Time for Vacation! Info on 2012

At the beginning of this year, I never thought that I would need to take a break. Business was very brisk, and kept me fairly overwhelmed most of the time. It makes me very happy to be able to offer something so pretty at an affordable price. Few complaints from everyone as well. 


Starting this Friday, The shop will be set on Vacation mode. I will then re-open the Etsy shop again in January, the second Monday of the New Year, the 9th. Hopefully, this will give me a much needed break so I can enjoy the holidays with my family.


My 2012 plans for Dreaming Tree, Will shift more focus on sculpts as well as some textile work. I will allow a running queue for casting Doll Eyes, and Irises, that will no longer exceed 10 clients. I know that the demand is much higher than this, but ... I will continue to maintain an adequate amount of inventory listed in my shop.Listing was too difficult to keep up with bi-weekly, so in turn, I will again reduce list times to once a week. Popular sizes seem to range from 3 millimeters to 16 millimeters. Those sizes will be kept available at all times, to the very best of my ability. I will list the less popular sizes like 2 millimeters,  Safety eyes, and sizes 18 millimeters and up.


To purchase my works, Artfire will be available. My website will be more of a reference for Doll Eyes, and Irises and their color charts along  with other particulars. My website will also contain a current gallery of my works of art, and crafts. 


So...That is my basic plan for the near future. Updates will appear more regularly here too.


HAPPY HOLIDAYS FOLKS! Enjoy your families!


Amanda <3  

A notice to my wonderful clients...

I am considering possibly closing orders starting August 1, until January 1. This may be the annual trend. Holiday work always swamps me...as if I am not already swamped. @_@


You will still be able to purchase open stock at the following shops:


http://www.etsy.com/shop/dreamingtreestudio
and
http://www.artfire.com/users/DreamingTreeStudio


Color charts and other info can be found here:
http://s447.photobucket.com/home/CozmicDreamer74/index


Any orders on queue will be completed.


Apologies, Amanda Martin of http://dreamingtreestudio.com/

What is your Cat doing right now?

Order Suspension Notice

Attention Clients!


All Incoming orders have been temporarily suspended.


I am very, very backlogged, and I am struggling to complete  all my clients orders. The weather here in New England has not been very helpful. Random severe storms have been knocking out my studios power, and the humidity has been slowing down cure times. Please accept my apologies about falling behind.
Please, check in with me every week to see how my queue is faring.
Sincerely,
~Amanda Martin of Dreaming Tree Studio

Lets Go Outside...

Some Good friends sent me this:

Subject: Don't Sit in the House. Go Outside and Enjoy Nature

....never mind,  let's just go back inside ... Enjoy!

The Aftermath...June 1, 2011

Today, after the series of Tornadoes hit around us, Last evening, 1 to the West less than 3 miles Over Fiske Hill in Sturbridge, and another only 1-2 miles away from us at the Airport, which My Husband and I watched from our front porch. 
We took  drive to survey the damages...
It was so scary! I am just happy that we are all okay.

On with life...

It is hard to keep shelling out all our money, on a now passed, but well loved pet. Even the Animal Hospital staff was so very saddened by the loss of such a brave little trooper. He kept on purring up until the very end.

Having the information that his liver was failing helped my decision making a little less painful. Once a feline's liver fails, there is really nothing to be done to save it. I never wanted him to suffer.

Our vet bill payment for this month is due very soon. We have to come up with $1,000 dollars to avoid and surcharges. On Monday, I will need to pick up his ashes and pay $350 up front, in order to bring him home.  Every donation is helping. We still need help.

To paint my Happy Day

...It is interesting how inspiration can settle upon my thoughts-in my minds eye.

75 degrees

gentle, warm breeze

laying atop freshly mown grass-its sweet smell.

I gaze up into the sky...perfectly blue, with perfectly drifting clouds

birds singing, new leaves-softly rustling

Cherry blossom petals fluttering down, to the ground.

Funny, how sadness can give way to bliss, melting away from my soul---if only for a moment.

I close my eyes, feel my body's weight nestled onto the earths surface-as one.

Warm green, embrace...

If this is what heaven is like, I will look forward to it. But for now, I will have to settle for artistic capture-to protect my memory.

He Is Gone...

Play high up in the sky, and sleep upon the clouds...my little love. You will always be in my heart.

Some updates

It is hard. I have been so swamped that I hardly can keep track of everything. I hope to update as soon as I get up the guts to call my vets.


He seems to eat well enough, but still will not put on any weight. I know that with every vet visit, he get traumatized more, and more. I wonder if he may have had some minor stroke during one of his procedures. That could explain his balance issues.
I know I may be "grasping at straws" here, but what if his eating habits, or lack-there-of any substantial intake, is trauma related? I 'dunno anymore. I want to save up some more cash before I make any appointments.  The first big bill has come in already, and I am scrambling to pay off as much as I can to avoid surcharges, but it is impossible to avoid.


As long as he seems comfortable, I want to wait. But... if something alarming happens before his next appointment, you bet i'll rush him back to Tufts.


Right now, I am having a hard time finding enough hours in the day to everything I need to do. I feel like my "marbles" are spilling onto the floor! 

:(

‎'Gonna call the vet tomorrow. This may not turn out well... :(

Still Worrying

I wish I could say my spirits are high.  I am procrastinating making an appointment for him, because I know it will either cost us an additional $5,000-$6,000 to try and save him, or...we will have to euthanize. Either way, there will be more tests to determine if he may have some sort of additional disorder, or cancer. He still refuses to eat more than a couple of nibbles, of anything-even his most favorite foods. I am so worried. He looks so skeletal. Meanwhile,....our other cat Zoe is becoming even more rotund than ever, because she is eating whatever Sebastian refuses. Our third cat Piggywiggs is unaffected, because all she will eat is dry cat food.

I am loosing hope more, and more every day.

The "C" Word?

I am beginning to think there is more going on...He still hardly eats, and this morning I had to pill him with an appetite stimulant. I worry that all this time and effort was focused on the symptoms rather than the cause. Maybe we really should have taken his eye into consideration more.
The symptoms came along with the evidence of  a growth inside his left eye. I fear the dreaded "C" word. It could explain a whole lot. The growth could be like an Iceberg...there may be a heck of a lot more pressing on his brain than is evident inside his eye globe.
My poor guy could be suffering with terrible Migraine-like pain in his noggin, and not to mention what havoc it could be doing to his entire neurological systems. It just breaks my heart to think of the pain he could be hiding from us all!


I was alerted to this when I saw his balance becoming 'off' I originally chocked it up to being weak from lack of nutrition, But now I am not so sure. 


I am actually scared to contact our vet regarding this, because we are at the end of our financial rope. He will need more extensive tests, and scans, and such...and, even with all that...will he even want to go on? I get tired of weeping every night! 


I so wish that he could honestly tell me what he wants...I would do what ever I could.

Easter weekend

I just thought I would give a little update on how Sebastian is doing:


He doesn't seem to be uncomfortable, in fact... he actually played a bit last night, but he is so bony! His appetite is not good, and he will only eat a tiny bit at any sitting. I still am concerned. At least, he has relatively normal bowel movements, jut small.
I am trying to be patient, but it is hard when I am reminded every time I stroke him, by feeling his bones.


I hope all of you have a good holiday weekend! Enjoy your Families!

Food Wars...

He had a follow up appointment this past Tuesday, and seems to be doing better. His new x-ray showed that his stool was staying soft, and not building back up in his colon.


His fanny is still shaved, so he feels a little silly, but he is acting more like his normal self.  My next challenge, is to find a proper food that both he , and the two ladies will actually like to eat! I have struck out with two cases of High Quality, and expensive canned food, already...and I am stuck with them. The third case and flavor seems palatable to them, so I ultimately guess 1, out of three is better than batting zero. 
...Each case was $24.00 a piece, so I am out the $50, but at least they like the other one. XD 
For the rest of his life , I have to give him cisapride and mira lax...But, as long as he is happy, that is all that matters to me.


Our Current vet bill is down to $2,200. We are struggling to pay it down. My Home vet was kind enough to not charge us for the follow up visit. We did pay for the X-ray though. Fortunately, the one shot was clear, and we didn't need any others. The 1 film was $75.00, not too expensive...I think.


We still need all the financial help we can get. I have begun making Key Chains, And pendants, for raising funds.


If you are able to donate <$10.00 you will be sent a red, Blown Glass Heart Key Chain with a paw print hand painted on it.Shipped for Free!!! 

If you are able to donate $11.00- $20.00 You will be sent a Dihcroic Paw Print Key Chain with silver angel wings.Shipped for free!!! 

If you can donate $21.00-$50.00  You will be sent a red, blown glass heart pendant with the hand painted paw print on it. The cord is non-allergenic rubber in a 20" length with a lobster claw clasp.Shipped For Free!!!

If you are able to donate $51.00 - $100.00 you will be sent a Dihcroic Black Cat silhouette pendant  with angel wings on the same 20" rubber cord, and lobster claw clasp.Shipped for Free! 

Any generous Donation Over $101.00 Will be sent Both a pendant, and a key chain, in a gift box. Hand painted by myself. Shipped for free!   

Once I get some of these gifts made up. I will include pictures for you to see. Please check in once a week, to see if there has been any new changes, or developments!

Like a roller-coaster ride...

Sebastian seems to be sort of leveling out in his recovery. Some days, he still has issues, but more often than not, he seems to be acting more like normal. He even has taken to bullying the two other girls when he is frustrated. 


I really wish he would gain back some muscle mass though. Every time I run my hands over him, I still feel his bones. His appetite seems good, just not maybe eating enough? He has a follow up appointment tomorrow at our regular vet to see what has been going on. 
We now have gradually changed his , and the other cats food to a more suitable diet, and everyone looks happy. But he will have to have cisapride, and miralax daily for the rest of his life. Lactulose was making him nauseous, and the long term side effects were pancreatic issues, as well as possibly diabetic hazards. Cisapride is very expensive, but essential to keep him going. I will have to get all my refills at Hopkington, since they are the only compounding pharmacy that carries it. It will run me $70.00 per refill. "A small price to pay, for keeping him happy, I suppose."


Maybe I will get a new x-ray tomorrow to see if his colon looks okay. If it does, then we will be spared the additional $5,000.00 in new bills for the surgical options as a last resort.


Hopefully, I will have more to report after his visit tomorrow. 

...Rounding the corner?

 His last vet visit
Once we returned him to the vet, they examined him and took a new x-ray. He had more blockages. He was immediately prepped for sedation once again, and was given a third obstipation  procedure.


While he was being worked on, we drove to pick up his Cisapride prescription. He will need it to help his colon work better. Also, the vet handed us some medication for his pain, and some to increase his appetite.This new visit has incurred yet another $500 dollars.  I am pretty sure the bill total is around $2,700 or so by now. If this new course of treatment doesn't work, we will be forced to either continue the next two stages of treatment, or Euthanize. Sebastian's vet has talked with us regarding those circumstances; They will be the most costly of treatments, and the most extreme.

First, the feeding tube insertion. That will cost us around $1,200 to perform, then he will have to go back, every day for checks and adjustments. Each one of those visits can cost $150 or more. Depending upon how long it takes for him to gain weight again, and become regular, that could possibly go on for weeks.


Next, is the most high risk; Major Surgical removal of his non-functioning colon. That will certainly run  into the thousands. We know that there is no way that we can afford that treatment alone. I have applied for grants, and other financial helping organizations, will not a single acceptance or approval. It has become really dis-heartening.  Even if for some miracle, we find the funds, he may not make it through the recovery, or even end up with even more complications.


He is such a sweet boy that everyone at the hospital loves him, and wants to help in any way. He has put up with so much indignity, and pain, but he still purrs for anyone there to stroke his head. It would turn into the most heart-breaking story ever, it he has to be put down. We all do not want to give up yet!


Donations have creeped up to $297.00 but that is hardly enough. It has however helped us pay for all his prescriptions to date.


Yesterday, was frustrating.  He kept wanting food, but then when I offered it he would sniff, and walk away. I had to force feed him prescribed high caloric canned food sprinkled with a 1/4 teaspoon of Mira-Lax mixed in every hour, only maybe a tablespoon worth  each time. I am exhausted! He has to take the Cisapride every 8 hours, and the appetite stimulant every 3 days, and his pain medication as needed.


Today, there is good news to share!

He Is eating Better!....and on his own!

I am happy to see this.
I am thinking the pain medication, and the new Cisapride doses have seemed to help. He is chowing on some regular canned cat food in these two pictures. He still is not touching the dry food, but that is fine...we really do not want him to eat that again anyways.
We still have a long road ahead, but maybe we can avoid having to have surgery.  I still have to continue the new medication course, and, still give him laxatives, but he did have a normal bowel movement mid-morning!...that is very good!


I will continue this blog thread as we plug away, at the treatments. We still owe  about $2,500 in bills, but we still need help.
Please, Donate!