Neighborhood Creative.

Walking your dogs around a small town has it’s benefits.

Tonight Chris and I were walking Rex & Maggie and I remembered that I needed a little bit of black ribbon to complete one of my current crafts, and out-of-the-blue, I decided to stop in to one of my town’s local sewing stores.

Just Make It Sew is a charming, well-stocked sewing and notions store located on the main street through my town.  And yes, as  you can tell by the photo, I do live in one of those adorable, picturesque, “oh-honey-wouldn’t-it-be-nice-to-live-here” towns. 

JoAnn, the shop owner, was more than willing to accomodate my need for some “quarter inch black ribbon” as she dug through a box in the back of her store.  She sold me the ribbon for a great price and while we were talking, I glanced around her store and realized that I don’t shop my main street vendors as often as I should.  And that my hometown main street can probably meet many of my creative needs.  Best of all, Just Make It Sew offers classes, too – so even if you’re not well-versed in the art of sewing, you can be.  It’s a great store.

Thanks to JoAnn and her shop, I was able to finish a craft without handing over my money to yet another big box store.  And that is what “neighborhood creative” is all about.

Wild Rides

When I started this blog, I quietly promised myself that I’d update it at least once each week.  That’s a nice sentiment when I’m not traveling, adopting dogs, or attending teaching seminars.  So, I suppose I can make up for my lack of posting with a “fast forward” post.  Here goes:

So, after we adopted Rex & Maggie we took our annual summer trip to New Hampshire.  With the dogs.  The 7-hour ride up went pretty well.  There was some whining and crying, but then Chris and I had coffee and we were fine.  The dogs fared well. 

Upon arrival, there were still renters in our cabin, so Chris and I camped for a night at the Wildwood campsite in the White Mountain National Forest.

 And the dogs kept guard of the site. 

They didn’t care too much for being tied out and they made sure to let us know they weren’t staying quiet every time a person, dog, fly, mosquito, bird or leaf passed our campsite.  Once inside the tent for the night though, they were quiet and we made it through the night with nary a peep. 

The next day, the adventure at our house began and we hosted friends and family for the rest of the week.  There was hiking, swimming, boating, playing on the lawn, bbq’s, sightseeing, bonfires and everything else a “woodsy” vacation includes.  It was a good time and the dogs were acclamated to the house and all visitors in no time.

After New Hampshire, I had the pleasure of taking part in a 5 day teaching seminar that took place in Philadelphia.  For you educators: it was the 30-Hour Comprehensive Orton-Gillingham Reading Instruction Training.  For everyone else: I learned how to better teach my students how to read.  I will undoubtedly have a separate blog entry on this, but for now just know that I had a fantastic time!  I didn’t think that dedicating a week of my summer vacation to a teaching seminar would be something I’d enjoy, but I was pleasantly surprised.  Not only did I not have to drive into the city (I never really even touched my car, thank you RiverLINE and PATCO) but I treated myself to lunch every day at Reading Terminal Market. 

After my week of intensive edumacatorin’, I returned to my regularly scheduled summer vacation with some serious house-keeping and weather-enjoying.  All to then be interrupted by an earthquake. 

As you can see the damage was, well, annoying.  And as my mom said yesterday, whether we like it or not, we’re on this earth for a wild ride.

Happiness is: a cold wet nose. Or two.

There is something really special about the companionship of a dog. Multiply it by two, and you’ve got a recipe for more fun, excitement, adventure, curiosity, pee and woeful stares than you can imagine.

Meet Maggie and Rex.

They are 3 year old, brother and sister dachshunds.  Their previous owners were unable to take care of them and a friend of mine who volunteers with the Burlington County Animal Alliance told me about them.  We picked them up directly from their previous owners late last Tuesday night and it’s been an adventure since.

Chris and I have had a blast getting to know them and take care of them.  They each have a unique personality and crack us up all the time.  They are untrained, with the exception of being housebroken, and we’ve recently taught them the most basic of commands:  sit.  Rex squats down but remains on his toes and Maggie looks like she’s doing a curtsy, but they get their little butts to the floor and that’s all that matters for a delicious treat!

They are not without their quirks and obstacles, though – but we’re okay with that.  They’re a welcome addition to our lives – a blessing – regardless of their little faults, and we’re working on them.  So, there will undoubtedly be many more posts about them to come.

I didn’t know I had a hole in my heart in the shape of these two dogs.

Discovering the garden.