For the Love of Lima - a Four Legged Valentine Surprise

The Kingstons are not big on Valentine's Day.  For some reason it has just never been something we celebrate - maybe because our anniversary is two days later (it will be 10 years on the 16th!), maybe because we normally aren't together, maybe because we do a pretty good job of loving and appreciating each other the other 364 days out of the year...but Hallmark is not making a fortune off of Beth and Don - that is for sure.

This year, however - I came across the perfect Valentine's Day gift.

Right before Thanksgiving Don and I had to say goodbye to Lima - our 12-year old retriever/spaniel mix who was an incredible joy in our lives.  She was Don's first pet and my constant companion - she comforted me after 9/11 when Don was gone and I was thousands of miles away from home, let me cry in to her soft black fur through nine deployments, was the perfect travel companion as we moved from Hawaii to Georgia to Alaska and back again, and loved the hundreds of people who have come through our home over the years. Lima was our sweet girl and we were devastated.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. I was in New Orleans and wandered in to the Dutch Alley Artist Co-Op - which for those of us crafty folks is a glorious, inspiring, creative space that is a must visit if you are ever down that way.  One of the artists featured there - Kelly Magee - creates animal paintings that immediately capture your eye with her mix of colors and her ability to capture the "personality" of her subjects. There was a little sign on the wall that said she did custom work - and Lima immediately came to mind.  I took her card but - to be honest - figured I'd email her and she'd say she charged a bajillion dollars for a painting or it would take six months to finish and that would be the end of it.

Boy was I wrong.  Not only were her prices AMAZING, she was as kind as she could possibly be, excited about doing the painting, and I didn't even have to ask about getting it in time for Valentine's Day - she offered.  All I had to do was send her a photo, choose my background color, and sit back and wait for one of the most meaningful gifts Don and I have ever received.  I gave it to Don last night - and through our tears we remembered how lucky we were to have Lima in our lives, and now we have a visual, tangible memory of her that we can take with us wherever we go.

Kelly - thank you doesn't even come close. I hope this story brings you a little more business and a little more joy - you have an incredible talent.

Lima, our sweet precious girl - thank you for a lifetime of beach-walking, crab-chasing, tennis ball-loving, snowball-eating, bed-snuggling memories. And thank you for giving us one more night to tell you how much we loved you.

The Best Ever Cat

A few months ago, my friend Christy and her family lost Tupi, their beloved cat of 14 years. The kids had received Desser the Best Ever Cat (tissue warning - if you are a pet lover this book is a weeper!)

and in the story the little girl has a framed photo of her cat to remember him by...so Christy asked if I would make a special frame for her 5-year-old daughter Emily.

Now I could go on and on about how I've known Emily since birth, and how much I love my own pets, and how meaningful it was for me to put together, but let's be honest.  Life gets in the way. The holidays came and the snow came and I putzed around working on it here and there and when I finally got it done it sat on the desk in my studio for a few weeks (I will also admit here that Christy and I are HORRIBLE about getting together even though we live in the same town :)) and THEN I will admit that this time of year can make me a "cranky crafter".  I'm getting ready for the first HSN show of the year, and CHA is coming up, and I'm working on a HUGE project with Xyron (more to come in future posts) and I haven't worked on anything of my own in months and my creative juices feel like they are being sucked dry and being crafty starts to feel like work instead of fun.  Like I said - cranky.

Fast forward to Friday night.  Christy invited us over for dinner (again - truth be told - we invited ourselves - but isn't that what friends are for?) and I almost forgot to bring the frame with me, but at the last minute I grabbed a grocery bag and tossed it inside and we headed out the door.  When we arrived we got ourselves settled and I showed it to Christy, and she oohed and aahed over it and showed it to Emily, who gave me a big hug and said thank you, and I was happy I'd done it but honestly didn't think anything else of it. About 10 minutes later everyone was standing in the kitchen having a glass of wine and catching up.  I turned to ask Christy a question and over her shoulder, sitting quietly on the living room couch with her back to everyone and her knees tucked in to her chest, was Emily...hugging the frame.

In that moment, a wave of emotions came over me.  I was honored that Christy had asked me to make the frame, and embarrassed that I'd seen it as just another project to complete before I moved on to the next one.  I was thrilled that it meant so much to Emily, and grateful to be reminded of why I love this craft so much and what joy it brings to others.

Emily didn't let the frame out of her sight for the rest of the night.  She talked to it, she petted it, she tried out different shelves to see where she wanted to put it, she showed it to her stuffed cat (also named Tupi), she talked about what photo she wanted to put in it. I had always known how much Emily loved Tupi, but I had forgotten how much it means to be able to share your memories and tell their story until Friday night.  Sometimes you need a swift kick in the pants to realize how lucky you are, and sometimes you need a 5-year-old named Emily.

So here's to Emily - for reminding me that being able to give someone a tangible, huggable memory of a place or time or person or thing is an incredible gift to be celebrated and appreciated and cherished.  And here's to Tupi - the best ever cat.