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 ^..^

Oh Happy Day!

Last night was the official 'lighting' of THE tree at Rockefeller Center in NYC. Here we have the Corgis skating away as they have claimed the rink for their own, renaming it Corgifeller Center. There is nothing like Christmas in New York City. The tree is truly a sight to behold. We are very excited and happy that the stagehands strike is over and that everyone has come to terms. Just in the nick of time for us! We have tickets to see Wicked on Saturday. My daughter's Girl Scout troop and we three leaders are attending a workshop with the actors, having lunch at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company (you know, life IS like a box of chocolates!) and then will see the show. We plan on doing a bit of window shopping and seeing the tree. I don't think one can return home after this day without a big dose of Christmas Spirit. Well, maybe the Grinch perhaps?

What puts a warm glow in my soul besides Christmas, you ask? Well, Corgis for starters. (Big surprise, right?) I have a sneaking suspicion that you feel the same about Corgis since you are stopping by my blog for a visit! I'd like you to meet our dear friend JoEllen Chisholm. JoJo's little friend is Willow. Mary Elizabeth and I are thrilled that Willow chose JoJo to be her special person. Willow is out of Halo, Calloway Reinwood Angel Song and is sired by Darby, CH. Windcrest Pilgrims Pride. She has a lovely pedigree and we expect she and JoEllen to do wonderfully in the ring together.

Have a happy day everyone! -CS ^..^

Who Wants A Cookie?

Gobble Gobble!

John and I took a ride up to Gozzi's Turkey Farm in Guilford, Connecticut this morning to pick up our Thanksgiving turkey. Gozzi's is a small family farm that breeds fantastic white turkeys. These colorful Easter-egg-color-dyed turkeys grace the lawn as you drive up to their 'storefront.' ~(It doesn't hurt the birds, just food coloring)~Inside, you will find many state fair and poultry competition ribbons and trophies. The earliest I saw was from the 1950's. Those of us who show our Corgis can appreciate having those ribbons and trophies to remind us of a special win. Gozzi's takes pride in their breeding stock, and well they should! If you want a turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas, be sure to order it ahead of time for they always sell out. Have a happy week everyone! -CS ^..^

Inspired by a rat?

I am quite often asked where the inspiration for my artwork comes from. I am inspired by so many things. The inspiration doesn't always manifest itself in a painting, however. Have you seen the movie Ratatouille? We watched it Saturday evening. It is quite clever. For those who haven't seen it, I won't spoil it for you. I will tell you that it is about a rat who dreams of becoming a chef. I spent the better part of Sunday cooking up a storm. I cooked a huge batch of pasta sauce, chicken soup, lentil soup and roasted some chicken as well. All of it went into the freezer in dinner-sized containers. Of course the Corgis never left the kitchen and every now and then I'd see a little nose raised to sniff and eyes peeled for any morsel that might drop to the floor. Even my daughter decided to bake a cake at around 9 PM that evening! With the holidays around the corner I have so much painting/orders/gift making/baking/decorating that I love to do. I can only order take-out so many times before feeling like a slug. There are nights when I'm so tired that I would gladly have a bowl of cheerios and hit the hay. What a gift it is to be able to pull something delicious out of the freezer. Even if you don't do a marathon cooking day, if you double a receipt (a Tasha Tudor term for recipe!) to freeze every now and then, it really helps on those busy days! Try it! -CS ^..^

And the winner is....

"Amy" (Reinwood Show And Tell) volunteered to supervise our 100th blog post give-away draw. We put all of the names into my Corgi utensil holder (removing my wooden spoons and whisks!) My daughter, Laura, under Amy's watchful eye, picked the winner! Congratulations Ginny! Would you email me privately please? christmascorgi@aol.com Ginny's favorite post was my July 2007. Just click on that month's archives to the left if you would like to read it. Thank you all for your lovely, lovely comments. Watch for more give-aways in the future. Have a happy weekend everyone! -CS ^..^

A Christmas Corgi Kiss...

Ta-da!

The little pup is growing up!


James at 11 & 12 weeks, and now....
Mary Elizabeth and I are pleased as punch to present new CH. Zydahayes Admiral Salute, "James." Here he is winning that last point with his friend and handler extraordinaire Ferebe Simons. It seems like yesterday we were picking him up at the airport from the UK. Do pop over to our http://www.reinwoodcorgis.com/ site and scroll down to find more photos of this handsome little man.




















It was so nice to spend a little time with Lynne Creech ("Zydahayes" James' breeder) and Lillian Beazley ("Cinonnie") who flew over from England to attend our National Specialty in Rhode Island. Lynne gave this photo to me. On the left is Ellie (James' mum) and Scarlet (James' sister) is on the right. Aren't they just lovely?

Don't be shy...do leave a comment on my previous post for my little 100th post giveaway, only a few days away! -CS ^..^

100 already? Let's celebrate!

On Sunday I popped in to visit my Grandmother Grace's oldest friend, Mildred. "Gracie" past away a couple of years ago. Mildred, who just turned 100 misses her a lot. We all do. Mildred and Gracie (don't you just love those good old fashioned names...Gracie and Mildred??) have been through quite a bit together in their lives, marriages, births, the "Great Depression," deaths. They were friends for 70 years. I love listening to her stories, many of which I've heard 100's of times, but they never get old. Gracie was some cook. Her meatballs were legend. I made a batch over the weekend and brought some of 'Gracie's meatballs' to Mildred. Mildred proceeded to tell me how during the Depression, Gracie would always find something to cook. She loved to cook. We used to kid her that she could make an 8 course meal from a head of lettuce. Mildred told me how Gracie always shared whatever she had. If she had 2 she'd give you 1. If she had 1, you'd get half.

I think blogs are cool. I think blogging may just be where our stories are told. A blog can inspire me, inform me, relax me, help me figure out what to cook for dinner, or just plain make me laugh. I have recently made my 100th post to this blog. To celebrate 'my 100' I will have a fun little give-away contest right here!

This give-away will be open to all subscribers to my mailing list. (fun and free!) The box on the left of this blog will let you easily subscribe. Rest assured that your personal information is never sold or shared. Now, what shall we do for our little contest? I know! All you have to do between now and November 10 (which would have been Gracie's birthday) is to leave a comment on this post telling which of my posts (see archives!) was your favorite. One of the resident Corgis will help me to choose a winner and the prize for this giveaway shall be a 10 pack of the new nifty sized 'notecards' and a brand new mug from my CafePress online Pembroke Welsh Corgi store in your choice of design. Then you will have a bit of fun Corgi-ness to enjoy some delicious hot cocoa and marshmallows this Winter while you read your favorite blogs! Have a happy week! Corgishly, CS ^..^

Mad, Mad Science!

New Original painting, on Ebay today! Click the button below to see the auction. Have a happy day!-CS ^..^

Yogi and Whoopie Pies

This absolutely lovely (and loveable!) fluffy boy's name is "Yogi." Yogi is
Baymoor Anwyll Quillan and is owned and loved by Wendy Shapiro of Rhode Island. Yogi is working on an obedience title and gave Wendy a nice birthday and anniversary present in September by scoring 2nd place in his pre-novice class with a score of 190.5 Whooo hoooo! Way to go, Yogi!

I just could not resist trying out my friend Suzanne's very own recipe for her 'Pumpkin Whoopie Pies.' You can find the 'receipt' (a Tasha Tudor term for recipe) on Suzanne's website http://www.blueberrycottagenaturals.com/ The hardest part was keeping my husband away from them as they were cooling and before they were filled! Dieters, beware! -CS ^..^

Harvest Moon Agility!

New auction! Click the Ebay icon to the left to see this original painting on Ebay! Have a happy day! -CS ^..^

Happy 11th Birthday, Bailey!

I love you with all my heart. -CS ^..^

Saboteurs

There are days when all of the little creatures that surround me seem to use their powers for evil. Take Skittles, for example. We have precious little closet space, so I tend to use baskets to store things. While washing all of the towels (which are usually rolled up to fit nicely in the basket) Skittles decided to take a cat nap in this empty basket. After the towels were dry and put back in, he thought it was a lovely idea just to sleep on the towels. I'd take him out, he'd go back in. This battle of wills lasted for a few days until I decided to just take the towels out and give him a little fleece of his own. He looks very content knowing he won this bout, doesn't he?

I also have a constant battle with the woodland creatures. Sometimes I don't know if it is the deer, the squirrels or the chipmunks who do the most damage. I think they feel that I am their personal sous chef and that everything I grow or bring home is for their own personal buffet. Look at what they did to my poor pumpkin! An Autumn feast. I have not caught them in the act, but I fear they will be back for more.

And with friends.

I took a cup of coffee outside with me this morning before starting some chores. After I snapped this pumpkin photo I decided to take a photo of Bridget who was at my heels. She became instantly distracted.

What grabbed her attention? Another saboteur...

(queue the scary music....)

The wicked Amy, running from the woods with her slobbery hedgie! Way to much for any self-respecting Corgi to resist. We did manage to get one photo, however!

Have a happy day! -CS ^..^

The 2008 Christmas Corgi Calendar!

Now available! Click the CafePress button on the left side of this blog or go to www.cafepress.com/christmascorgi to order! Get a headstart on your Christmas shopping! Thanks to everyone who has already purchased theirs, and especially for the lovely comments! Have a happy day! -CS ^..^