Lesson Learned

I just got off the phone from wishing my Uncle a Happy 89th Birthday. I made a suggestion that he used a harness rather than a collar to secure his canine buddy, Scooter when they went for rides in the car. He thanked me for the suggestion and said, "You are never too old to learn new things."

That wisdom made me feel better about learning the hard way that you should listen to the Vet. They told us not once but twice to put a cone on Ruby to keep her away from the stitches, then staples from her growth removal surgery. I thought I would just watch her, but then I didn't think about maybe taking a shower or checking my e-mail....etc.

Ruby is now wearing a cone. The wound looks better and I learned a lesson. Now, I just have to make sure she doesn't get the cone off.

Oh well, I can take a shower next week! (Just kidding, or course. Great Guy is nice to give me a break)

Great Guy's Birthday

Happy Birthday to Great Guy!

My gift (along with some new skis) was a hand knit Hat and Neck Gator.

He had Birthday Wishes from the Three White Dogs too!

Annual Christmas Photo

This year on Christmas Eve I was busy as always but had promised to volunteer at the Red Cross for a few hours. Turns out they decided to close for the afternoon and had forgotten to tell me. It was my first Christmas gift.....four hours of free time. What to do with it.? I decided I would take the time to really do a great job of setting up for the annual family Christmas photo. I figured out where everyone should stand since our family has grown this year. I set up the tripod on the stairs to get more distance; not an easy task but my trusty level came in handy. I took several practice shots to check everything out. I was ready. No complaints from impatient family members this year waiting for me to get it figured out. The careful planning was worth the effort in an unexpected way. My favorite photo for this year was when some of us decided to be funny. Funny to the point that I laugh every time I have looked at this photo. The look my Mom came up with is priceless. (Click on the picture for a full screen view)

Don't you just love my new earrings and BC looks great despite my brother's efforts.

We did get one good serious one but it is out of focus somehow.

Rocky is back for another visit for the Holidays while his people are in Mexico.
Whatever!

Rusty and Zoey took a turn playing in the discarded wrapping paper.

Hope your Christmas had a few laughs too and your

New Year is Happy!

Happy Holidays

I often wish my dogs could talk.

But then you just look at their faces and you know if Ruby could talk she would say,

" He is touching me, he is touching me!!"

And Rusty would say, "I HATE this @!#* hat!"

And finally they both would say,

"OK, take the picture then let's go for a walk and maybe you could throw the ball about a thousand times."

When all I wanted them to say is:

Happy Holidays!

May all the joys of the Christmas Season

be yours today and always.

Festival of Trees

The Festival of Trees

is a big fund raiser for Primary Children's Hospital and I was asked to be a volunteer photographer taking pictures of kids and families with Santa.

Of course I said YES!It was a great experience filled with lots of laughter and a few tears.

All one little girl wanted from Santa was for her friend

to come home from the hospital for Christmas.

There wasn't a dry eye in Santa Land during her visit.

I even got to sit on Santa's lap.

I was asked if I would take photos again next year.

Of course.....I said YES!

Rusty's 3rd Birthday

Happy 3rd Birthday Rusty!
As with most rescue dogs we don't know when his real birthday is.
The vet estimated that he was 4 months old when he became part of our family so we counted back and decided that November 15, 2006 would have been a fine day for his birthday. We spoil him a little more that day and are so glad he waited for us to come and get him.
He is loving, devoted and a source of endless laughs.

Baby Presents

Any day now I will be a Great Aunt.

It is about time that I finally am getting a proper title because I think I have been a

"great" Aunt all along ;-)

Just in case it is a Girl

The parents of my soon to be great niece or nephew decided they wanted to step back a decade or two and find out if they have a son or a daughter when the baby arrives.

Just in case it is a Boy
That is great but it made it a little more work for me. In our family babies are welcomed with homemade gifts. The last while I have been using my new found knitting skills to make blankets, booties and hats.

Traditionally we usually crochet our gifts
so I had to throw in a few crocheted booties along with my first ever knitted ones.

Thanks to JH for instructions for this receiving blanket and burp cloths.

This print is a nod to the baby's Great Grandfather. He was a rodeo cowboy in his day and would have loved this one. I figure it could be for a boy or a girl given some of my best friends are cowgirls.

I am finally ready. Now I can just sit back, relax and hope for
all the best for the newest member of our family.