Well, he’s been here almost a month and I really cannot believe what a great dog he has turned out to be. I would have to say that Jack ranks right up there with the world’s best. He is just about completely house broken and uber intelligent. He can already sit and lay flat on command and knows the meaning of just about all his other commands. He can retrieve already, a feat it took my Golden about 6 months to learn. But best of all, Jack is a constant companion and loyal to the nth degree. He doesn’t chase people but makes every effort to befriend them all. He loves my friends and they love him. What else could you ask for in a dog.

Jack’s only issue is that he hates the crate. It is his most dreaded word and once you say it, his eyes droop down, his shoulders fall, and he will usually make a slow move trying to get out of your reach; an effort, usually in vain, to stay out of the dreaded land from where he thinks no dogs return.

So, if I had to choose, I suppose I would rather have a dog that loves you so much he can’t stand to be away from you, rather than one who is crate obedient. But I’m not quite sure how it is all going to work out when the time comes for him to be in there for an extended period. We’ll see next week when his first day crating challenge takes place. He really is so well behaved that he may even get to stay out by himself all day. His fave place now is lounging on the bed, although for the first three weeks he would be napping by your feet or otherwise following you around the house. He still will move from room to room with you unless he in his fave spot. He naps most of the day, but when it’s time for a walk out into the park, he is a bundle of energy. I suppose it’s all pent up and after about a 10 minute turbo-romp, he’s completely content.

So here’s Jack’s two favorite places. The bed…. and the park. Hard to believe it’s the same dog.

and I have to show off his “official portrait” …

or two…..

I’m doing a little housekeeping on the ole ‘puter and I came across my “Projects” folder. Funny how I made this folder to hold my “projects” like I was SO organized. Funny how I forgot all about it until I was moving everything around. Just so you know….I have MANY project folders. Of course they’re not all named “Projects” because, well, they won’t let you do that in computer land. Or maybe you could, but you couldn’t put them all in the same little squirrely nut storing place that I keep everything.

So anyway, I came across the “Projects” folder and started going through it. Of course that means that my whack right-sided thinkin’ brain (isn’t it funny how creative people, who from my life experience tend to lean left, think with the right side of their brain) once more becomes obsessed with something that catches my eye. Indeed, my mind wanders back to the fall two years ago when I was watching the now defunct maple tree (see previous blog entry) drop its helicopter seeds all over the sidewalk. Ok….who here is not fascinated by maple seeds? I mean, as a kid it was always fun to throw them up in the air and watch them helicopter down to the ground. Something that kept me entertained for at least a minute or two.

So I see all these files where I took the maple seeds and scanned them with my flatbed scanner. Then I started to think about how the seed actually helicopters down to the ground and what if you could capture that. So the mind wanders and we experiment, and sometimes you get some really cool stuff.

I think I need to clean house more often.

Ok. I must agree that for those who have to trek out in it, sometimes ice isn’t so nice. But for kids and teachers and photgraphers designing wedding albums at home, it’s kinda kewl.

It’s the pitter patter of little feet around my house these days. Four of them!

Jack arrived today via the Roanoke Valley SPCA and he promises to be the most awesome dog. Of course, you can never tell when they are only 2 months old but there are signs that I think point to what I value most in a dog.

1. Attachment and loyalty – he cannot hardly stand to be out from under your feet and curls up right by them when you’re sitting at the desk or at the table.
2. Affection – he loves to be cuddled and to have his ears and neck rubbed, and he will give you an occasional lick on the hand as a token of his appreciation. He fell asleep in my lap this afternoon and guess what – he snores just like me!
3. Submissive -one sign of a good dog is whether they will allow you to hold them on their back….kind of like a baby. I’ve always been told it is a submissive behavior that dog experts look for when selecting guide dogs and service dogs. He loves it.
4. Trainable – even at this young age it is pretty clear that he learns commands such as “sit” and “come” very quickly.
5. Cross-Bred – ok, I love purebred dogs, especially labs and Goldens, but one benefit of having a beautiful mutt is that they often don’t suffer some of the recessive gene traits such as hip dysplasia that are prevalent in purebred dogs. Jack’s parents were pure-bred dogs, but one was a Weimaraner and the other a German Wire Hair Pointer. Both are great dogs and he seems to have gotten the best traits from both breeds.

I can’t thank the folks at the RVSPCA enough for the great care and love they show all of their animals. If you have never seen this facility, you really should trek out there, especially if you are contemplating getting a dog or a cat. It is a great place to find the perfect pet and you are doing your community a great service by starting there when you are in search of an animal companion. They also have a foster pet program which is what Jack was a part of. Caring people take these animals in and host them in a loving home until they are ready for adoption. I don’t know all of the specifics of what the RVSPCA does (and it is A LOT) but they are another reason that Roanoke is such an awesome community to live in.

So, like any proud new dog parent, I have a few pictures of the pup. I’m sure there will be MANY more to come.

Tripped downtown today to see the Nashville Portraits: Photographs by Jim McGuire exhibit at the Art Museum of Western Virginia. Even though I’m not a huge country music fan, some of my favorite music artists are pure country. There’s Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, and Doc Watson (who btw is playing at the Jefferson Center on March 7th…..got my tickets!). They were all in there. There was even a portrait of Carole King. Most were beautiful silver prints but there were a few digital prints in there as well. It was a small exhibit by most standards but if you’re into photography or country music or both, it is definitely one to see. McGuire’s career as one of Nashville’s premiere album photographers has spanned more than 30 years so it is a fascinating a walk down memory lane and some mighty fine portrait photography.

After the exhibit I checked out the new Mexican restaurant Alejandro’s, which took over the space vacated by the recent closing of the much loved Green Dolphin Grille on Campbell Ave. I gotta say that I have a new fave place for Mexican now. Great food and a total bonus with the Salsa Bar and its wide assortment of gourmet salsas. HOT! MMMmmm.

Of course today was just a little cold with temps in the 20’s and a wind chill dragging that down about 10+ degrees. Tonight is supposed to be the coldest of the year so far with temps dipping in the single digits. So, how appropriate it is to display this shot of a fine item I saw today in the window at Twists & Turns. All that glitters is not gold. Stay warm!

I went to see Juno the other night and was pretty much blown away by actress Ellen Page’s performance here. There’s Oscar talk about this and I can totally see why. The movie itself was A+ material but Page handled the role of Juno in a way few could. There were so many opportunities for that performance to go astray with a lesser actress, but Page kept you right there with Juno the whole time. Loveable, real, everything else. Of course, the rest of the cast here was superb with my hat off to Jennifer Garner for her beautiful performance as well. A definite must see, especially while it’s still at my favorite Roanoke movie theater The Grandin.

Just in case anyone coming by here is an aspiring actor, model, or business person, I don’t have to remind you that you need a really good headshot. A good headshot will help you get noticed and there are some general guidelines to creating a headshot that will get you noticed or keep you from NOT getting noticed.

They’re a lot of fun to do because usually people having them done are doing interesting things with their life. So it’s kind of cool just hanging out and talking shop and pop culture etc etc.

Here’s a couple. I like high key but they don’t really have to be as long as there’s not a lot of distraction.

This little video was so much fun I really had to share it with everyone. It is a compilation of the nearly 400 photos taken at the photo booth I set up during my Christmas open house. I wish all of the guests had taken part in this but it is obvious that the ones who did had a fantastic time! The creativity was hilarious (I did have to edit out a few just to be on the safe side) and it shows how people really love to have fun.

For those of you planning a wedding or mitzvah, a photo booth is a great idea to capture all of your guests in a really fun setting. Amazingly, it takes very little space to set up the background and camera, and it is run by remote control that most guests feel very comfortable using. While this is not a part of my package prices, it is available a la carte. Just give me a shout and we can discuss if you are interested.

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