Furry addition to family

Gee had wanted a dog for about a year now. We had been putting it off until after the renovations but since that doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon, we told her we would get her one for her birthday. So we had popped into the Humane Society to check out our options.

Gee had been keeping a close eye on their website to see what they had available but they were very cute in person. We found a nice dog, Princess, that was adorable. But when we went to see about her, we found that she was a little too enthusiastic for D3.

When we went back after boxing day, we found an older dog that looked a lot like Princess but was a lot more docile. She was a sweetie and we decided to adopt her. (We also found out that Princess was finally getting adopted that day!)
When we filled out the forms and went to pay for her though, someone came up and told us that someone had come in before Christmas and paid for her. At first we thought that they meant that someone had already bought her – but they meant that someone had come in and prepaid for her adoption to whoever chose her.

We were very touched and want to thank our mysterious benefactor.

A maritime flower puts down roots in prairie soil

It’s hard to believe that’s it’s only been a week since Shan’s mom passed away. She had been in the hospital for a little over a week following stomach cancer surgery and it had been looking like she was making a good recovery. She had progressed to solid foods and was walking around. She seemed to be almost back to her old self even though it still hurt to laugh.

She had an infection but was being treated for it. Shan’s sister had come in for the week and had left on the Friday. We had seen her on the Sunday and she was doing well. The infection had delayed her release but she was expected to be out by the end of the next week.
Then we got the call on Tuesday that she had been sick and they took her in to surgery and that the family should come see her. She did well in surgery and she was expected to recover well. Instead of being out that week, they then expected to hold on to her until the end of the month for recovery.
However, we got another call that night saying that she had taken a turn for the worse. It looked grim. Another surgery was done early Wednesday morning. She had not been expected to survive this surgery, but she did. Again, it was looking promising but she was still expected to be out for the day and we were sent home to get some rest.
We got a call from the hospital at 8 recommending that we come in to see her that morning by 10. Then we got another call telling us to come in right away. We got there and her organs were shutting down. They took her off the life support and she died shortly afterwards.



She was a great lady. I remember her as having a good sense of humor and being quite ‘crafty’. She helped with the costumes we made, and also made photo collages of the families. She was always skinny and had lost even more weight this last year. She had suffered a stroke a few years ago and still hadn’t fully recovered.

The kids will deeply miss the time they used to spend with her during spring break and during the summer. I will miss her deeply. I cannot imagine how hard it must be for Shan or her dad. We were over at their house last week to help clear up matters – it was easier as they had preplanned a lot of it but it was still hard to go through things. In going through her computer files, she had been working on a book of her life and memories - up to about 2005 - the title is above.

We will miss her dearly. Words cannot properly express the loss we feel.

2011 Figure buying total

40K Battlewagon (in bits) – 1
40K Carnifex (in bits) – 1
40K Raveners (in bits) – 3
40K Tyranid Warriors (in bits) – 9
40K Trygon/Mawloc (in bits) – 1
40K Gargoyles - 10
Dr Who - Daleks - 51
Dr Who - Cybermen - 16
Dr Who - 16 Judoon - 16
7 sets Farm Animals (1/35 scale) - 84
40K Carnifex (in bits) – 1
40K Hormagaunts (in bits) – 16
40K Tau Devilfish - 1
Arcane Legions – starter – 120
Arcane Legions – Roman infantry pack – 40
Arcane Legions – Egyptian infantry pack – 40
Arcane Legions – Han infantry pack – 40
Arcane Legions – Roman Cavalry – 14
Arcane Legions – Egyptian Cavalry – 15
Arcane Legions – Han Cavalry – 15
Dreadfleet – 42
Running total 2011 – figures bought 536, figures painted 0

So far, I still have yet to complete painting any figures although I have come close. I’ve done a bunch of work on the western figures but I haven’t finished the bases so I can’t count them yet. This should be my last year without anything in the painting column.

We will see.

Books read Sept - Dec 2011

Sept
Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative: principles and practices from the legendary cartoonist – by Will Eisner
The Complete Making of Indiana Jones: The Definitive Story Behind all Four Films by J. W. Rinzler

Oct
The Costume Designer’s Handbook by Rosemary Ingham and Liz Covey
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Electronics 101 by Sean Westcott and Jean Riescher Westcott
Steel and other Stories by Richard Matheson

Nov
Crimson Skies: Rogue Flyer: Wings of Justice: Book 1 by Loren L. Coleman
Artemis Fowl – The Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer
Chainmail Jewelry – Contemporary Designs from Classic Techniques by Terry Taylor & Dylon White
Handcrafting Chain and Bead Jewelry – Techniques for Creating Dimensional Necklaces and Bracelets by Scott David Plumlee
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
Stan Lee’s How to Write Comics by Stan Lee
Warhammer 40,000: Apocalypse – Cataclysmic Battles in the 41st Millennium by Games Workshop (Jervis Johnson?)
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Dec
The Making of Star Wars – The Definitive Story behind the Original Film by J.W. Rinzler
Creating the Worlds of Star Wars 365 Days by John Knoll
The People of Red River – A Costume Guide by Barry and Judy McPherson