to the winery and beyond

jesse and the kids

some of my favorite sadie memories are of taking her to the tiger mountain winery, a treasure of north greorgia. after having a healthy sampling of their yummy wines and purchasing a bottle or two for good measure we would go outside and bask in the fall sun, watching sadie running free over the green fields, her ample jowels flopping in the wind. all the while we are enjoying another glass with a fine picnic lunch. it's been a few years since we've made the trip and sadie is a much older girl now with many grey whiskers and a limp-ridden, but highly spirited gait. and you could see her years in the way she behaved, running, but not as much. preferring to make new friends with other picnickers eager to scratch her belly, and laying down on a blanket  in the shade with david. i have been avoiding facing sadie's years with a comical, but persistent denial. comments made about her changing muzzle are generally greeted with something like, "you shut your mouth. she's just a baby." a joke, but not really. 

this weekend we took our first vacation as a changing family, new baby and aging pup. as daddy played with david, i stole a few moments to lie in the grass under the fall sun and spy on my sweet sadie. i didn't have my camera but made a conscious effort to take a photograph with my mind, watching her, the changing her, enjoying freedom, enjoying company, enjoying life. it was a rare moment for me to be fully present, fully engaged, fully accepting. i am a doer, always on the move, trying to change something or make something. i cloud moments by trying to alter them, just a little this way or that, but in this moment, everything just simply was, and it was beautiful.

put a bird on it, thank you very much

first things first -- a HUGE thank you to the wonderfully talented kim for my new look! i love it! and you know me so well. "put a bird on it" is totally me, probably right down to the part where they freak out (thank you vicki mcmaken, for introducing me to the like-minded others of portlandia).

so in tribute to my predictable like of birds, david and i went on a scavenger hunt around the house and this is what we came up with...

stole from lee

made by kate for david - so sweet

xmas gift from aunt cindy

charlie harper post card mobile

knitting bag

david's medicine bucket (thank god for little noses)

hole in the wall? put a bird in it

thanks mom

mom, again

oh, mom

aloe needs a bird

don't like brass? spray paint 'em

birdies watching over david's crib

and every baby needs a dream bird

how many birds can you find? (many of them were brought to you by kim)

it's a magnet

and we didn't even get into toys....

and here is a reward if you happened to make it to the end....

craft it forward: chocolate chip, honey dipped, can i get a scoop

let the games begin! my  craft-it-forward gift has arrived from allybuilt!! these chocolate chip ceramic push-pins are going to make me smile every day i work! allison is not only incredibly talented, but super creative to boot. i guess those things often go hand-in-hand, but i am still constantly awed.

and this means that i am officially open for crafting it forward. to clarify (i had it a bit wrong before), the first 5 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a special hand made something from me. in return, they must post a picture of my offering on their blog when it arrives and agree to send something to the first 5 who comment (and on and on).

i hope to hear from some folks soon. with my very limited readership, i'll consider this a win if i just get a comment or two, but 5 would be awesome as well... because i'm an optimist, i have already started working on my first little something. :-)