Different Kind of Drop

Last January I had an exhibit of my artwork at the local community college library. With the exhibit, I included about a dozen prints of my work. I printed these images on acid-free, 140 lb. watercolor paper, using my ink jet printer. I printed each image at 7.5" x 9.5" and then mounted it on an 8" x 10" gallery-wrapped canvas, with 3/4" thick edges. Each canvas was painted to coordinate with its print.

The canvas is titled, signed, and dated on the back. This photo shows a sample of a side view of one of the finished canvases.

After the exhibit, I'd stowed these canvases in a box and put them on a shelf in a closet. Since they weren't doing anyone any good in the closet, I decided to "drop" them around town, like I've done with dolls for The Toy Society. This past week I did two drops at our local hospital. A print of my Great Horned Owl (his name is Max) was the first one I left.

Here's where the real Max now hangs in our house.

The second canvas is called "Marsh." It's a print of one of my digital paintings, done in Photoshop.

This one was left in the hospital's chapel. While these aren't really toys, they are handmade, and I'm hoping I won't get booted out of The Toy Society for doing this under their umbrella!

Three Silly Purchases

I was back at the thrift shop, Second Blessings, where I had found, and rescued, Big Louie. This time I bought a necktie for him. It's a Carlo Palazzi, 100% silk, and hand made in Italy. ($2) Big Louie is quite fond of the necktie - he never had one before. He's modeling it here, but plans to save it for Sundays and special occasions.

My second silly purchase was a computer for Flossie. Her old computer had been broken for a while and she hadn't been able to write or post on Flossie's Frog Blog. She'd been complaining a bit about that.... This computer was on a shelf of odds and ends, way in the back of the thrift shop. It cost $5, and Flossie and I are both very pleased with it!

The third item, a four-foot wooden ladder, was purchased at the pet store. The idea was to provide a means for Casey Cockatiel to get back up from the floor to his cage on the card table. The silly part is that we ever believed Casey would use the ladder.

We let Casey hang out on the top of his cage, and every once in a while he decides to attempt an escape. Despite the fact that his wings were trimmed when I bought him about ten days ago, Casey manages to cover quite a bit of territory. Yesterday, in two "hops," he made it through this large room, out the door, and halfway across the living room before I caught up with him.

Here's a shot of Casey, on top of his cage, obviously doing some plotting. (Behind him on the wall is one of my art quilts, Marty Macaw.)

I thought I had the escape problem solved. Big Louie lives in this room, too. I tried to get Casey Cockatiel to pose for a picture with Big Louie, but Casey was scared of him and flew away, squawking, the couple times I tried. So I enlisted Big Louie's assistance in keeping Casey in this room. I stationed Big Louie on the floor, blocking the doorway. Last night, Casey didn't even want to be on the floor when Big Louie was sitting across the room.

So this morning, as I was preparing to write this blog, and expound on my cleverness, Casey took off from the top of his cage, sailed across the room, and made a beautiful landing on Big Louie's head.
Well, so much for being intimidated.... Casey may think he rules the roost, but I haven't given up yet.

Casey Cockatiel

Anyone who knows me at all, knows that I'm a big fan of stuffed toys. One of my frogs, Flossie, even has her own blog and facebook page. And my last post introduced you to Big Louie, a recent, and very large, addition to the family.

Casey Cockatiel joined us about a week ago. Ed (hubby) and I have been together for almost 40 years and this is our first "live" pet! The three of us are adjusting quite well. Casey is two years old, and was previously with another family. He likes to sit on our shoulders, loves to rub heads, and is a great singer.

A cockatiel is a slender, long-crested Australian parrot related to the cockatoos. (Cockatiels even have their own national organization.) Counting the tail, Casey is about 10"-12" long. I can't say exactly, since he wasn't interested in standing still for a measurement.

I promise not to give him his own blog. But a cute face like that almost needs a facebook page. Don't you think??

Big Louie

Hi! My name is Big Louie and I live with Missus and Mister. I am very happy to have a home again. I once lived in Africa, have spent time in a zoo (escaped), worked for a while in a circus, and done a lot of bumming around. Lately I've been down on my luck, and I ended up in a stuffed toy pound, called a thrift shop. I was bedraggled and dirty, and they put me on top of a clothes rack and stuck a piece of masking tape in my fur that said I was worth $7.50. Definitely a low point for me.

A lady was walking around the thrift shop, picking out clothing. Since I was on top of a children's rack, I didn't expect her to come my way. But when she did pass by, I just looked down because I was pretty embarrassed about the state I was in. She noticed me, looked up into my eyes, and said, "I know exactly how you feel"! Then she picked me up, paid the fees, and took me home with her. Blessings on the Missus!

I do my best to contribute to the family. Here I am helping Mister with mowing the lawn. There is over an acre, so it takes a while. It was fun learning to drive the tractor!

Mister also lets me drive his truck in the driveway.

Here's another picture of me at the wheel! I haven't hit anything yet. I'm careful because there are a lot of frogs that live here too.

Whew! Summer heat, and pooped at the end of the day. Nice to relax on the back deck.

Two More Countries!

It seems like just a short time ago that The Toy Society had its 500th toy drop. Now we're at 555, and have had our first drops in Uruguay, and now in Italy! I'm going to be doing a new kind of drop - I'll be posting about that soon.