hear your experiences and tips.

Zippy is doing well.  Although I think that he has lost his mind a bit.

He is actually being sweet to the cat.  It makes me laugh when I see them sleeping together.

The barn quilt is still looking good.

Zippy "helping" me take photos of the sunset.

I found this bottle of Jak's for sale and I could not pass it up.

I have another blue one like this that he gave me.    

This one is a little smaller (8" tall) and I loved the colors.

This is a deer skull that I covered in glass.  Lit from within. 

A possum skull done the same way as the deer. 

The possum skull above in daylight.

I found this one in my vegetable garden.

Strange.  It had a broken jawbone that I fixed with the glass.  I also added a 

glass tooth. 

Zippy is the head supervisor for my building project. 

He watches my dad and husband as they do all of the heavy lifting.

I am very thankful for all of the help. 

Milkweed.

Zippy and Scatter napping.  

Smudge has been doing fairly well.

Her epilepsy is still pushing through and she has seizures about 

once or twice a month.  She started having multiple seizures again and

we have recently upped her Keppra dose and hopefully that will help 

her go longer between seizures.  She lives a very full and fun life.

My parent's got a new dog, May.  

We now have May, the donkey and May, the dog.

A little confusing. 

Smudge and May adore each other and play nonstop.

May is faster than Smudge, but....

Sometimes....

Bulk is better than speed.  haha. 

They really have a good time together. 

May is an expert at Keep Away.

Catching her is almost impossible. 

Oracle is sticking his tongue out at Smudge.

Zippy celebrated his 12th birthday in Aug.

His arthritis is giving him a rough time, so Smudge got to take a 

"big girl" hike with me the other day.  

She did very well.  

I have to always carry extra medication with me in case of a seizure.

Luckily she has only had a seizure while hiking once and we were close to the car.

She loves running in the woods. 

I never take her too far away and most of the places are accessible by Gator in case of emergency.

The grey barn is still looking good.  

I hope to get back to posting more and I also hope to share some of my Jak stories.  

He was such an interesting person and we had some good laughs.  

I will be dedicating a whole blog post to him in the near future.  

I just have not been able to find the words yet.  

But I will.   

Thank you for checking out my blog and I promise to bring more fun and frivolity into the next post.