Month: January 2015

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The Big Trip-Anticipation

It was a “bucket list” item that I thought I’d never get to experience.  Actually, in the back of my mind, I thought there was a better chance that most of my list would go un-accomplished.  I’m like that.  Plus, in the nearly 15 years that the hubby and I have been married, we haven’t traveled together to another state unless it bordered our home state.  We’re homebodies, so when I began broaching the subject that I really, really wanted to do this and that I was going to do it regardless, I think we were both surprised when he agreed to accompany me.

I began planning for real in October.  I began making plans, scouring sites for hotel and airfare rates and making lists.  And keeping secrets.  Deep in my heart I believed that this trip would be derailed in an epic manner.  Our prepaid flight would be cancelled because of a snowstorm the likes of which no one had ever seen before.  Our volunteer slots would be filled and we wouldn’t be able to visit.  Something would happen here at home to prevent us from leaving.  You name the scary scenario and I lived it in the depths of my psyche.  I loaded the weather for every city we’d be visiting and checked the forecast every day.  Surprisingly, the night before our flight I slept like a rock.  No bad dreams chased me and I calmly boarded a plane that I knew wouldn’t fly.  Not until we landed did I begin to think this trip, #TheBigTrip, would happen.  The nerves really and truly didn’t dissipate until we arrived on morning two of the trip at my ultimate happy place destination.  The night before that was riddled with nightmares of too many adoptable animals and missing shifts, but the morning dawned bright with all the promise of the fulfillment of so many of my dreams and the chance to make an impact and to give back.

This trip was so packed with bucket list items, that the recap will take several days and I’ve decided to break it down into digestible chunks, so I hope you’ll check back for all of the adventures.

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Gotcha!

I see from my TimeHop that today is Ray’s Gotcha Day and truth be told, I knew it was around now but I’ve let the exact date escape my consciousness. You see, because I was there to witness his birth I would have always considered him “mine” in some way. Connected.
I don’t feel the need to celebrate the day he came to live in my house as much as I celebrate and cherish the day he came into my world and into my heart.

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So while I might not be able to cradle him in exactly the same way, you can be sure that if we are in the house together, chances are we’re near each other.

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I know that my life course has dramatically altered since my little piggy came into my life. There are things I do and think and want and feel just because of him so with that inspiration, after just one more sleep, I’ll be leaving my Gotcha boy in the very capable hands of his human sister while the hubby accompanies me on the fulfillment of a dream.

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Dogs as Art

While I do have some dog-centric art in our home, I don’t feel like there’s too much or even enough yet. (The hubby might disagree). The thing is, until recently I had lots of photos of other dogs in our home.

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Recognize any of them? This is a portion of a collection I’ve gathered from participating in fundraisers, whether it’s been for Handsome Dan or Strut Your Mutt or even smaller fund raisers for blog dogs.

Well, I finally found some frames I like and made some prints of the Peaceabull boys to adorn my shelves and will be planning to commission some more art this year.

Hmmm…is this post s hint of some sort?

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Sleep Away

I love, love, love watching Julius “nest.” He curls his lanky body into a tight little ball and snuggles deep into the pillows. He has learned to burrow his snout into the warmth of blankets and he loves to have his his nose or sometimes the top of his head pressed against his humans.

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I like to imagine that being that close and breathing in our scent makes him feel secure. My little man, who lived outside and was running the streets now luxuriates in creature comforts and is not above stealing a pillow out from beneath a resting head.

Julius actually has his own full sized pillows -(two of them!) that he sleeps with and these accompany him to whichever bed he happens to be sleeping in, usually. It gives me such a huge feeling of satisfaction when I see him enjoying these small comforts. I know that he knows how much he is loved.

Within the next week, I’m going to need to remind myself just this exact feeling. The hubby and I will be embarking on a huge adventure that just the anticipation of makes me emotional. I’ll believe it when I live it but in the meantime, Ray will help the girls hold down the Fort and Julius will pack his pillows, bed, blanket, bowls and toys for a week at “sleep-away camp” aka his happy place, Paw’s-n-Claw’s Pet Care Palace.

Wish us all luck!

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The Difference in Inches

IMG_1914Here is where I might cop to doing a bit of online shopping occasionally from work various devices and I often find it both annoying and challenging to get something ordered for the dogs if I don’t have them nearby.  I might be perusing a site or reading a blog recommendation and decide that the boys absolutely can’t live without whatever the item du jour is but be foiled by a lack of handy measurements.  Then like a lightbulb or a flash I read about one of my blog buddies making up a spread sheet of her dogs’ measurements to always have handy.  (I could swear it was Hannah, but I can’t find the specific post.) 

Well, I immediately stole her idea copied her sheet and made a few modifications then when I got home I set out to measure my beasts.  Only I struggle with it.  I usually buy them martingale collars, so if the measurements are a bit off, it’s ok but ordering buckle collars has become a bit of a huge fail.  I can measure those boys over and over and still come up with different measurements.  And how can Ray be 2-3 inches longer than Julius?  Why are their necks an inch or two different when they can wear the same collar?  And if they are standing or looking ahead or down that seems to affect the neck measurement by several inches.  If I measure wrong will their collars strangle them?  Ugh! What am I missing?

Via

Via

 

So after a bit of searching, I found this nice handy visual to use for when I remeasure for the next round of purchases. (Honey, avert your eyes.) So now all I need to do is remember to load the measurements in all of my devices or at least my dropbox.

Do you ever have issues with inconsistent sizing?