Friday, November 30, 2012

To say goodbye.


In loving memory of Leroy.
January 6, 2000 // November 24, 2012.
She was a part of our family for as long as my childish memory can remember.  I recall those long ago days when my brother and I would pack a picnic, don our rubber boots, and go exploring in the early spring, up creeks and down hidden trails.  Jake was my dog, and Leroy was Aubrey's mischievous new puppy.  What good times the four of us had.

Everyone thought Leroy was a boy, and no wonder.  That all started when Aubrey was in the middle of an Encyclopedia Brown detective story streak, and his greatest dream was to have a puppy of his own.  A puppy named Leroy, after his favorite super sleuth.

Not long after, we were visiting our Grampy when he mentioned that a cowboy friend of his had a little cowdog with a litter of new puppies.  Aubrey went to see them, and was offered the pick of the litter.  The finest, smartest, prettiest of the whole lot, the one he knew was meant to be his, was a female.  
Grampy said Leroy was a fine name for a girl.

So she joined our family.

We called her the Black-and-Blue-Heeler for the first year of her life, as the instincts passed down from her Aussie Shepard, Blue Heeler, Border Collie, Kelpie, and McNab ancestors made ferociously gnawing on the ankles of any passerby the most natural thing in the world.  She soon learned to channel that energy into fetching sticks, chasing sticks, carrying sticks.  Till the last few months of her life, Leroy and her branches, twigs, and young logs were inseparable.
She loved chasing kids in a field, running and ducking and dodging so fast you could hardly see her.  She lived to fetch sticks and protect her family.  No coyote dared show his face when she was on the job.  And she hated to have her picture taken.  We always had to take surreptitious photographs of her for fear of offending her sensibilities.  Oh, and baths.  She definitely didn't take much of a shine to those.
If you ever came over to visit, she would have been at your feet in less than ten seconds with a log so big you would question her ability to carry it, much less your own to throw it.  She really went in for big sticks.
She was lying at the top of the pasture one mellow afternoon in mid October, serenely soaking up the autumn sunshine.  Her muzzle had turned gray.  Her body, once so quick and strong, was stiff and weak with age.  
She had become an old dog.  

I am so thankful I was able to capture these last sweet moments of her life, before the sun was hidden behind winter clouds and the cold brought slowly deepening pain and sickness.

She was always so vital, so cheerful, so in the middle of things.  Now, we cherished every moment with her more than ever, knowing that there was nothing we could do but wait for the end to come.
She slept by the fire on the floor of my tent, day in and day out.  What was at first a peaceful doze gradually became restlessness over the weeks, then pain and misery.  Watching her endure those agonies, helpless to bring relief, was terrible.
Then we knew it was time.
To say goodbye is one of the hardest lessons we have to learn on this earth.
But with it comes a tremendous gratitude for the memories we keep in our hearts, for the lives that have crossed ours and made them better.

The gift of love is the greatest of all, and that will never be taken away.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Winner | Gift Card from Kellie Falconer Design

Who's won the shopping spree to KFD?
...

This giveaway was so much fun!  Thanks to all who entered, and be on the lookout for some fun new additions to the shop for the holiday season.

To get right down to it, the random fates that be have chosen...
...#28!

Which is none other then Miss Dashwood!


Congratulations, dear!  Send me an email at
kelliefalconer {at} gmail {dot} com 
to claim your prize.  

Then go check out the shop and start making your wish list! :)

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Outfit | Fur, Plaid, Diamonds.

Plaid trimmed knit top/skirt ensemble - fabric brooch - coming soon to Kellie Falconer Design!
boots - Sorrel   //   jewelry - family antiques   //   fur - Wigget's Antiques
belt - thrifted   //   hair barrette - gift


This outfit has me seriously excited.  How can you have the cozy comfort of a pair of sweats combined with a dress elegant enough for the most lavish of holiday parties?  And better than that, the skirt and top can be paired with other outfits, making for endless variation possibilities.

All in the softest of heather green knits and delicious wool plaid.  Mmm...
To be released in the shop very, very soon.


Petrov joined me once again, and my new Sorelia Earhart snowboots, found on clearance last summer, make their debut.
The screw back earrings were my grandma's, and I love them.  
Will someone please invite me to the symphony?  I'll wear this ensemble.  It seems almost a waste on the trees and birds.  It needs a proper outing.  I need a proper outing. :smile:


It's been a very, very hard week, but life moves on.  Somehow, we're always given the strength to bear what we must.  How good He is.

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Last chance to enter the gift card giveaway - ends tonight at midnight!
The current shop sales all end Nov. 30th at midnight as well, so if you've been eyeing that apron or hairbow, here's a word of advice...

...Snabble it now!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Kellie Falconer Design | Giveaway + Black Friday Sale



Announcing the giveaway of the year from Kellie Falconer Design!  Just in time to celebrate during the biggest shopping weekend of the year, I'm giving away nothing less than 
a $30.00 Gift Certificate to my shop during our lavish black friday sale!


To Enter:
     
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1. Blog - Share the giveaway by copy and pasting the photo above to your own blog, with a link to this post.  Leave a link to your blog post in the comments section here.  (This entry counts twice, so be sure to leave two comments!)

2. Facebook - Share a link back to this post, and leave a comment here.

3. Twitter - Tweet about the giveaway and the sale with a link to this post on your Twitter page, and leave a link to your tweet in the comment here.

4. Tumblr and Pinterest - Tumble or Pin the image above onto your Tumblr or Pinterest boards, with a link in the description to THIS POST. Leave a comment with a link to your Tumblr post and/or your Pinterest pin in the comments section here.

5. Share in ANY other way - share a blurb about the giveaway or the photo above and a link to THIS POST using any other social media, such as Digg, StumbleUpon, Google+, email, etc., and leave a comment on this post with a link back to your share.


 Help me spread the joy around!
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*Completing any or all items above counts as an entry each - just leave an separate comment for each entry you deserve!  
If you win and have already made a purchase form Kellie Falconer Design during the sale, your order will be reimbursed the gift card amount!
Giveaway live from November 20th - 28th.

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Let's get shopping...

-- 15% off all orders of $35 or more before shipping. Enter coupon code CELEBRATE2012 at checkout!

--Buy any apron, receive a FREE flour sack dishtowel with purchase:

--Buy any tote bag, receive a FREE fabric bunting banner with purchase:

--25% off ALL Hair accessories in the entire store!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Deeply.

I had a horrible day yesterday.  It was a complete waste - at least that's what it looked like at sunset after being on my feet since eight in the morning.  I was shooting the Winter clothing collection (which, by the way, is beautiful, if I say so myself!  Not to mention warm...).  
Catch:  there's really nothing but mud around here at the moment, as the snow's melted and we've been drizzling ever since.  
I had a bright idea that turned out bad... it included a gray tarp backdrop, an overcast day, and the crop tool in my graphics program.  None of which turned out like I hoped, and at the end of the day, I realized that nearly 200 photos were pretty much trash.  Also several deadlines and my entire day.  
Mud.  Frustration.  Cabin Fever.  Health issues and family issues.  A thousand other things accumulated.  All in one lovely bundle of a pity party.

I got my journal out last night for the first time in months and stared at the pages, blank, that I wished were filled.  And as my pen moved, faster and faster, it hit me with almost laughable irony that those pages were finally making my idle wish realized.  Fill that page.  Fill the next.  Record, muse, cogitate.

And almost in spite of myself, I finally broke through the wall of confusion and despair I was suffocating against.

"So I lost a day.  Is that the worst thing that could happen to me?  What could I most easily spare but a day?  And it wasn't a loss.  Not unless I call it that.  It was an investment, a challenge, a reality check.
We all mess up.  It's days like this that make us decide weather or not we really have what it takes to live our dreams.  Because it is a decision.  It lies within each of us to make the choice, to get back up, to keep on walking.

You may still be scared and uncertain - you may still not know what lies before you or which path to take.  But you can choose to let go of the fear.  Give it to Someone who knows how to carry it.
Then pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.
Promise?  Promise."

Today I went on a walk with Algy, like I always do when I can't hear myself think anymore.  The mud was so ugly, the drab world was so bare!

So I put on my macro lens and went in really, really close.  It was much more beautiful there.
Even the mud was beautiful.  It was beautiful yesterday, just waiting for me to see it.

Look deeply.  The beauty, the purpose, the hope is there, all the time.  
Fancy that.
 
P.S.  Trash happens.  It's okay.

And sometimes trash might even make you smile.
At least I hope so.