Ode To A Gentle Giant

Honestly, I wasn't going to post today because I don't have any new artwork to share
and  well I am usually very fussy with equally mixing rabbit posts with art posts
BUT this blog o' mine is a truthful space
and well  you all know by now that lately bunnies are more present in my days than art-making...
but I have a plan...
a tentative plan, which will allow me to get back to more work!

In the meantime, do let me share some more bunny goodness because indeed
Life feels good
when you have a Gentle Giant Gentle-bun to gaze upon & snuggle the day away with.

I can't believe this is the almost starved little thing I found in the forest a few years ago.
When I found him and he saw me, he laid down...when I pet his head, he stretched out.
When I picked him up...he closed his eyes and fell asleep in my arms the whole walk back home.
And he slept slept and slept some more for almost 2 solid weeks after he was home...
He was just so exhausted trying to live in the wild by himself...

Is my big boy just not one of thee handsomest buns ever

...AHHH, I can barely stand it, ha ha.

He's such a good boy...sometimes more like a puppy than a rabbit.
He runs to you when you call his name...
And when he runs you can really hear it cause he's so big &
well it's one of thee best sounds in the world to me, I just adore it.
He gets the most precious look on his face when he's shy or embarrassed.
He sulks like no one else when he gets in trouble after doing something bad...
Or, when you don't spend enough time with him.
When he's really happy he throws himself over with all 4 legs up in the air &
his pure white belly exposed to the sky and because
he's so big & his back so wide, he usually sticks it and will fall asleep upside down, ha ha.
He loves sleeping and falls asleep at the drop of a hat...
AND
He snores loudly, like a human (truthfully!)...
Sometimes we wake the poor guy up from his snoozes because his snoring is just so loud
and so funny that we can't help but burst out laughing.

He's a happy, calming, soothing & solid soul and I am so grateful to have him around us.
We are especially glad for his gentle and patient ways when it comes to our spazzy
& bossy Ella Luna, we couldn't have asked for a better partner for her.

XO Mandy & Her Snuggle Bud Roo

Lemony Lentil Soup

I mentioned making 'a big pot of lentil soup' in my last post.

It's one of our favourite soups EVER...

I've perfected the recipe over the years and will share it will you all here today.

It's super easy and super yummy.

Here's what you do:

First chop a large onion & 4 or 5 medium sized garlic cloves and put that into a big pot with oil,

cook over medium heat until softened (make sure not to burn them).

Then add a dash of hot pepper spice or red pepper flakes, just abit, you don't want it too hot.

Next stir in 1.5 tsp of cumin.

Next you'll want to add and stir in finely chopped parsley (I use a pretty large handful).

Add in a healthy splash of lemon juice (fresh is preferred but bottled will work fine).

Then stir in 1.5 cups of dried red lentils, stir for about 30 seconds.

Now add in 6 cups of vegetable soup stock and stir.

Now you'll want to add 2 finely chopped large sized potatoes.

3-5 peeled and chopped carrots.

If you have it, a nice big handful of chopped Kale is very nice.

Add a dash of sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Stir it all up.

Now you'll want to the pot to boil...leave it boiling for 5-10 minutes,

than reduce the heat to a simmer and let the soup cook for atleast 1 hour.

Add abit of extra lemon juice to taste when your ready to serve.

There you have it.

My secret recipe that we're bonkers for, my best friend is bonkers for, my mom & dad...

pretty much anyone I've made this soup for LOVES it.

It's healthy and satisfying and feels nourishing...

ENJOY.

XO A Vegetarian Mandy

A Red Head In Progress

Today I am working on this pretty little coloured pencil red head...

...I set up shop in our cozy dining room, so that I am near my Ella Luna,

who is spending the day napping under the table by my feet whiles all cozied up to her Roo...

...Occasionally I sneak into the front studio to work on transferring sketches

and to keep company with these two cuties...

(Jaks look all calm and quiet but he's being very naughty and rambunctious today!)

(sorry for the weird lighting of the photos, it's very very glum and gloomy outside today
and I can't stand using the flash on my camera!)

...The day feels quiet and sleepy...

...I am thinking of my best friend in Toronto, whom I miss very much...

...I am thinking of an old friend whose having a hard time and nursing a broken heart...

...I am smiling about another new friend whose just come into my life...

...The jazz is softly tinkling away in the background...

...I am eating a yummy salad that my honey made for me last night...

...I have a strawberry tea in hand because I feel chilly...

...I will soon put on a big pot of lentil soup...

...

How are you spending your day???

XO A tea sipping Mandy

Adjustments, Honesty and Balance

I think I am FINALLY learning to accept and adjust
to the fact that my beloved girl, Ella Luna, is handicapped & won't get better...

and that I am spending more time with her and bunnies, than ever before.

Life feels like it has changed
Some days it feels like it's changed just alittle.
But most days it feels like it's changed alot.
I guess I wasn't expecting to feel such a shift,
since our whole daily routine has pretty much always been centered on the bunnies welfare,
and we have dealt with serious & long-term rabbit ailments before,
 but none have felt like this.

I know some people out there will be saying
'But, Mandy in the GRAND SCHEME of things this isn't a problem at all' or
'Don't take it all so seriously, it's just a rabbit after all'
(I've heard both in variation numerous times!)
But, we all have our own truths, paths and stories, none more important than the next really...
and well, to me, Ella Luna's leg troubles feel big & the circumstances feel demanding...
Adjusting and Juggling our new daily routines of living with a handicapped loved one,
who in this case also happens to be a rabbit...
hasn't been easy...

The biggest adjustment is just in seeing our loved one less than her perfect self
and having such a hard time...we feel helpless, desperate and frustrated
with ourselves because we simply feel like we should be able to fix her.
If I could take on that bum leg for her, I would in a split second.

It's also been affecting my studio time as well...
and time away from my work/studio never sits well with me.

Jonathan is helping me slowly realize that I am doing everything I possibly can
and that I can't be with her every minute of the day,
but still, there is a real push and pull tug of war going on within me,
For I find at the present time,  I can't feel good about being in my studio
when my little precious one, struggles to move around without my aid.
And, when I am in my studio & with my work, I find it tricky to switch gears
and get down to serious work because I just want to be with my girl.
Right now I am mostly sneaking in my art time during Ella Luna's sleepy times, ha ha.



This is where my honey would suggest I interject a big & honest
"Don't feel too bad for Ella"
because other than that bum leg, she's doing great.
She's healthy and happy and very well loved & hugged.

Some days, the leg even improves abit & she can get a few wonky hops in here and there...
Sometimes, we find her sitting up perfectly straight all on her own.

We do spend alot of time bathing her and than gently blow drying her nice and dry,
Because she can't stand/hop normally, she often pees on herself
and we can't have her getting 'urine' scald'...though if you could see her,
you'd be able to tell that she likes the
blow-drying/snuggling sessions very much....
and because of the way she drags herself,
the friction causes her fur to rub off in a few areas & some small sores to appear,
so we are staying on top of that with band-aids & creams & most of the fur is growing back already
.Just incase she has any discomfort, she is on anti-inflammatory meds twice daily, 12 hours apart...
and per doctors orders, needs plenty of daily physio (which she also seems to kinda enjoy)...

We find ourselves in a very awkward spot when it comes to
leaving the house for long periods, ugh...and we are admittedly missing our weekend getaways...
BUT
We wouldn't trade Ella Luna for a trip around the world.

Life is never static, and with change comes some unbalance, it's normal & healthy.

Life is a beautiful balancing act.

The struggle to adjust & to find time for everything is just part of the dance,
I know all this.
And despite any struggles this whole thing with Ella Luna presents,
The days are still steeped in goodness & beauty & I love that fact...

(living as a severe migraine sufferer, I learnt long ago to see beauty in the simplest of places)

Sometimes yes, things feel abit blurry and wobbly...
and we feel like we'll never adjust or find a way to fit everything in...
But, I think part of the beauty of the balancing act is to just allow oneself to surrender
to not being perfect & to allow ourselves to feel the overwhelm...
To not fight against what we know is the utmost important thing at the time being,

(for me, that's making sure my little fur-people are A-Okay)...

And than trusting that everything else will find it's time and place.

I know I'll find a balance if I don't fight against it.

So the current plan is to just keep snuggling & caring for all the bunnies,
Keep on giving Ella Luna every loving minute that she deserves and needs,
Create whatever art work I can during bunny nap times...
and to not be so hard on myself for whatever else may temporarily fall to the wayside.

Cheers Everyone,
To being able to gently and respectfully accept or own truths and stories, as well as those of others...

I say CHEERS,

 to changes and being able to see the beauty despite the hardships...

and Cheers

to knowing balance will make a beautiful appearance if we just trust ourselves
& in the universe enough to let go, even just a little bit...

Thanks For Listening.
XO Mandy, Ella Luna & Roo

Today

Today marks my 4th year of blogging
Wow...

(697 post so far)

Today will be lovely.
First a quick zip to my doctors to ask after my troubled wrist...
Followed by lunch out at one of my favourite places to celebrate.

Then I want nothing more than to spend the rest of the day creating more artwork,
(in my upstairs studio shown above)
amongst loveliness such as;
bunnies nearby,
time at my desk in the brilliant sun,
with some beautiful flowers from my honey,
and cup after cup of peppermint tea...
and a huge excitement for all of my planned illustrations & creations.

The makings of a great day really aren't all that complicated in my books.
Though admittedly, a handicapped rabbit does make it a smidgen more difficult, more on this next post!

XO Bijou

Side-Tracked By A Furry Face...

Today I worked on this new coloured pencil...

Well, I am tried my hardest to work on it!

Apparently it was a day to be easily side-tracked...

...Because I was working in the dining room

(to be near Ella Luna, in case she needed help),

and whenever I looked down I was greeted by this adorable face...

...Begging for treats

(he knows that we just did a dehydrating batch of pineapple, blueberries and apples for the buns!)

And than he wanted snuggles...

oh boy this rabbit LOVES to snuggle...

And today I didn't seem to have much will power to resist, ha ha.

And well since I can't always be a superstar in the studio, ha ha...
(not that I come anywhere close to that lately, not with my migraines & Ella Luna, yikes!)
...I am calling it quits early
to go enjoy some cake & some wine with my Dad
Because today is his Birthday, and we love my Dad oh-so-much...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD.
WE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU

XO Mandy & Jonathan & The Furry Crew

My Fish, Tigger

I am abit sad today

My fantail goldfish just passed away.

I had the feeling it would be his last day so yesterday his tank was gently re-freshened
and candles were lit by the tank side all night long.
(my honey even got up in the middle of the night to re-light more for him, thanks babe)

He was old.

I had him for almost 13 years.

When he was just a tiny little thing, maybe 2 years old, he got stuck in a seashell in the tank...

I thought the cat was crafty enough to scoop him out somehow to eat him!

A week later I glimpsed something shiny in one of the fish tank sea shells...

I jumped up for a closer look & saw something that looked like Tigger's tail.

I called Jon at work in a panic (those who know me wouldn't be surprised that I panicked!)

He of course and as always rushed home to help me out...

he gently cracked the shell apart and

holy smokes there was Tigger, inside of the shell

ALIVE!

He was shaped like a 'C' for quite a few months afterwards...

And I had much apologizing to do to the cat!

RIP Little Goldfish Tigger,

you were a cool fish

& thanks for always delighting my eyes and heart with your lovely orangey-gold glittery-ness.

(I still haven't been able to bring myself to compose a memorial post for my neice Torry McIntyre but I will find the words soon hopefully, as well as show you the picture I created in her memory).

Esme & The Butterflies

I finished up a new mixed media.

It's called...

"Esme & The Butterflies"

She is part of a new series I've just started and I can't wait to do more because I had a ball with this one.

Prints of Esme will be available in my Etsy shop.

The original will be posted in my Etsy shop shortly, but if you want to grab it

before anyone else does than just email me.

I am off to warm up with a cup of coffee and a few pages of a book

before I enter another day of assisting Ella Luna with her hopping

and snippets of artwork whenever she stays still & takes a nap!
(and when my head will allow...it's been a crappy couple of weeks for headpain I admit)

p.s.  Jonathan and I watched a wonderful movie this past weekend,
It's called 'The Way' and is a movie by Emilio Estevez...
We loved it and thought it was one of the best movies we've seen in awhile.
If you love movies about human strength & souls coming together to help heal one another,
I highly recommend it.

XO Mandy

Happy Weekends Consist Of...

The snow is coming down in a crazy & beautiful white dance...

so much so that I can't see the houses across the street..

I am spending my weekend with ART...

...And with BUNNIES...

...We might even get some cross-country skiing in...

I predict a lovely weekend and

I am Happy.

Hope your having a wonderful weekend.  See you all next week.

XO Bijou

(Afternote:  We did not get skiing in but we did get lots of long walks in the crispy chilly sunshine, had some excellent Japanese food and enjoyed several movies in front of a roaring fire.)

Meat-Free Balsamic 'Chicken' & Potatoes

I think it's time to share another favourite recipe.

We make this awesome dish often for dinner...
(well, my honey makes it, ha ha...it's one of his specialities)

Sauteed 'chicken' breast and mashed potatoes
with a homemade balsamic gravy

YUM..

It's really easy, meat-free, healthy and KIND.

As you can see, we always serve it with some kind of steamed veg and a nice salad on the side.

Here's how you do it:

(My Jonathan never uses recipes, so the instructions are
abit of a 'pinch-of-this-pinch-of-that' type of thing)
...

Over medium heat, cook soy chicken breast in abit of olive oil until cooked through & nicely browned.

Whiles your doing this, have some potatoes cooking to be ready for mashing.

Than make the balsamic gravy:
He usually starts with 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil (or substitute Olivina)
He heats the oil on low-medium heat (make sure the oil does not smoke).
Than he adds lots of finely chopped garlic, usually 4 or 5 good sized cloves,
cook them for a couple minutes until soft, it doesn't take long.
Than he adds freshly ground pepper, to taste (we use an organic 4 pepper corn variety).
Than he adds 2-3 tablespoons of organic flour
(you want the mixture like a paste but not a super thick paste).
Than he keeps the heat on medium and slowly stir in organic free-run milk, a 1/4 cup at a time,
(add more for a thinner gravy or less for a thicker gravy.  It's best to add abit of milk at a time and stir well before adding more because you don't want the sauce to get too thin or runny).
Than, he adds a small splash of 'Maggi' (amount depends on how salty you want it)
Finally and lastly, add & stir in organic balsamic vinegar...we usually add 2 tablespoons,
but you can add more or less depending on how strong you want the taste.

Now your done...
pour the gravy over the 'chicken' and mashed potatoes
put on your favourite music, open a bottle of wine
and ENJOY!

Happy Meat-Free Eating

XO Mandy & Jonathan

The Feathered Breasts

A new image just finished up this morning

(in the off times when I am not acting as a bunny crutch, ha ha)

It's called 'The Feathered Breasts'

and is a acrylic and coloured pencil painting on gessoed muslin.

A somewhat cheeky yet whimsical commentary on you know what, ha ha....
Cause a woman can have the most divine face, the most spectacular eyes, the best hat ever,
the nicest hair...but if you've got a chest of any size or shape...well you know the drill.

I don't know where it came from,

The image just popped in my head one day and I thought

'hmmm....that'll be a fun one to make'

...and indeed it was.

Have a great day everyone, see you soon.

XO Mandy

Some Kind Of Wonderful

Abit of time on the back deck is a tonic for winter bored bunnies...
(This was a couple weeks before Ella's legs took a turn for the worse)

Ella Luna always finds some branch to chew on or dried out leaves & pine needles to munch on,

whiles Roo, our snow bunny, stretches to munch on the cedars surrounding the deck and once he's full, he bucks and jumps and zips and zags all silly like making everyone laugh & feel lighter...

I've noticed that because Ella Luna can't go out quite as much as usual,

(Because her right leg muscle has atrophied & she has arthritis in it & going outside for
long stretches, especially on the slippery snow and ice, is just abit hard on her now).

Roo doesn't really have as big of an interest as usual,
I guess he doesn't want to leave his girlie behind...

really VERY sweet if ya think about it...

It's hard to see our favourite little ones get old...

but as long as they keep going strongly, aren't in pain, eat well, and are happy with a zest for life,
as they all without a doubt currently are,

Than we'll keep helping them with everything we've got, ever second along the way...

Because in my books they are without a doubt, some kind of wonderful.

XO Mandy & Ella Luna and Roo, Jin and Jaky XO

Hope On Wings

A new mixed media called 'Hope On Wings' by yours truly, inspired by

Love, Inspiration, Strength & above all else HOPE...

"Hope is the thing with feathers

that perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all."

(one of my favourite poems by Emily Dickinson)

This piece is dedicated to two beloved souls:
My niece, Karly, a strong, unique & inspiring little girl who makes me so proud to be her Auntie.
and
Our precious girl, Ella Luna, a strong little rabbit who loves us like no other.

Happy Valentines Day Lovelies

XO M & The Bunnies

A Winter Storm Bunny Diversion

There is a new (and short) Bunny Diversion video up for your viewing...

Just a little something simple and sweet to warm up the souls on this wintery week.

XO Mandy & Jaks (aka Apple-Pie)

Sneak Peek

I love hats...they make me happy...

...And, they are also inspiring my one of my newest little series, here's sneak peek...

...I think their gonna be super duper cute.

Stay tuned for I should be able to show you a petal topped lady pretty soon.

I must admit to just not feeling up to much in the studio the last week,

a creative block suddenly popped up but I just went with it and wasn't too hard on myself

for we've had so much on our plates the last month:

a death in the family, a rough time with Ella Luna going crippled,

stressful vehicle shopping, a health scare & lots of migraines to contend with ...

But, these little sweeties came to me whiles I was 'blocked' so I guess it wasn't entirely fruitless, ha ha...

What are all of your guys working on in the studios or elsewhere this week?

XO Mandy

Books Books & More Books

I like to share my stacks of books read in a year...

I confess to being a pretty serious bookworm...I am quite addicted to reading.

The stack read last year was pretty decent (better than 2010's stack I think)...

These ones I loved and thought were pretty fabulous...

These ones I thought were quite good...

These ones I found just okay...

And these ones I really really didn't like!



2012's pile is already looking promising.

What was your favourite read last year???

XO Mandy, the bookworm

Sleding

A couple hours of sledding with two of my most favourite people was an awesomely fun day...

I don't particularly love the cold (especially now that we have no vehicle cause our car is kaput!)
But Ahhh...Cheers to the joys of snow such as frozen noses and numb toes

and the utter deliciousness of getting back home to
hot chocolates, roaring fires & the tingling of thawing appendages.

...these parts of winter I do love, ha ha.

What's your favourite part of winter???

XO Bijou, who hopes your getting in some sledding time this winter.