Yesterday Atlas and I met up with Shel and Kate in Centennial park for a hot, but enjoyable walk around the lake. The weather was gorgeous, and everyone was out in full force – from kayakers to scooter riders.  Shel was pretty fascinated by the bikers and doggies running by, but I managed to get him to sit still for a few short moments.

Here are some shots from the afternoon:

I spent yesterday afternoon with Mae, Leeya and Ryan, enjoying a delightful brunch and taking these fun photographs of their beautiful daughter.  Here is a taste of the fun we had.

Every morning I take Atlas for a walk around our neighborhood. It’s harder to keep up with this in the winter, but in the spring and summer I’m pretty good about giving him a full hour of my time. I also have grown to love the early morning sunlight and observing all the pre-day activities going on in the neighborhood.

Since it’s getting hotter and hotter out and Atlas has pretty thick fur, our trips usually involve 10-15 minutes at some local fountains. Atlas hates water and does not enjoy swimming, however, he adores jumping on the ledge of fountains, splashing in them with his paws, and fishing out sticks and flower petals with his teeth. Usually his face gets soaked and the tips of his ears are dripping by the time we’re finished.

It’s pretty hysterical to watch him, yet very hard to catch on camera. Here are a few iPhone images from this morning’s walk, though I don’t think they do the experience justice :).

It’s been ages since I’ve written anything personal up here and that’s mostly because life has kept me busy LIVING outdoors and away from the computer. This is definitely a good thing but I do miss keeping this blog up-to-date. I certainly can’t promise to be more regular about my writing, but I do plan to post more frequently when there is actually something to share.

That said, over the weekend I had the chance to visit Mount Vernon, George Washington’s Virginia estate, right outside of Washington, DC. I’ve known that the attraction has existed for years, but never heard anyone say anything [positive OR negative] about it. Most recently when I was searching for local hikes that were dog-friendly, I came across a thread that suggested Mount Vernon as a wonderful place to take a dog. This sort of struck me as bizarre because in DC you can’t drink water on the metro let alone take dogs in many public spaces.

I did a bit more research and discovered that Mount Vernon IS indeed dog friendly, mostly because George Washington himself loved dogs and animals as is evidenced by the numerous farm animals on his estate. Dogs are allowed nearly everywhere except inside the manor and the museum.

Yesterday was a perfect afternoon to explore the property and my father who was in town accompanied us on the gorgeous walk. After walking through the main building (marble floors and dioramas – very Smithsonian-like), we found ourselves on a beautiful gravel path that wound its way around the main manor, down to the wharf, through Washington’s tomb, and past his working pioneer farm.

There were tons of tourists, though not tons of dogs. I imagine part of this was because of the heat. I kept waiting for an exhibit guide to tell us we were breaking a rule when we walked through the air-conditioned buildings or when I let Atlas step up and use the human water fountain (a great trick he has mastered), but all I got were kind nods and Atlas received numerous head pats and tummy rubs. Even though it was a very warm day for his fur coat, he enjoyed all the attention and the occasional rest on cool stones underneath log benches.

The folks at Kenneth Cole Awearness approached me several months ago, after viewing some of my Cambodian photography on Flickr. The photograph they chose to feature is one that means a great deal to me. It was taken during one of my first field visits to speak with women participating in our micro finance program and this woman’s particular story (and the image that was burned into my memory) kept me awake at night. Like so many other Cambodian women (and women globally), this grandmother has lost her daughter to HIV/AIDS and is now primary caregiver for several grandchildren. She is overburdened physically and financially and is trying to keep hope alive where there is virtually none. The work that Pact’s WORTH program was doing in Cambodia offered this woman possibility – a chance to lift herself out of poverty. I’d love to go back and find her to see if our work had an impact. I’m praying it did.

The Awearness blog is a great place to get inspiration on a daily basis. View my full Awearness blog posting here, and thanks again to Kenneth Cole!

My puppy is officially a year old (as of April 1, 2008), and to celebrate, he went to doggy daycare and I stayed in bed all day with a sinus problem. We’re both awake now and in my woozy state I tried to take a few photos to commemorate his special day. We can’t wait to have an official celebration this weekend when Aunt Kerry is in town. Paper hats and peanut butter for everyone :o).

Atlas, it’s been a true "adventure" getting to know you over the past year. You’ve kept me on my toes, taught me that being clean has a new meaning, that hikes are always more fun if you have a puppy around, and that there is always time for snuggling. Always. You drive me crazy, but I adore you. Thanks for sticking with me and not throwing yourself under a bus during one of your freak-out moments, and I thank myself for not throwing you under a bus during one of your freak-out moments.

Year 1 was great to watch you grow, hoping that this next year will bring some more calm into your life, more laziness in the mornings, and much more snuggling I hope :o).

He’s definitely going to miss our morning x-country ski outings, playing with his boyfriend, Henry the Siberian Husky, and bounding through the snow. I’m also going to miss this life, but it’s time to go home. We’re traveling back this weekend and the feeling is bittersweet. We’ll both be holding a bit of Vermont in our hearts wherever we go, and hope to find ourselves back in New England in the not too far distant future.

I’ve been eating a lot of Chinese food lately, and beyond work, that’s about all I’ve been doing. Launching our new website has taken over my life 200% and the exhaustion (and growing disgust for Chinese food) is wearing on me. Hopefully by the end of this week I’ll have a great new site under my belt, but until then, it’s type type type, click click click.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a chance to sit down and write. The holidays have come and gone, 2008 is here, and I’m just as busy as ever. With the launch of our new website coming at the beginning of February, over a foot of snow on the ground in Vermont (and lots of x-country and downhill skiing to be done), and a 9-month old puppy desperate for my attention, it’s no surprise I’ve spent little to no time at my [non-work] computer in the evenings. I’m hoping that once we launch our site in February, I’ll have more time to catch up on photography and blogging, but in the meantime, there are a few highlights of December I’d like to mention:

The snow has been virtually non-stop since the beginning of December and I’ve spent my early mornings borrowing friend’s x-country skis and gliding over the Brattleboro golf course with my morning dog group. Atlas has definitely enjoyed this new habit, and when he’s not diving for treats in snow-drifts, he’s pulling golf-ball sized snowballs off his fur. It seems like there isn’t one season that’s not amazing in Vermont.

My Christmas holiday started on December 21st with one of my many flights en route to Florida. The overnight layover allowed me to join Katherine, Josh, and Steve for dinner at the Helmand in Baltimore before I trekked down to DC and my dawn flight the next day.

I spent Christmas proper in Sarasota with my mom, step-father, and brother. My visit was extremely relaxed – lots of eating and sleeping. I think I actually spent Christmas day laying on the couch watching the Dog Whisperer, digesting a breakfast of pumpkin pancakes, and snacking on peppered salami and cheese. Definitely no complaints there. And in case you were worried about Atlas, he spent Christmas with his two best doggy playmates at a doggy daycare in NH. He was incredibly exhausted when I picked him up.

The weekend between Christmas and New Years I drove out to the Cape with Gordon, Jess, and Porter (Atlas’s first and most energetic playmate) to visit Stacey, Gary, and their perfect dog Bromley. We spent the weekend eating some amazing homemade food (thanks Stace!), walking the beaches with the dogs, and taking photos with my new camera lens. I have always wanted to see Cape Cod and the winter landscape didn’t disappoint.

New Years eve introduced me to Guitar Hero and the recipe for Magnolia Bakery’s famous cupcakes at Dori and Justin’s in Boston, and surprise!: more eating. After the Dim Sum on New Years day, I knew it was time to detox.

And now Atlas and I are cozy in the Cambridge Hyatt, one day into our working week at our design firm’s office. I’m amazed that the hotel allows dogs, but it’s incredibly convenient. It also helps that Atlas has been able to come to work with me, and is making lots of friends among our web developer’s staff.

So I think that about covers it. I have a bunch of New Year’s resolutions, but they will have to wait for another time. Happy 2008!