Wednesday, July 30, 2008

August 7, 2008, 7 PM



Sadly, the day has finally come that I have to admit that Ceili's aggression problems are larger than me and out of the realm of my capabilities. Not too many pet owners have the opportunity to know that exact date and time they will be saying goodbye to a beloved pet, especially one as young as Ceili, who at age 3 or 4 is just entering doggie adulthood.

However, I take comfort in the fact that I explored every option available to us to try and make this work and for almost two years we gave this little creature of God the good life that she probably would not have had had my friend not found her roaming on a highway. She got to experience almost two years of love, compassion, patience, and acceptance after who knows how long a period of neglect and indifference.

We are blessed with the next week to let her know how much she means to us despite her issues, however the ending has been determined, although I think God already knew that when he sent her to us.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Clouds, Pups, and Turning 17






Seventeen years ago today (actually, it's after midnight now so it's actually yesterday) I brought my firstborn into the world. Can't believe so much time has gone by.

We celebrated today. She's a great kid who's turning into a great young lady. Happy birthday sweetheart! I hope you had a good day.

Another cloud picture taken a couple of nights ago - they were very impressive clouds that night.

Two beagles on a deck just laying in the sunshine - doesn't get much better than that. Who doesn't love hydrangeas. The color is amazing!!! Turning in for the night. Oh, saw the pediatric eye specialist today - great birthday present for my daughter. Her eyes are still aligned properly and it seems that her brain has accommodated to seeing double. We're good to go for another year, although she probably needs a prescription change as she's having trouble reading/seeing the blackboard in school. We'll just add that to the list of doctors' appointments that need to be made......

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Just Because



I love clouds and just because I saw the most beautiful clouds upon leaving class last week, I had to take their photos.......just because God painted them there.

What I learned at my class in dSLR






I had a great instructor who also has a photography business. As a result of his terrific instruction, I am now stepping out the box - the green box that is on the dial of my Canon Rebel XT. I am now officially converted from shooting every single photo in automatic. I will be daring now and actually adjust the ISO, aperature, and shutter speed for my photos!!! Life is so exciting!!!!

Avalon, NJ





Here's a sampling of photos taken earlier this month while visiting a friend's home at the bay in New Jersey. The home was completely surrounded by water and was beautiful!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

So Much to Catch Up On!!

I've been taking a photography class and am learning so much about my dSLR. I've taken some pretty neat shots that I will be posting within the next day or so, plus lots of other shots that have absolutely nothing to do with the class I took.

Kids are at a mini band camp right now for two days in preparation for the week-long away from home band camp coming up next month. Dan's doing well on the saxophone and Coll is doing great with clarinet. I hope Dan loves marching/concert band as much as Coll has these last two years. It has been such a rewarding experience for her - lots of new and good friends and lots of music!!!