Clifton

In my Dad's later years (he lived to be 87) one of his favorite pastimes was to watch television with my little niece.  The cartoon they enjoyed the most was Clifford the Big Red Dog.  That always made me chuckle because my Dad's name was Clifton (but he was better known as Clif).

As his health failed, he spent the last three weeks of his life in a beautiful hospice facility.  My Mother and I spent every day with him, with other family members coming and going.  He would drift in and out of sleep and later in and out of consciousness.  Once in awhile he would mutter things softly.  One day when I returned from running an errand my Mom said, "He keeps talking about a big red dog; he sees a big red dog.  I have no idea what he's talking about."  Taken out of context like that we were puzzled..  We thought for awhile; then I had a light bulb moment.

"Mom, he sees Clifford.  Clifford the Big Red Dog!"

He passed away shortly after that and I'm hoping that Clifford the Big Red Dog ~ or some semblance thereof ~ was there to greet him on the other side.

Yesterday I spent the day creating some new Wee Ones with subtle holiday/Christmas themes. Red is a big holiday color, so I noticed it was a recurring theme in the new "holiday collection of critters."  And without even thinking about it, I created a red dog.  Once I realized, omysweetgoodness, I have a red dog ~ it was obvious what his name would be.

Clifton. The Wee Red Dog.

Here's to you, Dad. :)

And On a Personal Note...

I don't often talk much about my personal life here because this is, after all, my business blog.  I have a personal blog called I Need a Cupcake which, sadly, has been collecting dust and cobwebs for a couple of years now... :(  Well, ok, I made an entry in February of this year, but prior to that it was almost exactly a year since my last entry.

I thought about why I haven't blogged much there in the past couple of years and came to the conclusion that I don't have a personal life.  Or should I say, the boundaries of my business life and my personal life have become so blurred, they are, indeed one.  ~~That and I lost 20 lbs. in the last year and honestly, the last thing I need is a cupcake.  (Although I still crave them!)

That being said, you may see some of my personal life pop up here from time to time.  This is one of those times.  Because this is very special.

Four years ago my son married his girlfriend of eight years ~ a delightful young woman we welcomed into our family with open arms.  Three weeks after their wedding she entered Traditional Chinese Medical School and he hasn't seen her since.  Not literally, of course; but determined to give it her very best, she has spent the bulk of the last four years with her head in a book, her body in a class or in clinic curing people.

Her complete dedication paid off.  Next Sunday she graduates.  Not only did she pass four Medical Boards (one of them optional, but three required) to be licensed, but she absolutely aced every single class and exam in her four years of school - setting records for some of the highest exam scores in the school's history.  This, not surprisingly, has resulted in her being named Valedictorian of her graduating class.

You may have gathered by now that I am extremely proud of her.  Because not only is she beautiful inside and out, she is brilliant and devoted to healing people and making the world a better place.  And I have to give a little shout out to my son, too, for taking over as chief cook (literally) and bottle-washer and supporting her every step of the way.

But what to do for this amazing person on this auspicious occasion - this graduating girl?  I decided she needed a personalized, special edition Chi Chi the Chinese Panda Bear.  He will become part of her life as she says good bye to her professors and colleagues and begins her new life as a full fledged practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine.  That is, of course, after she and her husband return from a much needed 2nd Honeymoon in Kauai!  Time for them to get reacquainted!

Inspiration.

Sometimes when I'm working my Mom pops into my head. And she is adorable.

She jumped into my head today when I was creating a Piper the Penguin.

My thought? I thought - I hope I'm still doing this when I'm 92.

If you follow my wanderings you know that she is an inspiration to me ~ and anyone who knows her. She is 92 years young and sews, crochets and crafts every day. She does word search puzzles and jigsaw puzzles. She takes the stairs as opposed to the elevator. She is always open to learning something new. She quilts with her friends several times a week. She plays Bingo on Monday nights, volunteers every Saturday morning at the nursing home across from her apartment and is active in her church. She has taught my nieces how to sew, bakes a mean kringla (a Norwegian kind of shortbread) and has a mini-business doing alterations and designing quilts from all manner of things like treasured tee-shirts and baby blankets.

So, yes, when I am working with my hands I think of her. And am resolute in the notion that when I grow up I want to be just like her.

An Homage to Mom

My Mom had three sisters; two of them were stricken with breast cancer. One passed away a few years ago; the other has suffered with complications and side effects for more than 40 years. The up-side is she survived; the down side is her quality of life hasn't been that great.

When the breast cancer drug Tamoxifen was in clinical trials a few years ago, my Mom felt a responsibility to participate. She volunteered to be a part of the study for a couple of years. So, she's kind of my breast cancer hero, too. She took a chance ~ not knowing what the drug may do. Fortunately she didn't experience any side effects and is still healthy as can be.

Mom turns 92 on Friday. One of the gifts I'm giving her is this super soft (think angora/cashmere) pink hat I knit for her, with a special little note from me. ;-)

M & M's and Puppy Dogs for Breakfast

That's what went thru my head as I unconsciously reached for an M & M (or should that be M singular?) this morning around 4:00 am. I'd already been up for 45 minutes. I had caught up on a couple of emails; checked into my morning websites and started sewing. Don't ask me why I've developed this habit for extremely early morning hours. All I know is I love what I'm doing; I have a lot to do; my interests are wide and varied (I just sent another photo/essay/quote book off to print on Saturday); and I'm getting a lot done.

When I spoke with my 91 year old Mom the other day she laughed at how I seem to be morphing into her. She, too, has always had many interests and has never spent a bored day in her life. She, too, got by on just a few hours of sleep a day ~ she raised 5 kids and worked full-time as a nurse on the night shift at our local hospital. I told her I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather be. :)

So with one dog down this morning, I've five more to make to complete the special order of nine Christmas dogs. They will come to life in a bit. First a walk in the park with my real live dog and my camera are in order ~ one last day of Indian Summer left and I don't want to miss it!!

Sisters and Mothers and Daughters...

A while back I said I would talk about why breast cancer awareness is so important to me. Two of the reasons are pictured here. One is no longer on this plane. One is sitting here writing this.

On the left is my Aunt Myrt (short for Myrtle, but we have always called her Myrt). She is my Mom's little sister. That's Mom - the party girl on the right. I took this photo last year at my Mom's 90th birthday party. Which explains the tiara. But if you ask me, I think she deserves to wear it every day! :)

Aunt Myrt was diagnosed with breast cancer so many years ago I can't even remember when it was ~ late 60's, early 70's maybe. And honestly, at that time and in my Midwestern Norwegian-rooted family ~ we just didn't talk about things like that. I do know that she had a double mastectomy and for years - actually to this day - has suffered after effects from treatments and recurring problems. But see that smile? It has rarely left her. Which makes me love and admire her all the more.

Another Aunt - Lois - was diagnosed with breast cancer around the same time, I believe. Again, Midwestern... Norwegians... we just didn't talk about it. Again, (I believe) a double mastectomy and recurring problems for years. She died a few years ago and I have to think that the many years of treatments, etc. helped to wear her body down.

Mom? Well, Mom had a lumpectomy several years ago and bless her - it was benign. As a tribute to her sisters she took part in a clinical trial for tamoxifen (a breast cancer fighting drug) for a couple of years before the FDA approved it. She felt it was the least she could do.

As for me, from the time I was 20 years old I dealt with fibrocystic breast disease ~ you know, the ol' lumpy breast syndrome. I started with yearly mammograms in my late 20's and continue to this day. Before the mammo machines were upgraded across the board, I had to be sure they put me in the right room ~ you know, the one with the super duper machine that could see thru ultra-dense breasts. I've had more ultra-sounds than I can count; needle biopsies (those aren't much fun - like being shot with a nail gun); met with cancer doctors to determine exactly how high-risk I was and ultimately underwent surgery myself - to remove a large myserious lump. That was the strangest surgery I've ever had. I was awake, talking with the doctor and the nurse as the doctor operated under a local anesthetic and removed this big lump. TMI - definitely for me. I wanted to be asleep...

I was one of the lucky ones ~ it was benign. But it was a wake up call for me. I began to appreciate my days more because I knew ~ there but the grace of God... And I knew I needed to give back for those who haven't been so fortunate.

Over the years I've done different things to help the cause but the biggest to date has to be my "Breast Cancer Comfort Friends" featured in my shop. And now you know why each little bunny and puppy that leaves my shop to bring comfort to someone suffering is so very special to me...

For A Cure...

My little family of Breast Cancer Comfort Friends is growing! (These are only a few in the group.) I'm doing a big push in the next couple of weeks to get these guys out in the community ~ actually across the country ~ and literally into the hands of people I know are committed to Breast Cancer Awareness and finding a cure. It means quite a few "freebies" but if it can help anyone in anyway, it's worth it!

Coming up soon ~ why the issue of Breast Cancer Awareness is important to me personally.

Happy Birthday, Boo :)

A little break from the ordinary to wish my best friend a happy 11th birthday. Eleven years - wow; 77 in people years ~ and she's still going strong. She tore up her knee about 18 months ago, but acupuncture helped that. I think maybe a little arthritis may be setting in there, but other than that - still a puppy.

She is half basenji and half blue heeler - makes for a stubborn, independent, very smart companion. But she is also extremely loving, very sensitive, super loyal and an all around good buddy. One of my strongest memories of her exemplifies her sensitivity. On September 11, 2001, when the towers fell and I spent the day crying and trying to reach my son in NYC, she never moved from my side. She literally sat on my feet all day giving comfort the only way she knew how. (I finally did reach my son, btw, and I was one of the lucky ones - he was fine).

Happy Birthday, Simba Girl. May you have many, many more.

L.O.V.E.

Two years ago two very special bunnies were married ~ appropriately in a garden. I wish them all happiness, health, contentment, success... but most of all I wish them love.

And The Family is Finally Together!

And they are temporairly living in my Etsy shop. And yes, of course I'm attached to them.

And yes, it feels SO good to be back at work and creating again!

Waiting for Papa

Mama and Baby... Papa will make his appearance [hopefully] in a couple of days! :)

Baby Boo

This little guy is waiting for his Mama and Papa. Who I hope will make an appearance on the scene in the next couple of days!

Green, Green and More Green!

I came from a long line of Iowa farmers. My grand-parents were elderly by the time I came along, so I don't have too many memories of them; but one thing I do remember is my Grandpa's garden. Once they left the farm and "moved to town" (a rite of passage and reward for years of back-breaking work), many farmers maintained beautiful gardens in their backyards. I wish I had photographs of my Grandfather's... I see it in my mind as if I were walking thru it today. And the scent of marigolds take me right back. Grandpa always planted them around the perimeter of the garden to keep certain insects away.

So I guess it's not unusual that I enjoy growing things. At one point in my life while living in the foothills of Colorado, I had over 100 indoor plants (including alfalfa and bean sprouts and avocado pits sprouting green "trees" on the kitchen windowsill) and a small garden in front of my house. My guys were little then and really enjoyed helping me harvest (among other things) the green beans, peas and zucchinis; the big orange pumpkins in October were a real hit, too.

Then I moved to town and became limited to container gardening on my porch and deck. And this year - for the first time - my vegetable plants outnumber my flowers ~ by design. Lettuce (which is almost gone and we plan to buy additional plants), green onions, leeks, cucumbers, zucchini, spaghetti squash, pumpkins and tomatoes and hot chili peppers galore. Of course not all are ready to harvest, but as things are ripening, it's so much fun to step on the deck and gather a salad for dinner.

In the interest of keeping things green (literally and figuratively), I remembered a recipe for homemade all natural plant fertilizer my sister shared with me a few years back. Super easy and seems to do the job! So, here's Pat's Plant Fertilizer:

1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. Epsom salts
1/2 tsp. household ammonia
1 gallon luke-warm water

Mix and pour. :) Pat recommends using every 2 weeks.

And it seems to be in the genes. My younger son planted his own "balcony garden" this year for the first time. He went even more green by planting everything from seed!!

Here's to all kinds of green. :)

Sparky - the Happy, High Energy 4th of July Dog

Although he looks a tad pink here (and it's possible it is my monitor...), Sparky is actually as red as a delicious apple. He turned out to be one happy guy, too, so it was fun shooting him "up." He's sporting his star-spangled 4th of July ribbon and is ready to party down with fireworks!

I've got to confess I wasn't sure about making a red dog, but as is true of most of my little guys, once they are finished they make me smile. And although I have never watched it I remember my Dad watching "Clifford, the Big Red Dog" when he was well into his 80's. My little 4 year old [at the time] niece got him hooked on it. It was a little strange to see him sitting in his recliner (alone) smiling from ear to ear as he watched this children's cartoon; but it made him happy so who was I to judge.

Ironically, as he lie in hospice during his final days he remarked to me more than once that he saw a big red dog wagging his tail and barking for him to "come over here." We finally surmised he was talking about Clifford, the Big Red Dog. And that made me smile.

So when I turned little Sparky around today after I closed up the final seam and saw his big red dog smile, all I could think of was my dad... And the kicker?

My dad's name was Clifton. Close enough.