2 of my favorite artists

Emily B. and KellyAnnD.

Derek, Jace and Chris, sweet Chamois

Deinhammer-Deakers Christmas, 2007, Austin

Some Austin fun

Some Austin fun

Janet, my inspiration, and the darling American Girl outfits she made

Highlights of a framily visit

A moving story

Talk about cute!!!

Wyanne with Rose's English Springer spaniel, Liberty.
They're two weeks apart and can't wait to watch them grow up together.
And another friend, Kodi, a beautiful Greater Swiss.

First puppy social

She wore herself out wailing in the cradle position.
Thanks, Ben, for the great photos!

look at our sweet Wyanne

"Let sleeping dogs lie!"

Reuniting with mom, Breezey and mama Cath

meeting again at the CCI Christmas party
no picture with Santa, She slept.

spittin' image

Baby Wyanne is the spittin' image of her handsome dad, Korbel!

Happiness to Mary and Marty with Jelena

She's ours!

Bless you, Cath, for giving Wyanne such a good start in the world.
She's beautiful, sweet, curious, smart, loving and right now chewing on our kitchen table leg. More soon!

Puppy raising adjectives

Gathered by Madison W.

*Puppy Raising teaches you:*
Discipline
Unity
Dedication
Responsibility
Generosity
Trust
Selflessness
To be Loving
Commitment
Thoughtfulness

*Being a puppy raiser is: *
Fulfilling
Heartbreaking
A Roller Coaster
Life Changing
Maturing
Breath taking
Price-less
Rewarding
Awesome
Stimulating
Hard
inspiring
Fun
Fantastic
Exciting
Tiresome

We raise puppies to give back to others for being so blessed ourselves.

My new love (till Thursday)

Susie's dog Tess

The joy of being with friends and family on Thanksgiving

Mama Breezey and pups plus a sweet tribute

Here are the pups.
I think ours will be Wyanne (Cork), up in the right hand corner.
Hope she can transfer that mother love to her new mom - me!






Here's a description of a graduation from a first-timer, Finnegan's mom, Suzanne:

What can I say about the graduation? I knew at
least in my mind what it was all about-- dogs
being placed with children and adults (or as I
found out in facilities) after being raised by
selfless volunteers then carefully trained by the
dedicated staff of CCI. But my heart had no clue
what true miracles are created by CCI and all the
people that make up this wonderful organization.
The depth of emotion in that room, seeing
people's lives change before my eyes-- well, I
never could have imagined it or how moved I would
be.

The speeches given by a chosen member of each
class were especially powerful, but the image
that will stay in my mind is of a boy who has
what I assume is AS or autism, whose entire body
changed when his new service dog was brought up
on stage by his puppy raisers and the leash put
into his hand. What seemed blank and withdrawn to
observers like me filled with life and feeling
once connected with that dog. Right before our
eyes we could see that this boy's life would be
forever changed, for the better!

So when I had to say farewell to Pearl's 9
adorable pups a little while later, I was
comforted by the hope that on me day one or more
of these pups might also change a person's life
like I had just witnessed. I know that whatever
happens to them, lives WILL be changed, just as
my two beloved golden retrievers have enriched
our lives. When that day comes, all other
accomplishments of my own or my dogs will pale in
comparison.

A commission

I'm flattered that my sweet mail lady likes my mail art so I made a couple for her. She said she's been trying to describe them to her friends, now she can show them.

Be Happy, Dammit

Karen Salmonsohn is one of my favorite podcasters.
One of her topics on the show I listened to this morning was how we can learn from everyone including jerks.
She's not a gardener, but related a lesson learned from a man who loved to garden that was sitting next to her on an airplane, and it's a good one:
My number one gardening tip," said the man, "is to recognize that some plants and flowers are only meant to live a certain amount of time -- for a certain season -- and if you try to make them live longer, you will be a bad gardener.

Here's some more of her philosophy.
"When you feel good, you're more likely to show goodwill ... Yes, you have more to give to others when you allow yourself to give guiltlessly to yourself. Meaning? The pursuit of pleasure is not entirely a selfish act ... but a benefit to society!"
I highly recommend you check her out; her writing is full of humor and almost always touches a nerve.
KarenSalmonsohn

Also loved her post about the Theory of Happiness...

Greater anticipation???

Whose is greater - the w's waiting for their dinner or me waiting for my pup???

A wonderful dog day!

Here are three pics from CCI graduation.
Laurie holding her big beautiful Pryde. He's definitely ready for his next step in the journey, but Laurie's going to have a hard time giving him up. To ease her pain, she's already raising darling sergei. What a cutie.
Then there's sweet Vanessa, so ready, with Bill by her side.
Once again I was overcome with emotion at the commitment of everyone connected with CCI. I'm so blessed to be a tiny part of such a wonderful organization.

On another note, here's precious Liberty with Jacqueline, ready to fill Rose's life with lots of love.

Five lovely ladies