Puppies & Spain

Shiraz’s litter is doing well. So far so good. Kaylee’s litter has moved up to the living room and is having a ball. They’re a really fun bunch. I like having only six in a litter as they are much easier to take care of for both me and their mother and you have more time for each one than you do when you’re trying to cope with ten plus puppies. I need to get some pictures of both litters.
I’m thinking that I’ll start my Spanish adventure next in here. I promised to do a website as we have tons of photos and I actually kept notes of where we went, etc but I just can’t seem to find the time so perhaps I can do this instead.
I went to Spain last July with my nephew, Jacob. The idea grew out of my realization early last year that, since Jacob was getting older (he turned 17 last July), he wasn’t going to want to come back and spend summers with his grandparents and aunt every year. Instead he’d do normal teen things – get a job, earn some money, girlfriend, maybe go away to school, etc. I was worried that the coming summer would be our last one together and I decided that I wanted to do something with him that he would always remember.
I can’t really explain how I feel about Jacob other than to say that I love him and his brother Alex more than anyone else in the world and words don’t really describe the emotion very well. So, this was really important to me. I would end up promising Alex that I would do the same with him when he was old enough (he’s 13 now).
Why Spain? Years earlier when I had more money Joanna and I had discussed doing a driving tour of Spain. As Europe goes, Spain is on the less expensive side and it had the added appeal of being close enough for visits to Gibraltar and Morocco. I’m not sure if I’ll ever have enough cash to go to Africa so the possibility of even a day trip was a not to be missed one.
After that it just became a matter of doing the booking. We would start in Madrid, move down to Jerez (pronounced Heref in Castilian) where we would stay in an apartment, and then on to Granada before heading back to Madrid and then home with tons of day trips along the way. We would be staying in hotels in Madrid and Granada and the apartment in Jerez. In retrospect, it would have been nice to be doing an apartment the whole time as it was easily our favourite place we stayed.
I spent weeks learning how to drive standard as automatic cars are not easy to rent in Europe and are usually much more expensive. By the time we left I was bearable at it but you wouldn’t want to be behind me in heavy traffic.

Like sands in the hourglass these are the Days of Our Lives...

Mojo:

I didn't lie, here's the pics I promised. They were taken by Jay and as you can see he's one great photographer.






Now on to my regularly scheduled wit...

The highlight of he day was certainly Shiraz's decision to have her puppies early. She started at 9:30ish this morning and finished at 4:30pm. All eleven puppies are doing well - 8 girls and 3 boys :) I'll post some pictures soon. Time really does pass like sands in an hourglass when you have to work and you sit there waiting for puppy updates. Mind you it doesn't pass much differently when you're sitting in the whelping box most of the time. There are those busy birthing moments and then the lull in between while you twiddle your thumbs and the mother shreds the bedding. Oh and the heat gets to you, making you perpetually long for a pillow.

In other news, Joanna is coming for a visit in April. I had hoped to go to Jacob's graduation but for reasons unknown the ceremony is in late May and I can't get more time off in May. I'm already taking 6 days off so I can manage things here at the house while Mom & Dad are in Scotland & Ireland. I'm going to look at the schedule in July & August and see if I can plan a visit for then. Who ever heard of having a graduation ceremony before school ends?? Does this mean they have to pass you if you've graduated already and then fail to show up for the rest of the semester??
Jacob has taken on a new job at a pizza place and is really excited about working there and learning to make pizza dough. Me, I'm thrilled he actually has a job he likes.
Finally in the extra exciting and totally shocking category, we have Dalwhinnie in Wildwood, New Jersey this past weekend. These were her first US shows and honestly I wasn't expecting much. Sarah was sure she could show her and I was just as sure this was not going to fly. For those of you who have never met Dal, I affectionately refer to her as my wingnut babe. Tons of energy and not a calm bone in her. Not to mention that she isn't particularly fond of people she doesn't know. These are not the makings of a great show dog. So, what does she do? She goes BW on Sunday and today she went WB (there was no WD) and BOS. Who'd a thunk?

More On Idahooooo

How many different ways do you think I can mangle the word Idaho?

It's funny, I mentionned that I was going to take up scrapbooking to my family and they're immediate response was - "you??! scrapbooking" Geesh, you'd think I had displayed a lack of artistic talent before this. Come to think of it...

anyway, back to Idaho...

We spen the next few days alternating between relaxing and wandering about. We visited Bruneau River Canyon, which is where Jay's kennel name (Bruneau River GSPs) comes from. It was absolutely beautiful. Very deep (okay, I admit that I'm afraid of heaights and everything always seems a long way down but I'm sure it was quite deep). It's amazing to think what that inoccuous looking stuff that comes out of our taps can do over time. We took some great pictures both of the canyon and of a badger we saw on the way there and some kildeer we saw on the way back. Unfortunately, we had problems getting them off the camera memory card. Jay is still working on it and I'm fervently hoping he succeeds. In the meantime I have taken a few pictures from Idaho tourism sites to show you have amazing it is. Awe-inspiring is a good description of it. Beautiful doesn't capture just how very impressive it is.

BRUNEAU CANYON:




We also went looking for wild pheasants with Mojo (Flatlander's Mountain Magic - a dog co-owned by Jay, Betty and I) and Larken (Nuthatch's Leather'N'Lace, also co-owned by all three of us). Part of the reason for my trip to Idaho was to bring Larken out to Betty and Jay's, where she will live most of the time. We didn't find any birds but did get some great pictures which are in limbo with the Bruneau Canyon pics. In the meantime though I will upload some pics of Mojo and Larken to this blog later.
My trip home was relatively uneventful. I had a wonderful time and will hopefully get out there again soon.


LARKEN:








MOJO:



I'll post some better pics of Mojo tomorrow.

Idaho-ho-ho

Idaho Day 1
Our first day we decided to visit Boise. Home of the best Huckleberry Fudge ever - or so I'm told as huckleberries aren't in season in January are fudge made with fresh huckleberries are nowhere to be found.
That morning I was presented with several nice gifts including a fantastic GSP poster.

Betty is an avid scrapper (doG, I hope that's the right term - it probably is a good description of her even if taken in it's non-crafty meaning but I think those stories should be saved for another time...) - as in she likes to make scrapbooks. She adn Jay got me this beautiful album with a cover made out of (or at least covered with) leaves. The inside is blank but it is a beautiful album for me to attempt to scrap with. I'm really not artistically talented so it is hard to say how this will turn out. Having had said that, I find myself avidly accumulating ideas for this and that. Even though Betty made sure I had all kinds of cardstock, fancy paper, ribbons, buttons, brads (sadly, not the the Pitt variety), stickers and rub ons to keep me occupied for ages, I just had to keep exploring my options when I got home. I visited the Canadian Miuchael's last night and was most disgusted that the prices were more than triple the US prices. So, of course I had to check out EBay - where I shopped til I dropped lol
Anyway, our first stop in Boise was the US Michael's which started to open my eyes as to how big a hobby this scrapbooking thing is. We made a few small purchases and then moved on to Cabela's. Now I've had and bred hunting dogs for about twelve or thirteen years and I have never been in a Cabela's. There are none in Canada for one thing. I've won lots of prizes from there and always been very pleased with them so this was a must see for me.


Here I indulged in fabulous (though not huckleberry) fudge and purchased some huckleberry sauce for pancakes to bring home to Mom and Dad. We also found some neat things for Jay with pheasants (his current obsession) on them.
We then grabbed a quick lunch and then on to Harry & David's, home of still more straight to your thighs items.
Finally, we settled in for an evening of playing with Reece, Wii and tv.

Idaho - Home of Potatoes Gone Bad...

Lots to tell about Idaho. I went to visit Betty, my scrappy-dog mentor, and her family - Jay (the significant hubbie) and Reece (their son). I was also bringing along Larken (formerly known as Joan, now named for a gun maker).
Our trip to Idaho got off to an adventurous start. We were driving on the 190 heading for Buffalo when around the corner came a car going the wrong way on the highway. It almost hit us dead-on. Scared the &^*&^( out of me.
We made it to the airport alive. It was snowing and I packed up all my bags and Larken's cute little leopard-print travelling bag. The kindly airport shuttle guy pulled up in the mini-bus and picked us up. In line to pick up our tickets and check my suitcase, I made a very distressing discovery. I couldn't find my passport. I knew I'd brought it as I'd used it when I crossed the border. Petrified I started perusing the ground around me to see if I'd dropped it. I followed my trail all the way back outside to the shuttle stop. No luck, I was quickly running out of time to check in and I had no passport. George J., the kindliest airport shuttle man you will ever meet, offered to run me directly back to my car so I could check it out. Sure enough, it was on the car seat. So, I grabbed it and then he scooted me back to the terminal. Yeah!!! we made it!!!

Our first flight went from Buffalo to Detroit and it was smooth sailing. Larken slept all the way and was a perfect angel. At the terminal in Detroit I changed the puppy pad she was sleeping on and then shared some dinner with her before we boarded the flight ti Minneapolis/St Paul.
There were a lot of delays before we finally left and by the time we arrived in Minneapolis/ St Paul, it was past the time I was supposed to be on the final flight to Boise. I was sure I'd missed my flight and would end up spending the night in Minneapolis. But miracle of miracles, they had held my flight for me. So, thank you Northwest!
I made it to Boise, Idaho where Jay met me at the airport. Unfortunately, while I made the flight to Boise, my luggage didn't. So, I borrowed a pair of Betty's pjs that night and slept teh sleep of the way too tired traveller.
More tomorrow...

Catching Up (Aren't I Always...)

The short version is that I had a great time in Idaho but lost a much treasured four-footed friend while I was away. I'm now home and I've survived my latest work crisis. The long version is...
One of you asked why I felt like a perpetual disapointment. Mostly, it relates to work. I had yet again managed to make a very stressful mess that needed resolving. While I absolutely love where I work and the people I work with, I don't particularly love my job. There are days where I really enjoy it but as a general rule I find it somewhat stressful. I was much happier as a teller but got bored too often and needed something a bit more involved. As a result I have been talking to my two wonderful bosses (thank heavens for understanding bosses who tolerate crazed employees) and we're going to work on getting me in a position where I could apply for another position within the same company (alas, it won't be in the same branch) that would be better suited to me. Hopefully, this will provide an improvement and a lot more peace. I like the people I work with so much and I feel like I disappoint them by not being able to be the fabulous employee they deserve.
I promise to tell everything about Idaho and I've also decided this is a more practical (and will hopefully happen faster) than the website I keep meaning to do on my trip to Spain with Jacob this past summer. Today though, I want to talk about Maverick. Also known as Can. Ch Kristari's Codesign Maverick.
Mav arrived here as a bundle of red fur over ten years ago. He came up from Tennessee from Sharon Osharow's Kristari kennels. He captured hearts from the start - even the border crossing folks loved him on first sight. He made his debut a few short weeks later at ten weeks old at the Royal Ontario Winter Fair where he spent hours on end greeting the public and educating them about Siberian Huskies. This was a role he excelled at and he attended the fair every year the Siberian Husky Club of Canada participated while I was a member.
He finished his championship easily despite a lack of manners. We once journeyed to a specialty and we were running late. I had my show clothes in the back of the van so I could change when we got there. Mav was on the floor between the front seats as he got car sick if I put him in a crate. As it was he was covered in drool. About ten minutes before we arrived he barfed all over my shoes and the bottom of my pants, not to mention himself. We pulled into the show grounds and a friend came running out yelling that they were calling us into the ring and would mark us absent if we didn't get in there now. So, still in my jeans and sweatshirt, smelling like dog vomit, towing my dog who smelled as bad as I did and didn't look any better either, we ran into the ring. The steward hastily made a number for us and we proceeded. Shock of shocks, we won. Sometimes, politics and appearances have no bearing on dog shows.
We did start towards his US championship but it only lasted a few shows. Siberian entries tend to be very large in the eastern US which means a lot of down time with nothing to do in the ring but look good while waiting for your turn to be examined by the judge. Lots of time on ones hands and Maverick did not go well together. He was a big clown and loved to make people laugh, particularly people ringside. It was all you could do to prevent him from sneaking kisses from ringside children, play bowing, barking, anything to get a laugh. Hilarious for everyone but the person holding his leash in the ring. Of course, the topper was when he did a courtesy turn (like a small circle to get the legs in motion) before his down and back. He managed to lift his leg on the judge's jacket as he did his turn and continue on like nothing had happened. Joanna, who was showing him that day, was mortified. I pray the judge never clued in. We stopped showing him in the US.
He also loved sledding and thought a day in harness was a perfect day. I loved to point out that that show dog could be sleeping on the couch one day, in the ring the next and doing ten miles in harness the day after that.
Maverick had character. He also had my heart and he knew it. He'd come sleep at my feet while I worked at the computer and let me dig my toes into his luxuriant coat. Nothing is warmer than Siberian fur when your feet are cold. He will be missed greatly.

Quick Update

Can't write for long as I still need to pack but wanted to let you know that the Peanut passed away last night. I'd like to think Mother Nature had her reasons but it is always hard to lose one, even one so young. Thankfully his brothers and sisters are doing well and gaining weight like they should be. Although Kaylee was a little uncertain about motherhood at first, she's now got the hang of things and is doing great.
More work stress. I'm glad I'm going away for a week. I feel like a perpetual disappointment lately and I can't seem to overcome it.