Category Archives: lockdown

all quiet on the island front – lockdown 2 day 39

Posted on by
4

Eric says Hi. He’s generally a great kitten, he has his insane moments but thankfully they’re not too bad. He enjoys his ‘playstation’ so I’m not getting claws and pounces too much. I’m waiting for the teens to strike though. I’ve been warned about them. Hopefully he’ll survive them in one piece. He already knows the look and sound of the spray water bottle!

Lainee has had her xray (all clear) and a second opinion. I’m probably going to have to do another test for her heart, but the first vet said it was simply a riskier surgery due to her murmur which the second said she could barely hear. So its up to me basically. If I’m willing to risk it either vet will do surgery. I’ve risked it before on my dogs and I will again cause this has to be done. I won’t risk her getting cancer from these growths. So its just a matter of deciding on vet 1 (who removed her teeth) or vet 2 (that my friend swears is the best) and booking it. I will decide tomorrow and make the appointment.

Is it just me or do others feel guilty when getting a second opinion?

Anyway, today has been a very low key day. Its been blowing a gale out there since yesterday which makes being outdoors rather unpleasant so I’ve stuck inside and done a few bits of clay work. I was longing for a day spent at home. For some reason I’ve been really tired and even fell asleep on the couch while watching TV. Probably cause I’m going to bed later and later and Eric insists on waking me up at 7.30 every morning.

The big flat thing to the left will be a fish eventually (once I decide what the scales will be made of) and the dog in the back is on the last stretch. Right now his ears are drying.

I put together 2 of the small houses I made to hold tea lights. They’re crooked as all getout, but I like ’em. Now to make one more and set them up to live on my coffee table or bookcase or somewhere, if I can find the room…

I’ve been putting off painting though I’ve been thinking about it. I have some boards prepared and some paintings I started that need finishing. I really should get onto that but I need to build up to it. Meanwhile I ordered more clay online. I’m on my last block. Air dry again of course. For the time being.

Now the big question remains… What should I have for dinner? I made some pasta sauce with a bit of bacon and tomato for lunch/dinner last night. I can make more pasta and have the leftover sauce. Or I can have a salad before the cucumber I bought goes entirely rotten*…

Oh such big decisions!

z

*What are vegetables? They’re those things we select carefully, squeezing and inspecting each one in order to chose the best ones, then let them slowly die in our refridgerator.

cheating – lockdown 2 days 37 & 38

Posted on by
1

Yep. I’m cheating. I’m combining 2 days in one post. Why? Well, cause I missed posting for a day and really, I didn’t feel like posting. I didn’t even log in till now. Sometimes you need time off the computer.

I had a couple of busy days in terms of life in general, yet lazy days when it came to doing creative stuff and blogging.

I did do a few things cause even when I’m couch potato-ing I still do some things. For one I got Christmas lights and put them up. Outside. I bought them – I still haven’t found my old indoor lights. I obviously put them in a real safe place!

I also bought 2 new short battery operated light strands and put one in the window and one in the coffee table display.

I made a new bed for Lainee. I’d made her one out of a fluffy sweater last year*, which she loved, but I thought it was time to upgrade. I found that the best (and cheapest) way to make dog beds is to buy cheap throws and recylcing old pillow stuffing. It might be yuck for us, but for the dog its a bonus if it smells like us! And buying the fabric costs way more than the cheap throws. Go figure.

I bought the grey throw as it suits my bedroom. As you can see, Lainee enjoys her own space while sleeping on my bed.

*I recycled Lainee’s old dog bed as a bed for stray cats. They appreciate it even if its a bit ‘doggy’ smelling.

I’ve begun sorting Christmas gifts for family and friends. Small things I’ve made basically. I like to give gifts, mostly home made, cause they cheer people up. And it cheers me up even more!

I’ve done a little more work on the latest clay projects but they aren’t nearly finished yet. Worked on a new dog. Also not finished yet…

Other than that it seems like I’m always washing dishes… what is it with that? And putting the new vacuum cleaner to work… and picking up Eric’s toys…

Ain’t life exciting?

I’ll be back in form and feeling like posting again tomorrow. I hope.

z

my drying rack – lockdown 2 day 36

Posted on by
1

Eric has begun to leave little hairs on me when he’s on my lap.

The reason I never wanted a cat.

But its a trade off I guess. I have the cuddles, the cuteness, the purring… vs the hair! (oh and lets not forget the kitty litter!)

I better get back to brush training. Sigh.

Meanwhile what have I been doing? Not that much. Yesterday I had family related things to do in the early afternoon, so when I got home I started work on some more clay things. They’re all on my ‘drying rack’ (the shelf in front of and above the tv, under the air conditioner).

I saw this on FB this morning and I think it sums up my house:

I love it. In fact, I want this.

I need a studio. I’d like to be able to work with ‘real’ clay, not just the air dry stuff. That needs space and makes a mess.

(Everything I do makes a mess.)

I’d like to be able to redo furniture and make things…

I began dreaming of how/where I can find myself a workshop for cheap and went off on all kinds of tangents: a container fitted out as a workshop, a caravan gutted and used as a workshop…

My options are rather limited. Renting will cost more money than I have to spend unless I can find a garage or something cheap. Real cheap. Huh. A challenge on an island. I have land, but no power or other amenities to it, and to build is not only expensive, it also needs permits and the costs just escalate from there. So, back to something temporary like a container or caravan unless I can find a cheap rental space. If I’m not renting those are the only options since kit shed/home/office buildings are not allowed on the islands.

Something temporary still needs a site with access to power. I know I could use a generator, but generators are expensive to run and I hate the noise and the stench of fuel.

What do I do?

Not having the space to work is getting me down.

Last night I tossed and turned for quite a while, thoughts of how and where running through my head, ideas on what I could do with a container or a caravan, what I would need, what I could work on, how I’d gut a caravan, how to fit out a container, what type of clay I could get, what I could make, how to organise firing of my stuff, what kind of pottery I’d like to make, what kind of glazes I’d use…

I do love sculpture it turns out, so I’d enjoy doing more of it. But what happened to painting?

It just got too complicated. In the end I think I fell asleep cause I was too exhausted thinking.

z

not a productive day – lockdown 2 day 35

Posted on by
3

I had a pretty non-productive day.

I spent a couple of hours taking mom in to see her cardiologist and then picking up some shopping (cat food, dog food…) and got home in plenty of time to actually DO something, but didn’t.

I spent most of the afternoon and evening doing beached whale immitations on the couch.

However, I did manage to get inspired to do a few things. I sorted out the sewing table which had become a hold-all for all kinds of crap. I can see the surface of it again which is nice. I’m looking at a couple of sewing projects I have on there now, including all the sea rope I have waiting, and I might actually feel inspired enough to do something.

I sanded and smoothed my latest clay projects. I tackled my underwear drawer. I baked shortbread cookies. I listened to 80s music. I watched Netflix shows on tiny houses, re-decorating and organising.

But mainly what was on my mind was Lainee…

Since the day I got her, Lainee has had growths in her teats all down one side. One of them was quite big and hard. When I questioned the vet as to why they weren’t removed when she was spayed (I thought that would have made sense) he said it was too much to put her through at the time most likely… I don’t know. Maybe it was.

Anyway, the vet said they had to be removed but her teeth were the first thing I opted to have done as she looked like she had a sore mouth and had really bad breath. At the time she had 6 or 8 teeth removed. The growths weren’t bothering her, they weren’t growing and there’s a 50-50% chance of them being benign, so no rush to remove them…

Last weekend I noticed the biggest of the growths had changed shape and seemed a bit bigger. Its now become quite important to remove them. So I took her to the vet quickly.

The vet said, yes, the whole line of mammary glands need to be removed on that side as there are growths all along. I knew that. I googled it. She took blood to check on her overall health before going under so I’m waiting on results of that. And she said she needed an xray of her chest to make sure nothing has spread (!). And she said Lainee has a heart murmur.

I’m sure she told me that last time, but maybe it was ‘no big deal’ as they didn’t bring that up as a reason to not do surgery on her so I must have forgotten it. Maybe the murmur has gotten worse?

Apparently that on its own isn’t a reason to not do surgery, but its something that concerns her and she recommends that after we do the tests, I may have to take Lainee to a specialist in Athens for the surgery.

Now, obviously I want the best for Lainee. For sure. But I also don’t really want to take her to Athens. Its a bad time with Christmas for one thing. There’s the lockdown for another… I’d have to wait till they lift lockdown mid to late January…

Lainee is 11.5 years old now. So doing the surgery sooner than later is the way to go.

I’ve booked her in to another vet next week, the only one that has an xray machine on Paros, and asked that I see both vets in that practice for a second opinion. If they’re happy to do the surgery, then I will have her done there as soon as possible. I want my girl to live a long and healthy life.

Fingers crossed.

Meanwhile I took Eric with me to the vet and got more worming treatements and his first vaccination against cat flu and whatever else it is… I’ve never had a cat before so I’m not up on that stuff.

Eric is still sweet but he’s also crazy. He plays like mad in his cat ‘play station’, then runs like he’s being chased around the house, bouncing off walls almost. Then suddenly he’ll collapse and want cuddles. That’s my favourite part.

I ordered him some acrylic nail caps but by the time they arrive Eric will probably be an old man as I could only find them from China. Till then I have to trim his nails often. Ugh. Guess its good for him to learn to put up with stuff like that.

He and Lainee are getting along fine. Lainee is happy to see him when we get home though she’s still not thrilled if he wants to play with her. Eric has learned not to try and eat her food. She’s pretty strict about that!

That’s our life.

z

chewie – lockdown 2 day 34

Posted on by
2

The latest finished dog sculpture. I call this one Chewie for obvious reasons. He was inspired by my friend who just bought her dog a new rope toy.

This little fellow is made slightly differently to the previous dogs cause he was made using air dry clay. I started with a cardboard and wire armature to get the shape, then worked on building him up with clay.

Since the clay is already white I opted for not painting him or covering him with anything. Just letting the clay speak for itself.

Ooops. I forgot to give him a scrappy bandana like I did the others. Must get onto that.

Anyway, he’s finished and its time to move onto another dog or two.

Some more dishes or clay objects.

I need to sew some more masks. And a new bed for Lainee…

Tidy and organise my house. Again. Its a constant job that one.

It never ends.

This morning I helped a friend catch another 4 stray cats to be neutered on the council bill. They were not happy about it! One was a big old tom cat. We really wanted to catch the huge mean tom that hangs around but he’s way too clever for me. I think we need an elephant tranquilizer dart to catch him.

Don’t look at me. I’m a really bad shot.

Had lunch at Aunt 2’s house with mom and Aunt 3 and got caught in a wild rain storm on the way to the car. We were both soaked to the skin. Its funny how it comes on suddenly like that on Paros. One moment its quiet and overcast. Next minute it starts pelting down, thunder and lightning, gusts of wind blowing the rain into your face in sheets. Rivers form in the narrow streets instantly to make sure you get soaked from top and bottom simultaneously.

5-10 minutes later its all quiet, no more rain. No more wind. No more crashing thunder.

The only way you can tell it happened at all is that the rivers form lakes in the narrow streets in town and on the side of the roads which last a while. Drainage isn’t a ‘thing’ on greek islands.

Z

fun with clay – lockdown 2 day 33

Posted on by
2

I’ve been working on the odd little bowl or dish for a while now, making some with the different air dry clays I bought, letting a them dry so I can move them from my drying spot (under the air conditioner) to make space for another lot.

Time to share the finished ones. Starting with a few I stamped writing onto.

Life is like a box of chocolates.
I could have missed the pain, but I’d have had to miss the dance – Garth Brooks “The Dance”.

One I stamped and painted on:

Plenty of fish – comes with a little fish. You can’t really tell in the photo but this is a cement coloured clay.

Something more ‘arty’ and weird:

A nose, cause, well… why not?

Something I just painted on.

A little pocket to hang from the wall to hold… something.

And something a bit different.

A mended heart.

Its been fun working with clay. Trying different things. Air dry clay is nothing like the fired stuff, but its still fun to work with and its so much easier all round. If (when) I decide to work with ‘real’ clay I’ll have to buy it in a big bag, buy some glazes and then find a place willing to fire my work for me.

Let’s not think about the mess of working clay in my living room!

Its a lot more work than bashing something up on the kitchen table and letting it dry on the bookcase.

Anyway, time to get back to my dogs…

z

ok, more christmas – lockdown 2 day 32

Posted on by
1

Like my new Christmas banner? And the new blog colours for the season?

I was in a creative mood (computer creative) so I sat down and made myself some new banners for FB and for the blog, as well as some online Christmas cards for myself and for 2 uncles and their dogs. Those I messaged to them to share with their friends, but hey, I made them so I’ll give you guys a preview!

This is mine:

I used to make Christmas cards every year. Remind me to share as many of the old ones as I can find in a post… (I lost a lot of stuff when my external drive crashed a few years ago).

These are the ones for my uncles using pics of their dogs:

Meanwhile, I finished the Christmas platter/decoration I started when I bought a candy cane and a candle holder. Simple and cheap. I had the string, the platter and the vanilla scented candle, bought the tiny tree, and picked up some small pine cones on my walk. I sprinkled them with some glittery sandy stuff I had and voila. Done.

When (if) I ever clean off my kitchen table, this will sit there. Till then its on the tiny coffee table. Eh. A little Christmas cheer.

z

a little more christmas – lockdown 2 day 31

Posted on by
3

Yesterday I was suddenly overtaken with a desire to be more Christmassy.

I’d had this little chest for a while. It was a plain brown little thing, ugly really, which came with a gift in it 2 years ago. I always thought I’d do something with it. I painted it white and planned to line it with some faux fur as a tiny jewelry box or something.

Anyway, while searching for the fairy lights I found I still had these tiny Christmas trees from last year and decided I’d use them to create a pretty ‘snowy forest in a box’.

I used hot glued the trees into the back of the lid. I cut a toilet roll to create a hill in the foreground and hot glued trees to that. I topped it all off with some ‘just add water’ snow cause the dry snow would just blow off everywhere. This should last till after Christmas… Next year I’ll upcycle it again.

I also made this little wreath. I’d already started this one day at the beach. Those trees that grow by the sea have lots of very fine roots close to the surface that sometimes stick out of the sand. They’re thin and flexible so I’d pulled up a few and wrapped them into a ring using a bit of gold wire to secure them.

On our walk yesterday I found some much finer strands of roots and brought them home, adding them to the ring I’d made, in a much looser fashion to give the wreath more bulk.

I used more gold wire to secure it and a bit of paper string for the bow. I finished it off by dribbling some glue on it and dipping it into some sparkly styrofoam balls I had from last Christmas.

Since I’m not hanging it I’m using a flower frog as its ‘stand’.

This is what my little Christmas corner looks like now.

But I still haven’t found my fairy lights…

z

spot, the bullie – lockdown 2 day 30

Posted on by
2

It was another glorious day in paradise today. I took Lainee for a walk on the beach (where I collect sea rope and other little gems) and I swear, if I was on a less visible beach, I would have done a little more skinny dipping.

As it was, I planned to go get a towel and head out again, but then I got home and got caught up cleaning (for the mom visit) and doing odds and ends, doing Christmas stuff and, before I knew it, it was time to go get mom!

I did wrap up a few projects, like this bullie (bull terrier) to photograph. He needed his bone which I’d only just sealed today, so now he’s finished.

I’m a bit fond of this guy. He’s made the same way as usual with a cardboard, wire and foil armature, then finished with paper mache clay and vintage fabric. His bone is made of air dry clay.

I’m getting quite a collection of dogs on my bookcase. Here is a view of the finished dogs, awaiting their day in the spotlight.

I might do another patched dog I think. Its looking a bit too white at the moment. Different tastes, right?

Then again, I have a ton of sea rope just waiting to be woven into baskets. So many projects, so little time.

z

its beginning to look a bit like christmas – lockdown 2 day 29

Posted on by
1
Parikia tonight.

I took Lainee down to Parikia for a walk again this afternoon, along the beach and the waterfront. On the way back it got dark and I discovered there are Christmas lights up in town!

Its a glorious night, after a brilliant day. The sea is still, not a skerrick of wind, just perfect. Unbelievable to think Christmas is just around the corner.

This time of year they always light up the windmill in the port, but I didn’t see the lit up boat in the town square. I think that gets lit at a Christmas fete later in December… Though I don’t think that’ll happen this year. Large gatherings of people, even outdoors, is probably a no-no. No Christmas markets either I bet. In fact, we’ll be lucky to have stores open for Christmas shopping the way we’re going.

Lucky I make my own presents!

I visited the nursery again today cause I needed another bag of potting mix. The new planter I got for the lupins out the back is huge and needed about 100 litres of potting mix. While there I fell in love with this little plant. No idea what it is, but I love its whimsical craziness.

As you can see, it now has a great spot on my book case and is wearing my little star fairy lights.

A little bit of Christmas for me too.

I wasn’t going to do anything this year, but I’m finding I want to do something. I might go get some outdoor fairy lights to put on the tree outside. Or across the front. I may not put up a tree but I love fairy lights.

I might also dig out the indoor ones and put them up high where they won’t tempt Eric.

Yeah.

I’m feeling a bit of Christmas spirit now.

z