Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Oh I sincerely hope your lab isn't as crazy, hyper as ours is and she's about 1 1/2 years old!  Good luck!
hugs,
Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

And I wouldn't be at all surprised if it wasn't a pit bull!
hugs,
Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

Yep, he's got the german sheperd eyes alright!  Ours is just about 3 and it was like looking into hers!
hugs,
Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

Wholesaleing...that opens up a whole kettle of emotional fish!  lol  Beyond the question you asked, when I wholesaled, I would tell the shop that they had to place a $500 order....(if they bought only 1 it was usually just for them)...then I would say that a collector needs at least 4-5 pieces to really get interested in the artist and have a choice of what they produce.  Now I did 50%, some artists shuddered in horror, but you have to think about this...unlike doing a show, it's FOR SURE money, free advertising for YOU, and sometimes you get a free trip as in a shop appearance...I've had trips to California and Florida in the past, but with these economic times, I don't think those are in the cards anymore.  Some artists even split their lines...one for retail and another for wholesale, a really smart move, but takes extra time.
I don't do much of any shows anymore, don't have the extra time or the money!  But oh what fun I did have!  lol
hugs,
Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

what FABULOUS MARKETING!!
hugs,
Leeann
Busser Bears

Up here in Elkhart, IN, right by South Bend/Notre Dame, last weekend from Friday evening to Monday afternoon, we've probably had close to 11 or 12 inches of rain...the most ever recorded for a consistant rain!  Thankfully, we've got sandy soil around our property, but the folks that live by the river, lots of rich ones that is, will be having problems.  Up north other in Michigan, not too far from where we live, lots of flooding up there!  I heard this morning in Edwardsburg, MI that 2 lakes have come together to form 1.
hugs,
Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

awww...where's momma?
hugs,
Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

Jane,
yep, kind of messes with your mind a bit.  I know it probably sounds selfish, but it's human nature I guess.  I do have to say that 2 years ago when my husband and I spent that first 9/11 together, he wouldn't allow anything on tv to show the past events...just made sure that he switched the channel real quickly.
Happy Birthday to you Jane!!!  Hope yours was a great one!
hugs,
Leeann

Kim,
I'm probaby the only one that saw it, knew it was a boo-boo.
Yeah, I know what you're saying.  It's also 2 days before my birthday.
hugs,
Leeann

My very unfavorite day of the year...so sad.  But all my best wishes and condolences go to the survivors families, friends and to our military and their families!
Can hardly believe it's been 7 years.

Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

We rescued ours when she about 6 months old.  My husband has had several large dogs before we were together, but no labs...and both of thought they were very docile low key animals, especially since so many are used for guide dogs...boy did we get surprised!  We named her Tu-tu and sometimes she really lives up to her name by being Tu-tu much!  lol
hugs,
Leeann

Gee, I hope my yellow lab will eventually get as relaxed as yours!!  Ours, Tu-Tu is 1 1/2 years old and is hyper!!  She's getting better, I've been working with her and reall praising her when she is.  Ours looks just like yours, except ours has more yellowish eyes, not brown.
what a pair!
hugs,
Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

It's been bone dry here in Elkhart, IN.  We are close to South Bend/Notre Dame College. 

Can't remember the last time we've had a really good rain.   

Around our home it's a bit green, but I would hesitate to call the rest a yard, it's been sooo brown...and we don't believe in wasting water by trying to keep the grass/weeds green!  It's a nice, slow steady rain! 

I sit in front of a window at work answering the phones, one the few places that have a window, so I'm very blessed.  Can't wait to get home and see more green stuff!!

HURRAYYYYYYYY  :dance:  :clap:  :dance:
Hugs,
Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

Lynn,
I didn't have a breech birth, but my youngest son turned so that even thought his body and head were "down" he turned during labor so that he was facing up towards my tummy.  The nurse put her arm inside me and turned him, then the doctor did an incision to open me up "down there" and had his arm up to his elbow...OOWWEEE.  I then had 4 hours of hard labor and was not allowed to push at all.  My son's heartbeat was very strong...I really wish they would have done a ceasarean on me!  It was horrible!  I had to lay on 1 side for awhile, then another, then another...several times I had to breath in a paperbag so that I wouldn't hyperventilate!  After 23 years, I still have a bit of a problem, a minor thing really, that I still work with, but I won't go into here, a bit yucky...bathroom potty stuff.
Yep, a ceasarean would have been the way to go!
Best of luck!
hugs,
Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

Bobbie,
such nice words!!  Yep, I love Cubblet!
on the "For Better or Worse" this past Sunday, she did a wrap up of the strip, future etc...but she also said she's going to be working on something brand new!
I was lucky enough to meet her at IDEX in San Franciso when Robert Tonner did April as a toddler.  I also got the April in her pj's, bathrobe and pink bunny slippers with her stuffed pink rabbit for my mom.  She was the nicest lady and a very nice thing was that she really liked my work also!
My whole family loves that strip and I would even get tears in my eyes at times or a really good laugh...sometimes even anger...Lynn really captured real family life and aged her characters as people really age..birth, even death...remember when the dog, Farley I think his name was, passed away after saving little April from the stream?  Sooo sad.
hugs,
Leeann

Bobbi,
thought you were talking about the comic strip, and my favorite "For Better Or Worse".  It's actually her anniversary too! lol
How did those photos ever turn out that you took at Sauders?
hugs,
Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

Kathy, congrats...there are no coincidences-YOU were meant to find her and bring her into your family.  That's what happened with our 2nd dog. 
Last year, almost a whole year ago, my husband and I were going to be moving into our newly purchased country home, from a 1 bedroom apartment. At the time we had a 12 year old shih tzu (she's since passed last November) and an almost 2 year old German Shepherd that we adopted from our local humane society.  The Monday night before our big move on Saturday, the yellow lab puppy that we had seen grow up from a cute little wiggly thing to a 6 month old bundle of energy that had just about been completely kicked out of her apartment, came right in the back door with my husband and shepherd. 
Now the backstory about the lab was that our shepherd had watched her out the front window for months wanting to play.  The lab when out all the time just wanted to be loved and petted, jumped up and down when we went to and from our car.  My husband and I both took her back to that apartment about 4-5 times each...each time they were just not to worried or too grateful, very nonchallant.  They had named her Chula, something in Spanish.  The aparment complex where we lived just left their dogs run loose, mainly chihuahua's and I guess that's what they thought dogs should do.  This little girl must have KNOWN we were going to move, and it was her last, best hope at a new life.  When she came in the door, my husband said "that's it, she's ours!" 
It was a wild night with 3 dogs in the bedroom, the shepherd, and shih tzu loose...and the lab in the cage.  My husband named her Tu-Tu, it sounded very close to her original name.  But she's rather lived up to her name...sometimes she's just Tu tooooo much!  Neither of us had ever had labs, and didn't know how hyperactive they are!  But what a sweetheart! 
They moved into the house the next day.  And on our 1 acre place when she runs, it sounds just like a horse galloping! 
Oh, 2 days after we rescued Tu-Tu we got a 6 weeks old boxer mix puppy from a young couple 4 doors down...now this stupid husand got this too young to separate puppy from her litter, with a very pregnant wife, also a problem pregnancy, and they already had 2 dogs!  Now my husband always wanted a boxer, soooo, she came to live at the new house with husband and Tu-Tu.  I named her Tippy after the white tip on her tail...yeah I know, real imaginative!   
But my friends..never, ever, adopt 2 rambunctious puppies at the same time!  It can be a holy terror, but thank goodness for kennel crates.  Sometimes the only time Tu-Tu relaxes is when she's in her crate. 
Our shepherd, Liebchen is about 3 and very settled down-there is hope for the others with time, Tu-Tu is a little over 1 years old and slowly settling down and Tippy about 1 is the real clown.  SO smart!  I've never seen a dog that can amuse herself without a people!  You give her a handball and she rolls it and chases it herself!  I've had the "chore" of cleaning out her left inside ear...I use my middle finger with a washcloth to get inside..when I place my hand under her chin, she sighs...I guess it's like when we put a Qtip and clean...AHHHH!  Tippy even stops in the bathroom at night on the way to her crate to get the washrag!
Yep, our house is very lively!
hugs,
Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

Melissa,
We crate our dogs at night, they really relax..plus the crate is also in our bedroom, so the whole pack is there.  Our 3 yr old shepherd is old enough to be loose, the other 2 when they get a bit older...the lab, well she's bit hyper and the only time she really relaxes is in that kennel crate, so she may have to be crated a bit longer than the boxer.
I used to think kennel crates were cruel, but it's really like their own den.
Good luck!
hugs,
Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

Surprise surprise..I'm a "Talent" too!  lol
hugs,
Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

woo hoo I'm a Ferrari 360 Modena!!  Hell on wheels!!  lol
hugs,
Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

ps, my dream sports car is an Audi TT!!!

We adopted from our local humane society a German shephard.  She's 3 now and finally settled down making her a delight...but we've got 2 other pupsters, a 13 month old yellow lab and a 1 year old boxer.  The lab is CRAZY, we rescued her too from where we lived before...had NO IDEA that labs were A.D.D. Hyperactive, but hearing from other lab owners, we are in for a time of it...she even bent her crate so that the plastic tray liner could be moved out and then snapped it in 2!  It's a busy time at our home, too!
My sister had an all black shepard years ago, called him Bear because he looked like a bear cub when he was a pup!
good luck!
hugs,
Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

The terms of the sale were plainly laid out, and it's a contract that she agreed to.  You get to keep that deposit as stated.  Business, is business.

Hugs,
Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

Hmmm question...I saw the big snake (I personally think snakes are cool)...then you've got rats and bunnies...could they have started out as feeders for the snake and you had a change of heart?  The snake does have to eat!  lol

hugs,
Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

Norton totally screwed up my computer!  AVG is WONDERFUL and free...don't be intimidated by their claims that you need to buy the complete package. They have DAILY updates and of course, bestest of all, it's FREE!!!

hugs,
Leeann Krikau
Busser Bears

The timing could be off, or whatever they call it.  When I sewed hot and heavy every day, I'd have to get it cleaned and worked on once a year.  I was bad for a few years and my motor was so dry it completely stove up...they had to soak it in oil for a few days before it "unfroze"...a big lesson!  Thank goodness it's a Bernina and built sooo well!!
hugs,
Leeann
Busser Bears