waiting

waiting, originally uploaded by sapphire252.

And the Winner is....

And the winner of my One World One Heart entry is.....Bevie Sams!

Thank you everyone for the wonderful comments....Bevie, I will be in touch!

Gracie the Pug

This is a picture for my friend Gillian, of her Pug, Gracie. Isn't she sweet?

Heart Attack

I am typing this post one week after an event that blindsided my family, an event that could have had very tragic results. My husband Todd, after celebrating is 45th birthday the week before, had his brother drive him home from work, after complaining of a sharp pain between his shoulder blades, and a sore chest. We had thought he had pneumonia again, and had discussed his visiting the doctor after the busy weekend we had coming up.

Well, on the way home, he decide that he should probably get checked out at emergency, it probably was pneumonia, he was suddenly feeling much worse - with intense pain in the chest, excessive sweating, and ice cold hands and feet. Shortly after, I got a phone call at work, telling me that the Doctors in emergency strongly suspected he was having a heart attack, and that they were sending him to another hospital to have the blockage they suspected removed.

By the time I got to the hospital and tracked Todd down, Todd's doctor had found that one artery in his heart was 100% blocked, and they had already inserted two stents that cleared the blockage completely. Because of the short amount of time between Todd's heart attack started, and when they were able to take care of blockage, his prognosis is very promising.

Todd exercises every day, and is on a very healthy diet. He is RELATIVELY young (sorry honey), and has low cholesterol. Yet he ended up suffering a heart attack, genetics probably playing a lead role. I share our story so that all of you will be aware of the symptoms, and so that you will make sure that those you love in your life do not play it brave and wait at home playing it tough, waiting for pain to pass, not wanting to spend their night or day in an emergency room. Don't take ANY symptoms for granted - I am so grateful that my guy went to the hospital when he did.

For more information about warning signs of heart disease, please visit The Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation website.

Hopeful

More fun with vintage images. This piece was therapy for me, as I am home this week taking care of my husband following his heart attack.

Copic pens, and watercolour pencils created this soft look.

Once again, I am participating in the world-wide blog giveaway, One World One Heart, hosted by Lisa Swifka.

To win the prize, all you have to do is leave a comment ON THIS POST only, with your name and email address and you'll be signed up. Then, your name will be put into the hat for a chance to win. The prize? The lucky winner will receive the piece below:



Please be sure there is a way for me to contact you if I draw your name. I will be making the draw on February 14th at midnight, and will contact the winner on February 15th.

Molly

Another dog done in copic markers...this time, the subject is my dog, Molly.

Wilderness

For the Illustration Friday prompt, WILDERNESS. Those birds look pretty WILD, don't they?

Draw-This Prompts!

I have recently joined another drawing group, called Draw-This. I find that by following prompts, I can try things that I normally would never attempt. I did these two prompts this evening - using copic markers and a fineliner pen.

I was asked to make this fridge magnet for someone who had seen an earlier one I had done, and had loved the quote. So here it is...I hope she likes it!

Illustration Friday Post: Renewal

One of my new year's resolutions (I
have many) is to do as many of the
Illustration Friday prompts as I can.
I love the challenge of them!

This week's challenge is "RENEWAL",
and when I saw the word, I instantly thought of butterflies. I also happened to have this lovely vintage image in my collection of favourite images, and it lent itself perfectly to the theme.

All I needed was a quote, so when I found this quotation from the actress Lynn Redgrave, I knew that I was ready to go!