~ Doctor Ben ~

Dogs are so intuitive......

Last weekend, my daughter visited with her little dog Indy. Ben hadn't seen Indy in a while but he would not leave her alone.  He followed her everywhere sniffing at a particular part of her anatomy.  Nothing too unusual probably but he was very insistent.  He just wouldn't leave her following her everywhere sniffing, sniffing, sniffing.. Finally,  I suggested to my daughter to just check there and see what might be going on.  She did.....and found a TICK!  Yikes...we removed that thing quick.  I was very proud of my Dr Ben!!

Here is the very nose that detected that nasty Tick!!!

And here is that same handsome fella resting ofter a hard days 'doctoring'

I love that guy!!

"Good instincts usually tell you what to do long before your head has figured it out."  

~Michael Burke

Advice From A Tree - Ilan Shamir, music by Bernward Koch

~ Dog Show ~

Dog Show

This is so clever.  If you are a dog lover and have 5 minutes to spare, have a look.  Such clever dogs and trainer!!

PS.  Thanks Mary for sending me this and hope this link actually works.   Oh and Ben says thanks to all for his birthday wishes too.

"The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side".  ~Margaret Carty

~ Birthday Boy ~

I can't believe my boy is six today....

From this gorgeous cute puppy 2005....

To this  noble, faithful, ....

(sometimes naughty)....

handsome gentleman. 2011

Happy Birthday Ben!  My beautiful shadow....my faithful friend!!

"No one can fully understand the meaning of love unless he's owned a dog. A dog can show you more honest affection with a flick of his tail than a man can gather through a lifetime of handshakes."

~ Real or Not? ~

Are my Shadow and I having a portrait painted??

No, not real!! Just fooling with this fun program.

"The difference between friends and pets is that friends we allow into our company, pets we  allow into our solitude."         

~Robert Brault 

PS....It was only after I had completed this post that I realised it was April Fool's day !!

~ If the Shoe Fits ~

Here is a little gift I made for a relative who had a special birthday.

I tucked in a lovely lace handkerchief, some handmade soap and made a matching little card.

I hope she likes it.

"May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day.
  May songbirds serenade you every step along the way.

  May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue.
  And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through."
~Irish Blessing

~ Just This and That ~

While I still consider myself  very much a beginner card maker I am really enjoying the learning experience and discovering the talents of others.  Just as with stitching,  there are so many very talented people doing wonderful things with cards and albums. I am still amazed by the Internet and how it can connect us with people who share our interests whatever they may be. I have become quite hooked on You Tube where I have discovered I can find so many helpful tutorials which are just great for beginners like me.  Thank you to all the talented ladies out there who are only too happy to share their experience and take the time to make these videos.

I pondered  the idea of starting a second blog for my developing interest in card making and paper crafts.  My friend Mary who is both a wonderful stitcher and card maker  has two blogs - one for her stitching Meakly Mine and another for her card making Meakly Made.  I  decided against it  though and instead will just  post the occasional picture of things I make here on Just Me and My Shadow.

So, here is a card I recently made for a friend who had a special birthday.  My friend is a particularly stylish lady so I wanted to try and achieve something that reflected  her elegance. 

.

I wanted to show you this little fellow who was on our screen door the other day.  I think he is rather cute.  I had to try and keep Ben from seeing him though as I didn't want him to be minus a tail!! He is still hanging about and we saw him again earlier on today.  He is around 25cm from head to tail. Not sure what kind he is. 

Someone asked me in my last post if that gorgeous little cottage was my home. No, that cottage  is in Arrowtown, New Zealand and I now live in Australia but it is so darling isn't it. Those gorgeous autumn colours will be starting to happen over there now.

I often refer to the Internet as being' my own private library' so when I found this particular quote today  it seemed to somehow reflect my thoughts even although I don't need to pay for a bus fare or an overdue book.  

"The best of my education has come from the public library... my tuition fee is a bus fare and once in a while, five cents a day for an overdue book.  You don't need to know very much to start with, if you know the way to the public library."

  ~Lesley Conger

Thanks for visiting us.