Love a Dog Live a Better LIfe

We are preparing ourselves for the imminent arrival of our new mastiff puppy. I am nervous and excited and realized yesterday it has been over 15 years since I have had a puppy. I dreamt about my dad this morning and saw his "puppy" Packets in the dream. My father was rarely strict about anything, but he sure had the puppy on a schedule. One day I went over to play with Packets and my father told me it was the "baby's" nap time and he was not to be disturbed. The love my father had for that dog was tangible and could make him smile at the mention of the dog's name.

Perhaps my father felt relief when he met District Judge Cook who married Rick and me. After a wonderfully personal marriage ceremony by the JP, we all left the court room......except I found myself looking for my dad. Upon going back into the room, I found the two men talking quietly to each other. With a hearty laugh, my father turned to me and we left the room together. I asked him what they had been talking about when I came into the room.

"Art Cook told me that all my dogs would be waiting for me when I get there." It only took me a second to realize he was talking about when he would no longer be here either. I felt a chill and then happiness because my dad looked so relieved. What prompted the conversation, I will never know but I do know my father believed it to be true.

I have had so many dogs and each has been a wonderful addition and individual in my life. My philosophy is to surr0und them with love and to treat them as a cherished member of the family. Someone told me once that dogs are only around for a short time because it does not take them very long to get everything right. Doesn't say too much about us stupid humans and yet I will always believe that to Love a Dog is to Live a Better Life.

www.laurelhighlandsartisans.com is up and running!

I cannot even begin to tell you how frustrating certain aspects of web site development have been for me. Starting from scratch and learning HTML, to CSS, then moving to Dreamweaver within 6 weeks was an overload. So to create this site from scratch in about a week and a half was a feat in itself. (And to think I just wanted to skip ahead to making it pretty, thank goodness we started out with HTML, because knowing that is how I was able to fix mistakes better than with Dreamweaver's automatic settings). Then just when you think everything is under control and on schedule a kink is thrown your way. Simple things became more difficult than they needed to be because I couldn't even think straight after so many hours of staring at the computer. Sending my site to the remote server was what set me over the edge, so I finally figured out how to at least get it to the school's server in time to turn it in. Well, no more weird web address - I got it where it belongs, without any frustration today!

Make sure you bookmark www.LaurelHighlandsArtisans.com

Web Site Design

Whew! My six week grad course on web site development is over, and I feel like I learned more than I thought was humanly possible in that short amount of time! It was definitely THE hardest class I have ever taken part in and wish we had more time to perfect what I learned. I suppose that will come with experience.

I wanted to create a site that would be utilized well into the future so I suggested creating a site for the Laurel Highlands Artisans. This group has provided such a wealth of information and knowledge to me about marketing my photography. Plus it is really nice to get together with other people with similar goals and interests, yet at the same time we are all so different.

The website includes many, many resources in which to learn about each of our members' work, where to find us selling our wares personally or at galleries and shops, links to websites we find useful, and information about the Handmade Holiday Show that our group sponsors. You will soon find us at www.LaurelHighlandsArtisans.com. Until then, please check us out at http://msit.bloomu.edu/alr17134/LHA/index.html

Thanks for supporting local, handmade products!