The Cat in the Hat

I saw a photo by Rachael Hale, the world's leading pet photographer, that really cracked me up. It was a cat with a knit cap pushed down over it's eyes. It looked pretty perturbed, LOL. It was so funny that I had to try it myself!

I have a lot of fun photographing animals. They are a lot like babies, in that you have to have A LOT of patience. They are unpredictable, but each one has their own personality. Ender is such a brat, so this photo suits him perfectly;-)

In Loving Memory

Life is a long journey full of ups and downs, hopes and sorrows. And if we are very lucky, we will get to share some of that life with a very good dog. Let me tell you about our dog Paco.

Paco came to us when he was a puppy, and was arguably the ugliest little dog ever. He was full of ticks and fleas and had horrible mange, but he found his way right into our hearts, and there he stayed. He was always happy and full of life and energy. He was so full of weird little quirks that made him so unique and special.

When we first met Paco he showed up at my parent's lit window late one night. My dad brought him in, but my mom took one look and sent him right back out! But he was still there in the morning, and of course, being kids at the time, we fed him and gave him water and loved him despite his "ugliness". He hung around our front porch for three days until a neighbor came by to pick him up, saying he knew where the dog belonged. But shortly afterwards we spotted the dog in his backyard. instinct told us something wasn't right, so my little bro and sis went to check it out. Our neighbor informed them that the dog belonged in the pound, and had called animal control to come pick him up, and that he was going to be euthenized. That didn't go over well with us, and I guess it went over less well with Paco, becuase next hting we knew he had climbed over the chain link fence into our backyard. Our neighbor claimed my brothers stole the dog out of his yard, and called the police. It wasn't hard to prove their innocence. Paco could indeed climb fences, and since he worked so hard to come to us, we decided it was best to keep him:-)

Paco has been a member of our family for the last fifteen years, a very good age if you happen to be a dog. In the last few years Paco's health has steadily declined. He first went deaf, and then blind, and developed arthritis. We all got together for Christmas, and maybe Paco felt that was his good-bye. After wards his health seemed to take a nose dive, until he finally collapsed. There was nothing anybody could do excpet send him to a better place. He was an extra-special dog, so I guess that makes his loss extra hard. But he was greatly loved, and will be greatly missed, and always remembered.

I always loved this quote, and I think it is very apporpriate now. It's called the Rainbow Bridge.

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

A Tandy Family Christmas

Christmas 2006 was spent in Utah with the Tandy family. Everyone was there, and it was very crowded. A houseful of very stubborn and headstrong people is not a good thing. There was much disagreement over the family photo, but we got it worked out. Not what I had in mind, but still not bad. Taking a group photo is a real challenge when you are supposed to be in it. It's even harder to get everyone (including babies!) looking in the right direction and smiling. But I had my trusty little remote (if you look carefully you can see it in my hand, lol), and we miraculously managed to get everyone looking at the camera, or close enough to it, anyway. Amazing. I kinda wish we could all get together when it's a little warmer, though. Brrrrrr, cold!

We had Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, and yours truely cooked the turkey! It was my very first turkey, and I was very excited. I used hte Stiles method of cooking the turkey upside-down in a turkey bag to drain the juices to the white meat. It was not the best turkey I have ever had, but it was still very good. I also cooked candied yams and cherry yum-yum. Other people chipped in, and there was quite a feast for us. Delicious!

On Christmas morning Santa made his usual visit to the house. Cameron was so excited to see him, he just ran right up and gave him a great big hug:-) Sadly, my camera was packed away, so no picutres of that happy moment. Cameron got way too much stuff, but he loves it all. His favorites are his new Backyardigans video (best children's show, except for Sesame Street) and his Little People farm. But he plays with everything he got, and has so much fun.

The highlight of my time in Utah was when several of us got together aroudn the piano and had our own little concert. My brother Bill, was the piano player, while myself, my other bro Matt and his wife Christina sang along. We started with some Christmas music, which progressed to show tunes and Disney songs. And we made a sartling discovery: Mine and Christina's voices go very well together. So much so that there were times when our voices seemes to become one. I love that. The only down side was that I coud not prevail upon Craig to join us. He has a great voice, but was not in a singing mood that night, due to a cold.

And finally there was the snow. Cameron hasn't seen snow since he was just a teeny baby, so this was really quite a new experience for him. He had so much fun stomping in it, and we taught him how to throw a snowball, which he thought great fun. But we had no gloves, and he quickly tired of cold hands, so we were not able to introdice him to Frosty this year.

It was a short vacation, and we enjoyed seeing the fam, but we are glad to be back to our much warmer home:-)