Helping Those Who Help Others

We've all seen the tragic devastation in Moore, Oklahoma on the news this week, and we've all watched as so many search teams do what they do best - find and rescue survivors.  I'm always intrigued by the search dogs and their handlers who jump into action with a moment's notice in situations like this.  I've been following the efforts of The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation for quite a long time now and am always amazed by these resilient dogs and their loving handlers.

Dane Yaw & Salsa

SDF deployed 10 search teams to Moore, OK.  Please click this link and take a moment to watch Dane Yaw talk about Salsa in this great interview with CNN's Erin Burnett.  Dane tells us how Salsa's search efforts work and shares a very personal story of searching for his own niece.  This interview is truly a must-watch.

When I received the following press release from The Planet Dog Foundation, I knew I had to share it with my readers!  Thank you PDF for helping those who so selflessly help others...
 

THE PLANET DOG FOUNDATION (PDF) DONATES FUNDS TO SUPPORT THE NATIONAL DISASTER SEARCH DOG FOUNDATION (SDF) SEARCH TEAMS

IN MOORE, OKLAHOMA

Portland, ME (May 22 , 2013) - The Planet Dog Foundation (PDF), Planet Dog's non-profit grant making organization, is proud to lend a paw to help the people of Moore, Oklahoma after the devastating tornado. PDF donated $1,000 to the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) to help support their search dog teams that have been deployed to assist in the recovery efforts.

Salsa searching for survivors in Moore, OK

“The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) search dog teams are playing a major role in locating survivors and we are thankful we are able to donate funds to help support their lifesaving efforts,” says Kristen Smith, the Executive Director of the Planet Dog Foundation. “We couldn’t do it without the support from our customers whose purchases help raise money for PDF and enable us to provide grants to support the amazing ways service dogs are helping people in need,” adds Smith.

In 2012, PDF awarded a $10,000 grant to SDF to sponsor a new search dog team that is currently in training and based in Albany, New York. “The search dog team we fund will not be deployed to Oklahoma so we decided to award SDF an emergency grant to support the search dog teams that are assisting the recovery efforts,” says Smith.

The Planet Dog Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Planet Dog, the globally recognized designer and developer of innovative, high-quality and award-winning dog products that enhance the lifestyle people share with their canine companions. Planet Dog is proud to donate 2% of all purchases of Planet Dog products to PDF to provide cash and in-kind product donations to exemplary canine service programs nationwide.

PDF recently announced over $71,000 in new grants to 16 canine service organizations across the country including other search and rescue organizations. To learn more about PDF and all of the programs the non-profit supports, visit planetdogfoundation.org.

Let's Go Racing!

Time to get wordless again...  Racing season is in full swing, which means the Lapdogs are giving their humans some dirty looks (see last photo)! 

funky "ghost rider" photo I managed to capture



PREVIEW & GIVEAWAY: IndieFlix

IndieFlix

Ever get sick of the big budget, same story written in yet another light, commercial films out there?  Do you enjoy finding a hidden gem? Let me introduce you to IndieFlix.

For far too long, filmmakers have been forced to either sell out or starve. Thousands of brilliant, creative minds submit their works to festivals, hoping to find meaningful distribution yet fewer than 1% actually do. We’re here to level the playing field. Founded by filmmakers, IndieFlix is part champion, part curator; our mission is to democratize distribution and provide significant revenue for filmmakers.

IndieFlix is a community of independent filmmakers and fans. Through its membership-based streaming service, IndieFlix helps filmmakers translate artistic vision into commercial success, and gives film lovers access to high quality independent films not otherwise available. IndieFlix’s mission is to champion filmmakers, rethink traditional approaches to distribution, and celebrate the artistry and impact of independent film.

IndieFlix is a subscription based online service, with apps on both Roku and xBox already.  I'm sure you're asking, "What makes it different than other subscription services?" - right?  That's easy; IndieFlix enables viewers to watch thousands of independently made films!  You can search in several categories to find something that interests you - genre, length, most-viewed, film festival, country or even mood. 

Perhaps you may take interest in Finding Kind, an amazing documentary about a campaign to end girl bullying?

In February 2009, two young women, Lauren Parsekian and Molly Thompson joined forces having both been affected by female bullying throughout their youth and decided to create change by giving females a platform to speak out about this universal experience. What began as an idea for a documentary about girl-against-girl bullying, ultimately became Kind Campaign, an internationally recognized movement, documentary, and school assembly program based on the powerful belief in KINDness that brings awareness and healing to the negative and lasting effects of girl-against-girl “crime.” 

In this endearing documentary, a pair of best friends (who happen to be queen-bee pretty girls, but no matter) travel the country speaking with middle and high school girls about their pain and the pain they’ve caused others. It’s a sweet, earnest addition to the current anti-bullying movement. A few confessional scenes—little girls in braces pouring their broken hearts into the camera—will stick with you. LINDY WEST (the Stranger)

Finding Kind is premiering May 10 - 24 on indieflix.com, xBox and Roku at a cost of $6.99 -- but it is free with an IndieFlix subscription!  This is the first time ever audiences have been able to view this documentary outside of a screening.

Besides being able to find and view hundreds of independent films like Finding Kind, IndieFlix also shows it's uniqueness through a royalty payment system called RPM Royalty Pool Minutes, which was designed to share the money made through subscriptions with the filmmakers themselves.  Basically, every minute you watch helps fund more independent films.  With friends involved in screen writing and film making, I think this is a great concept! 

I am looking forward to checking out several films from the comfort of my own couch, along with my freshly popped popcorn, unsticky floor and a Lapdog or two by my side!

GIVEAWAY! How would you like to try IndieFlix for yourself, completely free for 2 months?  The generous folks have given me not one, not two, but ten (10) 2-month subscriptions to give away to my readers! To enter:

~ Follow Lapdog Creations publicly (see "Followers" on the side bar)
~ Leave a comment below telling us why you would like to try IndieFlix free for 2- months

To be eligible to win, you must complete both steps above. Please be sure your entry includes a way to contact you (i.e. link to your blog or include your email address).
Winners will be selected by random number generator. Deadline for entries is Friday, May 24th at 11:59pm EST (midnight)

Disclosure: IndieFlix gave me a 3-month subscription, free of charge for review purposes. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Black & White Sunday: One of These Things is Not Like the Other

Sunday again?  Time to get our black 'n white on...



GIVEAWAY WINNER! Biggan Design Yarns

Thank you to everyone who entered to win the Biggan Design Yarns Stash Bag!

The winner was drawn by Random Number Generator.

Here are your random numbers: 7

Congrats to the Urban Hounds Mom! I can't wait to see what you create with this color-filled bag.  As soon as you get me your snail mail addy, we'll send it off.

Stay tuned for more reviews coming soon!

Sheep, and Fiber, and YARN - oh my!

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!  I've got lots of fibery goodness to share with you today, so let's get started...

The NH Sheep & Wool festival was last weekend and the cute furry critters did not disappoint.  This is my absolute favorite shot.  I've titled it "Hey Lady, Come Here Often?"

I met a lot of sheep...

 

Saw some adorable babies...

 

Pet some uber soft alpaca...

 

And saw some amazing yarn and fiber, although I only managed to snap these two shots of my friend Heather's Mad Color Fiber Arts booth.  (If you haven't checked out Mad Color yet, be sure to click through to her site and have a looksie for yourself)

 

Now for the haul... the itty, bitty haul.  Seriously, who goes to a sheep and wool festival and walks away with one hank of yarn?  That would be me... on a budget.

I was hoping to have a skein of yarn jump out at me, just screaming to become my vacation knitting socks in July.  It really wasn't hard to find several colorways talking to me at the Mad Color booth, and with the help of my ever so patient honey, I chose this hank of Wicked (100% SW Blue Faced Leicester Wool) in the colorway Canyon.  What do you think - does this look like Alaska to you?

Now, being on a budget means I have zero right to step inside a yarn shop, correct?  Did you answer no?  I hope you said no, because you see, I had to drive  over to Nashua and sign some paperwork for the graphic / web design training program I will be starting next week and there's a new yarn shop over there I've been wanting to check out... and I needed size 6, 36" circulars, so...

I stopped at Twill Fabric & Yarn and not only did I find lots of pretty fabrics (sometimes I wish I sewed), prettier yarns, and tuns of coziness, I also met the two wonderful owners.

The owners are very welcoming and the shop is quite lovely.  There are several inviting places to sit and knit, lots of sewing machines set up for classes (someday I just might), and their displays are just delightful.  I think that was one of my favorite things about the shop - the displays using unexpected pieces of furniture and shabby chic-ish looking shelves.  Even the plain 'ole bamboo needles looked cool, displayed in glass jars instead of on a rack.

I found the circular Cubics I needed, and while still keeping my extreme budget in mind, I also took home this cute little project bag and a skein of Madelinetosh DK in the sweet Teddy Bear colorway.  I wasn't going to buy any yarn, but I kept returning to this skein.  Normally I go for the purples and blues, but something about this simple brown/taupe colorway kept calling to me.  Now to find the perfect one-skein cowl for it - any ideas?  As for the project bag, it was a steal at just $5!  The construction is very simple, but I love the fabric and the drawstring handle allows it to hang from my wrist while working on socks.

Now, guess what? I even have a finished object to share this week!  It's just a simple rolled brim hat, but it is something off the needles!

I hope to get some baby blanket knitting time in this weekend.  How about you - weekend knitting plans? 

Foster Baby Updates

Time to get Wordless again.  Today it's all about things that make me smile... foster baby updates!

Maverick

Maverick

Izzy

Cotton & her human baby brother

Belle, showing off a Casey Jones Bones treat at the race track
* CJB is a sponsor on our race car this year *

Belle