Lea Stein, Compressed Plastic & Dogs

My last blog post, where I shared my love of playing with laminated resins and plastics as a kid, inspired me to pull out my collection of Lea Stein brooches today and share them with you. It’s a tiny collection; but it makes me happy. I first started collecting Ric the Terrier while living in New York City in the early 90s. (My grandpa had Airedales so I have a real soft spot for them in any form.) I broke my “Ric the Terrier-only” rule when I came across the Cairn Terrier-looking brooch. I am pretty sure it is called “Kimdoo” – I am thinking that the shorter muzzle and not-so-brick-like head might make it a Cairn; but it could be a Scottie or Westie. All I know is I loved it, so home it came with me! 

Halloween, Cairns & Love

Sometimes in life, if we're lucky, we have the great fortune of sharing our path with a few incredible spirits. For the last thirty years I shared that path with Janice…the first twenty from a distance and the last ten in each other’s backyards as sisters, of sorts. For me, these pix of Beatrix and Janice’s Missy, celebrating Halloween in their own special way, will always remind me of the loving, silly and sometimes sad times I shared with Janice.

Throwback Thursday: 1995, Stripes, Brave or Not

Oh boy…am I being really brave or am I being really stupid? Honestly, I don’t know the answer to that question. What I do know is that I am wearing the same shirt in both of these pix. Yes, the exact same shirt! In 1995 with Agatha, the Norwich Terrier, who charmed my world when I lived in New York City and made the journey with me here to the Pacific Northwest; and, me today snapping a selfie almost twenty years later – at least the shirt has conquered the test of time!

Tess Comes to Stay!

The older I get the more I have come to realize just how fragile life can be. We flippantly quip that “life changes on a dime” – in reality, it’s quite true. Last week, our family grew by one. Bea and I opened our home and our hearts to Tess, a friend’s 12-year old Brittany Spaniel. Sadly, just three weeks after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Velma, Tess’s forever mom, left this place. Beatrix and I had made a promise to Velma that Tess would join our family when life changed as we knew it would. Promises made and promises kept.

Saying Good-Bye

Saying good-bye to a little spirit is never an easy thing to do; and today, Beatrix and I had to do just that. Tori, the little Cairn Terrier rescue, whose story we shared here, crossed the Rainbow Bridge today. While I know in my heart she is in a better place - healthy, out of pain and chasing squirrels to her heart's delight - doesn't make it any easier to accept that I won't see her sweet face or hold her in my arms again.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Yesterday was a good day -- I spent a few hours at the Beck Farm playing with Cairn Terriers, visiting with good family-friends and eating a chicken Oktoberfest sausage sandwich and finishing it off with apple strudel. Yum. The Cairn Terriers in the pix here were rescues from a variety of different sources.

National Dog Day!

I don't know about all of you, but my life just wouldn't be right without my little Beatrix Potter in it. I just heard that today is National Dog Day - so figured it was the perfect time to sing her praises. As many of you might remember, after 14 years of life in New York City and here in the the Pacific Northwest, my sweet Agatha Christie left this earth. My heartbreak and feeling of total emptiness in trying to have a life without her was overwhelming.

Life is Good

They say if you see it, it will come! Guess what -- it's here -- the blue sky and sunshine. Needless to say, Bea's a pretty happy camper on her big comfy pillow here in the studio, as am I. There is something to be said about the sun and how it effects energy, at least for me.

The Sun Will Come Out...Tomorrow

"Bet your bottom dollar that the sun..." Well, you know the rest. And, we are so waiting for it. Here in the Pacific Northwest, spring is slow in coming. Today, snow in the forecast, cold winds and gray skies. Even Bea looks depressed. What's a dog to do when it's raining and cold out. Come on...there are birds to chase and skunks to hunt -- but sissy that she is, she doesn't like the rain. Can you believe I raised a sissy Cairn?

A Litte Reminder

Nothing like a romp through the leaves on a crisp fall day! What could be better than that? Beatrix with her sissy, Missy. Having fun, full of spirit and just being in the moment. It's a good reminder for us human types not to get too caught up in the zaniness of the holiday season -- we should really enjoy the moments and just have fun. Sounds like a great plan...don't you think?