Samson – Juanita Collins

October 2, 2017May 11, 2021

A walk on a sunny October day

Dear Vi,

It was so pretty this afternoon, I just had to take Sam out for a walk. Actually, it was Sam who took me.

I was happily basting a quilt, head down, paying no attention at all to leaves blowing over the lawn, sunshine streaming through the windows and bouncing rainbows around the room.

Sam waiting not so patiently by the door

But Sam grumbled and barked and grumbled and barked until I finally gave in.

We walked through the forest, down a country road, past a horse in the field and a wild apple tree whose branches were busting under the weight of hundreds of little red apples. The sides of the road were covered in blue wildflowers – the kind that will turn to stickers as soon as their blossoms drop. I’ll hate them later, but right now they’re stunning.

I wanted to take a picture of Sam sitting with the flowers. It seemed like the perfect photo opportunity. There I was, squatting on the side of the road, juggling the leash and the camera phone and trying to cajole Sam into smiling (or at least looking interested)…

Yeah, right.After I gave up, we walked back along the beach, where the water level has dropped but the sand hasn’t dried out enough to walk out very far without getting muddy.

Sam loves getting muddy.

And then we came home and had some lunch.

Have you taken a walk today?

June 19, 2016May 22, 2021

They came, he barked, they went away

I’m sitting out on the deck this morning with my coffee, where it’s warm in the sun but still cool in the shade.

Sam is sitting out on the dock looking serene and peaceful, sniffing the breeze, watching the fish jump and keeping an eye on the boat launch in the campground next door.

This is what he wants me to think, anyway. What he’s really doing is lying in wait for unsuspecting canoeists and kayakers to glide by.

When he sees them coming, he’ll lay down on his belly like a cat in the grass, and when he judges the time just right, up he’ll leap in a frenzy of barking. “Oh, look, a puppy,” the paddlers always say, unfazed. But Sam is never disappointed.

As they continue on their way, he sits back down, content, his mission successfully completed.

February 21, 2014

Sam finds a basket

Hello,
My name is Samson and this is a basket.

I found it on the floor.

I wonder if my mom hid any cookies in here?Rats…only fabric scraps.

Maybe next time she will make one for me, too.

August 12, 2013

Pets on Quilts

…because so much cuteness simply can’t go unmentioned!

Entered into the Pets on Quilts contest under the “other” category – because there is a category for dogs and one for cats. But not one for dogs & cats together, lol!

This is Samson and Spooky snuggling together on the quilt in our master bedroom. This is an old whole cloth, machine quilted quilt that can be safely washed every time a cat barfs on it – which is often, and of which Samson chewed a corner off when he was a puppy. As long as I have pets who mainly sleep on my bed I will never be able to put an heirloom quilt on it! I don’t mind. Cat barf is a fact of life…and so are puppy needle-teeth. 🙂

July 11, 2013

Play Ball!

So there I am, minding my own business…

enjoying the day…

when suddenly Sam gets an idea!

“Ball!” thinks Sam

And off he goes to look for it.

Wanna play? yeah, yeah, yeah? wanna play? Ball?

Playing ball with Sam requires two balls. One for Sam and one for me.

First, I chuck the ball with the chucker…

Then Sam and I both take off running after it.

Sam gets there first. He drops his ball and picks up mine.

Then he chews on it until I arrive. Then I chuck the ball again and we repeat several times until we are both tired of running after the ball.

We win!

March 16, 2013

Happy International Quilt Day!

I took last week off work to start getting our house ready for the market. I worked straight through from last Saturday until last night and I am still not finished, but the house is looking very nice…I don’t think it has been this clean in years! It feels so fresh and bright, and I smile all over inside and out of myself just to look at it.

And happy co-incidence, it is International Quilt Day, and so I saved my sewing room for last. Now whether you have a sewing room or not, I know you can easily imagine the constant state of chaos that a sewing room can exist in! Which means you can easily imagine ~~not~~ wanting to wade in and clean up.

But it cleaned up beautifully!

I even polished the furniture and washed the floor. And do you like my garbage can? It’s a giant crystal vase and I love it! I don’t throw “regular” garbage in it – it sits next to my sewing machine for threads and scraps too small to keep. Special, pretty garbage. I figured it is better to use it for something than to store it “safely” away in the cupboard where nobody ever sees it.