Happy 10th Birthday!

Where does the time go? Happy 10th Birthday to our Indy (CH. Windcrest Zip'N Indiana Jones) and Hannah Banana (Windcrest Zip'N Rave Review, CD, AX, AXJ, NAC, NJC, CGC, RN) Mary Elizabeth and I love you with all our hearts. -CS ^..^

Corgis in the snow...

Amy and Stella (de-squeaker-fying the toy) before the rain washed most of the snow away. Why do I have a feeling that the next blog entry title may be "Corgis in the mud?"...
CS ^..^

Merry Christmas!

"And there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were sore afraid. Then the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign unto you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!" Luke 2:8-14

...While Visions Of Sugarplums Danced In Their Heads...

Santa and Corgi Eggs...

This little group was among the last of my Santa and Corgi egg orders to go for this year. I love to line them all up and see how they look together. Even after painting them all these years, they still make me smile. Have a happy day! -CS ^..^

Merry Hiss-mas??

OK now, before I get flames from anyone about this hissing kitty, please know that this is my son's best friend, Nick (appropriately named, is he not?) and Nick's much loved cat. I assure you, no animal was harmed in the making of this photo. Notice kitty's 'naughty' stocking in the background. Enough said. Maybe this is not the cute and cuddly outcome they expected when taking this photo, but I think there is some Christmas inspiration to be found behind the cat having a 'hissy-fit.' Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Someone up there cares enough about us to love us even when we get a little 'hissy' and even when we are not at our best. Are you enjoying this Christmas season? I hope so. If you are stressed (you're not? all of your shopping must be done!) may I suggest taking a few moments throughout the day and try to remember the real meaning of Christmas. Have a cup of tea and give thanks that you live in the greatest country in the world; that you have a roof over your head and food on the table. Give thanks for the people and joys in your life (Corgis included!) Let's all remember to pray for all of our troops who are away from their own families right now in order to protect our precious freedoms and allow us to do silly things like write blogs, go to the mall, spend sunny days (and sometimes rainy ones!) at dog shows, take Santa photos with our pets, and sleep peacefully each night. God bless them. In the midst of the lights and the shopping and the baking and the decorating and the caroling, don't forget the Birthday Boy. Remember who this joyful celebration is for and I'll bet the things left to do on your 'list' just may transform from stress-filled chores into cheerful preparations. It all started with one very special Baby. Speaking of special babies, here is John with our Grandson, Liam. He is probably wondering if he will inherit Grandpa's whiskers. God bless us, everyone! -CS ^..^

Sunshine!

"Why is this little Corgi holding a pineapple" you ask? He told me that he would like you to follow in his little pawprints down to Florida! On January 3rd, 2008, the Sunshine Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club is having their Annual Specialty Show. The Show Chair is Lesley Hammar. Lesley has been working harder than Santa's elves on lots of wonderful details all year in order to welcome everyone to a fantastic show. I am thrilled to be a small part of it. Lesley asked me to do a painting for their raffle reflecting her theme of friendship and hospitality. Here it is! (below) The green border is not on the actual painting, but on the wonderful tee shirts that are ready to go home with Corgi lovers at the show. The actual painting is on an 8" x 10" gallery wrapped canvas. There are Corgis painted on the sides in my signature style. There are really fun dog brushes and other items for trophies which I have painted as well as a 5" x 5" original for Best Of Breed. I don't want to spoil the surprise for the winners so I will wait to post pictures of them until after the show. There is also a wonderful quilt made by Judy West, in the raffle. If you would like a chance (or two or three!) to own this Original painting or the lovely quilt while supporting the Sunshine Pembroke Welsh Corgis and their wonderful club, information is posted below! Winning an Original painting would be a Corgi-riffic way to start the New Year! -CS ^..^

http://www.sunshinepwcc.com/(click on 'events' on the Sunshine site for their premium list and to see the raffle flyer!)
Raffle Items:

~Original 8 x 10 painting by Cathy Santarsiero "The Fruit Of Friendship Begins With a Warm Welcome"

~Breed motif Handmade quilt by Sunshine member Judy West
Tickets:
3 for $10.00 or 7 for $20.00
Make check payable to SPWCC and mail to:
Maggi Payne
13340 Queen Palm Run
North Ft. Myers, FL 33903
Or contact at (239) 995-0312
separatestar1@comcast.net

Joy Joy Joy!

When Annie Baker sent me this wonderful photo of her adorable 4 month old Corgi "Cooper"she took this morning, I simply had to share it with you! Cooper is "Heartwood Matinee Idol" (CH. Sandfox Orion of Redbrook x Mar-wil Rosher Five Star Chili.) Isn't he just darling?

Here's Amy (Reinwood Show And Tell) outside last evening investigating the snow. "Surely" she thought, "this white cold sparkly stuff was put here just for me!" She was a tiny pup in the whelping box last February when we had snow, so this is really the first snow she can play in!


Here's a peek into another of my Christmas shelves. Don't you just love those old bottle brush trees? This one has more of a woodsy theme. An old flocked deer, some trees my uncle cut from pine wood for me and I painted with crackly green paint years ago, a treasured dove from a dear friend, the cut wool owl and felted Corgi I made with my friend LaVonne's wonderful Montana wool after our visit to see Tasha Tudor's garden this summer. More wonderful memories. Click on photos to enlarge them if you like. Can you spot the hidden Corgis? -CS ^..^

Little Christmas Treasures

I love Christmas decorations. We don't have the room to actually display all of our decorations at the same time. I rotate the ones I will display every year and I rarely decorate the same way twice. Many of the decorations themselves, however, are cherished vintage decorations that belonged to my grandmother. Some are scratched up or missing tops. It doesn't matter to me. I think it adds to their charm. I love to mix the new and the old. I took this photo of one of the decorated shelves ( I will share more decorations with you as the days go by) in black and white, just to see how it looked in that vintage light. Pretty cool, right? You can click on the photos to enlarge them if you like. Some of my favorite things are on this shelf. The little blue elf was given to me by my Brownie Girl Scout leader. That little Santa pin with the holly leaves I've had since then as well. Pulling its bell would make the nose light up. I wonder if it still works? The whiskers on the elf and the Santa have both since rubbed off, but they are still beautiful in my eyes. They hold cherished memories for me. Here's a photo of the same kitschy little shelf in color. What else can I tell you about it? Well, those little stockings in the corner belonged to cherished pets. The angel with the styrofoam ball head was made by my daughter when she was 4 (where does the time go?) that little box of ornament hangers is not a mistake. I've kept it all of these years because it was in the box of my grandma's stuff. It is from Woolworth's and this particular box cost .23cents :) ! I miss Woolworths. ( Sigh.)The photo in the center is of Jimmy Stewart and Karolyn Grimes as George and Zuzu Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life. It is my favorite movie. It is my husband's as well. This is the scene where George takes Zuzu's petals and puts them in his pocket. Karolyn Grimes signed this photo for us a couple of years ago. She is a wonderful lady. It is snowing here today. A lot. There is a fire in the wood stove. The Corgis are all fast asleep. My laundry is done. We have a bowl full of Hershey kisses. Life is good. Life is good. CS ^..^

We have been elfed!

One thing I know for sure, is that Mary Elizabeth and I can very easily get very silly together. I just opened an email from her that made me laugh so hard that I spit coffee all over my keyboard. Soooo....here we are. Mary Elizabeth, Bridget, Me and Darby. Brace yourselves! (click link)
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1237949233

Happy Weekend, everyone! -CS ^..^

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

Greetings fellow Corgi lovers, and a Happy St. Nicholas' Day to you all! You've met Fr. Mack and his precious Corgi, Fiona in a previous post (see my blog archives, Sept. 17, 2007.) Here he is as St. Nicholas on horseback. While I seriously question whether St. Nick really wears those cool shades while delivering his gifts and cheer, I have no doubt that the two share a kind heart and generous spirit. My dear friend and Reinwood Corgis partner Mary Elizabeth is having a brand new barn with a riding ring built at her house. It seems to be taking forever, but we are looking forward to having a little party and barn blessing when it is done. Fr. Mack will come to do the honors!

Happy St. Nicholas Day! If you are a true Tasha Tudor fan, you will no doubt be having a piece of Dundee Cake with your tea today. Enjoy! -CS ^..^

Christmas in New York

What a wonderful day we had yesterday! We started out at our 'Wicked workshop' where the dance captain of Wicked and a few other actors taught the girls some singing and choreography from the show. It was such a pleasure to have these wonderful actors (who were very glad to be back to work after the 19 days of the strike) sharing their craft with us with great professionalism and enthusiasm. After our workshop they had 4 shows (including ours!) to do for this weekend. Wicked was wonderful; simply wonderful. Of course, as a Corgi person, when I think of Wicked on Broadway, my thoughts always turn to Deb Shindle's lovely "Deidre," CH. Americas, CH. Caribe, MBISS, MBIS, CH. Riverside Wicked Wonderful, CGC. After lunch and the show, we were determined to see the tree and wanted to run into the American Girl store. Yeah, right. The first Saturday after the tree lighting, and we think we are going to 'run' anywhere around Manhattan. Forget it. It was wall to wall people and shopping bags. Here's a quick shot of the outside of Radio City, all decked out for their 75th Anniversary. Above you can see my blurry shot of the tree, taken from the back of the plaza. While the view from the front with the rink and angels is fantastic, there was no way to make it to the front and still make our train. We hurried to the American Girl Doll store but there was a long line just to get in! Amazing. So we opted to make a dash for the next train home. We made it home in time to attend the 7:30 mass and then we headed to our dear friends' house for "The Lighting." You can read about the lighting in my last year's December post by clicking on this blog's archives. It was as spectacular as ever. What could be better than good friends and family, good food and a magnificent Christmas display? I will tell you that I fell asleep last night as soon as my head hit the pillow. This morning we awoke to snow! Here's Bridget among the first dusting...

I know the Corgis and everone here will have a grand time enjoying the snow. Well, maybe all except my husband who is wiring some roping and lights to the house right now! Have a lovely day everyone! -CS ^..^