Ollie and some art

I know I showed a few pictures of this girl already in the last post, but I haven't formally introduced you to our new pup, Ollie.

Ollie is a nine year old girl we adopted from the Humane Society just before Christmas.  We were both so sad without Rozzie that we knew we had to bring in some new canine love quickly.  To be honest, it was more quickly than I thought I wanted, but now I am so glad we did.  For those who knew my dear Shoobie, you can see that Ollie basically looks like her twin!  Shoobie was an Australian Shepard and probably Lab mix; Ollie is a Chow Chow/Lab mix!  But it gets even more cosmic than that: Rob's old dog Houdini was part Chow Chow, so Ollie does some of Houdini's old tricks, but best of all is that Ollie likes to greet us by walking between our legs, just like Roz did!  What a precious gift she is!

If you're wondering why we would get such an old dog, all I can say is she's got plenty of spunk and energy, and she was just the right dog for us.  She must have been very well cared for by her first owner - a gentleman who passed away a year ago.  Some in-laws were fostering her this past year until they had to move.  I think Ollie is grateful to have a permanent loving home again - she's already so cozy sleeping up on our bed with us! - and our lives are enriched by having her by our side.  : )

Next, a photo of some of the art from our little annual art exchange:

Clockwise from the top: a fancy "L" for lulu by the ever so colorful Michelle Allen, a very cool recycled wallet-style sketchook by Elizabeth O'Donnell that I can take EVERYWHERE, a wonderful mixed media painting (love!) by Mystele Kirkeeng, a sweet and whimsical bottle brush angel by Deirdra Doan, a mixed media house plaque and a collection of gorgeous cards and postcards by Regina Lord, a darling mixed media portrait of a girl in an animal hat by Tyler Larsen, and a sparkly string of beads and a mixed media print by Katy Keuter.  *Sigh.*  It makes me long for an arting party!

Finally, since Christmas I have been working steadily on some dolls for a Frida Kahlo-inspired installation at the Milagro Theater in Portland.  I just have these quick photos I took before whisking them away to the theater.

 Personally, I am very fond of the Frida and Diego couple in the center, top photo, and the embroidered face doll with the bird eyebrow on the lower photo, right.  If I can, I'll try to get a photo of them in the installation as they rise upward on Frida's floating bed in the Blue House, by Susana Espino.  (If you're interested in seeing the installation, call the theater for exhibit times: 503-236-7253.)
 And now, it's back to paperwork as I sort out all the receipts for 2012...  Woo hoo!!

I hope you're having a great week!
xoxo  lulu