I guess you could say that I've always been a dreamer. My favorite thing to do as a child was to set up a tent with old sheets on the clothesline and absorb the smell of filtered sunshine that clung to the walls and the earthiness of grass and soil beneath my army blanket floor. Clouds passing like lazy barges, the neighbors whooped it up in their new above ground pool. I could have been with them, but being shy and loving solitude, I was content to arrange my pillows and open the next chapter of LM Montgomery's Emily of New Moon.
Since then I have grown through my shy interior to reach out, speak out and come out to play. My life is limitess and full. I dreamed it into being.
The Knees and Paws project is my second venture into owning and operating a business. My first was a home daycare that was wildly sucessful despite my young age of 19. The reason it worked then is that my heart was in it, and this is what will make Knees and Paws a household name and a well-loved toy that children yearn for. I plucked the idea from thin air during a casual conversation between myself and other moms at the playground. At home, I drew pictures, scratched notes, and mostly thought, imagined, dreamed. Last September I filed for a Patent Pending Licence and it was approved. At times I've been discouraged, but every time I've thought of letting it go, something has happened to keep me going forward. Now, Knees and Paws are selling on Etsy. I have the belief that in time, the children who are practically addicted to playing cats and dogs (and driving their parents crazy) will find Knees and Paws. 
Besides this project, I'm planning to hike a 70 mile stretch of the Appalacian Trail with my husband, which keeps me motivated to run or at least walk, every day. This helps keep my head clear and my heart happy. I'm blessed to live near miles and miles of beautiful wooded trails despite living near the city.
In the coming weeks, I plan to post a tutorial for those readers who are interested in beginning the Patent process, and to discuss the value of art made for everyone, by everyone.
