Photo Shoot with Walter on the Stone Arch bridge!

Here's what I posted on Facebook today:

Heather McElhatton Photoshoot on the stone arch bridge for MSP Mag = $5K. White couch from Ikea for Walter and I to sit on while bicyclists whiz by = $200. Slice of heavenly pink and white cake from Buttercream bakery which I hold on delicate plate and pretend to eat = $7. Dropping entire frosty slice on my lap = priceless.


I WISH you could have seen this photoshoot! It was so fun, even though it was laden with obstacles. It was a terribly hot day and we (Walter and I) were sitting on a big white IKEA couch the Msp/St. Paul Magazine crew hauled out right onto the Stone Arch Bridge (above). I was scared walter would get hot so I actually drove my car out onto the bridge (normally peds only) where I ran the AC, had battery operated fans set up in the back seat, a big bowl of drinking water with ice.

I ALSO had a "plunge tank" set up in the back of my car, a big tub filled with ice water, which I could plunge walter into in case he overheated. Everyone must have thought I was insane...but we ALL know what its like when our pugs get too hot and start "wheezing." Scary. I knew if anything happened up on that bridge, there was no where to go quickly enough, so the plunge tank, while seemingly excessive was actually an easy way to have peace of mind. I highly suggest it.

I was supposed to be eating a piece of cake from the award-winning wedding cake bakery, Buttercream but I dumped it on my shirt! Luckily the smart talented kids over there brought multiple slices. whew. After the shoot I got this gift:



This little cutie is made by "Tapas" and I named him JoJo Potato. How did I know it was a "he?"



CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wally likes JoJo Potato too. I think.

Introducing the Otter Pelt Shoe

Hi Guys!!!!! How is everybody?

We have been super wonderful great! I am weeks behind in blogging, but I finally got this years cabin photos uploaded. Check out Wally up at the lake! It was the first time he's been back there since the accident, and I was quite worried about how he'd get around - what he'd be able to do etc... The good thing is he's very cautious these days, he knows he can't jump or climb, and doesn't try.(Did I even tell you guys we found another BIG PIG in Key West? Auntie Meredith gave it to Walter!)

 

On the other hand there were a few things we both thought Walter would be able to do up north, i.e. walking on the pebble beach, which turned out to be far harder than expected. You can really tell his bad leg is still quite a bit weaker than the others when he walks on the beach, sort of like jogging on sand, he got tired quickly, so we ended up having short adventures. Then a long nap on the flat rocks.

 

 

Walters shoe has been really irritating his foot lately. I don't know exactly why, but it seems we're always trying to heal a new hotspot, bloody cut or seepy pad. its been awful and it reached a new low when Walter got a little bit of moisture in his shoe on the third day at the cabin. Oh man, trouble. His poor foot looked like hamburger just after an hour. I luckily had brought antibiotics with me and materials for a portable scamperland (fencing, yoga mats) so he had a place to mend, but I was SICK of this darn shoe! Metal grommets, hard seams, unforgiving materials...the shoe, while holding his foot correctly was also causing him topical injuries and days on end incarcerated!

I showed the shoe to a local trapper and he didn't even tease me about my high maintenence pet, he just turned the shoe inside and out...hemmed, hawed and said, "What he needs, is a moccasin."   He suggested I use fur turned inside out, hand-stitched with no metal parts. Specifically, waterproof fur that would stay soft even after getting wet, such as otter pelt.

It made so much sense! I spent the remainder of my north woods vacation acquiring scraps of an otter pelt and remnants of tanned deer hide (I KNOW! I have never in my life purchased fur/hide etc...shows you how far the maternal instinct will take you.) I made Walter a little moccasin. I stitched up a fur pouch, using velcro tabs to cinch the top around his ankle. Then I sewed four buttons (removed from one of my sundresses) on the toes. These are what the elastic bits on the ankle cuff (velcro backed with chamois) attach to.

 It's not the most durable creation, clearly he will wear through the bottom quickly, but I have to say, I am amazed at how well it works. Walter is more sure-footed in it and he has not had ONE SINGLE cut, owie, sore spot or weeping pad the entire time he's been wearing it. Not that pretty...but miracles are packed in tiny packages these days. Some, no bigger than an otter pelt shoe.

In other news my book, Million Little Mistakes, is out Tuesday. I did my first radio interview today and the host spent the first twenty minutes talking about....Walter! He said (and I quote) "Heather, I think the thing I like about you most is...your relationship with Walter."

 

 I laughed out loud. Sometimes that's what I like best about me too. I just posted a link in the sidebar - so you can peruse the book for free. If you have the ability/inclination to post the link anywhere, it really helps get the word out about the book...which really helps pay for otter pelts.

Glad to be back my friends. We don't always blog, but we always think of you. Every day.
xoxoxoxxo

“Sometimes you've got to let everything go - purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything . . . whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you'll find that when you're free, your true creativity, your true self comes out.”   - Tina Turner