I can't go to the show that weekend...I'm going camping!

Anyone who knows me might need a minute to pick themselves up off of the floor and make sure that they're in the right blog, check that their glasses and screens are clean and that they didn't mis-read that statement. Just for clarity, let me repeat that: I can't go to the dogshow that weekend, I'm going camping.

Yep, it sounds the same way the second time.

Blame it on Karen Ramstead. Because this personal growth or fit of insanity, depending on your point of view, is her fault. Completely and 100% her fault.

Let me give you a little bit of history. A few years ago my husband, Sean, started going out with a group of people who thought it was fun to go dry camping and run their dogs in the desert on weekends. Dry camping - an activity involving sleeping in tents, on the ground, in undeveloped camp sites with no facilities other than a fire ring. Get the idea? Roughing it.

I was happy to let him take the dogs and take off, usually with my Mom, to meet up with Nicole, Patti and the rest of the Red Mountain gang for the weekend while I went to a dog show, slept in a real bed and had ameneties. Then Karen came to town.

I'd "known" Karen on line for some time. The woman is amazing. She has run the Iditarod several times, lives in the wilds of Perryvale, Alberta (that's Canada, not a typo for Alabama) several miles from the closest Starbucks. She has working dogs who show, and successfully too. She's amazing, because she does all of this while making us, her internet fanclub, feel like we're part of her team. When she does well, we all celebrate. When something goes wrong, we feel like we're sharing her pain and disappointment. Yeah, we're Karen groupies. Then she came to town.

I must have been at a point in my life where I was ready to learn more. When we attended her talk, I listened with my heart as well as my head. I heard her love for the dogs and their love for her while they were out on miles of trail without another person around. I felt my growing envy as she described the teamwork and relationships she developed with each of her dogs. I mean, I love my dogs and we have a great relationship...especially the ones who sleep in the bedroom or travel to shows with me. But the relationship she described went so far beyond that and it made me wonder. What was I missing by skipping out on running the dogs?

So I announced to my husband that I was going to Red Mountain with him that winter. When he picked himself up off the ground, he grinned. Or was that a grimace?

It's been two years of winter runs in the desert now. I can't describe the joy of watching my dogs do what is in their heart...running in harness. I can't describe the joy of watching Robin develop as a leader, choosing trail and developing the confidence not to look back and ask "is this OK?" as she moves the team around a turn and headed up the trail. The utter contentment as they curled up on their picket line, resting after a good run was amazing to see...even more so knowing that it would change in an instant if I were to pick up a harness and let them know we were going out again.

I couldn't tell you exactly what Karen said. Maybe it was her words and the light in her eyes as she described a trip with her dogs. Maybe it was the moment she told us about a lessons she learned from one of her dogs. Whatever it was, I'm glad she said it at the exact moment that I heard it. Because it made me say "I want that."

So I won't be at the dog show (insert random weekend here) ...I'll be up at Big Bear camping with my dogs. Hey, at least Big Bear has amenities...in the desert the only amenities you have are miles and miles of trail and that's more than enough for me.

P.S. Karen's coming down to Southern California again. If you're not going to be at the dog show that weekend, check http://www.urbanmushing.com/ for the details and registration info.

I love time with Mom

Don't get me wrong, I really do....but do all of my trips with her have to be preceeded by a bath? I mean, really, every time? When I go with Daddy I don't get baths. In fact, Daddy lets us play in the dirt.

I didn't get to go last weekend; Emmy got the bath and the trip with mom and they were gone a long time. Today it was my turn. Mom keeps muttering "2 more points" and I don't really get what she means, but I got a bath.

I'll let you know if I figure out what that "two more points" thing means.

Luv, Robin

Quality Control

Mom's been sending a lot of stuff out of the house, she says it's books and stuff...but I can read, this box clearly says "PetEdge." I'm pretty sure that means it's for us! Mom explained that it was trophies for the specialty coming up (that I don't get to show at, but that's another gripe, she's taking Emmy that weekend) and it has to go down to Three Dog Bakery in San Clemente so Aunt Claire can add the dog cookies to the trophy bowls. Hello? Dog, cookies..what part of ME isn't registering with Mom?

So, since she wasn't going to let me have anything in the box, including the squeaky toys, I did my best to make sure that she carefully repacked everything so that it shipped safely.

I tell you, in my next life I want to come back as a companion breed, not one of these working breeds!!!

Artie & Mercedes went to a picnic today. Again I ask...what about ME? They said they had fun, got to run in a tunnel and got lots of cookies...but some of the dogs didn't like them. WHAT? I may pick on the little rascals, but everyone else is supposed to adore them. No one doesn't like my little brother and sister. Mom says that Jindos don't really like "in your face" dogs...and Artie and Mercedes certainly qualify as that...so maybe I can understand their point of view. Mercedes said she sang loud and long all the way there and home. Good girl!

More later,
Robin

Has anyone seen my Nylabone?

Momma says some dogs don't even like nylabones or other hard plastic chew toys. She says her friends tell her that their dogs ignore them.

I don't know why she doesn't tell those people to send those unwanted, unloved and *whole* nylabones here. We're running low.

Love,
Robin

The craft room project continues...but first...

I have a co-blogger. Robin has decided that the canine view point is not being adequately represented and has decided that since part of the computer chair is hers, she should be able to help me on the computer too. That or she thinks she should help me with my dinner.

Now, remember "that" room? Here's the view down the hall. Not much has changed in this view, unless you put the two pictures side by side and I'm not smart enough with Blogger's picture layouts to do that.




















But look!!! There's a TABLE there! And tops of Iris carts! And those plastic boxes to the left? Those are ceramic house/village things that Mom bought that are going in the garage sale...and that's the last row of stuff before the back of the first row of Iris carts. Obviously the fabric/sewing area to the right is still a little out of control...but there's only so much you can get done at a time. The upholstery sewing machine is actually going to move over where those plastic boxes are, so we have to do things in just the right order to keep things moving in the right direction.



















But here's where you can really see the progress...almost the whole first row of Iris carts is visible and you can see all the way across the room! This is major progress. We've been putting stuff away (there's a concept), throwing junk away (yes, it's real junk, don't panic) and putting stuff in the garage sale room. That pile is HUGE! It's like Clean Sweep without the therapy...or the deadlines.

I'm really getting excited that we're going to have this room functional soon.

I just vacuumed yesterday!!!

I don't think there's anything else I need to add. I'll be the one with the broom over there in the living room.

What a day!!!

It started at 6am, something that hasn't happened in a LONG time...well, since I was laid off a couple weeks ago. (I'm OK with the layoff for those of you who haven't heard about it, the timing actually works out well for the whole "wife of brain surgery patient" role I'm filling right now.

Started the day at the neuro-oncologist. That's the doctor with dual specialties in neurology and oncology...brain tumor guy. He's the Dept. head, so I guess we were referred right to the top. Basically, he wants another MRI/MRV to see if that pesky vein is completely occluded. If it is then it's time for Brain Surgery: The Sequel to remove the rest of the tumor. He seems to think that it is completely occluded. Let me tell you, he's going to have to convince me before I let him cut into Sean's head again; I'd prefer not to have a stroked out vegetable for a husband. But if we can get the rest of the tumor out, that'd be a good thing. Then we had a break.

Since I haven't been over on that side of town for a LONG TIME (years, really) we went down to Pacific Art Glass in Gardena. What fun that was! While I was browsing the aisles I found some fun new things to play with. The first things I picked up were some cool paper packs from Glassline. Created with different colors and textures, they go between a clear and colored sheet, and when the firing is done, the texture shows. I'm picturing an etched Siberian Husky (reverse, so the dog's silhouette is clear and the rest of the piece is etched) on a complementary colored base. I think it's going to be stunning! It is in my head anyway!

Then I found fusible decal paper. Print the decal on the laser jet and slide the decal on and fuse it. I can scan and print photos, etc. Coasters with old sled-dog postcard images...all sorts of things come to mind, some of which are going to be surprises for the recipient, so I'm not going into much detail.

Then I found the Glassline paints. These aren't new, per se, but they're new to me, so I got black...should have gotten white too, that would have given me some good variety but I'll manage with just one color (no, Kelly, I didn't buy one of each color of either the paint or the paper...see how I've changed?)

As I was checking out, I turned around and saw Dicro Slide...a dichroic coated paper that I can make pretty dicro images from and fuse them onto plain glass....more ideas are born in my head.

After talking with the guys at the counter about a few other ideas I had cooking, I decided it was time to check out before I spent more money than we had (not hard to do since I'm not working right now!) and we left to go find somewhere quiet to sit and read while we waited for our next doctor's appointment.

This doc is a surgical oncologist. He does surgical radiation therapy and stuff like that. After a brief discussion of Sean's case, he dropped a bombshell on us. He needed us to locate Sean's medical records of the treatment he had for leukemia in 1974/75 before he could even start to figure out how the radiation treatment plan for Sean was going to come together. I could picture what the records we have look like in my mind....I was just hoping I could lay my hands on them when we got home. And I DID! They were in a folder labeled "Medical Records - Sean." Phew!!! That gave us a great starting point to contact the facility where the treatment was to see if there was any chance that they have the actual records available. But we know based on what the doctor said, that the info in these copies was enough for him to make plans from...but more info is better.

Then it was a drive to the optical place to pick up my new glasses (replacements for the ones that Robin ate at a few months ago and the puppies trashed the lenses last week) and then to the pharmacy to pick up a new anti-seizure med for Sean.

It's been a long day and tomorrow.....I'm sleeping in!

A corner emerges!

Before I get started on today's progress, here's a photo of the west wall that I didn't take yesterday. See that computer way down at the end??? That's supposed to be usable because that's the one that the networked printer is attached to...as well as the scanner. Out of the frame on the right are the sewing machines...a regular one and an upholstery machine. Actually you can see the standard machine's table under those boxes. Both are very nice to have...when you can get to them!

Then I decided to start in my corner...the glass corner. You'd be amazed how much dust can accumulate in 10 years when you live in a community that has ongoing construction. But, as you can see (well, I guess you can't see the shelf) all of the glass tools are put away, all of the glass molds are boxed and labeled on the shelf (look over the top of the paper boxes...that's the molds) and everything that wasn't glass related was removed from the table...almost.

That stack of three boxes is stuff for the Siberian Husky Club of America Meet the Breeds booth that I help with every year in December. Obviously I need to find a better place to store that stuff! This is the last year that the booth will be in Long Beach, CA...so hopefully next year I can ship it to another vicim...errr...volunteer.

In the bottom right corner you can see my small kiln. That was my first kiln and I've kept it for test firings and small projects...because I AM going to use this area! Over by the window are a stack of AKC Stud Books. I'm going to find someone who wants them and get them out of my house. I've gotten the reference info I need out of them for my database. I hope I don't have to throw them away, because they're good info....but I refuse to let them clutter up my space.

One of the biggest challenges was keeping the progress I'd made on my worktable. Taking non-glass stuff off of the glass table meant that it had to go somewhere, so it all stacked on the worktable. I'm happy to show that I didn't slide backwards. After gettting the glass table done, I cleaned the work table back off. It's not perfect, but at least I didn't lose ground there. Although you can't see it, I also got rid of two boxes underneath the glass table. I can sit and have somewhere to put my feet! Four bags of garbage, two piles of recyclables, a pile moved to the garage sale room, a couple of Ebay listings and 4 hours later, I pronounced myself satisfied and called it a day.

There's a room in here....somewhere!

When we bought this house, one of the huge selling points (other than the secure back yard for the dogs) was the fabulous 20x22' bonus room upstairs. The room has windows on 3 sides, west, north and south and was a lovely, empty room just waiting for Mom and I to move our studios into it and get back to our creative sides. Did I mention we bought this house in 2002?


Somewhere since then things have gone horribly wrong. Here, let me take you on a tour. Here's the entry way (a door has since been built at the hallway/landing area so that this room can be closed off...to keep the dogs out of course.

Looking into the hallway, you're looking at the south side of the room facing west... lovely windows and light, but you can't tell because we never open them! And the room looks a little...disorganized? Yeah, that's our word.
Here's the aisle between the two rows of very dusy iris carts...all neatly labeled and yes, their contents match the labels. And there's that beautiful south window. We've got blinds for all of the windows, which will go up when we can get to them!!!

Here's the north side of the room...the other end of the aisle you were just looking at. There in the upper corner is my glass station...or it was. It'll be back!


And here's the south side of the room...unfortunately, it's right at the entrance, so this is where stuff gets stacked before it gets moved somewhere else in the room to give us more room to stack.

Here's my worktable. As you can tell, I spend a lot of quality time here and get a lot accomplished!

After a couple hours of cleaning, we've got more stuff moved into the garage sale pile and look!!! we found a table top! This is my workspace (with the glass area behind me). I won't fib and tell you that everything on that table found a home...some of it is just boxed up to be gone through later...but it's a start!!!

I couldn't even contemplate taking pictures along the east wall, directly to the right as you go in the room. It's got Mom's upholstery and sewing machines, fabric and drawers of more fabric and my drawers of "haven't been used in 10 years" rubberstamps, as well as the desktop computer, another work table and...well, I'm not sure what else is under there. We'll save that for another day.

Wish me luck! Between my desire to get rid of everything I've not touched in 10 years and Mom's desire to keep everything...it should be entertaining watching this room evolve into a working space.

It's never to early to start training the puppy

Here's Quinn and her first time out in harness at 5 1/2 weeks.

Ok, so maybe she didn't pull anything (esp that cart in the background) but she didn't try to eat the harness...she's light years ahead of Robin who has 3 smart phones and 2 harnesses on her side of the score board so far.

The puppies had another uneventful weekend out camping. Lots of people to play with, lots of new dogs to meet...it was probaby be their last camping weekend before they start heading off to their new homes.

Our First Camping Trip...by Rachel

Last weekend we did something really different...Mom packed us up in the van with Momma and some of the big dogs and we went on a car ride. Now, last time we went on a car ride, it was just Mercedes and I and we went to somewhere Mom calls work....but it was fun!

This time when we stopped we got out of the van and into our room but it was in a weird place! Momma showed us how to dig in the dirt when she could move the pen without Mom catching her. Digging is FUN! Momma said there were goats and chickens too, but Mom didn't let us go play with them...maybe when we're bigger. Momma tried to bring some of the goats over to us, but Mom made her stop. I wonder if we're always going to have to listen to Mom when she bosses us?



When the sun was shining, we got to play in our room...but when it got cold, Mom put us in the van with Momma so we could keep warm. I think we kept her moving us back and forth from our room in the van to our room outside all weekend! And this mat thing? I guess we're not supposed to chew on it....but it was right there! What's a puppy to do?

That's me, Rachel. I tried this "please take me out of here" eyes on Mom, but she didn't fall for it once. I'm going to have to work on the look....I must be missing something. I'm going to keep working on it. I mean, really, how can you resist this look?

Kurt thought he could eat his way out of the room we were in. He's always trying to eat something...he's such a piglet.

Quinn found something called a Bully Stick that she chewed on when Momma stopped chewing on it. She said we'll like it better when we have bigger teeth....we're going to get bigger teeth? That's awesome!!! Imagine the things that'll fit in our mouth then!

It was an exhausting weekend. We played a lot, learned how to dig in the dirt and, of course, met new people who kept telling us how cute we were....like we've never heard that before!

On the drive home Mom kept making this noise she calls "singing." I'm not going to tell her who started yelling every time she sang....but I tell ya, it's hard for a girl to get her beauty sleep with

that noise she makes! Good thing we don't need much!

We're going camping in a new place next weekend Mom says. I can't wait to see what we learn there!

Our first escapee from the whelping box

Our first escapee from the whelping box was this quiet looking young lady, Mercedes! I would have bet on Rachel.

Last night we had our first puppy nail triming sesson. Everyone handled it well, some of them even fell asleep during the process. I only quicked a couple of them and a few belly rubs later they forgot and let me continue on.

Surfaces puppies have "walked" on (walk being a relative term): vinyl, fleece (both high pile & blanket), tile and loose plastic. They've also spent quality time in the room with the vacuum cleaner...I can't wait until they're big enough to chase it! And, of course, since they're in the bedroom, they're learning to sleep through the scariest of noises, my snoring!!

In no particular order, here are the rest of the 19 day old photos of the Glees

Finn

Quinn

Kurt

Rachel

Artie

Our first photo shoot

The puppies had their first individual photo shoots today. With Daddy and Grandma off doing trailer things (Grandma just bought a wonderful 2002 Chalet Aspen that she's going to let me use until sometime later) I got to be the puppy wrangler and photographer. Let me tell you, that was no easy task.

Taking a page from a friend's book, I picked up a puppy and just snuggled her until she settled down (I started with the girls, the boys are so much easier!) and then put her down for her picture, grabbed the camera and started clicking.

She just looks still and quiet. Satinka's girls are Satinka's girls! Thank goodness for the continuous setting on the camera, because there are about a million shots showing her trying to wander away from the camera... and she can't even walk much yet. Yes, that's just a hint of an opening eye there on the right.

This little girl is her Mother's Daughter! She announced her arrival at Kaos at the top of her lungs. She's the first to figure out how to stack up her brothers to use their heads to try and climb out of the whelping box (no mean feat considering she can't really walk yet nor can she see!) and she's the first to start to open her eyes. She's got trouble written ALL over her!

Yes, she looks like she's sleeping, but this little munchkin is just trying to decide which side the flash is coming from so that she can move her head away from me. I have several lovely pictures of the back of her head!!! More open faced than the first girl and lighter than the 2nd girl, it's going to be much easier to tell all three girls apart than it was with Emmy's litter.

As has become tradition with Satinka (does 2x make a tradition?) this little guy was born on my bed. Tinks was supposed to be sleeping in her whelping pen (a luxury suite that a mastiff would probably be comfortable in!). But she was restless and uncomfortable, which translates into me not sleeping either, so I let Tinks up on the bed for some belly rubs. I fell asleep...she had a puppy. At only 8 oz, this little guy has given me some concern, but I think he's going to make it. He's just so sweet and snuggly and such a little fighter! I recognize his "I'm hungry NOW" cry in my sleep. He's a little blurry because I didn't want him to start fussing. Maybe I'm babying him a little much, but we're trying not to over-stress him...so he's fuzzy...get over it :-)

The boys are just quieter (with the exception of Mr. Hungry). This little guy woke up when I picked him up, snuggled for a few seconds and went back to sleep. At least I didn't have to chase him around the bed with the camera!! I always wondered if Blaze would pass on his quiet, laid back temperament....at this point I'm guessing Yes. Again, the boys have helped me tell them apart by having different markings. Much more accommodating than Emmy's brothers. We could only tell two of them apart by the size of the white tip on his tail!

Of course, in every sweet boy, a little bit of Satinka is going to come out....even in his sleep. That or he's making a comment on my photography skills that should have been kept to himself!!

Mondays aren't all that much fun.....

....under the best of circumstances. But the Monday after a holiday (I did have to work Friday) with a litter of 3 day old puppies who insist that midnight to 3am is their play time is even harder.

But they're so darn cute....more photos tonight!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a happy Thanksgiving here; Satinka whelped six darling puppies - 3 boys and 3 girls Thanksgiving morning. They're all gray again too! She had an easy time of it, with Daddy serving as her chief assistant. My job was to weigh puppies and hand them back....quickly.

The three boys came out quietly...the three girls came out screaming their heads off. If there are three "Satinka" girls in this litter, we're in BIG trouble.

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I'm almost a Recognized Breeder!

And I couldn't be more relieved.

Riverside County says Recognized Breeders collect and remit sales tax to the State. I now have my Board of Equalization number so I can collect and remit sales tax to the State. You know, from all of those litters I have (looking at the 18 mo old Emmy and wondering when there may be room for a little sister) and all that income selling puppies produces (really, it's right over there, I just haven't had a chance to deposit the thousands of dollars I made on that single breeding, it's under my mattress).

Now, to complete the "Recognized Breeder of Riverside County" challenge (premiering this fall on the ICan'tBelieveIt Reality Network), I have to remember to send in my Riverside County Business Registration for my home business. Yep, apparently if you show dogs and breed them and sell a puppy, it requires business registration. I know the County is going to make TONS of money on my income (see above).

Oh, wait...it's not Responsible Breeders they're looking for...it's "Recognized Breeders"

Definitions:
a. Recognized Cat or Dog Breeder: Any business or hobbyist (i.e. every individual, firm, co-partnership, joint venture, trust, business trust, syndicate, association or corporation) whose intact, licensed (dog only) and micro-chipped dog or cat, sires or gives birth to, at lest one litter of offspring consisting of at least two(2) live births, within the preceding five (5) years and who has on file with the Department of Animal Services all of the following:

i. A letter to the effect that the breeder is a member in good standing of a Department approved breed registry club or governing organization which has a code of ethics covering pet reproduction,

ii. A State of California seller's permit,

iii. A current Riverside County business license, and
iv. Kennel and/or cattery license, if applicable. If not required, then each dog 4 months and older, maintained at the property shall be licensed. No similar requirement exists for cats.

b. Department-approved Breed Registry Club or Governing Organization: Those clubs and organizations accepted by the Department of Animal Services as being acceptable to issue a letter of good standing for a Recognized Cat or Dog Breeder. editorial note: this list does not exist, making it very difficult to comply.

Don't you like how they make that retroactive for five years? That's pretty much going to eliminate everyone except the commercial breeders who already do all those things...I mean, they do, right?

I swear, jumping through these hoops is going to somehow make me a better breeder? And, really, a hobbyist has to have a business license (which, actually in Riverside County is a business registration, Riverside County doesn't have business licenses).

But them's the rules...and since I live here I have to follow them. Did I mention that the 5-8 year plan has us leaving California for anywhere else?

Nothing...really

I have it on good authority, from my learned friend Kelly who found the info on some esteemed author's site, that five things make a blog entry. I also learned that from her that whining gets you things...to which I can only reply "DUH."

So...

#1 - Surgery on the foot is scheduled Oct 9, although I'm calling weekly to see if there are cancellations. My theory is that scheduling woman will get tired of hearing from me and schedule me so that I'll stop calling her. We've figured out how to get me and the dogs taken care of for the first couple of weeks, thanks to friends and furloughs.

#2 - I hate furloughs. The State of California has instituted furloughs to assist in balancing their budget. Now I need to notify the mortgage holder, the gas companies, the electric company, etc that due to the State of California balancing their budget from my wallet that I'll be passing the furlough effects onto them. They can e-mail Arnold at http://gov.ca.gov/interact#email and let him know what they think. At least Sean's not getting paid with IOUs.

#3 - where are those great homes for Tipton and Sage? We've civilized them, they're now wonderful, sweet house dogs. I'm actually going to miss them...but can't wait to find them their new homes.

#4 - I'm pretty much done with summer. (Those of you who've known me for a while better be sitting down). I can't wait until it cools off enough to go camping with the dogs. Of course, the aforementioned foot surgery could make that less than enjoyable...but at least it won't be 100 degrees and humid!

Well, if I count the learning things from Kelly, that makes five things and a blog entry, right? I sure hope so! I'm going to go watch my DVR'd Hell's Kitchen.

Oh, I thought of #5....Philadelphia Eagles should be ashamed of themselves. Absolutely ashamed. Yeah, he's done his time, been rehabilitated, blah blah blah.....paid his debt to society. And now he's back to making millions. Ain't America great.

Life before dogs

Before I had dogs, I had another life. I was an artist. My mediums were rubber stamps, bookmaking, beads and then glass. A dear friend and I traveled down this addictive path together and she became an amazing jewelry designer. Her website http://www.silverparrotdesigns.net/ and while I love my dogs, I'm somewhat envious that she's still actively engaged in her artistic outlet while raising an absolutely wonderful son as a single mom.

And why am I writing this? Because she's having a contest to get rid of her extra stash of beads and I want them....because, you know, someday I might return to the craft room....someday. Shameless, aren't I?

When it's quiet...worry.

Those of you who are parents know that rule. Those of us with Siberian Huskies have a similar rule.

Last time it was quiet, the dogs were outside with Daddy's Blackberry (for the 2nd time). That's Dogs: 3 - Smartphones (and people) - 0 for those of you keeping score.

Remember when the Satinklette's got my new glasses? Yep, another quiet time that should have been investigated.

I got new glasses yesterday. Then, while I sit over here at the computer, I hear the sound of hard plastic....what on earth could that be? You guessed it. Robin thought my new, purple bifocals would be cool.

Luckily for her, she didn't past the "sneaking them out of the house" stage of destruction.

One of these days we're going to be smarter than the dogs.