Project 365 - Days 221-240 (With updates)

221/365 - Got him! Cute huh?

222/365 - Someone named Hailee from Portland
took our dogs from in front of our home, kept them
for a day and a half, and then brought them to the
county pound. They were chipped so they called us.
It cost us a lot of money for this little escapade.
And it created a domino effect that ended up
causing us to lose our beloved Flower.

223/365 - Some humour from my kitchen

224/365 - We can't really afford this, but
we have to do it. A new roof is coming.
In copper penny.

225/365 - Baked tortellini. They're there,
buried beneath the cheese somewhere.

226/365 - The Despair of toe socks. (He steals
my toe socks from my drawer and puts them on)

227/365 - The local hardware store's dog. They had two, but had to put one down
recently. They also have two cats too. Hammer and Nails. Hammer has half
a tail, and can usually be found loafing around on shelves. Nails is more
elusive.

228/365 - Some tiny free tomatoes 

229/365 - Welcome to Oregon. LOL

230/365 - My son is anticipating his trip to Pensacola with an advent
calendar I made for him. He is so excited to add his daily sticker that
gets him closer to being on a plane.

231/365 - The play cube. Flower went missing the day I took this.

232/365 - Chess pieces. My dog was still missing. 

233/365 - The salty codger of the Barlow Trail Roadhouse. Our dog
was found dead. Her new collar had gotten caught in an empty plastic
dog-food bag, and she suffocated on the neighbour's property. He returned
her stealthily. With a note nailed to a tree, and my dog, covered in a
tarp and leaves in a wheelbarrow at the foot of the tree.

234/365 - Dinner with  fellow authors
at the Raven & Rose. Great place.

235/365 - Alex passed out under my legs.

236/365 - Alex's auntie Stephie is reading him a book at B&N

237/365 - Pins

238/365 - Simon is alone for the first time in his whole life.
He's visibly depressed.  I vowed we would not get another
dog after these were gone, but I can't help but think about
puppies when Simon looks so damned sad without Flower.

239/365 - The book Auntie Stephie bought Alex is a source of great
delight. It tells all about air travel, and it has fed his obsession with
flying.

240/365 - The aerospace bin has been emptied and most of the craft have been
placed on the table (except the dump truck, not sure what's up with that)

Farewell my little Flower.
You were the sweetest dog in the world.
Your mysterious illness that nearly bankrupted us
but was never identified can no longer cause you
pain.

I am only relieved that I did not have to make
the decision to euthanize you. The act of putting a
collar on you did that.  I hope you didn't suffer, little
girl.

She is buried with Eddie now. Not too close,
cause Eddie was grumpy. Both of them sharing a
fleece.  They're in the yard where we go and sit
a lot. So they can be with family.

Project 365 - Days 201 - 220 (and then some)

Summer drums on. Oregon has had a record number of days over 90º. My garden is parched, even watering doesn't help it. I figure the stuff that's meant to be will live, the stuff that doesn't wasn't cut out for this life. With a water conservation requirement from the county, I am not going to waste too much water on frail plants if I don't have to.

What's new? What's wonderful? Nothing much. It's summer. I have retreated like a vampire into the cave of my house. I'm biding my time. Waiting for autumn to come round so I can feel comfortable again.

201/365 - Colours

202/365 - A boy and his monkey out on a
summery day.

 Alex is growing so fast, it's almost too much to bear. Every day there's something new, some discovery, some word, some understanding, and every day he adds another little block to his foundation; and grows closer to being the person he will become. He's smart, he's sly, sometimes a little hyper, he's observant and empathetic. He's compassionate and sweet, and gentle.  He's a beautiful, beautiful thing, and even when I think I'm going to jab myself in the eye with a fork out of frustration, I still am thankful for every moment I have with him. So grateful for that complete fluke that got me pregnant when I couldn't. He is truly my greatest gift.

203/365 - Curtains

204/365 - Windchimes

205/365 - Dessert. It was an evening out
with writerly friends. Great fun.

 I've been trying to focus more on my writing.  I have a wonderful friend who is an independent author, and she makes a living at it. I have decided that instead of breaking my ass trying to find a job at the same pay grade I had before I stopped working, that I will focus instead on my author business. So I've been focusing on writing more, and following my friend's example. She's an excellent guru, and she's always so willing to offer her kindness and assistance. She's gotten me involved with a group of local romance authors (I'm not sure I quite fit in with that genre, but she assures me I do), and I went out to an author's dinner to meet a few. They're all amazing people. I will be participating under my author name in a locally held Author event in September, as well as attending the Rose City Comic Con and the Wizard World Portland Comic Con.  It's going to be a busy few months. I'm trying to finish a book before all this. Keep your fingers crossed that I can!

206/365 - A cute veggie display (dog toys)
at PetCo.

207/365 - Annual ORS Pittock Mansion
Picnic. This lovely sweetheart and her ringlets
made my day.

 The Pittock Picnic is the first ORS Regency event I've attended in a long time.  The anxiety issues crop up. Mostly on the travel part of it, and when there are a lot of people. The threat of rain kept the group to a smaller size than last year, but fun was had regardless. It was so good to be with my friends. They're so healing. All that was missing was Nora.  She and her husband were in a horrific car crash in May, around the time my mother became ill and passed away. They almost died. They've been hospitalized and are at present still in rehab. I'm hoping Nora will be home soon. I miss her.

208/365 - The invaluable snack plate--what a grazer needs. Yes,
the boy likes tart cornichons. He is my son, after all.

209/365 - Alex's sweet ride. He's really starting to be super proficient
on it.

210/365 - I was preparing eggs, and I heard
"Mommie, me!" and I turned around to find
this guy wearing stolen glasses.

211/365 - Toes

212/365 - A ray of sun

 Writing and writing. I go in too many directions sometimes, I need to focus. Will I get this book done? I hope so.

213/365 - Holes

214/365 - I know I take lots of pictures of these guys. But they are my daily
life. I'm a hermit.

 Our dogs were taken last weekend. I let them out on Friday morning at about ten, and they never returned. A day and a half later of tears and fretting, and we received a call from the Clackamas County shelter that someone had dropped them off half-hour before close on Saturday.  We had to pick them up Monday. The whole ordeal cost us a lot of money. We don't know why the portland woman took them, and why she kept them for a whole day and a half before bringing them to the county pound. Whatever her motivations, I wish I could go to her house, ring the doorbell and bitch slap her righteous face good and hard.

215/365 - Warm colours

216/365 - Silk

217/365 - Cake and icing

218/365 - Fresh eggs from the co-op. Dan won't let me get chickens,
so I have to pay five bucks a dozen if I want fresh, organic eggs. ::BOO::

219/365 - Quiltscape. 

220/365 - Mini decoys. I love these. They're small replicas, cheap resin, nothing
fancy, but I still love them. Alex has been rough on them. Two have flaked, chipped
tails.

My most recent project besides the book is the cover. I'm working on a gown for my heroine, and trying to wrangle the contributors for the photo to coordinate a time and date. I will post pics when I can. In the meantime, if you're local to Portland, come and see me and other authors at the Passion In Portland author event, buy some books, get signatures, win swag, have fun. Although general admission is free, you still need to register, so click HERE to do so, and come and say hi! It's on September 12, 2015. Details can be found at the link provided HERE. Tata for now!