The Next Project on the List

Hello!  I hope you all had a beautiful Christmas and are now enjoying a deep, refreshing breath of contentment as life returns to a more normal pace.  As much as I enjoy the holidays I’m always happy for a fresh start afterward.  I’m still in the winding down phase, but this little thing called vacation is helping with the decompressing process.

Today I thought I’d share a little peek at what’s been keeping my retired Rich busy since the house painting project.  This started back in September when he sanded off the deck paint to return it to a natural wood finish.  You can see my poor, tired flower pots and our ever-present companions in the background.



I remember what an unnaturally hot and humid spell we were having at that time.  Even with their heavy coats Wally and LuLu handled it better than I did.



After the sanding the deck got a coat of rain repellant. 



Next came the painting of the deck furniture.  This photo was taken yesterday on the back deck which will be refinished later.  The blue and white bench is pretty, but that’s just the first coat.



I wanted something colorful.  I can’t wait to fill the deck with flowers come springtime.



There’s nothing but sunshine and temps in the 50’s forecast for the weekend and I hope to get outside for a little garden clean up.  The worst of our winter weather is yet to come, but the next thing you know the crocus and daffodils will be popping up and I’d like them to have a tidy environment when the time comes.  Enjoy your weekend!

Angelic LuLu

If I’ve got the camera nearby and I’m thinking about it, I’ll grab and snap, hoping to catch Wally and LuLu doing one of those cute things they do so well.  This wasn’t necessarily one of those cute things caught on camera, but it reveals what I’ve always thought to be true about LuLu – she’s a little angel.  See her halo?



I don’t know that the close up shows it any more clearly, but then, I’m probably not meant to know that LuLu is actually an angel sent from Heaven and, therefore, her halo is supposed to be invisible.  However, the camera picked it up and her true identity is confirmed.



It’s funny, but Rich and I always kid that a guardian angel accompanies us when we go out with Wally and LuLu.  We take them out rain or shine, but honest to goodness, it can be pouring when we leave the house, and when we get to where we’re going it miraculously stops and and stays stopped until we return to the car.  As we’re on the drive home, the rain starts up again.  I don’t know how many times we’ve made note of this.  I’ve spoken of it to friends.  It’s quite remarkable.

Of course, I realize it’s just a little lens flare and the misty ghost of a warm “woof” spoken into the cold air . . . or is it?

Ice Breakers

It’s been pretty cold here by our standards.  No snow, but plenty of ice.  Wally and LuLu still need their fun and exercise, though, so on Sunday we took them to their familiar and favorite stompin’ grounds for a good run.  Imagine their surprise when they charged out into the water expecting a good dunk and instead. . .



No worries.  This is just rain water that fills depressions in the landscape.  It’s only about knee deep on a Golden Retriever.  In the photo below Wally is puzzling over why he can’t seem to pick up the stick.  It was frozen into the ice.  He did eventually get it out with a lot of determination.



The ice really took them by surprise, slip sliding and breaking through it in spots, and they didn’t quite know what to think of it.  Typical of their happy-go-lucky natures, they came to see it as a great new adventure.  LuLu made off with this big chunk and chewed it into bits.



A little ice can’t get in the way of Wally and LuLu’s good time.











I hope you’re staying warm, wherever you are.  Enjoy your week!

Another Shutterfly Project

Hello!  You probably remember the Shutterfly projects I shared recently -- coffee mugs, a calendar, and a photo book.  Well . . . the media folks at Shutterfly saw it, too.  I don't know how, but they have ways, and I'm happy about it because they made me an offer I couldn't refuse.  The photo cube pictured below was a very nice gift from Shutterfly to me.

I selected these particular photos from one of my Shutterfly albums -- all that beautiful gold on a dark background -- for an elegant and dignified piece for my desk at work.  Of course, you and I know the real Wally and LuLu are like a couple of little kids, scruffy and wet from playing outside, dragging twigs and leaves around on their coats, and requiring a good brushing to end up looking like this.  But I can't take them to work all messy, can I?

It took about five minutes to make my photo cube online.  Fun and easy and supreme quality, like all Shutterfly products.  I should confess that I've also made a Wally mouse pad, and two of the photos I used in the cube will be turned into large canvas prints with narrow black frames and mounted over our fireplace.    I know. . . we're nuts!  But, really, it's just a couple of coffee mugs and a calendar and a photo book (or three) and a mouse pad and a photo cube and two large framed portraits. . . that's all.  Not a shrine or anything.

You can put your mouse over the photo cube and drag to see all sides of it. 

         

Thank you Shutterfly, and thank you, all my friends who share your time and your love with me and my furry family.