Olympics

I came home planning on writing all about our adventures in New York. Then we lost Chance yesterday and everything went to the wayside. I will put out a post about our adventures once I'm up to getting the pictures uploaded, etc. We did have a wonderful time and the dogs did very well.

I also wanted to write about the Olympics which are being held in my old hometown (like when I was 6-9 years old, so a long long time ago now) as I type.

I love the Olympics. It is the only time I become an avid armchair athlete. Normally, while I enjoy attending sporting events live, I watch very little sports on tv. I do watch the Stanley Cup and the NHL finals as a general rule (sorry, I'm Canadian, I have to watch hockey) but that's about it.

One of the many things I like about the Olympics is watching all the sports you so rarely hear about otherwise - snowboard cross, bobsleigh, luge, skeleton, aerial skiing, figure skating, etc. I'm particularly big on figure skating (blame Kurt Browning) and snowboard cross although I also like the half-pipe snowboard events. Many of them are sports that I'd love to try some day - especially bobsleigh (I love speed). Chances are I never will and that may be safer for all concerned but it is nice to dream about it. Maybe someday I'll get to visit the facilities used for the Olympics and try a mini-run or something like that :)

I'm an equally big fan of the summer Olympics - where I love diving (who doesn't like watching Alexandre Despaties?) and equestrian events in particular.

It's also really nice to see these athletes who work really hard all year round and do not make the big bucks that NFL, NHL, NBA. and other professional athletes make get the attention they deserve. It takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice to make it as far as they have and they deserve our support as they represent our country at the games. So, here's to all the Canadian Olympians be they medal winners or not, they are all winners in my eyes.

Vale Chance - Nuthatch's The Negotiator

Suddenly, yesterday afternoon. Chance had slowed down dramatically over the last year, particularly after the passing of his mother and best friend, Holly, last year. He will be dearly missed.






I Did Not Die

Do not stand at my grave and weep.

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow;

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain;

I am the gentle Autumn’s rain.



When you awaken in the morning’s hush.

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft star that shines at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry.

I am not there;

I did not die.



- Anon -

The Pirate Project and Blogs That Make You Cry...

I'm almost finished the Pirate Project. I fell behind after becoming addicted to finishing Kushiel's Justice and Kushiel's Mercy. Then both True & Jeannie went and had puppies (there are photos up on the dog blog). It's been a distracting few weeks but I'm back on track and hope to have it finished in the next week or so.

Now that the Pirates themselves have seen it (the prototype was unveiled at the Pirate Christmas Gathering), I can tell you a bit more about it. As per usual, I bit off a bit more than I could chew and decided upon a project that ended up taking on a life of its own. I greatly underestimated how long it would take me to finish it or how often I would change my mind about the placement of different things.

In the end, it is intended to be (and hopefully succeeds on at least some level) a 50 page scrapbook ode to over twenty years of friendship between the Pirates. It contains pictures both new and old of the Pirates and their families. I tried (with varying degrees of success) to incorporate their likes, hobbies, profession, passions, etc through choice in paper, embellishments and text although I kept text to a minimum. I will take some pictures of my favourite layouts from the book and post them here.

I follow a number of blogs. Most are dog blogs featuring tons of pictures and stories, most happy and funny. I was following links when I happened upon a blog called Remembering Josh (http://rememberingjosh.blogspot.com ). At first it caught my eye because the boy in the picture made me think of Jacob. So, I started reading. I only managed to read a few entries as I was at work and I started crying. It reflects a family's grief after losing their teenage son to suicide. It is well worth reading, just keep the box of tissues close. It reminds you of the imporatnce of treasuring each and every day.

Odd Notes

Well, it's been kind of busy as you'll know by the following:

I finally bought myself a laptop and picked it up on Sunday afternoon. Last night (Monday) was the first time I got to turn it on and try it out. I quite like it although it will take me awhile to get used to using my finger to control the mouse.

I will be going to New Jersey in the spring to judge Weimaraners.

Crufts - An Affair of the Hound...

Not surprisingly, I have always had a weakness for hounds - both sighthounds and scenthounds. In Europe there are many different continental hounds that we never see here in Canada. One of my favourite parts of Crufts was wandering around and seeing all the breeds I had never seen before. With the exception of the HPR (Hunt Point Retrieve - ie versatile hunting dogs like our GSPs and GWPs), I've included several of them here. With a few exceptions, most are hounds. I'll do the HPRs separately.


Hamiltonstovare

This is by far my favourite hound. I had seen a few photos of them before but had never seen one live in the flesh. A medium sized hound, they have a beautiful elegance while still being all scenthound. I would love to import one of these. (Now you know why Dad shakes his head everytime I see a breed I like lol)




Azawahk



Basset Fauve de Bretagne

These were cute little guys.





Bleu Gascogne Basset





Bleu Gascogne Grand

As with these last two breeds, it is a common thing for many hounds, particularly french ones, to have a small (Basset) size and a large (Grand) size.



Bavarian Mountain Hound



Cirneca d'ell Etna



Hovawart




Kooikerhondje



Lagotto Romagnolo



Lancashire Heeler

A typical feisty heeler - one of the few non-hounds in this list. This is a breed native to England.




Portuguese Podengo Rough




Portuguese Podengo Smooth

The Podengos were just adorable. As their notes said - why tango when you can podengo?



Sloughi




Segugio Italiano





And for those who asked my favourite part of heathrow...

More Crufts Photos

The Golden Retriever Demo Team




The Friends for Life



International Juniors Competition




The Sporting Group



The Cut for the Sporting Group

(for those non-exhibitors, these are the judge's preferred dogs from the group, he will choose his winners from the cut)



The Sporting Group Winner

This Vizsla (Sh Ch/Aust Ch Hungargunn Bear It'n Mind) from Australia but not competing in the UK was extremely impressive. Any of the dogs in the cut could have won; it was a stunning lineup. I still favoured the Bracco Italiano, the GSP and the GWP but I couldn't fault the Vizsla.



The Working Group Cut


The Working Group Winner



My Friend Elaine Competing in the Working Group with a Bouvier des Flandres of her breeding.

The Non-Crufts Part of the Trip

Although most of the trip was taken up at Crufts there are a few other excursions and particularly people that I want to mention.
I stayed with a wonderful lady named Anne and her husband. The bred english setters and currently have two field spaniels. Field spaniels are fairly rare in Canada and up until then I had only seen a few in my lifetime. Robbie, the field spaniel they had at the time (the new puppy hadn't arrived yet), is a gorgeous dog and beyond sweet. If I could deal with the grooming I'd have one of these too. (Face it, there are few breeds I wouldn't like to try at least once with the possible exception of terriers and toy breeds which are just not my bag of tea). They also had an old English Setter, Evie, who passed after my visit.

Evie



Robbie & Ann





My host, Karen, is Dublin's breeder. We did some sight seeing together, going out to see Skipton castle and wander a bit. It was quite amazing to see. Very different from the castles I saw in Spain which owed much to a hot climate and the Moors. In Skipton the importance of keeping warm became obvious along with the various strategies of defence. Here's some pictures of Karen and the castle:






Although the whole trip was great, the highlights were definitely Dublin and all the great people I met. I firmly think I'll just have to go back just to visit again and do some more sightseeing.

Dublin & Ann