Teddy at the trade show

Another time-out from Hope's RV adventure for one of Teddy's. Last weekend was the H.H. Backer Christmas Show, one of the biggest trade shows of the year, right here in the Chicago area. Hope and I go every year to touch base with some of our suppliers, place orders, and scope out great new products. Since it's so close to home, we feel obliged to check in at the shop before we make our way to the show, but this year the traffic gods were smiling down on us and we made it to the show just after opening time! And we must have been extra-organized because we finished the entire second floor of the show on the first day! (The second floor has more manufacturers and is generally more time-consuming for us.)

So on Saturday Hope decided to bring Teddy to the show. I'm writing this post because Hope had to pay attention to Teddy, making sure he was behaving himself and not mooching too many treats, so I was following Hope and Teddy down the aisles. Teddy was a perfect gentleman, saying hello nicely to anyone who wanted to say hi to him. And most people did. It's a good thing that we didn't have much to do on the first floor of the convention center because it took us three times longer than it would have if Teddy weren't with us! People were stopping us in the middle of the aisle, stooping down to pet Teddy. Vendors were coming up to Teddy with samples of treats. Other buyers were taking Teddy's picture! Teddy got a new harness from the nice guys at EzyDog! And Teddy demonstrated the Tornado at the vendor's booth, getting way too many treats! (Smart little fellow - I don't think he'd ever seen the Tornado before. His favorite is the Brick!) And Teddy was even game for climbing on a fitness ball at the end of the day! (Teddy learned about fitness balls in his Puppies With Purpose class.) Walking behind Hope and Teddy, I was able to see all the other people turning to watch Teddy and smile. People crowded around, snapping his picture at each stop. But doesn't it just figure, we forgot our camera! Afterwards, Teddy was tired afterwards on the ride home (taken with a puny cell phone camera). - Fran

RV adventure - Part II

So when last we heard, our heroine (me) was sitting at the top of a New Hampshire mountain at a storage facility with her brand-new 13-year-old ginormous RV, less than a quarter of a tank of gas and a hand-drawn map showing how to get to the highway.
After a "here I go, wish me luck!" call to Fran, I set off. I quickly figured out that side-view mirrors are an RVer's best friends. If the mirrors fit, the whole vehicle fits. Another quick revelation - RVs are not good mountain climbers. In the New Hampshire mountains, for every down there's a very-closely-related up. I would like to apologize now to every single person who was out driving in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania on Saturday, September 25. Yes, that was me holding you up and forcing traffic to crawl at 25 mph. Sorry, sorry, sorry.
I also noticed the needle of the gas gauge going down - fast. I needed to find a gas station and I had no idea if I was anywhere close to hitting the interstate and its nice, wide-open service plazas. So when I saw a sign for fuel - I got off the little highway I was on and headed for the service station. Which was on the other side of a two-lane street and had minimal maneuvering room. And an awning.
I know all the hysterical scenarios being imagined here. None of them happened. I filled up (BTW - did you know most gas pumps cut you off when you hit $75?), back-and-forthed back into traffic and went on my merry way.
Remember my day started at home in my very own cozy little bed. Up at 4 a.m., off to O'Hare, flight to Boston, 2 hour drive to New Hampshire. Crash course in RVs.
So my merry way started after 1 p.m., Eastern time. I had a reservation at the Cheerful Valley Campground for that night. Cheerful Valley is in Phelps, New York, west of Syracuse. Which looked entirely do-able on MapQuest and in my TripTik. Both MapQuest and TripTiks expect you to be going somewhat close to the speed limit. Which I wasn't. I tried, but The Land Cookie just couldn't do it. And New York is a very wide state.
It was well after dark when I approached Cheerful Valley Campground. Which will be Part III.
-Hope

What's in a name?

So we interrupt the adventure for a small, related tangent. A few people are insisting we name the RV. We already have. It's the "Land Cookie."

Of course, there has to be a story attached to such an absurd name. And it's an "awwwww" kind thing, so a little bit embarassing. But we're all friends here, right?

When we were little, Fran, our Mom and I made up our very own fairy tale to help Saturday morning chores go faster. Our story featured our dog, Spunky, a Boston Terrier. We made him king of a tiny island in the middle of Lake Michigan. There was a whole lot more to it than that - years of spinning the yarn longer and longer. The upshot for our tangent is that King Spunky had a magical boat that could take him anywhere and back in an afternoon (adventures had to fit between school and supper). And his boat was the "Cookie."
Hence the "Land Cookie."
Hoping to live happily ever after.

-Hope

RV adventure - Part 1

Fran and I decided a while ago that we really needed a motor home. It's the perfect solution for spinster sisters with five dogs and high hopes of getting out of town - at least once in a while.

So we found the perfect one on, of all places, Ebay! And oddly enough - we won it.

The down side of the transaction - we're in the Chicago area and the RV was in New Hampshire. A week ago Saturday I flew into Boston, the seller picked me up at Logan airport, and took me to the RV. He gave me a quick introduction to the workings of the machine (no, I'd never driven one before), took his check, and took off. Leaving me alone at the top of a mountain with a mountainous vehicle.

It wasn't until a couple of days before I left that a few people mentioned that I was "intrepid" and "brave" for flying across the country to pick up an RV and drive it back. No one bothered to say anything before we bought it. Thanks, guys!

I'll let you in on the secret now. It was fun!

Good news & a headache

Back to the vet with Dax this morning for a recheck of her corneal ulcer. Good news - it's improving! I'll admit I've been scared spitless. Whenever we've had dogs suffering corneal abrasions or ulcers before, they've always healed normally in just a few days. One that wasn't healing but worsening was uncharted territory. I'm a glass-half-full kind of person, but I did have some nightmares of my competition/performance dog losing her vision, even her eye. We're hopeful that scenario is now only a remote possibility.
The good news didn't stop my headache, though. I spent an hour and three-quarters in the vet's waiting room with three, count 'em, three, unattended home-schooled children. Their other brothers and grandmother were in the exam room with the vet.
It's Monday. We have perfectly fine institutions to keep children during weekdays. It's called school. Free for the registration - sign your brood up now!
-Hope

It's always something

Tuesday is Daxie day at work - the one day she's the only dog in the office and I get to play and practice with her. This week she started squinting and goo was coming from her eye. So we stopped by the vet's office after work. First thought was an allergic reaction - but an exam showed a corneal ulcer. Two different drops, twice a day, recheck on Friday.

Friday showed the corneal ulcer had grown and worsened. Change of medication; ointment, antibiotic, pain pills and the cone of shame. Recheck this coming Monday. Fears of a "melting ulcer." I looked that up on the internet - it's about as scarey as it sounds.

The thing is - Dax is so very good at being miserable. I brought her with me today to give her a bit of alone time and so Teddy won't constantly be barking at her to get her to play. She's huddled up in a little bed on the bench, snoring away. I know she's uncomfortable, I know she hates wearing the cone, and there's not much I can do to make her happy right now.

There's no way I can let her know "hang in there, it's temporary." Dogs live in the moment, which is generally a good thing - they enjoy their lives without worrying about the future. But when "now" isn't fun and happy, they don't understand that tomorrow will be better.

Poor Daxie.

Where does the time go?

Wow - it's October already. We're getting ready for the holidays here at Golly Gear. We've already gotten our holiday pre-ordered items from a couple of our distributors and have to figure out where to put them! (They'll be up on the site very soon!) And next weekend is the big Christmas pet trade show here in Chicago. It's a good opportunity to scope out nifty new products, and take advantage of some great show specials from the manufacturers we already purchase from! I have a love-hate relationship with this show. I love it because it gives us a chance to reconnect with our suppliers and discover new products that we can't live without. I hate it because it's here in town so we have to take care of our regular business and everything else at home, and our feet hurt...