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Customers and Their Spirit Animals
I’ve mentioned a number of times what I do for a living; I’m an artist. Specifically, I sell paintings of animals and specialize in pet portraits. My style varies, depending on the painting, but my custom portraits are messy watercolors and generally quite colorful, focusing on the vibrant personalities of our pets. The colors that…
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Sewing for the Dogs
Years ago my mother-in-law bought me a sewing machine for Christmas. It wasn’t really on my wish list, but she’s a practical person and gets a lot of use out of her sewing machine (especially with 11 grandkids and one great grandkid). She even sewed the dresses for my bridesmaids and flower girl at our…
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The Separation of Health and Fitness
The Balance I’ve mentioned plenty of times that I try to stay fit. But, let’s be honest, fitness is tough. Sure, I exercise a lot. I run at least 5 times each week and try to do some strength training as well. We eat pretty well, avoiding prepared foods and eating meals centered around vegetables and whole…
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Out With the Old, In With the New (toys, that is)
Babe doesn’t get excited about toys. She never has. Occasionally she’ll lay down and chew on a rubber toy, but that only happens once or twice a month. Babe is more of a food-driven pup. And when she’s not eating, she’s snoozing. It’s a nice, even life for her. Banjo is extremely toy-driven. When she’s…
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Cooling Off
We’ve had some pretty hot days recently, temps hovering in the low to mid-90s. Our house stays pretty cool, thankfully, maintaining the chilly evening air that we let in as we sleep. First thing in the mornings, we close up all of the windows and draw some blinds. It works pretty well. We’ve only used…
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A Backyard of One’s Own
For 2 years we lived in a 2-bedroom apartment on the third floor of a Brooklyn walk-up. We did not have a backyard, like most people in Brooklyn. We shared the streets. We shared the parks. For 2 years before Brooklyn, we lived in the Caribbean. Our studio apartment in Grenada afforded us many things:…
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Connecticut, How Do I Love Thee?
Well, Let Me Count the Ways The People. Look, I’ve spent the past 2 years living in the unhappiest city in the country, according to the CDC. And maybe that’s not something I was acutely aware of, but I have been very aware of how friendly and helpful everyone has been here in Connecticut. Aside from…
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Life is Crazy, But the Dogs Still Love Me
I’m going to make a little admission here: my life is somewhat insane right now. In 6 weeks (holy crap balls!) Ivan will be receiving an email that is going to change our lives. He’s been interviewing for the past 2 months for residency positions all over the country. Ivan’s not the only one, either. Medical…
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Babe is a Blonde… or Maybe a Brunette
I got some wigs. I’m not really sure why except that I really enjoy using props when I take photos and I’m always looking for something fun and new. For example, I have a roll of burlap, two 10×20-ft. sheets of muslin fabric, a 6×35-ft. roll of white paper and three 2-ft.-sq. vinyl decorative background…