Saying Goodbye

One of the most difficult posts...

On Wednesday, we had to say goodbye to our beloved Molly...I know I have written about her several times in this blog, but they were mostly about happy experiences, or at least ones that had a happy ending.  Sadly, this one does not. 

We knew that our little girl was fading, and that her health issues were becoming increasingly complex, but still it is terribly difficult to say goodbye to such a sweet and lovable girl.  She was such a cutie, and so nice to everyone.  She always had a smile for those who were interested in her.  Even in her golden days, as in this picture taken about six months ago, she looked like a cutie-petooty.

Over the course of her life, she faced many challenges and hurdles that she overcame.  From being tossed about from home to home over her first year, she fell into our laps and provided us with countless hours of enjoyment and entertainment.  From the first day when she leapt from the sofa to the loveseat, to her last days, where she modelled  her "Blind as a Bat Man" costume (two days prior to her demise), she was a bundle of love.  

She was an excellent travel companion, always ready for a road trip.  When we would pack up for an out-of-towner, she'd sit on a jacket or her travel bag (It said Princess on it), and we'd help her into her crate in the back seat.  Whenever we stopped anywhere, folks would always comment on how pretty she was, and there was that little smile on her face, as if she knew it was her people were talking about. She loved  our trips to Arizona.  She had plenty of friends there...and didn't miss freezing her tushie off in the winter! We always stopped in the same motels along the way; I'm sure lots of the clerks remember her. Even 'pee stops' were familiar too.  Despite her blindness over the past four years, I'm sure she recognized' that park in North Platte, just on the outskirts of the city, where we'd always stop for a picnic and say hi to the Canada Geese there.

We will always recall her beauty in the many pictures we have of her, but we are going to  miss her something terrible. 

The Big White-Out

So, it's the first day back at school for most kids all over...Sigh.  For me, it's a work day too, but not in the school of fish!  All my fish are done baking and the rest of my preparations for the Yorkton Sunflower Art Festival are tasks of putting together, sanding, buffing, staining, and other necessary finishing touches to make the work appear 'professional'.  Huh?  Well, maybe semi-pro!

That being said, I spent a while this morning typing up and printing some brochures on the home computer/printer/scanner thingy. 
Unfortunately, I cannot upload the brochure, but here's a little open fairy door just to give you a hint of what no-good I've been up to.

When I made the brochure, I did it on two pages, both landscape settings, and double columns each.  I started at the "end", which was column two of page one, (really the cover) which included a bit about my experience in polymer clay as well as a picture of my hands holding a finished object.  Then I proceeded to the other side of that page, which was actually the fourth page of the brochure.  On that page I wrote about where my art has been published, where it is available and contact information regarding special orders, classes, and related information. 

 

In the two page interior, I wrote about the nature of polymer clay, techniques, and what type of items I am currently featuring in my repertoire of compositions. For these two pages, I simply began in column one with characteristics about polymer clay and column two reflected the nature of items I make. 

 

Now, I digress a little.  A while back I mentioned that hubby was hosting a philanthropic fishing derby and he's been uber-busy (and a bit cantankerous) with all the preparations.  Needless to say, I have tried to be of assistance although my free time is very scarce.  For the last three weeks he has been trying to corral all the necessary information regarding sponsors etc. to have the materials like posters, brochures, and registration forms printed up.  A monumental task to say the least...and even after many hours of preparation  and effort, misprints and errors still happened. 

 

The above frustrating experience directed me to make my own brochures for the upcoming (and future) events in my own "show" cases.  I decided to make and print the brochures myself.  On my little Canon D-I-Y all in one.  I rely on it to print my sales tags, business cards...all the necessary doo-dahs that I include with my sale items.  To my delight and surprise, I had enough ink to print out one brochure, and saved the document to my little USB thingy, in case I need to print it and am not at my home computer. 

 

Two more things for all you back to schoolers...remember the orientation of the paper when you are printing stuff back to back on two sides of the same sheet.  And finally, save your first best hard copy for reprinting purposes.  On those sheets, mark them with a small dab of white-out.  . That will remind you that it's your "original", you will be able to see it, and the white out won't show up on the reprints. 

 

Hope this helps someone who is struggling out there.