Mother's Day

Mothers are amazing. In honor of Mother's Day, here's a closer look at one of America's most iconic mother's: Whistler's Mother

Arrangement in Black and Grey No. 1

Anna Whistler. I bet you didn't know but, behind Anna’s calm and serene countenance lies an amazing story of a courageous woman born in Wilmington, NC, who raised two sons, lost three in infancy, sailed across the Atlantic at least five times, lived in luxury in the barbaric fairyland of Czarist Russia, survived the Civil War, and risked her life to run the Federal Blockade in order to be with son James, the artist, in London. Anna was a devoutly religious but indulgent mother, and an educated and cultivated woman whose life was full of adventure and paradox. She was 67 when she posed for this painting.

So, in the spirit of honoring mothers and incredible women like Anna Whistler, Happy Mother's Day to my mother, and to all of the amazing and wonderful mother's out there!
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Today, Brian saved a dog. Yep... my Brian. The one that claims he didn't like dogs before Tahoe and Ashley. He saved a dog today.  This is how he describes what happened:

He was at work around 11am when something told him to go home. It didn't make much sense for him to go home because he needed to be at work to train a new staff member at 1pm. By going home, he knew that he would only be able to stay there for 30 minutes before having to turn around and go back to the office. Nevertheless, he headed home and on his way he found a stray dog on the exit of a major highway. I credit Brian's actions in the next part of this story to a very special friend of ours who was known for her caring and compassionate nature - no doubt, her spirit inspired Brian.

So, Brian got out of his car, got the dog into his car so it was safe and off the highway, and he called the local police dispatcher. The dispatcher suggested that Brian take the animal to a shelter that was a 25 minute drive from where he was.  Brian's GPS was not working so he called me and luckily, I was home to give him directions to the shelter. After a little challenge with determining if the shelter was open or not, Brian finally got someone to answer the door and take the dog in. Our fingers are crossed that he finds a good home.

Brian's little buddy - a pitbull/chow mix