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Friday, January 15, 2016

Goodbye Our Beloved

All animals are precious...all adoptions are special...
but now and than an animal is extra extra special.
They speak to your very core in a special unique way.
They are your soul mates in every way that a human being can be.
 

The very second you hold them to you,
from that first deep breathe of bliss you inhale,
from the very first time you hold your soul baby against your body, you know...
you just know straight away that losing them will be impossible.
Right smack dab in the middle of your wonderful blissful moment
is the very second that the dread kicks in...
it starts to warn your heart right from the get go, warn you against what?
the inevitable heartache to come I suppose... 


It's a warning that when they leave you, a part of your light, a part of your heart will leave with them.
 
 
That yes, you'll forever carry their beautiful spirit with you.
They made you a better person.
They made you gentler, more patient, kinder...
they grew your heart by not doing anything at all but by being their own precious selves...
and how amazing is that...what an immense gift that is, absolutely.
You'll without a doubt carry this gift and them with you everyday.
You'll forever be wrapped in the warmth and beauty of having known them & their unwavering love.
 
 
But alongside these precious gifts, right beside all the beauty, you'll also now carry a hole.
You'll try to understand in every quiet moment,
why you couldn't have kept them with you forever...
because that's how much you loved them...
you loved them soooo much, surely, that was enough to keep them, somehow magically,
you feel this, even when life & logic screams at you that this is not it works...
The love blinds you and lets you feel like it's only natural and fair that things work this way!!
 
 
And so this is how we started our New Year...
Gut-wrenchingly heartbroken and steeped deeply in shock.
On New Years day, around 5:30pm our beloved Frenwyck, our sweet puppy
unexpectedly and suddenly left us.
 

We knew he wasn't feeling well,
but we thought it was just a tummy imbalance or a stubborn stasis case
and we knew he had a sore foot.
Months ago he had to have dental surgery....
the problems seemed to reappear again and again after that.
We can now trace our memory to this past summer and we did indeed notice that he was quieter,
not his usual playful self.  But still he did have his rambunctious silly days still which dipped us
right back into hope again and that he was once again back on track to being himself.


Than a few weeks ago, as you know, he had a near surgery...
there was a lump, than suddenly no lump.  We continued to keep a close eye on him.
In the past few weeks I had him in my arms more than not it seemed
which is why the new artwork was a lot less...
I was concentrating on our Puppy and on our Jaks,
we honestly and naturally just assumed that Jaks, with his heart condition,
would be the one we'd be saying Goodbye to.
 

Frenwyck loved to be held, sick or not, he was one of the most affectionate little bunnies ever.
He spent hours in my arms, especially the last month.
Espeacially the last two weeks, with him needing medicines and feedings
for again, what we just assumed was stasis and gas problems because everything else looked fine.
 
He would spend the evenings curled up in my arms, sleeping away,
usually after we just bathed his little tushy and tended to his sore foot with cleanings & blow-dries,
his little legs would twitch, his little mouth would munch away happily in a dream....
oh sure the tv was on, but I watched little of it...
I never tired of watching my babe & his precious precious face
as he dreamed away and slept deeply in my arms.
 
It was just after one of these delicious snugs of ours that all went terribly wrong.


I just put him on the ground after my hon coaxed me to 'put him down for awhile to stretch his legs'
but when I did so he fell over...I picked him up immediately and he slumped against my chest.
Jonathan immediately brought his head to his chest to listen and knew right away that his
heart beat was almost none existant...in seconds we were calling the vet...
but during those same seconds he went into a seizure and convulsions, kicking and whimpering
and well it was horrible for lack of a better word.

 
People have said 'Oh but what a gift, to hold your pet as they leave this world'
and I have the strength to do so simple because I can't imagine not doing so
but it's not beautiful in any way that I've been able to see...it's impossibly hard.
It's soul gutting.
But I don't want it to be...
if I am to continue on with this unique life with rabbits, I have to find a way...
a better way to handle myself and to deal with it
because every time, including this time with Frenwyck (and the 8 more times atleast ahead of us),
holding my babies as they pass, every single time,
whether it's by sudden harsh departure or by the gentler, calmer euthizing...either way...
it burns into me...
it marks my soul...
I can't shake it...
I can't forget it
and whiles I carry an immense amount of joy and happiness in everyday, yes,
I always have that, each and everytime, weighing heavily on me...
the spot where I last held my babies, where they last laid and breathed their last breathes.
It feels like a huge chest sized scorch mark, always hot to the touch, ready to wrench me into despair,
It's not a beautiful thing...it's an utter despartness of being completely completely useless...
all you can do is hold them tightly,
tell them you love them again and again and again...
whisper how happy you were to be their Mama...
tell them how proud you are of them, how strong they are, how precious they will forever be to you.
You try not to freak out and scream and cry as their bodies shut down, kick, shudder, cry...
it's simply awful and not beautiful at all.


We ran out into the winter and tried to get to the doctor as fast as we could
but he was already gone by the time we got there.
We think it was kidney or liver failure.
Likely liver failure since we knew when we adopted him that he had a sick liver...
we wanted to adopt him despite his health problem, even if there was nothing we could do for him
because as I said, he was our soul mate and we knew that from the first minute we saw him.


Most of the time I am strong...but sometimes I am not.
I didn't handle this one well.
Not at all.
I curled up in a ball and slept and didn't eat or drink for 3 days.
I only got up long enough in the morning and night to give Jaks his medicine and
Jonathan somehow managed to pull himself up long enough to do our basic
bunny duties like food, snacks, lights and potties.
I think beyond saying goodbye to this particular incredible soul,
it was the suddenness that just literally knocked us off our feet.
It took me a week to be able to leave the house
because leaving the house meant coming back to it that very first time when it hits you
that he's not inside there, waiting for you.


Ouch.
Ouch.
Ouch.
This one hurts a huge huge amount.
For the first time have no need to try to explain to those who simply won't understand.
For the first time have no desire to convince people of my truly broken heart.
The masses don't let us grieve an animal as it allows us to grieve a person
and whiles I don't like it, I understand that that's just how it is.
So I stick to myself, I stay with Jonathan and our other babies because they know me...
They know.  They understand
and it's to you, to you kindred spirits out there that I bear my broken heart too.

All of these photos of Frenwyck, I was saving, for future posts,
thinking I had plenty of time to share them, to show off our incredible Frenwyck, our Puppy.
 
What I am finding hard to deal with too is that Frenwyck just bonded just over a month ago.
Sure he was quick friends with Teela but Yuuji was jealous and gave him a hard time for ages.
Most of the time Yuuji was kind to him, letting him snuggle, giving him a million kissing
but we only 100% trusted them to be alone together just over a month before.
He had moved into Teela and Yuuji's part of the house....
he was so content, not wanting to go back to his old set of rooms, no way, he loved his new buddies.
He would jump up on the bed in the mornings, when the sun was spilling through the windows,
and he's stretch out, gazing happily into my eyes as I laid beside him, petting him, my snuggle bug,
I would bask in his beauty as he basked in the sun & snugs, sometimes he would stay for a whole hour, falling asleep again and again, warm from my hand and the sunshine...
These times were precious to me just like my nightly 8pm 'mama/teetee' snugs with Teela on the bed,
which much to her chagrin, he wanted to join in on too.


I walk around feeling abit like a ghost...
somehow lighter for having known this precious unique soul.
Better for having been him mama for a mere 3 years of his short 5 year life.
My heart is not itself right now.  I am angry that he had to leave so soon.
And whiles I've finally stopped crying, 
We are simply heartbroken, grief-sticken and utterly lost with this sudden loss...
So bear with me, for awhile, I may not be my usual chipper self
for it's feeling so unexpected, so unreal...like life with our Fren was all but a dream...
a beautiful, fuzzy, joy-filled, love pouring over, sweet sweet, precious dream.


And I write all this because this blog of mine is suppose to be a positive spot.
So it's here that I retell the painful night knowing that in time doing so will help me heal.
It's here that I bear my heart to you kindred spirits who will understand my pain.
It's here that I will remember my baby with you all,
because over the last 3 years, you have gotten to know a tiny bit of him too.
So please light a candle for us...send us strength...
send our stardust baby a million beautiful wishes.

and thanks so so much for listening...I'll see you all next week.  XO.


Friday, December 25, 2015

Happy Holidays XO

Happy Happy Holidays Everyone...I hope your all super duper cozy, happy & relaxed.
 
 
Whiles my shop remains open 365 days a year it's time for a blog break. See you again mid-January.

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Baking With My Babe & Bunny

Baking with my hon & with our kitchen assistant Flynn is always fun & is one of my favorite things.
 
 
We made chocolate covered coffee beans & have to chuckle at how much it resembles bunny poop!

 
Flynn tries to use his Jedi mind tricks to convince us to spill lots of sugar & yummies on that floor!

 
We made Rumkugeln...which are rum balls...light on the rum, heavy on the cocoa.

 
And good old simple sugar cookies...they didn't turn out to be so pretty, ha ha but they sure are tasty.

 
Hope your having a good and un-stressful time in your kitchens this week.  XO.


Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Snug & Sparkly

And a very Happy Christmas Eve Eve to you all...are you all ready for Christmas?
Us and our 9 little soul-baby-bunnies are all snug in our sparkly cheery little house,
the Christmas movies are constantly on, the egg nog is pepperminty,
the bunnies are anxious to unwrap things...okay okay and so are we, ha ha!
 
 
Yesterday we rushed Frenwyck in for an emergency visit...with the month we've been having,
we need lots of glittery cheer! And if this monster migraine that has been pulling me down all week lightens up even abit later on tonight, I'll be finishing up wrapping and
we'll be tackling our Christmas Eve Eve baking, I'll show ya what we've made tomorrow perhaps.

Monday, December 21, 2015

Bata Shoes With My Bestie

My bestie, Judit, lives rather far from me & I only get to see her once or twice a year...
once or twice that is, if I am able to travel to the city, which is sometimes impossible with the buns
and it's a bit too tricky for her to come my way because the usual 4-5 hour trip
ends up being an exhausting 7 or 8 hours with her little one, ha ha.
But last time in the city, I did get to spend a whole day with her
and we decided to visit the Bata shoe museum together...
it never matters what we do,
as soon as we're together, we're home, we're with family
and we feel settled and warm and hugged and happy.
One of the many things that binds us in friendship is our love for history and historical fiction...
I took a lot of photos but it was the Victorian wing that really had us intrigued and interested...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We weren't aware of what a horrible toll fashion, especially shoes
and crinoline cages took on the 18th century ladies and gentlemen.
Right from the horrific conditions of picking the cotton for the fabrics etc to the super poor and dangerous working conditions for the bone-weary souls who were the makers, right down to the people who actually wore the clothes who were often times poisoned to death because their dresses and shoes contained high levels of containments like arsenic and lead!
We also had no idea that way back when there was no left and right shoes, only one to fit both sides!
Or that corsets and such dress cages actually killed woman because they were so flammable,
unfortunate woman would go up in an horrific blaze of no escape if they happened to near a candle!
Or all the poor little kids who died because they were put in pretty blue or red velvet shoes
not knowing that that particular dye was more poisonous any other colour...holy crap!
Can't you imagine....
we'll we walked out of there feeling rather quite grateful for our comfy jeans & comfortable boots!
 
(for more of my Bata Shoe photos just visit my Flickr album...
it's a catch all for many shots I don't show here on the blog)


Friday, December 18, 2015

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!


Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Beauty From A Studio Window

So you guys know by now that I adore & appreciate my studios...
and I can't help but fall head over heels in love with my view
when I look out my studio window to see this kind of beauty...
two white-tail deers just meandering through our front garden,
eating our trees, cleaning themselves...
 
 

We live in the middle of a small city...it's amazing to me that we see them now and than.
My breakfast went cold that morning, ha ha, I just couldn't pry myself away from them...
My whole body was physically buzzing from the magical beauty of them...
they refreshed me, heart & soul and I was on a beauty high most of that day...
so amazing...just so so incredibly beautiful and pure and wonderful.


Monday, December 14, 2015

Studio Sunsets

I love the part of the day where I am all snuggly cozy at my coloured pencil desk,
which overlooks our front yard and the quiet court that we live on.
The sun starts to go down & I look forward to our evening routine beginning...
 
 
...I bask in the last delicious minutes with my colours for the day...
I bask in the beauty of that setting sun & hopefully also in a studio day well spent....
ahhhhhh....little things...as always.

Friday, December 11, 2015

40

My gorgeous and amazing guy turns 40 today...
we've been together in life longer than we've lived our lives apart, I love that so much.
I can't even begin to tell you all how honored & amazed I am that I get this guy as my partner.
 
 
A lasagna, brownie cake & some sweet spoils are coming your way my love...
Happy Birthday Babe
Love you so insanely much forever & ever to infinity times two!
XOXO

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

She Marched To Her Own Beautiful Rhythm

So the sweet blue hummingbird and cutie pie snail ended up here...
on my latest mixed media lovely called
"She Marched To Her Own Beautiful Rhythm"
 Isn't she pretty?  I am so pleased with it.  I had fun with all the texture of the background
and of course with the snail and hummingbird.
 
 
It stems from my own personal experience of slowly learning to march to my own
imperfect rhythm because as a chronic & acute migraine/headache sufferer
I simple can't really keep up a 'normal' routine, never for very long that it!
but I've come to realize that it's just part of my life and whiles I feel like I am far behind
all of the time, that doesn't mean it's negative, not if I adopt a positive perspective atleast!
 
And yep you guessed it, prints are in my shop waiting for ya.  Enjoy!

Monday, December 7, 2015

Hummingbird & Snail

I made the cutest little hummingbird and snail recently...
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hop over on Wednesday to see what mixed media they ended up on.

Friday, December 4, 2015

Fireplace Makeover

Last Sunday we decided to attack our old fireplace mantel
& get rid of our old fireplace screen...
We installed awesome new fire doors & put in lovely glossy white tile on the top and bottom.
 
 
 
It took over 8 hours
& made an awful mess because we had to grind & cut out stone which required lots of deep breaths!
but it was worth it cause we love it and we've done yet another lovely thing together for our home.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Colouring Pages Anyone?

Those of my inner studio circle get free colouring pages like this one that just went out...
 
http://mandysaile.com/keepintouch/
 
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