Fun with my friends

A nice guy in Great Falls took this picture for us. We had such a good time. It was so darn hot there we were taking a minute in the shade as he walked up
We had to walk quite a ways from the RV parking to the grooming set up. On this day we were "breaking down" and moving on to Missoula.

Dena and Betsy and I were a great team. We all worked hard together, frequently in 90 plus degrees. We all fared okay, and the dogs had the best situation of all. Look at all the pups in the crates. It was cooler for them to ride than walk on the hot pavement.

VEGGIE BOOTY RECALL

Don't eat any of your Veggie Booty! It has been recalled. There is salmonella contamination.

Mind over matter?

Most of you know me quite well. I am a staunch believer in that adage. I believe to the core of my fiber that what you think is what you are. If you think you can do it, if you can dream it, if you work hard enough, with God's help, you can achieve it. If you think you are sick, you are...blah, blah, blah....you know. You have heard it a million times. Jay's patented response was, "Mom, I can never play in the NBA, no matter how much I believe I can!" Leave it to Jay...right?

As I am trying to prepare for this Montana trip of mine, I'll be darned if some old nasty bug didn't siddle up beside me and bushwack me! For the last three days, I have been dosing myself with homeopathic cures, drinking water like a camel, refusing to give in. I still will not, but today am willing to concede that maybe, just maybe, I need chemicals...okay BRING EM ON! I feel like I am drowning in drainage...if you get the picture...and it is not a pretty one, but that is as graphic as I am going to be.

So, I went to the drugstore and bought Claritin with decongestant. They sell it from behind the counter at the pharmacy..."am I sure I want to do this?" I felt a bit like a convict (I am not sure why). As the woman behind the counter was writing my name, I read the other names upside down, just to make sure I wasn't already there! Well, I figured, Jennifer takes it on a regular basis. She is a health nut, I am sure it is fine. The really good news is that I am no longer drowning, but I sure do feel odd. This is not something I would like to depend on at all...glad Jennifer is getting her crooked nose fixed so that she can stay off of this stuff.

The bottom line is the part where I say "with God's help"...well, He helped me realize I needed something more if I wanted to function at a level to allow me to leave on time!

Paws in Montana

This is the design my friend (Kona's breeder)Pat created for our "official" team shirts for our big adventure! Isn't it great? The GSD and Border are on the shirt because we have a few of those joining the expedition. Three of the GSD's and two of the Borders. Of course the cairn is being playful, peeking over the mountain top, because they are! I will be off Saturday morning bright and early. Greg will be "batchin it" for two weeks. Take pity on him.

HAPPY ANNIVERSAY...37 YEARS!

Thirty seven years ago today Greg and I made a promise to each other. Little did we know the road we were about to travel along. We were young and we knew everything! I was prepared for whatever that promise meant...or at least told myself I was. Thank goodness the Lord did not have a tumultuous road for us. Just periodic bumps! We have four beautiful children who have found wonderful partners to share their lives with, four beautiful grandchildren and a very blessed life. We are able to play and travel and experience the joys of living. With all of those people close enough to share those times with. We are able to see extended family a couple of times a year and share some wonderful times with all of them. Thanks to God for giving me such a hard working husband!

You have got to check this out.

Turn up your volume and watch this. It is amazing!

Watch this space.

Starting next weekend. I will be making a travel diary of my Montana trip. There will be 4 RV's, 9 people, 16 cairns, 3 german shepherds, 2 border terriers traveling for 12 days to 8 shows.

See this cute dog?

On Friday in Puyallup she earned her first AKC Jumpers Agility leg! She scored a 95 and qualified for the award with first place. It was even more fun than the last trial...of course, we qualified! She only had one fault...she overran the front of the tunnel (almost got sucked in by the spectator vortex, but our training paid off), just a 5 point fault.

On Saturday we were entered in Advanced A Rally. I could see it now a leg in agility, a leg in rally...super dog at her best. Watch out all of you pretty dogs, Kula is here to stay.....HA! First and foremost, she IS a terrier. Her goal for the weekend was a little different from mine. Her goal was to give me a "special terrier lesson"...humility! If her agility run had one minor fault, her rally run had one minor correct excercise! Honestly, a friend said she saw Kula flip me off and at one point she actually "sat" with her back to me. It was brutal, but I was determined to end on an up note, so kept trying. She did, but I have never worked so hard for a non qualifying score.

LARK OR OWL?

It is 6:15 in the morning. I have fed the dogs, had my latte and am having my morning contemplative time.The dogs are all curled up in sleep balls around me. I was thinking about some things in my life which led me to my topic. I am obviously a lark. I love the mornings, I want to watch the sun come up and wonder at the awakening earth. I love the first tentative peeps of the birds, slowly building to the full sounds of the day. At some point there, the sounds of the birds become lost in the sounds of that day....are they still "talking", or do the other sounds still the voices of happiness and greeting? I have to be careful not to be up "putting myself together" too early, or I am all ready with no place to go! Obviously, the majority of the world is something between a lark and an owl. I wonder what that would be. Hmmmm, a cow bird? Just kidding. Probably pigeons...hehe.

Kona to Montana too!

Okay all. Kona is going with me to Montana. I have him entered in Rally two of the days in Missoula. I figured, why not! We are going to have 10 days of intensive training....now, not just Kula! Now Kona can have some more letters at the end of his name. Hopefully he will qualify both days. I think he will, then we can get another title in Lacey or Portland with our friends.

So, poor Greg/dad, will be alone...no dog friends hanging out with him while he batches it for nearly two weeks.

Look at this family!

Everybody working together (minus Jay,Danielle and Faith) and getting it done!

Love and joy....

My life is full of joy and wonder!

Taking up space

I went into my editing to try to remove the previous two blogs. I am not allowing the situation any more space in my life. I couldn't figure out how, so I am just filling up the page with other stuff. That way, the other stuff will be pushed out the bottom, where it should be! I have had a headache for two days and refuse to give it any more power.

Holding my breath.

We called the sheriff last night. Greg felt that we needed to "go on record" with them and with M.(the guy who lives behind us) that we were all done with his bullying. There was really nothing the sheriff could do;"no crime had been committed". It is our hope that a visit from the sheriff at 11:30 at night (well, we didn't plan the time, but the sheriff said that they work from 10pm to 6am and he wouldget the visit now) would calm down his ridiculous behavior. So, now I am holding my breath...will it rile him up, or send him over the top?

What an icky way to live. I hate this tension! My gut is roiling.

I hate weekends at home!!

Our horrid neighbor is at it again. He was working in the yard with a chain saw and blower all afternoon. Then tonight...80+ degrees, he had his stereo blasting. Greg went down to the fence and asked him to turn it down. We had to have the windows closed to be able to even hear the TV or have a conversation. The guy started being verbally abusive. Calling Greg names. Claimed he had called the sheriff on the dogs and we are on a "watch list". "One more time and they will be taken away." I am sure if that were the case, the sheriff would have let us know....lacking on intelligence is he...the jerk, not the sheriff.

The guy is down there being ridiculous, so the dogs ran out on the deck and started bark. He yells "oh yeah, those dogs don't bark...no, they don't bark. The sheriff is going to take them away..three strikes and you are out." What a jerk!

So, Greg called the sheriff to file a report and get it on record that the guy was yelling profanity across the fence and threatening the dogs. They said they will send someone out to talk to us. Meanwhile the neighbor is "growling and woofing" in his yard. I am sure he is trying to get the dogs to bark so he can record them.

I am sitting up here with my camera, hoping that he starts barking again so that I can record him. What a way to spend the weekend! I can hardly wait for the next show. Friday, agility...I can hardly wait!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNIE!!!!

A very sincere wish for a very happy birthday...and many more to come. It would be fun to come to REI with you and sit with Jameson while you try on clothes....

We are so happy that you are part of our family. You add so much to our lives.