Before and After

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Willa, our vertically challenged Irish Wolfhound (thanks to a healthy dose of Old English Sheepdog), normally has long, thick, wiry hair.

Willa 12-01-2013

Willa’s BEFORE coat – long, thick, and wiry

Getting ready for spring, we took her to the groomer and asked for a “puppy cut” (even though she’s almost 9), where typically only 1/2 to 1-inch of the coat remains.

IMG_9674

Willa’s AFTER coat – sleek as a seal

A haircut is just one example of before and after, there are a multitude of others:

  • Things I wish I’d known before ____ (fill in the blank)
  • Redecorating/remodeling
  • Weight loss/gain
  • Manuscript editing
  • Taking a stand for/against something
  • The list goes on

Much like Willa’s haircut, many “afters” turn out spectacularly; some, not so much…

Are you pleased with your most recent “after?”

© lauriebuchanan.com

43 thoughts on “Before and After”

  5. Before I left Florida yesterday I saw palm trees and blue skies. Today in Pennsylvania snowflakes fall. The woods behind my Grandma’s house is a study in stark beauty. How lucky I can enjoy both.

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  8. I constantly make changes in my life. Even something as small (in size, not work) as cleaning out the junk drawer in the kitchen. Did that on Sunday and the result is very pleasing. Still working on organizing dealing with all my health issues, with finances thrown in. To me, the key is the person doing the changing needs to have control over what change and how to change it. When somebody does that “for you” it very easily can turn into an “against you.”

    My take from experience anyway.

    Willa looks a little weird but probably feels a lot cooler.

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    • Sharon — Your right, little changes lead to big results. I wish I could have gotten a whole body shot of Willa (she’s a wiggle wart extraordinaire), but she actually looks pretty cool — somewhat like a Giant Schnauzer 🙂

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  11. We had three healthy swan plants on or deck, that had grown a few caterpillars to adult butterflies. Then Ailsa accepted about 30 caterpillars from a neighbour (delivered on denuded swan plants), and gave me the task of translocating them to our plants.
    Now we have three sets of sticks in pots on our deck, and a couple of newly purchased swan plants on the dinner table (which I was given the translocating task again), which overnight have sprouted a couple of chrysalises amongst the many remaining caterpillars, while another caterpillar has gone “walkabout” and has covered about 100ft up and down the deck, without making a decision to attach and pupate.

    I quite liked our nice leafy swan plants.
    I had previously taken the time to thin the number of caterpillars to within the carrying capacity of the plant.

    A clear demonstration of what unlimited reproduction can deliver, and just how random and destructive nature unchecked really is.

    The dogs just sit on the floor and look up at Ailsa as she spends hours at the camera taking photos of caterpillars.

    Sometimes I empathise with the dogs!

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    • Ted — I shall now think of you as Captain Translocation (with a bright green cape flapping behind you in the New Zealand breeze). Along with the dogs, I love Ailsa, and clearly(!) you do too 🙂

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  12. Very soon, I’m planning to make an appointment with the groomer for my (new-to-me) mini poodle – maltese cross. Bim’s coat is similar to Willa’s. I was going to ask for a buzz cut and the groomer was going to think I was out of my tree. But now–thanks to you, Laurie–I know to ask for a puppy cut.
    Of course, I’m doing a lot of before and after with my writing–because that’s what I do. Like a few other writers, I love re-writing. It’s like writing with someone else and you don’t have to face that cold blank screen.

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  14. Willa is a walking afghan waiting to be knit….some days. At present she is barely a handkerchief. There was a bare, red clay hill behind my church that was slowly eroding away. The loggers had left few trees to hold the soil and the bull dozier had taken away what small amount of vegetation that remained. A young man built and donated a large red cedar cross to crown the hilltop. A few of friends got together, another friend donated the funds, and we began planting shrubs and small trees to help beautify the space. About 1,000 daffodil bulbs were planted and grass seed was sowed to tie down the soil. From a wretched looking, red-bleeding slope, the friends create a Meditation Garden for the church that, hopefully, grow and thrive to become once again a forested hillside.

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    • Sandi – I laughed at the though of Willa being “barely a handkerchief.”

      The before and after state of the Meditation Garden is amazing. Simply amazing. What a tremendous positive difference a few people can make!

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  15. We buzz cut our border collie in the hot months…I call it a sheep sheer cut….but she loves it…acts like a puppy afterwards…so many things I am happy with from the after’s…thanks for making me think about them all…..kat.

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  16. I hope it’s a warm spring where you are it’s freezing here. Oscar , my baby , still has his warm wooly coat and that’s the way it will stay for a while yet . I’m sure Willa looks beautiful in her new puppy coat …give her a cuddle from me ☺️Xxx

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    • Cherry — We keep Willa much like Oscar (warm and wooly) through the winter months. We live in Boise, Idaho where it reaches 105-degrees (like it has for the past two years running) in the summertime. Her new puppy cut is ideal for weather that’s just around the corner 🙂

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  17. Is Willa strutting her stuff at “da club” acting like one of those grown women in her 40s that still has a body (and knows it) of a someone in her 20s?

    Things I wish I’d known before..mmm..mmmm.mmmmm. THE TRAVESTY THAT IS FAMILY COURT/LAW if you are the sector of the population that uses urinals in public restrooms!

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  18. Awhile back I bred and showed American Staffordshire Terriers. One day I decided to take my dog Beau to obedience training and see if he could earn a Companion Dog Certificate. Having completed the class, I entered him in a major LA dog show to earn his Certificate and see how he would do under the pressure of real competition. People looked askance at this bull dog going up against top notch Shelties, Dobermans, Shepard’s and such. After the match we waited as the judge called out the arm band numbers of the dogs who earned their Companion Dog Certification. He never called our number. Since A handler, doesn’t ever look at his dog as they move through the obstacles, I didn’t know what Beau had done to be disqualified. It was time to announce the winners, so I smiled at my dog and said, “Well boy, at least we gave it our best shot.” Then, they started to announce the First, Second and Third place winners. We moved to the back of the crowd and listened out of politeness, but my heart was no longer in it. Third and Second were called and proudly received their certificates AND ribbons. First place was announced … nothing. They called again … no response. Then the guy next to me started poking me in the arm. He was pointing at my arm band. It had never occurred to me that a bull dog could actually WIN such a prestigious event. Before that day, Beau was just another “pretty” face. After, he was declared and certified, pretty “smart.” And I a proud Dad.

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  19. After my partner lost a huge architectural job he had been working towards for 10 years ( well really 30) He was so hurt and felt like a failure as he retired. 4 Months after retirement the folks with that project took him to lunch this week and had to tell him that when one of the other team told them that He would not be included in the job – they only wanted him and not the rest of the team so they had picked someone else for the job. They told him what an amazing architect he was and his green work was so stunning and they would find some small projects for him to work on for them in the future. He discovered that his team member had been lying to him for months and suggesting he was worthless and a failure – Wow did he feel better after the cover of hidden meetings was shaved away and he was forced to retire 2 years early. Even better, by the time he got home from his lunch meeting a couple phoned for a houses remodel design project. After has been so much better, so much better 🙂

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  20. Love the haircut. We had an old English sheep dog, Alsatian cross who everyone thought was an Irish Woofhound when I was young. He was a huge, hairy beast but we never gave him a haircut. My most recent before and after is my newly decorated kitchen. The sunny yellow is gone, replaced with a pale chocolatey colour. I wasn’t sure at first but it is growing on me and the kitchen certainly looks much cleaner and tidier.

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  21. I’ve suffered with some excruciating lower back pain for weeks now–my father, who will turn 86 later this year had it many times–which the chiropractor belies is the big muscle not having enough activity. After several session I seem to be on the mend.

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