I was able to get my card reader working again, so here is my painting di giorno, "Window Box Study", watercolor on Moleskine paper, $25. SOLD This is the painting that I did with Josie, Krista and Celeste. What a fun time that was. Josie's got the bug. She loves to paint and is great with color.

Well Vincent isn't going anywhere right now. The gentleman that was buying him back had his hen die on him. That's a bite. I can't catch that raccoon. I have two new, bigger traps, but didn't set them tonight. Maybe tomorrow if it's not raining. It sure is quiet around here. I had a very peaceful day of painting after all of the animals were taken care of. I've got Chet singing "I Fall in Love too Easily", which makes for a good vibe while I paint. Very relaxing, maybe a little too. I'm going to go to bed and start "The Shack" that Jeanie and Derek gave me for my birthday.

Sleep snug. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SON JAY AND TO MY SISTER AMY. Happy 2nd Anniversary Jay and Celeste. Jay worked a double for his birthday, which was on Sunday, so Krista took all of us to dinner at Le Virtu on Monday. It was a great time. Today is my sister Amy's birthday. Amy, I hope it's been your best birthday ever.As I said when I last posted, Jeanie and the gang were coming up to spend the weekend for my birthday. Derek went to California to surprise his Mom for her birthday, but he called to wish me a happy birthday and told me that I was "50-fine". I'll accept that...just wish it were so. Anyway, it was a great weekend all around. We had some serious QT and I had a great birthday on Saturday. Jeanie left on Sunday afternoon and Krista and Josie came on Sunday night. They didn't leave until this afternoon. Josie was extremely entertaining. She is obsessed with Senor, or, as she calls him "Enyork". He actually allows her to carry him around and walk him on a leash. He took naps with her and slept with her at night. Josie, Krista, Cine and I went to Georges' for dinner last night....the veal cheek cannelloni was extraordinary....and Josie put on a show for us in one of the windows. Dancing and shouting "shoot it out", as she shot her arm out in front of her. Good thing the restaurant wasn't crowded.

She and I planted lettuce yesterday and she helped with the rabbits and chickens. All of us sat outside and painted with watercolors, even Celeste, but I can't show the painting to you because my card reader won't work. So frustrating. I don't know anyone who has more trouble with computers than me. Looks like I'll have to go out and buy a new reader tomorrow.

I finished an 11"x14" oil today, the first of California. The other four are still in progress.

I'm thrilled to say that the needle biopsy of my lymph nodes was negative. Once again, thank you God! I still need to get an MRI of my neck and shoulder. I was bending a metal bar and did something bad to my upper arm and it really hurts, still. I've been living on Motrin, so I need to have a more serious look at it. If I can get a card reader tomorrow I'll be back then. If not, probably not until next week, since all of the kids will be here at the same time to celebrate Jay Jr.'s and my birthdays and I've got plenty to do to get ready, as usual. Can't wait.

Before I do anything else, I'd like to thank all of you for the phone calls and emails of encouragement and support regarding my last post. Thank you very much, I take it very seriously and it means a lot.

Isabella is still here with me and we're having so much fun that I'm not getting much done, but hey, she's a priority. I'm constantly reminded of how quickly they grow, not only with my four children, but now with my four grandchildren as well. And let me tell you, I'm not happy about it. I'm spending as much time as I can with her because like her brothers and Josie, she'll be in school and then I'll never have enough time with her again. It may seem like they spend a lot of time here to their mother's, but trust me on this one girls, it's not.

I read somewhere that caring for grandchildren ups a person's risk of a heart attack, well, I don't believe it for a nano-second. Having my grandkids around brings back memories of when my kids were little and makes me feel young again. 

So here's my two cents...and with the economy and inflation it's at least minus two dollars, please, savor every second of their baby and childhood and don't blink, 'cause it'll be gone. This is one piece of advice that I have total confidence in  and would guarantee agreement from every other parent that has teen-aged on up children. I remember being in the midst of four babies/kids thinking that I'd always be dealing with little kids. Man was I wrong! It sure feels that way at the time, but I will admit, it was difficult trying to adjust to the empty house, not having to cook, grocery shop, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love this time in my life, but I'd give it back in a heartbeat to live even the tiniest moment that I missed while struggling with all of the small stuff.

I am working on five paintings right now. I can't do the paintings di giorno  because of upcoming exhibits. I'm loving how I can go from one to another when the paint is still too wet on one to get the clean colors I love. I doubt that I'll be back before next week. Jeanie's coming up for the weekend with the boys and I'm going to take my own advice and put everything on hold so that I can spend precious time with them.

The photo above is of my Dutch, Welsummer rooster, Vincent, named after the redheaded artist Van Gogh. Since the raccoon got all of my Welsummer girls, Vincent is going home again to Ohio, where he is originally from. My heart is broken, I will miss him more than I can put into words.

My son-in-law Derek's mom, Kristy, is also my dear friend and it was her 59th birthday yesterday. She is exactly five days older than I am and damn, she looks good! Happy Birthday Kristy, from all of us here on the east coast that have been the recipients of your graciousness and generosity. 

Speaking of Derek, I didn't post last night because he and Isabella drove up, so that he could watch the Eagles vs. Cowboys game with Jay and Danny. Naturally, Derek is the Cowboys fan. It was a great game, even though the Eagles lost. The boys did the cooking, Jay fixed fabulous mussels and Danny made delicious soft-shelled crabs. I did the tomato salad and my orchardess friend Karen's, cold cucumber soup. Modi made the bread...mmmm.

My doctor called with my test results on Saturday, as promised. What a terrifying experience. I was so afraid to pick up the phone. It was a CA125 blood test, which is for ovarian cancer. I won't go into all of the reasons (I'll leave that in my memoirs) that the test was necessary, but it makes me sweat just thinking about it. Well, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU GOD, that the test was normal. 

The three days that I waited for the outcome seemed like an eternity. The first day I just felt like there was no problem. Then when things got quiet, I started thinking about the reasons for the test and on the second day I had serious doubts. By the third day, I was angry and could have told you why I was the poster woman for ovarian cancer. I believe my dread was exacerbated by having witnessed a family member go through it. My sister-in-law Shirley, died at the age of 54. She fought hard and lived longer that expected, but it was hell. On the other side of that coin is, that in addition to thinking about the horror that could be ahead, I thought about my family and friends. There was so much to consider, but suffice it to say, I don't have to deal with it at this point, so please allow me to remind you to count your blessings, every day, I definitely will. Right now, to my family and friends, I love you...know it, no matter what, I do.

That leaves the painting di giorno, of a watercolor of a flower pot in my yard. "Flower Pot by the Pond, watercolor on Strathmore, cold press paper, $25.SOLD

Isabella's here for a few days, so I need to go cuddle with her. P.S., I still haven't caught that raccoon.

Well I tried to trap the raccoon with a Hav-A-Hart last night and the trap was tripped this morning, but no raccoon inside. I set it again tonight. I'm already weary of this. It's so stressful and breaks my heart for the chickens. I checked the pen for entry points yesterday and reinforced anything even slightly suspicious, but there was definite evidence that it was inside the pen again last night. The chickens are safely barricaded in their hutches and Gussie, our Muscovy duck is locked in a dog pen--not an easy task and he's not happy about it. Even still, they must be terrified at seeing this monster in there trying to get at them. Hopefully tonight he won't be able to resist the trap. Since I can't find the entry or exit points, it looks like I'll have to rebuild the entire top. That'll set me back a few days, but at least I'll be able to sleep at night.

I came very close to posting last night, but couldn't get the photos to upload, so I just went to bed since I had another doctor's appointment this morning for more blood work. Got some good and possibly not so good news, but I'll just have to wait until the results come back on Saturday. I'll let you know what happens. After the doctor, Jay and I went for a walk at Chanticleer, where we're working on walking up a hill without having out chests blow out. Today was day two. 

All of my tax stuff is finished and I'm already starting to feel freer and unburdened by it. I still can't upload any images, must be that time of the month for Blogger. Oh well, I'll try again tomorrow. Good night.

It's just about 5:30 am and I'll finally be going to bed after I post this. When I went out this morning to let the roosters out, there were feathers all over the place and I immediately knew that my last Welsummer hen was gone. That's four hens in two nights, so I decided to wait up and sit with the chickens to see what I'm dealing with. I went out at 8 pm, covered myself with a blanket and sat still. It was chilly, but bearable. Jay came out at 9:30 to say goodnight. I fell asleep right after that. About 10 pm I heard something whining and it woke me up with a start, it was the fox and I really scared her when I lifted my head. She snarled and screeched and ran away. I went back to sleep. Danny came home at 2:30 am and went inside after a few minutes of conversation. Within no time I heard some chattering off in the distance and knew my predator was on it's way. It took about 20 more minutes for me to have to change my position and uncover my head. When I opened my eyes, I saw it and I thought it was an opossum at first, but realized that it was a raccoon. I wanted to see how it was getting into the pen, but it was already in the other side of the pen and had my best hen in it's claws. I jumped up and turned on the flashlight and yelled at it to leave my hen alone and then yelled for Danny. It stopped, turned around and tried to get out of the pen and somehow it did, but I didn't see how. I barricaded the chicken hutches. Danny stood guard for a while, but then had to go help a friend who was on the blue route with a flat tire. I kept watch until now. It came back one more time, but left in a hurry without coming back, when I shined the flashlight on it. My hen seems to be fine. It's a huge raccoon and stinks like a male. I'll put a Hav-a-Hart trap out tomorrow night and that'll be that. Good morning and have a great day.

Hard to believe that September is not only here, but almost halfway gone. Crazy busy for us as usual. We've been to North Carolina and back since my last post, which was very pleasant. Last week we went to Maryland to go to Krista and Carter's for the Sunday before Labor Day. Jay Jr. made a fabulous dinner here for Labor Day. The food was terrific at both events. This weekend my brother Pat came up from Florida. I don't know how much better the weather was here though. I've been running around to different doctors scheduling ultrasounds, EKGs, nuclear stress tests, MRIs, biopsies, blood work, etc. It's no wonder I dread going to the doctor. I always feel like I'm going to get more than I bargained for. No matter, I'm keeping my attitude positive. On the plus side, I'm going to propose keeping chickens as a way to be healthier. I just had blood work done and my hba1c was 6.1, cholesterol was 163. Liver and kidney functions were great and all of my other levels were great. Blood pressure was 112/78. This is a dramatic improvement since I started keeping chickens again. My stress levels would be better if it weren't for that damn fox and her bratty kids. I've lost five hens over the past month. I can't let any of the chickens out if I'm not right next to them. The fox is now coming before they are locked up for the night. She must have brought her kids with her last night because three Welsummer hens were gone before I got down to the pen to see what they were fussing about. That won't happen again.With all of this and some unfinished tax stuff, I haven't picked up a brush, except to varnish some previously sold paintings. So I need to get back to work.I'll leave you with an adorable, photo that my daughter Jeanie sent to me of her three kids saying their prayers. Goodnight, remember to say yours and include one for me. Thanx.