Merrylog

happy belated canada day!

2009-07-02T07:31:19-05:00

]]>This image looks so much better BIG. See it bigger on Flickr.

Yesterday was Canada Day (the CDN equivalent of the 4th of July in the US) and after working my wee fingers to the bone for weeks on end, I took an entire day off and did - well, only a little tiny bit of work in the morning and then blissfully ignored that I own two companies for an entire day. Aaaaah.

Our wee family (Merry, her "Daddy" and I) went for a well deserved nice long walk yesterday through our 'hood - about 2 hours - and took many photographs and laughed and talked and reconnected. Merry met many new k9 friends and was pleasantly exhausted by the time we got home. ;)

bathing beauty

2009-06-30T12:18:34-05:00

]]>Yes, we gave the little one a bath a few nights ago as part of our review process for some new grooming products. It doesn't happen as often as it should or as often as it used to (every Friday night when I was single because MAN was I an exciting gal) but it does at least happen and the princess likes most of the process (but HATES getting water on her face).

Her favorite part? Playing fetch around the tub with her squeaky rubber ducky. I forgot to take video of that this time but will next bath to show all of you; I guarantee you'll love it. :)

sleepy girl

2009-06-29T15:09:50-05:00

]]>Mondays 'round these parts are like that. You get the pug up, and then she goes and collapses on her bed beside the front door and looks at you like she's saying: I cannot believe you want me to go on an entire walk. Do you not see how exhausted I am? How ten whole hours of sleep is just not enough for this poor weary pug body?

Did you miss us on Friday? I was a busy girl and didn't have time to post a new photo for all of you because I was shooting my big celebrity Chihuahua wedding. It was a blast but whew! Lots 'a work! Here's a link to a news story about the day, and includes video where you can see me scurrying around shooting the wedding! You may also be able to catch glimpses of me in the coverage on E! Canada, and The Pet Network but I don't know airtimes. You can catch a sneak peek at some of the wedding photos here.

did you say zombies?

2009-06-25T15:40:22-05:00

]]>Yes, folks, I have zombies on the brain today. My fiance and I (and the teens) have watched the trailer for Zombieland several times this week and it looks hysterical. And then this afternoon, I cracked open fiance's copy of The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks to read while eating lunch. (For the record, so far it seems okay - ironic, tongue in cheek, but World War Z seems like the far superior book. Which is maybe why they're making a movie about it. So jazzed.)

All this is why I took one look at the photo of Merry on my computer and the tagline for today's photo came screaming like my mind like... well, like someone running away from zombies, actually. :) Made me giggle - hope it did it for you as well.

happy birthday, grandma

2009-06-24T13:45:15-05:00

]]>Wow! I was so pleased that you all enjoyed Merry's sunbathed photo from yesterday that I decided to share just one more of them. It's really much lovelier at a larger size - you can see a larger size on Flickr.

Today, Merry's "Grandma" turns the big 6-0. I cannot believe my mom has a 6 in front of her number. She is still 39 to me. Happy Birthday, Mom. The pug sends kisses.

sunlit walk

2009-06-23T18:15:13-05:00

]]>A rare treat - I managed to sneak outside for a walk with the fiance and little miss sunshine just as the wonderful golden light was fading from the day. I clearly have to do more shooting this time of day. I captured some fabulous stuff including this one of Merry and her Daddy.

bench girl

2009-06-22T14:35:13-05:00

]]>Found another bench to show off the pug. I'm liking these bench photos. I should find more. :)

Because you asked, my Garlic Cauliflower Mashed Potato recipe. I love it because it's make-ahead which means all it needs to do is reheat the day of the big meal. It makes 4 quarts of mashed potatoes - I know, I know, but my family loooooves mashed potatoes. It perfectly fills my 4 quart Corningware dish.

Ingredients:
8-10 large waxy potatoes (I love Yukon Golds for this)
1 large head cauliflower
3-8 cloves garlic (depends on how much garlic you like!)
1 cup sour cream
1 box cream cheese
4 slices of sandwich bread (or equivalent other fresh bread - foccacia's great on it)
4 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp dried thyme

Day before: Peel and cut up potatoes into 1" chunks and place in large soup/stock pot. Cut up cauliflower into florets roughly the same size as the potatoes, and add to pot. Toss in garlic cloves. Fill rest of pot with water (make sure veggies are covered with at least 1" of water), add 2 tbsp of salt to water and bring to a boil then simmer for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes and cauliflower are fork-tender. Drain. Return drained veggies to warm pot then add sour cream and cream cheese along with more salt and pepper to taste and mash together with a potato masher until smooth and creamy and a little runny. (Don't worry - the potatoes will firm up in the fridge overnight). Pour/scoop the potatoes into an oven-safe 4 quart casserole OR two 9x12 casserole dishes, if you don't have anything larger. In a food processor, blitz up the bread until it creates small breadcrumbs. Add dried thyme (or other herb(s) of your choice) to the crumbs and blitz once to mix then, keeping the processor running, add the melted butter in a thin stream just until combined. Spread buttery crumbs over the top of the potatoes and refrigerate dish until the next day.

Day of: Put potato dish on counter to warm up to room temperature for 30-60 minutes before baking. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes to an hour until hot, slightly golden brown at edges and breadcrumb mixture has crisped. Serve hot with most meats. Make a gazillion servings - okay, probably 20 or so.

queen of the funny faces

2009-06-19T12:46:47-05:00

]]>One of the best things about owning a pug: the funny faces. OH do they make a ton of funny faces. They make me laugh, they cheer me up on bad days, and they forever make me want to smoosh that tiny little face between my hands and smother it with kisses.

Have a FAB weekend folks, and for those of you celebrating - Happy Father's Day. Merry's "Dad" has asked for Thanksgiving Dinner for Father's Day this year (I usually only make a big turkey twice a year - and he LOVES my turkey dinner and misses it during the rest of the year) so yes, middle of June, I'm going to be cooking up an enormous turkey, my famous garlic-cauliflower mashed potatoes and apple sausage chestnut stuffing and world-beater gravy and a token veggie in there somewhere. ;) Good thing we have air conditioning! *laughs*

Are you doing anything special? If so, c'mon, share!

morning, mom

2009-06-18T15:38:01-05:00

]]>The princess was much perkier this morning than usual. Which was nice for a change because we got to wrassle around and play a little rather than me having to prod the pug into an upright position (usually a procedure that involves sharp sticks and 45 degree angles).

I got the head tilt by asking her if she wanted to go outside. *laughs*

sleepy and licky

2009-06-17T14:56:27-05:00

]]>If you call her sleepy and licky, she sounds like two of the seven dwarves, but she really is both most mornings.:)

And I'm glad I'm not the only one who had trouble deciding which photo was cuter in yesterday's post! Comments are pretty divided.

which do you like best?

2009-06-16T13:29:12-05:00

]]>Sometimes - frequently, actually, with action shots - I get sucked into loving two slightly different but equally engaging photos. Usually I force myself to decide (learning how to edit is one of the BIGGEST things you can do to improve your photography). But today I couldn't seem to make up my mind.

Which one do you like best? The top one, with the ears - or the bottom one, with the skin all shifting over her head?

Photogs and camera geeks might want to know that this image was SOOC. Oh I love my new toy.

sleepy

2009-06-15T12:45:20-05:00

]]>The pug did NOT want to get up this morning. I know JUST how she felt. Wait, where did the weekend go? Hope yours was slower and more sleep-filled than ours!

front porch girl

2009-06-12T15:26:22-05:00

]]>Isn't she pretty? This was taken with my new camera - I have a number of balls in the air with my portrait and pet photography business that required me to upgrade cameras, and so I share with you the first processed Merry photo taken with a Canon 5D Mark II.

It's really a lovely camera. It's not a rank amateur camera, not at that price, but if you're a photography enthusiast or hoping to go pro, well then yum. Allow me to tell you that it's just a fabulous piece of equipment and I'm looking forward to exploring its nooks and crannies for many years to come.

To those of you who commented on my artistic abilities in yesterday's post: you're crazy, I love you, and thank you.

You're crazy, because I LOVE Diane Arbus (have one of her books but would really like this one - I am SUCH a geek for phtoography monographs, I have a ton of them) and would die a happy death to be even as talented as Annie Leibovitz' toenails, I love her work so much. I am not close to either of these ladies' talents but then, as with most people, I'm my own harshest critic.

I love you, because you make me feel fantastic about this portion of my photographic career, when so many others denigrate or put down pet photography. You all make me feel like perhaps, just MAYBE, I manage to create something that's a little more than "just pet photos". Which is, of course, what I try to do... sometimes. (And sometimes, "just pet photos" is OK with me, too.)

And thank you, because all of your support and kind comments and regular visits have helped spur me to keep this blog going for FIVE crazy years: over 1100 photos posted!

For those of you who are into photography and art: I, like most creatives, keep an inspiration folder. I use Tumblr for mine because it's fast and easy and creates back links for me seamlessly. I don't post links to this very often because it's also private, but it might help you to see what inspires me to pick up a camera every day, and maybe find something that inspires you as well. Enjoy: angie's inspiration file.

beach house

2009-06-10T16:29:36-05:00

]]>One last photo from the puglet's birthday: a more typical "Angie McKaig Photography" portrait of the pug on the "beach house" building at Cherry Beach. I thought her expression here was priceless! Such an expressive little pooch.

I love some of these pug-in-a-scene photos I've been getting over the past year. I'd love to do a whole wall of them in large prints: this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, and of course this one from a few days ago.

Love it? See it bigger on Flickr.

birthday bash part 2: playtime

2009-06-09T09:44:10-05:00

]]>For the second half of Merry's birthday-palooza last Friday, my fiance and I took the pug to Cherry Beach, a lovely smaller beach in Toronto. It was a chillier evening, so we started her off with a light hoodie but before long we were warmed up and running around so off the shirt came.

I love, love, love the rabbit hop legs in the third shot. She's SO funny.

She had a great deal of fun, got a great deal of sand everywhere (note the sandy mug in the 4th shot) and hopefully, a happy 8th birthday.

If you missed the earlier birthday festivities, check out her birthday feast and official birthday pet portrait.