Category Archives: Photography

A Blog Post Not (Totally) About the Dog

We spent last weekend putting together the final bits and pieces for the first draft of the book we’re co-authoring, “[easyazon-link asin=”B0058DII1M” locale=”us”]Social Media Geek-to-Geek: Practical Insights for Technology Marketers[/easyazon-link].”

Literally.

We moved the furniture, printed the draft, and literally walked through the pages, looking for the best homes for over a dozen great side-bars we had solicited and received from a bunch of industry pundits and peers. In addition, Rick has done 25 wonderful cartoons on the subject, and we wanted to make sure that they were not only placed appropriately to the text, but also were relatively evenly spaced throughout the book.

As far as writers go, we tend to be somewhat visually-oriented, so this approach seemed to offer the best shot at getting ‘er done.

Do other authors do this?

If they don’t they might want to consider it, as it was not only fun but also gave us a tangible sense of satisfaction at this early stage to see the fruits of our labor in 3D.

Rick and I weren’t the only ones who enjoyed getting “hands on” with the project. It was all going so well until Muzzle Punk woke up from his post-luncheon siesta.

He faked us out on his way back in from a trip to the Potty Patch.

Anybody seen my readers?

Fortunately, we were pretty much done with the exercise by then.

Good thing.

Winnie demonstrates a refined appreciation of ironic humor. This is one of my favorites as well.

And if we end up a bit late on meeting our deadline, will someone please print this out and take it to our publisher?

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Uh Oh…

He’s smart.

He has a thing for car keys.

In truth, we collectively already have experience with an “early driver,” and while they lead to great war stories about just how tough it is to raise little ones… in real time? They’re kind of hair raising.

And deceptively sweet.

Who can blame a little pupper wupper for a minor nibble on the sole of a shoe?

Especially when they are so docile during the introduction of hygiene practices?

Yes, his posture is saying, “Yes, of course… Go right ahead. I understand. Ears need to be cleaned. I’ll just wait here until you’re done, then… pinned down between your knees… shall I?”

However, note the eyes, screaming, “ARE YOU FUDGING KIDDING ME??!!!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM??!!!!”

And this attitude is just one reason why we’ve been SO BUSY in the last couple of weeks. It was this, and the first draft of the book we need to have finished by Monday.

Questions come naturally to quick, growing learners.

For instance, check the head tilt, suggesting, “Shoes? What shoes? I only see Monkey, Mr. Rooster, and a pair of not-so-well-concealed-slippers…. and, well, yes… I suppose I notice a pair of red suede shoes… sorta….”

Of course, what I SMELL is an entirely different matter.

And who can smell an object to absolute certainty without verifying it via other channels?

Just a sec, please. I’m almost done my completely scientifically objective investigation.

Ack.

Okay, I’ve got it. It was a red suede Dansko clog, last worn without socks for 10 hours in an under-ventilated corporate office.

Shall I check just once again to be sure?

Dang it. Red shoe gone. Only under-flavored nyla bone left in compensation.

We wants our red shoe back. Please.

And why do they keep looking at the size of my paws? They grow every morning, just like the rest of me.

Wha??? What’s wrong with these people? If I doubled in weight in the three weeks I’ve been here, what do they expect from my feet?!

Sheesh… You’d think they would have figured out the growth/skill acquisition rate earlier in the game, given that we’ve shifted from HER first person perspective to MY first person perspective in the course of one short blog posting.

Okay, let’s all just settle down and admit it: I’m going to be a BIG, SMART, CUTIE-PA-TOOTIE, CURLY HEADED PUNKIN’ DOGGIE FROM HERE FORWARD…

… and won’t that be FUN?!!!!!!

Welcome To… Winston!

Brace yourself. We feel a song coming on.

Our love bubble got even bigger and more colorful this week with an entirely new and delightful energy…

… name ‘a Winston, the new Standard for coffee-smellin’ puppy-breathin’ chewy sweetness around here.

Winnie.

A Poodle.

Winnie, a Poo…

Tubby little cubby…

… all stuffed with fluff…

He’s Winnie…

… a Pootz…

Winnie…

… Apu…

Willy…

… nilly…

… silly young bear!

More on Winston in the days to come, once we get to the stage where we’re all sleeping through the night, Rick finds his other slipper, and I have time once again to get both legs shaved in the course of one shower.

09-09-09

Happy Anniversary… to us!

This was last year. We were so warm, happy, in love, and full of hope.

And this was last night, on our way to our most deliciously wonderful celebration dinner at The Grill at Amangani in Jackson Hole, just on the other side of the Teton Pass from the farmhouse we restored in Teton Valley, Idaho.

Although not quite as warm as last year, we’re even more happy, in love, and full of hope. Let it snow!

Little Rabby Foo Foo

We didn’t know we were animal nuts.

Honestly.


We know you might find this a bit doubtful, given all the bug, dog, cat, elk, cow, and now bunny posts that populate this blog…


… but when you find yourself with camera at hand and a teeny Flopsy Ears blocking the pathway to the garage on your way to get more beer, what are you going to do?


Besides, who doesn’t think a baby bunny nibbling on tender grass shoots is cute enough to give you hiccups?

Wait… maybe that was the beer. Whatever.

Yeah, yeah… we know our incredibly erudite readers might prefer deep and profound insights on topics of global importance to critter shots.


And it’s not that we don’t regularly have those kinds of discussions that we could share with y’all. It’s just that by the time I sit down in front of the computer, chewing contemplatively on my knuckle as I consider where to start the brilliance…


… it’s gone.

And I miss both the “aww” factor, and the brilliant thoughts.

UPDATE October 2014: A dear friend has subsequently introduced us to an altogether satisfactory substitute, at least for the cuddle quotient, known as “Jellycats.” And now, we’re officially animal nuts because there’s no avoiding that conclusion when you fall in love with even a STUFFED one.

Ducky introduced George Washington to our home in honor of my becoming an American citizen.

I was smitten, and I’m a grown woman who hasn’t given a personal passing thought to the value of stuffed animals since I lost track of Fluffy, my white stuffed cat I adored until I was about eight.

jellycat bunny_rickandkathy.com-1
I owned George, the most cuddly, perfectly weighted, exquisitely soft plush critter I have ever encountered, for about 23 hours. Then, Winston managed to sneak in and snag him off the highest bookshelf in the guest room, escaping to a hidden corner of the house where he proceeded to baptize poor ol’ George in copious dog slobber and nibbles, and declaring him his own little love nugget.

After several valiant yet unsuccessful attempts at rescue (Winston can reach any shelf in the house if he takes a mind), we gave up, and George is now Winston’s very best bunk buddy.

Given his machine washable resilience, I suds him up occasionally, and all in all, he’s looking fine, especially given the amount of canine snuggles and mushy sweet nothings that are exchanged between the two.


Jellycat® Bashful Bunny

This little guy has an astounding 5 star rating out of ~240 reviewers, and I’m not surprised. The only thing that would be more consistently delightful would be an actual bunny, but between figuring out what to do about family vacations and the poop, George and his Jellycat buddies win.

Winstons says, “Amen.”

P.S. This just in… our buddy’s new favorite:


Jellycat® Cyril Sloth

I know a little two-year old grand baby who’s gonna love Christmas this year!

On Cats

Just so no one is confused by our previous post

… we have nothing against cats.
This is Gadget, a dear buddy from the past.

Gadget was a great latte, blanket, and recliner pal first thing in the morning.
I miss her.
What I don’t miss is the red itchy eyes, hair standing up on the back of my neck, or hives when I would forget to wash my hands after snuggle time.
The issue isn’t fur: it’s saliva. Apparently, neither of our immune systems can handle kitty spit.

My comment about cats spurred me to sort through our photo archives, where I discovered I have few shots of serendipitously encountered cats.

The Sylvesters (see the Tweety twap?) of the planet don’t tend to congregate in public places like their canine counterparts do…

… which makes finding one in a photogenic setting especially satisfying.

Ironically, immediately after we posted the puppy piece, we got to meet and hang with several new feline pals.

This is Edie of Ocean City, MD. Edie is a sink sitter.
Life holds no greater joy for Edie than getting the chance to stick her head under a stream of cool running water while an obliging member of the staff brushes their teeth. This is lovely fun for about 45 seconds, or until you realize there is a car full of hot people waiting for you to finish brushing your teeth so they can head to the beach.
Edie cares not about matters relating to hot cars or beaches. Fun is fun. That’s all.

This is Maggie of Leesburg, VA. She’s a rescued part Maine Coon cat.

Beyond grooming her magnificent mane and indulging paparazzi, this is what Maggie does. Being fabulously gorgeous takes a lot of beauty rest.

Toby concurs, although his duties lay in a somewhat less glamorous domain: he must snuggle the staff and consume kitty kibble with only four teeth. Specifics notwithstanding, one simply MUST get adequate rest if one is to maintain.

All told, we like cats. But until they stop doing this…

… we’ll stay on the puppy track.

150 Posts and A Few Favorite Blogs

Woohoo! rickandkathy.com turns 150 posts old today!

Forget about number of page views, subscribers, bounce rate, or any other supposedly revealing social media ROI metric.

We now have 150 separate memory-jogging gems on topics that we’ve experienced, thought, seen, sung, played, endured, painted, cooked, eaten, and photographed in the past 16 months. It’s a permanent record of what we’ve wondered about, chuckled over, or railed against, together. And it’s a wonderful record of how we’ve grown as individuals, as a couple, and as even as a community of returning readers who are gradually getting to know one another through the comments you leave behind. We’ve learned in new ways how to collaborate on a joint project that combines our collective writing, photographic, painting, web, and social-media savvy skills. The exciting part is that it leaves room for our individual styles while resulting in a single, consistent voice.  Now that‘s a return on investment worth getting excited about!

So, in celebration of having hung in there this long and all the lessons we’ve learned along the way, we thought we’d share with y’all a few of our own favorite blogs.

This is a blog I discovered this week that went straight to the Top Ten on the hit parade, with a bullet.

Okay, so we were a little late to the party known as Zen Habits, and they had run out of the cocktail sausages by the time we got there. However, there is still some excellent chill-out refreshment, thought-provoking ideas, and interesting experiments in human interaction available for late arrivals.

In his own words:

It also happens to be one of the Top 100 blogs in the world, with about 190K readers, is uncopyrighted, and goes well with anything chocolate. Zen Habits features three powerful articles a week on: simplicity, health & fitness, motivation and inspiration, frugality, family life, happiness, goals, getting great things done, and living in the moment.

And it’s all ad-free, with no cookies, Flash or spam.

I love that last line. What would that have even meant a generation ago? But I also love what it means about Lou’s take on blogging: it’s as simple and accessible and innovative as is his approach to life.


Loved her.

Then wanted to pinch her head.

And now I’m back to appreciating much about Ree Drummond, aka “The Pioneer Woman.”

The pinching thing was just part of my own growing pains as a blogger. She makes it seems so dang easy and fun, and the worst part, daily. Curses! As a blogger role model, she sets an impossibly high bar for frequency, quality, and the ferocious loyalty and rush to comment of her millions of readers.

However, as a first-person writer and fabulous photographer, she’s predictably humorous, sweet yet authentic, and blissfully uncontentious. There’s no bellyaching or political debate, but rather a guaranteed ray of daily sunshine. And some days, it’s great to know where to go to get a little.

Penelope Trunk has Asperger Syndrome, a form of autism where the person has a high IQ and virtually no social filters, and writes a blog that self-describes as “advice at the intersection of work and life.”

The result is writing that is breathtakingly, even shockingly, honest. For that reason alone, it’s incredibly interesting to read her perspectives on life and career. She writes exactly as she sees things. Ironically, her “disability” enables her to approach her craft with an authenticity that eludes most of the rest of us. Trust me: you’ve never read anybody who writes like this.

Three random titles of her posts should about sum up my fascination with her:

4 Weight-loss tips from my month in the mental ward
Lessons from a French chicken farm
My financial history, and stop whining about your job

Dushka Zapata is Penelope Trunk without the Asperger’s.

Kate is the Martha Stewart/Mother Theresa incarnation of The Pioneer Woman, but without the budget or babies.

Yet.

No matter how many great blogs we come across, though, this one remains our favorite.

Having our blog frames the happenings, vignettes, and vistas of our days as precious elements in the story of us that’s unfolding. It motivates us to capture and preserve what’s important, hilarious, beautiful, or delightful in our life together. And it gives us a vehicle to share those moments with family, friends, and welcomed strangers who wander in through the side gate to our garden party.

Thanks for being here.