Just a reminder that my interview airs live today for The Animal Wisdom World Summit. What a week it has been so far of many inspirational speakers, with more to come today and the rest of the week.
My interview will air live here at 2pm cst/1pm est/Noon pst. It will be live for 24 hours in case you can’t catch it at this exact time. You can also still join the upcoming interviews that continue to the end of the week, for free, just by registering here.
My topic is all about how so many of my dogs have been pivotal in my personal growth – as you likely know being part of my community! 🙂 From transitional times in my life, each time, I’ve been transformed into a better version of myself because of them.
I hope you can join me and all the other fantastic speakers to come!
It’s been an exciting few weeks around the Techel (Teckel – German for dachshund) homestead of late with new living room furniture delivered two weeks ago, plus updating new decor and bringing some of the other decor to a consignment shop. From dark furniture for almost 25 years of maroon, dark greens and a splash of light blue, to Santa Rosa Linen, soft blues and greens, a bit of gray and a splash of purple, it almost feels like our house just may lift off its foundation and fly! It’s amazing how switching to these new shades has the space feeling more open and lighter in energy.
Today we are on our way shortly to order an Amish kitchen table John and I fell in love with over two months ago…yup, when looking for living room furniture. Isn’t that the way it always goes? We just couldn’t get that table out of our heads. We feel blessed to have been gifted some money to make this all possible.
So where does Gidget fit into all this? Well, I did share with her that she is blessed too in that she is the only doxie to get new furniture as she enjoys snuggling with me on the new sofa each night. But then there’s her new updated space she now has in the kitchen also.
For eight months she has been residing in what could be called a mansion, which was Kylie’s kennel. We felt it was of comfort to her when we had to say goodbye to Kylie last November. Talking around the chiminea last night, John said, “I think Gidget would be okay with a smaller kennel, don’t you think?”
I wasn’t sure at first and wanted to honor what is right for her. But the more I thought about it, I said, “You know, she really is such a different, and calm dog now. Perhaps she would be okay.”
Gidget really is a new dog the last few months as I think I’ve mentioned before here on my blog. It was a tough first half of the year as I went through some deep soul work, which Gidget was pivotal in guiding me through. And a quick update: I continue to write about this in a new book I’m working on.
So I thought it was worth a shot to see if she’d be okay with downsizing into a tiny home for her space in the kitchen. With one condition: If she didn’t like it and seemed upset by it, we’d put the other kennel back. It was agreed.
This morning she watched as I took the big kennel down. I talked to her the whole time sharing with her how exciting this was for her. I said, “You are such a big girl now, Gidget. I’m so proud of you. This new space will be just for you and will be so cozy.”
I took the foam bedding from the large kennel and cut it down to fit the smaller kennel, so she’d still have some familiar smells. I placed a rug under the kennel and her blanket inside and John took the door off the front so she would have easy access.
Within moments she hopped right in and snuggled under her blanket. Snug as a bug on the rug, in her new happy space. I thought of Mikey from the Cheerio’s commercial years ago, “He likes it! He likes it!”
So Gidget gets in the trend with downsizing and de-cluttering, inviting in lots of new energy we are all relishing in these days!
Dare I say I love donkey’s as much as I love dachshunds? Well, perhaps it’s like being a parent. You love all your kids and each one offers something different you love them for. That must be it for me and my love of doxie’s and donkeys.
I didn’t plan on stopping at a little antique and artistic shop on my way home today. But something told me to. And well, it just could also be that I recently re-did my living room with new furniture and some new decor, and now am taking my time thinking about updates for the kitchen too, so everything flows.
I’ve gone from dark furniture, to light tans, soft blues and greens, with splashes of purple and gray. Painting the living room and kitchen is in the plans for the future so that a new wall color will flow more nicely between the two spaces.
When I saw this donkey, I put my hand on my heart, and softly gasped. Then tears pooled in my eyes and in my mind I said, “Oh, how I love you dear donkey.”
It seemed I stood there forever, mesmerized by such a sweet painting. I love supporting artists. And well, I love donkeys! Such a win-win.
But then I tried to talk myself out of it, as I usually do. While it’s not an original, the price tag $49.50. Not bad, really. But should I really spend the money? New furniture has certainly not been inexpensive. Though the furniture before this, we had for close to 25 years. The new change has had me swooning every morning lately when I get up each morning and turn the lights on.
But oh, this painting was tugging big time at my heart strings. I went to the register with a few small purchases in hand. I mentioned to the clerk how I loved the donkey painting. “I may be back,” I said.
I can be a worry wart about money and sometimes live in a space of lack or worried about the potential of lack. Or the “what if” there is an emergency? In part, I know this is due to the economy plunging in 2008 and along with so many others, we had to make some very tough decisions.
It’s interesting in that last night I listened to a replay from coach Jocelyn Mercado talking about money and how so many of us live in this space of worry and thinking we shouldn’t have this or that. Or if we have more money it will make us bad people. She said money isn’t bad, it’s people who can be bad. She talked about how we need to shift our money around doing good things with it.
I definitely try to be conscious of what I spend and not spend above my means. And then there’s the whole accepting abundance in your life, showing the universe you believe you are worthy, and more abundance comes to you.
And who can argue with my heart that just adores donkeys? As the clerk rang up my small purchase, I noted the change on the counter as I was looking what I had left in my wallet.
“That’s it,” I said. “Who am I kidding? I’m taking that donkey painting home with me. I just love him and life is short.”
One of the things I take great pride in is our home. While we don’t live in a mansion, within these walls I think there is a whole lot of love. We live simply in that we enjoy being home on the weekends, just hanging out and talking, playing Yahtzee, or watching movies.
To fill our space with things we love and make our hearts happy…well, that just adds that much more to the love. And so the donkey painting followed me home. During the drive back to my little cottage in the village, I smiled as Gus rode in the front seat with me.
Once home, and looking the artist up on the internet, I discovered that the donkey’s name is Gus, and the artist, Kellie Montana describes her work as “whimsical renderings of the ordinary.” And so this purchase is so much more. It’s about, yes, my love of donkey’s, but also my love of home, and my love of supporting artists. Seeing Kellie on her website and feeling the joy that oozed from her face and her page, well, it just makes it feel like a big time win-win-win.
