Weather or not

CRAZY snow! I thought last year was snowy but this is crazy. The Premera MLT campus is closed today, but I'm still working at home doing some teleconferences and programming a questionnaire. It snowed much of the weekend here in the Valley (and in the Big City of Seattle). Plus, we had some major wind-action as well with 50-60mph winds and 75mpg gusts. Thankfully, all of the trees in our neighborhood stayed upright.

Saturday was actually the best day of the week to go out in the car, so I took off for downtown Seattle to get some shopping done, but most importantly, to get to my hair appointment at Mode. I love my stylist, Molly. She and I click and I think she enjoys me as a client as I let her do some fun things with hair. So, I'm sporting a chic asymmetrical bob, flat ironed out, with BRIGHT red on the top and dark underneath - it blends beautifully. In fact, I have a picture that Jerill took because we are using this pic as my ski-pass pic...

Poor little Hybrid... the car hasn't been driven in a week now. I did brush all the snow off it after taking this picture as I felt bad for it. In this weather, I'll be relying on my Honda CR-V to get in and out of our driveway! The CR-V does great in the snow actually and I'm very comfortable driving it in this weather.

Poor Hybrid

Here's our main backyard

And our house, all snowy

Lucky has been having a hard time getting around in the deep snow (about 9 inches now and over a foot in some drifts!). He gets stuck and then starts to get a little panicky. I've been carrying him out to the road where it's not too deep. Mattie is in heaven with the snow; however, she gets really snow-bally and then melts out in the house. Scott gets little snow-balls stuck in his paws but that's really all that he has happen to him.

I groomed everyone this morning - brushed and trimmed Lucky and Mattie and brushed Scott out too. They all seem to enjoy their grooming times now - Mattie doesn't snap and growl anymore... she seems to go to her "happy place" and even gets a little cuddly.

Challenge

I was just given a blog-challenge from www.deltabluez.blogspot.com.
Basically, Here are the rules of the challenge:
1. You get selected
2. Go to the 6th folder and get the 6th picture
3. Post it and spill the beans
4. You pick someone else

Well, it turns out that my 6th folder in my generic PICTURES folder is "Mattie & Kuro Movies." And, in there were only 4 movie files, so I chose the last one, which is 50 seconds long and titled, Mattie, Kuro and the Bee.

Mattie, Kuro & the Bee: Kuro is Diane Pagel's (my herding instructor) gorgeous Scottish bred Border Collie (he is nearly 1 year old now, and probably 7 or 8 months old in this video). We took care of Kuro for a few months in the Summer while Diane underwent some health events. We LOVE Kuro and, as you can see in this video, so does my dog Mattie, the Smithfield Sheepdog. Mattie and Kuro would play like this for at LEAST 45 minutes every night that we had him with us. In this particular footage, you can see Kuro taking a bit of a whoopin' from Mattie, and his desperate attempts to find his magical "Busy Bee" in the basket of dog toys which, I seem to think, he believes will stump and confuse Mattie and make her go away. Or, he was inspired by the pest control "Rid-Ex" commercial on the TV, playing in the background. Kuro is one smart cookie!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4x4mkAH5IA&feature=channel_page

So, we are having some significant snow event right now - about 6 inches of snow has accumulated thus far (probably will end up being around 9 inches by tomorrow morning). It has been very cold for over a week now. The ground outside is frozen - I don't believe the dogs have ever experienced Perrma-Frost before (well, maybe Scott has since he lived in Canada for 6 years). I've been feeding my wild birds and squirrels a variety of breads and seeds today - it disappears in about an hour. Very hungry little forest creatures!

I took a glamour shot of Scott out in the snow today...

Here Scott is running up our sledding hill yard...

Mattie & Scott

I want to get my skis out. Yes - I got a limited snow-skiing pass this year, it's my very first one ever. I have skied probably 9 times now in my entire life, and 8 of those times were over 10 years ago (excluding Cross Country). I do have my own equipment now and a great support team comprised of Jerill, Andy, Amy, Liz and Laird. I just realized I really should be getting in shape physically actually in order to not hurt myself up there!

It's my father's Birthday today so we are going to the Casino Buffet for dinner - Snow or not, nothing will keep Pops away from all-you-can-eat crab legs and prime rib!

Perspectives 1

I'm not one to complain, too much. Sure, I have a tendency to whine a bit and my voice will go into that screechy tone once in awhile, but there are some things that just demand a good bitching. For instance, let's take neighbors who let their little, ratty dogs start barking EVERY morning at 6 a.m. including weekends. What is up with that? Doesn't it bother them to the point they will try to get their dogs to shut up? When my dogs bark in the house it bugs the crap out of me and they get a correction. Shame on those neighbors who let their cougar-bate sized dogs run around unsupervised and letting them bark, chase people, bikes and cars and bark at ME when I'm in my own freaking yard.

Now, because it snowed this weekend, let's get started about the drivers around here.

Has anyone ever heard of "keeping a safe distance between you and the car in front of you?" Why do retard drivers cut into that space then? In situations where I'm around these types of morons I tend to always have the same fantasy - it's about me behind the wheel of a 1987 Ford LTD Crown Victoria coupe and just running, no... make that drifting carelessly, into people who really deserve it. Cutting me off in a snow storms tells me you want to get hit hard. So, in my magical Ford LTD (did I mention it would be baby blue) I would be safely nestled within 3 tons of steel - while you, in your rattle-trap 4Runners, X5s and Dodge Ram pickups (the last of which may pose a bit of a challenge for the LTD) would heed the power, the stability and the sheer, raw brutality of "Baby Blue" - so aptly named.

See in the picture below how it doesn't even fit in the parking spot? The LTD may be ugly but it is a very awesome piece of machinery I have to say and it's super comfortable. I've actually driven a late 80's LTD before so believe me, I know what I'm talking about when I say the car is totally kick-ass...

Picture courtesy of Wikipedia.org

The snow storm at our house pretty much sucked. We didn't get too much snow compared to the lower valley or even in the Eastgate / Seattle area. I drove the Hybrid into work today and we did just fine.

Herding News: Saturday morning I had my 2nd herding trial ever. The drive to Long Branch, WA was tedious given the snow storm, fallen trees I had to drive through (wishing the CR-V had brush guards for that!) and the stupid idots who follow too closely, but I made it on time. I ran Scott in Pro-Novice and in Ranch again. And, my trainer was also at the trial (she is in what's called the "open" class - where the experienced handlers go with their experienced dog. Scott is an "open" dog, and I'm the novice handler, so that's why we're in Pro-Novice classes). Anyway, Scott and I didn't do so well - we got fourth out of five dogs running. My trainer went over where I went wrong though and we'll be working on that stuff for the future. But get this, after my trainer ran her own dog, Tess, in the open class (and she didn't do so hot), she let me run Tess in Pro-Novice. I haven't worked with Tess in months but she is an excellent, forgiving dog who knows her work. So, with Tess, I got first place! And, I ended up beating my trainer's own score with her own dog! It was surprising but felt very nice to win something! Now, I just have to start winning with Scott since he's technically my dog now.

Oh Christmas Tree...

Tis the season to decorate the tree! Jerill and I picked up our Pagan symbol of Christmas on Sunday at the Christmas Creek Tree Farm just down at the end of our road. It wasn't snowing on us this year like it was last year, but it was still good times. We finished dressing the tree last night. However, I continue to make little additions here and there. We got a small-ish tree this year (about 5.5 feet) and put it on a table. This is the ideal situation for households with dogs who like to jump up at windows and knock stuff down. It's also cheaper than a 6' or 7' one and who, other than my loyal readers, is going to know that I've got a short tree? Jerill and I had a 10 footer in our condo in Bellevue and we vowed to never get one that big again (it was cool though).

Our Tree...

Of course you can expect our tree would include ornaments that best represent our animals. So without further adieu...

Here's Lucky "muck-lucks" Thorpe

And George, the brilliant orange cat

And, Gigi Super Kitty

And, since they don't really make any Smithfield Sheepdog ornaments, this sheep ornament will do for Mattie

So, I'm looking forward to this weekend. First, it's supposed to snow, BIG TIME this weekend. I'm excited. I won't be driving the Hybrid to work tomorrow, simply because I will not take any chances of it snowing on my way home from work. Not that I can't manage in a front-wheel drive car, BUT, I have a AWD CR-V at home just itchin' to get some snow action. Plus, gas is so freaking cheap right now, it's not a big deal to let the Hybrid chill for awhile (literally). Then, on Saturday, when it's really supposed to be a white-out, I have a sheep trial in some place called Longbranch, WA. I'm trying to convince Jerill to let me take his Audi Quattro since it has those heated seats and all.

Does anyone know when How the Grinch Stoel Christmas is going to be on TV? I love the Who's song "Fah Who Fore Azz." I did just eat a significant amount of Divinity candy (it's like nougat with nuts in it and it's delicious). I'm on a total sugar buzz right now - just in time to make dinner!

Thanksgiving and then some

Well, this 2008 Thanksgiving came and went. Jerill was in Michigan visiting his family (2 brothers, 1 sister and 1 mom) for the week so I had the place to myself with exception of the 5 animals of course.

Thanksgiving Eve I went to the Winstanley's home for cocktails (Jack and Coke is THE drink of the season). Then on Thursday I picked up my parents in Jerill's new car and headed to my sister's house in Redmond for a traditional turkey feast. I have to say, our food was really great this year. My sis makes an excellent turkey, mom does great pies and roasts and I bring the veggies. I have a great recipe for Butternut Squash with Maple Syrup which replaced our traditional sweet potatoes with toasted marshmallows. 4lbs of butternut squash, cubed. Assorted cinnamon, nutmeg and paprika. Pour on the syrup. Bake in a big pile on a baking sheet (with parchment paper) and viola, a tasty alternative to sweet potatoes.

Friday was the only day I really got to "sleep in." For those of you who really know me, this means I slept till about 8:00 a.m. I tinkered around the house and then headed off to the farm to pick up Scott the dog and do some practice runs with him. Practicing REALLY helped me as my trial on Saturday went great - I got 2nd place in my Ranch course (out of 10 competitors). And while I was running a non-compete round in Pro-Novice (me being the novice and Scott being the Pro) I ended up scoring in the middle of the pack of participants. I'm really starting to get it and I like to trial. The people have been great so far. You'd never guess, really, who out there are herding sheep with dogs anymore. People of all walks of life do it!

I picked Jerill up from the airport on Saturday night. I was driving my mom's giant pickup truck that she lets me borrow for trials (I had four dogs with me). It was a little freaky as I'm not used to driving anything that large in traffic, but I managed to pull through. I guess I'll need to get used to a truck anyway since I'm getting one in the Spring. And, it's not like Jerill's new car is a "compact" vehicle by any means - it weighs as much as a truck and drives like a tank.

So, now parked next to my beautiful 45mpg Civic Hybrid sits a 2005 Audi Allroad. It's black, it's comfortable and it's got heated seats in the front and the back. The car actually has a lot of cool features to it - far more than the Hybrid does. However, Jerill is only getting 16/22mpg. Of course, while Jerill was in Michigan, I drove it everyday and thoroughly enjoyed the heated seats, moonroof and, although I'm pretty good with a map, the navigation system. I haven't come up with a good name for it yet, but it JUST pulled into the driveway! Time to address those meatball subs I promised to make for dinner!

The Corgi and the Smithie

I thought I'd write a little note about what a day in the life is like when you live with a herding dog. Or, in this case for the next couple weeks, two herding dogs.

First, you cannot be deceived by how cute they are. Although Mattie weighs in at just 33lbs and Annabelle is probably around 18-20lbs, these little buggers can get fierce.

Herding dogs love to play and romp and, well, herd. Technically, they should get in trouble for herding other dogs at the dog park and such because 1) it's not appropriate for them to do that and 2) it's just bad form to use those drives, instinct and skill, which took hundreds of years to perfect, on such "trivial" stock as Golden Retrievers and Jack Russell Terriers.

But, when in my home, a serious herding dog play romp is strongly encouraged. When Kuro the Border Collie stayed with us for 3 months (he was 6-9 months old when we had him so he was REAL fun and crazy) I took video of a typical evening -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxZEat3R1E8 Now with Annabelle, it's more of the same craziness, perhaps a bit toned down though.

Annabelle is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi and is about 2-3 years old, about the same age as my Mattie. The Corgi was bred to herd cattle. The reason they have no legs is to keep injuries, while herding cows, to a minimum. Basically, the Corgi will bite the cows lower leg to move it (cows are totally stubborn and strong willed), then the cow will kick because it's pissed that it just got bit, and the Corgi will miss getting kicked in the head because she is so low to the ground. I guess you can say Annabelle has it in her to play a little dirty by aiming low and running away.

Mattie is a Smithfield Sheepdog. She is a drovers dog, meaning her job is to drive (herd and push) sheep and cattle from the farm into the town where the sheep/cattle would be sold at market (in this case, the Smithfield Market) and then of course, sent to the butcher shops to be turned into delicious beef pastries and haggus. Her claim to fame is to basically do this "driving" for many miles across the cold and blustery English countryside without a lot of interaction with a handler/human and then to essentially "protect" the sheep/cattle or whatever it was she was charged with that day. Mattie has long legs, unlike Annabelle, and therefore she has to be able to turn on a dime to evade kicks and other defensive measures from cows and sheep - moving fast and biting hard is what she does best. Visit my website at www.geocities.com/smithydog123 for more info on the Smithfield Sheepdog.

Unlike Mattie and Kuro playing (female and male dogs), Mattie and AB are both female. Coupled with the fact they are herding dogs, I have to say the word "MANAGEMENT" is a part of my routine now. It is the norm in Dogdom that female herding dogs have a difficult time accepting other female herding dogs. So far, M and AB are getting along quite swimmingly. However, I am ALWAYS near when they play as their "play" can turn into a nasty little scrap and I don't want blood to be shed.

The following photos visually describe my typical evening with the three pooches (and the cats of course)...

Something is up because GiGi has that "WTF?" look. This is a clear signal that the dogs have started to get restless...

I walked in to find Mattie totally taking Lucky out. Yes, I actually do think she is holding him down with her left front paw.
Lucky was actually pretty ticked about getting such a smack down. I had to break that one up and rescue Lucky by putting him on the other side of the baby gate.
I feel as though Mattie decided she was going to guard her flock of magazines that fell off of the couch. Note the "play bow" position and AB's and Lucky's hesitation about moving in on the magazines.

Let the games begin. Note Mattie's beautiful coat (she got a bath last night). She is whipping around to ensure AB doesn't go in for an ankle attack... You can also tell AB is getting ready to unleash her inner-Corginess


Game On! Annabelle is going all out here - flared nostrils, forward posture and check out those teeth! Mattie's getting into position though by getting low to ward off the attack.

Dogs Dogs Dogs

Since my last post, I've managed to run in my first pseudo-herding trial, taken on a dog to sit for the next three weeks and managed to take the Hybrid into the shop.

Let's start with the Hybrid. On Thursday, Jerill drove the Hybrid to work and found that the driver's window, upon putting the window down, wouldn't go back up very easily. I myself ran into this little problem as well a couple weeks ago when I stopped to get the mail on the drive into home and discovered that the window was struggling to find its place in the window frame. It kept popping down and FINALLY it stayed up. So, I called the dealership on Friday morning and they had an opening so I took it in. The dealership is only about 1/2 mile from my work, so I took full advantage of their pick up and drop off shuttle service. It turns out that the window-sticking has happened enough with the Civic for Honda to issue a Service Bulletin about the problem. So, the service center already knew what needed to be replaced/repaired. The car was fixed up that same day and I left work on time and with a fixed window.

I picked Scott the Border Collie up on Thursday. HWY203 opened up that afternoon and so I trekked to Carnation and did the doggie pick up. Scott seemed very satisfied with his accomodations while he was with us over the weekend. He stayed in our doggie-room, that is downstairs in a heated semi-finished basement. He was such a good boy - no barking, no pottying in his room and he was just so happy with the constant supply of biscuits and treats. Keep in mind that Scott is a true working dog and has lived a barn-life his entire life, so he was very much used to being in his own space in the night.

The trial was, in all respects, a fun day for working our dogs. The judge was unable to make the event, so we weren't graded on performance at all. Here is a video of Scott and I herding - in this shot, we are running a ranch course and this particular exercise is called "turning the post"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTyeZGRKNWs

Here is a picture of the herding-nuts at this event. Everyone I met was very nice and their dogs were great too. I'm on the far right with Scott, who is schmoozing for treats...

On Friday night, Jerill drove to our friend Eric and Harumi's house in North Seattle. They are the proud owners of Annabelle, the Pembroke Corgi. Eric and Harumi asked us to take care of Annabelle for three weeks while they went to Japan to visit family. Annabelle isn't a large dog but she has a big attitude - she is a herding dog through and through and you know what they say about those female herding dogs! Mattie and Annabelle are getting along very well - much to my surprise as the last time they hung out together we had to keep them separated for fear of a bad scrap. Now, they are relaxed and staying out of each other's face. I guess once a dog hits 2.5 years old they really start to chill out - it's very nice. I mean, I love puppies but they are just so nuts. Age 3-8 is really the best time of a dog's life. So, here is a pic of the pack. Annabelle will be with us through early December.

I'll spare you the gripe I have right now with the Letter-to-the-editor expressed in the most recent edition of the Sno-Valley Star newspaper about the biology class that dissected sheep brains. It was a letter from a guy at PETA talking about the suffering of animals, yada yada yada. All I can say about PETA is they are a farce, they're full of crap, they kill animals and they are against everything true animal lovers are fighting for. Visit http://www.petakillsanimals.com/ for details.

C'est la vie

Fungus Among Us

The rains have stopped! It is still quite cloudy but as of 10:15 a.m. the rain finally stopped. Our mountain was touched with snow this morning as well - it's quite chilly outside. At the conclusion of the rain spell, I grabbed Mattie and my camera and went mushroom hunting in our yard. I found some great specimens (all poisonous I'm sure).

These little "button" type mushrooms are all over the yard.

This was a single, with a skinny stump. Pretty camel color.

Not the prettiest fungus out there, but neat. Note the light colored ring around the edges. It's already started to decompose it looks...
These guys were right under our swing set. Really a nice deep orange color, and they're medium sized mushrooms.

These ones looked like truffles (but they aren't). They're very rounded and very dark colored.

I found this white one already flipped over. It was the coolest one so far.

Fallen leaves from our maple tree.

The only animal I could find was this single typical garden variety slug on our doorstep, munching on some old flower.

I was going to leave for Carnation at lunchtime to pick up Scott the herding dog since our trial is this weekend. However, HWY 203 is shut down for awhile due to flooding. I'm confident I can get Scott tonight or tomorrow but I really wanted to just get him today as it would be easiest. The herding trial is on Saturday in Roy, WA. It's classified as a "fun" trial for members of the Washington Stockdog Handlers Association but I think it will be great practice for me prior to my "real" trial on the 29th. I think I'm ready. However, even with the most experienced dog out there (which Scott probably will be), a trial run can still be disasterous!

Remember, it's not the dog, it's the handler. That's my mantra.

A Lot of Rain

So, where I live is known to receive twice as much rainfall as Seattle. Typically, Seattle gets an average of 60 inches of rain a year - in the beautiful Snoqualmie Valley, it's around 120 inches. That's a lot of rain. Having grown up in the Valley though, I'm used to it. I always appreciated the frequent dry days we would have in the Winter when I lived in Seattle and Bellevue.

Last week, I think it rained maybe four inches in one night. Tonight, reports indicate we'll be getting between 2-7 inches of rain overnight. However, the weekend looks to be nice and partially sunny!

Flooding isn't a big concern for our home - we live on a hill. However, high winds are also predicted tonight and tomorrow. This scares me a bit. Last year, we hadn't even made a payment on our home yet (we moved in October) and a tree fell on our house during a freak-wind storm. Nothing major was damaged, but we did lose a shed, some shingles, the little chimney and a couple of lawn chairs.

What I do like about the rain is that my car looks clean. And, the oddest looking mushrooms pop up in our yard. I failed to get pictures of the fungus but I noted 4 different species in our lower yard after the last heavy rain (all were non-edible). I'll have to go out tomorrow and check to see if we have more.

Jerill is coming home late from work tonight so I'm meeting him at the NB Bar and Grill -we eat there about once every 10 days. It's our favorite all-American food place in the Valley. But, appraently a new all-American type place is opening soon just a block or so away.

Our favorite Chinese food place here is Got Rice in Snoqualmie. Favorite Mexican joint goes to Ana's up on Snoqualmie Ridge. Best fast-food - Arby's, hands down. However, don't waste your time on the new Fried Macaroni on the Arby's menu -- we tried it and it was just 'okay.' And of course, best Japanese food has to go to the Snoqualmie Casino (it's the only place in town that serves sushi).

Ciao!

Dream Cars

Okay, not that my Hybrid isn't nice or anything, but I have to say I fell for a few cars at this year's Seattle Auto Show. Jerill and I went to the Show on Sunday with my parents, Carole and Arnold. I inherited my interest in cars from my parents who have probably had more cars that I care to count - some of which have been quite cool including a '67 Mustang, a Jag, an MG, and even a Model T. Here are some of the goodies from the show...

Okay, this is the Audi A8L - this is my dream car for commuting.
It's HUGE, comfortable and totally awesome. Quattro AWD, auto-everything.
And, it's really fast. MSRP around $87K to start.

Can't forget the new Aston Martin - same model as the one in the upcoming James Bond movie. This one will run you about $300K. This car is nice but I don't really WANT it like I want the Audi A8L or the other white one...

My Dad jumped into the 'fun' car they had at the show - the Flinstones Car. It was pretty plasticy but still pretty cute.
I believe it actually does run - although this one didn't appear to be powered by foot-power.

And, in my opinion, the creme de le creme of cars. The Porsche GT2. I've always loved the GT3 and this is their newest model into the line of Porsche Supercars. You can drive this as your every-day car, and then race it in Grand Prix events. Totally sexy, totally fast, totally Porsche. MSRP $197K



After the auto show, we decided to visit the new Snoqualmie Casino that just opened last Thursday. It was busy but bearable. We ate dinner in the Buffet as my parents are retired and LOVE buffets. This one is definitely better than the OCB (Old Country Buffet), and ALMOST as good as the Buffet in the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. They offered a nice array of meats, seafood and Asian foods. Their desserts were pretty good (chocolate covered cream puffs and sundae bar). We didn't gamble one cent though. However, I will probably be back this week (Thurs?) to eat at the Sushi place in the Casino and try my luck at those 3 cent slot machines.

GiGi Super Kitty

GiGi is our 4 year old, pastel calico cat. I rescued GiGi from the Seattle Animal Shelter in November 2004. She was supposed to be a foster but I failed there and ended up adopting her because Lucky and George, our other cat, got along with her so well (plus, we fell in love with her too). I picked her out of a litter of 5 kittens. She was the skinniest, sickliest looking one of the bunch - the only one not playing. Knowing I could only foster one cat at a time, I took her to try to rehabilitate her. I wouldn't say she was feral, but she did spend her first couple of days at home hiding behind the toilet and hissing when we got near. Then, she figured out that people were her food source and she quickly become a totally loving, happy little cat. Here is a kitten picture of GiGi after she put on some weight...

For the last few weeks GiGi had been acting pretty strange. She was SUPER hungry all the time and actually would try to steal food off our dinner plates, she would push Lucky the dog out of the way and start to eat his food, and she would constantly be hanging out by the pantry where her cat food was stored. Then, this past week or so, she started behaving oddly - sleeping under the bed and not trying to steal food anymore.

I took her to the vet on Thursday and she was diagnosed with something called Hepatic Lipidosis, or "fatty liver disease." Apparently, GiGi put herself into a state of starvation by not eating the cat food I was providing her 24/7. I guess George, my older cat, was eating her share and leading me to beleive that the lower-calorie formula of food was working for one of my cats - GiGi was losing weight (she was pretty chunky). In actuality, she was only eating the treats and canned food I was giving them everyother day (for which George also probably got a large share of).

The condition is horrible as it affects a cat's liver. Any cat can get it but I read it's more prominent among cats who are overweight, put on a diet, female, and indoor cats. GiGi meets all that criteria. The survival rate of a cat with this condition is 80%. GiGi's test results from the vet indicate that this is the only thing that she has wrong though, which is good news. In 50% of the cases of cats with HL, half have cancer or some other critical disease. I have a feeling it's those cats with other conditions that will have a higher mortality rate - that's what I'm hoping anyway since GiGi doesn't have another condition.

GiGi is actually jaundice, which I didn't know cats and dogs could even get jaundice. The jaundice is a clear indication that her liver is messed up. The only cure of Hepatic Lipisos (HL) is to make GiGi eat as much as she can. I'm so thankful that she has not lost her appetite. We have her on her favorite foods now, she gets extra treats and thankfully, she is keeping all this food down. If she chose not to eat we would have to have a feeding tube inserted into her side directly into her stomach and essentially "force" feed her through the tube for 3-6 weeks! Let us hope it doesn't come to that.

So, thankfully, GiGi is eating, keeping her food down, and eager to eat and greet us. She is an ambassador of cats because she is very pretty, sociable, doesn't scratch unless frightened and has impeccable house manners. We couldn't have asked for a better kitty actually.

Here is a picture of GiGi recently...

And here is a picture of her from the perspective of a spider that she is about to kill, er, I mean play with. She is quite the hunter and keeps those horrible wood-spider (Hobo spiders technically) at a minimum in our home.
We'll know that things are going well once GiGi starts to put on weight and her jaundice clears. That may take 2-4 weeks. I will then take her back in to the vet for more blood work just to make sure her liver is stabilized and healthy again. Having lacerated my own liver before, I know that the liver is an amazing organ in that it can heal itself quickly and that it is forgiving in the sense that once it heals, it's healed.

Good News!

Tuesday was a spectacular day, wasn't it?


One thing that made it so awesome is that my boob surgeon called in the afternoon to tell me that the mass they took from my rightie was a benign tumor - it's something called a fibroadenoma. There is actually a page on Wikipedia for this if you're interested... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibroadenoma

This is a relief. I really didn't think I had the big "C" but it is still worrisome.

Also, Tuesday marked quite a significant day in American history - the election where Barack Obama became President Elect.

I know I talked in July about not voting, that I am a "political atheist" and that all politicians are full of crap, yada yada yada. But, I actually did vote in this election. Monday morning, before my surgery, I went through the online voters pamphlet and read through everything and made decisions on what vote for or against. Really, I was most passionate about voting on Initiative 1000, but figured, while I'm here why not cast a vote on everything? Plus, I wasn't allowed to eat prior to surgery so I needed something to keep me busy and keep my mind off food.

I timed my visit to the Sallal Grange (my voting location) after lunch but before the afterwork hours. I didn't have to wait in line at all. I had my voters registration card with me to guide me in the right direction, albeit for some stupid reason I never got the voter registration updated from my maiden name, so I voted as Janet Hoke. Whatever - I just can't figure out how the name change isn't naturally carried over since the County has my marriage license, my name change form on file, they also my driver's license was updated with my new name, and when I moved I contacted the WDSL to change my address and at that very same time, updated my voter registration address. But no, do they think to update the name?? Pure incompetence.

Today I drove the hybrid to MLT and paid my dues to the healthcare market research gods. My fuel economy wasn't so hot (a mere 41.3 mpg round trip). Reason why though is that on Wednesday, I stop at the Seattle Humane Society in Eastgate to perform my weekly duty of Shelter Check Volunteer for SPDR.

Basically, I go into the shelter every Wednesday after work with a clipboard and spreadsheet and I record all of the purebred dogs they have (breed, color, age, name, etc.) and report my findings back to a gal at SPDR who puts all the shelter-checks together. Then, the breed reps of any particular breed that may be in the shelter is contacted and then, perhaps, that breed rep will spring that dog out of that shelter and get it into a foster home or adopted through SPDR.

You should check the place out if you're looking for a new companion (they have kittens too). I advise visiting after work on Wednesday evening - they close at 7 and there seems to be a lot of surrenders on Mondays and Tuesdays. If you wait until the weekend, all the super cute ones that aren't on the BSL-lists are gone. It's sad to say that but that is how it goes in animal shelters.

Woof!

Surgery Day

Today the hybrid took me to Overlake Hospital in Bellevue where I "went under the knife." I'm home resting now and find that blogging is just as therapeutic as watching TV.

So, why was I at the hospital today? Well, back in August my doctor found a small lump in my right boob. Thinking it may be a cyst of some sort because it was so small (1.3mm), my first form of "treatment" was to go off alcohol, chocolate and COFFEE for nearly three weeks! Apparently, those delicious foods-of-the-Gods seem to aggravate cysts and make them more difficult to go away. Anyway, after those three horrible weeks, I went back and the bump was still there. So, off I go 2 weeks later to get a mammogram! The nice thing about mammograms and ultrasounds is that you get a picture right away - there's no waiting weeks to learn what they see. So, the "thing" was determined to NOT be a cyst but some sort of solid mass. Yikes. Well, just take it in stride, right? So, three more weeks to wait in order to get a consult with a breast surgeon. Finally, at that appt with the surgeon we determine that I should get this thing removed during a surgical procedure called an Incisional Biopsy. So, that is what happened today. Honestly, I didn't stress much about this whole situation. I've been through WAY WORSE. Not being able to eat or drink for 12 hours sucked but that's what you have to do in any type of surgery.

In my surgery, I declined the general anesthesia and opted for a local anasthesia. I have an extremely high pain tolerance and I am able to relax in some of the strangest situations, so a local anasthesia was allowed for me. Basically, I just napped for the 1/2 hour procedure. They had given me an IV which makes me feel better since I hadn't had water in a while and I got to wear those circulation booties (I actually really like those). While I waited to go into surgery, they gave me this blanket called a Baer Hugger. OMG - this thing is awesome! It's a plastic, disposable air mattress that fills with hot air. It kind of wraps around you when it inflates and it warms you almost instantly. I would like to get one of those for my cubicle at work since the office is always so freaking cold! The IV didn't leave to much of a hole in the back of my hand (I don't think it will even bruise) and the bitter taste in my mouth left from the anasthesia should go away by morning.

The incision looks to be about 1/2-3/4" long. Apparently, it's in a location where the scar will hardly be noticeable and it will heal quickly. I don't really care about scarring. After a car accident broke my pelvis in 2001 and left me with some really interstesting scars on my hips, I kind of enjoy being a contender in worst-scar competitions. Sometimes I win, but lately I've been shown-up: there's the the gal who has a foot-long scar on her chest, a gal that has a a pie-plate size circular scar on her stomach and a guy who has a cranial scar along the top of his whole head. Competition out there is tough!

So, the "mass" is now heading off to some lab to get checked out (the biopsy part). I learn what it is in a few days. I'm feeling pretty confident that it's not cancerous. Jerill says (he's a molecular biologist) that cells are always mutating in all our bodies and sometimes, a mutated cell, instead of being killed off by the healthy normal cells, will sit under the radar and will just start multiplying into a bundle of mutated-clone cells (that is what the mass of anything typically is in the body). Sometimes the mutated cells are cancerous, other times they're not. I'm sensing my "mass" is benign. Usually, when it comes to my health my intuition is dead on, so I'm just chilling out.

It's so nice to be able to eat chocolate and drink coffee. My words of advice to you -- do BSE's, get a physical every year and don't take chocolate and coffee for granted!

Toodles

Howl-oween

Our neighborhood doesn't get a lot of trick-o-treat traffic even though I bet all of my neighbors, and myself included, have full-size candy bars just waiting for the kids. This year, we had NO trick-or-treaters. That just means more Kit Kats for Jerill and I. That doesn't mean that we didn't celebrate the occasion.

What better thing to do on Halloween than dress up your animals? The cats were no where to be found last night, so I ended up just dressing up the dogs. Mattie was a Yellow Jacket and Lucky was a gangsta-pirate. It appears that Mattie actually is enjoying her costume but she really hated being dressed up. She typically only wears a bandana every once in a while. I was surprised that she was being such a good sport about the whole thing, including keeping her antennae on.

Lucky is used to wearing clothes, so he loved wearing his skull and crossbones hoodie and pirate bandana.

Today I was a farmgirl. I am helping out my herding instructor while she is undergoing a significant health setback. So, in leiu of me getting to run one of her best dogs in trials and doing self herding on her sheep and getting free lessons from her, I babysit her dog Kuro sometimes and I help out with farm chores. My first hour today at the farm consisted of working Scott in the Big Field. I am running Scott in a trial in a couple weeks and so I have to practice with him a lot. He and I did great today - he was listening to me the whole time and we were successful in getting the sheep to go where I wanted them to go. Here are some pics...

The Woolies - sheep hate dogs.

Scott on the way to the Woolies (he looks like a Panda Bear to me)

Scott is driving the Woolies away from me (I asked him to do this)

Scott is fetching the Woolies back to me. He's such a pro.

After working Scott, I cleaned kennels, - even used a pitchfork! I fed the six dogs, a cow, a horse, 30+ sheep, ducks and chickens. Then, I worked Mattie in the round pen after using Scott to sort her sheep. Mattie's herding is improving each and every time we go out there. She is getting easier and easier to call off the sheep - yes, we do say "that'll do" just like in the movie Babe. And, she is figuring out how to read sheep and how much distance to give them. Herding is all about pressure and balance and keeping your cool.

Before herding, I had always wanted a working farm with horses and cows and sheep and alpaca. However, after helping out with Diane's farm this past summer, I have learned that farming is A LOT of work, 24/7. I may just be happy with a few chickens and ducks of my own! I do have a lot of new skills to add on the ol' resume though, including things like sheep flippin', hoove trimming (sheep and horse), sheep ear piercing and throwin' hay bales.

Elk!

It's hunting season so the neighborhood elk herd has been "missing" for a couple weeks. However, this morning the cows showed themselves, in force. I counted 11 total (I've seen as many as 18 in our neighborhood). The bull was nowhere to be seen though.

Looking out my office window...

From my bedroom window

Close up of a cow, in the neighbor's yard

The elk are beautiful, but they're extremely destructive to native and non-native trees and plants. One of the cows was casually walking toward my garden outside the fence, with her eye on my apple trees! The elk have been known to jump our 6-foot fence before. So, I yelled "you get out of here Elk!" and I could tell she re-thought the situation and went the other direction. The "ladies" hung out about 15 minutes and then left after I told them they weren't welcome in MY yard. I'm sure they will be back tomorrow to raid my plants while I'm at work - that's what happened in August when I lost my dahlias, tomatoes, brussel sprouts, poppies, apples and cabbage. For some reason, they don't eat the weeds though.

I washed the hybrid today - it was pretty dirty. I need to wax it on the next nice day we have. I'll be driving it to Seattle tonight to have drinks and dinner with Jerill, Michael and Shawn since Michael will be leaving for Tennessee (his home) tomorrow.

Ciao!

Away to me

Sunday's herding lesson was great. I drove out the Hybrid to Carnation and I worked my trainer's dog, Scott for about an hour in a huge field with 5 sheep. I will be working Scott in my very first trial on November 15, so I am practicing with him as much as possible. He is a totally awesome, sweet dog.

Herding, even with a fully trained expert dog like Scott, is still challenging because I'm still such a novice. So, practice eventually makes perfect. Scott has thousands and thousands of working hours on him (on both sheep and cattle), I have maybe a hundred total now. So, Scott is showing me the ropes. Below is a professional picture of Scott working a ram with his handler/owner, Diane. My trainer is Diane - this is her website http://www.deltabluez.com/.

Eventually, I'll be trialling with my own dog, Mattie. Mattie and I are coming along but we have our challenges simply because I'm learning what I need to do (and what I shouldn't do) in order to make Mattie successful and ensure no sheep are injured in the process. Again, practice, practice, practice.

After my lesson, I attended the quarterly Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue volunteer meeting (http://www.spdrdogs.org/). We were shown some points on dog first aid (dealing with arterial bleeding) and were introduced to animal communication. For those of you who know me, I do believe in supernatural events and telepathy and stuff like that, so I am actually interested in learning more about this. I'm investigating local classes that teach methods and practices.

Anyhoo, after the meeting I met Jerill and Michael at the bowling alley (they were bowling!) and we went to dinner at a Szchechuan restaraunt in Bellevue and introduced Michael to Chinese Hot Pot. Jerill and I aren't particularly in love with super spicy Chinese food, however, this place is great and offers a hot pot that includes a plain broth in addition to the traditional it's-so-spicy-I-think-I'm-going-to-die peppered broth. At Hot Pot, the staff brings you plates of vegetables, noodles, raw fish and raw meat. Then, you cook it at your table, at your leisure. There is always too much food! Since you can't take the raw foods home in a doggie-bag, you have to cook the left-overs at the table, then you can doggie-bag it home. After hot pot, we headed to the Muckleshoot casino where I lost $5 playing penny-slots. I'm not a big gambler.

Yesterday, the Hybrid took me to MLT for work, averaging 44.2 mpg for the 96.8 mile round trip. I'm working at home today. Here is what is going on out at the birdfeeder... I think every BlueJay in the neighborhood is at my place today...

Spillage

This past September my grandma Mary Louise passed away. Jerill and I loaded up the dogs in the CR-V and took off to Montana to attend her funeral. The photo above is of Saint Mary's Lake in Glacier National Park in Northern Montana. If you ever get the opportunity to go to GNP, go. The mountains are spectacular and the drive through the park does not disappoint.

The flyball tournament today went well. All of our dogs (Roxie, Skookum, Brat, CD and Tac) ran well and we all had a lot of fun.

On the way home from the tournament I had my first major spill in the Hybrid.

Instead of being smart and dumping the lidded dog water bowl out at the parking lot, I decided to tote the water bowl with me for some stupid reason (it was still pretty full of water). And, instead of being smart and putting the bowl on the floor of the car, I sat it on the backseat. Well, I guess I took a corner a little too fast (thinking I was in the WRX apparently) and, without me knowing it at the time, the big water bowl tipped on its side. Thus, I came home to find the back seat soaked with about 2 cups of water. Yes, at least it was just water but still, I'm worried that my new car scent will now be dirty-dog-bowl scent. I love dogs but I agree, they do sometimes stink. So, that's the car's first major spill. I guess I should have sprung for the Scotchguard option afterall. And to top it off, I only averaged 38 mpg today (stupid Tiger Mountain).

Our out-of-town guest, Michael, got in late today, due to some mechanical problems on his first flight in Dallas (the landing gear wouldn't go down!). These delays forced him to miss his connecting flight. And, then American Airlines managed to lose his luggage. So, we didn't make it up to the Alpental Oktoberfest as planned - but we did get to the Mt Si Bar & Grill where they serve good food and Snoqualmie Brewery beer. After dinner we drove out to Snoqualmie Falls. If you didn't know, the waterfall is lit up at night (at least it was tonight).

To give credit where credit is due, I didn't take this picture - I found it on Flickr (but this is what the Falls looked like tonight!)


Mattie, our Smithfield Sheepdog, adored Michael when he first got to the house and they met outside in our driveway. For those of you who know Mattie and have/have tried to meet Mattie at our house, this is atypical behavior for her. However, not to disappoint you all, when we returned from dinner, she forgot she met Michael and decided he was now a threat to the peace of our home. Now for Dog Tip #1: Whenever you get to a point in your life when you think you might want a guard dog / protection dog, don't get one. But, if you decide you really do need one, get one that's come pre-trained and make sure you have an umbrella policy.