TWENTY FIVE Years. . . . . . .

It’s not often that I could tell you what I was doing on an exact day twenty five years prior.

But today I can.


I was getting married … to the great love of my life.

Yes, today is Lee’s and my twenty fifth wedding anniversary. A milestone indeed!

We were not youngsters when we took the plunge. We’d both been around the block, so to speak, and had been married once before. Given our previous experiences, we were by no means impulsive in our decision to get married. In fact, we’d been together in a committed relationship for over three years before we finally decided to make the final more “permanent” step. And even then, I think we were both more than a little nervous!

But look how well it all turned out. . .here we are, twenty five years later, as much in love and dare I say, even more committed to each other than we were in those early years of our relationship. I don’t know how many couples can say that, but I’m certainly glad that we are among those who can.

Today, as I recall that day twenty five years ago, there are certain memories that remain fresh in my mind, some poignant and some downright laughable (well, I should say they’re laughable now. . .maybe they weren’t at the time).

And as I take my little mental trip down memory lane today, I thought I’d share just a few of these memorable snippets with you. . . . . . .

Neither Lee nor I were regular churchgoers back then (nor now), so we didn’t have a church of our choice within which to get married. Yet, we didn’t just want a civil service, so his parents asked their pastor if he would perform our marriage ceremony in our back yard.

That summer preceding our October wedding, Lee and I worked long and hard in our back yard, planting a new perimeter garden of multi-colored annuals, weeding and watering it daily, adding new flowers as some of the old ones died out. By the end of the summer our little garden looked quite lovely, if I do say so myself!

But as early October approached here in northern Utah and the chill starting creeping in at night, we began to watch the weather forecast every evening, worried that an early frost would render our flowers withered and wilted before our wedding day. Thankfully, we were spared an early frost that year, and our flower garden backdrop was as colorful and cheerful as we could ever have hoped.

For our wedding music, we invited a friend to play the guitar and sing a couple of songs of our choice. The songs were, Evergreen, and Longer Than. . . . . even now, the lyrics and music of both these songs touch my heart.

Our ceremony included a favorite section from The Prophet by Kahil Gibran.

Love one another but make not a bondage of love;

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each of you be alone;

Even as the strings of the lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

And stand together yet not too near together

For the pillars of the temple stand apart,

And the oat tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow

But let there be spaces in your togetherness

And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

And Lee and I participated in the writing of our own simple but special vows:

I promise to love and respect you.

I promise not to take you for granted.

I promise to express my feelings openly, and to encourage you to do the same.

I promise to maintain my sense of humor.

I promise to remain committed to our growing relationship, and to make every effort to work through conflicts as they arise.

Like many couples, we’ve had our ups and downs over the years, but I think I can honestly say, as I re-read these vows that we made to each other twenty five years ago, that we’ve done pretty well at honoring them. And for that, I’m proud of us both.

I’m embarrassed to admit, as I write this blog entry, that I never finished putting our Wedding Album together! I bought a lovely photo/memories album way back then, and although I did put photos in it, I never completed my plans for making it into a memory album. I guess there’s still time!

On this, the twenty fifth year anniversary of Lee’s and my wedding, I do feel motivated once again to complete that album/memory book. And when I do, there are a few more special memories that I intend to include in it, like these:

• My one and only sister coming from Kansas to be my Maid of Honor, and Lee’s longest time and best friend coming from California to be Best Man
  
  
• Lee’s favorite aunt and uncle from New York City flying out to Salt Lake to attend our wedding
  
  
• My sister noticing the terrible state that my fingernails were in the afternoon just before our wedding, and offering to give me a manicure!(I’ve always been and continue to be to this day, very neglectful of my fingernails)
  
  
• Our quirky caterer (a moonlighting would-be chef) nipping on scotch the entire time he was preparing our wedding refreshments, and ending up overbaking his “famous” liver pate, rendering it inedible
  
  
• Our sweet dogs at the time, Lucky and Mutt Mutt, having to experience a kennel for the very first time, during our at-home wedding and subsequent honeymoon
  
  
• Our vacation-honeymoon in Cannon Beach, Oregon. . . our first visit to the area (We’ve now been back twice again, and it continues to be one of our favorite places to spend time. . .even during chilly October!)

The ensuing twenty five years have been filled with so very many more special moments and memories. We have worked, traveled, enjoyed the company of family and friends, nurtured long lasting friendships and developed new ones, loved (and lost) a number of very special canine companions, laughed, cried, and faced numerous challenges together.

Throughout all of this, I think we have grown and emerged stronger individually and have become even more committed as a couple.

Today, the commemoration of our twenty fifth year of marriage, is indeed a special day to us. Thank you for sharing in it.

Until we meet again. . .. . I (We) wish you love.

Sharing the Love . . . . .

Funny, isn’t it, how LIFE sometimes gets in the way of BLOGGING?? I’m afraid that is what’s been happening to me lately!

Ever since Lee and I got back from our Montana trip a month ago, it seems like I’ve been playing catch up, both inside and outside the house. Spring has finally sprung here in Utah, and there’s SO much yard clean up to do. . .not that I’m complaining! Indeed, I’m welcoming Spring with more than my usual enthusiasm this year, after the long cold winter we had.

And, of course, I’ve also been playing catch up on my cardmaking, as I try to get some new inventory into my Etsy and Artfire shops, and complete a few custom card orders.

Unfortunately, I haven’t had the time I’d like to keep up with my important blogging activities! But I’m hoping that will change, starting this week. For the next little while at least, I hope to be able to do more regular updates to my Blog, keep more current on reading the blogs on my blog list, and continue to discover and share any new and interesting blogs that I LOVE to read!

And on that note. . . I’ll be focusing several Blog posts this week on the theme of “Sharing the Love . . . .”


Thanks to the kindness of some of my fellow Bloggers, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by over the past few months by three different Blog Awards. And now I’m happy to be able to “share the love” by passing along these awards to other blogs that I consider particularly worthy. I will be posting several blog entries this week along this Sharing the Love theme, each in regard to a different award.

The Blog Award I'd like to pass along today, is the One Lovely Blog Award, which Teddyree of Excerpts from the Edge, was kind enough to bestow on my blog. I’m honored that she considered my blog worthy of such a title! Teddyree, Thank you SO much! (I think YOUR blog is lovely too!)

And, I in turn, would like to pass this award along to the following four blogs . . . . .

Sassy Glass Designs – This great blog never fails to disappoint, with blog giveaways, featured artists, interesting articles and fun photographs. And an added fringe benefit of this blog is being able to see this talented blogger/artisan’s fabulous handmade jewelry!

Original Miniature Art of Melody Lea Lamb – I’m truly in awe of Melody’s artistic talent and her wonderful drawings of various landscape scenes and animals. Melody's deep and enduring love of nature and animals is apparent in her art. She is also a member of Art for Critters, a group of artists who donate a portion of their art sales to animal charities.

City Gal moves to OZ Land - I love visiting Oz Girl’s blog! Not only is she a talented photographer, but her posts are particularly nostalgic for me, as they bring back memories of growing up in Kansas. And sometimes I go visit just to listen to her blog music!

The Photography of Lee Everett Robinson - And last but (certainly) not least, I love my husband Lee’s photography blog! Lee rarely posts narrative, but he does post a new photo almost daily, and I think you’ll agree that his photography is exceptional. (I like his blog music TOO.)

I hope you’ll take a look at these four LOVELY blogs! And I hope that each of these deserving One Lovely Blog Award recipients will take the time to pass it along to a few others of their own choosing!

More blog awards to come later in the week, so I hope you'll check back.

Until we meet again . . . . .may your days be lovely.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

It seems like a very long time since I last blogged, when in reality, it's only been two weeks. . . .not so very long in the overall scheme of things.


BUT, Today is VALENTINE'S DAY! And what better day than this, to get back into my blogging groove and re-connect with my fellow bloggers?








It seems like I've been busy making Valentine cards for WEEKS (and I guess I have!), so it almost feels to me like Valentine's Day should have come and gone by now.

Maybe that kind of time disorientation is an "occupational hazard" of handmade card designers. There are times I'm so engrossed in making cards for specific holidays that before I know it, the holiday is nearly upon me, and I'm not ready for it.

Indeed, it was only yesterday that I realized that I didn't have a special Valentine card for my dear husband Lee, so I had to go out and buy one! (Again, it brings to mind the old saying, "The cobbler's children have no shoes.")

But at any rate, today, on VALENTINE'S DAY, I want to send a sincere wish to all of you out there in Blogger Land . . .my fellow bloggers, friends, readers, and craftspersons alike . . .for a very special day filled with love and laughter.

Whether you are spending the day with your significant other, family members, friends, beloved pets or simply in your own company engaged in activities that you enjoy, I hope you have a lovely day!


Ciao!

Ride's Final Journey . . . .

Today’s blog entry is indeed a sad one for me to write. Last Friday, our dear greyhound Ride, took her final journey . . . . this time to the Rainbow Bridge.

Since my most recent post last Thursday, Ride’s health situation continued to worsen. The veterinarian had taken a biopsy of a presumed mammary tumor on Wednesday, and we were awaiting the results of this biopsy before she did any surgery . . . .Lee and I were leaning toward surgery to excise the tumor, at least to give Ride some pain relief, even though we hadn't quite decided whether or not we wanted to pursue chemotherapy.

And in the meantime, the vet prescribed an antibiotic (in the remote possibility that it might be an abscess), as well as anti-inflammatory and pain medication.

Over the next two days while we waited to hear on the biopsy, Ride clearly wasn't feeling better, despite the medications. By midday Friday, she hardly wanted to move, and was refusing all food, even her long time favorite “people” foods.

The vet called us early Friday afternoon to tell us that the biopsy results had come in, and that they showed lymphoma, a cancer of a certain type of white blood cells. Even she was surprised by the biopsy results.

Lee and I were told that chemotherapy was an option, but that it would require a weekly treatment for Ride over the course of 21 weeks, and there was, of course, no guarantee that it would be successful, particularly since Ride was already so sick.

After much soul-searching, Lee and I decided that it was time to let Ride go. We took her in to the clinic late Friday afternoon and were able to spend some quality time with her before she passed away. She died the day before my birthday, 6 weeks shy of 13 years of age.


We have lost five beloved canine pets over the past 25+ years, and it’s always a difficult experience.

Each and every dog, of course, is special in their own way, and our little Emotional Ride (her ex-racing name) was no exception.

Ride was a part of our family for 10 years, and she and I had grown especially close over the past 7 years, after I retired from my day job.

Lee and I like to think that Ride is now pain-free and enjoying the company of her other greyhound siblings and housemates who went to the Rainbow Bridge before her.

Thank you ALL for caring enough to read this, my last tribute to our dear Ride.

And until we meet again . . . .

I’d like to share with you a beautifully done animated web version of The Rainbow Bridge.
(You'll need to "Click to begin")

For the LOVE of DOGS: Part 1 . . . . . . .

It’s no secret to those of you who know me, or who have been following my Blog, that I’m a “dog person”. I love animals of all kinds (well, perhaps with a few exceptions), but I’m particularly fond of dogs.

Throughout most of my adulthood, I’ve always had one or two dogs. And in all honesty, I can’t imagine my life without a dog! I’ve often commented to friends over the years that having dogs adds another dimension to one’s life. Of course, I recognize that having dogs is not the same as having children. But for my husband Lee and me, our dogs have always been an integral part of our lives, and we consider them members of our family. To us, they are indeed very much like children.

So, on that introductory note, I’m dedicating today’s Blog post to DOGS and those who LOVE them. This will be the first of several related posts on this topic, which I’m entitling, “For the LOVE of DOGS . . . .”

Although one of Lee’s and my current “passions” is greyhound adoption, and we currently have two wonderful greyhounds, we haven’t always been greyhound owners. In fact our first two dogs were mixed breed dogs that came into our lives rather accidentally.


Lucky was a Gordon Setter and Black Lab mix, whose owner was one of Lee’s co-workers. As it turns out, the co-worker was moving to a place where he could no longer have a dog, and was looking for a new home for Lucky. So, Lee and I decided to meet her.

It was love at first sight, and we were both struck by her friendly and exuberant personality, her wonderful lustrous black fur, and the way she ran like the wind. So, we took her home. Lucky always kept us on our toes . . .she’s the only dog we ever had who took a flying leap and slid along the top of my baby grand piano to get a glimpse out the adjacent window, AND she’s the only dog that I’ve ever had who caught mice! She was a handful, but a delight.

Less than a year later, Lee and I came home after work to find a second dog in our back yard. . . .a timid and rather scraggly-looking terrier mix with long off-white fur, mostly matted! Later we found the place where she had dug her way under the fence into our yard to visit Lucky. She wore no tags, and she had apparently been through some rough treatment, because every time we tried to approach her (Lee more than I), she nearly cowered.

But eventually we managed to befriend this little waif, feed her, give her a bath and trim her matted coat. We couldn’t bring ourselves to take her to the local animal shelter, fearful that she wouldn’t be adopted. SO. . . . .. we named her and decided to keep her. That was a decision we never for one moment regretted over the years Mutt-Mutt was with us. She never got over her timidity with men, but she was one of the most affectionate dogs I’ve ever known. She was a gift.

For 16 years, Lucky and Mutt-Mutt were each others and Lee’s and my sweet and loyal companions. Early in 1997, both dogs passed away within one month of each other. Lucky died on Lee's birthday.

It was shortly after we lost Lucky and Mutt-Mutt that we adopted our first two ex-racing greyhounds.

Having grown up in Abilene, Kansas (home of the National Greyhound Association), I was somewhat familiar with greyhounds, but only from a distance. And Lee and I had talked about the possibility of adopting an ex-racing greyhound. So we started doing some online research about greyhound adoption in Utah.

We found out about a greyhound adoption group in southern Utah (then the only greyhound adoption group in the state), and contacted them to inquire about the availability of ex-racing greyhounds for placement. And one month later, having successfully completed the adoption “application process”, we were making the 5 hour trip from Salt Lake City to Kanab, Utah to pick up our first two greyhounds, Cody and Cassie.

Cassie was a beautiful brindle girl. She was a small and very shy greyhound whom we loved dearly, but who had a number of mysterious but serious health issues over the short time that we had her.

A little over a year after we brought her home, she succumbed to a bizarre illness. (We never did have a final diagnosis.)

Cody was all black, with a white chest and four white-tipped paws. Weighing in at around 87 lbs., he was the largest dog we’d ever had, and it took a little while for us to get used to his size! But he was one of the quietest, most gentle dogs I’ve ever known (except around cats!).

We called Cody our “gentle giant”. Cody was with us for 8 years, until he developed bone cancer and passed away a few months later. He was almost 10.

We adopted Ride (racing name: Emotional Ride) in 1999, shortly after Cassie’s passing.

This is a photo of Ride, not long after we adopted her. She was around 3 years old.

(I'd forgotten how dark her face was way back then . . .she hadn't started to turn gray yet!)

At first, we were a little nervous about how Cody would adjust to sharing the house again with another grey.

But mellow fellow that he was, Cody did fine, and it didn’t take long before he and Ride were best friends, which they remained until Cody’s passing in 2004.

Ride was our only greyhound for a couple of years. Both Lee and I were so saddened by the loss of Cody, we weren’t sure we were ready to attach to yet another greyhound right away, so we thought we’d wait a while to decide.

I was recently retired from my job by then, and since I was home all day, Ride and I became inseparable. She LOVED to take jaunts in the car with me, and I would often take her with me for short errands when the weather was nice.

Around November 2006, Lee and I decided that we were ready to adopt another greyhound, and as fate would have it . . . along came Harley!

It so happened that right about the time Lee and I decided to seek out another greyhound, Harley was “returned” to a local greyhound adoption group, where we know the kennel owner. Harley had been placed in an adoptive home a year before, but unfortunately the placement hadn’t worked out as well as expected. And when Harley was returned to the adoption group, he was not in very good shape physically OR emotionally, so he needed quite a bit of tender loving care and attention.

Once we brought Harley home, it was a difficult couple of months, in that Harley had moderate to severe separation anxiety, and somewhat aggressive food behavior. Thankfully, with a lot of patience, love, and consistency, Harley is now well-adjusted and happy as the newest member of our family.

And this beautiful fawn boy with amber eyes has turned out to be another one of the greyt joys of our lives.

Although it took Ride a while to warm up to Harley, they have become good companions to each other. And coincidentally, even though they are 7 years apart in age, their birthdays are only one day apart! Ride will turn 13 on March 28th and Harley will turn 6 on March 27th.

I am so grateful to have dogs in my life. Not only have our dogs always provided Lee and me with unconditional love, they have also brought us joy and laughter.

Our dogs help prevent Lee and me from being TOO introspective, TOO self-absorbed, and TOO serious. And, they provide us with special memories and “Kodak moments” that have helped to inspire us in our own creative endeavors.

I hope you’ll stay tuned for my next Blog post, “For the LOVE of DOGS: Part 2”, in which I will focus on how our greyhounds and dogs in general have provided inspiration for my handmade cards, scrapbook layouts, and other paper creations.

I'm in the MOOD for . . . . VALENTINE'S DAY!

VALENTINE'S DAY is "just around the corner", especially for cardmakers!












And as I've mentioned in one of my previous Blog entries, Valentine's Day is one of my very favorite events around which to design cards.


I guess I've always loved Valentine's Day . . . there's just something kind of warm and fuzzy about it. Images of hearts and flowers, cupids, angels, sweet little puppies and kittens, . . . . all go through my head when I think of Valentine's Day.

Even during those times of my life when I haven't had a "signficant other" with whom to share the more romantic aspects of Valentine's Day, I've always considered the day a time to let other special friends and family members know how much they mean to me.

I don't really know too much about the history of Valentine's Day, so I Googled it just a little while ago and found a nice descripion at this Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day


You might find it an interesting read, particularly if you have a fondness for Valentine's Day as I do!

(No, the image on the left is NOT one of my cards; it's an image I found on Google Images here! Pretty cute, eh?)










Last week, I started focusing my cardmaking on some new Love-themed and Valentine's Day cards. I searched through all my cardmaking papers, supplies and embellishments and pulled out any and all that I could find that would work nicely along the theme.

And I looked through all my love-themed quotes and pre-printed text blocks that I've collected over the past few years. (I'm an absolute romatic at heart, and a pushover for all those romantic sayings and verses!)

Here are the new card designs that I've come up with so far! Hope you like them!

As ALWAYS, comments, observations, and yes, even musings from my Blog readers are welcome AND encouraged!

Now that I've completed a few new Valentine's Day card designs, I'm all fired up to create more, so that's going to be my focus for this upcoming week.

Ciao!

And this is my dear husband, Lee, who shares my love of nature, animals (especially greyhounds), music, and the arts. Although a land surveyor by trade, his first love (or second, if you count me!) is photography. Please check out his Blog and his Etsy Shop under Some of My Favorite Blogs , and under Some of My Favorite Links.

Lee and I will be celebrating our 24th wedding anniversary in a few months.

Here are Ride and me, posing for holiday photos. Reindeer antlers were not Ride's favorite head gear, but she tolerated them long enough for a photo!