Heading Home...

All of my clients are still asleep - humans and critters. Mike arrived late last night and then we watched Doc Hollywood, so I could see Sleepy Hollow and the barn again, then we talked and it was well after midnight when I finally crawled into bed. I'm up and packed and have fed the kits - apparently Mike fed the canine corp around 6 a.m. Honeybun is MIA and I'm assuming that she's in bed with Mike and Kelly, since Natasha is out here.
I'm looking forward to getting home, walking the Rs, and spending lots of time with Lovey and Banichi. And I'm sure that Gimpy thinks I've completely forgotten him and his family; I must put out some peanuts when I arrive home and greet the kits. Here at the house in Brighton, there are a great number of cottontail rabbits, and several red fox. The sight of a fox sets Nikki off and she will bark frantically for an hour or so, which causes Kohlbi to join in, and that sets off the nearly blind and deaf poodle. Charlie will run to the front door and bark for over 30 minutes, even though he can't hear or see a thing.... it's an experience!
Have a super weekend!

Sliding on Ice - Again!

Well, I'm at Mike and Kelly's house, taking care of 3 dogs and 5 cats, and assisting Kelly when she needs it. Mike has Kohlbi (Suki's grandson), Nikki (the German Short-haired Pointer), Shadow, Abbie, Boris and Natasha. Kelly brought Charlie, a 13-year-old charcoal grey toy poodle into the family; and the first night I was here, Mike and Kelly adopted (from PetSmart) a 3-year-old spayed cat named Honeybun. Nikki misses her Daddy terribly; Kohlbi wanders around looking for him; the cats grab as much love from me as they can get; and I'm helping integrate Honeybun into this large mixed family. Honeybun is a DSH, basic color silver grey, but she's also a dilute tortoiseshell with orange splashes and blobs in her coat. She seems to be doing well.

I was heading back to Boulder on Monday morning to care for my kits and to walk the Rs. I never made it out of the yard... The last bit of drive goes uphill to the street level, and I was backing out, and I hit ice under snow. The car, while in reverse, started sliding forward, and to the right. I cut the wheels to the left, and put the car out of reverse and into drive, hoping to steer away from the edge of the ditch, and not have the front passenger wheel of the Prius go over the edge. It didn't happen. The car, with no traction on two inches of slick ice, slid, and the weight of the engine pulled the front passenger wheel right over the 3-foot drop. Since the Prius is a front-wheel drive, I was out of luck. Had to call the Emergency Towing Service to pull me out of the ditch; and since there was no real accident involved, I was stuck at the end of the waiting list due to all of the other accidents that were actually blocking traffic. I slid off the drive at 8:40 in the morning; the tow truck arrived at 5:50 in the evening. Luckily, the car slid off at just the right place and the right angle, so that absolutely NO damage was done to the car. I was certainly worried about it... but Mike was real cool and said it didn't bother him, and that accidents do happen... I still felt as if 15 tons of pressure had been removed when the mechanic checked the under carriage and the engine and told me it was all A-OK....

I had my follow-up visit with Dr. Repine about my knee yesterday - I've made such excellent progress that he's released me from further care (unless I fall and damage the same knee again). He was amazed at how flexible I was, and said that people shouldn't be able to place the bottom of their foot under their chin. While our snow and ice continue, I'll keep wearing the knee brace when I walk dogs and/or am out hiking. He was very happy with the progress I've made, and just told me to keep on walking, and to swim when I can. I'll be following his advice.

Lovey and Banichi have missed me dreadfully, as I am missing them. I came over to Brighton Saturday night, and have been home to love, feed, clean potties, and play with them on Tuesday and Wednesday. I'll see them again tomorrow and return home on Saturday. Yeah!!! Sleeping in my own bed with my own kitties... I can hardly wait!

Yahoo! Winter Olympics! Westminster Dog Show!

When I lived in Florida and Virginia, the Winter Olympics were something I watched occasionally - usually the ice skating, but nothing else (although I do remember the winter that Jean-Claude Killey was the star, and I watched with Mom and Dad)... Now that I live in Colorado, I can appreciate the grit, determination, drive and nerve that Olympic contenders need. I feel out-of-control on a small sled on a very small hill - there's no way you could get me on skis or a snowboard or a luge/bobsled and go well over 70 miles per hour! (A good gallop on a horse going 35 to 40 mph is the fastest I want to go without a seatbelt, helmet, and/or roll-bar. And I consider the hard roof of a metal vehicle an imperfect roll-bar at that, rolling down the highway at 75 mph.) But I am really enjoying the Winter Olympics this time around - maybe it's because skiing, snowboarding, and sledding are all around me from October through April, and I've learned (some of) the terms. In any event, I was happy that Bode got the Bronze in Men's Downhill; and I'm happy for all the others winners of medals, as well.
Thanks to a heads-up from Kathryn, I watched the first half of the Westminster Dog Show last night on USA and then CNBC. I had never seen a Norwegian Buhund before, nor a Pyrenean Shepherd. It was nice to meet two new breeds last night, and tonight the AKC will admit the Irish Red and White Setter, as well. Last night, in the Hound category, the top three were (first to third place): the Whippet, the Greyhound and the Scottish Deerhound. In the Toy division: the Toy Poodle, the Pekingese, and the Shih Tzu. In the Non-Sporting group, the results were: the French Bulldog, the Chinese Shar-Pei, and the Bulldog. In the Herding group, the winners were: the the Puli, the Belgian Sheepdog, and the Bearded Collie. Tonight, the three remaining groups, Sporting, Working, and Terrier, will be judged and the best of all seven groups will then face off before another judge for the Best in Show. I have to admit that since I am close to certain breeds, I root for them, unless somebody really catches my eye....
I am continuing to read like mad, as my PC is still in the repair shop - it's fixed, I just have to come up with the cash to get it back - and hopefully that will occur before the end of this month.
In the meantime, know that Lovey and Banichi are doing well, as am I; that I'm walking Rosie and Remy Monday through Friday; and that I'm enjoying our winter. It's cool outside, but as long as my ears and hands stay warm, the cold doesn't bother me - it's usually still below freezing when I walk the Rs in the morning. My knee is returning to its normal self - I have almost my full range of movement and flexibility back, and it only aches if it's below 20 degrees.
I'm still coughing from the bronchitis that is still hanging on, but the coughing usually only happens when I talk... So I'm not saying much these days. Take care!!

Hey, Again!

Well, I seem to have screwed up my computer more than I realized... and, not having a credit card, I'll have to wait until March 1st to get my PC back from the guys who have fixed it. It's no big deal. But I won't be posting regularly until I get my tower back....
I never thought I'd be excited about the Winter Olympics, but since so many of the US team live, play and practice in Boulder and the surrounding area, I find that I'm excited and hopeful for the youngsters I've come to know through local events. At the moment, my favorite is Shaun White - that young man has charisma! (And he'd rather be known as Animal, the band drummer from Sesame Street, this year, rather than the Flying Tomato.) I've met Gretchen (her surname has escaped me) and Lindsey Vonn and both are very nice young ladies. I don't know anything about the ice skaters this year, other than a pair have been stranded in Philadelphia due to the east coast's blizzard....
Alexy had a Golden Eagle in her backyard the other day, and sent me photos - the magpies, crows, and ravens were keeping up a horrendous outcry, so she went out to check on her cats, and saw the eagle in her cottonwood tree. She said it's wing spread was at least 6-feet, when it flew away (after inspecting her and her camera quite closely). The kits are fine - Lovey is sleeping on my heart as much as she can; Banichi curls up next to my hip or on my neck. The Rs, Suki and Boo, and Brandi are fine. On the 21st I start taking care of critters in Brighton ( a 50 to 60 minute drive), but I'll be home and walking the Rs every other day. Then I get to gird up for the onslaught of Spring Break and back-to-back-to-back bookings.
Oh, and be glad you can not see me. Two weekends ago, something bit or stung my upper lip just below my left nostril. I had an allergic reaction to it, and the bite swelled up to the size of a golf ball, completely blocking my nose. Now all the skin has sloughed off, leaving a huge scab on my left upper lip. Two days ago, my recurrent shingles showed up on my right nostril... I look like I need to wipe my nose all the time and/or just get a new one!
Take care of yourselves, my friends!

Snow and Mist on the Mountains

There was snow on the ground this morning, but it's already gone. The mountains are being kissed with low-hanging clouds and mist even now - and I'm pretty sure it's snowing up there. I saw that the mid-Atlantic is expecting to get about 20 inches of the white stuff ... we're supposed to get about 6 to 8 inches Sunday through Monday here. Gimpy came and rattled the door this morning - I put out a bunch of Multi-grain Cheerios, but then he came inside and explored all the usual places I put nuts down for him, so I gave him a large handful. He sat and ate the nuts and made the lesser guys eat the Cheerios... He certainly had a good time "lording" it over the younger, smaller squirrels. Lovey and Banichi were upset that he came inside (he hasn't been in for a while), but, after I told them it was OK, they ignored him, or tried to, anyway.
I don't know why, but I was surprised to find out that the actor, Richard Boone was a seventh generation nephew of Daniel Boone... That means he was a very distant cousin of my husband's. And I had to laugh when I found out that Time Magazine had published his measurements (chest, waist and hips) in an article from 1959... My, my... I guess it was a result of the guys wanting to know all the starlets measurements at the time. I've read all the Mississippi Delta - Sarah Booth Delaney mystery novels now; and I'm setting out on the authors other books now - I still have 7 new books to read. But I want more. I'm turning back into a reading machine, and that has made my kits extremely happy. Hopefully I'll have my PC back on Monday.... Have a super weekend. Go Colts!!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Gosh, it's already February! My PC hard drive is currently at the computer emergency room, being de-bugged. I hope to have it back, up, and working by next Monday... (cross your fingers, please). I have read everything Lillian Stewart Carl has on offer at our public library, plus three of her other novels - I can't wait to have my own copies of all of them... The fourth Jean Fairbairn and Alasdair Cameron mystery is set in Colonial Williamsburg - and it was wonderful to read. Now I'm ready and waiting for the next novel, The Blue Hackle. I've also been thoroughly enjoying the books written by Carolyn Haines - I finished her fifth book yesterday morning, read all of her sixth yesterday afternoon and evening, and started on the seventh (reading six chapters) before I turned out my reading light. Oh, it's nice to find a new author you enjoy reading!!
The kits are doing fine. Lovey spent 10 minutes this morning chasing her tail in the bathtub - I got dizzy just watching her... Banichi is being a big smoochy boy - curling up as tight as he can next to me in bed. And they are enjoying their twice a day play outside time - I know there's a new dog in the complex, and I'm afraid it is chasing the squirrels and keeping them away... I miss Gimpy greeting me every morning! Suki and Boo are doing fine; and today Remy and Rosie and I ran into three different dogs, including arch-rival Brio, and other than one small growl (from Rosie), they were perfectly behaved! I was very happy. We also saw Aiko and Yoshi, Archie and Veronica; and saw Brandi, Tippie and Lizzie in their yards. It was a very nice, refreshing stroll this morning. And yesterday, a male fox trotted across the street about 40 feet away from the Rs and me - they did bark at him!
As soon as I get my PC back and running, I'll be back to posting (including photos) on a daily basis. Take care!!