I LOVE BUSTLES!!!

One of my favorite things to do, when altering wedding gowns, is the bustle.

For many gowns, the bustling comes naturally; either your traditional bustle -

Where the back of the skirt/train is pulled up to be fastened at the waist or hip. This bustle is used when I want to showcase the detail of the train (as in lots of beautiful beading or lace), or,as in this case, where the skirt is so fully embellished that any other bustle would create too much bulk.

Or, the French Bustle -

Shown here on a fairly straight skirt with just a slight flair, but length that needed to be pulled up.

Here is the French Bustle done on a cathedral length train, with several tiers.

Then there are the bustles that are combined traditional and French - 

Although you only see the traditional bustle here, underneath it is 2 French Bustles.

And here, in Matthew Chrsitophers gorgeous IRIS gown, is another combination bustle.

But I believe my favorite bustle, to date, is this one. The beauty of this dress just begged for an outstanding bustle. Not your traditional, not the common French, but something truely unique. After playing with the train for a few minute, I came up with the "Rose" -

From another angle -

Just don't ask me how I did it!

Unconditional Love

Unconditional Love . . .  The thing everyone wishes for. Hard to find in this life, especially in humans. But if one looks to the animal world, it really isn't so hard to find.

After our son left for the wilds of Wyoming, taking his precious Saber, with him, our home was much quieter. More peaceful. Lots less barking. The food bill went down by half, and our older shepard, Shaba, settled in to a life of a single dog, once again. The first week or so he was lost, looking for his buddy around every corner. But once he became used to the soltitude, I think he started enjoying having my husband and myself, all to himself.

I, on the other hand, had a harder time with it. Shaba, after all, was really my husbands dog - and they both knew it. Saber, while he was with us, had become my dog. Followed me around, and just generally seemed to be more attached to me.

Now, with out my shadow following me, I felt kind of left out.

SO, we decided to go puppy shopping. What we found was a litter of German Sherhards that we fell in love with. Choosing just one was difficult, so we ended up with the one who really choose us.

He wasn't quite old enough to come home with us, yet. But 4 weeks later, he was . . . .

We named him Turk. For the first week after I brought him home, it was just he, Shaba, and me. My husband was out of town that week. That first day, he slept in my lap all afternoon. He quickly became my new shadow.

He loves his crate, but would much prefer to sleep with me. If I am sewing, he is at my feet. If I am in the kitchen, he follows me. If I am in the living room, he is trying to get in my lap. He cries when I leave him, and when I arrive back home, he yips his excitement to see me.

To those who have had the pleasure of having a dog, these things might seem like no big deal. But, with all the dogs we have had as pets, Saber included, none of them have ever really belonged to ME.

So, I am now experiencing for the first time, the joy of having a dog who is my very own. He loves me unconditionally, without fail. Even when I get frustrated with his chewing or other puppy behaviors, and scold him, he still wants to be near me, still follows me around, still wants to climb in my lap.

The only problem I am having is that, at 12 weeks, my sweet adorable puppy is 40 pounds. Not exactly  a lap dog. But just as sweet!