Teddy

You might recognize this from my sidebar. This, however, is not a photo. It is an oil painting I commissioned from Patricia Wall, a wonderful artist. As the Blog Tech informed you, I have decided to let him sell all of my collections on ebay. I have too much stuff and I have a burning desire to get rid of every single thing. For perhaps the first time in my life, I have stopped buying things. My husband agreed that we both want to do this. It was his birthday this past week and I wanted to get him something and knew the only thing that would fit into our new lifestyle would have to be something to do with Teddy. When I found Pattie, I knew I found the perfect birthday present. You can see more of her work here:

http://jpwall.blogspot.com

and
www.pattiewall.com



I made Portuguese clams for the birthday dinner and held a dozen or so out to be steamed for you know who? Here she is, walking towards me to see what I am up to.




This is the look on her face when I said...."I've got something for you!" Suddenly she is a bit more interested.


She is on the clam run.


My husband offers her one. First she smells it.


Then she gulps it.



Then another.


See the blue tongue?


Then she drank the clam juice.



Burp!!!


Things to plant.


As long as I was outside with the camera I thought I would snap a few shots of what is green.


And beige!


What a wonderful job!


My husband had a very good birthday. Thank you Pattie for something we will both treasure for the rest of our lives!

Comments

Melynda@Scratch Made Food! said…
That painting is great, a very nice gift for your husband.
May 22, 2011 at 8:29 AM
Anonymous said…
It can be tough to take that decision, to sell ones collections. But when it´s done one often feels rather fine about it. You do have some great things to sell!!

It´s a great painting of Teddy! Very talented artist!

What kind of music does the Blog tech play?

Have a great day!
Christer.
May 22, 2011 at 8:49 AM
Linda @ A La Carte said…
The portrait of Teddy is wonderful. I keep asking myself why I keep buying 'things' hope I can get to the point you are at and let it all go.
May 22, 2011 at 8:51 AM
the wild magnolia said…
The painting of "That Gorgeous Redhead - Teddy" is breathtaking. Wonderful and the perfect gift.

The garden is green and lush.

Happy Sunday!

xoxo to herself, "Teddy Red Fluffs".
May 22, 2011 at 9:03 AM
Debra She Who Seeks said…
That's a simply gorgeous painting of Queen Teddy!
May 22, 2011 at 9:06 AM
My Farmhouse Kitchen said…
the painting is so very, very beautiful...

and it is THE PERFECT gift...

what a treasure to have...

loved seeing Teddy eat her clams...she sure loves them...

and i loved seeing your things to plant...beautiful basil,herbs and my favorite...the delphiniums....

great post

kary and l'il teddy
May 22, 2011 at 9:48 AM
Auntie sezzzzzz... said…
I greatly applaud your decision to stop buying things. Imho, that's what they are... Just "things." Which have to be dusted, stored, sorted, etc. "Stuff"...

Super that you had a burning desire to get rid of every single thing! Your every step can be lighter, with each thing you eliminate. Hooray for both you and your husband!

And naturally, "BT" wins big time. :-)

~♥~
May 22, 2011 at 9:53 AM
Diane said…
What a fantastic painting, a lovely gift. Belated birthday wishes to your husband. Diane
May 22, 2011 at 10:12 AM
Mel Mel said…
I love the portrait! What a fantastic idea! I'm also getting rid of things - hoping to have a huge yard sale on Memorial Day weekend. Sometimes you just feel the need to clear the slate and start over!
May 22, 2011 at 10:23 AM
Anonymous said…
i know what yoy're saying about giving up things,, or to stop buying.When we had to move into town and into an aprtment I was forced to down size big time, the only apattments with the view of the water were one bed rooms and this was important to our soul,, the view.Now I live for a more simplistic life,, we just franky don't have room,, I cherish the important things and keep only what mean the most.The portrait of Teddy is beautiful,, i have painted and sketched many of our pets and find they are a loving tribute to the joy they bring to our lives,, what a lovely gift,, nice, (thats one good looking pup)!!
May 22, 2011 at 10:47 AM
Bonnie K said…
I love the painting of Teddy. A little surprised to see a dog drinking clam juice! Your Japanese Maple is so beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Happy birthday to your hubby.
May 22, 2011 at 11:46 AM
KrisMrsBBradley said…
What a gorgeous painting! And such a great gift. =)
May 22, 2011 at 11:52 AM
Pattie Wall said…
Glad the painting was a birthday 'hit' - thanks for the nice post! Enjoy!
May 22, 2011 at 12:12 PM
Robin Larkspur said…
Fantastic painting, what a gifted artist! Of course, she had a wonderful subject. I will admit, at first, I was little sad to think of you liquidated your witchy treasures; but I'm sure you would make a decision like that after much thought, and heart-searching. May you find peace and lightness. I'm sure the Blog Tech will do great, though give me a break: "Feed Me"?? He gets the best cooking around!!! I hate auctions on ebay, though, I never ever win!
May 22, 2011 at 12:13 PM
Sharon Day said…
Precious, precious pup! When I was married, I was constantly buying things, fussing over getting things to look just the way I wanted, tweaking it, finding this didn't work here or there...Fretting. When I got the divorce and moved into an apartment, for the first time ever, I not only purged all I owned so I only have what I use and have space and freedom, but I also never ever rearrange the rooms anymore. It's like all that fussing was really about trying to make it feel right when no matter what I put in the home, it wasn't "right." I realize now it was a statement on distracting myself from the relationship. I've since taught my friends how to purge their lives and free themselves from things and having experiences instead of shopping trips. It's been a wild ride, but it's really liberating. Oh, and you have less shit to dust too. Hee hee. Whatever your reasons for simplifying, you will find some new part of yourself you didn't realize was there. It's humbling. Kind of like meditating after a hectic week.
May 22, 2011 at 12:38 PM
Erin | Bygone Living said…
I've always wanted a painting done of my kitty... will check this artist out!

(Beautiful depiction of Teddy, by the way! ♥)
May 22, 2011 at 2:02 PM
Jennifer Rose said…
that is a great painting of Teddy :D wonderful gift to give :)
May 22, 2011 at 2:16 PM
Texan said…
We are totally on the same path. Getting rid of tons of stuff. It feels so good! We actually started this process well over a year gosh almost two ago. I have had to do it in stages as its a daunting task after 28 years together.

After just doing the floors in the house and essentially having to move out, I was determined nothing would go back in we did't intend to keep! That left tons of stuff in the garage to sell.

We are going to have one large sale titled Garage Sale, Antique Sale. Then I have already ebayed some stuff with more to go.

That was a great meaningful gift to your Dh.
May 22, 2011 at 2:29 PM
Lilac Wolf (Angie or Angela) said…
I love that painting. U will treasure it for years to come
May 22, 2011 at 3:46 PM
Mystica said…
Such a beautiful gift and again what a beautiful pet.
May 22, 2011 at 8:41 PM
Anne-Lise at Rag, Tag, Bobtail said…
Lovely painting of Teddy, what a great idea!
I'll miss reading about your great finds and beautiful collections, but I know shedding belongings makes you feel lighter in so many ways.
May 22, 2011 at 11:20 PM
petoskystone said…
what a lovely portrait! teddy is such a doll :) will she help you plant as well? my wee patch has a healthy dose of clay to it, so this on/off rain we've had is horrible. still have a few flowers to put in (so the grandchildren can say they planted). a deluge drowned half of my veggies, so must replace them this week...how is the weather for your patch? as for paring down to the essentials, you've held out longer than i ever have...every quarter i must needs root out excess paper/books/whatnot!
May 23, 2011 at 6:14 AM
christinalfrutiger said…
What a beautiful painting of Teddy and yes,...the perfect gift... instead of more stuff and that's all it is, is stuff that now is made in some factory in China with no regards for their workers or the environment from which the raw materials were taken from. I always ask myself...do I really need this thing or do I just want it??
I really do have a hard time not buying plants though...but they are living things that feed our souls and the planet!

Happy belated birthday to hubby!
May 23, 2011 at 9:00 AM
Rue said…
Wow - incredible painting! So perfect.

Hope your husband had a wonderful birthday. Sounds like you spoiled him. The crabs look great!

I will definitely keep an eye on your/Blog Tech's ebay page - there are already a handful of things there I would like. I'm going to have to pace myself - lol!
May 24, 2011 at 9:03 AM
SharleneT said…
There's nothing like getting rid of a lifetime of things to free you up. I've been de-thinging myself for the past six years and still have stuff. Aaarrgghhhh! Went from 3200 sq.ft. down to 1190 sq. ft. and discovered things packed away I'd totally forgotten about but moved everywhere with me. Blog Tech is doing a great job in listing all this stuff for you.

The painting of Teddy is glorious. I know how much you'll both treasure it, even though it's your hubby's birthday present. Have fun.
May 24, 2011 at 12:31 PM
Tournesol said…
What a great gift! The artist really captured Teddy's sweet face. That must be hard to do with animals but it looks like she did. Sweet!
May 24, 2011 at 4:17 PM
Anonymous said…
That painting of Teddy is just amazing! She did a beautiful job portraying his essence. The photos are all wonderful and I am wishing a belated happy birthday to your husband.
May 24, 2011 at 5:35 PM
Suzie said…
A belated, but no less heart felt Happy Birthday wish for your Hubby! I love the portrait of Teddy, and it is indeed a perfect gift! It looks to me like you celebrated his birthday in grand style!

At some point, I think that most people decide to weed out things that they've acquired over the years. I've thought about doing some of that myself, but decorating for holidays brings a lot of happiness to my hubby, so I'll keep doing so. I still enjoy the journey, but with my increasing pain issues, it isn't as much fun as it used to be.

As for your collections, you have so many outstanding and unique things, it is hard to pick and choose. And quite frankly, I think that a lot of us would love to have even just one piece, because it was yours!
May 28, 2011 at 6:17 AM
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