Terri Webster Schrandt‘s blogfest theme this week is “SOMETHING TO DO”
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WHAT I USED TO DO
For almost 20 years, I was a corporate workaholic. Then came the recession of 1992 and I got “downsized” (a polite way to say “fired”). Having had no luck finding a comparable position, and getting desperate, I started a dog care business in 1994.
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Hubby and I used to do a lot of travelling in Europe, where both of us were born.
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Then, along came the pandemic, which changed all of our lives! The dog business died out and hubby retired. I decided to do the same.
WHAT I DO NOW
Blogging (which I’ve been doing sporadically since 2009), photography and other social media pursuits have become burgeoning hobbies. Cooking (not my strong suit!) is more of a regular thing and we watch too much TV.
Adopting a rescue dog helped us overcome those pandemic couch potato tendencies. Our desire for long-distance travel has waned, but we enjoy occasional local road trips.I’ve always loved going to concerts, but needed to cut back, since prices have skyrocketed! We still manage a few, every year.
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SOMETHING TO DO #SundayStills (On a Monday) #photography #dogladysden Click To Tweet
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Dog Mom and (retired) Canine Innkeeper in suburban Toronto, Canada, known as The Doglady. Former corporate workaholic. Writer, photographer, digital creator. Animal lover, music fanatic, inveterate traveller. Eternal hippie/rockchick. History, literature and cinema buff. Hockey and soccer fan. Dedicated night owl. German/Canadian binational, multilingual. Let me entertain you!
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25 thoughts on “SOMETHING TO DO #SundayStills (On a Monday) #Photography”
Love the photos of you with the dogs. They’re incredibly adorable!
Happy Friday, Debbie!
Thank you, Veronica. Those were fun times. 🙂 Happy Friday (a week later) to you as well!
A lovely walk down memory lane, Debbie! A career swap can be terrifying, but end up being the best thing we could have chosen. I relate to that! As always, it was such fun to browse through all the photos. The dog ones give me a special kind of joy.
Thanks, Damyanti! 🙂 It was terrifying, especially since my husband’s employer closed down in the same year. I started the dog business at just the right time. It was one of the first of its kind, so my clientele grew rapidly. Your career change has obviously been a huge success! ⭐ I’m glad you enjoyed the dog pics.
I love your nostalgic photos, Debbie. As we journey through life, we do what we have to do to stay relevant, and have fun while doing it!
Thanks, Eugi! 🙂 It’s definitely been fun.
What a fun post Deb. I love all the nostalgia on your posts. And I enjoyed learning when you became The Dog Lady. Concerts are like a mortgage payment now. Ahhh, the gold ole days. 🙂 x
Thanks, Deb! 🙂 I became “The Doglady” out of desperation. My biggest regret was not starting the business right away, instead of wasting so much time looking for another job. Most concerts are out of my price range now, but I’ve managed to find a few that are still reasonable. Need my concert fix! 🤘 It’s my “Fountain of Youth”. 😉
Oh, I love seeing the “old” you from back in the day, working then starting a dog sitting business! Very clever and so very needed, even now, IMO! But retirement knows when we’re ready, maybe before we are, but it found you and you are living the good life. Blogging keeps you connected and music/concerts keep you inspired! Always great to see how you interpret the weekly themes 🙂
Thanks, Terri! 🙂 I was one of the first people involved in pet care, so my business grew rapidly. The market is saturated now and sadly, some operators are more interested in the cash than the animals. 🙁 Frankly, I was afraid of retirement, but it has worked out quite well. I’m glad you enjoy my entries. Thanks for hosting this excellent blogfest!
Being fired is sometimes the very best thing that can happen. At the time it’s miserable. But look what happened! Yay. Loved this post.
Thank you, Lee! 🙂 In hindsight, it WAS the best thing that happened, and I rediscovered my true self.
A fun travelogue there! Loved the ‘couch potatoes’!
Thanks! We had a lot of those couch potatoes, over the years. 🙂
I love the pictures of you and the doggos. So cute!
Thanks, Kymber! 🙂 I took photos of all of my guests, so there are hundreds of them.
You do what you have to do. Good for you. All the pups are adorable.
Have a fabulous day and week, Debbie. Big hug. ♥
Yes, after being unemployed for so long, I HAD to do something! Fortunately, it worked out well. Thank you, Sandee! 🙂
I love those dog pictures. I love the one with six dogs in the sofa. Our Rollo couldn’t do that. He would consider half the sofa his and get angry with the other dogs. Bronco would be the opposite. He would take up half the sofa but would allow the other dogs to walk and sit all over him. Anyway, now I understand better the background to “doglady”, it isn’t just that you love dogs, you had a dog business.
Actually, downsized is not a polite way of saying fired. Fired is when you are let go because something is wrong with your performance. If your company is doing poorly and has to lay off half the staff, that is downsized or laid off, not fired. It happened to me in 2013. From 2008 to 2013 our company (Siemens postal automation and logistics) shrunk from about 1,200 employees to 120. Some got laid off, some left before they got laid off, but I stayed hoping I would make it. My engineering position brought in a lot of money so I thought it would work. But no, it didn’t. I started working for another company, then Siemens wanted me to come back one a half year later. That is not fired, it is laid off, or downsized.
Thanks, Thomas! 🙂 The sofa picture was taken during spring break – traditionally my busiest season. I love your humorous take on what Rollo and Bronco would have done. 😀 Our Zoey is what you’d call “dog selective”. Some she likes, others not so much. We haven’t been able to figure out any logical pattern with that, but since I’m retired, it’s not an issue.
I understand what you’re saying about the definition of “fired”. Far as I know, I did nothing wrong, and several others were let go on the same day. It was, however, made crystal clear to me I would not be called back, so it wasn’t a layoff. Let’s go with “termination”. 🙂 At least Siemens wanted you back. Did you go?
Yes I went back to Siemens after some benefits related negotations but I felt bad about leaving the other place (De La Rue) after only one and a half year.
You did what was best for you and your family, Thomas. No need to feel bad about it, IMO. Companies don’t care how they upset people’s lives by eliminating their jobs.
Yes I think you are right. Thank you Debbie.
Compared to me, you do a lot. I have a dog of course, but I have not travelled outside the UK since 2011, and I have not been to a gig since 2010. I also do not take many photographs these days, despite owning 5 digital cameras! 🙂
I probably spend far too much time blogging. (No probably about it…)
Best wishes, Pete.
You are a prolific blogger, Pete! I admire your prowess in that area and have trouble even coming up with weekly posts, nevermind daily ones. 🙂 That’s the joy of retirement – we do whatever pleases us, yes?