Life is short...

Life is short. Dance while you can!

-Fran

Tango's tired

We're going to have to work on stamina. Tango is at work 3 days a week. You'd think he could show a little enthusiasm? To be fair, though, we did have agility class last night and taxed his little brain. We were working on weave pole challenges. Our instructor asked us to come up with the craziest ideas to distract our dogs in the weave poles. The thinking is that if we throw insane distractions at our dogs during training, they'll do fine with just normal show stuff at a trial. Some of the things just blew poor Tango's mind. We have some work to do...  -Fran

Winter explosion

Today is the coldest day of the season, so far. There's snow on the ground. And this is what greets us every morning! I don't know why our azalea is exploding in January - but I'm happy it is.

About a dozen flowers and tons of buds ready to open.

It's not a pretty plant - leggy and woody and kind of dull green. The flowers make up for that - and bring us memories of the dear friend who gave it to us many years ago.

Snow!

Here in Chicagoland we got our first major snow of the winter yesterday. It was quite late this year - usually by the middle of January there's at least a foot of snow on the ground. We finally got dumped on, though, with 6 inches or so of the stuff. This brings to mind the extra care we must take of our little dogs in the winter. I had to shovel a path through the back yard for Roc - our littlest guy who weighs only 10 pounds and is just 8 inches at the shoulder. We have to make it easy for him to go where we want him to! And while it's not a problem at home where, if we spread any ice melt, it's the kind without salt or chlorides. At the shop, it's another story - we have no control over the stuff that's spread here. And the snow removal people spread a lot! So, it's worth it to take a few minutes and put Pawz boots on to protect our dog's paws from the salt and from ice pellets forming between the pads. Pawz are natural rubber and are semi-disposable. That means that the after they're worn multiple times, they'll probably wear out, so we just throw it out and take another one out of the package. They're sold in packs of 12. Dogs accept Pawz more readily than other boots since they can feel the surface they're walking on.  - Fran

No resolutions!

Happy New Year! I don't make resolutions - they're are bound to fail, just like diets. I'm going keep on trying to do what I've been trying to do for years. Be nice to my family, dogs and friends. Train myself and my dog for life, then for competition. Eat stuff I like in moderation, and try to really like more stuff that's good for me. Try to keep up with paperwork so it's not overwhelming later. Exercise when I can, as hard as I can. Attempt new things. There you have it. Fran's rules. - Fran

Weeks of firsts

As you know, Hope and I are the proud owners of an RV. It's stored at Knights Key right in the middle of the gorgeous Florida Keys. Our intention is for one or the other of us to drive down every month and spend a few days relaxing and working. That's the nice part of owning a mostly-internet business - we can work anywhere there's an internet connection! So Hope and I thought I should go down first. I don't know why. It seemed like a good idea at the time. But, my car was ten years old and showing its age badly. I'd had to put more money than it deserved in it over the last few months. So, I traded in the old rattle-trap and got a 2012 Subaru Forester. Able to handle our vicious Chicago winters, and roomy enough to handle all the stuff I schlep. So in my brand new car and with Tango along, I drove to Florida. 1500 miles and about 2 1/2 days one way. I arrived at our campsite, where we'd directed the nice people at Knights Key to park the RV. I connected everything and set up my laptop! Here are some pictures.

A Snowy Egret walking past our RV

My workspace. I did switch things around so that I faced the water. Tango is relaxing on his cot.

Tango enjoying a new Himalayan Dog Chew!

Sunset from our site.

-Fran

Happy Day After Thanksgiving!

Happy Day After Thanksgiving, everyone! After digesting that huge meal, we're staying home! Who has time to shop? There's training to continue! Yikes - Tango and I have an agility trial tomorrow and Sunday. While we've practiced and trained, I always feel that there must be more I should have done to prepare. Well, we'll find out tomorrow! - Fran