dogs — Page 18

Turkey and Daffodils

April 11, 2008 at 1:48 pm by Claudia

Scout alerted me to the presence of 6 wild turkeys crossing the back of our property. I ran for the camera but the turkeys moved too quickly for me to get a clear picture. I was, however, able to get this picture of Scout. She has fixed her border collie stare on the intruders. “How dare they? Get off my property!” Once they went on their way, she knew her job was done. Ever vigilant, Scout is a great watchdog. Riley, on the other hand, barks when Scout barks. Most of the time, he is unaware of the comings and goings on our property. Although I have seen him snap to attention when he spies some deer.

Proof that spring is here – our daffodils that sprout on the edge of the woods are just about to bloom. This particular daffodil is always the earliest bloomer. I can’t wait to see blossoms everywhere. In the meantime, I have been raking and cleaning up the garden beds. I see signs of rebirth everywhere, although some of last years plants look like they didn’t make it through the winter. Normally, I plant the first week of May, but it looks like I’ll be out of town on business for a while. I guess I will have to wait until I get back – but I am determined to have my hanging plants in place on the porch before I go!

Design Wall

March 7, 2008 at 6:59 pm by Claudia

I last blogged on Monday and its already Friday…its not like I’ve been extraordinarily busy or anything. I’ve worked, I drove to the neighboring state for a day to visit my niece and her children, took the dogs for a bath, grocery shopped, and now the week is over. One note on the dog/bath thing: Our dogs are not small, its winter here, and bathing them in our tub never works. So when we take them for a bath, we drive several miles to a car wash/dog wash. The dog wash has two tubs – my husband takes one dog, I take the other and voila! This always takes a big chunk of time. Both dogs are long-haired and shed a lot so next week will be all about swiffering tumbleweeds of dog hair again and again. But they look and smell great.

Our cottage is very small. Sometimes its hard to find the proper space in which to create. This was my dilemma when I wanted to start a quilt. There simply wasn’t enough space, I thought, to plan and work on a quilt. Then my husband and I thought about our upstairs landing. There was some unused space that had potential. At the top of the stairs is a little niche. I moved the trunk that had been there previously and lo and behold, my sewing machine table fit right in.
As you turn the corner at the top of the stairs, there is a wall that I made into my design wall, by covering insulation board with felt and attaching it to the wall. Then I invested in a cutting table that is the perfect height. When not in use it folds down on two sides and takes up very little space. Its not the studio I dream of someday, but it works for now.

This is the quilt I am working on – Its a snowball block from Kaffe Fassett’s Museum Quilts.

Its further along than this now, but the photo gives you an idea of my design wall. You can see the edge of the cutting table on the left. In the future, I’ll post more photos of the quilt and the sewing area. This particular quilt is going to be for our bed.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Scout and Riley

February 22, 2008 at 5:02 pm by Claudia

Today has been about watching the beautiful snow fall all day long – and shoveling, of course. It really is a winter wonderland out there. There is that hush that happens when snow falls steadily and there is little traffic.

I thought I’d take the time to introduce you to our dogs, Scout and Riley. I come from a dog-loving family. When I was a toddler, we visited some friends of my parents and their dog jumped on me. I guess I was knocked down and consequently developed a fear of dogs. Quite a big fear. I would cross to other side of the street if I saw a dog in someone’s yard and run away as fast as I could. Dogs reduced me to tears. So my parents decided that the answer to my problems was to adopt a dog. Frisky, a terrier, became part of our family. After a somewhat rocky start, my fears gradually left and I came to adore him. He even slept under the sheets at the bottom of my bed.

When my husband and I moved into our first rental, we made sure there was a fenced-in yard so that we could adopt a dog. (I am an animal lover and a great advocate of rescuing dogs and cats. There are so many animals who need homes and they are so grateful to be loved and cherished.) That is how we found our first dog, Winston. We loved Winston deeply and after a while we felt he needed a companion. So we adopted Scout. She and Winston were fast friends. After 7 wonderful years, we lost Winston very suddenly to cancer. Our hearts were broken and we grieved for a long time. Having Scout really helped us through that period. She is a loving girl and a happy one, but we couldn’t help but notice that she was lonely.

After a few years, we adopted Riley (also a rescue) and he and Scout immediately became good buddies. You never know what issues these little ones have as a result of being abandoned. Riley seems to have been abused in some way and it took him a while to accept the fact that we were a family…that he wasn’t going anywhere. We were shocked to discover he had heartworm not long after we brought him home. He had to go through 3 months of very tough and dangerous treatment – luckily he came through all that with flying colors. He has his “issues” but he is a very good and loving boy. Scout has endless energy and a great sense of fun.

They are my babies. I love them dearly and they bring joy to our lives every day. They are funny and loving and endlessly fascinating. You will notice that Scout has a heart-shaped spot on her body. No kidding – we call her our “magic” dog.

This is my favorite picture of Riley – He’s smiling!

Hope your day is a good one!

Turkey and Daffodils

Design Wall

Scout and Riley

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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