by Amy | Feb 20, 2014 | Blog, The Art of the Moment
Kate might look familiar. You may have seen her engagement session {when we ran for cover from the mosquitoes.} Or maybe you remember her gorgeous wedding back in October. You know, the one with the romantic saved-their-first kiss and read-a-Psalm-daily-together details? Oh, and who can forget her dress? But that’s not why she’s back on the blog today.
Today she’s here with her dog Muffy. But apparently no one calls him Muffy. Instead he answers to Bad Baby. Yeah, you read that right. Bad Baby.
Bad Baby is 15 years old. He and Kate have been together the whole time. He is her baby. She’s his momma. If you an animal lover you’ll totally get what I’m saying. So when she called with a “weird” request, I didn’t think it was weird at all. She wanted a couple good shots with her pup before his health fails. I love dogs. I love pets. I know the heartbreak you can feel when an old pal reaches his end. Weird? Nah, I’ve done weirder. I was honored to come over and meet the Bad Baby {who isn’t really so bad after all} and take their portraits.
Furthermore, I think we should dedicate this post to everyone who has lost a loving pet. Isn’t it so true that even after they are gone, they leave a giant print on our hearts? A good pet let’s us cry without judging us. They never say the wrong thing. They are there when we need company, and convince us to play…even when we don’t feel like {because deep down they know what’s best for their humans.} They’ll kiss us to make us feel better and sit with us when the house is quiet. A good pet will see you through a long rough patch and welcome you home after you’ve only been gone a few hours. Pets are such a lovely part of God’s creation for us. Give yours some extra love tonight.
Amy
by Amy | Feb 19, 2014 | Blog, The Art of Adventure
It’s not a secret that winter lasts a long time in Practically Canada. The cold and snow blows in around October and doesn’t leave until the rest of the country is knee deep in spring. {Last year we had one final blizzard in the middle April.} This winter we are a little wiser to the ghastly tricks of PraCan. So, to stop ourselves from going stir crazy in the Polar Vortex we took a little stay-cation to Lake Metigoshe with one of our couple-besties…the Kelleys.
Lake Metigoshe is about two hours north of Minot {also where I shot that breath-taking wedding last fall} and covered in snow. Our cabin was plenty big for the four of us, the water smelled and tasted like pure rust {we bought our own from the store across the street}, but that didn’t matter. We had skis, board games, and a TV with cable so we could watch non-stop Olympic coverage.
Ideally, we would have rented snowmobiles along with our skis, but they were all checked out. So we were forced to watch others zip around the lake from our windows.
The weather was perfect. Highs above zero, and wind chills above zero to boot. It was ideal for getting out and taking a long ski through the woods, even though one person in our group said it was “…all the boring parts of snowboarding, except on skis.” I won’t mention names, but I will say that 3 out of 4 really enjoyed the cross country experience and 1 out of 4 chose to have a good attitude about it anyway.
If you are wondering, the trails at Lake Metigoshe State Park are wonderful. There are warming houses along the way, so you can ski a few miles, then come in to thaw. We did a total of 6.5 miles and ate lunch in the warming house, which had a wood burning stove-thingy, which kept us nice and toasty.
On Monday we went down to Bottineau Winter Park, where Derek and I did a little downhill skiing and the Kelleys went tubing. {Because Katie hates downhill.} The tubing was advertised at “Two hours of total bliss.” She assured me that it was just that.
The weekend definitely broke up the monotony of the long winter, which–if we are lucky–will only last a couple more months. If you are feeling cramped, bored, or stir crazy check out my list of 40 things to do this winter. It’ll help break up the time.
by Amy | Feb 14, 2014 | Blog, The Art of the Moment
Since it’s Valentines Day and all, I thought I’d show you some love. Really. Images of love.
No, it’s not a mushy engagement session. It’s better. It’s a family session. Meet Chris, Naomi, and Boaz. {PS, isn’t Boaz, like the coolest name you’ve heard…like ever?} This family radiates love. Shooting their portraits was so fun, because they simply emit joy. {Boaz’s antics gave me a laugh a minute.} I love shooting people who are crazy about each other and their little ones. And this was just that type of session.
Now, Boaz…he’s quite the character. I love a busy kid, and this one could be the king of the busy-bees. Once he was up from his nap it was go-go-go. He was very curious about all the oddities in my house: stairs, chairs, boxes, pillows trunks, hardwood floors to break dance on…He’s not the type to sit and have his photo taken {a la Annabelle.}
So we just tailored the session to him. Soon the living room was a scene of things to climb on, pillows to toss, and furniture constantly being scooted across the floor. Will this family look back at these photos and think, “Yeah, those look like formal family portraits…” I don’t think so. To me, these portraits turned out more like snap shots of real life, and I think that’s pretty beautiful. I think this family is pretty beautiful.
{I just love this one! What a stinker.}
This is love of the most real, raw and solid variety.
Happy Valentines! xoxo, Amy
PS, look for the full session next week on the Facebook page.
by Amy | Feb 5, 2014 | Blog, The Art of Adventure, The Art of Fitness, The Art of Gathering, The Art of Living
by Amy | Feb 4, 2014 | Blog
I’m used to waking up cold. I’m used to going to bed cold. That’s the thing about Practically Canada from October to May: It’s cold.
But this morning was different. Derek had to leave for work very early, like 3:30am early. When my alarm went off, I swiped it off, noticing that the screen was like ice. Ice, however, cannot stop me from snoozing, so I nuzzled my nose under the down comforter and drifted back off to sleep. Not many minutes later I woke up again. This time sleep was not a temptation, because the cold was unbearable.
I was reminded of waking early on a backpacking trip in a nylon tent coated with ice from the morning dew. In those moments though, I knew things would get better once I was up and moving, once a fire was lit and food was in my belly. Today things were different. I looked back to my phone to find a text from Derek.
“If the heat isn’t working call someone as soon as you get up. It was 58 when I left.”
I hated the thought of 58 degrees. Reluctantly I jumped out of bed and pulled layers on at a rate just shy of the speed of light.
52 degrees and dropping.
A heating company said they’d be out at 1:30. At 2:30 I gave them a call. “Should be there soon…your house is next on the list.”
At 4pm I got a call. “Actually, a complication has come up. No one can come until tomorrow morning.” By this time the thermostat was reading 43 degrees and I was wearing a coat, boots and hat inside. Poor Panda cat was laying on top of her icy cold paws. The electric blankets cords were snaking around me and the setting on the digital screen read “H.” That’s one click higher than “9.”
For a moment I wanted to cry. But tears would not save me from the cold. So instead I Googled. I called every H/AC phone number on the list. Number number 3 yielded results. A man named Bob, who was surprisingly young for a man called Bob came over within 20 minutes. Thirty minutes after that I had a new ignitor in the furnace and heat blowing through the vents.
Today taught me a few valuable lessons. Firstly, the cold here is serious. Serious enough that the inside of my home dropped down to a temperature lower than winter-temps in other places we’ve called home. Second that heat is a necessity here. I feel so blessed to have it on demand. So blessed to be in a stable enough situation that I can dial up the temp. Blessed that, spoiled as I am, I put a sweatshirt on because I’m “a bit chilly” even when the furnace is working properly. We really are so very lucky.
by Amy | Jan 9, 2014 | Blog, The Art of Adventure
As you may have noticed, it’s been cold. Really cold. Now, I’m not going to jump on my high horse and tell you that I’m better and more hard core than you because I live in Practically Canada and it’s been colder here than wherever you are.
That’s not my game.
They have called it a Polar Vortex. Which sounds ridiculous. Like a a sci-fi black hole that you get sucked into. On second thought, that’s kind of what it’s been like.
I’m just going to tell you what’s it’s been like living the past week in the coldest place in America. Compliments to a few of my friends who took a moment to take photos during this time. I’m using their images…because I have been too busy a) not leaving the house and b) madly dashing from house to car to destination at a pace that didn’t allow for photography.
The image above was taken north of Bismarck. Click the photo to go to its original home.
You see that cool ring around the sun? Up here it’s called a sun-dog. It happens when the sun’s {or moon’s} light reflects off of ice crystals in the atmosphere. ICE. In the atmosphere.
Derek, being every observant noted that one day it was “120 warmer in our house than the windchill outside.”
Take a moment to really think about the difference you feel between 0 degrees and 120. That’s the difference between “dead of winter” and “Texas wildfire hot.” That’s the extreme difference we were feeling this past week.
Now…for a segment I’ll call…Cold Enough…
First. Thank you to my friend Melanie, who took one for the team and snapped this photo. It proves that it has been cold enough to freeze wet hair solid after shaking it upside down outside for a moment. Her hair is frozen like that. Frozen.
While making supply run to Menard’s I lost a glove somewhere in the store. It was cold enough that the walk from store to car left my ungloved hand visibly cracked, bloody and chapped.
The extreme cold will make your eyes water. But it is cold enough that your tears immediately froze on your face. So don’t even think about shedding tears over the situation.
Cold enough that the air you breathed felt like sand paper rubbing the inside of your lungs. I guess really the temp wasn’t so bad if you held your breath and closed your eyes.
To really gauge the severity of the situation…the National Weather Service warned that it was cold enough that frostbite could occur on uncovered skin in less than five minutes.
Perhaps, most shocking…it was cold enough that North Dakota schools closed down because of the extreme cold. If you live here, you know this never happens. If they closed down because of cold, negative temperatures, there’d be no school from November to March.
And in case you don’t want to take my word for it, I posted to my personal Facebook page asking friends to describe the cold in their words. Here are some of the things they said.
A brainfreeze on the outside. All over your body.
Hard to breathe because your nose hairs freeze straight out.
When you inhale your nose hairs get stiff. When you exhale your glasses fog up and freeze over.
It feels like death.
“I can’t [describe it] without cursing.”
You get an ice cream headache from breathing.
You have to do the Minot Shuffle. {Where you run into stores instead of walking.}
It’s now 23 degrees. I guess I should go for a jog or something. Stay warm and toasty my friends.
Amy
by Amy | Jan 2, 2014 | Blog, The Art of Adventure, The Art of Faith, The Art of Gathering, The Art of Living, The Art of Projects, The Art of the Kitchen, The Art of the Moment, the house
Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe we have entered another year. If your life is anything like mine…it’s felt like a whirlwind ever since Thanksgiving. Yikes. But now the festivities are behind us and it’s time to learn from the past year and step into a fresh, new season.
The year goes by so fast that I often feel like it passed in a blur. {Any one second that?} I have to remind myself that a year is a long time. A lot can happen. One life can do a lot in one year. I really believe that and I hope you do too. For me 2013 could have been a very hard, negative year…but I think we chose how we spend our time and resources and energy. We can let negative circumstances weigh us down…or allow them to give us a chance to brush up on our hurdling skills. I may have banged my shins on hurdles a few times in the past 365, but I can confidently say that I cleared them all.
And if you don’t believe a lot can get done in a year…let’s look back at the biggest moments of a year with Amy Allender. (more…)
by Amy | Dec 17, 2013 | Blog
Once upon a time it was the day before Thanksgiving in Practically Canada. And bitter cold. The night time lows were getting well below zero and the wind chill was simply brutal.
My parents were coming in from out of town later that evening, so I took a moment in the afternoon to get a few last minute supplies, groceries {and coffee} for the days ahead. I was only gone an hour. When I returned I did what I always do as I turn into the driveway: as the steering wheel guides the car over the curb I push the garage door opener. That way it’s open just enough to drive under by the time I roll up to the door.
But this day there was something different when the door opened. There was something furry on the saw table. It was small and dark. My first thought was that it was some kind of rodent. Then it turned its face toward me and I realized it was a kitten. But as fast as it looked at me, it hopped off the table and scurried off to hide in the depths of the garage.
Eventually I got my hands on a cold, squirmy kitten. She was so happy to be held and started purring right away. She nestled into my neck and put her face in my scarf. Precious. I sat her down to go inside and get something for the little one to eat and some warm milk to drink. However, when I came back moments later she was gone. I could hear her meowing. Somewhere distant. Somewhere muffled. I left the food on the table and headed back inside. After all, it was bitter cold. As I headed inside one question was still on my mind: How on earth did this kitten get into the garage? Who knows.
Hours later when Derek got home I asked him if he saw anything unusual in the garage when he parked. Nope. So I told him {not to be mad} to come outside with me. When we went outside the milk was gone, the food was gone…but there was no cat. Just muffled mews. We looked. Under the cars, behind the scrap wood, under the paint shelf. Nothing. Finally, we tracked the sound to my car. Derek popped the hood, thinking we might be able to see her if she had crawled up on the under body.
And there she was. Curled up, keeping warm on the engine. Her whiskers were shorter on one side than the other, a little fur seemed burned..which led us to believe that she came to be in the garage because she rode home. I think she crawled up to the warm hood in a cold parking lot and stowed away back to my house.
But I had a problem. A kitten with no home, a cat of my own who hates other cats, closed shelters for the long holiday weekend.
We popped both hoods and left the kitten over night. On Thanksgiving Day the one and only Katie {cat lover} came over to pick up a cinnamon roll after our morning run. I showed her the kitten. She held it. And just like that…BAM. Thanksgiving miracle. The kitten rode home with her that morning. Now she lives happily ever after with Katie, Sean, and of course…her big brother Bandit. Precious, right?
I love a happy ending.
Amy
