Bittersweet Beauty

Things aren't over quite yet but we've actually had to turn our heat on already!
so I am naturally thinking back on the season as I do every year about this time.
Summer started off slowly with my injured knee early on in the season
& we resisted the yard for a tiny bit cause we just didn't want to be there without our Frenwyck...
but my oh my it's been such a good and wonderful Spring, summer and Fall...

 

I am looking forward to winter and diving into my studio time a lot more,

there's always way less distractions in the winter hibernation time!...

But I admit I am feeling slightly melancholy about wrapping another season up!

I don't know if Jaks will be with us next summer...I think that's making it all more bittersweet...

but we sure did enjoy our time outside this year and we took full advantage of it all

and that's what is most important at the end of it all isn't it!

Juggling Acts

Most days I find it really tricky to spread my time evenly between all 8 buns,

especially lately since I want to spend everyday and all day with Jaks since I know he's sick... 

But every rabbit is different, that's one of the coolest things about bunnies.

Jaks isn't one of those rabbits who wants me around constantly, no offense taken, he just likes quiet,

(our fabulous Frenwyck wanted us around him 24/7)

and whiles Teela wants human free afternoons to nap just her and Yuuji,

come evening time however, I'd better be ready to hang out on the floor with her in the living room

and come 9pm, I'd better be ready for our bed snugs

or watch out, I get punished with pee, attitude & hurt feelings!

 

I am obsessed & so in love with each and every one of our babes

and like any 'normal' Mama, I must spend tons of time with them,

because again like a regular Mom, they are my world.

It's only because I do spend so much time with them all that allows me to know them so well,

so that I can indeed easily tell when they want extra snuggles and when they want some space...

 

and that's exactly why I work in so many different mediums, ha ha...

because I switch rooms and work areas so much through out the day in order to keep

company with all the different buns in all their different areas...

Still like every other human on this planet, I wish the days were longer!

As any Mom, I wish I could more easily feel like I am doing a good job, always, everyday!

But ya know, even as that stress of being 'fair' tugs, pushes and pulls on me everyday,

 I love it and can't imagine a better way of spending my days...

juggling bunnies and art (with a soupçon of headaches naturally!!!).

Cute Girl & Sneak Peeks

How can I not draw rabbits all the time

when I am surrounded by such cuties like my girlie here!

 

 

I really do wonder if I'll ever get tired of drawing rabbits?

I just don't see it ever happening!

 

Anyways, as you can see I decided on another rabbit theme for this months coloring page

(Want it?  Sign Up to get it and future pages right here).



Exactly Where I Should Be

One of my absolute favorite times of the day is my night time snuggle with my girl Teela.

It's the same almost every single night,
around 9 or 10 pm she'll go running and pop-corning down the hallway towards the bedroom,
she'll stop at the door to wait and see if I am following,
If I am not, she comes back for me and waits by my legs until I realize what time it is.
She seems to know that Jaks gets his PM meds at 9pm sharp
and that after we take care of him, it's her time.
She jumps up onto the two benches, made specially for her, that lead up onto the bed,

she'll plop down on her favorite fuzzy blanket and gets all comfy for our delicious snuggies.
She'll give me kisses and than she falls asleep, twitching & snoring away.
She wakes up often but falls asleep several times in a row in the cozy golden glow of our star lights.
This is our time, girls only, no boys allowed, seriously, ha ha
she gets really annoyed if Yuuji or Jonathan tries to join us!

 

 

When we got her, we were going through a hard time with our big handsome boy Roo,

he had gone crippled quite rapidly due to a neurological thing

and this was just 8 months after we lost our heart Ella Luna (his soul mate).

which was also just shortly after I had took almost a year off of work to help Ella

because she too had completely lost the use of her back legs!

It was an exhausting, difficult time when we decided to adopt Teela

but she was our light and our sunshine through it all.

 



 

We would take turns sleeping with her, for almost two months straight.

One of us would sleep in her room

(she was newly adopted and we wanted her to feel safe and loved)

and the other would stay up with Roo Boo and help him as best as we could.

It was adorable, like clockwork even back then,

she would finish her dinner,

(we've come to realize that if we feed the bunnies their big veggie plates later in the night

we get better sleep because their little nocturnal butts are quieter if their bellies are full).

We'd lift the blankets and she would jump up onto our makeshift bed,

she'd crawl under the covers and play with the blankets for about 20 minutes, than she'd fall asleep,

stretched out and pressed against our legs, all night long, she'd stay there for a good 5 to 6 hours.

 

 

In the mornings around 6am, she'd start to wake, she'd emerge from the blankets

all sweet, ruffled up fur, all sweaty and warm, ha ha.

She'd than stretch, preen and than layout again along the top of our pillows

for maybe another 20 or 30 minutes

before jumping down from the bed and starting another day in her new home.

We would than crawl into the real bed for an hour or two more of sleep!

We needed to be near her sunshiny attitude & soul as much as she clearly needed us near by.

It was a sweet time of adjusting to our newest shelter adoptee, 

amidst the sad and hard but still precious days of caring for our dying handicapped Roo.

 

The snuggle routine may have changed from a couple years ago to now

but my nightly sweet snuggle time with my girlie fills me and embraces me.

It give me such a warm happy heart, as much now and back than when we first got her.

I feel so embraced when I am with this rabbit...like life couldn't get any better.

Like I am exactly & precisely where I am supposed to be.

Under The Weather Can Still Be Lovely

For awhile there we were feeling under the weather with a flu that just seemed to linger & linger.

On top of headaches and migraines that have been feeling rather relentless & tiring.

But ya know me, I can't help but find loveliness even in the sick pain-riddled days.

Because like I always say, loveliness is often in the smallest of things...even in sick routines...

like how I get the green teas whiles my honey gets the hot water bottles

and I fetch our favorite blankets whiles he gets the buttery cracker pile.
or how we take turns vacuuming and catering to the bunnies needs...

 

I love how we'll rush over to huddle under one blanket to share a bunny snug,

especially with the super cuddly Flynn

(thankfully, unlike guinea-pigs, rabbits can not catch colds or flus from people).

We've been packing in the deep yummy greens to help push out the nasty's.

I don't know about you but my tummy craves healthy food, especially when I am not feeling well.

As I write this a big pot of homemade veggie soup is simmering away sweetly on the stove, ahhh.

 

Well I hope your feeling wonderful and well

and I hope you have a super snuggly sweet weekend.

XO see you next week I hope XO



Hi I am Mandy and I am a Bookaholic

Hi.

I am Mandy

and I am, a bookaholic...

But it's okay really....

I am perfectly, 110% comfortable with my addiction.

(my addiction to ever so sweet & frothy soy lattes however may be out of hand!)

 

It's been a good reading year so far.

 

I've read these guys so far and I've enjoyed every single one.

I am hoping to average at least 4 books a month this year,

so I've been getting up a little earlier in the mornings

so I get my reading time in without diving into my studio time...

Where there's a will there's a way!

Especially when it comes to getting comfy with paper & words!

Sometimes You Just Gotta

Schedules are I think, more often than not, a necessity for full-time artists...
especially those of us who have our studios in our homes
where we face a thousand distractions throughout the day!
Strict routines are key to getting everything done, or at least a fair amount done.
 

As much as I may want to, I have a really hard time keeping up with routines and schedules.
I am in fact envious of those who can invent their own schedules and keep to them,
for my headaches and migraines are typically the scheduler of my days.
But if I am having a good pain-free streak
I do often find myself snapping into a routine very easily & quickly
and I get SOOOO much done...but for me, that can sometimes be depressing too,
depressing because I realize how much further ahead I'd be if I could stick to a schedule!

But head pain aside...
even on the best of days where your feeling like a million bucks and like you could tackle anything,

Sometimes you gotta throw the studio schedules to the wind
and just let the day take you where it wants to go...

 

 

Maybe it's time to transfer some lovely local honey from your big honey pot to your smaller one...

 

 

Than maybe the day will find you sitting on the floor

to let your little furry buddies climb all over you as laughter bubbles up from your tummy...

 

 

Than perhaps because you skipped breakfast your tummy starts to growl on top of the bubbling,

so you take just 30 or 40 minutes to take in a healthy snack...

 

 

Than maybe for creative clarity, you find yourself cleaning up your workspaces...

 

 

...and letting your buddies help you out with some organizational ideas...

 

 

Than just maybe the day encourages you to snuggle that every so helpful bun for a short spell...

 

 

Than opps well my oh my look at that it's way past lunch time
and your starving so it's time for a late lunch with a book before heading into the studio
at least for an hour or two before the sun starts to go down!
And before you know it, the blue hour arrives...
it's time to start dinner...it's time to settle into the evening.
You reminiscence on the day you just had
and you do a mental check on what you've accomplished
and you realize with a happy heart that it's okay that you diverted from your plan...
it's more than okay because you enjoyed the day, you went with the flow.

Because as much as you want to have studio days full of accomplishments

you did accomplish something by filling your well.
And you filled your creative well by making your day as sweet and as good as possible
by dipping your ever so winter-dry toes into the lovely wet softening flow
of just letting things just be exactly how they wanted to be every moment of the day...
and how often do we do that!  Not often enough if you pay attention to how stressed everyone is...

So I am a firm believer, oh yes I am, I believe that sometimes you just gotta let go
and enjoy a day that meanders along slowly around unknown corners...
you just have to enjoy a day that slowly milks the sweetness out of every hour
as you embrace the beauty and simplicity of letting each task lead gently unto the next.

Ahhhhhh.....yes...sometimes you just gotta.

Happy Weekend

I am normally on holidays by now but I'll keep going for a few more days atleast,

so I'll be seeing ya next week before we take a blog break.

 

 

I hope you have an amazing weekend...

We're going to enjoy it whether the snow we're waiting for comes or not!



Gravitating To Gratitude

We don't venture from home and our sick Jaky for too long these days

but we've been finding ourselves zeroing in on certain things...

 

 

Like we've been gravitating towards the water and especially to the sunsets...

 

We've been basking in relaxing lunches in the sun at our favorite café...

 

We've been geting outside even just for short spells with the sweet sweet buns...

 

We've been enjoying food and time in the kitchen together...

 

What are you enjoying most these days???



World Of Words

In my world reading is a priority...

As a kid, I always loved books, story time with my Mom was one of the best parts of the day.

Now as an adult, I still have a love affair with books...in fact I think I'd be considered a bibliophile.

 

Books just make me happy... 

 

 

The feel of them.  The smell of them...let alone what's inside them.

I can't imagine days where I don't settle down within the magic of words (usually with a salad too).

Words weaved together feed me body and soul.

 

What are you reading right now?

38

I am glad that I am 'getting it'...

That growing a year older isn't a bad thing at all...It's a gift.

A birthday marks a year full of knowledge gained,

which can indeed make our journey through life easier.

It's a year of experiences had and learnt from.  I've always been big on learning.

It's 365 days of hardship & happiness, because let's admit it, life is hard

but hopefully it's always more of the latter, if your very lucky and smart with your perspective!

 

 

So today I turn another year older.

I am 38 years smart!

It's been a hard year in some ways but more so a really wonderful year...

I've been very lucky and blessed.

I've learnt to not be afraid of happiness but to grasp it and hold on for dear life, ha ha.

I've learnt to sing my own tune a little bit more clearly & not quite so shyly

and I can't wait to see what beauty and experiences unfold for me during my next 365.

Grabbing Onto Gratitude

Whiles at a party over this past weekend the subject of fulfillment seemed to spring up often.

People commented on how 'content & comfortable' I look lately and I loved that observation

because I have been feeling like I've settled into loveliness even that much more recently...

 

 

I have physically & emotionally wiggled my little tush down into comfort even more so.

I am indeed breathing in deeply. 

I have been feeling very satisfactory loveliness with no strings attached.

I don't think it's because anything at all has changed except perhaps for my perspective.

 

I think it's also about grabbing onto gratitude a lot more assuredly these days.

Not everything is perfect...but now it's not so much about the imperfections anymore.

It's become all about what is working...

it's become about more quickly and more fully embracing what is simple and warm and wonderful

(like lunch with a handsome boy and with veggies you've grown yourself as buns zoom around you!)

 

 

I have only ever wanted days full of time with my honey,

long days of making art in cozy studios, ample time for favorite things like

cooking beautiful food...loads of reading time with good cups of coffee, taking care of animals, etc...

We've worked hard...we've made hard decisions...but we've gotten there finally...

Life has become about; love, art, bunnies, embracing happiness and a million other good things.

There's so so much good stuff going on...

 

 

and yeah, there's bad stuff happening most of the time too, for sure...that's life.

BUT the good stuff really has been out weighing all of the bad.

I've been kind of feeling a shift...a positive new change in how I see things.

And well I am just feeling so so very very insanely super grateful.

I hope you are feeling it all too XO.