Cool green

I've got progress on my remodeled room! Again, its mostly why i haven't been posting lately. I've been without a room for over three weeks during the remodel. Hard to find a muse when I'm stuck in the kitchen with my parents walking back and forth. But now the remodel is pretty much complete, only left to obtain the rest of the furniture and to "move back in" :)

That's what I've got so far - polished wood floors, lovely green paint, a new bed, a chair, and a computer desk that isn't in the shot. BTW see if you can find Anton in the picture ;) The blanket is going to change, too, this is my old faithful grey-green comforter. The wall colour is not exactly what i was going for (I was thinking something of a richer shade of green) but I like it a lot and in the afternoon this room practically lights up from all the sun I get. The only drawback is that in incandescent light the paint looks more of a cucumber shade rather than citrusy. But anyway I'm thrilled.

Now i need to move the fishtank back in, get a book case, and I'm thinking of getting a flat TV sort of thing. I was gonna move my old clunky tv back rather than upgrade, since i rarely watch it. But honestly i looooooove how much free space i have right now, so i am thinking of spending a bit more and getting an LCD tv after all, and mounting it on the wall. Decisions!
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I turned 21 on July 22nd. You know you're getting old when you start getting sophisticated gifts! ;)

My boyfreind got me this lovely wishbone necklace from EmilyEJewelry, in white gold. He was a good boy and picked something out of my favorites like I told him to, lol. I LOVE it though :) Its really simple and fancy at the same time. I haven't taken it off since he gave it to me, except to take that picture.
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This wasn't a birthday gift, but it coincidentally arrived almost in time for my birthday :P Its a custom pin of Perry and Marco! My friend Emily from Dreameyce Studio made it herself. I absolutely love it! She captured a great quirky look. Its just not like anything else that I've seen, very different. Made with skill and great detail :) Thank you Emily - its marvelous!
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One last thing...

Is this not the most magnificent face?

Best cat ever turns 11!

April 20th is the 110th day of the year according to the Gregorian calendar. It is Adolf Hitler's birthday (I just found out a few days ago). Apparently John Oliver's debut as a comedy central standup dude. The anniversary of some other jazz. And TimTim's birthday. I forgot to do a birthday tribute to him last year, and I feel obliged to ramble about him right now.

April 20th Tim turns eleven. Weeeeeell... we don't know his real birthday. My mother brought him home on August 20, 1997. I was a lonely ten year old demanding a pet. Something four-legged and furry that would play with me. It was significant to me that he had a birthday so we decided to make one up. We were told he was three months old. But he was an awfully big kitten so we assumed he was four months. We counted four months back and made it official, his birthday was to be april 20th.

As a baby he suffered from major scaredy-cat syndrome and was the most unsocial animal i had ever met. He was alright with me and my mum but that was about it. He knew his hiding spots well and he loved to take advantage of them. Of course being a child and not understanding morale of the shy animal, i'd dig him up from those hiding spots and show him to friends that came over. Or worse - i've actually put him on a leash and walked him a few times. He's probably still holding a grudge. I've bathed him many times. I filled the tub with water and forced him to swim once (i was there and watching of course - but still it was ridiculous). I've dressed him up. I even brought another cat and two dogs into our household. He's gone through a lot of torture with me.

Ehh, not like Tim hasn't had his vengeful moments. He's pooped on my pants before. He's pooped all over my bed. hairballs, hairballs, hairballs - also on my bed. Within the first few days that i got him he gave me a very deep scratch - I still have the scar. I actually hope it never fades. He always has to sit on any important paper i may be reading. He walks across my keyboard. He "accidentally" puts his head on the delete key and makes my browser very quickly go through all the pages I've been to, backwards all the way to the homepage. He sheds clouds of hair - i get the feeling that years after he's no longer with us I'll still be picking his hair out of my food and finding tumbleweeds of it skirting across the room.

I adore this cat immensely, can you tell? And every day he continues to amuse me. He's a thinker, a dignified cat who gets embarrased easily. The best, though, is when he actually will let his guard down and be silly for a few moments. When he will chase a laser or jump after a cat toy, or get high on catnip. Y'know, as long as the other animals aren't looking. Cause they can't know that he's just like them. lol i get the feeling that i have a lot in common with Tim. We're both morally mature way beyond our years. We're not outgoing. We take pleasure in smacking others, whether they deserve it or not. We don't believe in "only human" (...or "only cat") excuses. After all, we've got a reputation to upkeep. even if its only in our heads.

Happy eleventh birthday Tim. Grumpy old man, you're a huge part of my life and I can't imagine it without you. And when I say "old man" I'm only kidding.

The creative process. With extra cat content!

So I thought I'd introduce everyone to a brief guide to my creative process. Do you know how the dogs appear on the shells? Guess! That's right, i paint them!


i start out with the archetypal messy artists' desk. Its actually just my computer desk, but with the help of a messy newspaper and some supplies all over the place, it becomes an instand studio. Just add cat.


These wind up on the shell, in concerted amounts and trivial locations.


i cannot, for the life of me, remember what kind of tea I was having. By the appearace of it, I'd say really dilute Lady Grey. Yeah if I'm feeling too lazy to brew a new cup of tea, I'll add water to half of an existing cup and enjoy some water-flavored goodness.


There's that cat. Tim thinks I'm *fascinating*! Ehh not really, he gets annoyed that i constantly poke and pord him in his favorite sleeping spot. So he tosses hair at me so i have to pick it out of my paints and brushes..


So uhhh i get that shell ready. This one is gonna be a pit bull terrier.


self-explanatory?


The newspaper isn't there to protect from messy spills. Its there for me to test paints.


Eventually I get started! First I fill in the bulk of it and then i go into details. Y'know, the logical way to do this.


and thus, the product. Meh, I'd have taken more "in the process" photos but i got awfully frustrated trying to blend the red and black, and no photos happened.

But honestly, the preparation and side details is the bulk of the "creative process" over here. Not pictured is me procrastinating and checking my email ten times while painting.

...its only fair if i throw in a few dog pictures, right?

There's Marco trotting off on some dirt path. We went to a lure coursing event Sunday. And after we got bored we decided to walk around the area. Turned out that the park had some awesome hiking trails!


After the hike, they piled up to nap. Anton, who was not with us during the hike, had a very long day "in spirit" and had to sleep it off as well. The hard life of a housecat..

Tim not included in the cuddling because he thinks its for pansies.