. . . in the distant, early morning . . .

Today was my last day of vacation; Chris joined me to see Celtic Woman at the Rose Garden.  It was easily the best performance I have ever seen.  This wasn’t just a concert, but a highly choreographed, upbeat, engaging performance.  I’ve never seen performers have so much fun and look so engaged.  They never stopped smiling.  The ladies also have voices like angels and I can’t wait to go see them in concert again. 

Máeréid, their violinist, is probably the most awe-inspiring - she doesn’t sing, but she does some amazing dancing while playing violin beautifully around the stage; incredible talent. 

The singers: there are no words.

The whole event was inspiring.

I had a fantastic, relaxing vacation.  We did have to take the dogs to the e-vet after discovering a chewed up bottle and some un-eaten pills; thankfully it looks as though they didn’t ingest anything.  This was Monday evening.  That kind of blew my interest in driving to the coast Tuesday so we had a nice, relaxing day instead.  We saw The Switch in the theatres which was every bit as sappy as I wanted.  I thought it was excellent.  I do wish we’d made it to the coast: Saturday maybe.  But I just was not up for it yesterday and today we have the concert in the evening.

The dogs did great tonight; they had daycare all day and it looks like they slept while we were entertained.  Mali is in fine spirits, of course.  Tomorrow is an early morning, and back to work bright and early.

-Lisa, on August 25, 2010 at 11:05 pm .::. Comment (0)

My house has undergone some awesome changes over the last week.  The guest bathroom was remodeled and the remodel is superb.

Last night, Chris and I (mostly Chris) took my bed apart after the primary support cracked from a slight shift in location.  I no longer trusted it, especially since Elka and Mali liked to sleep under it.  The bedroom looks twice as large, there’s so much open space now.  It’s a whole new love affair.

I might post some before & afters later, but for now - this is The Awesome ™ of my house.

-Lisa, on August 20, 2010 at 6:11 pm .::. Comment (0)

I always wanted to have multiple pets.  It started with Mali, in 2005.  I decided she needed a companion and got Kayne for both of us.  The two of them played, cuddled, and slept together for the entire time that Kayne graced our lives.

After I moved to Oregon I decided to buy a house, knowing that the only reason I wanted a house was to have two dogs.  I got Elka shortly after I purchased my house, with the plan being to let her get to about 2 years old and trained before adding another dog.  This worked out, mostly, except that I fostered which I fell in love with.  Fostering dogs is a very rewarding experience.  Having the fosters was good for both Elka, and for myself.

When Elka was about 2.5 I fostered Milton for 2 months, ending with him becoming a permanent part of our family.

During the day, the dogs sleep while I work.  In the evenings, we sometimes walk, and we always play.  Elka and Milton chase each other around the yard, play tug with toys, and wrestle for hours every evening.  Watching Elka and Milton play brings me more joy than I can express.  It was the same watching Mali and Kayne play.  There’s something magical and uninhibited about how they interact and play.  How the communicate through body language and spoken language (woof, rrrr, yip!)

There’s also something magical about how they include me in that.  They both look to me every so often, making sure everything is ok.  They break off play to come visit or to incite me to play.  Milton likes me to throw a ball and Elka likes to run around and wrestle with me. 

Mali, Queen of all, watches from through the screen door. The dogs will go and sniff her too and sometimes even go in the house to say hi (and sometimes chase, but Mali is too smart for that).

I don’t think I’ll ever have children, but my pets are not replacement for children.  I do not dress them up, or indulge their every whim.  But they are my family - there is no denying that, and why would I want to?  They make my life whole and happy.  I know what it was like to live without pets, and I know now what it is to live with pets; and I don’t ever see myself living without pets again.  They just bring too much wonder and happiness to my life to not share my home and be part of my family.

-Lisa, on August 18, 2010 at 4:40 pm .::. Comment (0)