We got the keys to our new space! How cool is that! I hired painters so that all the walls (except for the brick ones) will be nice and bright by the time we move in. Can't wait - for it all to be over! The next ten days will be crazy for us. We're moving on Wednesday and our obedience club's annual trial is on Sunday. We expect there to be many headaches and hassles - both with the move (thinking of the phone company, the movers and other stuff - don't even know what!) and the trial (the weather, lots of dogs in a confined space, the people - people complain about anything and everything). But I keep telling myself it will all be worth it. The trial will be over for another year, and I won't have to listen to water running in the apartment above our shop.

Busy, busy, busy

It's been a busy/crazy couple of weeks for me. First the French Bulldog Jamboree, back home to a two-day agility trial (video as soon as I have time to edit it!), and today I auditioned for Jeopardy!
Since claiming that I've reached the "what the hell" stage in my life, I seem to be filling my calendar to the max. I think I'm done adventuring for the moment - until we move the store on June 10. As in next Wednesday. To be followed very shortly by our Obedience Club's trial on June 14. And then I get to breathe.
I did the Jeopardy! thing just for fun - I think. I took the online test a couple of months ago and got invited to the audition today. I don't think I realized what a big deal it was until I got there and met people who had traveled from Manitoba, Texas, Iowa, Indiana and other points all over the place to be there. I felt a bit guilty about that - all I had to do was roll out of bed and hop on the "el" to go downtown.
The best part? We got to play a practise game with actual Jeopardy! clicker/button/thingies!

Made my own agility course

Agility class last night was crazy! Our class is very large this session, with people and dogs at various levels of training. The only course we ran was pretty long and somewhat confusing to many of us so our instructor took time to help us through the parts we were having trouble with. Ceilidh and I ran first and sort of made up our own course because I could not remember the printed course! I included most of the obstacles, though! (Our instructor does not put numbered cones out during class - we should not rely on the numbers, but our memory. Didn't work for me last night!) But I guess I was so convincing that no one said anything. Either that or our instructor thought I'm a lost cause. That could be it...

French Bulldog Jamboree!

Dax and I were at the French Bulldog Jamboree outside Durham, Ontario last weekend. She watched the proceedings with fascination - not entirely sure what was going on. She was just as happy I forgot her costume at home.

But she loved watching the fish off the dock.

Beautiful Lake Wilder - steps from our cottage.

We stayed in one of the cottages on the lake.

Not my idea of fun

So Hope's in the Canadian wilderness and I'm minding the shop. I certainly don't mind - she's done it for me more times than I can remember. But I question the term "vacation" for this trip. I talked to Hope about an hour ago and she was checking Dax for ticks. (She'd applied the anti-everything stuff, but was still checking!) Not my idea of a fun trip. I'm just a city girl, I guess. My idea of a good time is lying on a deck chair having a waiter bring me a refreshing fun rum drink. Not traipsing around the woods (in any country) being assaulted by dive-bombing mosquitoes and smaller equally nasty bugs you can't even see! But that's just me...

You can't get there from here

A frustrating morning! I'm getting ready for Dax's and my road trip to the French Bulldog Jamboree in Ontario. And, according to all of my up-to-the-minute, wonderful techno-toys - you can't get there from here. My two-year-old GPS is only good in the States, and can't be updated. And my astonishingly smart phone is pretty stupid, too. Apparently my carrier thinks that the world ends at the border.
I guess I'll just have to go the old-fashioned way. Point to point driving directions from one of my favorite websites. Isn't it amazing how quickly the world changes?
Back when I was in college (lo, these many decades!) I drove Chicago to Maryland with only a road map. No cell phone. No MapQuest. No TripTik (no AAA membership).
Now I feel "naked" without the GPS. I think this'll be good for me - getting lost can be part of the adventure!

Roc's New Most Favorite Toy EVER!

It's natural that our dogs test the products we buy for our business. Our shop specializes in things for little dogs, and our dogs are all little! The newest toy we've acquired is the Tuffy Flappy. Roc went crazy for it! The instant I tossed a couple on the floor, Roc made a beeline for the smaller one and wouldn't let go! He holds it, squeaking it, shaking it, and wiggling his tail! Too cute. We've never seen him stay attached to a toy for so long! He's still carrying it around today!