A Walk in the Park

The one thing great about living in Florida this time of year is the weather. No doubt all the northern snow birds are wishing they could have had a day like we had yesterday. Sunny skies, a slight breeze and 73 degrees. Beautiful for December.

Matt and I, along with Finn's breeder, Ginny, decided to take the dogs down to Lake Eola Park and take some holiday photos. All good... until I realized that the hats and bows I had bought for props were left at home. Oh well. It was a gorgeous late morning, the dogs were having fun so what the heck.

Off to the first location, we encountered the black swan. Let me tell you, this swan was NOT afraid of 4 dogs. He was protecting his mate, who was nesting close to the water.

Even little Deja was cautious about the swan... and the swan kept a very close eye on the dogs, that's for sure. I was amazed that there was no barking, just a little straining at the leashes to get a closer look. I don't think they realized that too close would have cost them dearly!!

We managed to make it to the area looking over the water and out at the city and the fountain.

At this time of year, the bald cypress actually take on colors of fall and they do lose their needles. I guess a little bit of the north followed me to the south. I always get a little homesick when I see any tree change colors down here. Fall is my favorite season and it's just not the same without hay rides, apple cider and donuts and a cider mill.

When we first tried to get over to this piece of concrete, Beau thought he wanted to go for a swim. He put his front legs in and stood there as if to say "It's so shallow..." And trying to keep your dogs looking forward when behind all you can hear are wings flapping and bird honking, chirping and calling. I am not even sure how we got those shots.!!

And then another encounter with a swan. This one decided he wanted to go from the pond to the lake... and he did not care at all if there were 4 Ridgebacks in his way. He puffed up his body, flapped his wings and made a path right thru the middle!!

We took a few more pictures and then... my battery in the camera died. WHAT? I am on a photo shoot and the battery died!! So... I know what I will get myself for Christmas. An extra battery. Here are a few more shots of the day:

Little 2 day week-end cruise to nowhere

On November 21st, we went on a little 2 day cruise aboard the all new Celebrity Solstice. We were the first passengers on board this outstanding ship for it's inaugural 2 day cruise to nowhere. That's right. No where. In August, I booked the cruise for its phenomenal value - 320.00 per person for an upgrade to a verandah room. That is quite the deal.

The stateroom was nothing short of outstanding, even if it was your standard size cruise ship room. The decor was brand new, up to date and I was most impressed with the bathroom

The beautiful lawn up on Deck 15. Real grass!! You could putt a golf ball, play croquet and even learn how to play Bocce Ball. Best of all, you could just relax and watch the ocean.

One of the most interesting entertainment aspects of the ship was the Hot Glass show.

The Corning Museum of Glass had some of its glass blowers on the cruise and they put on a great show, making different blown glass objects... and they even gave away some of the items. I was not lucky enough to win.

To be perfectly honest, the food was a little lacking and the service needed a little more polish - and I am not talking about the silverware. You can choose assigned seating or you can go downstairs to the walk-in and sit anywhere service. We had the latter. Soup spoons did not arrive with the soup. Salad dressing did not arrive with the salad and coffee seemed to only be served with the dessert. Matt ordered coffee with his meal both nights... and did not get it until dessert. The food... was okay, but for the most part, I was disappointed with the menu options. I will tell you what. People may make fun of Carnival as a party ship, but they have the food and the wait service down. The same for the room steweards, too. And another thing lacking... NO ROOM SERVICE. I really enjoyed drinking coffee and eating croissant in the morning without having to leave the room. With the verandah, I was looking forward to that as well. Alas, no room service. Maybe they just did not have it for this sailing.

It was sad on Sunday to have to leave such a beautiful ship and get back to the reality of work, home life and all other things pulling at your sleeves. I would definitely recommend sailing on this lovely boat.

Ocala Shows 2008

November 15 and 16th were 2 days of RRCUS supported shows in Ocala, Florida. On Saturday, Finn was judged in the Puppy Sweepstakes by Ms. Denise Flaim. He won his class and took 2nd overall. His breeder handled him, but then Matt was also able to handle him in the ring. He did a great job, too. Finn also won his Bred By Exhibitor Class. We were thrilled.

Matt was also able to handle Ginny's 9 1/2 year old, Savanna, in the Veteran Sweepstakes. Here he is on Saturday. On Sunday, he actually won the class - and let me tell ya how proud he was. He raved about Savanna and how she handled him. She sure did seem like an old pro in the ring - like she had been showing all along, when really she had not been in the ring for 6 years!

Best of all, my friends, Val and Christine, came and saw Finn in his shows. They were the official dog handlers on the sidelines!

We stayed the week-end in Ocala and rented a room at the Ramada Inn, where many of the exhibitors were staying. We had a loooong day and the dogs were tired. Well. Not too tired that Beau did not let himself out of the room and they ran thru the Courtyard until someone spotted them and put them back in the room. We learned about this from a friend of mine when she got to the BBQ and told us my dogs had escaped. Thankfully it ended well. Beau can open doors hat have a latch handle... and that is what he did. Scared me to death. They were not the only RR's to get out - another breeder had her dogs out cruising the parking lot!! That ended well, too.

Let me tell you, Sunday was a 30 degree difference in temperature.

Poor Beau was shivering all morning til it warmed up again. Finn own his Sweepstakes class and he also won Bred By class again. In Open Dogs he did okay (on both days).

Here are pictures of his stash - and I even got him a stuffed lion.

Dog Show Part Deux

Today was Finn's second time in the ring. We headed to the Hernando County Kennel Club in Brooksville, Fl for the show today. He wons his Bred By class and then went in to Open Dogs and did 4th... I think

One thing that is apparent - we need to work on his attention. He has none right now and is soooo distracted. He looks all over the place when he should be focused on his task at hand. Oh well. He is just 9 months old. That will come.

The BIG show in Ocala is less than a week away. We have 5 days to work on this. Yikes

A Doggie Halloween party

Today was the 9th Annual Park Avenue Halloween Pet Costume Contest and parade. This event is sponsored by Bullfish http://www.bullfishparkavenue.com/ and is held in downtown Winter Park. Vendors set up tents and hawk their wares and the shops in this tony neighborhood actually have treats so your dog can trick or treat. I tell ya. It's a billion dollar a year industry. Some how I have to figure how to harness that and make a career change myself.

We got there a little late for the Big dog Costume contest, but we were able to see a little bit of the event, take some pictures and trick or treat with the dogs. It didn't matter, Beau and Finn did not dress up this year.

Winter Park is unique in that it allows, and welcomes, dogs into nearly every store on the avenue. Dogs are allowed to dine outside with their owners and most shops have water and treats out on a daily basis.

Enjoy the pictures

My Aunt Sara

She is the one seated 2nd from the left.

My Aunt Sara passed away October 5, 2008. She died of an apparent huge blood vessel bleed and they tell me it was painless - she just went to sleep. I am thankful for that.

My Aunt Sara was my first mom... She was there to help my grandmother raise me for the 1st 4 years of my life and many summers after that I spent in her presence.

Here are my top 10 memories of my Aunt Sara

10. Her answering the phone with "yep?"

9. As a child, she took me on walks around her block - she lived on a dirt road, by the St. Joseph River, and I learned all about the plants and animals hanging around.

8. Monarch hunting. We always gathered the caterpillars, fed them milkweed and kept them as they built their chrysalis and turned into the Monarch butterfly. same with tomato worms, but less spectacular.

7. Snake and turtle hunting.

6. One summer when we lived at the lake, I saw Colonel Sanders in the park next door. I was convinced it was him. Aunt Sara and Grandma told me no way. A few days later I got a note in the mail from "Colonel Sanders" saying how he had been in the park and he saw me and wanted to thank me for liking his chicken so well. I am convinced my aunt wrote that note to me.

5. She told my husband she would kill him if he ever hurt me.

4. Her damn mean cat Mitzi. She loved that cat and that cat loved her.

3. She put me on the kitchen table and had me sing "Born Free" over and over... I was 3.

2. She introduced me to the fear of spiders.

1. That she felt the same pain over the death of my father that I felt. And we will never be able to share that now.

I wasn't able to get home for her funeral. I had out of town guests coming in and the airplane tickets were outrageous. I will miss her even though in my adult years I did not see her as often as I should have. I am at peace because I know she is at peace and finally where she has wanted to be for the past 30 years - up there with my father.

Rest in peace, Aunt Sara.

Sunshine State Rhodesian Ridgeback Fun Day

The new club I belong to had their fun day October 11, 2008. Great location, great food, great games and great prizes. It was a sunny day and thankfully we had a breeze. Lure coursing practice started soon after we arrived and Finn proved that once he is old enough, he is going to be a coursing fool.

The first time the plastic bunny whizzed by, he nearly pulled me off my feet. He barked. He whined. He lunged. I had to let him run the up and down 5 times that day just to make him happy!!! Who knew. Beau wanted nothing to do with the coursing practice, so we tried it once and that was enough. He turned and looked at me like I was joking.

Then there was the Musical Sit Game. I did not participate but I took some pictures. It's similar to musical chairs, except your dog has to sit once the music stops. There was a 12 week old puppy in the competition that did exceptionally well. In the end, the top 3 winners won a great prize for their hound.

And then there was the water. Finn had never gone in water before. You would never have kn own it. He was a beast. He loved it. He ran thru the water, chased other dogs and just had a grand time.

I think the pictures tell it all. It may seem like it was all Finn today because it was. Beau stayed close to me and did not wan to swim or course.

Finn's First Show

Finn's show career officially started this past Saturday at the West Volusia Kennel Club in Deland, Florida.

What a start. On Saturday, he won his class in the Bred By Exhibitor. He won again on Sunday. 2 blue ribbons. Once he won his class, he then gets "put up" in to the Open Dogs. No win there, but a great start anyhow. He did well and he seemed to have fun in the ring. And that's what matters most.

On to Ocala in November

Front Yard Destruction

We bought this house 2 years ago. It was the biggest piece of crap in the ridiculously priced Colonialtown neighborhood here in Orlando. It was also the only one we could afford. My husband promised to fix it up and may have over extended his ability to get the job done simply because he wanted the house. Let's just say: Lesson learned. Never again will I buy a house that needs this much work. Heck. I may never buy a house that needs ANY work. In fact... I may never buy another house - EVER!!

We have done some major work in the house - total tear out of the kitchen and the bathroom. We still have a lot of work to do. To be absolutely honest, I don't ever see the projects being completed unless we hire someone to do them. But that's a whole 'nother story as to why they are not getting done.

In any event, we started a pretty major project. The front yard. Here it is before the work

We actually hired someone to come in and tear out the yard and driveway and install the new driveway. Matt is going to install the irrigation system... but he just worked all night so it's doubtful that it will get done. And that is just one reason that things don't get done. Just one.

On Monday, when I came home for lunch, the yard looked like this:

Big HUGE difference. I had hopes!!

At the end of the 3rd day, it was this:

It is completed at this point - well. At least the pavers are complete. The rest lies in my husband's hands so who knows when that will get done. He has people pulling him in 10 different directions and it seems the pulling gets harder everytime a project is started.

I am hoping to add completed pictures next week. The sod is supposed to go in and then the rose garden. Finally, we will landscape the front of the house and add a hedge and some plants. I am very excited about this and I just hope I don't get my hopes up. I am confident that this will get done.