Look. It’s the Moss girls from 1963. Shortly before we left California and moved to Greece.
Yesterday I did some quick sketch studies in gouache of some old family photos.
Otto & Iris look full grown in photos and video, but they aren’t. They’re just teeny tiny itty bitty kitties. In my quest to find the allergens that are plaguing them, I’ve stopped chicken and switched to pork & rabbit. I love the Smallbatch (California & Oregon) raw frozen pork medallions and the Tuckers (from Wisconsin) pork & pumpkin. by that I mean, it seems like good stuff and they gobble it up. I also feed Stella & Chewy’s freeze-dried rabbit morsels. 20 years ago we didn’t have all of these commercial raw options for our little carnivores, but now we do.
I’ve also added Penguin salmon-flavored CBD oil after careful research about reducing inflammation in cats, stepped up the dusting and mopping in case it’s a dust mite allergy, and done every single other thing possible to mitigate symptoms. Back to the vet on Friday with Iris who had 2 biopsies last week plus a battery of tests. They are both eating and playing well and for the moment jungle drums have receded into the carefree background of summer living.
Whatever is causing the distress will either disappear on its own or from some combination of the remedies of Detective Moss. I’m reluctant to use steroid injections. Sometimes we never get to the very bottom of the bottom of our various maladies, do we? But we can take the hamster wheel out of our heads and leave out with the recycling for someone else to claim.
Continuing with my timed Greek statue exercises after the Zoom.
41 mammals showed up including myself and sister. I enjoyed seeing everyone and putting names to faces so much. I didn’t read through the chat transcripts thoroughly so if you had a message for me, I probably missed it. Thanks for sharing your work afterwords. It’s my favorite part where I can pause for a moment and get a good look at you, your backgrounds, the objects you sketched, and your sketches. I can watch and listen to you talk in your natural habitat. I’m so very curious since I’ve never had a peek at your world. Since 2007, the camera is always flipped in the other direction towards me.
From my perspective, this act of live streaming in a private space is profound.
I look forward to seeing you again on Saturday 10 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time.
By the way, if you say something and I don’t catch it, just repeat it. Don’t be shy. I’m just awful at keeping track of all the moving parts. Carol, my co-pilot will be working this Saturday so she won’t be in attendance, but she’ll be back for the 3rd session the following Sunday. If you join late while we’re in the middle of a painting session you might have to wait in the waiting room for awhile. Be patient. I’ll get to you eventually.
Also remember to rename yourself. This week if you put your location also I would love that (Otto – Los Angeles CA) I just love knowing where you live. Google to find out how if you don’t know. Without a co-pilot I may not be able to help you rename yourself on Saturday, but I will try!
I’m in awe of mornings. Especially when there is a delicious marine layer keeping everything cocooned in a gauzy coolness. Going for my morning walks is such a joy. After such a long grueling school year I am so grateful for this summer break.
Otto & Iris were sleeping during the entire ZOOM. But afterwards they leaped on my art table and demanded to know what had happened without their knowledge.
From Sunday’s session…
That’s all the news that’s fit to print. I’ll just be here poking in the garden, porch sitting, reading, cat wrangling, and admiring my completely unfilled calendar. The only place I need to be is HERE. NOW.
Except I might go to Foster Freeze later and get a chocolate-dipped waffle cone.
Keep me informed of your days and your ways.
Hi, Mary Ann. I can certainly see why you are smitten with Otto and Iris. Just seeing them in the blog, I can tell how special they are. Weird story about a cat I had who had allergies: He appeared to be a Russian Blue, but our Doberman found him hiding under the table on the patio. Said Dobie was adamant that I come outside right now and see what he had found. So, of course, I got the cat out from under the table, and he was a mess. Rear end covered in, well, you know what and the rest of him basically one huge scab. Off to the vet. Blood work all came back good and allergies were suspected. First, fleas. Check. Got those cleared up. Also, monthly baths with soothing things for his skin. All sorts of fancy diets, most of them quite expensive. While his skin cleared up, his digestive issues didn’t. Then I went off somewhere or other while Husband took care of the fur babies. He (husband, not cat) thought we were out of cat food, and went to the store to buy more. Being who he is, he bought Friskies because it was cheap. Yup, Friskies. By the time I got home a week or so later, all digestive issues were cleared. Since then, all of our cats eat Friskies and there are no skin or digestive problems. Just sayin’, and I know it doesn’t make sense, but that’s the way it’s been working for about 12 years here at Watson Habitat. (throwing hands in the air)
HI, How did you know that allergies were present? I must have missed that part
a variety of symptoms pointing to auto immune issues… coughing sneezing, inflammation of throat, mouth, ears itching, swollen lymph nodes, dermatological things happening, etc., Doc thought it might be EGC (google to find out what that is) but the symptoms are confounding. i may not have gone into all of this on a previous post due to all the details involved. probably an allergic reaction to SOMETHING.
What an enjoyable romp in your world. Happy to hear there is progress on the allergies and can I just say someone has stunning eyes. Quite mesmerizing. Your zoom meet up sounds delightful as well even tho I’m not even in the class. Zoom can be quite enjoyable when it’s all about art, fun and sweet humans gathering just because. Stay carefree right along with the kittens.
Warmly Susie in MN
Never seem that first photo before of us with mom! Thank goodness we have Dottie to organize and keep the history of the family. I will be by this afternoon to accompany you to the foster freeze. Don’t leave without me!
Sunday was just the best ever! I so enjoyed painting with everyone and meeting everyone, especially you Mary Ann! Thank you for doing this! Looking forward to the next one!
Its been several years since we’ve had a cat. Does any food contain potatoes? That’s a a trigger for our dog. Don’t know if this info helps at all. It came to mind.
Hi, Mary Ann – Good luck with the allergy situation. We have been feeding my kitties a limited ingredient duck formula that seems to work well. I missed this weekend’s session as I was in a dead zone up in the Adirondack Mountains. I will probably not be able to get in for the other two sessions either; I am participating in a watercolor / gouache floral painting workshop in Provence to celebrate the very end of my breast cancer adventure into hell this past year. Logging on may be a bit dicey as I am only bringing my cell phone. I would love to join if I can as you are my favorite artist above all others. Take care, enjoy your summer break, and have fun with your kittens! -Kristi from upstate NY.
Kristi,
A floral gouache paint out in France sounds simply divine. DO DO DO enjoy every second. And if you were to send me a few photos when you return home I would not in the least object.
I understand the dead zones. There are several in my immediate environs as well as many spots along the California coast.
Do you feed canned duck entrees? Which ones if you please.
xo
Hi, Mary Ann –
The cat food is made by Natural Balance. They make both dry and wet food and it was recommended by our vet for our old cat. He is gone now, but our other cat was used to it, so we’ve stayed with it. It’s a duck and pea formula, but there are other flavors as well; salmon is one of them.
I will send you some photos. We arrive tomorrow!!!