Liquin - A Good Thing

This is a product anyone who paints with oils will like:

Liquin, a...

reliable favorite (formerly known simply as "Liquin") is a general-purpose low gloss medium that improves flow and transparency. It mixes easily with the brush or knife, smoothes brushwork, and is also suitable for textured oil techniques. Liquin Original approximately halves the drying time of oil colors, resulting in a drying time of anywhere from one to five days, depending on climate, colors used, and film weight. It is not recommended as a varnish or final coat.

Applying Liquin is the final step used on the Day Lily, started in July, 2009 and what I'm considering now "almost finished".  The Liquin finish keeps dust off the picture, and lends a warmer glow to the oil colors.  This picture was taken prior to using Liquin since pictures on my camera tend to create a "shine" on the picture after Liquin is applied.

Orange Day Lily, 2010, NMcCarroll

30" x 40", oil on wrapped canvas

Prior progress on the painting of this canvas can be viewed at Floral Art, Etc.  (The original photo of the day lily from our garden will also be shown on that blog posting.)

Google Analytics

Thanks to the DH, some great information has been coming my way regarding traffic on this blog.  Google Analytics is a program that gives LOTS of statistics on who is reading the blog, from what country they are finding this blog, what the hot topics people are looking for, and other trivia which (more than likely) interests only the writer of the blog.

For instance, in the last year, looking at stats for this blog, here is a summary from Google Analytics regarding visits:

The chart above shows that over the last year, more NEW site visits originated from Canada (92%) than from the United States (79%).

And the pie chart shown above indicated that search enginges gave me 65% of referrals from key words listed in the post titles.

Lastly, to further belabor the point, one graph (above) showed that "Making Fabric Roses" was the leader in Google searches by topic, with "Sewing Prayer Shawls" coming in second.

However, the most page views came from "Making Neck Pillows", with the prayer shawl coming in second for most page views. 

Fun stuff if you like statistics, and worth checking out if you are curious about your blog traffic.

Therapy Dogs

Let's talk about Therapy Dogs International.

When friends and family ask about therapy dog and owner responsibilites and what we do, the same questions are often asked.  Here is a rundown of typical questions and answers:

Q: What are the requirements to have a dog certified as a therapy dog?
A:  The dog (and owner) must pass eleven requirements in order to be certified as a "therapy dog".

Q: So what are the steps?
A: see photo below (click on highlighted area to enlarge)

Q: Can all dogs qualify for training?
A: No.  The dog must allow petting and be unafraid of strangers, loud noises, and differing situations.  One of our dogs was not a good candidate for TDI training, and one pup was willing to be trained.

Q: How do I get started in the process of training my dog?
A: Any obedience training program is the first step in teaching your dog to comply with the requirements.

Q:  I have a yappy dog; can she be trained to work for her kibble?
A: Yes, we have a b*tch of a dog when she is at home, loves to bark and jump, etc. (sorry to have to admit this)...but on the job, she is a behaver.

Q:  How much time does this take?
A: As much time as you are willling to give.  Practically any nursing facility, hospital, hospice, school (Wagging Tails is a separate program tutoring kids in reading), special care housing, assisted living, hospital or medical clinic is willing to entertain the idea of therapy dogs.

Q: What are my responsibilites in visiting with my dog?
A: Be open to the person you are visiting.  Remember that the visit is not about your and your dog, it is to meet the needs of the person whom you are visiting.  The person you are helping generally does not want to hear about your stories or life history.   The dog facilitates conversation and contact with the client, and helps to engage the client with distraction and productive time.

If you have any questions about how you might volunteer with your animal fur friends, feel free to contact Therapy Dogs International via email or call them at (973) 252-9800.