Childhood Pet

My entry for the collaberative book that Mom, Hilery and I have been working on for some time now. We take turns choosing the theme and this time Hilery chose "Childhood Pets". This is Ringo, my first dog, a collie mix who came to live with us when I was about 7. He lived until well after I had married and moved away from home. He was my best buddy for all those years and helped me through those difficult "teenage" times. I don't remember ever NOT wanting a dog and still today, my fur babies remain one of the most important things in my life.

"Bird" Book Project

This great little altered book is one I made in a class taught by a very talented local lady, Jo McQueen. She has recently been teaching at some larger national events and has her own line of rubber stamps and collage items called The Queen's Dresser Drawers. You can check out some of her items here: http://www.thequeensdresserdrawers.com/ I haven't been feeling very creative lately, and this is just what the Dr. ordered. Hopefully, I can get back into the spirit again. The covers of the book are a gutted vintage book. We made the pages individually and finally bound it with fabric strips and grommets. The sticks are from my friend Karen's yard.

Mother's Day

The date on this photo of Mom and I is September, 1962. It would have been shortly after my fourth birthday. I don't remember the day the photo was taken, but I DO remember being in love with visiting my grandparents farm. The times when there were baby animals of any sort around were even more special to me. Mom, Grandma and Grandpa would always make sure I had an opportunity to pet and hold any and all of the farm's babies. This is one of my favorite photos of the two of us, my memory being jogged after reading my mom's own post about her mother on her blog.

Susie Sun Worshipping

I am often accused by my family of having a 'favorite' dog, and that my 'favorite' dog is Clarice rather than Susie. In fact, I love them both dearly and wouldn't trade either for a million dollars. I took this photo of Susie last July 4 while we were eating brunch on the back deck. She will be 10 years old this fall, a feat our vet says is difficult, as most Dobie's don't live into double digit years. I fuss over her every little bump and stumble watching for anything suspicious. Both my girls get a thorough grooming weekly, including having their teeth brushed and rinsed with disinfectant wash. When we had their teeth cleaned a couple of years ago, the vet said that two years can be added to your dog's life just by keeping their teeth clean (not much different from humans in that regard). I have taken that to heart and for 7 and 9 year old girls, they have very bright smiles. In just a few months time Susie has gotten much more gray around her muzzle and eyebrows and is a bit less playful. But overall, she seems to be doing quite well for a senior citizen!

March Snow and Ice

Starting Friday, we had ice and sleet all day. By Saturday it had turned to snow. It's almost April 1, but I guess we were fooled early! I don't remember having winter weather this late in the over 20 years we've lived in Wichita. There were near white-out conditions for some of the day yesterday. Needless to say, we have stayed in all weekend and puttered around the house. This is the poor tree in our front bed whose leaves, buds and branches are coated with a thick layer of ice.