Happy Father's Day!

It's Father's Day once again, and a time to remember and honor the special fathers in our lives.

Although my husband and I don't have children in the traditional sense of the word, we have always been privileged to have dogs as members of our family. . . .and I guess one could call them our four-legged kids. 

Our current dog family members are Harley and and Beau, two beautiful red fawn greyhounds, both "rescues."  Harley and Beau (with a little help from good ole "mom") decided to show their two-legged dad their appreciation on Father's Day by giving him a handmade card, specially designed for him.

That's 8-year old Harley's photo on the right of the card and almost-2-year old Beau's photo on the left.

Needless to say, my husband was quite touched by Harley's and Beau's thoughtfulness today.

On that note, I'd like to wish all the special fathers out there, whether they be fathers of the two- or four-legged genre,

a Happy Father's Day!

Wordless Woof Wednesday once again . . . .

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

For the Love of Greyhounds . . . .

Oh my, how the summer is flying by!  It seems like only yesterday that I posted my last Wordless Wednesday photo from Lee's and my most recent road trip, and yet it's been nearly a month.  Wow.

Between enjoying the company of traveling friends and  house guests, planning for upcoming trips, plugging away at some badly neglected yard work, and trying to get caught up on my cardmaking, I've not had (or taken) much time for my Blog these past few weeks.  But hopefully, I'll be catching up with that soon!

Today's Blog Post is on a topic near and dear to my heart:  Greyhounds.

I imagine that some of you have already heard about the recent discovery and rescue of 28 dogs from a horribly neglectful situation in Ft. Worth, Texas.  Here is a news article about the event.  At least 17 of these dogs were greyhounds, and others were greyhound and/or sighthound mixes.  I don't know (and probably don't want to know) all the details, but it's my understanding that these dogs were being kept in cages without food and water.  Most, if not all, were tick-infested.  One of these poor greyhounds has, sadly, already succumbed to his weakened condition.

The rescued greyhounds have been divided between the Greyhound Adoption League of Texas (GALT), and Greyhounds Unlimited (GU).   An online benefit auction is currently being held by Carpe Canem to raise desperately needed funds to help in the care and treatment of these greys before they are in good enough shape to be adopted.  Many of my greyhound friends over on Facebook, fellow artisans and craftspersons, and the dog and greyhound "community" in general have rallied together in order to donate hundreds of items for this auction.  Lee has donated a matted photo from his personal collection of photographic art, and I've donated a number of handmade cards.

The Emergency Carpe Canem Auction for Rescued Texas Greyhounds  is about three days into its run and will continue until Wednesday, July 28.   Please, if you have a chance, take a few minutes to visit the auction, and also to share this info with any of your friends that you think might be interested in learning more about and/or helping this cause.

Thank you, once again, for visiting my Blog.  And, please feel free to comment and share!  I love to read your comments!

Until we meet again. . . . I'd like to share one of my favorite photos of Lee's and my sweet greyhound Harley, along with one of my favorite quotes. . . .

 "Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."

~ Anatole France ~

Wordless and Winsome WOOF Wednesday . . . ..

Wordless Woof Wednesday . . . . .

Wordless Woof Wednesday Once Again . . . . . .

Sunday Morning Reverie . . . . . . .

(Click on either photo to enlarge.)

Wordless Wistful Woof Wednesday . . . . . .

(Please click on the photo for an enlarged view.)

There is Nothing Quite Like SPRING!

Some days are busier than others, and today, at least for me, has been one of those BUSY days! It's actually been a "good" kind of busy day, wherein I feel like I got a couple of projects done and some others at least started.

So, a little while ago, I thought I'd reward myself and give myself a break before thinking about the dreaded "C" word. . . . i.e., COOKING. I decided to grab my little camera, and take an early evening stroll around our yard with Harley, our sweet greyhound, to see what new Spring discoveries we might have missed.

Although it's been a bit of a breezy day, the wind has now subsided, making way for a lovely warmish Spring evening. And although I'm no photographer, I was able to take advantage of the early evening calm and some late day shadows to capture a few scenes from our yard.







I do love all the seasons, but truly, there is nothing quite like SPRING, is there?? (Just ask Harley!)

Wordless WOOF Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Merry Christmas, Deer Friends!

As many of you probably know about me by now, I have a fondness for whimsy, and that often shows through in my handmade card designs. It seems that every Christmas season, my cardmaking takes a twist into the realm of whimsy. . . . And what speaks whimsy at Christmastime more than REINDEER?

There has always been something "magical" to me about reindeer. The image of Santa Claus flying through the air on Christmas Eve, in a sleigh pulled by eight "tiny reindeer" is indelibly etched in my mind from childhood.

And even after I realized, at a fairly young age, that this vision was probably more fantasy than reality (Yes, there's a part of me that still wants to believe in Santa and his reindeer!), Christmastime still conjures up for me various images of sweet whimsical reindeer. . . . . so my card creations from year to year invariably include a few reindeer designs.

Tomorrow, I have planned a more serious post, but tonight, I'm giving in once again to my penchant for whimsy, and using some of my previous card designs to illustrate this Christmas Eve blog post, which I'm dedicating to all of YOU, my fellow bloggers, blog followers, and friends.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, DEER FRIENDS!

And this last photo, although not of a handmade card design, is of my very FAVORITE reindeer!



Until we meet again . . . . May You Never Lose Your Sense of Wonder.

Wordless Woof Wednesday . . . . .Holiday Edition

Wordless Woof Wednesday . . . . .

Wordless Woof Wednesday Once Again . . . . .

Wordless Woof Wednesday . . . . .

This Week's Wordless Wednesday . . . .

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

Wordless Wednesday . . . .

A Father's Day Card from Harley . . . .

Our sweet greyhound, Harley, surprised my husband Lee today with a lovely Father's Day card! (Well, if the truth be known . . .Harley did have a LITTLE help from me, good ol' mom. But, shhhhh! Don't tell Lee, 'cause he already thinks that Harley is quite a special, indeed, gifted dog!)


This is the card that Lee found this morning, before I even got up. It had been carefully packaged in an envelope with a pawprint drawn on the outside, and propped against the coffee pot on the counter, where Lee was sure to see it as he started his daily routine of making coffee.

And the inside . . . . . .


Needless to say, Lee was touched, and Harley got some extra hugs (and bacon bits) from him today!

Harley is pretty lucky to have a greyt dad like Lee . . . and he knows it!

I'd like to dedicate today's Blog post to all the other wonderful dads out there . .including those of you who are "dads" to furry family members like Harley.

And I would like to wish you all a

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

BEAUTY is . . . . .

Today was the first day in almost two weeks that we haven’t had rain, usually accompanied by thunder and lightning. (Of course, there’s still time…the day isn’t over yet!)

Motivated by the relative warmth and sunshine of the day (along with a pretty strong case of cabin fever), I decided to spend a little time outdoors today exploring our yard from a slightly different perspective than I usually do.

Harley joined me, sometimes walking beside me, sometimes rustling around in the bushes searching for something of interest, and sometimes just lolling in the damp green grass, taking in the sights, smells and sounds of Spring.

It’s amazing what you notice when you’re open to possibilities and take a look at things a little more deeply than you normally do. . . . One thing led to another, I decided to go get my camera, I snapped a few photos, and the idea for today’s blog post (better late than never!) began to rattle around in my head.

Here's what came of it.

Beauty is . . . .

wherever you look for it.

whatever you want it to be.

found not only in the extraordinary, but in the ordinary as well.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

And until we meet again. . . . .may you delight in the beauty around you.