Archives for December 2015

Some years I send out holiday cards to friends. Some years I don't. I like it best when I do... I like staying in touch with friends, and I love getting real mail in my mailbox instead of unwanted junk and wasted trees. However, I haven't even thought about cards so far this year; as often happens, I'll end up writing them after Christmas when I have time to savor writing them. However, it occurred to me that I have several kinds of friends now, and one important category is made up of you--the people who daily overwhelm me with their honesty, knowledge, intelligence and inspiration. Not to mention some truly kick ass senses of humor. Here's my holiday card to you, a collage of many of the photos I've used on cards in the past (that's Willie's uncle Luke and Pippy Tay with the sign, Read More

A long time ago, I made a commitment to avoid holiday overwhelm. In one sense, I can thank my parents for that—wonderful people who welcomed the Christmas season with angry fights over the placement of the Christmas tree and tears generated by present-wrapping-exhaustion in the early morning hours of Christmas Eve. Oh no, not me, I declared! I shall be above it all, I said, my wise benevolence shining from the halo over my head. Well, yes, I will admit, I have done relatively well with the whole holiday thing, managing to spend most of my energy savoring family and friendship and the joys of living that are available to all of us, regardless of our credit card balances. But last year I seemed to fall into the abyss, wrapping present after present late into the night, rewriting my To Do Read More

On Sunday all the dogs in the Pet Pals Program came in for their twice annual vet check. It's fun for us because it's a great chance for us to say hello to the other teams and meet some of the new dogs. It's also a chance for me to play with my camera and take some photos of the remarkable dogs in this program. We see children and their families at the American Family Children's Hospital, many of whom are very ill or badly injured, and all of our dogs have to be quiet, sweet and basically bomb proof. I joke about them acting like "semi-stuffed dogs," but believe me, their hearts are all alive and beating with love. Here's to them, and all they do.   Read More