Friday, March 6, 2009

This Is A Picc Line.....Who Knew....


Bernie has graciously let me photograph is arm for you!!!!! When we found out that "normal" chemotherapy would not be enough for Bernie, and he would need the "heavy stuff", we were told that he would have to have a "Picc Line" inserted permanently. This involved a trip to theatre, and a permanent line being inserted at his inner arm up into a vein, then up inside his arm to his shoulder, around his shoulder and down near his heart. On the outside of his arm he has two ports and so this means that he can be hooked up to two pumps at once. This Picc line can stay in for up to twelve months if it is looked after. We have to have it drained and re-dressed every week. I call it Bernie's service and tune-up. When he needs bloods taken now, they can just put the syringe into one of the Ports and it means no more pricks. When we arrive at hospital for his chemotherapy, they just hook him straight up to the "beetlejuice" through his ports and away he goes. At first it looked so scary, but now we realise how wonderful it is and it means no more jabs trying to find a vein, and the "beetlejuice" can go straight into his system and start working straight away. There you are, you are now an expert on a Picc line!!!!!

Easter Challenge Entry....


I thought I would show you my Easter Challenge entry for the "TeddyBears and Critters" group I belong to. The brief was that you had to make a critter suitable for Easter, and then photograph it in an Easter setting. Miss Betty Bunny, and her "Chick Minding" Service were the result. If you would like to visit the site, please go to http://www.teddybearsandcritters.com/ and click on the Easter Challenge page. There are lots of wonderful entries to see.

Life Has "Bit Me in the Bum".....

For those who don't know, my wonderful husband, Bernie has recently been diagnosed with a very aggressive Cancer. The inital shock was just awful, and it was a couple of weeks before I could even talk about it openly, it was like I was just visiting someone elses life for a while. Anyway, after a zillion tests in hospital, and after a proper diagnosis, we are now getting our strength back to fight this thing.

I have had so many wonderful messages from other bear artists and collectors, and requests for me to keep people up-to-date with how Bernie's treatment is going, that I thought I would make it a part of my blog. From the scariness of the inital diagnosis and description of treatment, I have come to realise that the more you "accept" what is in front of you, and the more "open" you are about it, the easier it is to deal with. I knew very little about current treatments for Cancer, and so it all came as such a shock and such a learning curve. I thought if I touch on a few things here, it might be of use to someone else who knew as little as I did of treatments and such.

Bernie is such a strong, proud man and is facing all this with such courage and dignity, after all our years of marriage, I am still learning so much from him.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Fundraiser for "Free The Bears".....


I have created a little fellow called BUSTER, as a bear to raise funds for the "Free The Bears" charity, which is a wonderful organisation giving bears in Asia a wonderful new life after years of abuse and torture. BUSTER is availale for US$140.00 plus postage, and you can find all the details about him on my website http://www.bootbuttonbears.com/. All money raised from Buster's sale will go to "Free The Bears".

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Australia's Kangaroos.....



When Captain Cook first landed on these shores, he saw many strange things - shuffling wombats, sticks that came back when you threw them away (the boomerangs) and strange men in vests and mullets. But nothing could have prepared him for the oddness of the kangaroo bouncing over the land... Kangaroos are marsupials, which means their young get a free ride in the female pouch, and they are found all over Australia in many different guises - from the 'Big Red' in the Outback, to smaller rock wallabies and some that even live in trees. When European Explorers first saw these strange hopping animals they asked an Aborigine what they were called. He replied "kangaroo" meaning " I don't understand your question".



Tuesday, February 3, 2009

A New Little "Old" Poppet....


Please meet Miss Ellie Floyd, a new little girl that I have created in a vintage style. She is 11 inches tall and is made from mohair. She is dressed in a little vintage dolly dress and also has a genuine vintage badge. Miss Ellie was created during our current heatwave here in Adelaide, and so I think she is really hoping to be adopted by someone in a much cooler climate. If you would like to visit her on Ebay, here is her link:


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