Sunday, December 7, 2008

studio mascot and young apprentice

a few of you have asked how presley, my little art studio mascot, is doing and i wanted to give you a quick update. the daily dose of prednisone has really helped to reduce the ill effects of the brain lesions. he does very little spinning these days and is much less restless at night. the above photo shows him snoozing in the sun streaming into the art room this afternoon. he is enjoying the little bit of snow that fell yesterday, doing his classic "snoofing" by running his nose along the ground and breathing out heavily. my husband has now built two small wooden ramps to assist presley with getting in and out of the house -- one from the house down into the florida room and then one right outside his doggy door at the back door. the ramps have been a god-send and do a great job at preventing presley from falling quite so much. his balance is still impaired but he has adapted well for an almost-sixteen year-old miniature schnauzer.



in addition to my art room mascot, i now have an art room apprentice. my almost 4-year old granddaughter jenna visited on saturday and we spent several delightful hours "doing messy crafts" as she likes to call it. on each visit she discovers some art medium or gadget that she hasn't gotten to play with yet. she adores the oil pastels, the watercolor pencils, my bowls of beads and my collection of multi-colored vials of glitter. she has a great imagination and i'm always delighted by the little projects she creates on her own. yesterday i let her play with my collection of scissors and the zig zag ones were her favorites. she told me that her teacher lets her cut with scissors but her mommy never does. sorry, megan, but it appears that you are now quite outnumbered. although i never left her side she was quite trustworthy with the scissors and she had a grand time! of course, it took about 40 minutes to clean up the mess after she left but i wouldn't trade the experience for anything.


last sunday our almost one-year-old granddaughter layla visited. she is walking up a storm and so enjoyed just wandering around. our house offers much more open space than the apartment she lives in with her parents. in the photo above she is looking thru the patio doors into the florida room where presley is patiently waiting to be let back in after a potty break. they seem to adore each other but we are very wary of letting them get too close. they're both too teetery for comfort!

and last, just a word or two of thanks for those of you who faithfully follow my little blog and offer words of encouragement and cheer. it truly does my heart good! i've been a bit hit and miss on blogging lately but promise to get back into the swing with more frequent posts!

10 comments:

Mmm said...

Write when the mood strikes Julie. Keep it your own, not written for others.

Cute pics.

Susan said...

oh my goodness Julie thank you for those sweet photos of dear Presley and the update on how he's doing. He is adorable. Much love to the little guy from all of us here at 29 Black Street xo, S, Missy D, Bleet, Oliver & Gus.

Shana said...

It looks like your sweet little granddaughter might have inherited some of your creativity! I'm sure she'll always look back at the fun creating times she had at your house.

Oh, and little presley is so cute. Glad to hear that he's managing to get around better.

Hope you are having a happy holiday season. :)

Betsy Brock said...

What a sweet dog! 16 years is amazingly old for a dog, isn't it? Love the pictures!

Cindy said...

i'm so glad presley is doing well and he couldn't be cuter. it must be such a thrill to have your adorable apprentice, jenna, by your side. thank you for the messages in the sand on the side bar. same to you! hit and miss when the mood strikes you, it's always fun to see what's new.

lori vliegen said...

that little presley is the cutest little thing...i'm glad he's feeling better these days! and what a blessing to have your granddaughter play along with you in your studio! the bigger the mess, the better! :)

Tess Kincaid said...

Sweet pix of Jenna and Presley. Glad to hear he's doing better!

steviewren said...

I can picture Jenna at play with all of your art supplies. My grands love it when I organize some crafty things to do together. In fact, the two older ones sometimes differentiate me from their other grandmothers by calling me the crafty gramma....which makes me very happy. I know you love encouraging her artistic side.

Unknown said...

Cute granddaughter!

I am glad to hear Presley is managing. I can't believe he is 16! What a cutie.

Brenda Heisler said...

Love the photo of Jenna and that pretty paper project she's working on. To have a place for Grandchildren to create is wonderful. They can work beside you and share the good and messy times. That's why we put in a craft room. I can't wait until our little guy is old enough to to hold a crayon and make a mess. You are truly blessed.