Paige’s Page

Well, we made it through the wedding and had a wonderful time. It was an unseasonably cold day for November, and we got married in a “castle” built in 1860 so it was a bit chilly during the ceremony.

The reception was much warmer. While there were days during the planning period that we both seriously considered eloping, we are very glad we did it this way. The ceremony was only about 50 people, with the reception about 75.

We honeymooned for 4 days in a beautiful cabin in Hocking Hills. We went out and hiked and hot-tubbed despite the chilly temps. It was actually kindof nice b/c there weren’t many other people around!

I don’t want to post pictures from our professional photographer, but I will put up a link to a few of the pictures he posted himself:

http://www.stacyk.smugmug.com/galler…6_f3Fxc#P-1-15

Also, below are some pictures a friend of ours took.

Things are quieting down now (comparatively speaking, of course, since it IS the holidays after all), and we are both soaking in the quiet time. With the economy in a slump and the automotive industry in particular taking a beating, I will have a nice long 12 day break over the holidays.

I plan to get back in my long-neglected studio. Also planning on going riding! My horses are well-provided-for, but they have been living the easy life for too long.

Oh, and my name is now Carolyn Lashuay! (pronounced like “lashway”) I have some updating to do to websites, etc…

…I’ve taken here and there over the past month or two.   None of the horses–Mike has taken some really nice ones of them, but they are on the Mac, and I’m slightly Mac-challenged.  I’ll get some new ones of the Big Girls on here after things quiet back down again in a couple weeks!

In the meantime…

House full of Doggers:

A cool walking stick that was hanging out on my door frame:

The beautiful maple leaves:

Zoey, pretending to be a dog:

Silly Sabre–she frequently lies like this:

We’ve been getting lots of packages in the mail lately, which is fun for kitties.  Rupert, thinking no one can see him:

I love this photo Mike took of Nanook.  She likes to put her tennis ball on things so it can roll off and she can chase it.  Here she is putting it on the tree:

(This actually happened several weeks ago, but I’ve been very busy with wedding preparations so I’m just now getting around to posting it.)

OK, so she’s not so little, but she did figure out how to escape. Cassie decided she was looking for greener pastures since her and Paige’s is pretty much grazed out at this late point in the year. (I’ve been feeding hay for a while now b/c it’s been so dry here.) My neighbor’s yard was her goal. (And yes, this is the neighbor I am not on speaking terms with.) Thankfully we got her back over here before they ever saw her.

The only place I could figure she could have gotten out was down at the creek. There is a deep spot that got dug out during a huge rain this spring, and now that it’s dried up it’s a pretty sizable gap. Not one that I thought a draft horse could get under, but clearly I was wrong and won’t make that mistake again.

I wanted to make sure that was how she was getting out before I fixed it, so I baited her with hay and camped out a little ways off and just watched. I took my camera, and here she is in action:

She just hunkered down and got those draft horse shoulders of hers under there and up with the gates! Needless to say, they are now reinforced with a securely attached third gate.

Paige apparently isn’t as adventuresome, as she stayed put while all this was going on.

Mike has two Siberian Huskies (my soon-to-be-step-daughters), and they are trained on an Invisible Fence at his place.  Huskies love to run, run, run, so they need an area that has boundaries for their own safety.  Friday we finally got an Invisible Fence installed here so that they can be free to run around.  Previously we were having to walk them on leashes or tie them out on a line, so this is a big relief for all of us!

Today Tropical Depression (formerly Hurricane) Ike blew through here and we had some pretty strong winds and were without power for much of the day.  So we grilled out and ate outside (it’s pretty sheltered from the wind down here) until it got so windy that we did finally have to retreat indoors.  Got lots of fun pictures today, though…

Mike with Nanook.  She is just under 2 years old.  She’s very timid, but she’s very affectionate and funny once she warms up to you.  She makes us laugh on a regular basis:

The darker one is Saber.  She’s about 6 months older than Nanook and loves everyone.  She will stand up on her hind legs and kiss you right in the mouth!  She warms my heart because so many of her mannerisms are like Bosco’s were.  She makes me smile and remember him a lot:

Nanook tries very hard to be friends with Josie, who’s still a bit grumpy with them but getting better every week:

The girls barked at the horses the first few times they met them, but they’re so much better now.  Today they were very quiet around them.  We have the Invisible Fence set up so they can’t go in the paddock because we don’t want them to get kicked since they’re not used to being around horses.

Getting all three of them in one shot was a little tricky–they’re such busy-bodies:

Cassie being beautiful–she’s so photogenic:

Paige’s expansive back–love this shot:

Cassie taking advantage of Ike’s winds to practice for America’s Next Top Model:

Paige is such a ham–still as personable as ever:

I think it looks like they’re having a conversation in this shot–I love this one:

Paige gettin’ some love:

Some more shots of the girls:

Some self-portraits of Mike and I:

Fun with low-light photography when the electricity was out:

How cute are these two?