a Sunday blessing

or Happy Fern Sunday...

remember this from last year?

just had to repost because it really was too funny.

if I am honest with you,

I have to tell you I had a no good rotten bad week 

and thankfully it was our spring break,

so I laid low 

and cried a lot

and missed my mom

and cleaned 

and cried a lot.

grief really is a roller coaster of emotions...

I feel better today and ready to face the world again.

xo

a Christmas cautionary tale

You may not want to 'keep your nose to the grindstone' 

as you get ready for Christmas...

or else your nose may end up looking like this...
The fur-kids wish you a very Merry Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

wishing you all a very blessed

Thanksgiving Day!

we really do have snow - lots!

and 15 coming for curry chicken salad today

as we are celebrating Thanksgiving Friday.

I am thankful for so many things 

and oh so thankful for my blogging friends.

wish we could truly meet up for a huge party -

now wouldn't that be fun?

what are your plans for this weekend?

and Zoe and Matteo send their furry love your way too...

Dream Big!

Do you ever not dream big enough?

Today my prayer for you is that 

you would dream as big as possible,

the sky's the limit, 

let nothing get in your way,

just do it!

And then take one tiny step towards it,

just one baby step at a time...

Zoe thought she was in a dream beyond her wildest dreams.

She thought she had struck gold as we poured the big bag

of dog food into smaller containers.

Unbelief filled her mind - "How can this be?"

Do you ever do that?

I do more than I care to admit.

Even when a dream seems to land 'kerplunk'

right in my lap.

My brain has to analyze it... and dissect it...

Zoe quickly rallied and decided her eyes were not in fact deceiving her.

My guess is her olfactory sense took over

and she dove in lickety-split.

Poor thing, we quickly put a stop to it,

as truth be told she would eat until... well I would rather not say.

But she knows she has a cupboard stocked full of food and it is all hers!

My son is dreaming big too.

Just gave his first sermon at a church 

where he is doing an internship while at Princeton.

You can hear it here.

So what is your dream?

Where are you taking baby steps today?

and the winner is...

the moment has finally arrived...

I know you have had your fingers and toes crossed,

you have been on pins and needles, 

and waiting with bated breath...

so let's end the suspense -

I put these on the floor in a circle

and booted the nose outside until the setup was complete.

 then I set Zoe in the middle of the circle 

and let her nose do its thing.

Tina Eudora, can you see your name?

Send me your info.

Matteo was deep into a cat dream so I decided not to disturb him.

That's what you get with nonprofessional non-paid actors.  

Well, yes a doggy treat was given

and Matteo did insist on verifying the winner

in his own particular way.

What fun this was - we will do another in November!

GIVEAWAY...

Zoe and Matteo decided it is time for a Giveaway - yay!!!

They graciously offered to pick the winner...

if they can find a gap in their busy schedule 

of sleeping, 

hunting for mice in the garage, 

chewing stuffed rats and chasing string.

And the featured item is... drumroll please...

 a 5 x 8 1/4"  blank Moleskine journal

with my photo and definition of "crafty" on it,

plus other un-named goodies that fit the recipient.

or if you would rather have any of my other card fronts on it -

just choose and I will sew that one on instead.

Choose from those photos on this post here.

So you have 5 ways to enter - pick one or all five:

1. Leave a comment on this blog about what being "crafty" means to you... for one entry
2. Grab my button over on the side and put it in your blog and leave me a comment saying you did that... for two entries.  Kim and Carrie  already have my button.  Who's next?
3. become a follower
4. put me in your link list like Shelly, Erin, Jane, Joji , Gloria, and Trish
5. or finally do a post about my giveaway or me for another entry like Malia and Vicki

                           ...be sure and let me know what you did.

and I will be offering a giveaway in November and December too...

that is if I can get my furry cohorts to find a break in their holiday schedule.

Oh ya - family members and employees are not excluded from playing.

Names will be chosen Tuesday, October 12.

a dog's life

Finally it's my turn to post...

if you are recent to this blog then let me introduce myself -

My name is Zoe and I am a 9 year old Pembroke Welsh Corgi.
My mom is allowing me this guest post while her finger heals.
She thanks you all for asking how she is doing;
the finger is healing but starting to hurt more and 
she is hoping that means the nerves are reattaching
and nothing more.
She is a tad down and finds it hard to sit still
and the worst thing is that she won't throw the ball to me
and no art is happening.

I live with her and Doug and I love fetching and herding my family...

yep that is what I do...

especially on walks - and when strangers come to the door,

well who are we kidding - when anyone comes to the door.
It's just what I do.

thought you might enjoy seeing a little bit of my world....

We walked to Pine Lake Park the other night for a 60's concert.

There were lots of dogs to see,

but my mission was to herd my parents through the park and back home.

It's just what I do. 

It was a beautiful summer day.

Summer doesn't get any better than here,

that is after summer actually arrives and decides to stay...

just love this lake -

 

Then Saturday we went on a long drive in the car...

I usually don't go on these outings as I get a little dizzy and carsick.

I am too short to see out and Mr. Nick is in Paris and could not hold me.

sigh, I miss my boy.

First we went to Gig Harbor, a beautiful little town west of Tacoma.

Oh mom, of course we had to pose...

how embarrassing!

and I was planning on eating these yummy colored items left right on the sidewalk

until my mom showed me that there was a sidewalk drawing contest going on.

very cool art...

even got my white paws colored from it -

I kinda like the look.

Then my adventure continued at a family party.

 I met Maddie and Bella -

 they were young whippersnappers and made me nervous 

as they ganged up on me - 

I am an old lady you know

and I like my quiet.

I enjoyed spending time with my good friend Tess.  

Now there's a dog who gets me.

She had the largest beef bone and 

I got to gnaw on it a couple of times.

I had a whimpy rawhide and I wanted Tess' bone 

and she wanted my rawhide.

The grass is always greener right?

So I had to eat my rawhide as fast as I could so she would not get it, 

but then I threw it all up... drat.

Here's my favorite Ella who loves cheerios -

my kinda girl...

She did not spill as many as I had hoped, drat...

She didn't feel very well...

my mom thinks she has the cutest bum...

but then again she says that about mine.

Now I for one covet her shoes -

red and pink and cherries -

how cute are these?

and these are her ladybug shoes...

I seriously wanted to put all 4 of them on my feet and sneak out - 

do you think anyone would have noticed?

On the ride home I saw my first train - a little loud and big and scary
so I moved to the other side of the car...
I really prefer just hanging out at home
(It's just what I do),
but I did enjoy myself today.
I have more to share so mom said I can blog again sometime if you guys like it,
so please comment if you do!
I gotta get more comments than the cat's post  (9) so comment here please 
and give the dog some support.
thanks!

A Sunday Blessing

I have been waiting a whole year to post this one...

First of all, you need to know that today we celebrate Palm Sunday.

"The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast 

heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.  

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

'Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'

...and you need to know that in the Pacific Northwest 

the kids at church often use fern fronds instead of palm branches

when they walk through our church in a procession

to commemorate this event...

so imagine our surprise when we got home from church,

let Zoe out,

and found that she returned with her own fern frond

tucked neatly into her collar.

We had a good laugh, but as you can tell she did not quite get the humor of the situation.

I kid you not - this really happened!

guard dog...

my guard dog would literally guard these cheetos

(please no lectures - they called out to me at the market

today and needed a good home)

until the end of time...

I forgot to put them away and an hour later

she was still in vigil mode...

sorry girl -

I would hate to be cursed with your nose.

after the holidays...

bunk bed for the fur kids...

the last couple of days have been very low key

and since we placed the quilt on top of the chair

Matteo has moved from the seat of the chair

to the quilt...

thus allowing Zoe command of the bottom...

typical...

looks like he partied too hard...

advent december 13 - a sunday blessing

It came upon the midnight clear,

that glorious song of old,

from angels bending near the earth to touch

their harps of gold,

"Peace on the earth, good will to men

from heav'n's all gracious king!"

The world in solemn stillness lay to hear the angels sing...

advent december 11

not a creature was stirring,

not even a...

well maybe a Matteo.

advent December 6 - a Sunday blessing

following yonder star...

(or maybe a squirrel)

advent December 4

should just let you enjoy this one

without the commentary below the photo...

I have the need to buy everything with a welsh corgi

on it in honor of our dog - Zoe

love this dog of ours -

who is fiercely loyal,

loves to herd us,

who would fetch til she dropped,

who hates baths, but loves her pool in the summer,

and who has greeted us faithfully every time we come home for the past 9 years,

but the other day...

she decided to enjoy the meal of a very frozen,

very large dead rat...

I will spare you the details...

my esteem of her dropped several notches

needless to say

and I shudder just thinking of it...

no kisses allowed for a long time.

Buddies

buddies...

every once in awhile they put aside their differences

and play a little,

or watch the steam rise from the dryer vent on a cold, rainy autumn day...

I knew I had to be quick...

drat, I was discovered!