On November 11th, 2010, our (my family's) dog Daisy 'completed' her long doggy life. She was 14 years and 5 months old, yet to me, she was still the little puppy we brought home from Bridgewater that day in 1996.
Daisy was born on June 14th in 1996, and we brought her home as a puppy only few months later. That day, our whole family drove to Bridgewater to go grocery shopping. As we were walking through the mall, and with weeks of wanting to get our very first dog as we had just moved to Canada, we were approaching the pet shop... and my dad said to us "If there are golden labs/retrievers in here today, we will get one". I don't think that at first we really believed him, but as we rounded the corner, and saw five or six little Golden Retriever/Labrador mix puppies yelping and wagging their tails, we were ready to take him for his word!
And so it came, that we brought home our little Daisy - from the stinky mall in Bridgewater, to our 'free space' at Little Tupperlake on the South Shore!
I could go on and on about what may have classified Daisy as being "the best dog in the world ever to exist", but I will just say that she was
awesome. Absolutely awesome. Daisy was the most perfect dog anyone could ever hope for - she was kind, playful, obedient, loving, snugglable, and most of all, loyal. Whenever I was sad, afraid, or angry, Daisy seemed to be there just in time to make my problems disappear.. or at least seem less important. She accompanied me down to the lake when I was scared to walk there by myself in the evenings, she slept in our beds, running from one Kluge sister's bedroom to another as she was called, she cuddled up with us, with her daughters, and with our kitties whenever possible, and she was an overall joy to have in our lives.
I have only ever known Canada with Daisy in it, and it feels different now that she is not there to greet us in the driveway at tupperlake anymore. It feels different now that we can't hug and squeeze her goodbye anymore when we leave the drive way. And it feels different wanting to call her name, knowing she will not come to us when we do.
And now, when I look through all of my pictures, I am thankful for every photo that we took of her... and for every photo that she seemed to sneak herself into when we weren't aware of it.
Daisy, we miss you.
Step 2: Plan out cuts needed to make for folding and windows; Cut out main window in center piece as well as the rounded windows on each outer side piece using jig saw. 
Step 3: Sand all edges and sides for toddler-safety with electric sander! 
Step 4: Use hinges to connect sides to one another. Connect windows to window holes using smaller hinges. 
Step 5: Paint all sides with primer. When dry, paint a second layer of primer. 
Step 6: Paint outer sides with pink (for Lily & Elena) and purple (for Olivia & Lexie), respectively. When dry, paint a second layer on each side. 
Step 7: Make stage and mini chalk board; stage is removable and rounded, and the chalk board is a simple rectangle with chalk board paint on it (2-3 layers). Add stage. Glue chalk board to front of main/center piece. 
Step 8: Add curtain rod and curtains; Add knobs to movable windows. 
Step 9: PLAY! 
PS: Thanks to my mom and dad for helping with the last part of the project - readjusting hinges, sewing the curtains around the curtain rods, etc! I was working on them right up until after our Christmas eve supper on December 24th! Also a big 'thank you' to Malcolm, who helped me pick out the material, get the material to our house, came for the drives to buy material, and came to help me down in the cold basement every time I called for his help! :) 
