The Reindeer Keeper

When driving by this group of sheep gathered together in one massive nap underneath a pine tree in the heat of the day, I had to stop and try to capture the moment. They all looked so comfortable curled up, side by side in the cool grass. So, I parked down the road and quietly made my way back to the sheep sprawled out in mass. But despite my thinking I was quiet, I did stir a few of them. And they, in turn, stirred a few more and soon some inquisitive sheep were watching my every move. I understood. I certainly would not enjoy a group of inquisitive sheep staring at me when napping in the daytime. I only intruded on their break in the day for a few minutes. I did not want to scare them. I did not want to make them feel so threatened that a few would jump up and hurry away from me, followed by the rest of the gang. So, I took a few photos and left, hoping those curious of me would put their heads back down and fall back to sleep. I did wonder as I walked away if they themselves ever co...

I loved paper dolls. I had a shoebox full of them. I kept the shoebox in the bottom drawer of an old dresser in my bedroom. Sometimes I'd sit on the floor and play out scenarios with them. I named each one of them.They were like little friends to me. None were licensed characters. None came with sparkly outfits. They were just paper dolls. And that was all I needed. Most of my paper dolls came from Newberry's or Woolworths. It was always fun when shopping for paper dolls. Of course, Santa Claus made sure to bring me even more. It was exciting when deciding which outfit each of my paper dolls would be wearing. Sometimes they'd have to change more than once during a scenario depending on what they were doing. They always had lots of fun whether going to the beach or school, on a picnic or visiting friends or taking care of their puppies or kittens. Whatever they were doing, they were fashionably dressed for the occasion. One evening, like many other evenings, I had my ...