Show Result

Well, we (Sean, Tiva, and I) went along to the Land 'O Burns dog show yesterday. To cut a long story short, we were unsuccessful. Tiva behaved impecably, her only demerit being that when the judge ran her hands over her, she turned her head. We were beaten by a stunning Border Collie puppy and an Austrailian Shepherd Dog. I am sure it was her 'washboard abs', but am at my wits end trying to get weight on her!

Had a long chat with my sister last night...haven't spoken with her in ages. She and Bob are well, as is Mom (spoke with her, too). Mom is going to the Sr. Center a couple days a week and doing Tai Chi, etc, enjoying herself anyway. At the top of all our Christmas Lists (and Letters to Santa) is that Shannon be pregnant for Christmas! Remember her in your prayers everyone!

The weather has been really cold here lately, and it has snowed inland, up at the yard, but nothing here on the coast. Susan, a friend from high school, will be here with her family on Thursday, so we are hoping for good weather to do some sightseeing in!

More updates as they occur! Bridgit

Jumping my horse

I recently wrote about taking Remy to Rowallan for clear rounds, and how, while it wasn't a totally disaster, it was also NOT a resounding success! Well, on Tuesday this week I went up to ride and Jane came out to give me a jump. Remy warmed up nicely and then we jumped...a meter!!! That's the highest I have ever jumped on him and it was fab-u-lous! Jane, as usual, is right. If I let him carry on, instead of trying to get him right, he jumps like a frog!

Yesterday Tiva went to the 'beauty parlor' and got all clean and fluffy. She came home looking twice her size and smelling like a new car! We sill be showing tomorrow, so fingers crossed.

Also yesterday, Sean and I cooked and had the neighbors over. Dinner turned out really well, appetizer of vol-au-vents with philly and either shrimp or salmon, Stilton and Broccoli soup to start, then dinner of mallard duck, potatoes dauphinoise, green beans, stuffing, and home made cranberry sauce as well! For desert? Baileys Cheesecake! Then coffee and cards.

We taught them how to play Euchre and played girls vs guys. It was one game apiece and 11 o'clock, so, hometime. The said they enjoyed it, so we'll have them over soon for the rubber match!

More after the show tomorrow...

Bridgit

It's been too long...

Hi Everyone,

Well, once again, I am running way behind with updating my blog. So, where to start?

Since it's a 'dog blog', I shall begin with Tiva. My brother is here for a visit and on 1st November he went along with me to the working and Pastoral Breeds show in Edinburgh, at Ingliston. Tiva was in JPB. She was so well behaved. It was a benched show, but my crate wouldn't fit in the alloted space and there is no way she would sit there quietly, so we set up in the grooming area and settled in for the day.

Mostly we watched some classes and read our books, we also took the occasioal walk with the dog. And then ~ it was our turn.

There were only 3 in our class, both of whom we had met in the ring previously. Tiva was active and alert in the class and really moved well. She also stood well and let the judge go over her without a fuss. When he put us 2nd I was thrilled and pleased and excited! The dog we beat was one that has consistantly beaten us, so it was nice to have someone prefer my dog! I am looking forward to seeing her crituque in Dog World.

We have another show coming up on the 22nd. It's a local show, so we'll go for the whole day and I have entered 3 classes: AV Pastoral NSC/Post Grad, AV/Owned and Handled by a Lady, and AV dog never having won a a 1st at this show. She is going on the Thursday before to be groomed and fluffed. Fingers crossed everyone!

In other news, I was in Finland at the end of October! I went to attend a seminar in Helsinki. I had no notion of what to expect (except perhaps reindeer, but didn't figure I'd see them in the town center!)and was pleasantly surprised. A local took us to fabulous places for dinner at night and the city is immpressively clean. The first night I had a cold-smoked reindeer coldcut kind of appatizer, really good! For desert I had lingonberry soup! It was topped with cinnamon cream and the whold meal was wonderful. Night two I had the daily special...elk sausage, also fabulous. Night 3 was lamb meatballs and our last night was at a Russian restaurant called Troika. Fantastic!

As for the horse, Remy was off work with an abscess in his jaw a week ago, don't know how that happened! The vet said it wasn't his teeth, but the dentist is coming tomorrow, we'll see what he finds, his teeth need done anyway. Once he recovered (quickly and well) I had a jumping lesson and then, last Thursday, Jane took me to Rowallan for clear rounds. How did we do, you may ask? Well, we got round the very small course (70 cm) without knocking anything down, but not much style! I was taking too many pull and not letting him go for it. Once I relaxed a bit, and did let him alone, we actually did put in a couple nice jumps. Definately need to practice, practice, practice!

It is going to continue to be busy right up to the new year. Sean and I are off to shop right now. We are having an early Thanksgiving dinner this Thursday, our lovely neighbors are going to join us. Also Thursday is Tivas' appointment at the beauty shop. Next week an old friend from high school(and her family)is coming to the UK for a visit and I am picking them up in E'burgh on Thursday for a day out in the countryside(maybe up to Perthshire or Aviemore...hmmm...) Fingers crossed for good weather! And through all this, I still have to Christmas shop and ride my horse and, oh yeah, WORK!!!

So, I better hit the road, more as events unfold!

NBSDC Show in Durham

What a weekend it was! Saturday was busy getting ready for the show, cleaning enough stuff out of the car that all the necessary items for the show would fit into the car...

As Jan always has always provided lovely food in the past, I wanted to take some nice goodies for 'all the usual suspects'. To that end, one of my Saturday errands was to shop and cook! First, I went to Derby House and bought a lovely wicker picnic basket. I have always wanted one but could never justify the expense...but now, I NEEDED ONE! It's lovely...four china plates and real cutlery as well as wine glasses, napkins, and ~ get this ~ little salt and pepper shakers! How's that for tricked out? I even got a camp chair that matches the whole she-bang...and all on sale...yippee!

Anyway, I got that and then went on to the grocery store. I had decided I would make a lovely chicken salad for sandwiches, so I got a roasted chicken off the deli counter, some nice bakery rolls for it to go on, and a selection of Italian coldcuts and cheese as well. Baby potatos for potato salad. Topped it all off with some sundried tomatos, artichoke hearts, and peppers in oil, as well as some nice apple juice to wash it all down. Oh, and some Oreo Cookies!!!

Then it was off to the yard to ride Remy. While I pottered about the yard, I left Tiva in the car. She had been to the groomers on Thursday for a fluff and buff and was still clean and sweet smelling.

When I was done in the yard we went home and unloaded the car. I put the food stuff away, keeping out the chicken to make the salad with. Well, I reached into the bag and...only 1/2 a chicken! Tiva had eaten it from the ass end down to the breast without finding it necessary to take it out of the bag! She is sooo sneaky!

Suffice it to say, there was no chicken salad for sarnies on Sunday. The rest went down well and it all got eaten except the tomatios, artichokes, and peppers. But, the potato salad and Oreos disappeared as did the cheeses and coldcuts. It was an American style picnic...a tailgate party!

After our tailgate party we all headed to our respective homes. After being up at 4.30 am and being on the road by 5, it was already a long day by the time I headed back up the road. Got home about 10, unloaded the essentials and was staight off to bed. Did not even bother to set the alarm clock!

As for the show: Tiva was very well behaved, she didn't like going into her crate, but once in she laid there quietly and watched the goings on. When it was show time though ~ she did. We were 3rd in Jr PB and there was a stake class at the end of the show which she was also 3rd in! Speaking with the judge later, she said Tiva had a lovely face and she really liked her BUT she needed more leg. Well, it's not like I haven't heard that before. She did feel that she is up to breed standard height now. So, I have forbidden Tiva to grow much broader if she is not going to get taller as well. The least she can do is to stay in porportion!

A Quick Catch-Up

Hello all,

It has been so long since I have written and much has happenend...but I'll not go into details. Basically, it goes like this:

I was in the states from 17 August to 3 September. The first week I spent in Chicago with Shannon, Bob, and Mom. I was fine the first three days and then I was sooo sick. But, by the Tuesday I was on my feet again and up to Wii-ing. What fun it is! I may still be the record holder for distance on the ski jump. We also golfed and then, as it was Friday and fish-fry night, we had the fish fry at the club~yummy.

During the week we (me, Mom, and Shannon) also took a couple other wee road trips. One day we drove down to Davenport, where we lived for about 3 years while doing our undergrad studies. (Actually, we were going to go to Palmer College of Chiropractic, but changed out minds and went down to Logan in St. Louis.) We visited some old haunts, had a bite of lunch and I bought a painting, a Bev Doolittle. Google her stuff, she's great and I have coveted her work for years. And now, finally, I have one!

We also went up to Wisconsin for a day. Cant remember the name of the town, but it is quite touristy and right on a lake, really charming. They had some supurb art galleries, but the prices started at £3,500 and the canvases were HUGE! Maybe someday...sigh.

The big event on holiday was that my borther, Sean, graduated on the 23rd. So he is now a chiropractor as well and it is our hope that he will be coming over to practice with me. Anyway, we got there late in the evening and checked into our hotel (me and Mom). The next morning there was an awards breakfast, which we all attended. Then the rehersal for the graduation. Then Mom and I went back for a nap. And my Uncle John had called and it turned out that he and Aunt Carol had come out to St. Louis to surprise us all! They were even staying at our hotel.

That evening we all went to a Mexican restaurant for a nice dinner and other family joined us. Then there was the graduation the next morning...yeah! There was a lovely reception after and Sean had a really good turnout of friends to wish him well.

At three o'clock we (about 40 of us) descended on Hot Shots, where they reserved a large part of the bar, the part with lots of dart boards, for us and we partied the afternoon away. Sean got some lovely pressies and I am sure, with all the folks that came from near and far, he felt very loved and supported. We were away by about 11 and a great time had been had by all!

In the morning it was all go party again as Sean and Julie had invited us over for breakfast. So, once again, there were about 12 of us and what a great breakfast we had. John and Carol were talking about going to Busch Farm, so we decided we would all go! So, into three cars we piled and were off on anohter adventure. We took the tam ride round the park and ended up in a petting zoo for goats! It was hysterical to see Bob try to give them bottles and feed them!

After all that we went to (duh) the bar area and had a beer. It was great...we got to the counter to order and noticed a sign that said "beer sammples limited to two per customer, please". And, guess what, they were pint sized samples...whoo-hoo!

Through all of this holiday, the weather was never cooler than about 90. So, while we did have a lovely time, it was sooo hot, the beer was VERY welcome! I did, however, end up with the first tan I have had in years, without even burning, or even peeling weeks later...again, I say whoo-hoo!

Well, there is still another week to cover, but it's late and I have to leave in 6 hous, about 5 a.m., for a dog show in Durham. So, more when I get back...keep your fingers crossed...

Weekend in Lincolnshire

What a weekend we just had. On Friday I worked until 11.30 and had every intention of being on the road at 12.00 ~ but you know what they say about the best laid plans. Tiva and I got on the road at 12.45 and had an uneventful trip to Jan's house, arriving (via Sat Nav directions, thanks TomTom) at 7.15, only 15 minutes later than I had said I would be there!

Ann was already there with her dogs, and Jackie was there with hers. I also met Garth, Brian and Jerri, and Martin. I got my tent all set up in the paddock and went back to the house where Jan had some dinner for me. We all sat and talked and helped Jan do stuff until at 11.00, I couldn't keep my eyes open, and begged off and went to bed.

It was windy and poured rain off and on and Tiva was very restless. She finally settled, after eating a bowl of food at 2 a.m., and we slept for two hours before getting up at 4 to set off for the show grounds at 5!

That is where things started to go wrong. One of Martins dogs jumped out of her crate in the truck and caught her chest and teat on a hook! Jan got that cleaned up and it was decided to go ahead and take her to the show. So, a 1/2 hour behind schedule, we set off in a 2-car convoy. We arrived at 8.45, later than planned, but they put the start time back from 9 to 9.30, so the immediate pressure was off.

Later, while Jan was in the ring, one of her dogs got ill! It seemed to do better after a bit but then relapsed. So arrangements were made to swap dogs and rides around and, with me still to show Tiva and one of Jans dogs in for best of BOS and BV (it won BV), I ended up riding home with Brian and Jerri and Tiva and Jans dog!

As for Tiva, she really showed well but we didn't get placed. Her critique was fairly ok and she was rated V. Good. I did go home with the best dog, but I wish everyone else knew it!

We got back to Jans and, once again, she had dinner ready for us. The two dogs had gone to the vet and were blood tested and stitched and sent home. After sharing a couple bottles of wine and (I sincerely hope NOT) boring everyone with chiropractic and health chat, I headed to my bed.

I woke with a headache, due (I am sure) to the long, rushed, stressful, day on Saturday, and the sunburn I acquired. I slept in until called for my breadfast. After a couple aspirin and a lovely omelette, I felt better and, along with everyone else, pitched in to help get food etc ready for the BBQ in the afternoon.

There was tons of food and desserts. Chris was grill meister, ta very much! Jans food was supurb: coleslaw, potato salad, kebabs, chicken, ham-, lamb- and even ostrich-burgers...wonderful. I made my special carrot cake, everyone seemed to like it, Yeah.

It was a gorgeous day (again) and folks came and went through the day. Tiva spent the whole day loose in the paddock and the yard, playing with all the different dogs and puppies that came for a visit, it was lovely to see her playing and fun to see her cousins and aunties, not to mention her siblings.

With the intention of leaving at 6, I duly said my good-bys. A half hour later, I started on my second round of good-bys. On the way out the gate, which Jan opened, I was chatting with her and ended up going back to get a bag of dogfood from her! At which point it was 7.45! Yikes. Then I ended up staying another 1/2 hour as Carol was on her way with her new, imported, American Quarter Horse...which, of course, I wanted to see! So, I finally got on the road at 8.30.

I got home, exhausted, at 4 a.m. I had to stop at the services past Penrith and lay down in the back seat for a while and then went to the pumps and filled up. My gas light had come on way before Kendall and I couldn't find a station anywhere! I was actually starting to think that I would have to get a hotel room, as I didn't want to completely run out of diesel, that's is really bad for a diesel, innit? But all was well and I filled up and pushed on. I got home at 4 and was asleep by 4.07. Up at 11 and working for 1. Now it's 10.15 and I need toothpicks to hold my eyes open, so I'll say goodnight.

And a huge THANK YOU to Jan and all her lovely guests, who made the weekend wonderful!

Until next time, when I should have some pics to post,

Bridgit

More News

It has been quite a while since I last updated, but that's because I don't have much to report!

Mom arrived on the 17th for a two week visit. We sort of just schlupoped around for Thursday then had a lovely dinner at Jane's in the evening. Friday I worked and mom went and visited with a friend.

Saturday we went over to New Lanark Village and spent the day there. It's really quite interesting and what a beautiful setting! We walked about for hours and the weather stayed quite good. We were bushed when we got back and just vegged out for the evening and watched some tv.

We are off now to the yard. I'm going to ride and give Remy a jump and then we are going to see Mama Mia! Until later then...Bridgit