Saturday, November 23, 2013

Colby got a new coat!!!

When I am out in the agility yard, she comes, too, but goes to the pasture to hunt. she uses her nose. I wanted to be able to spot her quickly. This coat does the job!!!! Love it.

Good friends!!!

Notice the outcast?

This may be our last nice day outside. Supposed to get below 20 tonight and not even 30 tomorrow!! Ugh!!! we are ready. Wood is in, oil delivered, storm windows down. I just hope we don't get snow. I am NOT ready for that, although I do get my snow tires put on Monday. double ugh. Colby has a hard enough time seeing now, add snow glare and she will be completely blind. she IS completely blind walking into the sun, but away she sees some still. Poor thing, going blind isnTHE worst thing. he is depressed. We have her on Prozac, but it does not do that much, I don't think.

Friday, November 22, 2013

I entered Westminster

Yep, you read that right. This year, for the first time ever, they are offering agility. It will be limited to 480 runs and is a random draw opening. Meaning they will take entries and then, I guess, they shuffle them together and open the first 480? I don't really know how random draw works, but I guess we have as good a chance getting in as anyone else.

What the hell, why not? I think it could be wicked fun! Although I seriously get kind of ill looking at the absurdly fat and misshapen breed dogs when ever I watch it on TV, but how fun would it be to show in that setting. Spur would LOVE it! All the excitement and crowds!!! He thrives in that scene. And, hey, he could end up a top mixed breed if not many mixes make the draw. How cool would that be?? :D

Of course, if we do get in we have to go to NYC in February. Ugh. That could suck, or it could be wicked fun!!! Stay tuned! The draw occurs sometimes in December, like the 20th I think?

Did a little big of RDW training yesterday after training Jones. Boy did Spur seem SO slow compared to Jones. Silly thing, he was actually pretty fast. 1.7 seconds and Jones was 1.4. Amazing how much faster .3 seconds is. Spur is normally 2 seconds. Sometimes faster at home, but rarely faster at trials. Sometimes even 2.2 seconds at trials. So, his 1.7 seconds yesterday was pretty fast for Spur. :D He sure is getting some nice hits lately!!! As he is faster his hits are deeper. Good Little Monkey Pants.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

the beach!!!!!!

YAY!! You know it is "winter" when you see us back on the beach!!!!! Thanks to a chance encounter years ago with another MinPin fan, we now have VIP parking to access the beach!!! Thanks Dick!!!!! The pack of littles thanks you, too!!!

Nice tail, no neck!!




Love this shot, even if he is blurry!!!

Cool!!!!



the moonrise was amazing!!!!!













Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Jones RDW sessions

We have had some doubters out there making comments. I posted this on facebook and someone piped up about how he missed a contact at a trial. He actually did NOT miss it and the person couldn't even see it because it was facing the back wall. The course was an about turn back to a tunnel under the DW and because we haven't trained that he was driven straight off, then turned and because he wasn't totally sure where to go next he was given a refusal at the tunnel. A crappy call, for sure as he definitely wasn't refusing the tunnel. Anyway, people LOVE to doubt RDW training. I got it all the time, probably more so, with Spur. Less doubters now that people are succeeding with it more and more, but still there are those who LOVE to make negative comments. Jones is pretty much in his infancy in his training and I could not be more proud of him. He is ROCKING it!!!



One doubter even said something about........."good luck if there isn't a tunnel at the exit". OK, how about THIS..........


He is actually better without a tunnel, but we are working on driving to the tunnel anyway as he often has great success to a straight tunnel, but not so much to a curved tunnel. To a jump, he is obviously fine! And even to a 90 degree turn. A 180 turn is a different story, so that we still need to train. And we need to train indoors. That is a big part of the puzzle, for sure, but much more time consuming.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

So on facebook there is this list!

A numbers game. I think it is GREAT fun and the idea is to put out there things about yourself that you think no one knows. I am reading some very funny and interesting things about my friends. And supposedly if you "like" the comment/list from that person they will then in turn give you a number to make your own list. Huh, I have liked quite a few and, yet, no one has given me a number. :O I must be REALLY boring!

So, as I walked dogs today I kept thinking what my list would be? Damn, it sure would not be as interesting as some of my friends. Heck, one person said she rode a roller coaster with Steven Tyler from Aerosmith once. What????

One thing that is a common thread is how many people are adopted. I never knew that about these people. That's pretty cool.

OK, so here is my list. I think it is dreadfully boring, but I couldn't think of anything more exciting or interesting. How sad is that? Or maybe how good is that!!! My life is pretty charmed. I am still waiting for someone on facebook to give me a number. It was quite hard to come up with this many things, so if I get a bigger number I am in trouble. That is supposing I actually DO get a number from someone. Maybe it has more to do with me not being very private, so no one really thinks they will see some great epiphany about me. I am NOT an enigma. I pretty much put myself out there and tell you how I feel about things. Most of my friends already know most of these things about me. Hmmm, yeah, not very interesting! Outhouse, party line, animals, gymkhana.........my life growing up.

Maybe I will modify this list and eventually recall some fabulously stunner of a fact about myself by the time I get a number and everyone will be all........."Oh Wow, what an interesting life!"........."Geez, you really are so cool".........."Who would have thought you lived such an interesting life!".........."You are inspiring and amazing"............hmmmmm...........probably not. My list will get responses like..........."Oh, that's nice".

My list  -



1 – I once had mice, gerbils, turtles, fish, cats, a dog, a pony, goats, chickens, rabbits, parakeet and guinea pigs all at the same time to take care of at home. My parents were very understanding.
2 – when I was 12 years old we moved to Maine without hot running water or central heat. That means an outhouse. I had to shower at school.
3 – my dad’s nickname for me is Moldy because I “ate so much and put it all over my head it must have molded” and he still calls me Mold today.
4 – my childhood dogs were lhasa apso and border collies and my first dog as an adult was a Siberian husky.
5 – I am completely tone deaf. I can’t even sing Happy Birthday.
6 – I like cheese more than any other food and as a kid would read a book about mice eating cheese while I ate cheese. I pretended to nibble it as if I were a mouse.
7 – I won awards for gymkhana with my horse (pole bending and barrel racing, etc.) and did it with a plain snaffle bit.
8 – My favorite childhood stories were made up by my grandfather about Biffy Boo, a dog who walked on his tail, and his pal Emmy Lou, a girl who walked on her head. They had some troubles getting around.
9 – in high school we had a party line phone. That means two other neighbors shared our line. Can you imagine!!???
10 – I hiked the Knife's Edge and Angel's Landing and most recently the Duomo in Florence (almost as scary!!!).
11 – I sure don’t feel as interesting as everyone else.


Spur's RDW

He is just getting deeper and deeper. Silvia said her method doesn't need maintenance and only gets better with time. Huh, seems like she was right!!! :D

Monday, November 11, 2013

Some runs from the weekend

Spur knocked a bar in this first run coming out of the yellow tunnel and I like how he recovered and ran very well after that. I was kind of bummed, though, because had he been clean it would have been a winning run and a bye in PGP for regionals next year. Oh well, the person who ended up with it had never gotten a bye with her dog so she was very pleased, so that made me happy! :D




I only got those two runs filmed. He ran great all weekend, but again on Sunday another knocked bar. Odd. He RARELY knocks bars, he hates it so. Then on one run he popped out of the weaves half way. Another odd thing, but still he seemed very happy and we got a lot of nice comments. Good boy!

Friday, November 8, 2013

More Florence!!!


Our first night we stayed for dinner at the hotel. $$$$$$ Ouch!!! 
But, hey we did not pay for the room, so a splurge seemed OK. It was awesome!!!!!

Huh,maybe a bit too much wine?? LOL!!!!

Selfies often end up with someone's head bigger than the other!


The last night the company did a goodbye dinner. WOW!!!! it was AMAZING!!! In the ballroom, with live jazz and amazing five course meal!!! Very cool flower arrangements!! Tulips submerged in water.


Thursday, November 7, 2013

I have no patience!!

To be a techie, but at times I wish I were a techie, because then I could blog without being frustrated to no end!!!!!! 

Some more Florence photos.....


the Arno river. I guess because of all the clay on the soil it is so brown. They said fish live there, so I guess it is healthy?

OH my, the scooters!!!!! And they drive them like maniacs!!!!!

The Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence and the only one not bombed in the war. Still has shops along it!!!

The scooters even had skirts that would cover your legs to keep you warm. I wish I had photographed the chicks in high heels racing along!!!! Crazy drivers in Italy!!!!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Finally got these from Rich's phone

I didn't bring my camera to the goodbye dinner. It was a cocktail attire event and a camera hanging on my next seemed campy? but, Rich had his phone. I LOVED the flower arrangements!! So simple, tulips submerged in water!!!


I loved how this dessert looked like a mouse!!!!

I don't know how long the tulips last submerged in water, but very cool!!!!

Trying a THIRD time damn blogger!!!!

OK, so in reverse order.....we climbed to the top of the dome. 400 or more steps and very narrow. Some in our group could not do it, but the view was amazing!!!!


Proof!!! I made it!!!

see, crazy steps up!!!!!

See the people at the top? we were there!!!

OK, so tradition is if you rub the boar's nose it gives you good luck for a possible return to Florence. We rubbed it!!!

Strange tradition!

Monday, November 4, 2013

Ugh, just posted a pile of photos and it did not publish

so, maybe it is the number of photos. I will try posting fewer.

the shopping was a phenomenon in Florence!!!! simply an experience like nothing I have ever seen!!!


this embroidery store was SO beautiful!!!!




crazy, though, I only saw one tiny pet store. It was not even worth going into!!!!