Untitled 60 (oil and cold wax)

Untitled 60.  Oil and cold wax on museum panel.  6" x 24".   

Purchase information: jala [at] jalapfaff [dot com]

------

We're still here!  Life isn't easy, but we are all still hanging in there.

Technological issues still haven't been solved, but here's a new post, with a new painting, at last. 

This painting has some copper sheen that I couldn't capture on camera.
-----

Snow snout. Mojito.

The boyz: Gadjo and Rumi.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 59 (oil + cold wax)

Untitled 59.  Oil and cold wax on museum panel.  10" x 30".   

Purchase information: jala [at] jalapfaff [dot com]

------

First new painting in a long time.

I've given up trying to figure out all my technology problems for the moment--the main problem being that I can't access or post my older photos. But since I finally did a few new paintings, I can post them.
-----
Things are still tough, but so far we're all hanging in.
-----

Mojito is turning ten next month. I can't believe how fast the time goes. He's my best friend, my protector, and my baby. I need him so much, and I really hope he has some good years still ahead of him.

Gadjo is doing well lately. The med he's on does quite a good job at controlling his (probably due to being a purebred Siamese) anxiety, and the anxiety is partly what triggers the FHS, so he is experiencing very little FHS anymore, which is wonderful. Nowadays usually the only time it's triggered is when the gray cat from the next building comes and menaces him through the window. That cat infuriates Gadjo to no end. And infuriates me too, because it literally tries to attack Gadjo through the windows. As you can imagine, this is mostly a summer problem, when there's only a screen between them.

Fennie is...busy being Fennie. Lots of napping in his daily agendas, but lately he's become quite active and kittenish (read: hyper) every evening. When your "kitten" weighs close to 20 pounds in a small apartment, it's kind of annoying.

Rumi (who is also doing surprisingly well lately--it's possible that the B12 shots I was taught to give him at the vet are what's really helping him--he's put some weight back on) loves to bug everyone. He is so sweet and funny and endearing, but he adores being a pain, especially when it comes to purposely sitting right in Mojito's favorite spots (and trying to trip people when they walk). 

Mojito really wanted to lay his head down, but Rumi was in the way (and Rumi knew it). Finally Mojito just said screw it, I'm laying down anyway. Rumi was mildly squished and didn't look super comfortable, but stayed there quite a while out of sheer obnoxiousness. He's such a little marshmallow clown.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 301

Untitled 301.  Pastel.  Approx. 9" x 12".   

Purchase information: jala [at] jalapfaff [dot com]

------

Please forgive the blog neglect lately.  My sleep disorder always gets worse in the early spring; instead of just being my normal extreme night owl self, it gets even worse and I'm almost exactly opposite of what my schedule should be in terms of day vs. night awakeness. It's been hard, and is truly interfering in my life.

And I had a very big scare with Rumi and his chronic malabsorption issue. In spite of the steroids, he suddenly lost more weight (he's been underweight for quite a while, a few years or so). He seemed weak, tired, didn't want to eat, didn't want to drink much, just wanted to sleep. His eyes seemed to be so far away. His happy, vibrant, social, loud, confident personality was gone. He didn't make a single sound for 2 days, which for noisy little Rumi, was a giant shock to me. Suddenly, the apartment was unbearably silent.

I knew we were probably dealing with the same chronic mystery condition as always, but it had suddenly taken a severe nose-dive. The vet advised me to quadruple his steroid dosage. He was at his lowest adult weight ever. 

He kept losing weight in spite of the steroids. The vet taught me how to give him B12 injections.

Anyway, during the two awful days when he wouldn't eat or move around much and his eyes were so distant, I was pretty sure I was going to have to put him down the next day. I of course don't want him, or any animal, to suffer, and Rumi's prognosis has never been optimistic. My goal with him is to help him any way I can for as long as he is happy and doesn't seem to be suffering. 

I had a talk with him between my tears those days and told him it was all about him: if his body wasn't working right and wasn't able to let him be happy or feel good anymore, then the vet and I would help him be free of it.  If he rallied, then the vet and I would support his body for as long as he was still happy and had his normal exuberant personality.

Well, through some kind of miraculous juju or who knows what, Rumi woke up the next day with his normal personality intact, eyes here in the present world again, eating, drinking, and doing his famous talking.

I'm grateful to still have him.  His weight over the last week or so (since he rallied) is mostly stable. It's just a day-at-a-time thing, and I'm so glad he's able to stay in this world with me, happily, for a while longer.

I've been typing all this (slowly) because he's tucked under my chin right now and I'm typing around him and can't fully see my laptop screen, but oh well. He's here and that is making me smile.

Gadjo is having a bout of his chronic health issue too. His FHS suddenly got really bad, and doubling his steroid dosage has helped some, but not enough. So now he is supposed to be trying a med, but I'm unable to pill him, so gonna have to try the med in different forms until I can figure out how to get it into him. He is also now officially underweight, I think because he has to burn so many calories because he can't rest well or sleep as much as he should because the FHS keeps him awake and running around while he's having his twitch attacks.

Presumably because Rumi and Gadjo both have not been feeling well, they have suddenly stopped sleeping and cuddling together. This is unprecedented, and makes me sad.  I've had to order another heated cat bed for Gadjo, since Rumi seems to have claimed the one that they were always curled up together in.  I know they're both stressed from not feeling well, but I'm sure that not being cuddled up together all the time must be adding even more stress, because this non-togetherness has never happened before with these two best buddies. 

Mojito has been having arthritis issues lately too. He's been to a lot of (expensive) physical therapy and is on some meds that he'll likely stay on for the rest of his life. It's so hard for me to believe it, but he's a senior dog now. If I calculated right, he has just turned 9 years old! Apparently, that earns him the right to use Rumi as a pillow...

So Mojito's arthritis issues have been causing him to constantly lick one front wrist and one back foot, because they're achy. This always leaves a wet saliva spot on the couch when he gets up. The other day he left the sweetest spot! I kid you not. I couldn't believe my eyes:

And now, for our grand finale, a very impressive feat: Gadjo and Rumi's sweetness has made them internet-famous! They hit the big time when the mega site Cute Overload featured them during their Feb.14 edition this year.

http://cuteoverload.com/2015/02/14/24-hours-of-cute-happy-valentines-day-410am-pt/

(Unfortunately, they got the link to my blog wrong--it just got fixed today), so I'm pretty sure I missed out on a couple of million new fans for all my animolecules! Oh well. At least Rumi + Gadjo made it to internet stardom! They deserve their fame.)
-------

FYI: My website jalapfaff.com is still defunct.  It's a long, boring saga you don't want to hear. But there is hope that eventually, with enough time, work, bewilderment, frustration, and cursing, it shall rise again like a phoenix.

Untitled 300

Untitled 300.  Pastel.  Approx. 9" x 12".   

Purchase information: jala [at] jalapfaff [dot com]

------

Moji eyelashes!

-----

I was curious what would happen if I took a random iPhone pic into the dark during a snowstorm...kinda cool.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 298

Untitled 298.  Pastel.  Approx. 5" x 7".   

Purchase information: jala [at] jalapfaff [dot com]

------

Fennec loves his big brother Moji soooo much.

And they're on V.'s lap every time she's here.

[FYI: My website is currently down.]

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 295

Untitled 295.  Pastel.  Approx. 5" x 7".   

Purchase information: jala [at] jalapfaff [dot com]

------

My friend V. has a Pied Piper effect on animals... every time she comes by for a visit, they all flock to her and want to cuddle with her. This is V.'s hand and lap. My animolecules are in love with her.

Dog paw = cat pillow.  Patient Moji.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 290 (oil pastel)

A new mini painting. I am experimenting with oil pastels for the first time.

Untitled 290.  Pastel.  Approx. 3" x 3".   Purchase information: jala [at] jalapfaff [dot com]

-----

Fennec, zen relaxation master.

He was sound asleep...apparently mid-gallop.

Next to the Great Danes at the park, suddenly Moji is a much smaller dog.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 53 (oil and cold wax)

Untitled 53.  Oil and cold wax on museum panel.  10" x 30".   Purchase information: jala [at] jalapfaff [dot com]

 -----

My old food processor died, so I got a new cheap one (because one must eat pesto in the summertime). Never before have I gotten something packed in a box that was so cat-ready.

Mojito waiting for me to apply his shampoo, so he can get this over with...  (He's very good about it, but really dislikes being bathed.)

Gadjo and Rumi, the little lovebugs.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 285

Untitled 285.  Pastel.  Approx. 3" x 8".   Purchase information: jala [at] jalapfaff [dot com]

-----

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 282

Untitled 282.  Pastel.  Approx. 6" x 5".   Purchase information: jala [at] jalapfaff [dot com]

-----

 I haven't posted for a while. Been dealing with crazy weather (more extreme cold, more snow) and with this:

Mojito developed something called a "hot spot." That's not such a serious thing per se (cured by antiobiotics and by letting it heal without him licking it), but the problem was, he wouldn't leave it alone. 

We tried the cone (as I predicted, he was absolutely terrified of it and I can't watch him panic; he's an extremely sensitive dog), we tried a donut cone (it unfortunately still allowed him to reach the wound), I tried various experiments with socks and gauze and tape...

The actual, vet-applied professional bandage you see on him here was on for only three days, then the idea was, take off the bandage and just make sure he doesn't keep licking the area... But he did.

So, that became a rather time-consuming issue for me, along with dealing with things like: a) we had to go back to the vet for more antibiotics and steroids, because he had made it worse after the original bandage came off; b) you have to make sure the bandages don't get wet--and it's snowing pretty much every day lately; c) the steroids make him drink tons of water and have to pee often (see b, above!, so I'm changing bandages many times a day); d) I had to do a lot of experimenting to figure out how to give him his pills (the ideal way, I have now determined, is via ricotta cheese).

Anyway, the wound is looking much better. If he leaves it alone for just a couple more days and quits being naughty removing the bandages in the middle of the night, I think we might be in the clear. Of course, it just keeps snowing and I've already had to make two pharmacy trips to buy more gauze...  Moji adores costing me money, and this has already been a very expensive hot spot, so pray no third trip to the vet!

And I've also been trying to manage Gadjo's Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome, which inexplicably went from maybe 15 minutes a day to almost constantly. He was on steroids as an experiment, which worked pretty well, then the plan was to taper him off the steroids slowly. The first day I started tapering, he had a relapse, poor baby, and we were back to square one. Steroids reinstated daily, and as of today, he seems to be doing better again. I'm not supposed to taper again for weeks or months, so that he doesn't relapse instantly again.

Rumi, in the meantime, has decided to start losing weight again, ever since his urinary problem. No new ideas on the weight-loss problem yet.

Sigh. 

I love them all so much. But why must they make me worry so?

Oh, and I have a cold. Waah!

The heat-vent twins.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Square 11

Square 11.  Pastel.  Approx. 4" x 4".  Purchase information: jala [at] jalapfaff [dot com]

With this square, I was interested in how it felt contained, but not confined.

It has a lovely, more "glow-y" look in person.

-----

Oh no, another visitor! 

Gadjo's tail...I can't believe it can get that big. It's the skinniest tail I've ever known.

They kind of wanted to kill each other.

Mr. Visitor reminds me of my beloved Halfie cat.

For the next few hours, Gadjo was on high alert.

Blast from the past photo: remembering my sweet old Jazzy dog today (on the right).

-----

I was shopping for coffee.  Um, the English is a little weird...

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Square 10

Square 10.  Pastel.  Approx. 4" x 4".  Purchase information: jala [at] jalapfaff [dot com]

-----

-----

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Square 9

Square 9.  Pastel.  Approx. 4" x 4".  Purchase information: jala [at] jalapfaff [dot com]

-----

Okay, this really freaked me out.  My vet always sends out postcards to their clients when their animal is due for a vaccination or a checkup.  They're always postcards of animals.

But yesterday this arrived (see pic below). When I first took it out of my mailbox, I glanced quickly and thought, Oh, now they're sending postcards with the same breed as what I have, that's kind of fun.  Then I kept looking...and staring...and staring... until I finally realized, Wait, that's not just a Golden, that's my dog.

I actually think what they've done is hilarious, and don't mind a bit.  But it makes me feel a teeny bit weird. I suppose it's as if someone took a picture of your child in secret, without your permission, and then later you were surprised by the photo.

-----

They who must never be separated.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com