Tag: FMSphotoaday

April Photo A Day: My Sunday

My Sunday has definitely not been a day of rest.


Pier is wagging his tail!

First up, Pier the Miracle Dog. Some of you may have followed Pier’s story on his Facebook page. (Warning if you go to his FB page: Some of the early photos of his injuries are graphic and will break your heart.)

Pier is a black lab who was picked up by BARC in Houston after being badly–and deliberately–burned by person(s) unknown. Scout’s Honor Rescue put him in their program, and thanks to the great Scout’s Honor board members, volunteers, and the medical staffs at VERGI and Texas A&M Small Animal Hospital, Pier is healing and thriving. Pier has thousands of people all over the world who have sent love, prayers, good wishes, toys, treats, and monetary donations to help him. Sunday he was taken to a local restaurant where his Houston-area fans were invited to come and meet him.


A very good boy.

Pier is nothing but joy. No shyness, no fear, he’s happy, obedient, eager to please, friendly, and he loves his tennis balls. I cried for this dog so many days after his rescue, and getting to see him today, I cried again, but they were tears of joy. His strength and resiliency are an inspiration to me.


A new friend with Pier.

Saturday night Tim and I were up into the wee hours of the morning inputting his edits and mine into the manuscript that’s due in a few days. Today we finally compiled the twelve stories we’re submitting into one document and printed it out. We’ll each do one more read-through, add our parts (Tim in the introduction, me in the afterword), and then send it on its way. I’ve said it before: I love being able to help writers find a home for their fiction.

Finally, today is the birthday of our late friend Steve R. As we do every year, we celebrated with chocolate–this year, a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Lindsey and Rhonda joined us for dinner and cake.

That’s a lot of celebrating for one day, but note the picture of a baby in a silver frame behind the cake. That’s our godson Matthew when he was an infant. He’s eight now, and today was a special day for him, too. Matthew, Tom and I love you and we’re very proud of you!

And for those of you who follow Runway Monday, I won’t be getting my final collection up because sewing has had to take a back seat to editing. But if it’s not finished this week, it definitely will be by next Monday. Thanks for hanging in here with my Model Muses and their fashions.

Prompt from FMS Photo A Day.

April Photo A Day: Childhood

I once gave my mother an oddly shaped wooden box. I like wooden boxes myself, so I tend to give them as gifts. It’s fun to fill my own with little treasures. I often forget what’s in them and get to surprise myself from time to time by exploring their contents.

When Mother died and I opened her various tins and boxes, I realized she did the same. Now I get to explore them, too, and the particular wooden box I mentioned is among my favorites. It includes this little homemade bag of jacks with a ball. I don’t think they’re jacks from when David, Debby, and I were kids since they have too much paint on them. Because they look newer, and the ball is certainly a more contemporary version of those we used, I suspect she found them, bag and all, at a thrift store. I do seem to remember her once telling me she used them to help keep her hands agile. But I think she just liked playing jacks, much the same way, when skates were the craze in the 1970s, she put mine on one day and skated around the carport to show that she still could.

No matter how old we get, I think it’s important to respect the child within us.

I might have even played onesies after I shot this photo.

Prompt from FMS Photo A Day.

April Photo A Day: Life Is…

Life is beautiful. And fragile. And so fleeting.

On this date last year, a beautiful spring day like this one, my nephew Aaron’s struggle with depression–a struggle his family wasn’t aware of–led him to end his life. He was eighteen.

I’m sure everyone in his family and many of his friends could write entire books about how their last year has been shaped by the loss of Aaron. Daily struggles. Tears we felt would never end. Laughter brought by funny Aaron stories. Fragments of information that showed his compassion and sensitivity–acts he never shared because humility was part of his nature. The people who became for us, as Mr. Rogers would say, “the helpers,” and sustained us as we grieved. The people who drifted from our lives, perhaps because suicide is too raw, too real, too close. The unexpected gifts of dreams and signs and moments that make us feel Aaron’s still with us even if we can’t see him or hug him.

In other towns and cities, family members and friends who knew Aaron celebrated his life in their own ways. Some attached letters to balloons and released them. We didn’t write letters here, but Tim helped me pick out balloons.

We released seven of them from the rose garden at Hermann Park: from Tom and me, from Tim, from Aaron’s father David and Geri, from his Aunt Debby, from his brother Daniel and nephews Dave and Steven, from his Cochrane and Johnson cousins, and from other friends and family members–including the dogs–who met and cared for Aaron.

He is so deeply loved and will always be missed.

April Photo A Day: Time


Past time, in fact, for new collars. That’s the inside of Guinness’s collar on top. She has an oilier coat. Both sides of Margot’s collar look pretty good still.

New duds:

I felt the need to use some pet store gift cards we’ve accumulated to spoil our girls. Today was a tough day for The Compounders and our friend Roberta. We learned that she lost her beloved companion, Buddy. Buddy had a hard story before he found his forever home, but once there, he lived the life of a prince. He was already a good dog, but he learned to be the best dog thanks to Roberta’s patience and willingness to make sure he received all the training, praise, and love a dog could get. I never met Buddy, but I came to know him through the photos that I always looked forward to Roberta sharing. He was a champion napper and a toy hound.

I want to think he’s found his new pack with River and Rex and they’re all having a good romp together. Roberta, we know how deeply you love him and will miss him. Love and good thoughts to you.

Prompt from FMS Photo A Day.