biscuit's space | The blog of photographer Katherine Carver

Jun 18

Inspiration: Dreaming versus Doing

I like commencement speeches. It is a time for new beginnings and time for reflection. I remember the late Tim Russert giving the commencement speech when I graduated from law school. Last year, I really liked the commencement speech that George Saunders gave at Syracuse University talking about kindness.

This year, Shona Rhimes, screenwriter, recently gave a commencement address at her alma mater, Dartmouth. Here is what she has to say about dreaming versus doing. These are some good points to reflect upon.

I think a lot of people dream. And while they are busy dreaming, the really happy people, the really successful people, the really interesting, engaged, powerful people are busy doing. The dreamers. They stare at the sky and they make plans and they hope and they talk about it endlessly. And they start a lot of sentences with “I want to be…” or “I wish.”

“I want to be a writer.” “I wish I could travel around the world.”

And they dream of it. The buttoned-up ones meet for cocktails and they brag about their dreams, and the hippie ones have vision board and they meditate about their dream. Maybe you write in journals about your dreams or discuss it endlessly with your best friend or your girlfriend or your mother. And it feels really good. You’re talking about it, and you’re planning it. Kind of. You are blue-skying your life. And that is what everyone says you should be doing. Right? I mean, that’s what Oprah and Bill Gates did to get successful, right?

No.

Dreams are lovely. But they are just dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral, pretty. But dreams to not come true just because you dream them. It’s hard work that make things happen. It’s hard work that creates change. So, Lesson One, I guess is: Ditch the dream and be a doer, not a dreamer. Maybe you know exactly what it is you dream of being, or maybe you’re paralyzed because you have no idea what your passion is. The truth is, it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to know. You just have to keep moving forward. You just have to keep doing something, seizing the next opportunity, staying open to trying something new. It doesn’t have to fit your vision of the perfect job or the perfect life. Perfect is boring and dreams are not real. Just…do. So you think, “I wish I could travel.” Great. Sell your crappy car, buy a ticket to Bangkok, and go. Right now. I’m serious.

You can watch and read Shonda Rhimes’ full commencement speech here.

So, today start ‘doing!’

Jun 17

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Victory: Father’s Day

Doug had a nice Father’s Day — his first Father’s Day with Victory! We spent a quite day together. Since Doug does the cooking and baking in our household, (I grocery shop), Doug made us homemade buttermilk pancakes for breakfast, and they were the best pancakes that I have ever had — they were delicious, and even Victory loved eating a few pieces! Doug told me that he wanted to grill for dinner on Father’s Day, so I got him some steak and some chicken for myself, which we marinated and Doug applied some rubs to the meat just prior to grilling! We also marinated and grilled fresh vegetables — they were delicious! I helped some — I made bake potatoes! So, Doug grilled everything on his Big Green Egg and the food was delicious! Earlier in the day, Doug even made us homemade cheesecake for dessert! With all of this food, it is a good thing we went to the gym a few times over the weekend!

Little Victory gave her Daddy some Father’s Day gifts, shown below: a sheltie Father’s Day card; a personalized coffee mug with a photo of Victory with her Daddy with a Father’s Day message; a personalized travel mug to take to and from work; and a personalized mouse pad with photos of Victory and her Daddy together to take to work! I gave Doug a framed print of a recent image of him and Victory together to take to work! Doug was pleased and his desk at work should be looking more spiffy!

Happy Tuesday!

Jun 16

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Mutts Matter Rescue, Inc. — Part XII – Rescue dogs in need of furever homes

I am excited about a long-term Dog Photography Project that I am working on with the Baltimore Animal Rescue Care Shelter (BARCS) as well as some local dog rescue organizations, including the Mutts Matter Rescue, Inc. I hope to share further information in the future. Using the following links, you can view Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX and X, and Part XI.

For now, I can share some color photographs of these doggies pictured below in the hopes that they receive furever homes! If you are interested in adopting (or fostering in some cases) any of these dogs pictured below, please contact Mutts Matter Rescue, Inc. for further information. Please consider dog rescue! Biscuit’s rescue story illustrates that we can make a positive difference and impact in one dog’s life.

At this point, almost all of the images for Part 1 of this project have been photographed! I have been working on this project for over a year! Part 2 of this project is also under way! I can’t wait to share this project upon its completion!

Below is a brief description of the dogs in the order they are pictured below.

1. Rosie — is a female 4-year-old pug mix. Rosie is very loving and sweet, and she is in need of a furever home!

2. Teddy Ruxpin — is a male 4 to 5-year-old Shih Tzu/Brussels Mix. Teddy Ruxpin is full of energy, and he is in need of a furever home!

3. Beans — is a male 6-year-old Pug Mix. Beans came from a puppy mill and he is still getting acclimated to his surroundings. He is very gentle and in need of a special person/family to provide him a furever home.

4. Treasure — is a female 4-year-old Chi Mix. Treasure is absolutely adorable and she is very sweet and gentle. She is in need of a furever home!

5. Mia — is a female 1.5 year old Shih Tzu Mix. Mia is gorgeous and she is a happy and playful pup who is in need of a furever home!

6. Lacey — is a female 14 month old Lab Mix. Lacy is very playful and full of energy. Lacy is in need of a furever home!

7. Cammie — is a female five-year old Poodle Mix. Cammie has the cutest face and she is very sweet and kind, and she is in need of a furever home!

8. Jenny — adoption pending!

9. Jesse — is a male 3-year-old ShihTzu/Lhasa Mix. Jesse is a happy puppy looking for the right furever home — a home that provides time to build trust and provide structure. Jesse needs the right furever home!

10. Emmy — adoption pending!

11. Lucy — is a female 7 – 8 year old Pomeranian. Lucy is as sweet as can be and she is looking for her furever home!

12. Elliot — is a male 2 – 3 years old Lhasa Mix. Elliot is extremely resilient, sweet and full of light and energy. Elliot is in need of a furever home.

13. Maggie — is a a female 10 months old who is a mystery breed, but suspected of having Chihuahua in her lineage. Maggie is very sweet and fully of life and energy! Maggie is looking for her furever home.

14. Jason — is a male 5-year-old old Australian Shepherd/Cattle Dog Mix. Jason is a wonderful dog who is in need of a furever home.

15. Louis — is a male 4 month old Chi/Jack Russell Terrier Mix. Louis and Layne (listed below) are brother and sister who were found together and they are very bonded. Louis and Layne are in need of a furever home.

16. Layne — is a female 4 month old Chi/Jack Russell Terrier Mix. Louis (listed above) and Layne are brother and sister who were found together and they are very bonded. Louis and Layne are in need of a furever home.

If you want to adopt a rescue dog; donate money; and/or contribute your time to the Mutts Matter Rescue, Inc., please, contact Mutts Matter Rescue, Inc. via e-mail at melanie@muttsmaterrescue.com. To learn more, you can also visit the Mutts Matter Rescue, Inc.’s website.

Jun 13

Victory: Video 3

In addition to photographing Victory on a regular basis, I also want to make videos of Victory, and my goal is to make one video a month to preserve memories with our beloved Victory! This video of Victory was taken at the lake! She is beaming and smiling ear to ear! Victory absolutely loves the water! You can also watch other videos of Victory here and here.

Victory is all ready to celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday — she just has to wrap her gifts up for her Daddy! Happy Father’s Day!

Happy Friday!

Jun 12

Victory: Eight Months In

“If you don’t have a god at least one, there is not necessarily anything wrong with you. But there may be something wrong with your life.” ~Vincent Van Gogh

Today marks eight months since we adopted our little Victory! You can read more about the previous months’ milestones here. The time is just flying by and Victory is blossoming!

Below are some things that we learned about Victory this month:

She continues to love to ride in the car!
She continues to go out to eat with us since the weather has been so nice! She loves to go on outings!
She loves rice cakes and quickly runs over when she sees the bag!
She has not been chewing on as many ‘not for chewing’ items! She is sticking with chewing her chew toys that she loves to hoard in her hut! We have a weakness for buying her toys on a regular basis!
She still loves to eat on the sofa! However, she comes into the dinning room and kitchen during dinner time for some snacks and she sometimes eats from her feeder in the kitchen!
She is doing better at bath time! She actually smiled when we gave Victory her most recent bath. However, it still takes both Doug and I to bathe her and prevent her from jumping out of the soaker tub!
She still enjoys her rides around the neighborhood in her Hound About!
She still enjoys going to the dog park, although she likes to stick near us — I think she identifies us as her pack!
She loves sitting on my hip, especially if we are out and about and she gets a little nervous. Whenever Victory gets nervous, her little paw goes up — Doug says she ‘strikes a pose’ with her paw!
She loves the water. She loves sitting by the water and looking at it. It must be calming to little Victory!
She loves going out on the deck with us!
She, thankfully, is waking us up less and less for water during the night!
She gives us kisses each morning when we wake up! She is so affectionate!
She has even begun to lay on her indoor Orvis beds!
She loves her home and routine! On our recent trip, Victory got a little home sick. She developed diarrhea by the time we got home. We took her to the vet who said she had stress-induced colitis. The vet put her on an antibiotic and probiotic and she was on a bland rice/chicken/beef diet for a week. Thankfully, she is doing just fine. The vet said that Victory is a ‘delicate flower.’ We have a probiotic to take with us on vacation and instructions from the vet on how to help prevent this again should it arise again! We hope, in time, she will know that she will be ok in new situations and environments. We know that she will get there.
Her sheltie furs keep coming in and she if filling out well! (We can’t wait to do a before and after photo at the one year mark, in October!)
She still has not barked as of yet!
Most of all, we love her so very much!

If you have not already, be sure to check out the six month video, our second video, and our most recent video of our little Victory!

Happy Thursday!

Jun 10

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Mantra: Make Things Happen

I really like this succinct mantra below. I think that it really works if you honor your work every day. Never give up!

Happy Tuesday!

Jun 9

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Patio Inspiration

We have been working on decorating our new home. We finished our deck and gardening last weekend! Below is some patio inspiration, the remaining outdoor space we need to furnish and decorate! Doug has always wanted Adirondack chairs so I am sure that we will eventually get a few of them!

Happy Monday!

Jun 6

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Honoring Biscuit: His Love for Basking in the Sun

“One of the greatest gifts we receive from dogs is the tenderness they evoke in us.” ~Dean Koontz

Tomorrow marks eleven months since our precious Biscuit passed away. This time of year, with summer quickly approaching, makes me remember the days that Biscuit loved to sun himself! He loved to sit out in the grass with Doug and bask the sun, pictured below. Biscuit also sometimes liked to roll around on his back in the grass while enjoying the sun! I will never forget these ordinary, while simultaneously extraordinary, moments that we shared with our Biscuit. There are days that I wish we could have one more afternoon together to just sit together in the sun, one of Biscuit’s favorite pastimes. This is why it is so important to savor each day and be present in each moment and carve out time just to be. Biscuit gave us so much joy and he gave us so many gifts, including Victory. We still miss Biscuit very much, and even though he is not here with us in the physical form, Biscuit is always with us.

Jun 5

Trust the Universe

Trust has been my word for this year. I have been working steadily over the past year on my photography project, with many months of work remaining. I will keep working until the project is complete, which has three main phases. Sometimes it can be very challenging to work on your work each day. However, this project is really important to me and I have been fortunate to work with shelters and rescue organizations on this project along with countless volunteers have helped me as well. This body of work, when finished, will be dedicated to our precious Biscuit, who was the inspiration for this work.

What I am learning through this process is that the Universe delivers, you just have to ask — similar to the Zen saying, “leap and the net will appear.” I initially shared my project idea with the shelters and rescues, and fortunately, they have agreed to work with me to make this project possible. I have also been fortunate to meet artist friends on this path, which has been invaluable. For example, my artist friend recently reviewed my work, and gave me some feedback, which is always nice to receive from a trusted confidant, especially when you are working for many months in solitude. One of the comments I received is that I need more diversity of breeds in my project. As such, through a recommendation, I contacted several more rescue organizations and I have found two more dog rescue organizations who are going to participate in this project and allow me to include smaller breeds and breeds that I do not already have, enabling me to diversify the breeds included in this project, a goal at the outset of the project. I asked, trusted, and the Universe delivered.

Another thing that I am learning is that it is important to push through and move further than you think that you can go with your work. At times, this is terrifying, but I have learned to lean into it to get through it (good advice from a friend) — even though there are some days that are so tedious that I feel like pulling my hair out! To work on something for an extended period of time takes faith and trust. Otherwise, I am not sure how I would keep going.

Finally and importantly, I am learning the more I work and trust the process, the more everything makes sense. The work is always evolving, and I have to trust that I will end up where I am supposed to be. (I really like this quote below.)

Happy creating!

Jun 4

Victory: Photography Project — 21

“Whoever said diamonds are a girls best friend…never had a dog.” ~Chritopher Morley

Beginning in January of this year, I began a weekly photography project with my muse, Victory! I will continue to share this project on the blog! I have also been documenting Victory’s milestones so to speak each month — you can read these here! I think that it is fun to document all of Victory’s changes, while preserving fleeting moments and memories.

Below are a few more photographs of Victory and I on our first Mother’s Day together! She is our furbaby and she even sits on my hip like one!

Happy Wednesday!