Hello again, hello

hello?  you still there?  

I'm actually sitting down at the computer to blog.  

hello?

is this thing on?

Come back, please...I'll try to be more regular.  Of a blogger that is.  

Miss you.

Love you. 

Mean it.

Love From Me 2011

I mentioned the Love From Me book in my last post and I just wanted to let y'all know that the book is ready for purchase.  

You can view it here.  

I think it looks gorgeous.  I have already placed my order and cannot wait to have the book in my hands.  

Just to be clear--I get nothing from the sale of this book.  All proceeds from this book go to The Rose Fund which is a registered charity in Nova Scotia, Canada.  

It is a wonderful charity for cancer patients, please read about it here.  

Love From Me

There is a wonderful woman in Canada.

Actually, I am pretty sure there are lots of wonderful women in Canada, but the particular one I am talking about it Sara Harley.

Sara was diagnosed with cancer in November 2010 and instead of wallowing in a 'woe is me' attitude she thought, 'how can I provide inspiration and support to others with this disease?'  Inspired by this thought she decided to create a book of inspirational artwork and photographs that would lift the spirits of the readers.  

And, you know what she called it?

The Love From Me project.

Isn't that a wonderful name?  All we need is love...love...love is all we need... (everybody now)

To get artwork and photographs for her book Sara blogged asking for submissions of peaceful, inspirational themes.  She also created a Facebook page and asked for submissions.  If you are on Facebook please like her page and you will have access to information regarding the book's release, etc...

Now, yours truly (that would be me) submitted a photograph and it was accepted to be part of Sara's book.
Yay me!

And, the even more wonderful thing about the Love From Me project is that all the proceeds from the book go to The Rose Fund c/o the Health Services Foundation in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.  You can read more about the Rose Fund here.

Please go to the Love From Me blog page and read all about it.  You will see a list of the book contributors too.  Check out all their blogs/websites--you'll be glad you did!
You can also check out Sara's personal blog here.

Love From Me~

PS: Isn't this a wonderful logo?
You can read the story about how Sara created the logo here.

Landscaping: Phase 1 of 15,6879

Our house is situated on a somewhat wooded lot.  Those woods have been encroaching on our yard for the last decade and now it has completely taken over.  

Well, not completely, but almost!  

For the past few years I have been getting estimates and meaning to have some trees cut down and the underbrush cleared, but it never seemed to happen.  

Well this Spring I finally pulled the trigger.  

Men came with chainsaws and cut away at the underbrush:

Men climbed with chainsaws and sawed off branches:

and then climbed higher:

oh, mylanta!  

(c'mon, I know you watched Full House.  Gotta love those DJ Tanner one-liners)

This is around the time when he called for his Mommy and a bottle of milk:

no lie...

This is where he kissed it up to God and 

swung!

From one tree...

to another...

and, yes...while he is swinging around like Tarzan, he has a chainsaw tied around his waist.  

Mommy!!

TIIIMMMMBBBBEEERRRRR....

Good catch!

Then:

Did I mention this is where I would like to plant a garden...

Now:

Wish me luck!

Meet Virginia

Last summer my family started talking about adding another to our fold.  

My husband said 'no more 2-leggeds.'  

And, as much as I begged and pleaded, he would not budge.  

Apparently it takes two to tango so there was not much I could do about it on my own.  

So, we opted for another 4-legged animal.  

When we found out Hoss has cancer and may only have a few months to live we thought, maybe we shouldn't get another dog.  I talked to people who had gone through it before with their animals and they said that we should go ahead with our plans.  

So, we did.  

Virginia.

She's a Goldendoodle.

My husband had meetings in DC and Virginia and got this little cutie in Virginia.   

We named her after her place of birth.  

Bringing her toy to Hoss.  

Not quite sure why she brought it to his tail end, but she's a baby, so she's excused.  

Curling up with Hoss' paws.  

Hoggin' the bed.

  

Anything But a Face

One of my favorite sites, I Heart Faces, is having another contest.  Usually their contests have to include a face, but this time they said no no no, anything but!  So, I immediately thought of this photograph:

It is my mother and her newest grandson.  I just love how both hands have wrinkles on them.  Circle of life.  As you may remember my mother is suffering from Alzheimer's so this photo is a little extra special.  I just love that she got to hold her grandson, even though she won't remember.

xo

It seems I was on hiatus

Sorry, it wasn't intentional.

Our darling dog, Hoss, was diagnosed with bone cancer.  He was given a prognosis of about 3 months, but I feel that he will last longer.  I hope and pray that I am correct.

My darling mother is living with/suffering from Alzheimers.  It's a horrible disease with no cure.  All we can do is be patient, kind and loving.  And pray for her everyday.  It's interesting how people think Alzheimer's is just forgetfulness.  I did too to a certain degree.  But, when we were all in the middle of it--my brothers, sisters, father--all of us--we realised that it is so much more than simple forgetfulness.  It is so much more heart-breaking.  And there is nothing any of us can do.  Sad sad sad.

So, I guess I was on an unintentional hiatus.  Blogging just seemed a little narcissistic at the time.  I couldn't bring myself to sit at the computer and blog about anything.  It all seemed so unimportant.  But, then I realised that life goes on.  Love goes on.  So, I have rallied and am starting to see posts all around me.  Hopefully you'll enjoy them too....

Hug your loved ones today.  Everyday.
xo


www.alz.org