Begging dog balances duck on head . . .

Webster has absolutely no trouble begging. I taught him this trick very easily when he was just a young puppy by putting a Cheeze It cracker in my mouth and holding him up manually. He quickly learned that when he begged by himself he could get a free treat. He was pretty wobbly at first but now he can hold the pose for as long as it takes to get what he is after.

This head balancing thing is going to be a little more difficult. It is hard for me to grab the camera after the object is in place on top of his head. I am not going to cheat with double sticky tape or anything like that. He wasn't any good at all with my cup full of sharpened pencils. The rubber ducky was better.

He is pretty humiliated right now so I'd better stop.

Dog balances coffee on his head . . .

The first photo is one of my very favorite things. It is a life-size begging dog stand. It was probably originally used as a smoking stand because there are burn marks on one edge. He even has an old brass dog license hanging from his collar. It is stamped with the number 41.

I like to think that it was made in woodshop by a boy or girl. I took woodshop in 4th grade, so it could be a girl! It is the perfect height for holding my mug of morning coffee; it sits next to my computer chair.

The second picture is the real-life version found on flickr. Dogs are so smart and so wonderful!

Pitbull with Lipstick . . .

I could not resist posting these timely images.
Sarah Palin photo courtesy of Getty Images; dog from flickr.

Fabulous Fotos Follow Fall Foliage . . .

Images captured on my morning walk; coffee cup in one hand, a camera on my shoulder, and a dog at my side.

What could be better?

Peter the Bulldog with his owner circa 1925 . . .

PHOTOGRAPH
Kathlyn Newby and Peter the bulldog
ENGLISH, c1925

This is a scan of a postcard my friend Jill brought me years ago from Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood in London. I had an English Bulldog at the time and I know just how this little girl felt about her pet.

The dogs in my life thus far have been muts, Scottish Terriers, English Bulldogs, and my current and all-time favorite is Webster. He is mostly chocolate lab with a little pitbull thrown in for good measure.

Pets add such dimension to your home and your life.

An organized craft cupboard . . .

Another page from my magazine clippings drawer. Once again, there is no information on either side but we all know where this came from, don't we? Martha Stewart Living, year unknown.

It would be nice to have a free-standing antique cupboard to use for this purpose but you could probably do the same thing with something new from Ikea. It is not too early to be thinking about gift wrapping either. The season will be here in a flash. I always marvel that June and July sort of drag by, and then somehow August evaporates. After Labor Day the days just whiz by and then all of a sudden the holidays are here. The more organized you are, the more you can enjoy them!

I am posting this as inspiration for myself. I am going to tackle my studio today. It is a real mess; mostly just paper and "blog clutter" if you know what I mean. I will be able to work more efficiently when all of my horizontal surfaces are free again. I have to wrap and mail a big package today and it is virtually impossible right now.

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go. Maybe I will even Whistle While I Work! I think I am going to enjoy today's project.






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September in a nutshell . . .

SEPTEMBER ~ Back to WORK, Back to SCHOOL, Back to BOOKS!
This historic reading poster says it all, doesn't it?

I always loved the first day of school with everything new. New clothes head to toe, new bookbag, new 3-ring binders covered in blue canvas, new pencils (always painted yellow), new black and white speckled composition books, new lunchbox, new teachers, and new butterflies in my stomach.

Did I forget anything?

DETOUR! Giant Dragonfly ahead . . .

This is one of my favorite photos of my mother taken some years ago. I added the dragon fly. Doesn't it look real?!!! The insect is a scan from an early 19th century entomology engraving. I deleted the background and moved it to the tree. Then I added a drop shadow.

I use Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 as my editing software. I might have been using either 4.0 or 5.0 when I did this exercise. I call it Photoshop Fun!

If you like this photo manipulation, please look at one of my very first posts using the same photo and a GIANT MOTH.

I am sad to report that the magnificent tree has been cut down by the town of Mendham, NJ. The roots were lifting the sidewalk; such a shame. Only part of the centuries-old trunk appears in this snapshot.

Labor Day is way too early this year . . .

Am I the only one who feels cheated when Labor Day falls on the first day of September? The thermometer shows that summer is NOT over yet!

Have a safe holiday.

Greenie Queenie ~ Queen Elizabeth goes green . . .

Is that an oil spot I see on the ground beside Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral? Be gone! She has instructed her police bodyguards to trade their gas-guzzling Range Rovers for black mountain bikes whenever possible.

The switch to bicycles is designed to reduce fuel consumption and establish a greener way of guarding the Royal Family during their summer break. The officers are pleased to be getting good workouts and saving fuel at the same time.

This is nothing new for Queen Elizabeth; she started going green more than two decades ago. The main castle's boilers have been converted to burn wood chips instead of oil and she is said to go around Buckingham Palace switching off the lights. Good for her!

The Queens company, The Crown Estate, has purchased the world's largest offshore wind turbine known as the Britannia project.

The company is also involved in the development of offshore windfarms in Scottish waters.

I think it is wonderful that she is so proactive instead of just sitting back and leaving it for Charles to do on his watch.

I hope she discovers the wonderful photos taken from a helicopter of "London from Above, At Night" on The Big Picture. When she sees how many lights are turned on she will probably go out and buy one or two more windfarms!

Pansy faces . . .

I am still going through my old photos to see if there are any worthy of publishing on my blog. The single rain drop on the purple flower commemorates the nice gentle rain we had last night; the scorched grass is getting greener already.

Pansy faces are always appreciated and they send their best wishes for a safe Labor Day weekend. Enjoy!

The name pansy is derived from the French word pensée meaning "thought", and was so named because the flower resembles a human face; in August it nods forward as if deep in thought.

Pssst! Long Weekend Ahead ~ Pass It On . . .

The long Labor Day weekend is getting off to a damp start here in New Jersey. We need the rain so I am not complaining. The wet grass will keep me from 'laboring' outside and I am very thankful. I love a rainy day; it gives me permission to play inside without guilt! I am not off the hook entirely as it might clear up later.

I grew up with Norman Rockwell covers on the Saturday Evening Post and 'The Gossip' is one of my favorites.

John Derian items at Target on Sept. 7th . . .

Fans of John Derian will be sleeping in the parking lots of Target stores on Sunday, September 7th to snap up choice pieces in his lower-price line.

See The New York Times article dated August 20th: "John Derian’s decoupage paperweights, vases and serving dishes — one-of-a-kind pieces covered with layered images of flowers, animals and antique script sealed under handblown glass — may be coveted both uptown and downtown, but they come at a price: the paperweights start at $30 and larger items can cost several thousand dollars.

Starting Sept. 7 Mr. Derian’s Old World aesthetic will be available to a much wider audience, when Target introduces a lower-price line of John Derian stationery and home décor. The coasters, photo albums, plates and wrapping paper, which are digitally printed to resemble decoupage, lack the visual depth and delicacy of Mr. Derian’s studio work; then again, the most expensive item in the collection is about the same price as a small paperweight in his original line."

The photo above is a page I have been saving in my clippings drawer from a very old Town and Country magazine. Since I collect and sell antique prints, his creations have always appealed to me. My friend Jill used to borrow authentic 18th century hand-colored engravings from my flat file to scan for decoupage lamps. She gave me two for a house-warming gift. One day I will show them to you; they are really spectacular.

The butterfly, the thistle, and the weeds . . .

This is probably my last butterfly and thistle photo for 2008. I have to get ready for the leaf season and the big thistle has to go.

Webster is looking out at the newly mown grass and what looks to be a hedgerow on the left. It is really a weed patch that gets chopped down every fall so the leaves can blow away. There is a steep bank on the left that has been overtaken by an insidious plant known as Giant Ragweed. It is really woody and takes a metal blade to cut it back. Some of the stems are almost one inch in diameter and the height exceeds 5 feet. I don't mind them in the summer since they look like a living fence. By the end of August they start to droop and hopefully by this evening they will be gone along with the thistles. It is really dry here as you can see by the brown grass. The area on the right was allowed to grow wild all summer and it too has been cut down for leaf control. A homeowner always has to stay one step ahead of the upcoming season!

Vine Study and Red Honeysuckle . . .

I thought at the time I was photographing these vine curlycues they looked very much like the pictograms from the 2008 Olympics...so I named the photo OlympicVine. How do those tendrils know where to go? Do they have sensors at the end? Nature never ceases to amaze me!

Red Honeysuckle flower from my previous home. I had forgotten how much I love this climbing shrub. I hope I can find one or two to plant here now that all the perennials are on sale at such low prices. They are very hardy and so very beautiful.

Snail portraits . . .

I was photographing some wild grape vines yesterday on my early morning walk and almost overlooked this tiny snail crawling around on one of the leaves. He was most cooperative throughout his first photo session. How nice it must be to be able to wear your beautiful home on your back and retreat whenever you feel the need. I was amazed that he stayed outside for me prior to his internet debut.