Show and Tell Sunday- A Crushing Blow

A little over a week ago I got the bad news that my beloved 2 year old cat, Hennessey, had feline leukemia. Fortunately her sister and litter mate, Molly, does not. In the days that followed, I found out that most of the barn cats I care for here at the farm, 10 of the 12, also have feline leukemia. It has been a crushing blow. I have fixed, vaccinated, and loved these guys for many years and now they will die. Had I received more advice, I could have saved them from their fate with a simple vaccination in addition to the others they get annually.

It is possible they were born with it, both my adopted two, and the rest, a common problem on the farm, I now know, but maybe not. A moot point, though one I will continue to second guess forever.

After many tears, which I know I will shed for a long time to come, I have accepted that my beloved cats and I were only meant to be together for a short while and we are all richer for the experience. The sun will continue to rise, as it did today while Hennie and I watched, and the world will go round and round. But I am still profoundly sad.

So, I beg of you, please, if you have cats, inside, outside, or feral cats you care for, get them checked and vaccinated for ALL contagious diseases. Speaking from experience, it will be worth the extra effort.

And now, I am going outside to visit with my barn cats. May you find happy moments in your day too!

Hennie and I watch the sun rise together

Show and Tell Sundays-Sick Puppy

My sick as a dog days have morphed into sick puppy days. Not full blown "big" sick like a grown up dog, but on a smaller scale, like a puppy. Sick Puppy, that’s me.

I know healthy days are right around the corner.

While I was sick as one, I had the opportunity to meet some of your dogs, which was so very nice. I much prefer meeting dogs than feeling like one!

May I introduces to you some very special dogs.  They are:



"Cherry ", as in chocolate-covered and sweet.
http://www.studiocb.blogspot.com/

 

Lola, the rescued Greyhound.
http://www.purplecloudstudio.com/



Achilles and his new little sister Pandora.
http://starkimages.homestead.com/pugimages.html




Abby under her blanket
http://artistsjournal.wordpress.com/

  

Delilah, the tried and true traveling D dog.
http://www.moonmaidbotanicals.com/

 
And my contribution to the dog bunch, Duke and Dixie of Dog Days. Still way early in the piece, which I wouldn’t typically show, but I haven’t accomplished much this week, so there it is. I’ll share again once it is finished.


Skinned-Dog Days, Kim Radatz©

 

 Hopefully you have been enjoying lots of wonderful holiday food and conversations with family and friends! It’s that wonderful time of year for doing just that.

Have a great week, this last of the year!

An Artful Life

I think I could cycle back to the questionnaire from Cloth Paper Scissors magazine over and over and still never complete it. I see a question, ponder it, and arrive at an answer only to have it evolve into another answer and then prompt another thought and continue to evolve as the days go by.

The one question I have been thinking about repeatedly this holiday season is:

• Where do you find ideas for your work?

If I could push it one step further, I would ask:

• How does your art find its way into your life?

And this year, I can say my holiday decorations where definitely inspired by the decorations used in the altar the Artist Advisory Committee made for the Day of the Dead show at Tampa Museum of Art this past October. (Whew, that is a mouth full.)

I don’t have pix of the altar, but it is the white pom pom flowers on my tree that were inspired by the multicolored ones we used in October.

Must be a week of dogs; I see a poodle tail on the top of my tree!

May your holidays be happy and your troubles few.

I’ll talk to you in a few days.

Happy, happy, merry, merry!

Show and Tell Sunday-Sick as a Dog!

Well, Show and Tell Sunday was a sick day for me. And a no show day for my blog. Sorry about that.

But yuck, was I SICK!

Sick as a dog.

And I’ve been out of commission for days. Still just plodding along, but I feel certain I’ll be 100% before long.

While stuck in bed the whole dog thing (sick as one) made me wonder, hmmm, do you have a dog? I think so from some of your comments. But just to be certain, I have an idea.

If you send me a photo of your dog (name too, please) I’ll post it for the upcoming Show and Tell Sunday.

Just send it to me at KimRadatz@aol.com with “Show and Tell Sundays” in the subject line, please, so it isn’t mistaken for spam.

And I’ll share with you too.

Really looking forward to meeting your dogs!

Have a wonderful, food poisoning free evening!