Love

Happy New Year!!!  Thought I'd pop in and serve up a couple valentines with a cutie corgi chaser.  I made these last winter and never managed to share them because of all the valentine kit orders.  Totally not complaining about being swamped with orders!  It was awesome that so many people liked them!!!!  I made several versions of this card, but I only just got around to loading them in my Etsy Shop recently.

I used a wicked old SU stamp that I borrowed from a crafty friend for the "love" and the heart balloon is from a balloon set by Amuse (I can direct you to an Amuse rep if you like this balloon- I think they still sell it.). The inside, which I forgot to photograph- ugh, read Happy Valentine's Day and was a Curious Cupid gift ages ago. (FYI- Curious Cupid is a valentine version of Secret Santa & is LOADS of fun at a much less hectic time of the year!).

Speaking of hectic times... Here is a pic of Cida waiting for Santa.  He has been doing really great with almost all of his commands though "come" seems to be optional in his puppy brain still. LOL!  We traveled to see family at Christmas and they all remarked about how much he has "grown up" since last year.  He looks more dog that puppy already!!!!

Speaking of corgi dogs, someone is hitting the back door looking for a chance to get outside.  Guess I gotta head out.  See y'all soon!

Welcome Cida!

As promised, here is the big surprise!!!!

He is a Cardigan Welsh Corgi (like Cad) and his name is pronounced "Key-dah". This pic is from when we went to meet him and his parents on Flag Day (July 14th).  DH wanted me to keep Cida's arrival off any social media until we brought him home.  Now I'm usually the very superstitious type in our relationship (my Pennsylvania Dutch heritage running rampant), but he was super scared this would fall through somehow, so only immediate family/friends knew and all were sworn off saying anything on FB.

The owner will only let you take pups after he meets you in person and checks your refs.  That, to me, was incredibly comforting because it meant he wanted to make sure his pups were going to good people, not just people with cash.  He also never ships pups.  I would never be comfortable with that anyway.  I've heard too many tragic stories.  We thought this was the fella we wanted from scoping out the blog pics, but when we got there and they put our all the pups we were sooooo torn!  6 puppies with wobbly legs and wagging tails.  Cuteness to the max!!!!!  In the end we went with our first instincts and are so glad we did!

July 4, 2014

 





So where did we get the name Cida?  We went the Welsh route.  Ci (key) and gi(gea) mean "dog" in Welsh and da(dah) is supposed to mean "good".  So basically we named our new fella "good dog".  Not terribly creative, but corgi means "dwarf dog" in Welsh so we didn't have much of a bar to trip over. LOL!

July 5, 2014 with his new bone



I'm a big one for thinking about meaning first and sound second.  Not gonna name my dog "fast runner" or "fierce protector" cause I don't want to be chasing after it, or keeping it from biting everyone who comes near me.  Told you I was the traditionally superstitious one!  We ran through the idea of naming Cida, "little brother", "second", "smart dog", or "black and white".  None of them seemed pronounceable or they were too boring to say.  We even toyed with something patriotic since we met him on Flag Day and knew we would bring him home on The Fourth of July.  No dice though because the words were too hard to say, too unwieldy, or just meh.  Cida (which btw my spellcheck HATES and keeps trying to make Vida or Coda) was one we kept coming back to and we said it enough that it stuck. :)

DH has never owned a puppy and I haven't had one in 30 years!  This is going to be an adventure for sure.  Stay tuned as the adventure continues...

Goodbye to my Faithful Cad



Dear Readers, it is with the heaviest of hearts that I share our loss with all of you.  My furry little brother has lost his battle with DM and crossed the Rainbow Bridge yesterday afternoon.  Over the last 2 years we have been so blessed to have had the well wishes from all of you.  We met the most talented and thoughtful people because of Cad and because of his illness.  People in animal healthcare and amazing bloggy friends, all of who helped us throughout these last couple years.  We thought would we would give special praise to the fantastic folks who treated Cad.

Cad relaxing post surgery- he loved to sleep "like a human"

The support we had from our vets Dr. Gould, Dr. Manley, and the entire crew at Apple Country Animal Hospital.  My frantic last minute calls when I would realize we were running low on his meds and were on our way out of town with him.  During all Cads time at Tufts, they would call and check on us humans to see how we were holding up.  They were so good at offering practical advice and willing to research anything to help all our pets, especially Cad.  Gosh those folks have been so wonderful to us!!

Cad getting ready to work in the tank at Paws in Motion

The amazing team headed by Dr. Suzy Starr at Paws in Motion was vital in his recovery after his disc rupture and continued to be instrumental in keeping him independent for as long as possible.  Cad LOVED Suzy, sometimes more than us! :)  She gave him all kinds of doggie "junk food", which he adored.  Cad was a huge foodie.  Back in his prime, and before we knew better, we fed him 2 cups of dry kibble which he could down in 1 minute flat.  Towards the end he got picky and wanted only canned food so we spoiled him with lots of different kinds of gourmet treats and cans of fancy grain-free organic food.  He was sooooo loyal he really deserved all the spoiling. :)

Cad on Wells Beach 2013

 

The folks at Eddies Wheels who made his beach-ready wheelchair so he could enjoy his last season at the beach.  Man that corgi was gaga for beach walks and chasing seabirds of all kinds.  One of the funniest memories we have of Cad is the first time we took him to the beach.  He and I went all the way to the waters edge.  This is Maine water mind you so it is cold, even in the summer, and this was early spring I think.  Well, the water came up and just barely hit his feet.  I started to run back and he froze.  I think it was so cold he didn't know what to do. It wasn't dangerous water and he was leashed, don't worry.  I turned and said "come on" and, after he snapped out of the shock, took off far from the water.  He was always cautious about the water after that. :) 

 

"Fat" Cad before we put him on a diet- we really didn't realize how fat he had gotten!! circa 2006

 

We never could have imagined when Cad came to us after my mom passed away, how much he would change our lives.  I've had many, many pets in my life, but as cautious & shy as he was, Cad was responsible for having introduced us to so many human friends.  Amazing people who touch so many others with their gifts.  The impact he had will long outlive him. 

 

Cad chillin' in Maine pre-disc rupture circa 2009



We take comfort in the thought that he and Mom will have a happy reunion.   Now they can take endless beach walks, cuddle together on the sofa, and keep an eye on us from above. :)

 

 Cad Christmas 2013

 

Cad lived with us longer than he did with my mom (he was 14- would have been 15 this spring!), but I always considered him my "little brother".  He was always one who had to have the last bark.  LOL!  When we would talk to him and he didn't like what we said he would always give a "humph" snort, or a quick bark.  When he got too sassy, I'd usually sass back with "Mom said you were adopted" or "Mom liked me best"- which would involve another sassy bark from him. *smile*.  He really was an amazing dog.  Cad was super smart and knew a ridiculous number of words, luckily he never got to know how to spell since we ended up having to spell MANY words around him.  A great protector, though mostly barking from behind my leg unless it really counted.

 

Cad showing off his wheels June 2013



This is the first time in our 13 years together that we are without any furry friends in the house.  Even though the house is already too quiet, we talked about it and decided we would wait a bit before bringing home another friend. 

 

I'm going to take a little break from blogging for the next week or so.  I'll be back, don't worry.  I'll still hop around and see what all of you are up to, but I need a little time.  Until then, Tom and I want to say thanks again to all of you for your kindness.

 

A Corgi Video!

I was waiting to post this until I had some good news to share.  Maybe it's my Pennsylvania Dutch superstitiousness coming through, but I was afraid I would jinx things if I shared this happy video until Cad got an all clear.

So, the good news-- Cad doesn't have Lyme, Neospora, or Cancer!!!!  Yay!!!!!!  He is still on one painkiller every 8 hours and now has to have Prednisone and Pepsid AC every 12 hours.  They think it might be an auto-immune illness.  Poor guy.  He's already so food centric and the new meds will amp up his thirst and appetite, but he is much perkier than he has been in a while!  The neurologist was surprised at how much energy and leg strength he had- and those folks are hard to surprise. ;D

We can't thank y'all enough for all your kind words!  Hope you enjoyed the video.  He has to get training wheels for the front of his cart because of the surgery and don't panic that he was eating garbage off the street.  We had to toss some treats out in front of him to keep him moving while I was shooting the video.  Told ya he was wicked food centric. ;)

Have a great Thursday!

Medical Mystery

 Cad sleeping at home back in March 2013

Well friends I have good news and bad news about "Cad Watch 2013".  I want to again thank all of you for your incredible comments & emails.  They really truly help keep us in positive spirits.  When this calms down some I fully intend to pay forward all the kindness y'all have shown our little furry family!!! Good news first (I usually go with bad first but we all need a boost). Cad does not seem to be getting worse and, if all goes well, he will be coming home tomorrow night! :)

 Now the not-so-good-news. First, he has DM (degenerative myelopathy) which essentially is Lou Gehrig's disease in dogs and just like in humans there is no cure. That isn't what has him at Tufts right now though. He probably has 6 months left, but who knows. Could be longer, could be shorter. We've decided in this house to make this the best summer ever and sneak him on the beach whenever we can, do lots of cuddling, visit family so they can say goodbyes, and in general run with Tim McGraw's song. :) We'll do whatever we can to stave off the disease, but we will also do what we can to enjoy the time we have.

Second, not sure if this is in the "good" bin or "bad" bin of news. They don't know what is wrong with Cad yet. It's like we are living an episode of House MD. He is having a biopsy done on his neck muscle because they can't figure out what virus it could be, or if he has lymphoma.  The docs tell me that if it is cancer he stands a good chance of recovery with chemo.

Long post short, please keep up with the prayers/thoughts/vibes.  None of the millions of tests they have run have had results come back yet.  Some won't be back 'til next week for sure, so this is an extended prayers/thoughts/vibes request.  As soon as I hear anything I will post more news.  There will be a prearranged project post on Friday- but if I can I will add an update to the bottom.  'Til then, keep your fingers crossed.

More Prayers Needed

Cad post surgery 2011

 

Dear Readers it is with a heavy hear that I post yet more sad news. Not 24 hours after losing our beloved Amy, our precious Cad has been again admitted to Tufts Vet Hospital. We brought him in at 7 on Sat night and he is still there. Since it is the weekend, the neuro experts are not all available. He will need at least one or two MRI's and surgery.

I am fighting tears as I post this news. I had hoped to post the video of Cad with his new wheels (we got him a wheelchair on Friday morning).  My plan is to hold off and show it (fingers crossed) when I can share happier news of his health.  I should be hearing from the experts tomorrow morning and I will update y'all as soon as I can.  So many of you have commented & emailed me with your touching words of comfort about Amy.  I have every intention of getting back to each of you personally with thanks- I hope this massive shout out of gratefulness will hold y'all over for now.

Bundle of Love

Happy Friday Peeps!  Thought I would take a break from my May Kit Club 2012 posts to share an uber adorable baby card.  So pull up a chair and a cuppa (we're doing iced ANYTHING in my neck of the woods.  It's going to be like 95-humid-degrees for the next few days!!!).

How super colorful and super cute is this?!? There just something so fun about mixing patterns with lots of bright pinks and yellows that makes me smile.  Come on, you're smiling right now aren't you? ;)  Hope so, that's my goal today!

We've got lots of babies in the future.  Two friends are having grandbabies, one coworker is on her last week before her baby is due, and our new next door neighbors are expecting their first very soon!  It's a good thing I like this card- I'm gonna be making a bunch!!!  Luckily, the 6x6 pad has plenty of sheets to work with in the scaled down patterns that look soooo cute on baby cards. :)

Goodies used to make this bundle smile:
My Minds Eye- Collectable- Unforgettable-Stickers
My Minds Eye- Collectable- Unforgettable- Buttons
My Minds Eye- Collectable- Unforgettable- Journal Paper
My Minds Eye- Collectable- Unforgettable- Story 6x6 Pad
The bling I used got sold out at the last big sale but I think this or this might work too! :)

Pet Update: I'm off today on an 1 1/2 hour drive to Western Mass to get Cad measured for a wheelchair. :(  We've reached that point, but the good news is that all his "medical staff" think he'll do great with a set of wheels and will gain lots more independence than he has had since last summer.  So far, so good with Amy.  She seems to be stable right now, although all she wants to eat is tuna and salmon.  Lucky for her, I like both and will happily share with her. :)

Woof! The winner is...

Hardwoods are not a strength of Cad's, at least at our house, but he did so well it seemed like a good sharing for today.  Cad also picked the winner of his giveaway!  The lucky artist is.....

Lynn Murphy 

 July 20, 2012 4:26 PM

So glad he's doing well. How fun is this.

Email me Lynn with your snail mail I'll get Cad's prize pack out to you. :)  Thanks to everyone who participated.  Don't fret if you didn't win this time.  There is sure to be another giveaway soon. :)

I'm off to kidnap my DH from work.  I'm taking him for a drive up to Maine for his birthday dinner and fun with some friends.  How is it that today is the day it finally decides to rain.  I'll take it 'cause we need it desperately, but it couldn't have done this yesterday?!?!  I know, I know, I'm so hard to please. LOL!

Have a great weekend everyone!

PTI July Hop & Cad

Today is the July PTI Blog Hop and I'm so excited to join the fun today!!!  This month the theme is using the colors from the inspiration picture.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this combo, so finding the goods to work with was easy.  Coming up with a plan at 4:00 was a little shaky. ;P

I pulled out my trusty VW "Enjoy the Ride" set and decided to have fun with colors and shapes.  A very Tim Gunn Make it Work moment.

Each license plate has a different sentiment- I wish they would come out with an "Enjoy the Ride" additions set with other sentiments for the plate.  I've made do in the past with stuff from other sets, but wouldn't it be great to have one for Fathers Day, or thanks, or Merry Christmas?!?!  I know, I know I could just have the "happy days" sentiment, but I'm a nudge who is always looking for more.  LOL!  What can I say? :)

Speaking of wanting more, here is the video of Cad running I promised everyone.  It was on the warm side so he is slower than he has been- oh and PLEASE don't look at how huge my tuckus looks in those white shorts!!!!!

Don't forget there is still time to sign up for Cad's blog candy giveaway.  You have until tomorrow night....

Cad Update and His Giveaway

A year ago I asked all of you for prayers for my "furry little brother".  So many of you posted kind thoughts here on my blog, my FB page, 2Peas, and on the PTI board.  Our little family is so grateful for all the kind wishes and we're happy to say Cad is doing fantastic!  He will never be able to use more than one step stairs (We live in a two story colonial and I have some great biceps now) or get up on any furniture by himself, but he can walk.  His pic here looks a little pathetic, he isn't a fan of water, but he is happy to see his trainer Suzy.   I can't say enough great things about Tufts Animal Hospital in Grafton MA and Paws in Motion in Natick MA.  Without them, Cad would be at the least a paraplegic and more likely he'd be dead. 

To thank all of you out there, Cad is hosting his own crafty giveaway. :)

The deets of Cad's goodie package are:
6x6 Kaisercraft pad Cock-a-doodle-doo
My Favorite Things "Puppy Love" clear stamp set
Assorted yellow, red, green buttons
6 Memory Box yellow cards
6 Memory Box white cards
1 chipboard frame
12" blue pom-pom ribbon
1 yard yellow/orange/pink flower ribbon
1 yard (I think) blue/brown star ribbon

What does Cad want you to do to be eligible for this?

1.  Hug your furry, and non-furry, family members every day.  Today we are reminded how life can change in an instant.  Appreciate what you have, show them, and tell them.

2.  Leave a comment below.  Cad loves your comments!

3.  Be a follower (if you aren't already).

4.  Post a link on your blog to this giveaway.

We're rigging up a way of having Cad pick the winner on Thursday the 26th.  That's the 1 year anniversary of him coming home from Tufts.  I'm hoping to get a new video of him running- yup running- soon.  I want all of you to be able to see his progress and I'm going to email his surgeon so she can see how far he has come!

Love and cyber hugs to all of you out in blogland.  You are an amazing group of supportive folks and you have made this especially tough 12 months much, much easier!

Dog Gone Great

Pin It

Here's a belated valentine post.  Thank goodness for vacation week!  I'm getting caught up on fun stuff, like sharing cards like this with all of you- and I'm finally catching up on all of your amazing blog posts.  Ahh, creative goodness to feed my soul. :)

Quick corgi update too!  My DH recently got a treadmill so he could jog at night or wicked early in the morning when it is dark and not make me nervous.  I'm not really much of a Nervous Nellie, but the town we live in doesn't have many streetlights even on main roads and almost no neighborhood has them, so really a treadmill is perfect until summer's long days reappear.  I need chocolate to be happy, DH needs to run. LOL!  Anywho, DH does some of his leg stretches on the floor and Cad loves to join him.  Cad gets all excited, wags his tail and runs (really runs! he's made AMAZING progress since July) over to DH, rolls on his back, and stretches with DH- or at least looks like he is. LOL!  Too cute!


Happy Tail-Thumping-Thursday!

Beach Day!

It's my first video, so bear with me on the quality...

Thought folks might like to see Cad in action at the beach on Christmas Day.  He walked about a 1/2 mile with only a couple stops and no human help! :) 

We had just gotten to the beach and these were his first steps there since October.  Back then he could get down to the water kinda on his own, but needed his hind end supported to get off the beach.   Oh, and when you hear me say "no don't sit" please don't call the ASPCA.  This corgi can walk for 32 minutes straight in the therapy pool- and literally we had just set foot on the beach. :)

Let the Christmas Game Begin!

Amy wants to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and thank Santa for the catnip he brought her,

Cadfael wants to thank all of you for all your prayers/well wishes/support since July.  He was able to walk around the whole neighborhood last week and he'd really like to walk on the beach in Maine today but,

Moriah has to play- and win- her Annual Christmas Game from Tom before we can leave. Wan-wan ;(

You see years ago my sweetie got the hair-brained idea to turn opening gifts into a game for me.  I LOVED it and now I look forward to a game every year.  I like the game more than the gifts. :)  Tom is a lucky guy 'cause it means he can get most gifts from the dollar aisle of Target.  This year though...

There's a TIMEOUT PART!!!!!!!!!!  Cad is hoping I studied hard for this quiz.  He really wants to try to chase some seagulls today. :)

Here's hoping that today finds you able to enjoys treats, stretch your legs, and laugh with all your loved ones!

Merry Christmas,

Update Day!

It's been a while and folks have asked "How's the corgi doin'?"  Well here he is using his newly built ramp.  The weather even cooperated so DH could build it and paint it outside (read make a mess in the yard and not the house!).  Not the best shot, but look- no corgi purse action!!!  Cad can get himself on and off the deck, which means he can get in and out of the house without me throwing out my back.  Win-win.  I'll tell ya, twice now I have hurt my back carrying him around and it is amazing how much back pain can mess with every part of your day.  Especially when your day involves 20-some rambunctious 7 year-olds.  Yikes!

I also wanted to share some Christmas tags I made at a swap last night.  We had a Stamp Club reunion with a shoebox swap.  Lisa's tag is the silvery snowflake one and Angela's tag is the Christmas greetings one right next to it.  (Great to see you both ladies!!!)  All the tags are here except mine (I really liked everyone else's way better than mine!) and one other that I will share later.  It rained today and so I took the tags to work to photograph during my lunch period.  I like the other tag so much that I want to make it for my coworkers and so I had to leave it home or I'd ruin their surprise!

Happy Wednesday!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!  I thought I would share the placecards I made for our family gathering.  I make the dessert 'cause tomorrow we host everyone at our place for the annual Christmas decorating party.  So it's pretty easy for me to make some fun table do-dads. :)

Here's the whole spread.  I used PTI dies for the banner base and the pint jars.  I'm on a jar kick this year.  Dessert is even in jars!  I made personal pecan pies in the short half pint jars and personal cakes in the tall half pint jars this year.  Just in case they turned out yucky when we finally get to eat them I bought ice cream and some luscious cookies from the bakery.  One must always be prepared for the sweet stuff!!! :)

The banner background is actually a Memory Box card base that I ran through my Cuttlebug using the large banner die.  It gives them a fun edge and allows the placecards to open so they can rest on the plate.

The stamps and some of the papers are from PTI.  The doily is one of those cake decorating doilies you can get at the craft store.  Each card is stamped with a different sentiment so that none of them is exactly alike.  That way everyone has something special. :)

An MFT die was used to die cut the kraft cardstock mat.  Anyone else gettin' hungry?!?  I know I am!  We're also wicked excited to see everyone and Cad is coming to Thanksgiving this year to show off his new skills as an independently walking dog.  We are so thankful for all the support he's been getting since July and are happy to say that he can walk to the mailbox on a leash with no help- it's not as graceful as before the disc rupture, but gosh he is making some awesome progress!!!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!