Saturday Squee: I'm a Fool for Puppies

Ada the Labrador Retriever, Found on Dailypuppy.com

I love puppies. I freely admit that when I see one, I go from quiet, reserved me, into full-blown squeaking, cooing, baby-talking messiness. And I'm okay with it. Love is a beautiful thing. Puppy love? Well, let's just say I can't get enough of them...
Those watery eyes, so innocent and full of life.
Those giant paws and ears, too big for them now, but will be quickly grown into.
The little squawk that becomes the bellowing bark.
The fuzz that turns into sleek fur that gets into every little nook and cranny.
The puppy antics that are annoying, but so funny you have to walk away quickly so they don't see you laughing so hard you want to pee your pants (evidence: Arwen as a puppy deciding to "play" with the 11 foot logs that line my gardens. At all of 25 pounds she was determined to drag one around the yard, snarling the whole time, and even tried to get one up the back stairs. She saw me laughing at that one - I fell over after the log tripped me and was laughing so hard I couldn't stand up for a good 5 minutes).
The initial dependency on you that turns into deep, unequivocal love on both sides of the equation. As Audrey Hepburn once said, "Who thinks you're as fantastic as your dog?".
What is wonderful is that as they get older, the love gets even deeper. Arwen is now 8-1/2 and other than my close family members, I don't think I've ever loved anyone or anything as much as her. She is my best friend, my buddy, by crack-head. She's my grown up puppy and will always be super-cute to me :)

Friday Features: I Want You!

Features always include photos, so show us what you've got!

Every Friday I aim to do a feature of a handmade artist, or someone (or something - animals are welcome too!) who is incredible in some way.

The only problem is, I need new people to feature! I'm looking for a wide variety of craftspeople - jewelers, textile artists, paper artists, woodworkers, you name it. The more variety the better. I'd also love to have a few knockout photos of your items, so get those cameras clicking!

If you're interested, please contact me by leaving a comment below with some way to contact you (your shop url is great) and I'll send you a short list of questions. The faster you answer them, the sooner you'll be featured.

You'll be able to get some great publicity for your shop (Etsy, Artfire or otherwise), show off your awesome talent, and best of all, it's FREE.

Of course, if you wanted to promo me in return, well, that would be the icing on my cake, though it isn't a requirement ;-)

Please do let me know if you're interested, I'd love to have you on my blog!

Magpie Love Treasury

Check out my latest treasury, featuring all Team Etsy for Animals Members in shades of red and black! Click the image above, or here to go directly to it, and don't forget to give these great artists some love :) http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NjEwMTAwMXwyMDIxNzc4NTYw/magpie-love?index=0

Arwednesdays with Arwen - Ice Storm Galore!

Though you can't really see it, there is about an inch of ice on this bush, making it collapse in the sunset.

We've been having ice storms galore this winter, which makes walking outside impossible (so mommy says). She says the ice on the roads makes it dangerous for cars to drive, let alone for people to walk.
She blames someone named "El Nino".
I'd like to have a talk with them.
Although the ice makes for pretty pictures (again, so mommy says), I'm not getting in my mandatory walks and I'm very annoyed with this El Nino dude.
If you see him, tell him to get in touch with me, I might have to show him my mean face!