My Pearl.......

I said goodbye to my beloved Pearl  this Saturday.   It was the hardest decision I ever had to make. I will most likely regret it for the rest of my life,  but that is my own pain that I will have to deal with and come to terms with one day.  I think I made the right decision,  but I'll never know for sure.

 She was a most complicated dog.  she kind of started out in life being a dog that no one wanted.   The only white dog in the litter,  she was the last Jack Russell left when I came to get her,  and I knew she was the one for me.

She had a fiery personality from day one,  but that's the way those dogs are.  I had a Jack Russell before,  so I knew what I was getting into.  They are incredibly smart, tenacious and wild dogs meant for working.  Terriers don't mess around.  they have a JOB to do.  Her job was to be with our family

and that's how it was.    She instantly bonded to my kids.  and was incredibly tolerant.

                                     
                                    Always by my Fiona's side in every picture I have.......

Dealing with Fiona's goofball style,  the dog was pretty darn patient.

She was even patient when we brought a new tiny dog into the house.  

When you bring a squirrel sized dog into a home with a terrier,  you KNOW that terrier has some serious self control.

    She would come to the studio with me on occasion,  but honestly,  even though she was patient for the most part,  she was incredibly un predictable from day one.    SHe liked just about everyone she met,  except for cat people.   she could smell them from a mile around,  and out of no where she would go into attack mode....so having her at the shop no longer was an option.   She was only allowed there after hours.  but that was o.k.,  I loved the company.   She was always good company........curling up with us in the bed in the evening,  never wanting to be away from her people.

     The most LOYAL dog EVER.      she slept by my side every night without fail.

  She inspired Art work because she was a clown.

 
      She had her serious side too........always seemed to be thinking about something,  but would let you hug her no matter how deep in thought she was.

You'd talk to her and you'd SWEAR she understood every darn thing you said,  however  if you called for her to "COME"  she'd pretend you we're speaking Chinese,  and never ever would.  

Unless of course you said "cheese",  then she'd be there on the dime.

She had some serious OCD issues when it came to her ball.

you couldn't even take a shower in peace,  or have people over to the house without her barking RELENTLESSLY for you to throw it for her.   it seriously was insane at times.

               
             She was the most loving and loyal dog,  but she was also very,  very fierce.    She was aggressive and grouchy from day one........

   The face of an angel,

                                                                  with the heart of a lion.

but even though she was kind of shitty at times...o.k.,  aLOT of the times,   she was always there for you when YOU felt crappy, dog spooning was her specialty.

or sitting on laps...she was the best late night studio companion,  and gardening buddy.......never ever once dug holes in the yard,  a TRUE miracle coming from a terrier.

  She used to like to tuck herself in between my legs for no apparent reason.

and would sit on Fiona's lap every time she sat on the floor to tie her shoes.

                                         

She was a faithful companion and buddy who we will always remember, and love.

It was an incredibly hard decision for me to make to let her go.  but in the end,  after 9 years of living with her quirks........ the biting,  the barking.....  well  the naughty behavior had started to escalate.

She was no longer herself.

Maybe it was going from a home to a tiny downtown apartment that had her frustrated,  or maybe something else.  I'll never know.    BUt I do know that she had changed.

she was no longer the naughty dog that we forever excused for her transgressions but had become a very scary and unpredictable dog that was attacking out of the blue.

She was posturing in ways that weren't normal.   she had attacked Tank on NUMEROUS occasions,  one week it was every day.    biting my kids, and me out of the blue had become a regular thing.    She had a large tumor growing on her chest,  and most days had the tremors,  so in my heart of hearts  I think there was something neurological going on,  and what I did by putting her to sleep was the most humane thing to do.

At least that's what the vet,  the humane society,  and all of the rescue groups told me.  I had so many friends tell me to try and talk to behaviorists and explore other options,  but honestly,  I couldn't afford that,  and the risk of having her bite my kids was now very real.  I would never have felt good about having her go to another home because she loved US,  and that would have broken her heart,  not to mention expose a new family to a dog with a long history of problems that only we understood and forgave.  

   I only hope that she forgives me, 

 My hope is that she is sitting somewhere peaceful looking out the window,  or running free in some field chasing a ball and having the time of her life.

I will miss her forever.

I loved her beyond measure.

and that is the true story.

you will forever be my girl

xoxoxoxoxo

I am here.......

       This  pretty much sums up my feelings starting in January.....you can buy this pillow here 
 cracked me up.
   I am usually blahhed out from the Holiday rush,  the lack of sunshine and feel grouchy for pretty much  the first 3 months of the year.  I like to go into hiding and immerse myself in my work and projects which usually involves some sort of purging at this point.  how about you?   do you feel the need to just get rid of everything and start fresh in the new year?   I know I do,  but I have a little hoarding issue,  so I only do that on a limited basis,  but I do clean,   like a maniac at times :)

     I also start creating like crazy because I have so many Ideas rolling around in this head and I love to get busy getting them out.   Thankfully my daughter does too,  she is always a happy companion in my studio working on this or that.    She decided to recently make a custom skateboard for her brother for his birthday.  made me smile :)

 

So Even though I haven't been around here much,  I have been in my studio making all sorts of things....paintings,  pillows, jewelry and special projects to help me get through this seasonal funk.

 Bright cheery colors to warm the soul...... and fun displays.....

 

I also worked on some special projects that I will talk more about later...but this piece was a custom made wall hanging that now hangs in a permanent show room in Chicago!   I am SOOOOO excited to have been a part of it!   I'll show more pictures in another post. yippee!

   I worked on pieces for Donations to school auctions.....made Valentine themed goodies and opened an ETSY store where you can now buy some of my things online!    waHOOO!

         I also have an exciting Announcement to make that fabulous Folk artist Laurie Meserole from Mudcakes design now has her studio and paintings located right inside of Red SHoes!   It's so exciting to have her here,  what a busy busy productive artist she is,  definitely going to push me to produce more.....a win/win situation for sure!   :)

               So even though I have been absent here,  there have been lots of things going on behind the scene.  Some happy,  some not so happy and lots of other things in between.   
               I can' talk about it right now it's too raw and I am full of heartache over it,  but I had to say goodbye to my girl on Saturday.    I will devote an entire post to Pearl when I can type without falling completely apart.

                                       So that is it.   I am here,   I am creating,  I am Living life.
                                     Thank you for stopping by to my little corner of the world.
                                                           XOXOXOXOOXOXOO