The Birthday I Won't Soon Forget

"Happy Birthday to me,

Happy Birthday to me...."

(Our Backyard at 7:00 a.m. on Monday Morning)

I celebrated my birthday on Monday, but there wasn't much to celebrate. The day was more like a summary of 'Murphy's Law.' I woke up early in the morning (as usual) to take the boyz, Mugsy and Popeye, out for their morning potty. When I opened the front door, I was shocked to see snow...measurable snow! I must say, it was pretty. Everything was covered in a blanket of white, and large snowflakes were still lazily falling from the sky. The scene looked just like when you shake up a snowglobe. Everything was quiet and peaceful as the darkness began to turn into day.

My son Joe came over mid-morning to wish me a Happy Birthday, and to give me my gift. He had been bugging me for weeks as to what I'd like for my birthday, but I just couldn't think of anything in particular that I wanted. But he really came through, and gave me a generous gift card for Hobby Lobby, since he knows I love to shop there, and am probably one of their better customers! Last year he gave me a drill press for my dremmel, which was something I really wanted. I must say, both of my children are very, very thoughtful. They both always remember every one's birthdays, special occasions, etc. (I guess I must've done something right in raising them! lol)

As we were talking, all of a sudden there was a loud crack, and the lights flickered off. They then just started to come back on when another loud crack happened. This time, though, the power was off for good. That's when Mike came out of his office to see what was going on...and we could smell the odor of burning electrical looming from the inside of his office. After some careful 'sniffing,' we discovered his fax was fried. We figured with the slippery roads, someone must have hit a power pole or something. Everything was dead, including our telephones. Thank goodness for cell phones! But of course, I hadn't charged mine in quite a while and it only had 1 bar left. Anyhow, Joe finally decided to take off and go deer hunting, and Mike and I tackled the snow shoveling in front of our house. We've got a really wide driveway, so it's more of a two-person job. What else was there to do anyway??

Several hours later and still without power, we got company. My dad drove over to see if we had power. He lives in a little nearby town, in the same house I grew up in, and he was without power too. So dad spent most of the afternoon sitting at our house. At least the gas fireplace in our livingroom worked, so it was comfortable to sit in there. My daughter Jessica then stopped over to wish me a happy birthday and give me my presents. She's a great little gift-giver, and always knows exactly what I like. I got a really nice sweater and a scarf that I love, but the card she got for me meant the most. The verse was so meaningful for both of us, that we were both tearing up as I read it. Seriously, the bond between a mother and daughter is truly very special, and it seems to get stronger as the years go by.

As the afternoon wore on, Jessica decided to go back to her place (where there was electricity), and dad wanted to go home before it started getting dark out. So Mike and I sat in the livingroom with the little pugs chasing around the house as our entertainment.

By 5:00 p.m. darkness set in, and we were still without electricity. We did have 2 flashlights that actually worked, and I got a bunch of candles lit in the livingroom. I was starting to worry about the thanksgiving turkey and all the food in the refrigerator and freezer, though...

At 6:00 p.m. Mike decided to call the electric company again to see how much longer they thought it would take before the power was restored. Apparently there were several poles hit by cars, and it was a larger job than they had anticipated to fix. They thought it would be restored by 7:00 p.m. And you know what??? At 7:00, the power finally did come back on...sort of. It was really weird. Some of the light switches worked, while others on the same switchplate didn't. Thank goodness the freezer, refrigerator, stove, and microwave were all working again. The cable was still out, so the phones didn't work yet, but at least the furnace was back on, so we went to bed.

(Another view of our backyard on Monday)

So yesterday morning we started checking the computers, etc. to see if we lost anything else besides the fax machine. We were very, very lucky. Both of our computers were on a battery backup, so Mike shut them down as soon as the power went off, and they were fine. We've got really good surge protectors on our computers, televisions, etc., which saved our electronics. Mike went out and bought 3 new surge protectors yesterday, because 2 of them took smelled cooked. But they saved the televisions!! Our cable finally came back on yesterday morning, so we had phone service again, but we still had the strange issue with only partial current with our switches. Nothing was tripped on our breaker box in the basement. So we got a hold of an electrician to come and see what was wrong. Wow...and were all the electrician's in this area busy!!! Fortunately the one we called was already working at several other houses on our street, so they came over to assess the situation while they were at a house across the road. They checked the box in the basement to again see if anything was tripped, which nothing was. But we didn't realize we have another emergency circuit box in the basement too, and when they checked that box, they found several were tripped. Once they reset them, all our power again worked in the house. They checked all the outlets throughout all the house to make sure they, too, were working properly, and then they told us how lucky we were!!! The 2 neighbor homes that they were also working at were not so lucky!! The outlets in those houses were black and melted!!!!! The electrician said he has never seen anything like it! They were really busy at those homes!!!!!! He was actually going to keep one of the fried outlets because of how bad it looked.

So anyhow, that's how I spent my birthday. It was certainly quite memorable in an odd sort of way!!!

"A Place To Bark" Art Auction on Ebay

(Popeye, licking his buddy, Mugsy's ear)

(Popeye...The one-eyed mischevious one!)

(Sweet Mugsy...you'd never believe this guy was starved, hairless, and near death when Bernie rescued him, would you??)

I want to let everyone know that my good friend and fellow artist, Bernie Berlin, currently has several art items listed on eBay to benefit her wonderful cause, "A Place to Bark." Click on this link to view the items currently for sale:

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/aplace2bark_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZ

Two of the items listed are hand-painted purses created by me.

A Place to Bark is a no kill foster and adoption rescue dedicated to the welfare of animals and was founded by Bernie Berlin. Established in 2001, they mainly work with Animal Control Agencies, rescuing animals from high kill shelters and fostering them until they are healthy. This provides an ideal situation for the animals. They are then placed for adoption through Humane Societies in various parts of the country. They cover all costs for the medical care of the animals with no cost to the Humane Societies. They also handle some private adoptions after a strict screening process.

I have the privilege of being the proud 'puggie' mom to two adorable pugs that Bernie rescued. I adopted Mugsy two years ago. When Bernie found this poor little guy, he was starved and stick-thin...hairless from horrible mange...full of open sores and serious infections...and left for dead in a pen at the pound along with several large pitbulls. When Bernie saw him, she didn't even realize at first that he even was a pug, due to his horrible condition. But as soon as she realized he was a pug, she immediatly took him home and, after extensive medical treatment, got him nursed back to health and gave me a call. She knew I was a pug momma already, and totally spoil my pugs rotten. So...along came little Mugsy. But since I've had him, he's not 'little' anymore. He's more like my happy, 'portly' Mugsy Magoo.

Then, about a year ago, I got another call from Bernie. She said, "Jillllllllllll...guess whattttttttttt....I've got another puggggggggggggggg." Well....I already had 2 pugs living here, so I was a little apprehensive about getting yet another one. And Mike was in the hospital at the time, recovering from his accident. I was excited about adopting another little puggie, but my fear was that Mike wouldn't be as gung-ho about having 3 spoiled pugs running around the house. (But what's another little pug, right????? They are soooooooooooo cute and lovable!!) So I agreed, and broke the news to Mike in the hospital. My exact words to him were, "Guess what, honey???.............the stork is flying over our house!!!" I think his jaw dropped to the floor!!! I had to quickly add....'The PUG stork!!!!'

Well.......Mike eventually warmed up to the news, and Bernie delivered little Popeye. Poor popeye was sooooooooooo starved and skinny, he almost looked freakish! When he came in the door, he ran around the house at about 50 mph. I just thought to myself, "what DID I get myself into????" And to top it off, he had somehow sufferered severe trauma to his left eye before Bernie rescued him, and it was in bad shape. To this day, we have no idea how his eye got so horribly damaged, but after doing absolutely everything possible for it that the vet had recommended, and watching it get even worse, I finally had to have the veterinarian remove the eye. He told me it was in such terrible shape, and there was so much pressure building up, that it could pop out with a bump to the head! Well, I must say, Popeye actually looks cute with only his one eye! It's not nearly as freakish-looking as I thought it would be. It's like he's always 'winking' at you!!! And he turned into the most loving, sweet, 'momma's boy' I could ever want (although Mugsy is a big 'momma's boy' too!!)

I can't imagine not having these two sweet, funny, quirky little wrinkle-balls around the house!!! I am sooooooooooo grateful to Bernie, for rescuing these poor little creatures from certain death, and bringing them to me.

Please help Bernie continue her cause. Visit her website listed above, or go to the right-hand side of my blog and scroll down to my "Kewl Places to Visit" and please click onto her name. It will take you to her blog, where she has pictures and stories of other dogs (and cats too) that she's in the process of rehabilitating, and who will also be in need of loving homes.

Thanks for everything, Bernie....you are truly an angel!!!!!!

A Nice Way to Spend the Day

"A loyal friend laughs at your jokes

when they're not so good,

and symphathizes with your problems

when they're not so bad."

- Arnold H. Glasow

I can't believe it's already the 22nd of November!!! Where has the time gone? Even though the sun was shining brightly today, the air was crisp and cold outside. The river in our backyard has frozen over, and there were 3 people behind our house ice-skating for a good portion of the afternoon. I would've never believed the ice was thick enough to walk on yet, but obviously all that blustery weather we've been having has thickened the ice very quickly. I must admit, as I was watching those people having so much fun, I was thinking I should figure out where my skates are so I can goof around on the ice, too, because the river looks as smooth as glass. When I told that to Kim as we were observing the skaters from the worktable in my studio, Kim just smiled at me and told me she'd much rather be making artsy stuff inside where it's warm. (Party Pooper). I must say, I guess Kim was right...we spent the day having fun inside, each working on some jewelry projects. Kim wanted to make a necklace that she could attach all of her charms onto from the swap at her Retreat last month, while I was working away at repairing a pair of earrings that I had broken a while back. I love it when Kim comes over. The time just flies by, and we never run out of things to talk about and laugh about when we're together. I'm hoping that we can get together again before Thanksgiving. Perhaps then we'll do some metal-etching or work with PMC. It's about time I try out that kiln I bought back in August!!!

(The necklace that Kim made)

...I'll Get By With a Little Help From My Friends...

"Friendship"

A friend will give you comfort

and hours on the phone.

A friend knows when you need a hug

or want to be left alone.

A friend knows when you need an ear

to just sit there and listen.

A friend helps you to calm your fears,

and cheers on your ambitions.

A friend can make you laugh out loud

even when there's no one around

A friend is someone who makes you proud

of the friend that you have found.

- Gina Marie Lauchner

When I started out on my artistic journey four years ago, I have been very blessed. I have made some wonderful friendships with very, very talented and caring individuals. These friends have stuck up for me when they feel I've been wronged, and have been so very supportive of me and my artwork. I am not going to name specific people individually in this post, but I'm sure they will know that I am referring to them when they read this.

I am very thankful and grateful to have friends like you, who continue to stay in contact with me, and who go 'above and beyond' when you feel I've been wronged in some way.

Thank you all, for your care and concern for me and my work!!! I am sooooooo grateful that you have all come into my life, and that you are all so supportive of me! You are all the best friends that I could ever ask for!!!!!!

Hugs to you all!

Jill

xo