Always Take a Second Look

The leaves are turning and the cool breezes are starting to turn into chilly winds. I love this time of year. However, I thought I would give you one last fleeting glimpse of the summer we left behind. I try to have my camera at the ready at all times and on this day I was lucky enough to have done so. I was going to a restaurant with a friend when I saw this cute boy fishing. At first I just wanted to photograph him but then I took a second look and got the joke. This was a good reminder to always take the time to really observe what is around us. A good laugh is always around the corner.

I know, you are wondering where the art is. It is coming I promise. Gracie and I are quite tired of convalescing and are on the road to recovery. In 6 weeks she will have her second surgery so I better get healthy soon! It is good to just be in the studio.

Until then I thought I would list some blogs that I enjoy. If you visit, tell them Lori sent you.

http://www.wuli.com/
This is my friend Carl's site. He is an artist among other other things and is good at ranting!

http://jenzstudio.blogspot.com/
My internet buddy Jen is a fellow dog lover and queen of Greyhound art as well as any other 4-legged creature.

http://piscesplace.blogspot.com/
Kleo is in California and posts a lot of neat stuff about Vegetarianism and Judaism. Good stuff.

http://runswithdog.blogspot.com/
Trac is a runner, a vegan and Greyhound lover...what more is there to say?

http://greywarenart.blogspot.com/
Maggie is an incredible artist, cat lover and sells big on eBay. Her work rocks.

http://www.deniseerickson.com/
Not a blog but an incredible artist and friend. Her work is unique and mezmerizing. Oh...did I mention what an animal lover she is?

http://www.veltridesign.blogspot.com/
Nancy is just the most talented designer and an animal lover and a vegetarian. Can you see the theme here?

http://www.4tails.blogspot.com/
Need a company logo, website, business cards or overall company image...visit here!

Gracie Update and Thanks

Thank you everyone for your care and concern. It means so much.

Gracie is doing much better. Her regular personality has returned. Her leg is healing nicely and the staples will be removed in a few days. She did end up tearing the other ACL as I had feared but the vet said her ligaments were just bad and better to catch them both early on. Lord knows we all have our defects. The good news is that in 6 weeks we can operate on the other one before there is joint damage and she should be set for some years of good running miles. Something we both miss very much.

I also wanted to thank you guys for the healing wishes on my shoulder. Turns out I don't have any of the problems mentioned in the previous post but there was something wrong. I've learned a great lesson in all of this. Something I should have known but I never seem to learn. We should always trust ourselves to know when something is not right with our bodies and keep searching for answers if the ones given don't seem to jive. We are meant to be productive creatures and when our normal routines become difficult it is a red flag. I always tend to blame myself when I am not accomplishing anything and I start to throw around the word lazy. I go to the source I think is responsible which is me. I was wrong. There are times that instead of looking inward we must look outward for explanations and help. Someday I'll get this right. The moment I do get it right I think I will live a much more relaxed and happy life. So this New Year truly has brought changes for me. I may not like the package they have come in but I appreciate the lesson all the same.

So hang in there my friends. New and exciting art will be back in a few weeks. The canvases are calling and now I can hear them!

Cruciate Ligament Surgery Photos

Ouch.

Have a Little Pity for the Pittie

Thank you everyone for your emails of concern for Gracie. I thought I would post an update on her condition so you would know exactly what is going on. Will post pictures of her leg tomorrow...Blogger is being a pain.

She had surgery 3 days ago and today seems to be the worst of it. Anyone that has ever had surgery knows that day #3 is always the ugliest and most painful. It isn't any different for my viscous pit-bull. She does not want to eat or walk today. She doesn't want to put weight on the good leg today. I guess that is because the muscles are so tired from carrying the extra load. The surgery required the removal of the torn cruciate ligament and then drilling of a hole in the bone so that a nylon replacement could be looped through to hold the joint in place. The leg requires 15 minutes of icing 3 times a day as well as range of motion exercises for 1 week. She must stay on a leash and be monitored and kept quiet (though today that is not an issue) for some time. In two weeks she will have her stitches removed and be allowed to walk to the neighbors house and back 5 times a day. Each week there are more rehabilitation exercises added to her day. She will not be allowed to go back to school for at least 6 weeks. I will need to start drinking more within about a week of this and should develop my alcoholism within a month. Did I mention in all of this I also have been visiting the doctor for bicipital tendonitis and possilbe tears in my left rotator cuff (the pain of it prevents me from sleeping)? The EMG test was really fun yesterday. Not. I have not slept more than 4 hours a night in 3 weeks. I was supposed to fly out to New Mexico this Friday for a trip to ignite my artistic mind. Instead I will probably go to shul to keep myself from downing a bottle of tequila by myself that night. Wouldn't want to be hung over whilst performing Gracie's exercises! LOL!

Seriously, that tight shot of Gracie's mug just breaks my heart. She looks like she is suffering. Oh my poor furry baby. If I get some sleep I think all this will be funny in the morning. If not there is always tequila. Don't worry, I won't eat the worm...you know how I feel about animal products!