Home for a few days

So I am back from the weekend at the draft test in Quakertown. Nice time with great people. Saw Macie and my sister and she is really coming along nicely. Will bring her to Colorado with me and that makes my trip out their just a tad more complicated, because 7 dogs is tougher than 6 dogs. Tomorrow Newell and I head south to Atlant for 4 days of dog shows. Excited to get the dog show season started We have so many nice dogs to start showing. Bastion just needs a major to finish and he will be in Harrisburg with Heather. THan we have Anya, Britta, COra, Macie. We need a chart to keep it all straight.If I think too much about it I get abit overwhelmed. I just need to let it happen. Whew breathe...

Blue Jobs and Pink Jobs

So I heard this the other day and I just love it. THere are jobs in the house or between the husband and wife that can be categorized as blue or pink. You know what I am talking about. The outside, cutting the grass, garbage, cleaning the garage, killing the bugs,, clearly blue jobs. Laundry, dishes, house cleaning, clearly pink jobs. I told Newell this and he warned that they could all be pink jobs if I wanted. SO, today I took apart the fridge to clean it out. Disgusting. Cant believe I actually put food in there. Something spilled and dripped all over and hardened. So I took everything out and scrubbed it to within an inch of its life. The problem, I couldnt quite get it back together. So, I did the best I could and waited for Newell to put it back together. Clearly a blue job.

Put a fork in me

As I sit here at 6:45 Sunday morning the 5th day of a 5 day dog show I ask myself. WHY IN THE WORLD DO I DO THIS??? I know I love the dog shows and you know how much I love the dogs, but this is ridiculous. I have left each morning at 6:30 and not gotten back homne each night until close to 8. I am pooped/ I was in charge Wed and Fri and today I am tempted to just stay home. But alas, the show calls. Another day, another dog show. Thank goodness for Starbucks.

Trust

So much of what I do with my dogs involves me having to trust other people. Trust them to have the same goals, integrity and trustworthiness that I have. Some of these people I dont know and I have to rely on others experience with them to guide me into decisions. Over the years, especially when it comes to Tanner I have been ultra protective. I did not breed him and I feel that I owe his breeder the utmost care when he was used for breeding makeing sure that those other breeders that used him for their breeding program is the same kind of breeder that I am. Now having said that, shame on me. I allowed him to be used with a breeder that I did not know, but I was told she was good to do business with. Well, here we go. The one bitch that was sold to a show home has not worked out and I want her to be spayed and not used for breeding. I have been meeting some resistence with this from the owners, so I reached out to this breeder, breeder to breeder to have her help me make these people do the right thing by this girl. To my horror this breeder would not help me. I am so disappointed, but in the end Shame on Me for not following my own instincts and not worked with this woman. SHame on me.

disappointment

So yesterday was Jackie's funeral. It was a true celebration of her life and surrounded by family it was all really ok. But there were some mising. I was particulary hurt by the lack of certain people that I expected to see. Only two dear friends made the trip to Baltimore to share their condolences with us. I was so grateful and appreciative to see them, But it made it even more noticable the ones that didn't come. Not only didn,t they come but no call or card. I guess that I misjudged our relationship and have terribly hurt feelings about it. I dont think it pays to put your heart out there, you only get it hurt.

Saying Goodbye

So on my special day, I said goodbye to one of my special people. My Mother in law Jackie. THe last thing I said to her tonight was Thank you. THank you for being such a great mother in law. Many people cant say that. BUt I can. She never was anything but loving and supportive. Never judgmental, never dissaproving, never anyting but wonderful. She leaves a family that surrounded her tonight with love/ She is the most blessed of women. As I whispered to her my thanks and told her how I was so grateful for who she was and how she loved me because her son did I said an extra prayer that I was as good a daughter in law as she was a mother in law. Go peacefully sweet Jackie we will all miss you terribly.. but your family will survivie because you have shown us how to love each other and that we do..

Happy Birthday to me

So, today is my birthday. 51 years old WOW that is old. I would like to think that I dont look 51 but just that might be me and my delusional thinking. But anyway. I woke up this morning with the puppy pooping in her crate, Newell taking the laundry downstairs and many dirty dogs that need to be washed for the big dog show this weekend. So eventhough today is my special day, it feels like any other day. Oh, but tonight we have a dinner planned with the kids in Frederick at one of our favorite restaurants/ That should be fun.

Off to Westminster...again

So after four years Tanner is not going to the Garden. I was so glad that we werent going to have to do that show. It is really a very long few days and very hard on the dog. So imagine my chagrin when G had a dog going. OK I said I will tag along. We will do dinner tonight at a nice restaurant and the day tomorrow will be long, but nothing like before because my own dog wont be there. Now we have another dog going that I may have to show. I have never shown at the Garden and quite honestly I never have really wanted to. So here I go, getting ready to show someone elses dog at the most prestigious show of the year. Now if I win, I will be really mad.

Awoken by an alarm

So, still in Wildwood I am awoken by some sort of announcement followed by a blaring alarm that is rocking the city. I open the back window and nothing unual, just a blaring alarm. After about 15 minutes I call the front desk to say what the heck is going on? THey dont know but they will let me know if we are evacuating. I am not comforted.

In Wildwood

So away agin this weekend Iknow Newell is getting pretty tied of me leaving on Friday and not coming home until Sunday. It makes for a long weekend for him. Last night Mere came up and they went to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of them winning the State Championsip. I am sorry I missed that. And tomorrow is SUper Bowl I will try to leave here right after we show and talk Newell through the CHili so we will have this for tomorrow night. I keep telling him that this is not the norm and soon the shows will be closer and I wont be away for the weekend. Next week is NY and the weekend after is Frederick and than we are home, I guess until NC in March. Maybe he should just start coming with me.

Trying to get back at it

Last fall I really got it all together. I lost a lot of weight and was feeling great. Than I really fell off the horse Forgot how to eat and excersise and I just went back to all the old habits. So here I am again at square one. Trying to excercise 3 times a week and eat right. So, hopefully I can get it all going on again before the nice weather comes. Will keep you posted.

Not my weekend dog sitter

So for the last two of three weekends I have been away at the dog show. It really is only January that this happens but it is alot. Newell stays home and takes care of who isnt with me which for this last weekend was everyone ecept Bastion. On Sunday morning I get a rather heated call from Newell clearly not happy. He hates the dogs and he hates Hannah in particular. So, she had pooped and peed in her crate overnight. When he took her to the pen, she ripped her toe nail off so he brought her back down to stop the bleeding. He wrapped her paw in gauze and an ace bandage which she promptly ripped off and ate. When he called me he had poured 2 bottles of peroxide down her throat to try to make her vomit which she did not. Jess finally came to the rescue and came over to give her a shot that made her vomit the bandage. By the time I got home from RIchmond he had calmed down and was no longer threatening to get rid of them and me as well. Whew, but alas, I am off agaiin this weekend to NJ. Than on to the Garden, then hopefully home for a few weekends. Hang on Newell, almost there.

On the Road again

SO this weekend I am in RIchmond VA with Bastion. He is Andrews puppy and he is now being shown. He has done really well in only two weekends. Last night while asleep he has decided to eat a big red hot spot in the middle of his back. I have him entered in 5 shows coming up in NJ and he is supposed to leave with Heather today for these shows and if I know her at all she wont want him to go with her because she will be afraid that it will get worse. So, I guess I will try to get a handle on this and take him there on Friday. Oh Bastion, I guess you just didnt want to go

To poop or not to poop

So Anya has been in jail for the past 5 days. SHe is living in an xpen with no toys, no blanket, no nothing. She cant be trusted. Every few hours we give her some food and water and it takes her about 3 seconds to finish it and than she looks like OK is that it? Now she needs to poop. We have food going in and nothing at the moment coming out Now dont get me wrong. I am not looking for more poop, you know I have enough, but she really needs to start going so we know that things are back to normal and moving again. SO ironically, I now wait and want the poop. How funny is that?

Garbage can.

So Anya is my tanner daughter and just like her father is a garbage can. Friday we left her at the vet because she had eaten a leash. How did I know this, well parts of it were coming out in her poop. After watching her all day, the decision was made that she needed surgery to remove whatever else was in there. When we went in the pick her up that evening in the sink was the garbage. Two leashes, an ear to a toy, and twigs,sticks and others assorted items. Well. Now she is in isolation in the xpen and she is feeling pretty sorry for herself. Well too bad too sad. I will not let her kill herself. No matter how much she tried I will not let her kill herself. Stay tuned.

Heaven is full

So yesterday I wrote of my terrible loss of Willow. Well I find out today that two more of these beautiful dogs left this world. So heaven should have its fill of Bernese Mountain Dogs for awhile. No more GOd, it is too hard.

Saying Goodbye

Having these dogs is my greatest joy and by far my greatest heartbreak. It happened again yesterday. My dear sweet Willow who just turned 10 Christmas Eve, left me yesterday very unexpectedly. She was fine and everything was normal until supper time when she would not eat and I knew that something was wrong. We had Jessica come over and she confirmed that it was probably something pretty serious. We took her to her office in the evening and it was confirmed that she had a tumor on her spleen that had ruptured. We made the decision there and then to let her go. I am a firm believer that they should never suffer. She gave me a wonderful 10 years and I just never wanted her to suffer for one minute. So with her in my arms I let her go. WOW... I cant believe it. If you had told me that I would be saying goodbye to her yesterday I would have told you that you were crazy. Now she is gone. My heart is breaking. But when I look at Freida and Hannah, I see her, my dear sweet Willow in her daugther's eyes. Sleep peacefully my sweet and wonderful girl. I will miss you deeply.