rest in peace little louie

It's hard to believe so much love could be found in a few pounds. You will be dearly missed little buddy.

I'm a big dog kind of gal - I love labs, retrievers, huskies, Bernese mountain dogs - you know, dogs of substance; dogs that leave a shadow. But all it took was one visit with Karen and Kelsey's little sidekick Louie, where he hopped up and fell asleep on my lap, and I was sold.
He was definitely a character - and I'm pretty sure he had more outfits than I do. He had a passion for mini carrots, hated walking on grass and always got to be alongside his family - whether they were relaxing at home or taking him to work. He was spoiled by everyone who met him and in all ways, always made us smile.

Salt Spring Island

We packed the car full of camping gear and headed for one of my all time favourite Gulf Islands - Salt Spring. We hit it just in time for the amazing Saturday Market in Ganges- full of fresh local organic food, flowers, clothes, and an endless supply of incredible wares from the local artists: paintings, pottery, photography, carvings, jewellery, hookah pipes - you name it, they smoke sell it.
We perched ourselves in the park and lazed in the sun with all the locals.
We camped at Mowhinna Creek Campground, only 1 km south of Ganges  - complete with flush toilets and hot showers. Hello!
If we weren't travelling with Molly, I would have taken part in the Salt Spring Island Studio Tour - you can visit any of the 34 working studios and meet the local artists. But because we were with our pup, we hit a lot of amazing local parks instead: Ruckle Park (rugged trails along the bluffs where you can hike in your camp gear and get amazing waterfront sites), Southey Point (located at the Northern tip of the island - we found a great trail that winds its way through the woods to a private beach), Reginald Hill (the ironic thing is that we set out on an easy beach trail and picked the wrong trailhead which led us to climb straight up, but the payoff at the top was worth it - spectacular views of Fulford Harbour. Duck Creek park was dreamy - fields full of wild daisies and golden tall grasses - Molly was blissed out.
Word to the wise - reserve your ferries. We thought coming home on a Monday would be no problem - but the sailings were all booked up. Luckily, we got a spot on the last sailing. I didn't mind at all that we got to spend extra time on the island - we ended up going for an amazing dinner at the Tree House Cafe (grilled yam quesadillas) and sat outside in the sun so that Molly could catch our crumbs.
People would continuously walk by our outdoor table and Molly didn't care. Then suddenly she started barking and raising her hackles at a man passing by. Of course, this set off all the other dogs dining al fresco - and suddenly they were all barking. The waitress came out and said that our dog had good instincts. The man she was barking at considered himself to be a local Warlock and would threaten to cast evil spells on people. So there you go. Now we can add Warlock detector to Molly's lengthy list of talents.

Funniest line of the weekend - Locals came into the Tree House Cafe and said they were looking for "somebody" but not "joe somebody". At first we didn't get it, and then we saw the local electrician drive by - you guessed it, his name was "Joe Somebody".

I love island living.

For our little getaway slideshow - click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/50481252@N06/sets/72157624314810537/

the bad ass inside

reflecting on things.....

Happy Father's Day

This little post is for my Dad. This old photo is from when I first arrived on the scene - or as I like to think of it as my winning lottery ticket. This was taken shortly after I was adopted. I love their genuinely happy smiles - they had endured such heartbreak on their path before we met, it's so wonderful to see their glowing happiness here. My dad is my go-to person. He's one of these guys that is able to do anything. He has THE best sense of humour, has a soul that runs deep, is very bright and is so genuinely sentimental and loving.
So many of my favourite traits within myself, I learned from my dad. His love of family, appreciation of friends, respect of animals, sense of humour, depth of music and film knowledge....he's definitely the person I turn to when I want solid, non-judgmental advice. He never fails to crack me up. I remember at Christmas, his hair was all sweaty &  askew, and my mom asked him if he was going to shower for dinner. He said, "maybe later, I'm very busy!" Next thing you know, he's outside feeding the squirrels some peanuts. These little quirks just make me love him more. When you are given up for adoption, you never know which path you'll wind up on. Happy Father's Day dad - I'm glad you picked me. xo

molly - then & now

Happy Feet