No deaf Dogs in THIS HOUSE!!!!

Peel a Banana and this is what you get!!

It doesn't matter WHERE the dogs are in the house, they come a RUNNING!!

We had 3 bananas that were getting a little ripe, so I decided to make Jello and add a couple. Well, I ended up adding 1.5, so I guess it's no wonder they come a running!

Here's one of Mad. She's resting her chin on the arm of the sofa, with a full view of what's going on in the kitchen. More importantly, what's happening with the fridge!!


Someone could use a haircut!

Friday - Home ALONE!!

You would think if I'm home alone I would find a good book to cuddle up with.
Dig out some great John Wayne Movies to watch or in the very least, take a nap!!!!!

Oh no!! That would make too much sense!!

Instead I decided to tackle 3 things. The fridge, the cabinet under the sink and
the cabinet holding ALL KINDS of plastic containers.

First of course I went swimming!!
GOOD JOB ME!!!

Bill left for work at 7:30 and it's time to get BUSY!!! I gave myself a time line. You need to be done by noon. So, I got a garbage bag and headed for the fridge.

Well, while I was getting the garbage bag from under the sink, several things fell out.
So, being ADHD, I started there first. G
BTW, we do own a fire extinguisher,you can "now" get to it under the sink!!
This is probably a limited time offer!

Then I tackled the fridge. It's any one's guess how long it's been since "EVERYTHING" has been pulled out and all the surfaces cleaned completely. I try NOT to think about it, but lets put it this way. I found dressing that expired in 2007, hopefully it was December,
but I don't honestly remember.

Now it's SPOTLESS and contains, Milk, Pop and eggs!
What else do you need? LOL

So now onto the Plastic Containers!!
You know, your good old Rubbermaid, Glad, Lock N Locks!!
I'm leaving out the cottage cheese containers, coffee container, and a multitude of others that have made themselves at home in the HUGE corner cabinet in the kitchen.

Now it is nice to have a large storage place, but it's NOT all that nice if you can't reach what you want and when the stuff you do want is cramped so far in the back that you can't get to it!
That's just down right frustrating!!
On "this old house", which is a TV show on Public Television,
they had a segment once on organizing.
They showed this AWESOME metal organizer that fit in those large corner cabinets.
This device enabled you to use that WHOLE space and get to everything easily!!
They left out the part about it being $750!!
$750 buys an awful lot of plastic containers!

So I DIVE IN!! LITERALLY!
I'm tossing plastic onto the kitchen floor.
Lids are becoming Frisbees for some one's dog
(Seeker!!)

I really do want to try to keep most of these containers.
There are times when we need them for freezing,
so I didn't want to just 'toss' them all into the recycle bin.

Alas, a BIGGER Plastic container!!
A 64 Quart Clear Lidded Tote to be more specific.
The plan is to put the 'freezer' containers neatly into this,
and keep the nicer containers for our everyday use.

Then I have this "great" idea (or it seemed so, at the time)
to rinse all these containers out before I put them away.
So, I filled tub with them.............

TWICE!

What was I thinking????
Apparently I had NO idea who many we had!

So, after rinsing, the bathroom floor is littered with plastic containers.

Let the sorting begin.
Like lids with like lids.
Like containers with like containers.

BLOOD HELL!!
Where did all these lids come from?
Apparently they are more fertile than the containers,
because the lid:container ratio is 4:1!

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CONTAINERS??

I won't even tell you how many ice cream lids I had.
Actually, I would have, but they are already outside in the recycle bin. G
LUCKY ME!!!!!

So now, the corner cabinet is clean,
it has several orange Lock N Locks,
a couple clear ones and a few other "up scale" containers.
Not that margarine containers aren't up scale -
especially if they have some kind of delicious treat inside!

The fridge is clean and the cabinet under the sink is sparkling.......
too bad no one will ever see it!!!

As for the rest of the house????

Enter at your own RISK!!!!

Wind POWER!!!!!

It's spring up here on the "mountain".

All we're missing is grandpa and John Boy!!
( I think they've blown away!!)
Please tell me you're too young to know who the Walton's are!!!

That and a good old Wind Turbine!!!
Someday!!!

Most everyone knows that I "hate" the wind. I find it annoying, and well, windy!
Today however I found a way to "harness" that wind and actually do some GOOD!
No, I didn't put Mad out in it to blow out her coat...but it's a thought.

Sal helped me take all the agility equipment out of the building and
put it outside so the dust can get blown off.

It's suppose to rain tonight too, so it'll be nice and clean, and ready for a bit of touch up paint.

Below is what looks like "tornado" debris, but it really is agility equipment!

Take note of the chute, no, that's not Bill inside there! G



I missed the opportunity of getting the red tunnel flying over the fence.
Believe it or not, it was between the chute and the yellow tunnel.
It looked like that "tunnel man" You Tube Video, then it decided to make it's exit.

It will be nice to have everything cleaned off and the building cleaned out, watered and tilled.

SPRING IS HERE!!!!

Saturday - SPRING FEVER!!!!!!

I started off this morning by checking my e-mail and drinking a pot of coffee.
I had just changed into my running shoes and was about to head out the door with Seeker,
when the phone rang.

It was my Brother-In-Law, Chris. They were heading to Anamosa for a Volleyball
Tournament and thought I might like to come over to watch for awhile.
Hum....run 3.5 miles or sit on my butt and watch someone else exercise?

I didn't have to think about that too long!
SEE YOU SHORTLY!! G

I discovered Volleyball Tournaments are similar to Agility Trials.
You wait a long time to play for a short time. G
Granted, they got to play a LOT longer than we do at agility.
Here's a short video clip I did of my niece, Daphne, she's 12.
She's #5, in red.
She's the best player on the team, at least I thought so.

I'm not biased or anything.........

I should note that one of Daphne's "team mates" had the most amazing looking Orange Shoes!!
I was sitting next to her mother, I "nonchalantly" asked what size she wore.
They were 11s!!! Can you believe it!!
What's up with Kids feet these days!! G

I watched 4 games over a few hours, ate lunch from their cooler and then headed for home.
It was a beautiful day out and I had a TON of stuff to get done.

I was home before 1 PM and Bill was already outside raking!!
The chickens were out and I thought it would be a nice sunny day to get some pictures.

Here are the German Spitzhauben.
Are they cute or what??
They are a bit smaller than my other hens and there's one that I think would be
BRILLIANT at clicker training.
I think that would be a lot of fun,
but I'm afraid that something BAD would happen to that chicken.
I suppose as a trainer I should not worry about that,
but I don't want my "weaving" chicken to be eaten by a varmint.

The rooster is below.

Here's the Hen. The two hens "pullets" haven't started to lay yet.
They will lay small white eggs. The only white chicken eggs
we'll have. I'm sure they will be easy to tell from the JUMBO duck eggs.


Of course Cougar has to help take pictures.
I can't go anywhere without this cat following along.

Of course being a cougar, it's important to blend into your surroundings.
Do you see a cat??

Oh, wait....I have an itch.

No, not there....higher....higher......

Higher........

AH HA!! I was only kidding....
I was setting up the chickens for a chase! VBG

Time to put the camera away.......and get to work.

I tilled the gardens a second time and planted a couple early spring items.
Raked out some planters, moved a few sedum.

I tried to dig up a shrub, but the frost line is down about a foot.
JIC, you were thinking of transplanting one too! G

What a beautiful day!!

Cougar says........

"I sure can't wait until Monday when I can get a full days rest!!
HUMANS!!! UGH! "

Birthdays Are IMPORTANT!!!

Our general rule of thumb is that they should always include a trip to the Dairy Queen!!

Baby Cones for the dogs.

We use to have them share a small plain ice cream sundae, but life if just too short,
so they each get their very own baby cone.

Most of the time the paper gets removed....although I know
Seeker has consumed the wrapper on a least two occasions.

Do you wonder how the paper gets eaten? Exhibit A!!! (Above)

One second prior to this picture being taken, this was a full sized baby cone!!

Please take note how the puppy has the whole top of the ice cream in his mouth,
all of the cone up to the base.

My hand is the only thing keeping the paper from being consumed.
He can literally eat a cone in ONE BITE!!

BRAIN FREEZE!!!!!!!

Barbara taught me a trick however.

Turn said ice cream cone upside down in a water bucket,
it's good to really smash it in there. That was it takes him longer to eat it!!
I normally do that, but it was a nice day on Tuesday and we were eating them outside.



Note how Mad and Kruz make their cones LAST!!!!

What good Birthday Dogs!!!

Note that the paper is DANGEROUS visible, not to worry however,
it was removed in the nick of time!

It cost about $10.50 for a malt (Bill's), Peanut Buster Parfait (1/2 the fudge) for me,
(SORRY MARTHA!!!) and 3 baby cones.

I told Bill it's a good thing these weren't human kids, ages almost 2, 9 and 11 or we would NEVER have gotten out of there for under $20!!!

Happy 11th Birthday Kruz!!!

Happy 11th Birthday Kruz!!
3/19/98

Kruz was in DSM last weekend running agility.
To Celebrate, MORE ICE CREAM!!!

Happy Birthday to Dena as well!!! 3/19/?? G

Happy 9th Birthday Mad Dog!!

Mad turns 9 years old today - 3/18/00

Mad will be enjoying a Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cone tonight and looking
forward to another year of counter surfing, toilet paper shredding,
and of course agility and swimming!

We would have had some dehydrated yams for treats....but alas, those were eaten
by "someone" earlier this month. No, it wasn't Bill!

This past weekend she has some fun doing Agility in Des Moines.

Happy Birthday Mad!!!!

Hail Yeah - Part II

Seeker made his second appearance in the agility ring last weekend, with his first appearance (or DE-BUTT - as we call it) in Jumpers with Weaves. I'm pretty sure he likes this class better than Standard, as he gets to run "Balls Out" all the way without any stopping! Who's idea is it to stop anyway?

I was very happy with him overall. I ran by MY RULES and didn't have to pay Carrie $20! My plan in Jumpers was for him to literally chase me around the course. I didn't want to fall into my "old" handling style of baby sitting to make sure things are getting done correctly. I'd like Seeker to learn his job is to run as fast as he can and take whatever is in front of him, correctly of course. My job is to also run as fast as I can (at times), while making sure his path to the obstacles in front of him are correct.

I would be lying if I said that I was completely happy with his contacts. Friday's were fine, but Saturday he ran right through the dog walk (we stopped there) and the same for the Aframe on Sunday(we stopped there as well). I'm not sure if stopping really had any impact on him, but we'll sure go back and PROOF those "bottoms" more.

It was a good experience for me and helps me understand how hard it is to end a run when you really want to keep on going. I was proud of myself for sticking to my game plan and following through. I think we'll both be better for it.

I was very happy with his weave poles and he did a great job at "nailing" them from a run. We do need to do some work to do with getting them from a stand still and I need to be careful not to fall into the weave pole "baby sitting" trap.

We learned a LOT of things over the weekend. Some for me, some for him.

Okay....most for HIM!! LOL


Things for Tammy to remember.

* For the love of Pete....STAND UP during your front crosses!!! I'll take the blame for the #4 bar going down in our very first JWW 3/13 run. It looks like I must have dropped something on the ground! GEEZ!! Get it later!! Unless it's chocolate of course!

* When you put in a Front Cross, don't OVER ROTATE!! JL!! I pulled the poor guy off the Double. Lesson Learned!! But I really liked the way he followed me.

* It might help a "green" dog if he could actually see you behind the wing on the first jump. Sorry puppy!

* Criteria Criteria Criteria!! GOOD JOB ME! Boy, does it ever hurt to leave a course early!

* Learn some new tricks to do outside the ring while we're waiting our turn. We'll gain more friends this way. Or, find out how much ear plugs are by the case!


Things for Seeker to remember.

* No matter how loud you cry and whine outside the ring, your turn won't come any faster!

* Getting between my feet on the way into the ring will only cause us to take LONGER getting to the start line! Please wait to "set up" between my feet until I ask you. If you break me, you don't get to run alone.

* It's helpful when we DO 'Set up" and you go between my feet, that you are facing the same direction I am, vs. watching the dog finish behind us. It's most helpful if you'd look for the cone with the #1 in these situations.

* Bars are set on those holders for a reason. Let's KEEP them there!!!

* A broad jump is something you are suppose to jump over! It's NOT a bridge to run across. ♠

* Those contacts - Remember those? You did great on Friday. Is it only days that start with an "S" that contacts become optional? Remember, GAME OVER!

* Tires should be cleared cleanly. They are NOT to be banked off of! (See Standard run)

* Need to focus on next obstacle when coming out of the chute!

* It'll be much faster when you see a table to just get ON IT!!!

Friday JWW 17.3 seconds. Dropped my shoulder in the cross at #4 and he drops that bar. I'm to far ahead of him to rear cross at the double and he spins. I know, you can't see it, but you'll have to trust me on that one. What's up with that LEFT arm into the tunnel!! Push with the RIGHT! UGH!




Saturday JWW - He drops the first bar because he can't see me. I over rotate at the double and he drops a bar on the way out. 17.34 seconds




Sunday JWW - Drops one bar
18.5 Seconds



Friday Standard Run. Freebies - Board jump and Table. He ran across the broad jump...I think I see at least 3 feet hit it. Table? What Table?? Get on it already! He knocks a couple bars coming around to the A frame.




Sunday - Standard - Ran over Broad Jump, Missed A Frame Contact.



We have a lot to think about and review. Our next trial will be at Ames in June, so during the next several weeks we'll continue to practice on the items above and possibly some new ones.

In the mean time.....HUG YOUR DOGS!!!!!

Swimming Sal - A book by Carol Molski

I got this in the mail yesterday from Linda in MN.
Linda is the breeder of our PWD Mad Dog and also our Nina who was the "Orange" puppy.

I'm sure that Linda wishes she would have NEVER used that color of ribbon. G

This is the only book on my 2009 reading list so far to get a 10!!

Why?
It features a Portuguese Water Dog!
Like you need any more reasons that that!!
An Orange Pool!
Orange Swim Suits!
Sal - as in the "starring PWD",
it involves SWIMMING and
it's for ages 4-8 years!! G

The only thing that could have made this book a little better is if Sal was wearing ORANGE goggles vs. Pink in her victory swim.

THANKS LINDA!!

I LOVE IT!

Yam ATTACK!!!!!

Have your dogs experienced dehydrated yams? If not, DON'T DO IT!!! G You might soon find yourself borrowing or buying a dehydrator!!

First, let me place the blame where it belongs. LIZ!! Yes, a couple years ago, Liz put together a doggie gift bag at Christmas. Inside were several dehydrated yams. The dogs LOVED THEM. Well, let me clarify. Most of the dogs LOVED THEM. Nina didn't think they were edible, but didn't want anyone else to have it either. So she'd spend the evening with it in her mouth (re-hydrating) and then under her paw or chin while she napped. Finally I'd have to take it away and give it to someone to eat! BILL????? Okay, not. G

Then came Carrie. She thought it would be a great idea to make some with her own dehydrator for the dogs. They went CRAZY!! Mike sliced and Carrie delivered. What a deal!!

So, I asked my sister Dawn if she had one. She did and said I could "borrow" it. So a couple weeks ago I made yams. They were a HUGE hit! So, then Meme asked if she could borrow it, she made yams and some apple chips! The dogs loved those too!!

So, Saturday when I got it back I had 3 big yams to slice and dry. It took a bit longer than I'd anticipated Sunday, so I set it up on the table (Unplugged). It was full of dried yams. 8 racks worth!! So today when I got home, the dehydrator was still on the table, but the trays were a little off center. Not only that, they were EMPTY!!!! OMG!! Kruz and Mad ate 8 trays of yams!!!!

Apparently they aren't toxic is as both seem to be fine. Seeker does keep sniffing their butts however, apparently they have Yam gas!!

Mad Dog - I can't believe they left that on the table!!
Kruz - Push some more off please before we get busted!!
Seeker - In here please!! Hello!! I'm the one in Jail!! At least bring me some bread and water!