Gone Baby (Blanket), Gone

Today my dad announced that his church secured a shipping container and was taking donations to be sent to Ukrainian refugees in Europe. I told some neighbors, and we all scrambled to gather what things we could to help. I donated these baby blankets that I had made. My mom asked if I were sure that I wanted to do that. Sure, ’cause now I have an excuse to make more!

Years ago, as an exercise, I read a children’s book in Chinese. It was about Anna from the Ukraine, and it followed the story of her scarf. Her childhood scarf moved with her through her life…sometimes functioning as her babushka, later as a picnic blanket when dating her soon-to-be-husband. Later it was her shawl as she and her husband moved to America. When they started their family, it became the baby’s blanket. Eventually the scarf was so worn that the now-grown daughter made it into a quilt that she used for her own baby. It makes me wonder if one of the modest blankets donated in the coming months might someday have a similarly interesting story to tell.

Would of the puppies in Europe like some of my baths? I would gladly donate them.

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Cookie Aftermath

Image 1: Woman sitting on couch eating cookies. Small puppy in green sweater comes over, puts his ear against her ample stomach and asks: “So, when is the blessed event?”

Image 2: Puppy in green sweater sails backwards after a Pow! Right in the kisser!

Hey, where are all the Bitey images? Sorry I don’t have any today. We’ll have to make do with imagination.

February 2022 came in with neither a bang nor a whimper but dizziness from the first day to the last (but as far as I can tell, not vertigo even though my ears ring loudly). As a companion it brought along such horribly cloudy thinking that I could barely function. I spent many afternoons asleep on the floor because I couldn’t do anything else. One day I woke up surrounded by tennis balls and a sleeping puppy. Even the Tobester found this condition annoying.

Post shut down in this area, it generally takes 2-6 months to get an appointment with a doctor. I decided to make my first with an eye doctor to see if my glasses were at fault. By the time I could get in, the calendar had turned to March, and my dizziness slowly started to fade. The brain fog hung around long enough to make sure I thoroughly embarrassed myself trying to talk to the doctor, though.

The take away from the appointment was that one eye had changed but the other was basically the same. What concerned her was the bad state my eyes are in and the transient drooping/numbness I have on one side of my face. She recommended I research Myasthenia Gravis to see if the symptoms matched my condition. If so, see a neurologist right away. In the meantime I desperately need medication for my eyes that I can’t afford.

When I got home, I was a dutiful patient and started the supplements the doctor recommended and stepped up the eye drops/ointments I use. I researched the conditions she suggested, then I started looking into assistance and grants to get the medication I need. At the moment, I am still waiting to hear what I might quality for. After that, I will better know which treatment to seek.

While I’m upset that I have lost so much time that should have been spent working, I’m hopeful that March will bring better news.

Then maybe I won’t have to spend another month drowning my sorrows in cookies.

Don’t look at me. I’m not going to say anything.

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Grumpy Toby

I was sitting on my beanbag chair (OK, pile of dirty laundry) when Toby barged into the bedroom and started harrumphing. Snort this, stomp that. “Mom, get off of the laundry.” Whatever. I moved aside so my obviously upset puppy could go to bed.

A few minutes later I walked out of the room and was greeted by this:

Evidently Toby had wanted to go outside to play. He got discouraged when I didn’t notice him trying to bring me my boot and his leash, so he threw himself in the laundry.

Cairn terrier fast asleep in the dirty laundry.

If you’re not going to pay attention to me, I’m going to bed.

That's great, sweetie. You're so helpful. Now we just haveto work on your timing.

This wasn’t the first time the boot/leash things happened.

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Join Bitey and Toby in more puppy fun in Dream Our World. Inside, the boys discover the world of art from a canine perspective and enjoy a day of unsupervised fun.

Dream Our World is available from my shop at L Bowman Studios.

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Love Train

Watch where you're going you little runt! There ain't no stoppin' the Love Train, baby!

This used to happen a lot when the boys were together. Toby would ride his peppermint backward around the room until he inevitably ran into sleeping Geordie’s face. I would say, “And a good time was had by all” but Geordie would probably bite me.

For all the romantics like Toby out there, Happy Valentine’s Day!

Toby, do you have something you want to tell me? No.

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Forgot to get your sweetest something for Valentine’s Day? Then order a custom pet portrait from my shop! Tell your loved one that you ordered it weeks ago, and it will still be a little while before the paint dries. He or she will be so happy with the results that they won’t mind the wait.

L Bowman Studios

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Belated Happy Barkday, Toby

Toby’s barkday was at the end of last month, but thanks to me getting sick and then the car breaking, I wasn’t able to get him any presents. This week, G & G took pity on my little boy and brought him a fresh bag of tennis balls. The down side is that now he wants to play all day every day. The up side is he he is working off some of those holiday pounds.

Get that camera out of my face and throw the ball already!

Puppy dressed as ferocious hockey player.

Wow, you're pretty good at blocking thos tennis balls. When I grow up, I want to bMario Lemieux!

Bu Mario Lemieux isn't a goalie. Then I wanna be Wayne Gretzky!

Gretzky isn't a goalie either. Geez, where have you been learning about hockey? Mommy!!

To Toby, the game is to either catch the ball or touch it with his mouth. Then it is considered out of play.

Tennis balls with fuzz handles that a puppy has chewed from their covers.

The first thing Toby does when he gets a new ball is chew a fuzz handle into it.

Like most places, it is snowy and barely in the teens here. Toby doesn’t mind going out because he has a nice pet human to warm his paws when they get cold. If the pet human tries to thaw her paws on a warm puppy tummy, though, all heck breaks loose. Toby’s pet human is grateful for the tennis ball game so they don’t have to freeze as much.

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Care to find out what Bitey and Toby have been up to? Then check out Dream Our World! Inside, the boys view the world of art from a canine perspective and enjoy a day of unsupervised fun.

Dream Our World is available at my shop at L Bowman Studios.

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The Nap

A nap – the perfect cure for a snowy January day.

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What Happened to Toby?

No, I didn’t trade Toby in on a green-sweater-clad feline, but I did think about it.

Toby had a grooming session at the beginning of the month. Afterward, he could no longer hide the fact that Gma had been slipping him goodies over the holidays. Now he is on a diet, and he just howls and howls for food.

Toby, pre-furcut.

Toby, post-furcut.

Toby howling for food.

Evidently Toby didn’t do much better on his second visit to the groomer than he did on his first. The woman working with him said that he hates the blow dryer so much that he fought and fought her about it. By the time she was done drying him he was thoroughly exhausted and fell asleep. She had to put him in a sling in order to reach to trim his paws and tummy. Who would guess that such a sweet-faced little guy could cause so much trouble?

While Toby’s year started off with grooming and a diet, mommy’s started with two broken teeth, a broken car and a pair of broken glasses. Yay 2022.

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If you haven’t had a chance yet, you can still pick up copies of Dream Our World. Inside, Bitey and Toby have a fantastic adventure as they visit the museum of their dreams and view the world of art from a canine perspective.

Dream Our World is available from my shop at L Bowman Studios.

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Gender Reveal

A few nights ago, I was throwing tennis balls for Toby. One time, I decided to let Rah Ru the tiger throw one of the balls.

*In this picture, I am hugging a sock. – Rah Ru*

Afterward, I praised the toy, ”Good boy, Rah Ru! Great throw!” Then I started to wonder, was Rah Ru a boy or a girl? Did Toby think of his tiger as having a gender? The idea dawned on me, why not ask him?

I gathered up the B and G flashcards so I could ask Toby “Boy or Girl?”. We went through a quick list of humans and pups we knew so I could make sure we were on the same page. He got them all right. I moved on to the toys and asked him, ”Is Rah Ru a boy or a girl?” In case you were wondering, Rah Ru is a girl. (Oops. Bad mommy. )

As for Blue Puppy, Blue puppy is a boy.

Toy kitty with stuffing ripped out of its head.

Humpty Kitty is a girl

Tiger turned out to be a girl too.

Mommy, however, is still a boy.

This exercise turned out to be a breakthrough moment for Toby and me. Since then he has been excited to do flashcards. I think this gives him a chance to tell me things he otherwise couldn’t.

😊

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The “C” Word or The Winter of Our Death

No, not that C word.* Not even Christmas. I am afraid I have the other C word – covid. I haven’t had a test to make sure, but from my symptoms it would appear I have omicron. I guess from now on I will have to post using a Ouija Board or spirit box. My biggest disappointment so far is that the Other Side looks much like where I came from. I was hoping for more clouds.

This is the first time I have been sick in a while. The last time was shortly after Geordie died. (Remember those Fever Dreams?) I don’t know if Toby were still grieving or if he were too young to process my being sick, but this puppy will NOT let me out of his sight now. He insists we play ball or share food or hang out together at all times. He is fascinated and amused as my voice comes and goes. He acts as he’s never seen anyone cough before. It is hilarious. Also, I can get nothing done with him glued to my side.

Hey Mom, can we do something? Can we play ball? Wanna share a snack? I would really like to go for a walk. What do you say?

I have been curious if psoriasis might behave any differently if I were sick. People with autoimmune disorders are thought to have very robust immune systems that just get turned around and attack the body instead of invaders. I have wondered if my immune system had something constructive to do if it might stop attacking me. So far that seems to be happening. I no longer look as much like a burn patient, and my joints only hurt about half as much. Hey, I’ll take it.

If anyone has sent us Christmas cards, unfortunately we won’t be able to pick them up until after Christmas ’cause we’re not allowed out in public. We will still appreciate them, though!

Christmas card torn up by a naughty Cairn terrier puppy.

I like eatin’ ’em! – Toby

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It may be too late to shop for Christmas (and I can’t go to the PO to ship anyway. See above), but this would be a great way to spend that holiday loot that you know you’re going to get!

Dream Our World follows Bitey and Toby as they visit the museum of their dreams. If you haven’t read it yet, it is fun for all ages. (And Toby says it tastes delicious as well. I don’t know; I’ll just have to take his word for it.)

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*I do have a cousin who started chemo on Friday. If you have any room in your prayers for him, they would be much appreciated.

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