Montford Window Box

I've been really bad about blogging, so I decided I would just try to add photos on a regular basis. Let's see how that goes.

Vacation is Over

Back from vacation and trying to get organized. I took over 1000 pictures!! It was fun taking them, but not so great going through all of them now.

The trip was incredible. The river boat was even nicer than I expected. We met a lot of nice people, food was good and the excursions were great. We started in Amsterdam and then went to Volendam, Edam, Arnhem, Ghent, Willemstad, Kinderdijk, the Keukenhof Gardens and back to Amsterdam. The architecture in the Netherlands and Belgium was incredible. It's difficult to imagine that some of the buildings we saw were from the 1500's. I thoroughly enjoyed every place we visited, although Arnhem was my least favorite. Here are just a few of the photos I took. I hope to get more on my Flickr page within the next few days.

I've been really bad about blogging - almost a month since my last post! Things have been hectic here and I've put off posting. I'm leaving tomorrow for Europe!! I'm going on a river boat cruise to the Netherlands and Belgium. I can't wait! I think I'm all packed and ready to go. I'm really looking forward to seeing the tulips in Holland and all the architecture. Hopefully I'll have some good photos to post when I return. Had a crisis about a week ago. Got the final documents for my trip and I noticed that it said that passports had to be valid for 6 months after returning from a trip. I looked at my passport which I thought expired in 2010. Much to my surprise, it expires this June! I rushed to the passport office and found out that I didn't have enough time to even get a expedited passport. I looked on line and found some companies that say they can expedite a passport anywhere from 24 hours to 2 weeks. I made some calls and picked one of the companies. I wasn't sure they were even legit!! Luckily they were and I had a new passport in 4 days. Whew - that was a close call.

Spring is supposed to be here. Sunday it was beautiful and 80 degrees! Today it is in the 30's and we're getting some snow flurries. Had to cover my vegetable garden last night. Here's a picture of my rhodendron bush in full bloom with snow surrounding it. I'm hoping it survives.

The 2009 Paws For Charity Art Book is now ready for ordering! That's the book I mentioned in my last post that includes a picture of my cat Smudge. Go to www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/606337 to preview and/or order. (When you preview the book it only shows the first 15 pages. Smudge's picture is not on the first 15 pages - guess you'll have to order the book to see him)!! Remember, all funds raised from the sales of the book are directly donated to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade by blurb.com (the book publisher).

That's it for now. Have to finish last minute things. Until I return...

I received great news the other day. One of my photographs has been chosen to be published in a book where all the proceeds will be donated to Breast Cancer charities! Sara Harley is an animal lover and lost her mother to breast cancer. Sara has put together a book of animal photographs and art work and the proceeds will go to research for Breast Cancer. I am honored that she has chosen my photo of my cat Smudge.

What is "Paws for Charity"? Paws for Charity was created several years ago by four women who ran dog businesses and used their businesses to raise money for breast cancer charity. When the group was started, Sara ran a dog biscuit business and sold a package called "Crunch for a Cure". One hundred percent of the proceeds was donated to breast cancer charity. Last year, she sold her dog biscuit business and Paws for Charity languished. This year, she decided to focus on fund raising through Paws for Charity through two projects. Two of the other Paws for Charity founders continue to sell their products to raise funds, and this year will be raising funds for different charities. Paws for Charity is not a registered charity, but we do raise funds for registered charities.

What is the "Art Book Project"?
2009 is the first year for this project. A 40 page book is being created using donated art and photograph images from the US, UK, and Canada. The book features dogs and cats (and one teddy bear!) (the PAWS part of the project) and all proceeds raised will be donated to breast cancer charities (the FOR CHARITY part of the project).

Why are you donating to breast cancer? Why not an animal charity?
Sara's mom died of breast cancer when she was 21, so it's a very personal cause for her. She thought it might be unique to use the bond we feel for our animals and raise funds for a human cause.

What is the book going to look like?
The book is a soft cover book, 7 inches square and 40 pages long. It features the artwork and photography of 37 artists from the US, UK, and Canada. It will be published by an online, on demand company. This means that the books are printed one by one as they are ordered, and shipped out to the purchaser directly by the online printing company.

The book will be available for purchase in April. I'll post more details as they become available.