Bianka 7 Snakes 0

Last year my mother called me up one day, just as excited as can be.  "I've found the perfect Christmas present for Bianka...... a toy snake."  (Yes, we buy presents for our pets. After all, they are family.)  It turned out to be Bianka's favorite toy.  I do believe that during the winter months, she used that toy to hone her skills at snake capture, because she's having a very successful season.

Today's catch made number seven for the season.  The post-capture stand-off lasted well over 30 minutes.  So what do you do while you're waiting on the dog to get bored with the snake? Why you take photos, of course. ( Since many of you are a little creeped out by seeing actual images of Bianka holding a snake in her mouth, I won't force the pictures on you.  They can be seen by clicking here.)

(Bianka and snake stunt double)

Knowing that my dog is a seasoned snake hunter many people ask me, "What does she do with the snakes after she catches them?"  Not wanting to think about what she would actually do  if she were unsupervised, I normally try to get the snake away from her,  which isn't easy.  She is quite the determined little dog and I have learned the hard way that a snake will only stretch SO far.  So, after over thirty minutes of attempts of coaxing and tricking the little dog into giving up the snake, I was the one that gave up. I went in the house and positioned myself so that I could still keep an eye on her.  The next thing I knew, she's laying on her back tossing the snake around just like her favorite toy.  Then she pranced around the yard carrying her snake proudly.

Occasionally, she stopped to shake it violently.  Then I noticed her starting to run toward the house, still with the snake mind you. 

Not wanting a repeat of last year's Mother's Day incident, I popped back outside to keep her from getting too close to the house.  I met her under the carport.  She stopped, looked up at me, then spit the snake out, wagged her tail and headed down the stairs to the basement. I guess all I had to do was to wait for her to finish playing.

(Bianka in action with stunt double)

Even as I write this post, Bianka is napping at the foot of my chair.  Every once in a while she fidgets and whines in her sleep. I can only imagine that she's hunting pesky snakes in her sleep too.

Don't Try This at Home.

Back over the winter a friend and I decided we wanted to try yoga. This is when we found

Barefoot Yoga Works. They offered a Yoga Basics class at a time after work. We both said "This is perfect." Even after our first class we noticed a difference.  We both felt great, less tense, and we were energized. It was amazing! 

Sharon, our instructor also happens to be the owner.  She is a wonderful teacher for those who are completely new to yoga.  She has a great, relaxed teaching style, and I love the fact that she constantly reminds you to honor your body and to be aware of what your body can and cannot do. 

It's been about six months now, and I have actually stuck with the yoga practice.   I think I can safely go on record in saying that I'm not a fan of exercise, but this is different.   I wouldn't call myself a "Yogie" by any means, however, I will say I'm totally hooked.  I quickly found myself eagerly awaiting Thursday night's Yoga Basics class.  Eventually, one class a week wasn't enough so I've worked my way up to Yoga Level 1. Although I really enjoy the Level 1, I  still attend the Basics. I consider it a kind of a reward to myself  for going to the Level 1 earlier in the week.

So, this past week I attended my Level 1  as usual, but by the time Thursday rolled around I was pretty burnt out. So I bailed on my Basics Class.   Shortly there after I regretted this decision.  I just felt off for the first part of the weekend. Also, something pinched behind my left shoulder and nothing was loosening it up.  I contemplated joining in on one of the studio's Sunday classes, but eventually I talked myself out of that, because I was trying to keep a promise I made to myself to go nowhere on Sunday.  Then I remembered something a friend of mine asked me. "Why do you have to go to the studio? Why can't you do yoga at home?"  That's a good question.  One of the  great things about yoga (well, one of many) is that  you don't need a lot of equipment.  I have a mat. I have space. I'm good to go. 

I set up  a space in a spare room.  I've been to enough classes that I know how to start with the breathing and slowly work into a little flow sequence. I even tried to imagine the sound and pace of  Sharon's voice announcing the instructions.  I could do this. No problem.

It didn't work exactly as I planned. Actually, it went a little something like this:

"Find yourself a comfortable seated position on your mat with legs crossed and hands on knees."
(Remove the dog from your lap)
"Slowly, take a deep breath counting to 5 with your inhale. Do the same with your exhale, letting go of all the things that aren't present to you at this very moment."
(Try to ignore the sound of the dog grinding her teeth as she aggressively chews on a bone next to you.)
"Come up onto all fours to Table Top.  With your inhale lift your head and sits bones for Cow and with your exhale drop your head, and round your back for Cat."
(See the dog look at you strangely and then fuss at you by half-growling/half-whining as if to say "Why aren't you playing with me?")
"Reach your hands forward and lower your torso for Puppy Pose"
(See "puppy" demo the pose for you.)
"Inhale back to Table Top. With your exhale reach your left leg back with toes pointing down, and at the same time reach your right arm directly out in front of you."
(Try to maintain balanced and focus as dog decides to lick your toes.)
"Return to Table Top. This time with your exhale repeat the pose, by extending your right leg back and reaching your left arm forward."
" Exhale and return to Table Top"
"Take your right arm and insert it under your left  and lower down for Thread the Needle."
(Shoo away dog trying to lick your face.)
"Return back to Table Top. Repeat the pose by inserting your left arm under your right."
(Dog decides to leave the room)
"Inhale to Table Top and then exhale back into Downward Facing Dog, your inverted 'V' position. Pedal your feet back and forth, eventually finding some stillness in your pose."
(Dog returns to room with favorite toy, still wanting to play. Dog decides to lie underneath you to play with favorite toy showing you how much fun it is.)
"Move forward into Plank, your push-up position, and with your exhale lower your body down to the ground in one even movement"
(Grab the toy before lowering down and toss it into the other room so dog will move out of the way)
" With your inhale straighten your arms and arch your back for Cobra."
(Dog returns with favorite toy)
"With your exhale lift back into Downward Facing Dog."
(Exhale back into Downward Facing Dog Licking My Face.)

sigh....You get the picture. So I guess I'll be seeing everyone back in class on Tuesday. 

Namaste
-crystal



 

careful what you blog

A few days ago the director of our department asked each of us to send her the URL's to our blogs. She wanted to include them in departmental blog referencing, meta-morphosis. It's sort of a symposium we hold each year for various libraries and institutions to learn the in's and out's of transitioning microfilm collections to digital. She thought by having our blogs on the meta site, attendants might get to know who we are a little better. I thought to myself..."Great. Even more people out there will know about the crazy antics of my little dog."
Then yesterday afternoon I actually logged onto the meta-morphosis blog to see how it was coming along. There it was! Right at the top of the page....the list of all our blogs.....with the titles of the most recent post. I'll give you one guess who's was at the top of this list. Yes, yours truly. For those of you that have forgotten, the title of yesterday's post was "Can you pick my nose?" (Oh dear God. Good one, Crys.) I sat there staring at the monitor horrified. If you have read the entry you understand the title, but out of context it's just gross.
So, the point of this post is a blatant attempt to have something other than "Can you pick my nose?" greeting the readers of the meta-morphosis blog. What a way to welcome a guest.
-c

Can you pick my nose?

It's always fun when I'm working at Village Artisans and my friend, and fellow Artisan, Nancy, stops in. One visit she asked if she could ink my hand for a print, to brush up on her study of palmistry. I am completely intrigued by that sort of thing so I willingly agreed. The results were very interesting.

So last month she pops in and asks "Can I get you plastered?" Well actually she wanted to take a plaster impression of my nose. Again, I willingly obliged. I've done this sort of thing before for various art projects. It's not a big deal. Of course, any customers that came in during the process were curiously confused. Nancy explained that she and her JafaGirls were creating a "nose tree" to add to the collection of totems around town. So if you are wandering out the Village of Yellow Springs, be sure to look for the Nosy Tree. They have included photos of the nose owners. See if you can pick my nose.

Bianka 6 Snakes 0

After over a two month dry spell my little snake hunter finally nabbed herself another snake. No pictures this time. Her new favorite thing is to guard her catch by laying on top of it, then occasionally picking it up shaking it violently. Poor snakes.

A treat to myself

Each year I save any gift money I may have been given during the holidays or for my birthday, and set it aside specifically to buy art. This year at Art On the Lawn I met this delightful jewelry designer named Manon van de Graaf. I simply fell in love with her work. It's not your traditional style by any means. The pieces she was showing had a more modern, yet whimsical style, something I can definitely appreciate. So I decided to treat myself to this necklace. The title is "thinking man." I affectionately refer to it as the necklace with the little dude on a stick.

It is a great little piece. There is something about it that just makes you smile.

(smiling)

-crystal

On-line Storefront!

Well, finally I have managed to get my act together and created an on-line storefront. I am SO excited about this. This allows me to display the images in a more professional manner, and even better it allows me to take orders via the web.   Very handy when you live in Kentucky, and you photograph someone living in Ohio, but whose family lives in Iowa and Virginia.......you get the picture. 

Now we need to work on a proper logo....sigh.

-Crys

Taking it easy.

The last 3  to 4 weeks have been busy busy busy.  It's all catching up with me now.  I realize I've neglected many things including my blog.  

I do have several posts to publish shortly but for now. I'm going to take it easy and try to shake this bug I have (not the VW.)