The World According to Misty

Every day is a good day, especially if you have something stinky to roll in or a stick to chew

Looking cute will get you very far in life

If you lay close enough to someone they will pet you and pets are almost as good as food

Blueberries aren't just full of antioxidants, they are also pretty darned delicious

Wag your tail, it makes people happy and it's contagious

Run and play with wild abandon, it's good for the soul

Drink from a hose, you'll feel like you're living dangerously

Be careful about barking too much, sometimes it will be appreciated, but most of the time it will just be considered annoying to those around you...choose wagging your tail instead (see note above)

Have a wonderful weekend because weekends are meant for sleeping in, playing more than usual, and for fun car rides

xoxo Misty Belle

Eat Too Much?

 

(click images to enlarge)

Feel like you've been indulging a little too much in all of those holiday yummies?!

Well you're not alone.

Even the birdies have been feasting on some holiday treats.

This Cardinal was caught with his beak in the proverbial cookie jar! ;-)

And here's little Miss Misty Belle gnawing on a stick and waiting for me to come back inside the fence to give her breakfast this morning...and she's hoping for something special too, like some apple or cheese.

I'm off to make a dessert for a luncheon tomorrow.  Yup, it's that time of year, so enjoy every minute of it!

Thanks again for all of your wonderful emails and comments about my post over at The Polished Pebble!  And thank you Kelley for featuring me!

Baby It's Cold Outside

Remember just a few months ago when we were all saying how cold it was and how we couldn't wait for summer?! *raises hand*

Well, unlike my post title, it's anything but cold outside in most of the US right now.  In fact, it's downright steamy.

My mom used to call this kind of weather hot and sticky.  And I would have to say that that's a pretty fair assessment of the way it is outside right now.

Even the dogs don't want to be outside...well unless the sprinkler is going that is!  Misty Belle loves the way the water gives her that awesome 80s crimped hair look!

I love this out of focus picture of Mr. Quinn chasing the water droplets as they zoom around the yard.  It's kind of how I picture Monet capturing his true essence! ;-)

We over seeded part of our yard so they are loving that we have the sprinkler set up for a little while each day.  And it is a great way to beat the heat, but I sure do spend a lot of time cleaning up wet paw prints when they come inside.  It's a small price to pay for happy, cool doggies though.

Last night we had some crazy weather.  There were storm clouds all around us, but the sun was like a ball of melon colored fire (ok I know it actually IS a ball of fire, but you get my drift) sinking below the horizon.

Then when I gazed up above me there was this...another wonderful heart shaped cloud, drifting amidst the dark storm clouds.  I'm sure it was a gift from a dear friend.

Later we ended up having quite a light show as the storms eventually reached us.  There was also lots of thunder and wind, and thankfully plenty of much needed rain!  Today it's back to the steam bath, but hey at least it's not the 1700s and I'm not wearing "summer weight" wool, and lots of undergarments, without the benefit of AC...so it's a good day I think! 

I hope you are managing to stay cool where you are...or warm, whichever you're in need of at the moment!

The Header That Ate New York

I decided to change the header photo on my blog over the weekend.  So I ran around my house in my pj's and snapped a few shots of the things I had already put out for the holidays.  I think I do some of my best photographic work before I'm dressed actually! ;-)

Some of the items will stay right where I shot them, others will be moved when I actually drag all of the big bins out of the garage this week and begin the task of decorating my house for the holidays.

I also added a whole bunch of Christmas music to my play list on my sidebar.  I've included some time worn favorites from my own childhood.  But I tried to include a few new versions of the classics to try and spice it up a little, I hope you enjoy the tunes!

I love cotton ribbon, well any ribbon actually.  I found all of these at Michaels.

This snowflake glass ornament came from a local shop and it looks so pretty when the light hits it.  It's a little bit heavy but I still think I'll try and hang it on my tree, I think it will be beautiful with Christmas lights dancing all around it!

I did a story for a holiday magazine last year and the homeowner had decorated several trees in their home all in various themes.  One of the trees was dripping in glass icicles, and I vowed I would buy some if I ever came across any.  I found these at Studio Three in La Plata and I bought every one they still had left after their open house...I wish I could have gotten a few more!

I have spreaders for nearly every holiday.  I've collected the ones pictured above over the years, and after Christmas I will switch these out for my snowman spreaders.  I keep them in a vintage glass container that belonged to my mother, and they sit on top of the hutch in my kitchen, ready to spread a little lemon curd on a scone!

I found this little marabou topped bootie ornament while out shopping with Connie of Hartwood Roses a couple of weeks ago.  It will go perfectly with some marabou mitten ornaments I have!

So there you have it, a few bits of Christmas Cheer that I used to create my new ginormous banner picture!  Is it too big?!  I couldn't get it to be smaller for some weird reason, so if it's screaming at you each time you visit my blog let me know, and I'll try and figure it out.

I have a busy few weeks ahead of me, like many of you so I'll leave you with a little puppy goodness in addition to the Christmas pictures to tide you over!

Little Misty Belle turned 10 weeks old on Saturday, and our daughter couldn't get quite enough of her over the holiday weekend, she held her ever chance she got!

Little Misty didn't seem to mind one bit and would go bounding down the hall whenever she heard our daughter's door open each morning.

Does that look like the face of a pampered pooch?  She's not getting one little bit spoiled....nah not at all!

I hope you have a wonderful week, and I'll be checking in and quietly visiting your blogs to see all of the festive transformations going on in each of your homes!

You Raise Me Up

The last few days have been rough here at LTHS.  Tears have been shed, bonds have been formed (some faster than others), and time marches on.

Thanks to Connie, Susan, Audrey, and Dianna, who listened to me sort everything out during my rambling phone calls, we have turned a corner. 

I know many of you know that Miss Kylee is ill with congestive heart failure, but I'm happy to report that she is doing much better thanks to some adjustments to her medications!

When I decided to end my blog I was overwhelmed with an older sick dog, and a new puppy who wasn't exactly welcomed into the pack at first by a certain Mr. Quinn.

I was in tears at the thought of having to take this sweet face back to the breeder.  It's amazing how one little puppy can steal your heart in such a short time.

And I think I was just overwhelmed in general by trying to keep too many plates spinning in the air.  When you do that, some are bound to come crashing down, and they did last weekend.

Your emails, offers of help, and prayers made all the difference for all of us.  I'm happy to report that everyone is now fine in this family of 4 plus 3 dogs, so Misty is here to stay!!!

I also realized some things over the past 5 days...I'm not superwoman.  I don't have a cape or cool gold bracelets and I can't be all things to all people.  I have to take care of my pets first and foremost right now, so blogging will be a sideline, not my life as it's been for the past 10 months.

I think that those of us who enjoy and take pride in our blogs (and I would have to say that that is 99.9% of those who do blog) sometimes find ourselves a little stressed and stretched.  We want to reply to each and every comment and feel guilty when we can't...even hunting to try and find someone's email address when we get the no-reply comment thing.

We put pressure on ourselves to craft, create, and produce quality posts...sometimes at the expense of ourselves.  We try diligently to visit other bloggers and comment on their wonderful posts, even when we don't necessarily have the time.

But this face needs me, and so do the other two furry faces in my family at the moment.  So I will try and undo the past almost 47 years of woman training.  The training that makes some of us put ourselves last and feel bad for not being able to be all things to all people.

I came to all of this because you all have raised me up over these past few days and reminded me that you won't be upset if I can't comment on every post you write, even if I do read them.  That you'll still be ok if I don't post as often...because you are me, you've been in my shoes, and you understand! 

Your wonderful emails and comments let me know this...so thank you to each of you for that wonderful support!!!

Mr. Tide is an amazing man, and when I shut down my blog he asked me why I was doing it.  I told him that I needed to concentrate on real life at the moment and although he knew it was true, he said "but you love doing your blog, so I think you should reconsider and just not post as much."

I was adamant that if I couldn't do it all the way, full force, and put everything I had into it then what was the point?!  Can you say "Type A" to the max?!

I mean the holidays are coming, there are things to be done and a lot on my plate right?!

And then I got a lovely package in the mail today.  I had been expecting it and was anxiously awaiting its arrival from Wales.  I had purchased these lovely handmade tags from my dear friend Sam's Etsy Shop!

Sam, who also has the wonderful blog The Nest,  had sent me an email letting me know that she had shipped these wonderful tags, which I can't wait to use on a special tree this year, and she also said there would be a little surprise coming as well.

An early Christmas present of sorts, and she told me that the surprise wouldn't be for me...so of course I was intrigued and couldn't wait for the package to arrive.

When I got home this afternoon there was the package waiting in my mailbox.  I raced inside to see what the surprise might be.  Inside were the lovely tags I had ordered and several packages wrapped in brown paper.  There was also a sweet handwritten letter from Sam telling me that when her children, Seth and Lily, had seen the pictures of Misty they wanted to send her something.

The note went on to say that they couldn't just send Misty something without sending something for Miss Kylee and Mr. Quinn. 

So there they were...three packages with darling handwritten tags from kind and caring children who had never met my dogs, or me!

There was a pig for Mr. Quinn, that actually sounds like a pig when you squeeze it!

And a duck for Miss Kylee, which sounds just like a duck!

The last package was for little Misty Belle.  It was a soft furry duck or maybe it's a goose, who cares which it is, all I know is it was the cutest, softest puppy toy I'd ever seen in my life!!!

It brought tears to my eyes and for the first time in 5 days I felt like everything was going to be ok...not just ok, but back to normal.

Some people may unfollow, or not comment, or even get mad when I can't reply or visit their blogs, but you know what, that's ok!  I have this face...

And this face to remind me that true friends are there no matter what, they truly do raise you up when you need it, and they are unconditional with their support and love.  It took two wonderfully generous children, (thank you Lily and Seth), who are miles away from me, and a deluge of support from wonderful blogging friends and my family to remind me of how very fortunate I am! 

I have also had some dear friends and fellow bloggers offer to guest post in order to keep the cobwebs at bay here on LTHS while I'm off tending the home fires...and I can't wait to see what wonderful things they'll create!

So if you're feeling a little stressed out, over taxed and guilty due to blogging...I highly recommend getting a puppy...it works wonders!  But if you aren't really up for the whole puppy thing, just learn to let some of it go, and wait to see who raises you up...it will amaze and surprise you, I promise!

Until whenever my friends...