What's New in 2009January 2009 Well, another year has come and gone-where does the time go? It has been almost a year since we moved to our new country home, and the dogs are loving every minute of it. They love having their own personal park available 24 hours a day. Of course, the weather has been horrible this year, with so much snow and such cold weather, but they still have their romps outside whenever they can. The grooming was quite busy in the month of December, but it has quieten off now, and that is allowing me to get some work done around the house. I have a new china cabinet, so Grandma's china is finally in its new home. The dogs are doing well, and I am hoping to hit a few shows soon with the pups. Otherwise, we are just hunkering down and trying to stay ahead of the snow in the driveway, and keep warm!!! February 2009 Another month has come and gone. It has been a quieter month for us here. The grooming is a little slower, and I have been battling a cold now for almost 10 days. The dogs have been good, and realize that mommy is just up for big playtime! We did go to the Ontario Breeders show for 1 day with the 2 babies-Julian and Lucinda. It was Julian's second show, and although it started off well with him, he lost his mind when we were in for winners dog! He would start off well, then become a bucking bronco, whirling and twirling at the end of the leash! Oh well, it will come. He is definitely his fathers son! Lucinda did very well as well. It was only her second time on a leash (I have been way behind on the leash breaking!) and her very first time on floor mats. She was a quivering mass of jello before the class, but as soon as she realized that people were there to see her (and her alone of course!) the ego turned on and she did quite well. More improvement is needed, but a good start. She is her fathers daughter! May 2009 I am way behind on updating this website!! Of course, the spring has been busy with the grooming (all those dogs who get done once a year!! ) and of course, with having such a large property, the yard work has also been keeping me busy. We have gotten rid of the old compost pile (that was almost 6 feet tall and full of weeds come summer!), put a new railing on the deck, and have a new shed coming this month as well so we can get rid of the old rotting one!! I have also been planting new plants in the front (it will be beautiful next year!) and getting some interior painting done as well. I also managed to hit a dog show in May in Orangeville and Julian collected his first reserve winners dog! He may have taken the points, but he lost his mind on the last go around! Oh well, he is only 1 year old. Thanks to her father, Lucinda will take a few months off as he was busy chewing her coat! The dogs love having this much space, and it is lovely to just go into the backyard and play ball whenever I want. I have also been lucky in placing Ruthie and Trouble into a new, loving home. They are being spoilt rotten now by Jackie, Brianna, Jodie and Calvin. The kids already have plans for agility training, and the two dogs seem to have settled into their new home quite well. Ruthie is busy telling the kids that they really aren't riding their bikes right-Trouble doesn't care!!! I am very happy to have found Jackie and her kids, who understand the two little terrors, and love them all the same. August 2009 Where has the summer gone! Between grooming, cutting the grass and boarding loads of dogs, I have been kept quite busy. We did manage to hit a few shows with Julian--4 shows at Bracebridge, and 2 shows at Barrie. Julian took winners dog twice to collect 5 points towards his championship! We also managed to get some more home renovations done-there is a brand new shed in the backyard (thanks to dad for building that one!), new paint in the laundry room, and brand new laminate floor in the hallway and family room-the carpet is gone!! Yeah!! Between my dogs and boarding dogs, the poor carpet was taking a beating. This fall we will be busy rearranging the flower beds in the back and hopefully get some more painting done in the house. It never seems to end! November 2009 I am so behind on everything!! So, I will try to get everything updated and bring everyone up to speed! I have been busy with the grooming (the recession does not seem to have it this job!) and boarding dogs. We have the new shed all built and painted. The old shed is gone, and the backyard is looking really good. The mess that used to be the dog enclosure is now weeded, and fresh topsoil is there waiting for the spring for grass seed. I have some new obedience and agilty equipment that will be used next year, as I hope to expand the dogs traing and put some more titles on them! The front yard has some new flowers that will be up next year, and finally it looks as though the yard is where I want it to be--it has been a busy 2 summers getting everything up to snuff, but I think we are almost there! We didn't have a lot of time for dog shows this year, but we have had such a busy spring/summer, I decided it would be nice to get away for a weekend for a little vacation--of course, we had to go to a dog show as a holiday!!! We headed off to the Nipissing dog show in Trout Creek (south of North Bay) with Julian and Lucinda, and the only thing I wanted to do was to have a good time, catch up with friends, and relax in a hot tub at the hotel!!! I have to tell you that when I pulled out of my driveway on Saturday morning, there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky--I figured this was likely the highlight of the weekend! We had wonderful times to show (late start on Saturday, finished early on Monday!). It was only Lucinda's third show (she had her coat chewed by Linus when she was in heat and had to sit out the summer circuit) and Julian was heading there with 5 points. I thought it would be nice to finish Julian and maybe start Lucinda. Well, I was in for a bit of a shocker!!! Lucinda took winners bitch and best of winners for 3 points at the first show!! She and Julian were both reserve winners for the second show on Saturday. Sunday Lucinda took winners bitch and best of winners for another 3 points at the first show, Julian was reserve, and in the afternoon show, Lucinda as reserve winners, and Julian was winners dog for 1 point! We headed back to the hotel with 2 dogs sitting on 6 points, and I was in shock! Lucinda was a true showman--just like her father! On Monday, Lucinda was winners bitch and best of opposite sex over 2 bitch specials for another 2 points, Julian was reserve winners dog, and at the final show, Lucinda was winners bitch to finish her championship in 1 weekend!! Julian was winners dog and best of winners for 2 points, so he came home with 8 points in total!! What a weekend!!! Cathy and Debbie had to keep picking me up off the floor!! The final judge Micheal Lanctot told me that Lucinda was a very sound girl, something he hasn't been seeing as much as he would like in Shelties=what a great compliment! I guess her lack of coat and less than perfect ears couldn't overshadow her beautiful reach and drive! Getting stuck in traffic on the way home was a small penalty to pay!! I also helped my friend Debbie show her Cavaliers and we managed to finish 2 of her dogs as well. And the hot tub was great!!!!
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