Tangle with Zen | Ellen Darby Certified Zentangle Instructor

Great fun. Took me weeks to complete but learned a lot.

Getting excited about appliqué and stitching.

Really getting passionate about stitching these past couple of months!!!

Wonky House #3.
Appliqué and embroidery.

Dear Friends,

(Full Disclosure: This is a long post. Not expecting everyone to find it of interest so you are welcome to just jump to the last paragraph.) :)

First of all, apologies for such a long delay in posting. My life has gone through so many twists and turns, the biggest one being buying a camper in 2015 and traveling around the U.S.

What was intentionally a ten-year plan to explore the U.S. turned out to be a one-year plan. I left my condo in South Euclid, Ohio because I could not have a dog there and began my journey to pick up my camper in Canada, visit some friends there for a week, stop in Seattle for a week or two to visit friends (had lived there for seven years from 1992-1999), and continue my travels around the country. The original intention was to wait until I got to Arizona to rescue a dog because I have friends there and would be able to stay for a while and have a nice adjustment period without traveling.

The day after arriving, my friend Patty and I went out with a list of shelters in hand that we had researched and found dogs we thought would be great. We made a rule: we will not take the first dog. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans…….

We stopped at Maricopa Animal Control, Scottsdale, Arizona first and walked in to find a long line with cages on both sides. Almost all the dogs were barking and jumping, but there was one little blue nose pit just sitting there with sad eyes. We asked to be able to see her and she was taken outside where we were able to spend about an hour with her. That was it. “Precious” became “Rainey Blue” and we were able to pick her up the next day after she was spayed. That was three years ago, Rainey Blue is the sweetest, most loving, most well behaved dog ever. Also, about a month ago, I had a DNA test done. Rain turns out to be 100% American Staffordshire Terrier. Rainey was found on the streets of Phoenix. She was only a year old but had already had a litter of puppies. Rain had a lot of health problems which cost a bundle at the vets — I used to tell them they should reserve a parking spot for me with my name over it because we were there so often. So my theory had been that the owners had bred her for her color (blue nose pits are very popular and can start at $1,000.00), discovered after they were born that she was sick and didn’t want to pay for the vet bills so just let her loose. Discovering that she’s pure bred kind of validates my theory because they could have bred her to another purebred Staffordshire and sold the pups for a bundle. To say that I “scored” is an understatement.

Rainey, not surprisingly, had separation anxiety so my intended 10 years of travel ended after 12 months because I could not leave her alone in the camper, not if I didn’t want it eaten—not even to go grocery shopping or to a doctor. So…we moved back to Ohio and I found a little condo in Cuyahoga Falls that would allow pit bulls. We have now been here for two years and though my woman cave (650 square feet) is small, it’s very private and quiet and we both love it. I’m very fortunate to be only 20 minutes from one of the best dog parks in the country: Bow Wow Beach used to be for people but was converted to a dog park at one point. I think the lake is about five acres and there is a path all the way around. Rain learned to swim the first year after a couple of months of hesitancy but then wound up becoming little aqua dog. When the water freezes, they close Bow Wow Beach, so we then go to another amazing dog park about 30 minutes away with woods and trails.

Because of her separation anxiety, I never left Rain alone the entire first year in the condo. Then I started with 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes…….and now I leave her up to four hours at a time, and she is totally fine. A little over a year ago, we started training for Flyball (a 4-dog relay race). We go to practice every Wednesday evening and Rain is madly in love with it. Turns out, she’s a speedy little girl. Last summer, we entered three FastCat competitions (100 yard straight line timed run). She ran 26 mph and I do think that this coming year she may even be faster. This past week we’ve been working on catching a frisbee. At first, if I tossed a treat to her it would land on her snout or on the floor. Now she catches 9 out of 10 treats and after every five treats or so I’ll toss the frisbee and she catches it often. If she misses, she’ll run and grab it and bring it to me. So frisbee training is going great.

So this has been a condensed version of my life for the past three years.

After teaching Zentangle for a few years at several locations around Cleveland, as well as in my South Euclid condo, and also offering online classes, gave it up when I headed off for my “ten year” adventure. About three months ago, I discovered fusible appliqué combined with embroidery from a class with Laura Wasilowski. I have fallen in love with the technique and blown away by the possibilities. I am posting two photos of completed “wonky house” projects. My third project is 90% completed and I will post a photo when it’s done. When I was at the fabric store recently, the woman cutting my fabric asked me what I was making. I showed her and another customer photos of my first two projects and they both raved about them and said I should teach classes in the method. Well, that got me to thinking. And thinking. And thinking. So…as soon as I complete my third piece, I will start the work of creating a class to teach. I have found a location in Cuyahoga Falls where I could rent space but am also considering teaching in my Cuyahoga Falls condo though it is tiny (half the size of my South Euclid condo). If you think you may be interested in a class, please Facebook message me or email me (ellendarby at gmail.com) and I will keep you informed of the progress of creating the class and when I will begin teaching. If you read this entire post, thank you for your patience. I wish everyone Happy Holidays and a beautiful New Year.

Love from Ellen and Rainey Blue

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Hi Everyone,
If you haven't been to my website yet, hope you will drop by and visit!!! http://www.tanglewithzen.com
And special thanks to web designer extraordinaire, Relaena of Sindelar Marketing for her never-ending awesomeness!

www.tanglewithzen.com

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This is my last email !!! In October, I will pick up my 17' Escape Camper from Chilliwack, B.C. This will be my permanent home as I travel the country, living by rivers and oceans and mountains and deserts, visiting places I've been to before and places I've never seen.