Goodbye Piggies

According to my statistics, the most common search words that bring people to my blog involve some kind of variation of "cup" and "dog". I guess my title is a little misleading - we don't talk tea very often. And the only cups involved are my own. And I never realized how much people liked cups with dogs on them.

Well today we had a cup-related tradegy! My favorite pink piggie mug is unfortunately no longer with us. As I was carrying my mug to the kitchen hoping to refill it with some Lady Grey, Perry was rambunctiously hopping around the bed. And he ran right up to me and smacked the mug out of my hands. Alas the handle came right off and the mug cracked. Oh and whatever bit of tea I had in there spilled too.

Perry took it very hard. In fact after I was done cleaning up the spill, I had to convince him that I still love him.

Meanwhile Marco was like "I am sooooooo not involved in any of this! Not my fault this time, can't blame me!"

So until I find something equally as adorable as the piggie mug, I guess I'll settle on the blue doggie mug. I must say I'm not crazy about it. Those pink piggies made tea taste better.

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My boss gave me permission to set up a shell display at the grooming shop. Rather than donating one of my current shells to the display, I figured I'd make one especially for it. So I painted the Saturday dog staff - Jovani the poodle and Perry and Marco. During the week different employees bring different dogs, but these guys are there on the weekend. Plus I figure it would be pretty cool for people to see the shell and then to turn around and to see Jovani and the IGs right in front of them. Its also a self-advertisement for the custom portraits :P


Its not really "finalized" right now. I want to add more detail to their faces. I'm not super thrilled with how it came out, but it was really a quick portrait.

Here's a vague reference photo of the three of them together. This was a few months ago, so Jovani looks more mature (and he was a little overgrown in this photo, and usually sports neater hair).

lets get started?

So uhhh I guess I should introduce myself and stuff. I'm Tatyana. up until high school I was called Tanya, but ever since I got a job and started college I've had to tell my name to so many people that saying "I'm Tatyana but you can call me Tanya because in Russian its the same name and its what everyone calls me" got tiring. So Tatyana it is.



that's me up there. With my wunnerful dog Perry.



There's actually two of them. Perry and Marco are Italian Greyhounds. They're brothers although everyone asks me if they're brother and sister. I've never understood the need of some people to get one of each gender. Is it for variation? To see what one of each is like? I always wonder who people assume is the girl. I bet its Perry. He's the sissy boy.



We're working on turning them into showdogs.



I also share residence with two kitties. That's Tim up there. He's my soulmate cat who lives for the joy of aggravating the boyfriend's allergies.



Anton... he's a little bit special. Like the Stephen Lynch song.

I just so happen to be a groomer for a living. See, proof:


Okay its more of a weekend job. In the sense that I only groom once a week. Although honestly, its enough drama to last me.

see here's where the "crazy dog person" descriptions starts to make sense, huh...

Anyway, the main reason I decided to start a blog thingy was Etsy. In late January I opened up a shop to try my hand at selling something I'd come up with...



I paint dog portraits on seashells. Clam shells, to be exact. Its something different. And a lot of fun to make. Each dog has its own "personality" that i try to find. Its also a great way to get to know different breeds. It's a lot of fun. I'm still learning the quirks of acrylic paint. I want to introduce custom dog portraits soon. For now, I've got a lot of nice shells up for sale at the shop, and I do take requests for particular breeds.

I also have a .com address. http://shellvergel.com/ - Although I really don't keep it as updated as i should. Mea culpa. It was a good $1o spent on hosting, but it winds up neglected. Some day I'll update it.

one more thing. Tea.



My absolute favorite is Lady Grey by Twinnings - exquisite stuff! Although not decaf. I am pretty immune to the caffeine amounts in tea.