Babies and Dogs . . . What a Surprise

I love Thursdays.
And I love these guys. They are becoming good buddies.
Cue The Wonder Pets. Thanks Kiran's mom for turning me on to this song. I can't get it out of my head. This is sewious.

Cassie is Cute . . . and Lucky

Cassie is a rescued beagle who has landed in heaven. A few months ago, she was pregnant and on death row. J's cousin and her guy adopted Cassie in May, and life will never again be like it was for her. Don't you just love the way her ears drape over her paws? Couldn't you just squish her, squeeze her head off, and dangle her from your rear view mirror?

Sorry.

Have a happy life sweet girl. I know you will.

All the Better . . .

Kiran arrived for Camp MeeMaw this morning wearing a red bandanna (no chaps) and sporting two beautiful pearly whites. (I have got to love his mom -- dressing him for my delight on her way out the door, when I know she has a million other things to do.)

Oh, what the heck . . .

Even though these images should never be shared in any form, I am having a blast with my newly found "non-smear" pastels that actually smear so well! (Love this quote too.)Ahhhh, a much better version of the SOAS.

She journals . . .

And she has not done that for some time.I discovered a box of pastels in my studio tonight, and it was a case of "why did I buy these?" They're pretty fun though!

Two wheels move the soul

"Four wheels move the body.
Two wheels move the soul."

I moved on two wheels (on the road or sitting on my Honda Shadow Aero in the garage) for three years.I bought this bike on a whim. A scenic trip across the country took me through Sturgis, South Dakota, during the Sturgis Bike Rally week. I thought it was fate. I wanted to be one of those independent, bandana-clad women in chaps I saw on those vibrating machines in South Dakota! I went home, passed the Motorcycle Riders' Course, bought my Shadow and shivered in the garage at the thought of riding her on the road.And then I conveniently developed vertigo, which kept me not only from riding, but from driving as well.I kept that beautiful white Shadow in the garage for three years, hopeful that I would regain my balance and again tackle the open road on two wheels. A mere 800 miles we shared, Shadow and me. No trips to Sturgis. No twisties on the Blue Ridge Parkway. No rallies. (Chaps and bandanas, yes.)

I sold my Shadow this summer. I'm not sure how my soul is going to get around now.

A garden and a library

“If you have a garden and a library,
you have everything you need.”
-- Marcus Tullius Cicero

My library is currently in boxes, because my wooden floors are being refinished. You can't imagine how the contents of one little room will fill the rest of the house!I am so grateful for the respite of the garden.I'm willing myself to look beyond the weeds. It seems like I planned for them to cover this wagon, doesn't it? I think I'll leave them growing until I can't see the wagon anymore.I've decided to look past the plants that should be trimmed too. This one would have made a great Fourth of July picture, wouldn't it? I think I like it even better in this state than when it was in bloom.

Precious

My nephew, Brett, found this red and green leaf today and wanted to preserve it. Tracie Lyn Huskamp taught me how.

Some things are just precious.

In the Blink of an Eye

What if you had no voice?Over the weekend I had the remarkable pleasure of watching The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. I immediately went online to order the book composed by the subject of this movie -- Jean-Dominique Bauby.

In 1995, "Jean Do," the 43-year-old editor of French Elle, suffered a massive stroke that left him paralyzed and "locked-in." Before he died in 1996, Bauby dictated his memoir, communicated entirely by blinking his left eye. This film -- as well as every carefully chosen word in his story -- will stay with me for a long, long time.

See it.

Read it.