2015 Documented Life Project: Week 13

Wow! I can't believe I haven't posted any Documented Life Project pages since the last week in April! Eeek! I've been steadily working (though I wouldn't exactly say I'm caught up...), but I just haven't had time to photograph my pages. Catching up on that over these next two weeks! This was Week 13, the week of March 28. The challenge was "use a custom element." I just love stars, so I drew several stars on some scrapbook paper I had nearby and incorporated them onto some painted under papers. Wow, this week marked my first few days in our house in Tallahassee. I was so lonely in that house that week.  Funny now to look back all these weeks later...and we still aren't completely moved!

See more of my 2015 Documented Life Project posts here, and check out the whole project and everything else the Art to the 5th gals have to offer here.

Best Shot Monday: Mikey and Another MEGA

This past weekend, First Coast No More Homeless Pets held another of our MEGA Adoption Events. These quarterly events have the goal of finding 1,000 cats, dogs, kittens and puppies homes in one three day span. Area shelters and rescues all come together at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds. We didn't quite hit 1,000, but 830 dogs and cats are sleeping in new homes this week. For the December MEGA, I went in early on the first day and photographed the load in. Imagine the logistical planning involved in getting hundreds of dogs and cats to one location! At the last one in April, I focused on getting one specific dog adopted, Zoe; unfortunately, I failed, but Zoe was thankfully adopted soon after MEGA.

This time, we were in the throes of packing for our move all weekend, so I didn't get to spend as much time helping at MEGA as I would have liked to, but after following along on Facebook Friday and Saturday, I couldn't stand it any more and went in for a few hours on Sunday. This sweet boy is Mikey. I photographed him at my last photo session and learned he is a ball dog extraordinaire. We played ball last Sunday for a good 30 minutes! Every time I threw the ball, he happily fetched and brought it right back to me to throw again. He's a ball catching superstar. I was sad to see that he hadn't gotten adopted yet when I arrived yesterday morning, so I took him out and spent some time with him. After helping one dog get adopted, Donald, I walked quite a few others and saw that Jennie was taking Mikey back out so I walked out and captured these shots of him. He just looks so stinkin' happy, waiting to catch his ball. Mikey didn't get adopted this weekend, but I do have some good news for him.  He went to the TAILS program! I can't wait to hear his TAILS success stories. (Read more about TAILS here.)

All MEGAs are both physically and emotionally draining, but this one was particularly bittersweet for me. While I was sitting on the floor with Donald waiting for his family to complete their paperwork, our shelter manager Jen mentioned my impending move, but she said she also felt certain she'd see me at least four times a year to come back over and help for MEGA. I certainly plan to pop back into the shelter for more than just the quarterly MEGA events though. As I shared in this post, this shelter has most definitely grabbed a hold of my heart for the long run. We "officially" move the weekend of August 7, but I'm hoping I can squeeze in at least one more visit to the shelter before we go.

Best Shot Monday: Meet Sally

Meet Sally! This sweet little girl stole my heart during my Sunday photo session. She's listed as a two year old Chow, but there's lots of other stuff mixed in there. She's smaller than most Chows, and her tongue is not as dark. But good Lord is she a little love bug. She was so well behaved when I took her out of her kennel and walked her. Since she's currently being treated for heart worms, she had to remain on leash, but she walked around like such a little lady. When I squatted down to pet her, she crawled right up in my lap and stayed there as long as I squatted. Let me tell you my thighs got a nice work out! What a little lover.

Sally is available for adoption at Jacksonville's Animal Care and Protective Services, 2020 Forest Street, 10am-6pm, Tuesday-Saturday. And don't forget our next MEGA Adoption Event this is weekend, July 17-19, at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds. We'll join forces with First Coast No More Homeless Pets, the Jacksonville Humane Society and dozens of other area rescues to find homes for more than 1,000 cats and dogs. Your new best friend is waiting for you!

Sunday Gratitude: A Week in the Life

We split this week between Tallahassee and Jacksonville, and it really was a tale of two cities! We took the dogs with us to Tallahassee this time, their first visit to our Tallahassee house. Isabelle did fine, though at first she was not very happy with the location of her crate, which she loves in Jacksonville. Molly, on the other hand, refused to have anything to do with anything! Poor girl wouldn't even eat! She just stayed in her crate and hid. By the end of the third day, she finally ventured out into the yard on her own, even if just for a few moments. Hopefully, once we are settled over there, they'll both adjust a little more quickly.

On the east end of the state, the part of our week in Jacksonville was lovely, particularly Saturday and Sunday. Though I lost half the day Saturday to a garage sale that totally bombed (I should have remembered that the last time I had a garage sale, it also totally bombed and I asked Benny to remind me never to do it again), the rest of the day Saturday and much of the day Sunday (after a much overdue visit to the shelter for some photos!) was spent on the river. We had both manatee and sea turtle visitors this weekend. The manatee just lumbered on by so I wasn't able to get a picture of him, but the turtle hung out for quite a while, both Saturday and Sunday, munching down on the algae growing on our floater. We've named him Squirt.

The girls also had their good friend Hailey spend most of the weekend with them as well. Good times on the river. Hard to imagine we'll be moving in about three weeks and then won't be able to see this every day. I picture a lot of weekend trips home in our future.

Best Shot Monday: Sunny Pete!

 

Olivia is turning out to have quite the eye for photography! She captured this photo of Pete catching some rays in a bin of books. I admit I get a little nervous when she grabs my most expensive camera, but this shot was worth my worry.  This was taken with my Nikon D7100 with an 18-140mm zoom at f/5.6.  And no, she didn't figure that out on her own; she's not quite there yet!  It was shot in auto mode.  :-)  Great job, Liv!