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 ^..^

Clean and Spiffy...

I don't know about you, but after bathing a Corgi, I look like a wild woman with big frizzy hair. For some reason, even when bathing the more well-behaved-in-the-tub Corgis, I come out of it soaking wet, with wet fur stuck all over me. Here is our veteran Ch. Windcrest Zip'N Indiana Jones "Indy." Sure, here he looks like he could sit all day posing for pictures. I assure you that an hour earlier he was a crazy man in the tub. This is a dog that has never liked taking a bath. We've tried every trick in the book. Lord knows he had many baths when he was entered in conformation dog shows. He never got used to them. Sometimes Mary Elizabeth and I will plan a 'spa day' for all of our dogs. We'll do baths, teeth, and nails. We always seem to leave Indy for last (sort of like a kid who will leave his least favorite parts of his dinner on his plate, hoping someone will rescue him from the inevitable horrible fate...) We usually have to brace ourselves when it is Indy's turn. It usually involves getting a Starbucks beforehand so we are fortified with caffeine and up to the challenge of bathing this bucking bronco. He is, however, the sweetest, friendliest, most lovable boy. Outside the tub, that is.

And......here we have the Princess, BISS CH. Heronsway Two For The Show "Bridget." Bridget, on the other hand, will elegantly step into the tub, expecting the very best shampoo and a massage. She will hold her paw up so you can rinse underneath and expects that she will have a cookie, an Egyptian cotton towel and her Mason-Pearson brush waiting for her.

I think I need a cup of tea...and a shower. -CS ^..^

Fr. Mack and Fiona

I am convinced that Corgis possess a magical quality which enables them to find the hearts of kindred spirits and knit them together. Meet Fr. McCormick (or Fr. Mack as I call him) and his smiling Corgi, Fiona. Some of my fellow Corgi artists may recognize him as he and his lovely wife, Ruth, (who snapped this snazzy photo of the dynamic duo) are fans of Corgis and Corgi art. I was so happy to meet Fr. Mack a couple of years ago when he came to cheer Bridget on at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in NYC. In addition to Princess Fiona, Fr. Mack and Ruth have quite a menagerie of God's creatures. I do believe that even the horses are called into service as Fr. Mack transforms into St. Nicholas at Christmas time. I must remember to ask permission to post a photo on St. Nicholas Day as proof!-CS ^..^

Diva, the Diva

One of my most favorite things is when I receive Corgi photos. They are all quite adorable and really make my day. I must confess, however, that some of my very favorites come from Jane Dewey. This is her Corgi, "Diva." If there were a Corgi Vogue, Diva would surely grace its pages as she has many 'fetching' (sorry, couldn't resist that one) outfits and costumes. Dig those wild sunglasses, baby! -CS ^..^

The Power Of Cheese

Training show puppies involves lots of love and patience on the part of the trainer and the puppy. Pups need to learn to stand patiently until you let them know it is OK to move. We find that short training sessions keep our Corgis happy while learning. Too long and they get bored. A few seconds can seem like an eternity for a puppy. God bless the cheesemakers! Cheese is an excellent motivator for puppies in training.

This is Stella "Reinwood On With The Show"

(CH. Tallyrand No Greater Love x CH. Heronsway Two For The Show)

"I won't move, but I won't promise not to drool!"

Here is Mary Elizabeth teaching Stella.

"Come on, Stella! Fix those feet!"

"Getting better!"

Below is Amy "Reinwood Show And Tell"

(CH. Windcrest Pilgrims Pride x CH. Heronsway Two For The Show)

"Behold the power of cheese!"

Bridget's babies are growing up so fast! -CS ^..^

(p.s. if you click on this photo of Amy, you can see the cheese on her lips...the Corgi version of a 'milk mustache' :) !!)

Oh Baby!

Happy September everyone! It has been a while since I have posted; (I thank many of my regular readers for nudging me back on!) But, the short hiatus, I think you will agree, has been with good reason! Please meet our new grandbaby, Liam Nicholas Santarsiero. Mom~Renee, Dad~John Jr. and baby~Liam are all doing well! He is a sweet little angel, fresh from heaven :) We are all so blessed. -CS ^..^