Missing Hazel...It's Been A Year Today

...Oh Dear, Sweet Hazzy...our funny, silly & precious Pud...I can't believe it's been a whole year today that you've been gone...

...It feels like so much longer that you've been gone. It astounds me that a single heart handle missing somebody so much.  365 days sounds short but feels huge when it means you haven't been here with us...

...But we're doing good, Hazzy...Jinny is well, she misses you but she & jaky have bonded perfectly...he'll keep her good company until she's with you again, her most beloved sister...

...I hope your with Beanie, Thodan, Gimmley, Hobbs & Noo Noo, keeping them good company & teaching them to be sweet & silly like you...

...We think of you everyday & how having you in our lives blessed us and made us better...this is a special post for you my angel girlie...We miss you Hazzy...We love you still & always. XXOO

Feeling Alittle Blue...

I don't feel like working this week so please kindly excuse to lack of new work! I've been catching up emails, organizing computer files and sketching but mostly I've mostly been huddled up with a)my honey b)my bunnies c)The 1st and 2nd Twilight books which I can't put down! and d)some BigFish computer games which tells you my brain needs a break because I hardly ever play video games, ha ha! But I think I just needed a bit of a break after a good 2 solid very busy months on the exhibition work and I think my blue mood started late last week when we had to go pick up Hazel's ashes...picking up ashes for any lost loved one would throw anyone for a loop I think...it's just hard to even lift that box and think that it's some form of our beautiful Puddy-Pie in there...oh it's hard on my already soft heart...and than today I came across the very last photo I took of Hazel, by accident, I was photographing some necklaces on the window bench and suddenly as I clicked Hazel stuck her gorgues little face in the shot, ha ha...she was always doing things like that...oh how I miss her...and I just had to share this precious last shot because I am starting to learn that my blogging community appreciates my tender heart and my life and journey with our beautiful bunnies... I don't think it helped either that my fancy tail goldfish 'Bali' who graced me with his orangy sparkly loveliness for over 9 years passed away slowly and finally last week...RIP Bali, you were an awesome little fish....see I even get attatched to my goldfish! Now I only have 1, Tigger...who I feel bad for and wonder now if he's lonely in there all by himself!

I know the answer to get out of this mood and its to dive into work so I am off onto a new series...this one is a series of birds, I am excited to see how they turn out, they'll be mixed medias on floating boards, there going to be 8 'normal' ones and 4 or 5 birdies with hats. The originals will hopefully be ready in time for me to hang in my AOM space for the fast approaching holiday season!...I think abunch of evenings working on these near a roaring fire with the beloved remaining babies is called for right now indeed....

Hugs to all of my fellow tender hearted bloggers...Have a cozy fall day...it's freezing here! and if I stay in my studio too long I can't move my fingers!!!

Still Thinking of Hazel...

It's not that I feel like I have to in anyway prove that Hazel is heavy on my mind...I don't need to tell everyone that our hearts still ache for her to be back with us...I don't have to go on about how wonderful, how silly, how funny, she was...and it is somewhat difficult to post these pictures, as I know it will be hard for Jonathan to see them when he next pops into my blog for a visit (sorry baby)...but I just loved these pictures we took just a couple days before Haz left us...I prepared them for posting before she left us and it seems like a shame not to share them as I planned and not to share her beauty even though she's gone...so here we go...it was a successful bonding season of the 3 minds...

I had to share these...so thanks for popping in and sharing them with me...I remain authentic with my posting and honest to my heart so if Hazel is what I am thinking about today that Hazel is what I will post about...Miss you Haz XXOO.

P.S. Join me soon again for a new papercut.

Whiles At The Store...

I feel as though I can get back to my blog abit more now...the heartache of loosing Hazzy is still present of course but time does heal and though I'll miss Hazel every single day like all the babies who have left us before her atleast now I can maneuver through a day without feeling hate and anger towards any normality. The suddenness of her leaving is still leaving me somewhat shocked and numb however, but the old adage of 'Time Heals' is indeed very true, I know this and will wait patiently for it and rely on it. So today, I am at my beautiful artist's collective Art On Main, all day long...I took a shift from another fellow artist to force myself out of the house and I do love being here, I feel better already. It's not just being surrounding by beautiful works of art that is cheering but the store itself just has a happy and easy vibe and I need that today, especially since a very annoying headache has been haunting me for 2 or 3 days now with a very sore left shoulder that's just pulling pulling pulling to aggravation...and also of course a deep ache in my tail bone area has set in too. I've been away from my yoga practice for much too long and these little pains reminds me so. So today I write this post from the counter of the store, Patricia Barber is playing...and with Hazel on my mind I choose this old rabbity image of mine to share today... Today whiles at the store, I am working on the final papercut. The series of 8 will be shown in the storefront window in October so those must be prepared and finished up. I am also happily working on sketches for new pieces for my quickly upcoming exhibition...which I've finally decided will be entitled "Woman's Work". As I sit here I am watching a small group of people looking at my coloured pencils and Nubbins in the window and pointing at this and that...oh..and they just came in the store...it's a good feeling to know that my work is bringing people into the store...and I am not just assuming that, I say so because I've been told it was so, ha ha....My heads not getting big or anything no worries! I don't know...as I ramble on I must confess that I somehow feel like Hazel is still with us and then there's strange things like Jinny never being a big eater before suddenly eating voraciously...like Hazel used to do. Or, Jaks suddenly digging and ripping up his boxes with happy abandon which never used to do but Hazel loved doing... maybe parts of her precious soul went into the remaining lovelies still gracing our warren...can that happen? I don't know but that's how I've been feeling. So it is almost lunchtime...I need to get this papercut done soon so that I can have atleast half my shift for sketching so I should get going. Thanks for those very few of you have expressed sorrow on our behalf...Jenn over at Kanna Glass in particular...Jenn your note made me teary and I know you understand my current state...thank you for taking time to reach out. Everyone else thanks for giving me space...because at times like these those who know me well know that I can't help but pull away and become very introverted...my best friend Judit for gently checking up on me every couple of days..and mostly thanks to my honey, your forever my rock and always helping to pull me out of the overwhelming tides. We've had 6 furry hearts leave us now, 5 of whom have died in my arms...it's not getting easier, I guess I shouldn't assume it would but boy oh boy it hits me hard and takes alot to get back to myself...and those that respect and love me most are the ones who accept my greiving process...because the rabbits are not 'like' our babies...they ARE our babies and I love the fact that as I get to know myself, as I get stronger, as I grow...I can see that the people who can't accept this part of me aren't people I need to closely associate with and that epiphany is worth its weight in gold... I leave you with my favourite Patricia Barber song "Snow"..enjoy...I am...Be Well and extra kind to your own tender hearts...

Our Hazel Has Left Us

It is very difficult to do this post but I must in memory of one of the best little rabbits that ever hopped on this earth...shockingly and completely unexpectedly our sweet and funny little 'Pud', our most wonderful Hazzy...suddenly died this past Monday night. We don't know what happened, she was having a perfect day (it never took much to make this little one happy), she spent 5 or 6 hours in the yard having a ball, she'd run up to me and touch her sweet little nose to my hand, she was sprawling out in the sun, happy as pie than later that night whiles watching a movie Jon and I were admiring how beautiful our sweet puddy pie was and I went in the room to give her hugs and kisses and a treat and she was looking just fine...happy and joyful as our little girl always was and an hour later she went into some kind of seizure or had a stroke and she died in our arms in a matter of minutes. We miss her so much. She added something to this home that none of the others have, she was so bright and special and loved and loved us so so well...

Hazel leaves behind her sister Jinny...and Jaks who was just getting to know her...I am still in shock that she is suddenly gone, I am angry and feel empty but at the same time I still feel her wonderful joyful spirit around me...there is no question that we were beyond lucky to have found her and have her part of our warren. She will be missed every single day.

I will not be posting for awhile. I don't know how long...but today, this week, I just feel like I have nothing to give...I am spending every second I can with Jin, she's never been alone, she always always had Haz by her side...now we're all very lost without her.

...Go to Beanie, Gimmley, Thodan, Hobbs, and Noodle sweet girl...they will keep you good company intil we see you again someday.

Happy 3rd Home-Coming Hazel and Jin

It was 3 years ago today that Jonathan and I brought home our furry hearts Hazel and Jinny (and their sister Noo, whom is no longer with us and greatly missed). I couldn't let today go by without sharing some photos of Haz and Jin (Hazzy being the Black one and Jinster being the grey)...

Aside from being sisters, these two sweetie-pies are thick as thieves and best of friends. Three years ago we were more than happy to be able to a)save them from their hard lives and give them them the warmth and peace they deserved b)save them from someones dinner plate! c)keep them together and d)welcome them into our little rabbity family. We hope they are with us for many more years to come....Happy Home Coming babies...

Until tomorrow, Be Well, Be Creative, Be Joyful, Be Inspired and Be kind to a bunny. XO.

A New & Quick Watercolour, Bored Bunnies and A Beautiful Sky

So the past 4 or 5 days have been such a blur of activity and stress that I didn't have time to get into anything serious in the studio, but I did manage to do this quick little watercolour. I didn't realize till this morning when I went to take a photo of it that I had also recently done a very similar drawing as an acrylic on wood!

So with the seasons changing, our hands are somewhat full with the bunnies...they are depressed and bored because the doors are not open quite as much now so this is a common but cozy and heart-lifting sight these days...

Our beautiful Roo and Ella-Luna...snuggled up keeping one another warm and happy. Ahhhh a sight for sore eyes:D ha ha.

Hazel and Jinny aren't too happy with me this week since they have decided to start a burrow under the lovely boardwalk that Jonathan just finished! I agree with them, it is the perfect spot, they are very intelligent to have picked this spot, however...they are next to impossible to get out when they do decide to go in and dig and well if we don't stop them they will cave in the supports that Jonathan painstakingly laid so they are not allowed outside until we get a chance to block it off from their busy little digging loving paws! Here is Hazel sneaking under...

The sunset the other night had me thrilled, it was so beautiful. I didn't realize until this morning when I was downloading some photos off my camera that Jonathan had indeed snuck outside to snap some shots...thanks babe...

I love the sky from our house, I think it's because we are so close to the lake maybe that we get these fabulous views...this shot is from our front yard. Ahhh...another site for sore eyes. Until tomorrow, Be well, Happy Creating and may you take the time to enjoy any beautiful sunsets being had your way. XXOO Mandy.