Running With Scissors…

We had one beautiful day over the weekend and it seemed like a good day for a swim. 

My camera battery promptly went dead after the first few photos — no warning, no red battery icon, simply dead.  Wally didn’t mind, though.  Just tuck that camera away and climb the sand dune, hike the trail, explore the woods.  This pretty little lake is near our home, off the beaten path.  You can’t see it from the highway and no signs point in its direction.  Nobody knows it’s there but a few locals, and even then it’s not a busy place.  We had it all to ourselves on Saturday.

Across the lake, not pictured here (dead battery) is a sandy beach and steep sand dune.  Climb to the top for a magnificent view of the dunes, the ocean, and everything else as far as the eye can see.  And not a soul in sight.  It was a very good day.

I wish I had some better photos, but just wanted to share something of Wally before he’s full grown.  It’s happening so fast!  He’s still such a puppy and so sweet and lovable, but, my, he’s getting to be a big boy.

It’s been wet and cold since Saturday, so thank goodness for that one good day.  Good weather for staying home stamping but, of course, I’ve been at work…sigh…  Wishing you a beautiful day, regardless of the weather.  See you again soon!

Last week I was on staycation.  It was the best time I’ve had in ages –  refreshing, exhilarating, but relaxing, too.  Early Fall, perfect outdoor weather, rocky rivers, deserted beaches, a lake in the middle of town… comfortable, cozy accommodations with all the amentities to which to return after the day’s activities — everything I would hope for in a vacation, seeing as how I’m not a city kind of girl.

Having Wally reminds me of when our son was little and it didn’t matter where we went or how often we’d been there… we’d have a good time watching him have a good time and, oh boy, did he ever have a good time!  What a great place to raise a child or a puppy!  Our photo album is full of pictures just like this from those days, but with a boy and his big fluffy white Otto running down the hill.  What a pair they were.  My heart is full of those wonderful memories.

Now, it’s just the two of us and Wally, rediscovering favorite playgrounds, making new memories.

Developing life skills.

Experiencing the wild joys of living…

Happiness, love, gratitude, adoration, integrity, innocence.

In the photos above, Wally learned about sand dunes and low tide on the bay (North Spit, for the local folks).  Two days later, he learned how to swim in the lake near our house (Empire Lake).  Oh, what fun!  He tread cautiously after the stick, but when he returned it to me, it was pure puppy frenzied joy!  He was beside himself!  What a discovery!  He was correct in assuming I shared his exultation, and a few wet, sandy puppy body slams later I appeared to have been swimming and rolling in the sand, too.  I loved every minute of it and can’t wait to do it again.

But I’m back at work now…sigh… Vacations are never long enough, though there’s always the weekend to look forward to.  I’ll be back to stamping shortly.  Have yourself a wonderful day!

Hello and happy Monday!  I’d planned to have a stamping post today, but we were too busy wearing out Wally (and ourselves in the process) and I didn’t make time to photograph my cards.  I could kick myself for forgetting my camera for Wally’s big day up the river — I’m such a bad Mom!  I thought I’d share some “after” photos, though.  You can probably see how much he’s grown and changed.  Where, oh, where did that little puppy go in such a short amount of time?  He’ll always be a sweet, fuzzy baby to my eyes… you know how moms are.

Wally spent quite a lot of time falling in the water today… not so much time swimming.  Not to worry, it wasn’t very deep.  He hasn’t developed a retriever’s love of the water yet.  Gee, I thought we could just throw a stick and he’d jump right in after it, but I guess that will come along just like everything else he’s learned so far.  He’s such a sweet, lovable, good little guy.  Gosh, he sleeps hard after all that exercise!  Here, he’s slipped down between two ottomans in front of our sofa, oblivious to the world.

But this is what he looked like when the pizza arrived — hopeful.

However, like a good little boy, he’s learned not to beg when we’re eating, and his way of dealing with that is to nap through our meals.

Poor little worn out Wally.  He did liven up long enough to play with his squeaky for a while, but then he was right back to snoozing.  Tomorrow will bring more adventure and discovery.  All of life is new and exciting for a three month old.  I hope you had a great weekend, too.  Thank you for dropping in on us!

I know… flowers yesterday, Wally today.  Where’s the stamping on this stamping blog?  Well… the rest of the week will be all stamping, seeing as how it’s time for this month’s Flourishes previews to begin.  That’s what I’ve been stamping.  When I wasn’t stamping over this three day weekend, I was enjoying my home, a good book, a movie or two, time with my husband and, of course, Wally.

Could I possibly be imagining how sweet this face is?   No matter how impish he is, or what mischief he’s up to, when he stops and looks at me, he wears this face.

Wally had a big day today.  We went for a picnic and a walk in the woods along a creek where we encouraged him to do what he’ll ultimately love most — enjoy the water.  I wish my photos of that outing were good enough to share but, unfortunately, I inadvertently had my camera set to underexpose by two stops.  Instead, I have this photo which shows how much he’s grown. 

And this is how he spent the remainder of the day when we returned home:

Enjoy summer while you can.  Pretty soon we’ll all be saying we can’t wait for Spring.  Take care!

Flora

Fauna

Flora

Fauna

The flora is Oriental lilies in my garden.  The fauna is, of course, Wally.  He’s been in our family for a week now and it’s as though we’ve always been together.  I don’t think he misses his siblings at all.  Today he had his second play date with his 11 week old yellow lab friend, Magnum.  They get along famously.  Magnum, being especially sweet natured, brought Wally a stick to play with on their first visit.  Today, he brought a bigger stick.

I can’t tell you how happy I am to have Wally in my life.  Have a great day!

Our eyes met across the crowded yard.  Lovestruck, we fell into each other’s arms.  He went home with me that night, and the rest… well…

I’d like to introduce you to my new best friend, Wally:

Isn’t he a handsome feller?  He was a little sleepyhead in these photos because my husband had him all tuckered out from playing “big mean sock”.  By the time I came home for lunch wanting to take pictures in the daylight, I had a squinty-eyed puppy for a subject.

Wally is a 7 week old Golden Retriever with the sweet nature inherent in the breed.  We’ve been together for three days and he owns my heart, utterly and completely.  I might add, he’s captivated my husband, as well – putty in his paws, I tell you!

So… we’re just at the start of something beautiful, and I think he’ll be worth every moment that goes into his care, exercise, and training.   I’m looking forward to it.  Thank you for being here with us today!