We Have a WINNER!!!

Hi everyone!  As I hoped--but wasn't sure to expect, I now have not just 51 but 52 followers (THANK YOU ALL!!!) and now can hold my contest for the chicken painting!

THIS IS THE PAINTING!  I wrote down everyone's name this morning and how many times that person was going to be entered based on my criteria.  Each name had a number.

I found a "mathmatically random number drawer."

Number 35 was drawn!  I wonder who it is?

We have a winner!

CONGRATS TO CRAFTY STICHERS! 

I want to congratulate Cyndy from CRAFTY STICHERS on winning the painting! Let me know your address and I'll send it on it's way!

By the way to anyone else who really wanted the painting I have a second one also hand painted without tracing available on my ETSY SHOP! 

In other news--I am so excited!  My sewing machine is finally set up!  For a test I cut out a maple-leaf shape from felt and sewed around it and sewed veins in it.  I'll decorate our table with it I think.  My next venture: sewing pumpkins!  It has been a long time since I have been able to sew--and I've never owned my own machine before so I am so excited!

I think that's all for now friends!  Talk to you again soon!

So EXCITED!!!

Oh my dear friends--I have to thank each and every one of you and say I am so excited! I am just ONE person shy of having my giveaway!  I am hoping I can have it tomorrow if I can get to 51! 

The past few days my husband and I have been getting over the loss of our dog.  I'm still sad and miss him but it really was for the best.  Today my hubby talked to the SPCA and they apparently tried to see if giving him hot dogs would make him aggressive and it wasn't the case--they think he was protecting his cage but we disagree.  Normally we were fine going around and in his cage and the last straw was when he wasn't even in it but showed aggression when we merely walked into the room he was in--and we weren't that close either!  I do hope he finds a good home though.  They will be refunding us half our money back.  We will be waiting to get a new puppy but I certainly am thinking of it hehe.  We were also thinking if they didn't give us any money back we'd ask for credit so we could get a kitten (we both love cats too and mentioned it before--but we will wait on that too, just keeping our eyes open possibly.)  We currently have a rabbit named Pipkin, and a cat named Indiana Jones (Indy) who we both love.

I told you I would be mentioning how the eye doctor went and we went last week I think on Thursday.  My left eye is weaker like I expected, but what I didn't expect was the eye doctor said since my right eye is so good glasses were optional.  We decided to go for them anyways though due to the strain it's been feeling and the fact that sometimes apart from strain-pain I have had more headaches on that side too.  They eye is healthy though (Praise the Lord!) and I found I just have a stigmatism which I guess is fairly common. I wonder if that is why sometimes when I see words with only my left eye it seems to flash?  Anyways, I got my glasses today and was amazed to see details with my left eye! 

The last exciting thing of the day: I took my new sewing machine my bro and sis got me for our wedding out of the box today (I had to wait due to time before) and set it up partially!  I need to read the manual and find out how to thread this particular one but I can't wait!  I have been dying to sew for a long time now!

That is all for now friends!

A Granny Trace Giveaway!

Hello Friends!  I just wanted to make a quick post letting you know about an awesome Giveaway over at Granny Trace Scraps & Squares!  She will be giving away this giveaway until 8pm tonight so head on over and get in the entry! (But I hope I win!)

A Sad Sad Day

Hello everyone.. I have been wanting to write a longer more exciting post but something happened yesterday that prevented that plan.  So here is a short post summing it up:  Our dog Strider had an unforeseen but dangerous problem.  The other day ago he learned to open the cabinet that held our trash.  He grabbed a tin foil "ball" that had I think an onion or something in it.  Anyways, like we've been trying to teach him with other things we tried to get it back and wanted to give him a toy or something instead.  His mouth was clamped shut though so it was very very difficult to remove and when we did he still had a few small pieces in his mouth.  Naturally as that wasn't very safe for him (chocking or possibility of intestinal blockage if he swallowed) I made him get in his cage (we were doing some crate training) and proceeded to reach in to get the other bits.  His response?  He literally curled his lip up and snarled at me.  I was surprised and scared and shouted for my husband and when we got the pieces back I kept the door shut on his cage and let him know that wasn't ok.

Then YESTERDAY something even worse happened.  When we were in the computer "den" and I was heating up some hotdogs he reached up on the kitchen counter and grabbed the package of hotdogs from the counter.  We tried to get it back but he proceeded to run to his cage and when I reached in he snarled again.  I got out quickly--he was nothing to trifle with and I shut the cage door.  When my husband came in the room to help get them back he wouldn't' let you near the cage--if you touched it he snarled, barked angrily growled and bared his teeth.  He was in utter attack mode!  It continued for about 5 or 10 (probably 10) minutes before we went in the other room to get him to simmer down.  In the process he punctured the metal handle of a broomstick (we wanted to get the package from him through the cage) didn't respond to water thrown at him or anything.  He calmed down a bit after that and seemed himself but after dinner he somehow got the hotdog bags again (my husband said he thinks they were in the trash and we tried to make that unaccessable) and did it again--except this time we couldn't even latch his cage doors he was so dangerous.  We went to the other room to once again let him simmer down but THEN--and this was the last thing--he came out when he consumed his "prize" and grabbed his treat container off the kitchen table and when we walked into the living room not even close to him he snarled and growled at us again!  We couldn't' get ANYWHERE near him!  It was unbelievable-- if we were close enough to get near his teeth he'd take us down and serious stitches would have been needed if not more. 

Anyways I loved that dog.  Strider was good overall but we looked up English Springer Spaniels and though they can be the "perfect dog" (which is why we got him) because they are supposed to be good with kids, other animals and very trainable, some Springers have this issue with dominance aggression.  If he just growled or did something less we wouldn't' have given him back but we had to make the tough and very sad decision to return him to the SPCA today after only being with us about 2 weeks.  It certainly isn't an option we had any desire for--he was such a loving dog but it sounds like it can be serious among this breed sometimes and hard to deal with and we can't have him unpredictably bite someone else nor do I have the skills and know-how to deal with that serious of aggression.  If you have ever seen a police German Shepherd do an attack drill--it was just as vicious looking as that, which is especially hard since the rest of the time he was such a loving sweetie.  We plan to get another dog sometime but it'll be quite some time until then due to the fact we want a younger one and both of us work. 

Anyways that's all for now.  It has been one rough day and both of us ended up shedding some tears here and there... I'll post a more happy post soon but not tonight. 

A Reminder!

Hello Friends!  I just wanted to remind you all (and thank you!) for being my new follower friends!  I just need 8 more people to go until I have my Chicken Painting giveaway!  If you are just passing by, ways to get extra entries are posted HERE.

In other news today I will be taking my first visit to a real eye doctor.  When I was a kid in school the school nurse would do minor tests but this will be the first just to check my eyes.  Ever since our honeymoon my left eye has felt a bit strained (but not all the time) and I have known for years it has always been the weaker of the two.  We shall see how that goes--I'll post an update later! 

Last night I made 26 amazing chicken enchiladas!  We froze most of them for other dinners--they are stupendous!  I will post the recipe on the new family food blog "The Crow's Crusty Loaf" as soon as I get a chance!

My last note before I have to get going for the morning (I have work in a couple hours) is our dog is still doing well.  He had a rash on his tummy when I got him and it has cleared up!  Praise God!  His ears were also red (not deep down just the immediate outer area) and we are working on clearing that up.  He's a good dog most of the time but he has his moments: we will have had him for 2 weeks as of tomorrow!  Right now he's sleeping contentedly in our art/computer room with me. 

I will try to post again either later today or very soon!  Thanks and blessings to you all!

A Success!

Hi my friends!  Much has happened this past week including a success the Lord blessed me with I want to share about!

Saturday was a nearby small town's Fall Festival (the town church was the main force behind the event) and I was invited by a friend to have a table there as well.  I was hesitant at first--I know you can't judge all shows on the success or failure of another one, but the neighboring town is even smaller than ours I think, so I wasn't sure about spending the $20 for a table if it'd just be wasted.  Nevertheless my husband Mr. Fox suggested I give it a shot anyways and I am so glad I did!  The location was a much better one for this second show of mine--all the artists and events in general were in the same church lawn.  Like in Olde Home Days, my husband shared the space with me to promote his weather site, GrotonWeather.com.  It was slow at first but then a lady pushing a cat in his "chariot" came by (she was promoting a March for Animals to help the SPCA) and she asked me to paint her cat Arnie!  The lady's friend also is having me do three commissions for her and I had two little girls to draw pictures for (they squealed in delight!) and our friend and his girlfriend.  It was so much fun and I came out $55 ahead! :)  I dropped my prices because the town is so small which might have helped but I think the location was good too.  Here are some pics:

A friend and his girlfriend wanted me to draw them..

As Goldfish!

Arnie kept moving so they let me borrow his pic on a pin.

Drawing Arnie.. FYI that prim shelf in the background is still for sale--$30!

Arnie the Cat-Who-Travels

Tuesday I took our doggie who is now named Strider after Aragorn in Lord of the Rings to the vet.  The poor guy has some rash-like itchy stuff on his tummy and his ears are all red and one of them is even kind of puffy--they think he may have allergies :(  We were told to give him people-Benedryll and wash his tummy with a special bacteria-killing solution and we were given drops for his ears too.  I hope it heals up soon. 

Strider is a good dog--most of the time.  I discovered he understands "sit" and today I was starting to train him "down" (to lay down).  We are starting to work on "come" as well but that one is more difficult.  Something I'm also hoping to curb is his barking.  He doesn't usually bark unless he hears people he wants action with or when he is alone--but I just started work Wednesday (working at a brand-new grocery store) and I would prefer to let him stay outside where he can exercise more on his dog-line than keep him in is crate.  Any suggestions??  I'm trying to discourage him by spritzing him with a little bit of water and saying "no. Quiet" but it doesn't' work as well when I walk out of the area.

As I mentioned before I am now working too!  Praise the Lord!  It's part time at a grocery store doing cashier work and I'm working getting used to it there.  It's a nice little place and it's nice to be employed again but at the same time I have less time to do things like cleaning and all the other million things haha. 

Also last week I made a sweet homemade stew!  We froze most of it for another day but it's very good :)

One last thing--I don't think I've mentioned it before but I now own my own domain name!  www.frenziedfox.com My husband made the page for me and it links to my new Etsy site too!  I will be adding new items very shortly and can do custom commissions of your choice as well.  Strider JUST broke his collar and I was suggested to get a special one by my mom-in-law from TheUltimateLeash.com but it's quite pricy.  Would anyone be interested in a commission or something like a sign or shelf?  Let me know!  Until next time, Blessings from God! :)

We got a Dog!

I don't have a ton of time to do a post today but I have a bit of exciting news: today my husband and I adopted a Springer Spaniel (they said Welsh... but I'm not positive he is due to coloring) from the SPCA!  I dropped by the other day ago just for fun not looking to adopt an animal but.. well.. he won our hearts! 

In other news tomorrow I'm going to try my second table at a fall festival.  Hope this time it'll be more successful than before!  :)

State Fair, New Art Room, and Update!

Hi everyone!  The last two weeks went by in a flurry!  I'll tell you a bit of what I've been up to!
 
 To start, I know several of you were wondering how my first art-show went.. Well, I hate to say it but it was really quite the flop.  I had to pay $20 for my spot, and I sold only one item.  (So I was short $10).  I wasn't the only one who didn't have many customers though.  My mother in law, at Ravenwood Whimzies didn't sell a thing and some other booths didn't have much luck either.  Still, I was excited with the setup and will share some pictures! 

A shelf that didnt' sell--I'll be putting it on Etsy soon for $30 + shipping

Side of my shelf.. the other side has a sheep

Part of my booth

 

Drew this cute kid as a puppy!

Shared a spot with my weatherman hubby!

And my Mom in law @Ravenwood Whimzies

here I am drawing pictures to sell. 

Doggie for Sale

My husband and I have been settling down here more as well.  I've made a number of nice homemade recipes such as Julia Child's pizza, wraps, and Belgian Waffles!   Sunday we went to the State Fair--my first time going to the NY one! I took lots of pictures to use as reference for paintings and other such artsy things.

Today we've been laboring all this labor day--it's been great.  We have been setting up our art room/computer office!  The room used to be the home of Ravenwood Whimzies creations--now it will be where I do mine!  I wish I had some "before" pics.. I do have some in-process ones though!

Mr. Fox and I are thinking of calling the room "The Fox Den" and I'll be painting a nice wooden sign I got at the dollar store out here to put outside the room.  We spent a few hours dragging in furniture and our supplies in here today.  We also spent a while together cleaning the kitchen and making it more "home" too. 

The last update before I sign off for the night is I want to let you all know about the debut of my very own .com website!  I am so excited about this!  It is www.frenziedfox.com  it has a link to my Etsy, this blog and my facebook page.  It isn't overly much but it's my  own and I'm very excited!  If you look at my Etsy site now you won't see much but I WILL be adding more very very soon!  

Also thanks so much to my followers--9 more people to go and my chicken painting will go home to it's new owner!  Please help me get to 51 asap!  Thanks so much my friends! :)