biscuit's space | The blog of photographer Katherine Carver

Jul 31

Photographs: Charleston, Folly Beach Vacation

We vacationed in Charleston recently, and I finally had time to finish culling and editing the images from our vacation, our fourth vacation with our sweet, Victory! You can view a snapshot of our vacation here. (You can also view our vacation last year with Victory to Lake Michigan here; you can view our vacation from two years ago with Victory to Quebec City here; and you can view our vacation three years ago with Victory to Montreal, Quebec here.)

We rented a house for a week and a half in Charleston, really close to Folly Beach while being not too far from downtown Charleston. We were fortunate that we had nice weather. We all loved the beach. We spent a lot of time resting and relaxing there. We went to downtown Charleston several times and there was no shortage of good restaurants! We even were able to bring Victory to a few dinners and enjoyed Jeni’s ice cream for the first time! We also went to Boone Hall Plantation.

On our way to Charleston, we stopped in the triangle area in North Carolina for a few days (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill). Doug wanted to visit Duke’s campus, and, while there, we even made a stop at the Canine Cognition Center! It was interesting to see the lab first hand. Victory did not make it too far walking around the campus, so we used the Ergo, which she loves. While in Chapel Hill, since Doug loves bourbon, we went to the TOPO Distillery. Victory was even welcome, so it worked out well. While in Raleigh, we found a really good restaurant, the Tupelo Honey Cafe! It was the best brunch and fried chicken that we have ever eaten, and we plan to go again to the Northern Virginia location!

Most of all, we are grateful for our time away together. We enjoyed spending time together; getting away; having a change of scenery; and having days where we had no plans and were able to take each day as it came. Even after a really long drive home, due to horrific traffic, Victory, of course, spotted her exit to her house, and she loved coming home, like always!

Below are a few images from our recent vacation, including an short iPhone video of Doug and Victory!

Happy Monday!

Jul 26

Around Here: July

Happy July! Another month has just about flown by once again. The summer is zooming by much too quickly. Below are some items that have occurred around here in July!

-I continue to work on the next steps concerning my long-term photography project.

-we had a great vacation in Charleston together! (I am finishing up editing our vacation images.)

-we have been going to our neighborhood pool and enjoying our time at the pool!

-we went to the Eastern Shore for crabs for the first time this season!

-enjoying date nights together! Doug and I are aiming to try at least one new restaurant a month to expand our horizons! This month we found a new one, the Iron Rooster, which was good and it is dog friendly as well!

-enjoying time together outside. With the warmer weather, we have been taking more walks outside during the evenings, when it is cooler, and Victory loves the walks while she rides in her Hound About!

-took Victory for her annual check up and shots at the vet; and we gave her a bath, after returning home from vacation, which is not fun for anyone, sadly!

-continuing to work on getting fine art prints made, framed, and hung in our home, an ongoing endeavor!

-finished the last two seasons of the Last Tango in Halifax.

-watched the first season of Glow.

-started the first season of Shetland.

-finished reading The Bright Hour, by Nina Riggs. It was an excellent memoir.

-listening to a myriad of podcasts, especially, at the gym and on walks!

-achieving 10,000 steps most days via my Fitbit!

-continuing to make incremental progress on our ever-growing to do list!

Happy Wednesday!

Jul 21

10 Fun Things About Victory!

Doug and I have had a full plate this year and I feel badly for not sharing more about our fur girl, Victory! So, since it is Friday, I thought I would share 10 fun things you might now know about our fur girl!

1. She loves ‘night night.’ This seems to be her favorite part of the day. We think she thinks we sleep with her. She runs up and down the bed and plays most nights with a wide smile.

2. Each night before bed, Victory likes to have a few sips of water before we all go to sleep. I know she is very spoiled! (Nobody is bringing me water while in bed!)

3. She still hates bath time with a vengeance. She knows when we take her collar off and she sees the bowls to rinse her she knows that she is getting a bath and she runs for the hills. It takes both of us to bathe her, and it is not easy with her resistance every step of the way.

4. She loves eating just about anything. She always wanders into the kitchen and dinning room while we eat dinner or breakfast. She is always up for tasting just about anything (within reason). She especially loves carbs.

5. She is very loyal. She never waivers from our side and she just likes to be with us!

6. She is apprehensive with new situations and meeting new people; and she is not always the most flexible little being during these situations!

7. She loves her daily routine when we are home.

8. She loves her Ergo and her Hound About!

9. Despite being nervous in new situations, she is always up for an adventure and going to new places! We are lucky she travels well with us!

10. Home is where her heart will always be! It is her sanctuary and where she feels most comfortable. She always loves returning home, similar to most people.

Happy Friday!

Jul 19

Loving: Summer 2017

Happy summer! We are so happy that the summer months have arrived! Below are the items I am loving, so far, this summer!

1. Blue Apron – In an effort to mix things up this summer, and in an effort to eat healthy while not taking too much meal time preparation, we have tried some meals from Blue Apron. The menu changes frequently, and the contents to make each meal comes right to your own front door!

2. Cascadian Farm Granola, Oat and Honey – We eat a lot of yogurt, especially Dannon’s Activia probiotic yogurt, and Cascadian Farm’s granola is the best granola I have had in a while! And, it pairs great with yogurt!

3. Neutrogena Sunscreen – All summer we have been using Neutrogena’s Beach Defender, 70 SPF sunscreen. It works really well, smells great, and does not leave an oily residue on one’s skin. We used this at the beach while on vacation and we use it when we go to the pool each week. I highly recommend this product if you are looking for a great, high SPF sunscreen that really protects your skin from the sun.

4. Philosophy Purity Facial Wipes — I do not wear too much makeup, but when I do, I love using Philosophy’s facial wipes to take my make up off. They work really well.

5. The Bright Hour — This is a truly really great memoir written by Nina Riggs about the last two years of her life, which I recently finished reading. She completed her memoir in January; and she, sadly, died the next month, at age 39, of metastatic breast cancer. According to Riggs, “I think a real gift that this experience gave me was forcing me to appreciate my life/death, not just my life. I had to embrace the experience of having cancer, because that experience was part and parcel to my experience of my husband, my kids, my dearest friends. So I would say I really hope the book I wrote will make you feel much more joy than anything else.” Riggs writes beautifully. I highly recommend this memoir. It has been said that it is this year’s When Breath Becomes Air, which I also read last year.

6. Caseology Case – I had to get a new iPhone case for each of our phones, and I really like the cases we purchased from Caseology. They look great, come in various colors to match your phone, and they are sturdy, too!

You can view other things I love here!

Happy Wednesday!

Jul 14

Snapshot: Charleston, Folly Beach Vacation

We are back from vacation! We are getting back into the swing of things from being gone! The car ride was long due to the horrible traffic in Virginia. Doug was kind enough to drive both ways, the whole way! Victory sat on my lap and actually slept on my lap on the way home! This was a first (or maybe a second), so perhaps we are making progress! Victory was a trooper on vacation — she did really well! (We still think home will forever have Victory’s heart. She was really excited to be home, in her house, in familiar surroundings.)

We were really fortunate that we had nice weather while on vacation. It only rained for a few hours one day! It was hotter and more humid than I bargained for, but we had a great time! Victory loved the beach. She loves walking on the beach and dipping her little paws and legs in the water! Today’s post is a sneak peek, as I have not finished editing images from our trip.

On our way to Charleston, we stopped in the triangle area in North Carolina for a few days (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill). Doug wanted to visit Duke’s campus, and, while there, we even made a stop at the Canine Cognition Center! Victory did not participate in any laboratory tests, but it was interesting to see the lab first hand. Victory did not make it too far walking around the campus, so we used the Ergo, which she loves. I think both Victory and I were totally drenched by the end of the day! While in Chapel Hill, since Doug loves bourbon, we went to the TOPO Distillery. Victory was even welcome, so it worked out. Chapel Hill is a nice university town, resembling where I grew up, in many ways. While in Raleigh, we found a really good restaurant, the Tupelo Honey Cafe, and there is fortunately one also in Northern Virginia! It was the best brunch and fried chicken that we have ever eaten!

We rented a house for a week and a half in Charleston, really close to Folly Beach and we were still not too far from downtown Charleston. We all loved the beach. We spent a lot of time resting and relaxing there, and we took each day as it came. We went to downtown Charleston several times and there was no shortage of good restaurants! We even were able to bring Victory to a few dinners and enjoyed Jeni’s ice cream for the first time! We also went to Boone Hall Plantation, which was interesting — I loved the trees that are unique to South Carolina. Below is a snapshot containing several iPhone photos from our vacation. Once I finish editing the images from our vacation, I will put a proper blog post together to share in the next week or two, I hope. Stay tuned.

Happy Friday!

Jun 28

Gone Fishing…

We are headed to Charleston, South Carolina with our fur girl, Victory, for a vacation! We are very much looking forward to a breather and break away! The blog will be back with regular content in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, if you are in a blog-reading mood, you are warmly invited to visit the archives — the links are shown below.

Dog Related posts

Dog Rescue posts

‘Dog-Centric’ Artists Interviews

For Artists posts

Photography posts

Personal posts

Victory Related posts

Tips for planning and vacationing with your furry family member

Additionally, if you are interested, here are some links to some of our previous vacations — Nova Scotia, 2011; Nova Scotia, 2012; Vermont, 2013; Vermont and Québec, 2014; Vermont and Québec City, 2015; and Lake Michigan, 2016.

Happy Summer!

Jun 27

Around Here: June

Happy June! Another month has just about flown by once again. I took a bit of a break from the blog recently; however, below are some items that have occurred around here in June!

-I am still working on the next steps concerning my long-term photography project.

–Victory is finally over her urinary tract infection (UTI), as we have been making numerous vet trips over the past two months. Her last culture finally came back clean, no bacteria!

-we have been going to our neighborhood pool and enjoying our time at the pool!

-we started using the Big Green Egg!

-enjoying date nights together!

-we recently went to Pups in the Park again for the third year in a row! Victory had a great time and the weather was, thankfully, beautiful!

-we also went to an Orioles game as well!

-enjoying time together outside. With the warmer weather, we have been taking more walks outside during the evenings, when it is cooler, and Victory loves the walks while she rides in her Hound About!

-continuing to work on getting fine art prints made, framed, and hung in our home, an ongoing endeavor!

-finished the third season of Better Call Saul, a great series!

-finished the first season of the Last Tango in Halifax.

-we are getting ready to leave for vacation; we are really looking forward to a reprieve from everything, even if only for a little bit! We’re hoping that it will not be too hot! We can’t wait to take Victory to the beach! I’m taking her into the ocean this year, while she has her life jacket on, of course! I have a few good books I hope to read as well! One of the books I am looking forward to reading is the memoir, The Bright Hour, by Nina Riggs.

-listening to a myriad of podcasts, especially, at the gym and on walks!

-achieving 10,000 steps most days via my Fitbit!

-continuing to make incremental progress on our ever-growing to do list!

Happy Tuesday!

Jun 26

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Pups in the Park

This weekend we took Victory with us to Pups in the Park at the Nationals! This is our third year going to Pups in the Park with Victory! The weather was beautiful and we had a fun time together! We even got tickets to go back in September with Victory! Below are some images and iPhone photos from our visit!

Jun 22

Take Your Dog to Work Day!

You probably heard about “Take Your Child to Work Day,” but did you know there is also a day set aside each year for welcoming your fur family members into the office? Every June features a “Take Your Dog to Work Day” when many employees “hire” their four-legged furry family members for the day. This year, “Take Your Dog to Work Day”, which falls tomorrow on Friday, June 23, has been celebrated annually since 1999 in the United States. The unofficial holiday was created by Pet Sitters International as a way to encourage dog adoption and to celebrate the love and joy dogs bring to the lives of their ‘pet parents.’

However, some employers have “Take Your Dog to Work Day” everyday! Dogs are even now welcome at the Interior Department! There are many positive aspects to allowing dogs in the work place, perhaps a reason for this growing trend with employers.

Dogs in the office bring calm and promote wellness. Employees are required, out of necessity, to take regular breaks to walk the dog, which is good for their physical health and provides a welcome break. Dogs also have a calming effect on people — their natural joy and positive energy is a stress reliever and morale booster.

Dogs also foster happier relationships between humans, too. When someone is walking their dog around or has a dog at his/her desk, other employees are more likely to talk to him/her. The dog provides a nice way to start a conversation between two people whose work may not cross paths ordinarily. Further, and importantly, this can also open the door to collaboration and creativity!

Unfortunately, our fur girl, Victory, is not yet permitted at the office. However, Victory is a loyal companion in our home office. She loves to either be on her bed, shown in the iphoto below, or she likes to sleep by my feet under the desk. During the warmer months, I am guaranteed that Victory will provide a ‘bath’ for my feet and toes, never missing a spot! Working with Victory by my side is always better!

May 26

Around Here: May 2017

Happy May! Another month has just about flown by once again and we are already near the middle of the year already! Below are some items that have occurred around here in May!

-I finally FINISHED the body of work and draft copy for my long-term photography project! There were many times, along the way, where I never thought I would ever get to this point as there have been many moving parts to this project, which has been an enormous undertaking. At times, it was difficult to keep the faith and not succumb to fear and doubt, and trust that the pieces would eventually fit together, even when I could not see the forest through the trees. However, I am glad that I kept going and pressed on, over the past nearly four and a half years. I still have a ways to go to usher this body of work into the world, but I am really happy to reach this point.

“Increasingly, the work I’m doing is in service to an idea rather than just to see what something looks like photographed. I’m trying to explore how I feel about something through photography.” — Sally Mann

-our pools open this weekend and we are looking forward to a long weekend together including time at the pool (weather permitting) and going to a bbq!

–Victory is all ready for summer and she loves and she is ready to eat yummy food her Daddy cooks on her Big Green Egg, pictured below!

-enjoying date nights together!

-enjoying time together outside. With the warmer weather, we have been taking more walks outside, and Victory loves the walks while she rides in her Hound About!

-continue to work on getting fine art prints made, framed, and hung in our home, an ongoing endeavor!

-finished our gardening for this year and we finished getting our deck furniture ready to use to enjoy the nicer weather!

-we are getting all of our house windows cleaned next week so that we can see out of them again!

-enjoying many snuggles with our fur girl, Victory, who is currently recovering from another urinary tract infection (UTI). The medicine is helping her, as she is prone to these infections, that we battle a few times a year, it seems. She also had another bath this month, which she never enjoys, but she smells and her fur feels so good after the process is complete!

-we finished the final season of Rectify.

-watching the fifth season of The Americans.

-finished reading Devotion by Dani Shapiro, a really good read!

-listening to a myriad of podcasts, especially, at the gym!

-achieving 10,000 steps most days via my Fitbit!

-continuing to make incremental progress on our ever-growing to do list!

Happy Friday! Wishing you a nice long weekend!