my poor cat's tail

I had to share these pictures of my darling cat Bela with you. She and the other cats have been going outside during the day, and something (another cat, a chipmunk, ?) bit her on the tail! Her tail swelled up and she developed a fever. She had to go see the vet and this is what they did to her...
At first she was very self-conscious about her poodle-cut condition, and whipped her tail about like it was chasing her.She has to stay inside until all her pink medicine is gone. The other cats have been teasing her relentlessly.
Ted simply wouldn't leave her alone when she came home from the vet. Sniffing and investigating her hurt tail obsessively. I had to shut him out the dining room and this made him sad.

Festival Fun

First, thanks so much to all the friends who came out to the Inman Park Festival this past weekend. And hello to all the new friends I made and I'll definitely be returning next year - with baby in tow! What a fun time Inman Park was, fellow vendors, I recommend this one!

Next, get ready for a double doozy as this coming up weekend (May 2 and 3) is SOUTHWORKS at Ocaf in Watkinsville.

It's from 10 am to 5 pm Sat. and Sun.
There will be over 60 artists, live music, food, and free kid's art activities.

Ocaf always puts on a worthwhile, quality event and I have a huge soft spot for them, as this is where I also teach my children's clay classes.
A lot of artists who were at the Ocaf Holiday Market will be returning - - like friends featured in my Dec. Holiday Market blog post Elizabeth D'Angelo and Joanna Stecker = awesome!

There's also 2 really neat exhibits in the gallery worth investigating.
Come on out and find the perfect Mother's Day gift and expect to have a super fun time too!

Sunday - a photo montage

Today is Sunday,
and here is a photo montage of the activities that unfolded here at home in Maxeys.
I had some work to do gathering wood out of the woodpile to paint on.
And I kept seeing things worth a snapshot. Enjoy...

First, here is a picture of what my husband has done to our backyard.
His favorite thing to do right now is move earth around.
At least there's no grass to mow.

I went to the woodpile to gather some boards to paint on, Frida joined me.

Next to the woodpile, there was the sweetest little violet growing all by itself.

I walked the property line and in a muddy spot I saw lots of footprints.
Lots of cat and dog ones, but also little raccoon prints.
They have little hands like ours!Next to the raccoon prints is a wisteria patch along the fence line.

It only looks beautiful this time of the year.
I wish you could smell the delicate sweet fragrance through this photo.

By then I had gathered up my wood and
got to work on sawing it into paintable pieces.

I noticed these buzzards watching me,
hoping I would mortally injure myself so they could swoop in and have supper.

But as you can see, I was wearing all the proper safety protection -
gloves, respirator, and goggles - no injuries were sustained, sorry buzzards.
I get into my power tools.

Are you ready for some Festival Fun?!?

April 25 and 26, 2009 11am - 6pm

here's the link to the festival website

I will be there selling my wares along with a whole

bunch of other great artists.

It's going to be a beautiful, super fun weekend!!

for maddie

I read a blog on Fridays called Inverse Candlelight, and she had a photo of this darling little girl posted. And she caught my eye because she's just so darn cute! Then I read further and discovered that last week this little girl unexpectedly - died. And I haven't been able to think about much else since. Her name was Madeline Alice Spohr -Maddie- and her mama Heather is a hysterical master blogger who has been chronicling her and her husband Mike's experiences at www.thespohrsaremultiplying.com with a difficult pregnancy, 3 month premature baby, and the joy and happiness they experienced being her parents.

Then quite unexpectedly last week - gone.
I cry now as I type.

Perhaps it's my "condition" or the fact that Maddie and my niece Naiya are about the same age, but this family's story has really hit me hard and deep.
If you'd like to help them somehow, you can donate to the March of Dimes in honor of Maddie here or contribute to a fund to help Heather and Mike here .

my darling mother-in-law

My mother-in-law Linda Jones sent a note in the mail

and I wanted to share it with you because,

well, it made me cry like a baby.

She wrote,

"You can kiss your family and friends goodbye

and put miles between you,

but at the same time you carry them with you

in your heart, your mind, your stomach,

because you do not just live in a world,

but a world lives in you."