Lake Charles Agility Trial–Thanksgiving Weekend 2012

Maxie: 6 runs, 3 Q’s, 0 QQ’s, 35 MACH points 6 videos
Lucky Lucy: 6 runs, 0 Q’s, 4 videos

This trip began with stress and ended without it. I had the remnants of an old flu flare up after the agility seminar last weekend.  Bone weary from coughing and lack of sleep, I managed to pack the RV by parking the motor home right at the front door and moving things in there whenever I got out of bed for coffee, meds, or to powder my nose.  Plus, my RV fridge had mysteriously crapped out.  Wouldn’t work on A/C or LP.  John and I worked on the problem Wednesday night and Thursday, to no avail, so I ended up using it like a cooler, filled with frozen blocks of ice.  I ran both Maxie and Lucky thru the weaves 4 times before leaving home, and every time with both of them was fast and accurate.  I know the key to this weekend’s Q’s is going to be the weaves.




Pit Grill, Iowa, LA

I always stop at the Pit Grill in Iowa, 8 miles before Lake Charles, and buy hot boudin balls to share with agility friends as a Thanksgiving treat. They are large, spicy, the best I've ever tasted, and only .50 cents apiece. This time I remembered to take some photos of the place. It’s a great grassy shady clean place to stop, pottie the dogs, and get refreshments.

I got to Lake Charles about 10:30 Friday without incident, and to my amazement the RV slot closest to the arena was open!  I grabbed it.  Would save me many steps all weekend.  I had 3 hours to set up before check-in. Thank goodness for that!

My RV, me and 4 dogs, on asphalt.  No grass,
no trees, even in winter, if it's sunny, it's hot inside.

Plugged in, and no electric power.  Stretched to the 2nd slot and still no power.  I went looking for the maintenance man, who confirmed both outlets were live.  My electric line wasn’t working.  He checked my fuses and breakers -- all fine. He opened the plug and found the screws in there were loose.  He tightened them up and presto, I had power.  Good thing because in the afternoon, cool as it was outdoors, it was getting uncomfortably warm in the RV.  Also, the refrigerator began working immediately! Hurray!  John had checked the plug back home but somehow had not fixed it. It was the cause of all our problems. I gave a few boudin balls to the maintenance man, who had refused a tip.

 

FRIDAY: Dogs ran Small to Tall.
Maxie’s first run was XJ,  a Q 3rd place, and covering 3.91 YPS, was among his fastest runs ever.  He’s only topped that once back in November 2010, at 4.32 YPS on his AXJ TITLE RUN.  Yikes!  Digging for that info, I realize we’ve been trialing 2 years since then, 17 trials, and only 10 QQ’s.  Not a stellar record.  Maxie’s 2nd run a “nearly Q” (he ran fast and sure but walked the weaves and popped out of the last pole). But the score sheets show 1R and 1E. I still cant’ figure out the score sheets.

Lucky’s 1st run was clean but 4 seconds over time, and her 2nd run was aborted after 5 obstacles due to a timer malfunction. Starting over, I couldn't get her focus back, resulting in 2 mistakes, but some parts of it were good.  My nose was dripping. My head was full of cotton. I was still standing, I didn’t get lost on course, and that was victory enough for me.

 

SATURDAY: Dogs ran tall to small.
Lucky first.  XS she took the wrong end of the far tunnel (a WC, my fault), got an E for missing the dog walk contact, and another E I can’t figure.  Maybe for not taking the tunnel correctly after doing it wrong? Her 2nd run didn’t get videoed.  All I remember is missing most of the walk-through and having to run it after watching about 10 others run, and the resulting NQ.  More on that under VISITORS below.  But it wasn’t  so bad for all that.  We only had 1 R and nearly made course time.

Maxie missed the weave entry on XS, otherwise a nice run.  He Q’d in XJ and ran darn fast, 3.5 YPS, but placed 6th.  There are some new 8” dogs on the scene, Sadie the Welsh Corgi for one, and a 3 year old Papillon named Bodie who has already MACHed, both of whose time usually exceeds Maxie’s by 10 to 15 seconds.

 

SUNDAY: Small to Tall again, and Excellent dogs on the line at 8 a.m. Up, therefore, at 5:45, to make sure I had enough layers of clothes on and coffee in me by 8 to function.

 

Maxie’s last chance for a QQ. Alas, he Q’d only once with a 1st place, but missed the other Q by just one wee tiny pop out at the weaves.

Lucky jumping the 24" tripple in Kiln last month.

Lucky the same, one clean and one mistake on the other, but always over course time.
 

One booboo I made with Lucky was failing to raise her jump height to 24”.  That worked well in her last trial and I had until Nov 19th to change it for this one, but forgot.  Had I done so, she would have had an extra four seconds on her clean run, and qualified.  And maybe been more excited to participate in the other runs.

There were flies, but she didn't try snapping them all up like last year.  In fact, she hardly noticed them.

I didn't bother posting Lucky's runs.  Nothing remarkable, somewhat painful to watch.  But here's a composite of Maxie's 6 videos, with commentary.  A few interesting points worth sharing:

• This judge asked teams to enter the ring when the previous dog was only half way through the course. It was harder to keep my dogs focused in front of that first obstacle. I had to shake hands, walk them around, reposition them.  Over the gate keeper's protests that the "judge would get mad", I quickly started going in at the usual time - about 4-5 obstacles to go.  Even at that, there were delays.
• Another timer malfunction makes me question whether our times were accurate.
• When front crosses go wrong and you NQ as a result.

Audrey standing in front of the arena, with L to R,
Maxie, Willow, Pepper and Lucky Lucy

VISITORS:  Per her usual custom, Audrey drove over on Saturday and spent the afternoon with me.  She brought some of my favorite thanksgiving dishes – her sweet potato & green bean casseroles.  Unfortunately, her arrival coincided with what should have been my walkthrough for Lucky’s jumpers run.  I lost focus, only got to walk it 4 times, was not well prepared and of course, NQ’d. When they whistled everyone off the course and I grumbled of the short walkthrough (someone outside had told me the judge was still tweaking the course), the scribe said they had been calling and calling for me and where was I.  I explained about company arriving, the judge overheard and said “Best way to do agility is to tell your family and friends to stay home!”  With 2 dogs running and soon 3, and the amount of concentration required to be in the right place at the right time, with the right dog and all the right things in my pockets, and all the other dogs tucked safely away, my opportunities for visiting are dwindling fast.  It's nice to have someone help you walk the dogs and cheer you on though.

 

SUMMARY:

• Came home with only 3 Q’s under our belt out of 12 runs, but I’m okay with that considering how under the weather I felt.
• I tried taking Tanya's advise to study the course maps, but they don't hold the earlier allure.  I find I can memorize the courses by walking them 10 to 15 times, then walking them in my head several times.  The visualization is what sets it.
• We had the same judge all weekend - Sarah Beathard.  I thought trials were required to have 2 different judges, so Novice and Open teams can title.
• This was our last trial of 2012. 

2012 GOALS MET:  Maxie 10 QQ’s, 574 MACH points

2012 GOALS NOT MET: 

• Maxie didn’t earn his Masters Bronze titles, 2 Q’s to go in Jumpers and 3 in Standard to make 25 of each.
• Lucky didn't earn her Masters Standard title, 2 Q's to go for that.
• My dogs are not still not running their weaves at trials.
• I am still not running fast enough, thus my dogs aren't running fast enough.

2013 GOALS SET:

• Bronze Titles for Maxie by next spring
• MX title for Lucky by next spring
• MACH for Maxie in 2013 (10 more QQ's, and 232 MACH points, will require more trials further away from home.)
• Run faster, exercise, plug in the tread mill and use it.
• Control my arms from flapping around, keep them down.
• I would say "lose weight", but every time I say that I gain weight.  So I'll pray to not feel hungry as often.
• I would say "stop smoking" but every time I say that I smoke more.  So I'll pray that I just forget to reach for a cigarette as often.
• I would say "quit drinking" but every time I say that I drink in defiance.  So I'll pray that I'm just too busy to get fuzzy headed.  I only drink when there's nothing interesting to do.
• Train small skills more frequently, indoors and out.
• Work with Pepper in fun ways on impulse control, leash work, obstacle focus.  Train in different ways from the standard "run sequences an hour a week" we've been taught to do.  Add more clicker training, shadow handling, fundamentals.
• Advance the sport of agility in any way I can.  Make it safer, funner, less intimidating.

NEW THINGS LEARNED:

• ”Ear To Pocket” – that’s what your hands are supposed to do when you run fast, and you’re supposed to hold your palms open, not make fists.  Supposedly relaxes you and makes you go faster. 
• Yes, I do flail my arms around too much, per Tanya Lee’s observations of me at the seminar. I do need to hold my arms down.
• How to disassemble and check a 30 amp electric plug.
• Walking 4 dogs at once is a feat, especially when one of them is a puppy who rear crosses the other dogs every 3-5 seconds.  What a tangled mess.  I borrowed one of Nathan's double leashes with the swivel on the end, and that helped, but the most help was resigning myself to walking only 2 dogs at a time.
• Susan Cohen, whose dog ? rear legs are crippled so he runs around with his back half on wheels, told me about her research for the very best unit, and that she wanted to share the information.  I agreed to post it on my blog – next post.
• Met 4 Bearded Collie owners, got their emails to send them the Weave Performance Study I did last year in Lake Charles which included their dogs.
• Saw lots of very cute puppies, a few in breeds I’ve not seen puppies of – beardies and goldens.  Oh lordie, seems everyone is getting a new puppy.
• Need a bigger AC unit on my RV.  The little one I have barely kept us cool in the middle of a sunny day in winter, parked on asphalt.  I’m going for a 15,000 BTU if 30 amps can handle it.

On the drive home, with traffic flowing smoothly and dogs all sacked out, I remembered how last year an orange truck had overturned on the interstate and everyone idled along at 3 mph for about 5 hours. And I just about ran out of gas and called 911 for advice before an exit appeared.  Now that was stressful.  Without that impediment this time, I got home full of energy and unpacked for 2 hours while John watched the Saints game.  Long hot bath with a vodka and grapefruit juice, bowl of soup, and then I slept like a baby.

Upwards and onward!

Nathan's Gall Bladder Surgery



L to R:  Michele, Nathan, Allison
Those hospital gowns make you look
sick even if you're feeling fine.

Yesterday Nathan had his gall bladder removed with a minimally invasive technique called the DiVinci Robot.  Only a few surgeons in Baton Rouge are trained on this procedure.  They only make one incision thru the belly button, inflate the abdominal cavity with gas so there's plenty of room to operate, and send minute robot hands in through the navel to cut the gall bladder away from the liver, clamp off the arteries, and remove the sac out through the navel.  The whole procedure is visible to the surgeon through a lighted camera that goes in there too, and he watches a screen and manipulates the arms from a booth.  For those who aren't too squeemish, there's a YouTube video of the equipment and procedure here.  It's wonderful to know that somebody out there is really thinking and working hard to invent better medical procedures.

Typical surgery takes about an hour, 3-4 hours to sleep off the anesthesia and fight off nausea, and you go home same day with a few stitches and a skin patch over your navel.  They say you can return to work in a few days. Swim, play golf, run in a week.

Nathan fasted overnight.  Allison brought him to OLOL for 8 a.m., a reasonable hour. I arrived around 8:45. We hung around the prep room where they put him in hospital gown, laid him in a gurney, he signed a million forms, they poked his arm with an introvenous needle, took his blood pressure and temp several times, scanned his armband barcode, and answered his questions--his main and oft repeated question being "Can I get a video of the procedure?"  And in the end, he got one.



Nathan and me.
They make him leave recovery
in a wheel chair.

Allison HAD to depart for work at 9, so when Nathan went in for surgery at 10, I began texting her updates every time I got one.  While he slept it off in recovery, I poked around the gift shop and found him a cool helium balloon with an aquarium theme that says

"Get Better Soon"

And I mean it.  It's totally weird to see your tall, healthy, atheletic son in a hospital gown and then a wheel chair.  Made my stomach do several flips.



Allison picks Nathan up at the parking garage.

Allison got off in time to take him home around 4:30.  Total of 8.5 hours at the hospital. The aide wheeled him to the 2nd floor parking garage, where his chariot awaited.


I headed to Walgreens near OLOL Hospital to fill his prescriptions.  Man, I can't believe this Walgreens is so incompetent.  Located right at the exit to the hospital, they had long lines of cars at the drive up window and people inside wanting prescriptions filled, but they only had one active pharmacist, one aide typing in data, and an aide in training doing something with the other pharmacist, who was also on the phone.  And they are all back there joking around, hardly making eye contact with the customers. They said mine would fill in 30 minutes, but oops they never got around to typing in my info, so I had to wait another 30 minutes to get just 1 prescription filled. What poor business practices!

Nathan felt nauseus that whole evening but ate some pasta, and by next morning the nausea went away.  His biggest complaint -- a feeling of extreme dehydration and like he'd been punched in the stomach with a jack hammer!  And his throat hurt so he didn't feel like talking. They advised him to walk and move around to dispell the gas, not lay up in bed all day, prescribed an over the counter stool softener just in case, Gasex, Lortab for pain as needed or if he preferred, Extra Strength Tylenol.  He is able to eat normally.

By the way, Nathan had no gall stones.  The procedure was necessary because of a bile duct that had been malfunctioning for years and not expelling enough bile.  I believe he attributed this to eating too much rich food for too many years.  In the last 3 months, based on the incredible Forks Over Knives documentary and other sources, he's eliminated all animal products from his diet, has lost 25 lbs, and feels better than ever. He's learned to substitute other things for meat, such as the usual grains and beans, flax seed powder instead of egg as a binding agent, no-chicken boullion, Tofurkey for ground meat in chili, burgers, etc., which he says tastes good and has great texture, using more extensive spices for flavor, and he's experimenting with other products.  He's become addicted to fresh fruits and veggies.  His trek reminds me of my macrobiotic diet years ago, except that now the culture and the science is so much more supportive of meatless cuisine.  He is inspiring me to reduce my own meat intake once again. The circle turns back on itself.

Because this is a dog blog, I suppose I need to say at least one thing about dogs.  Nathan has 4 dachshunds and they all like to pounce on him.  Doc advised Nathan to wear a pillow over his navel when the dogs are loose.  Visualizing that makes me laugh.

The wonders of science give me faith in the human race!  But before I get too euphoric, let's see how he recovers.

Upwards and onward!

 

P.S.  Forks Over Knives streams on Netflix, and is available on DVD from Amazon.com and other sources.  They also have a website:  www.forksoverknives.com and have a couple of cookbooks out now.

 

Cousin Lois - Professional Handler

My cousin Lois, the papillon breeder from whom I got Pepper, and whose puppies I sometimes bring to Louisiana to sell, was recently invited into the Professional Handlers Association Hall Of Fame.  She asked me to make up a full page ad for their publication, which I was happy to do using photos she provided.  Some of the photos were so faded, it took most of yesterday to spiff them up.  Here's the ad:

Congratulations, Cousin Lois!  When she submitted the ad, she received the following response back from PHA.

"Great job!! Love the photos from then to now and your text is worded very nicely."

So there's at least one other serious dog fancier in my family, and a very talented one at that!  And I have discovered another way to recompense her for my wonderful puppies in addition to working on her website.  All of which makes me very happy.

Upwards and onward!

Christmas Day at the Rehab

My mom, almost 91, with Maxie & Willow

Greetings from sunny Cape Coral, Florida.  Temp 80 degrees.  John, Maxie, Willow and I drove 900 miles to bring a little Christmas cheer to the rehab where my 96 year old Dad is recouperating from a broken hip, and in failing health, and to my Mom who is trying to figure out how to manage him when (if) he comes home.  We'll be here through New Years Eve, staying some with Mom at her condo, and some near the rehab at LaQuinta Inn Ft. Myers, where I have a wi-fi connection and can blog about this unusual experience.  We left Lucky and FoohFooh at home with our good friends, Laura and Portia, who are house-sitting.

Christmas Day we came for lunch, decked out in our Santa hats and ready to put on a dog show.  We managed to lift a few spirits, if only for a few minutes.

Of course Max and Willow always attract attention when they prance side by side, fur afluttering, down the halls of any facility.  Everyone stops to look, some reach out and want us to stop and talk about "the twins".  And trust me, NOBODY showed a preference for Willow's gorgeous conformation quality straight coat and symmetrical blaze to Maxie's "disqualifying" curls and assymetrical blaze, nor noticed Maxie's "professional grooming" to Willow's lack thereof.  In fact, I'll go ahead and declare that eye contact, friendly personality and obedience will trump conformation and professional grooming any day of the week.

John took videos of our "dog show", which I've edited together below. It's very telling.  Even the lady who seemed comatose responded, but mostly my Mom, who went around chuckling, telling people they were her "grand-dogs", Dad requesting special tricks, and Mom going "I can't believe that!" when they did something especially obedient or cute. We got quite a few laughs out of Mom and a few out of Dad.

Here's the video:

Not pictured was the nursing station where numerous staff was looking on and being entertained as well.

Watching my doggies put smiles on a few faces made our Christmas merry in spite of being so far from home!  Laughter is good medicine. 

Dad, especially, wasn't in the Christmas spirit at all when we arrived, but by the time we left he was willing to pose with Mom in our santa hats.  Some photos included the dogs, but this one is the best of them.

Oh, I must report: On the way into the rehab we saw two men sitting on the patio with a male version of Lucky Lucy on leash.  The owner was in rehab, his friend brought his dog for a visit. When I said "I like your Blackmouth Cur", they were shocked! "You know what this is?" "Yes, I have one just like him at home". So we talked for 10 minutes, and their dog was just as gentle, friendly and schluppy as Lucky is. They reported this dog kills possums and raccoons -- the way Lucky dispatches armadillos. He snaps at flies, too. Dogs are great ice-breakers, aren't they? Without the dog there, I would have passed right by.

Upwards and onward!

Linda and Ben

Yesterday, Linda G. and Ben came over for lunch.  Linda is a club-mate who does our newsletter, and Ben is her 3 year old rescue Golden, a 90 pounder she found abandoned in the woods at about 4 weeks of age.  A huge dog with gobbs of energy and apparently some phobias and socialization issues.  Beautiful coat except he chews his feet so they are matted up.  Linda is working hard trying to fix these issues.

I kept my dogs away while we visited on the front porch then crated Ben out there while we went to the Mexican grocery store/restaurant down the road. I gave him a huge frozen turkey neck to keep him occupied, and when we got back he hadn't touched it.  When we opened the crate, though, he grabbed his bone, ran out in the yard and guarding it ferociously, gobbled it down.  We couldn't figure why he didn't eat it in the crate.  Then we went for a long walk in the neighborhood.  Within a few minutes Lucky and Ben were calmly walking shoulder to shoulder.  Ben heels a lot better than Lucky, who still pulls on the leash.  Bad mommy!  I haven't done enough leash training. 

I need to walk my dogs more anyway, because within 10 minutes my hips were burning!  If I hop up at 6:30 this summer while it's still cool out, get dressed, and don't turn on my computer until I get back from walking, I can do it.  Alas, that was my intention this morning but the coffee pot was calling, and I usually sip my first cup while reviewing my emails.  Without even thinking, I sat at my computer, and here I still am.  Shit!  Another bad habit to wrestle down.

As to turkey necks, I tried to buy more at Winn Dixie the other day and was shocked they've gone up to $2.19/lb.  They used to be $.99 or $1.29.  Guess the butchers have caught on that they make great dog treats.  So now I'm on the lookout for cheap turkey necks for my freezer.  One raw frozen turkey neck a week (chicken necks for little dogs) is supposed to clean their teeth, provide collagen for joint health, and safely satisfy the urge to chew (vertebra bones don't splinter).  Not to mention, it's a meal.

I've added Chicken and Turkey Necks to my Dog Treats and Recipes page, which keeps on growing.

Now, back from walking Max and Willow, visiting a neighbor along the way and running some errands, I'm now authorizing myself to play with Trial Genie some more.

Upwards and onward!

Wedding Anniversary (continued)

Willow and Maxie adorn our bouquet!

Only picture I have of our 9th is the beautiful roses John brought me Wednesday night, and the numerous gushy cards we exchanged throughout the weekend!

Thursday, May 19:  Leaving 4 dogs home, we headed out for Berryland Camper World and Dixie RV at about 10:30.  The short short story is, we got back home around 5:30, glad to see our babies, savings intact, without an RV, and without inspiration.  We can't possibly justify $80-90,000 for a new motor home!  Who the hell buys these things?  I sold a 3 bedroom house 5 years ago for just a wee bit more than that!

The longer story is, we had a grand old time climbing in and out of new and used models, dreaming of retirement, until we were both tired and sweating like pigs in those closed up units (hot weather is not a good time to shop RV lots).  We learned the difference between a Class A, B, and C, discovered we both like the same floor plans and color schemes, both like slide outs, end tables in the bedroom, elbow room in the halls and bathroom, would rather have an overhead bunk and side cabinet TV than an HD Surround Sound entertainment center up front, and we want nothing shorter than 27' nor longer than 31'. I believe I have gotten over my all-consuming passion to own a Coachman Concord!  I really like the Tioga, for one.  No matter though, unless we can get into something used we really like and that runs good for under $20,000, we won't be getting a motor home.

My fortune this morning said to "Expect A Miracle", and I was hoping it would be a motor home. . . . . . . . Instead, what I think I got was "freedom from wanting one".  We discussed how it would take going to 20 trials a year, for 20 years, to make it come out financially equal to staying in hotels.  Then again, John pointed out that it isn't about saving money, but about convenience -- having your home right with you, being able to eat in, escape the noisy trial environment between runs, take naps during the day, etc.  Less wear and tear on me with planning, packing and unpacking.  Not to mention, being able to travel without advance reservations, no hotel hopping, lugging bags in and out, checking out by a certain time, etc.  It's a luxury.  It's a lifestyle I could love leaving home for.  So I'm still on the fence about an RV.

Friday, May 20:  We were supposed to head over to Miller RV again, then on the Denham Springs to search thru the antique shops for replacement Blue Willow plates.  BUT, we stayed up so late last night watching Medium on Netflix, we decided to stay home and futz around in our PJ's.  Late afternoon, John got ambitious with the leaf shreader and spent a few hours sucking up leaves from around the tree roots and porch stairs. It looks great. I worked on my Recall course, cooked a nice meal, hatched a few new ideas.

For our anniversary gift, we decided on buying a new cookware set they are selling at Winn Dixie. I bought the 1 qt. pot and tried it out, but decided to keep my 35 year old RevereWare pots with thick bottoms and black handles that don't conduct heat, even though the handles broke off years ago.    I've been looking to replace them for a long time, but so far nothing else compares.  Now I just need to find a welder who will tack my handles back on, and that will be plenty gift enough.  I love my pots!

Upwards and onward!

9th Wedding Anniversary

Today, Wednesday, is John and my 9th Wedding Anniversary.  We've actually been together 12 years. When I asked him how we should celebrate he said "I don't know, whatever you want is fine with me."  Truth is, we'd both just as soon stay home. I have Susan Garret's "5 Minute Formula To A Brilliant Recall" online course to take.  He has his Astronomical Observations online course with tons of challenging assignments. 

On the other hand, I decided we should do something special, so we are taking all day Thursday (tomorrow), John's day off, to head over to Berryland and Dixie RV, about an hour down I-12 toward Hammond, and spend the day looking at RV's.  We both dream of travelling the country when John retires, maybe taking in some agility trials further away from home, etc.  I could use an RV RIGHT NOW.  This anniversary gives us a good excuse to set aside other things and look around.  I am looking forward to a wonderful day, full of dreams and schemes and a bit of excitement.

Meanwhile, today feels like a regular day. John went off to work. I'm puttering around in my PJ's about to defrost the deepfreeze.  Need to get out and mow the agility yard, but need to wet it down first as there is so much dust.

Aw hell, it's my anniversary.  Think I'll just keep playing with my video editing program and cleaning out my computer.  Rest up for teaching 2 classes tonight and figure out what to teach a diverse bunch of students.

Upwards and onward,

Mother's Day Weekend Surprises!



Michele and Winston (5.5 months old)

 As I reported at the beginning of this blog, I didn't get Maxie until he was 6 months old, so I missed out on his early puppyhood.  I've been making up for that now, thanks to my cousin Lois's gift of two 8 week old Papillon puppies to raise and/or sell back in January, and by staying in touch with their new owners I am able to learn more about Papillon puppy development, how fast they grow, how smart they are, when their feathers fill in, temperament, training, etc.

The first surprise?  Kathy called me Friday morning asking if I would keep Winston over the weekend.  Her husband offered her a Mother's Day weekend getaway but the hotel didn't take dogs.  I had told both new owners I would  puppy sit "any time", and suddenly, it was time.  I leaped at the chance provided I could take Winston with me while I managed the Crawfish Boil on Saturday (previous post).  She said yes, I made a few adjustments to manage a puppy (set up the Xpen outside, put up a baby gate at the kitchen, put newspaper in Lucky's big crate where the puppy could spend the night, and a dog crate in the car), and within a few hours, I was a puppy mom again!

Winston at 9 weeks.

Winston (previously "Roku") seemed to remember us and all our dogs, and was properly indignant when fenced off in the kitchen or Xpen.  I quickly became confident to set him free, and he just ran with the pack like he had never left our house. They seemed to remember him, too.  WOW!  This brought back so many memories of Maxie's first weeks here.  I forgot how full of "piss and vinegar" little puppies are!

Knowing he would be picked up Sunday afternoon, I spent my Mother's Day morning doing a bit of puppy training and taking videos of Winston while I had the chance.  More on that in the next post.

Second surprise?  Nathan and Allison came over around 4 p.m. with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a tub of goose pate, and a lovely card.  I got to download Allison's ivideos of Jonathan's wrestling matches, which I uploaded to my family web album here.

Third surprise?  I called Jonathan and actually got him live, and we had a lovely chat.  He says he looks forward to seeing me this summer.  Boy, I am so looking forward to seeing him, though I have no idea what to do with a teenager.  He says "Just feed me.", but I think we'll take him to Avery Island, some plantation tours, maybe camping on a river somewhere. The phone book, I recently discovered, has a long list of tourist sites I've never even heard of.  We'll work that page over.  Sounds like a plan.

Okay, so now to post the training videos . . . . . . .



LCCOC Crawfish Boil/Mother's Day

Nedra's back yard, with ample shade.

 My dog club held its Annual Crawfish Boil/Family Picnic on Mothers Day Saturday, and this worked out perfect for me in every way.

40 people attended, the weather was awesome, I got to eat my favorite food -- boiled crawfish -- and everyone seemed to have a good time.

Thankfully, it was in Nedra's back yard, so I didn't have to spiff up my house or yard ahead of time, nor clean it up afterwards.  How did I love this day?  Let me count the ways.

John

• First, John's Mother's Day gift to me was to take Saturday off from work and help me put the event together, and to boil 100 lbs of crawfish (3 sacks) in our 60 quart pot while the rest of us ate and socialized.  It was a gift only he could give, and my favorite kind of present in this world.  What a guy!
• Second, I got to eat all the crawfish I wanted, seasoned to my own taste (not too salty nor so highly seasoned they singe your fingertips).
• Third, I got to spend some quality time with Nathan and Allison (my son and his wife) on Saturday, partaking of good food together, then freeing them up to spend time with Allison's Mom on Sunday without rushing around. This worked out perfect for us all.
• Fourth, I got to spend some quality time with Audrey (my sister-in-law) so we could celebrate our Mothers Day together (she works on Sundays), and we got to eat crawfish together (our favorite food).
• Fifth, the weather was gorgeous and I prefer being outdoors whenever possible.




Allison, Nathan and Winston


• Sixth, I was dog sitting for the weekend with Winston, one of the Papillon pups I recently sold, and got to show him off to everyone.  He was passed around, kissed often, kissed back, and seemed to have a blast.
• Seventh, I invited Laura to serve as our DJ with her iTunes playlist all worked out for parties, and her daughter Portia to watch over the puppy.  Portia is a natural with dogs and I wanted to introduce both of them to our club. Another mission accomplished.

Everyone seemed to have a grand time, and I've posted the party pix  here.

Winston and Portia

Next, I'll blog about Winston's surprise Mother's Day weekend visit and the videos I took of him.  What a joy!  I spent Mother's Day, while John was at work, fiddling with Winston and my new video editing program.  Another spoonful of joy!

Upwards and onward!