Family Photos

This post is long overdue!  I have finally sorted through all my digital photos (I think!) and opened my dropbox account with our family photos.  These were taken at my family's Thanksgiving gathering, the day after Thanksgiving. Danielle Vennard, my friend and wedding photographer, generously shared her time and HUGE talent to create these special memories in honor of Mom and Dad's 40th anniversary this year.

(c) Danielle Vennard, Photographer

Congrats, Remy!

We adopted Remy in February and along with my mom and her newly adopted dog, Connor, we took a basic obedience class together.  At that time, Remy was very reactive around other dogs and although he did learn his commands, he failed the final test and we walked away as the "Most Improved" pair.   In order to advance to any other classes at that particular training center, we needed a successful completion of basic obedience, but were unable to re-enroll due to my work schedule.  I found another training center and Remy and I took a Manners class, followed by Level 1 and Level 2 Rally Obedience classes, successfully completing each of them!  We have come a very long way together and I'm encouraged to continue.  I still hope to do animal-assisted therapy, so we will start with the Canine Good Citizen certification in the New Year.  Since part of the test requires Remy to walk toward another dog and not react, my initial goal was to pass this test within three tries.  I will now raise that bar and hope for one try!  Stay tuned!

Santa Photo

My office put on a Pet Photos with Santa event on Saturday.  It was a great success, raising nearly $600 for a local rescue organization.  Remy was, of course, just the cutest dog ever!

Upcycled

From this...

I've been on a long hunt for an appropriate winter jacket for Remy.  Thanks to an enviable lack of fat, he shivers when the weather's even a little bit chilly.  I couldn't really find any suitable (and reasonably priced) options in stores, but I did come across a style that I thought would fit him well.  From that pattern, I modified the fit to get it just right for my pooch.  This required a very patient model, willing to stand still for long periods of time while I measured and fit and perfected the paper bag pattern.  He did grow weary after awhile.  Once the pattern was settled, I went on a hunt for the fabric.  After a suggestion from mom, I used two jackets that I bought from Community Aid for less than $15.  Remy's sporting both Columbia and Lands' End in this fine jacket.  Jealous!

To this...

Decorating

It's beginning to look and smell a lot like Christmas, but I cannot say it feels like Christmas when the temperature rose to almost 70 degrees today!  While it's nice not to worry about driving in snow, that white stuff does help me get in the holiday mood.  Wearing nothing but a T-shirt while cutting down our Christmas tree just didn't seem right.


This year's Christmas tree-cutting experience was nearly stress-free for Hubby and he was so happy for that!  We took the opportunity to tag our tree well before Thanksgiving.  This past weekend Hubby, Remy and I went to cut it down and I swear, by the time I lifted my camera out of my pocket, the tree was already cut.  In another five minutes it was loaded in the car and we were home.  In less than twenty minutes, from departure to the tree farm to the lighting of the tree, we were done.

Here's a look at a few of the decorations.  I love the smell of the fresh pine and I'm particularly pleased with my homemade wreaths.  I still have a few things to finish downstairs, but that will probably be in another week.