Lettuce Hard Reboot

The watchers, Bryn and Willow.

Yeah, so...um...hi.

It's been a year plus since I've updated the Lettuce, and that is embarrassing and mortifying and actually...freeing.  I have no precedent set, really, anymore. I can talk about whatever I like.

So...yeah...hi.

I think a bit of catch-up is in order, though that seems to be all I do around here.  I'd make promises to be more timely, to push out more content, but let's be honest, shall we? Haven't heard a peep about "When will you post again?" "What's going on at the Lettuce?" "Are you still alive?" but that's all right.  

So, let's see... last post was last March and I believe that I was ranting about something related to snow, leave time, work, or Sandy Paws, not sure which.  I skipped Sandy Paws last year, and was glad of it...so glad that I went again this year and was reminded why I had stopped going. Surely I can find something more interesting to talk about.

Rebooting. Watch this space. Loading, please wait...

I'm so out of the loop I'm a straight line...or a t-plane.

Tá mé na hÉireann.

So what started out as nostalgic blog reading led me to this post: SP14 Wrap Up which further led me to thinking about why I didn't go to Sandy Paws this year...and why I'm kind of glad.

But first, in case you've forgotten who I am because it's been so long since I've posted, I'm still at Clemson, I'm 37 days from summer break from Clemson, I still live in Greenville with Hubs and Daisy and Bryn.  I'm still me.

I'm still not as good of a dog parent as I could be.  Life still gets in the way of keeping toenails perfectly trimmed and practicing our obedience lessons.  I'm still not earning any part of my living, really, through writing.  But I carry on and I dream of a day when "going to work" means "going to my home office and writing for 8 hours."

But back to what led me to open this post and write...I was looking at the experience I had last year at Sandy Paws...the people that were nasty to me and Anne about not having greyhounds at the end of our leashes, the people that laughed when Bryn nearly pulled me off my feet, and all the other experiences we had that made me feel like an outsider.

Well, I have to share that instead of going back to that pit of thinly veiled anti-racing sentiment and Greyhounds Only Breed Snobbery for the chance to see a handful of people that I truly adore, this year Bryn and I walked in the Greenville SC. St. Patrick's Day parade and she didn't pull me down!  No harness, no prong collar (because I'm still just not going to do that to a sensitive breed like a Wolfhound if I can help it), just a martingale and a leash.  I could not have been more proud of her and I'm still telling anyone that will listen about it.

As far as work goes, I am encountering new challenges like t-planes, compilers, ethnography and research rigor and I think I'm muddling through it all right.  I have an amazing staff of women that caption and interpret for Clemson.  Does it make sense to say I love what I do but I don't love my job?  Anyway.  Off to do more things that "aren't really important" in the name of keeping up my skills and certification until I get to go home and see that fuzzy face up there.

Sandy Paws Wrap Up or "I told you I'd blog that!"

Screaming at the beach is gnome-much fun!
Photo Courtesy of K. Lazenby

In its own unique way, Sandy Paws time has come and gone again.  We spend weeks on Facebook and in text messages and emails planning and laughing and looking forward to seeing each other.  We despair that we only see each other once a year.  We arrive, and from that moment on there is hugging and laughing and screaming and cheering and spending money and all the exciting things we've looked forward to for the past 364 days.

And it is gone, it is over, in the blink of tearful eyes.  Even though this year my time at Sandy Paws was infinitely more challenging due to the addition of one big furry puppy who only has manners when she pleases, it was still gone and over too fast, and we were heading back up I-95 to our lives and jobs.  How does that happen?  Why can't the enjoyment last as long as the anticipation?  I find myself now back in those 364 days, waiting for Sandy Paws 2015 when I can see my FTH family again...hopefully with a much better behaved Bryn next year.

Now, on to the part of the weekend that made me put my "I'm Gonna Blog That" face on:

I will admit that in the past I have been one of those greyhound owners that I'm about to talk about...and I will extend my heartfelt apologies to anyone that owns a little dog or a big dog or any other kind of non-greyhound or non-sighthound dog that has come to a greyhound event and gotten the Hairy Eyeball from me.  I found out on this trip just how unpleasant even the most well-meaning people can be when they identify your dog as Other or NotAGreyhound and make a point of either looking at you like you've got four heads or telling you how to manage your dog in the sea of apparently ravenous high prey drive greyhounds ahead.  I mean really...I think if we did a survey of the dogs that attended Sandy Paws this year you would find that a great many of them live...are you ready? WITH OTHER BREEDS or even...gasp...CATS AND OTHER SPECIES.

Now, don't get me wrong, I have known, loved, and lived with some real Cat-Zappers.  I saw a foster dog catch my cat in his front paws in mid-air.  I know the possibilities.  But for crying out loud...the reception that Anne and I got when we entered the conference center with Millie (Boston terrier who lives with a greyhound and a bloodhound and was NOT on a flexi-lead, thankyouverymuch) and Bryn (wild-eyed Irish Wolfhound puppy of a mere 9 months who is still not sure about everyone and everything she meets) was less than welcoming.  Granted, not all of the almost 200 people that attended know me personally and/or know that I have a greyhound as well as the Big Hairy Beastie that came with me to Sandy Paws, but it's a good guess that I do IF I AM THERE.

Here are just a few things to chew on if you happened to be in the vicinity of the traveling circus that is me, Anne, and our Nons at the Jekyll Island conference center over the Sandy Paws weekend.

1. The fact that Bryn pulls me around is not funny, really.  It happens when you have a puppy brain in a 97lb body attached to an owner with the upper body strength of a Keebler Elf (to borrow from Sheldon Cooper).  It is a little embarrassing, to be honest, because I've never owned a dog like her before and am still learning the best way for both of us to be able to walk calmly and pleasantly.

2. My wolfhound is not going to eat your (fill in name of other breed here) as long as I am still attached to her and/or am conscious.  There is no need to glare at me or pull your greyhound around on the other side of you to protect your precious greyhound from Bryn.  In fact, you may be called out on your Death Glare if we happen to see you do it.

3. I understand that not everyone likes big dogs.  But for heaven's sake, y'all...this is a sighthound gathering and the hound in question is not an Italian Greyhound!  I'm assuming that most of the people there have at least a passing familiarity with sighthounds that are at least 50lbs and some much more than that (not always because they are big boys, either, but that's another blog for another day).

4. If I tell you that Bryn needs some space then she needs some space.  It doesn't matter how many whatevers you have raised/bred/raced/whatever in your day, I know my dog better than you do.  End of.  I appreciate all the offers for help over the weekend from everyone (including my friend Brian who asked me to let Bryn come running at him...which I did) and the compliments were fab for her and me.  It's hard to believe she has only been in my life for just under 5 months...feels like 5 years some days.

5. A Boston Terrier on a stationary leash that is being held by her owner is probably owned by someone savvy about the prey drives of greyhounds and other sighthounds and will NOT be putting her dog or anyone else's in a dangerous position, at least not consciously.  A person who brings a small breed into a sighthound event on a flexi lead is a different matter, but that, again, is a blog for another day.

Overall we had so much fun...Bryn slept most of the way home when she wasn't trying to chew on her Auntsie's ears or get in the front with Millie.  My FTH family is more precious to me than I can express and even now, as I sit here typing, the thought of THEM...the thought of US...it brings tears to my eyes at how important we all are to each other.

Metrognomes of the world, unite.  Onward and upward...to Mountain Hounds if not before!  (You can see pictures of Bryn at SP14 on her blog, Our Daily Bryn, beginning with the entry for 26 March.)

Sandy Paws and other Peaches

Clowny's paw print, Jekyll

It always amazes me how Sandy Paws is up on me and then is over so fast.  I spend all year waiting, anxiously, to see a group of people that in some ways are closer to me than my own family...and like a flash, I blink and I'm on my way back home.

This year's get together was no different.  My Mister and I rented a minivan (go on, get that out of your system, me in a minivan) and headed down to Jekyll Island with Clown and Daisy.  Those two rode in STYLE...I was even more irritated than normal that the Mister hasn't gotten his SCDL yet because it would have been HEAVEN to crawl back there on the gooshy dog beds and nap all the way to Georgia's Golden Coast.

The hotel where we stayed was okay...older, and definitely not the posh affair of the last two SP events, but homey, in a way.  What was NOT cool was vending from hotel rooms rather than in a large vendor hall as we've done in the past.  You didn't get to see anyone if you were vending, other than those you were staying with or your vending partners.  I was lucky enough to glom (is that a word?) onto Janet Schaffer of Casual Bling and Suzie Collins of Skinnyhound Designs so that I could sell my books.  I sold seven, which is a record for a greyhound event.

Sandy Paws started out as a means to an end for me, and remains so.  I didn't go initially because I wanted to attend an organized gathering with workshops or because I had a stack of books to hock.  I went because I had preadopted an amazing creature called Daisy (FTH Oopsie Daisy) and was now a part of the Follow That Hound family.  So changes to the venue or schedule, ice cream socials and over-priced buffet meals really aren't a factor to me when I think of Sandy Paws.  The only thing that I do, really, that has anything to do with the event, is help sponsor the creation of crowns for the greyhounds named King and Queen of SP (even though my own hounds have never even been nominated...not even after Daisy went to SP 2012 a mere 5 days after a transatlantic flight-turned-nightmare).

Anne and I pay to have someone make crowns that fit the theme of the gathering, and this year was no different...except that prior to this year's SP someone in the organizing group got her pants in a bunch over a design for a Tshirt that the aforementioned Suzie made...for us, the FTH family...because she wanted EVERYONE to know that it was NOT an official SP13 shirt.

Well, duh.  Suzie didn't make it for everyone.  Not everyone is a Peach.  :)  Not everyone is part of the FTH family. But the WAY that the person made it clear to anyone that was listening was just over the top and plain rude, really.  You would think that it would be common sense not to make an enemy of a very popular vendor, but apparently it wasn't.

So jump ahead now to the crowning of the King and Queen at SP13.  Anne and I are there, she has the crowns and I have the bling that Janet made for the winners.  The person with the twisted pants approached us and took the lot, heading up to the front of the room to get things started.  We didn't think anything about it until we heard HER announcing the King.

Problem...part of our sponsorship of the crowns and bling means that we get to present them to the winners. It's a neat way for us to be a part of the gathering and to get to meet the winners...or, like at SP12, crown one of our own as King when Lightning (FTH Lightning) won.  Well, because Anne is a superhero, she charged down to the front with me, Mighty Mouse, trailing behind her to find out what was going on.  We were offered the chance to announce the Queen, but she turned it down, pulling a victory lap back to her table, and I continued on Anne AutoFollow back to the back.

Y'all...I don't have time for grownups that act like children, I really don't.  Not during a swiftly moving weekend with people that I adore that I only get to see once a year.  To the organization's credit, a few of their members approached us afterward and apologized, but you see, the damage was done.  Once again, I'm not "in the know," or a part of the core crowd...and finally, after over a decade of doing greyhound adoption and hanging out with greyhound people...that's okay.  I don't need it, or as my perfect niece Joy says, "I can't use it."

Keep the drama.  I love my Peaches, I know what is important in my life, and I'm off to celebrate it.  GEM and Mountain Hounds ahoy!

For my friend Carla, with all my love...

“Where are they?”  Daisy asked, her question directed at thin air.  “And why can’t I see you?  I saw Profile before.”

“Because we’re all together now,” Jeany said.  “Things are different now.  Things are changing.  But we’re all still watching Mommy and now watching Daddy Simon.  You’re the one that has to take care of Mommy now, like Profile taught you.  She is going to be lost without us.”  

“I’m lost!” Daisy sniffled.  “I can’t do this by myself.”

“Yes you can,” Jeany said, her voice fading a bit.  “I’ve got to go, Pup, but we will all be watching and listening.  If you need us, just go outside and look up at the stars.  That’s where we’ll be, dancing around and playing.”
-from An American Greyhound in Yorkshire

I won't say goodbye, because it isn't. I'll just say see you later, because I will, Stardancer.

Carla with FTH Sassy Thang, Sandy Paws 2009

A Falk in the Driftwood Worest..with Peaches.

Are we there yet?, a photo by Nancy Dunne on Flickr.

(thanks and love to Zilch the Torysteller for part of the title...)

This weekend was the annual Sandy Paws event...and if this were years past I'd be doing something uber fun right now in Jacksonville before getting ready to go to Orange Park to watch the dogs run. But alas, with gainful employment in higher education does not always come annual leave, so here I am, back from my break, blogging. Yeah.

I headed down Thursday night after work to spend a whirlwind weekend of meeting, greeting, laughing, and even a little tired crying (on the way home yesterday) with people that are one of my families of choice: my greyhound friends and more specifically my Follow That Hound friends. Even though with the closure of B&J Kennels this year the FTH program is no more, we all still get together and we all still feel like a big extended family.

Friday afternoon Anne and Leah and I went out to Driftwood Beach for some photos of me and the dogs...but I ended up just wandering around and taking pictures because HOLY MOLY is that place amazing. Oaks felled by a hurricane created petrified sculpture. It's like walking around and seeing dinosaur bones. Insane.

Friday night was spent laughing until we cried with good friends. I need more of that in my life. I need my Peaches.

Saturday was more Sandy Paws fun, including the crowning of the king and queen, a live auction (including one of Daisy's books that went for $55 I think?), and then the tired returning to the villa for one last night's sleep to the sound of the waves.

Yesterday was awful...I hate the annual theft of an hour by Daylight Saving Time even though it means I'm only 4 hours behind Simon rather than 5. But the pretty face in the picture there kept me company for the ride back to Greenville, and I wouldn't trade a minute of that time even if it did seem to be an hour earlier.

I'll get my pictures uploaded to Flickr soon...stay tuned. Roooooooo!

Flashback Post #5...for those about to Sandy Paws...

Profile Seinfeld, or How to Win the SP Talent Show without even TRYING.

Just around the bend...

Simon and Daisy, a photo by Nancy Dunne on Flickr.

It seems like it was just yesterday when I took that photo over there. It was at Sandy Paws 2007, and I had only had Daisy in my life full time for one less day than I'd had Simon!

Five years ago today I drove to Hartsfield International Airport to pick up Simon on his second ever trip to the United States. I was scared to death...that he wouldn't like me, that I wouldn't like him, that the dogs would be TOO MUCH, etc. etc. etc. But everything changed as soon as I got out of the car and bent my neck backward for the first of whoknowshowmany times to hug him. It was right and perfect and it still makes me hoppy to think about.

Hoppy: to be in a state where one's feet simply cannot remain on the ground. Eg: me in a fabric store.

Moving on...

I was scared and nervous and and and to pick up our Mei Mei at Sandy Paws the next day, but we headed on over to the villa where Cathie and Anne were to get her. Once again, all that melted when I had her precious little self in my arms, even though she wanted to run from the crazy lady strangling her.

Five years, gone in a blink...and just around the bend, Daisy in my arms and picking Simon up at the airport. Life is good...or will be, just around that very happy bend.

March, Interrupted

First stop in Philly...
Originally uploaded by Nancy Dunne

It's been a month today since I headed east to North Carolina for Sandy Paws and a short visit with my friends and family. In the four weeks that followed that day, I ate at Chick Fil A (admittedly the thing I miss most about living in the US not including people) about twenty seven times. I traveled from Greensboro, NC to Jekyll Island, GA, to Jacksonville, FL to Greensboro again to Athens, GA to Cleveland, GA and finally to Atlanta, GA. I saw my parents for two and a half days. I saw my sister and the most perfect niece on the planet for two and a half hours.

I flew back to the UK and threw myself back into work at the Bookshop as well as into looking online for work in South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Western North Carolina. I stayed up to watch Comic Relief on Red Nose Day. I ate at Nando's (the thing I will miss most about living in the UK other than home delivery of groceries and people). I started the countdown for the next in J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood novels. I started a new blog to showcase the photos I've been taking in various and sundry retail establishments around the UK since I've been here.

And I'm looking forward to April...to hopefully finding a job in the US, to hopefully selling our house here so we can move as soon as Simon gets his visa sorted, and to starting Script Frenzy, the screenplay version of NaNoWriMo from last November.

Fingers are crossed and big things are coming. I just need some patience...and a Chik Fil A sandwich wouldn't hurt.

Time Flies...am I having fun?

Lighthouse Ladies
Originally uploaded by Nancy Dunne

Two weeks ago today I was right there in that photo. I was visiting the St. Augustine Lighthouse with my best friend, Leah (in the pink) and our Canadian "sistahs," Janet (next to me) and Vicky. I had sore ribs from laughing until I cried repeatedly. I had wobbly knees because Janet and I walked to the tippy top of the lighthouse (200+ steps!) on a quest to see a ghost. I was happy and relaxed.

Now? Not so much. Happy to be back with Simon, definitely. Happy to have my OWN greyhound to cuddle rather than borrowing one of the ones in the picture, absolutely. Happy to have my Little Man Mills burrowing in my hair and purring like a freight train, well, yeah, mostly. But happy to be back here in the UK? Notsomuch. Happy to be back in limbo, with no job prospects, no house-sale prospects, and a job that I'm definitely not suited for at all? Nope.

Funny how things can change SO much in the course of two short weeks. Funny how I can go from being so sure of what I'm doing and when to being completely on my ear with one mention of an unrelentingly tight state government budget. Funny how I am back to not knowing where I really belong, as well as not knowing where I really WANT to belong. Parts of the UK look really good when the job I'd counted on in the US fizzles. Parts of the US look really good when I have to pretend that I'm good at retail sales. It's a mess, really.

To my Sistahs, love you to bits. Wish we were still there. I could do with a good FB LAN party and some bad sangria...because that's how you treat a princess. For now, though, back to house tidy avoidance...before even more time has flown.

First Week Done and Dusted

Hello from the Blustery Boardwalk!
Originally uploaded by Nancy Dunne

So I'm sitting in a hotel room in Jacksonville, Florida, and I don't know if I've ever been this tired. Sandy Paws 2011 is over, and we have moved on to the Follow That Hound After Party portion of the holiday. Tomorrow morning some of our folks are headed to the track to tour the kennel, and I will be here, playing dog-nanny to six greyhounds.

Six greyhounds that aren't my own, mind you. Six greyhounds that aren't my Daisy, more importantly. I think if we were to end up in the UK for another year, I would skip this annual event because it's just too hard to be here without her.

Anyway, moving on...Leah and I were discussing Sandy Paws 2011, and I think that part of why I'm so tired is that every year Sandy Paws barrels along at a frantic pace for me. It's the same basic formula as other greyhound events, really. You have a schedule of seminars and other activities focused on living with retired racing/AKC greyhounds. You have social events. You have vendors. You have auctions and raffles. But somehow, Sandy Paws always seems to zip past with me hanging on for dear life. When you've come 4,000 miles for an event, zipping is not a good thing.

The photo above is pretty representative of my vacation so far. There's a wind whipping all around me in that picture, and I feel like there's a metaphorical wind whipping up as well. People are tired. Tempers are short. I love seeing my friends and getting to spend a week with my best friend is just awesome. But the stress? The drama? Yeah, y'all can just keep that part.

Unpacking Adjectives, Digestives, and Dog Toys...

The time since 28th February is a bit of a blur for me. Let me try to catch you up to speed so you can see why I'm not sure where I've been for the past two weeks...
28 February
Work half day at the hospital. Go home, sling dogs and belongings into car. Head north for Austell. Drop dogs off at sister's, head to Atlanta to pick up Simon. Pick up Simon, go back to sister's house, out to dinner, then resume restorative coma...that hasn't been restorative since I left London in August.

1 March
Load belongings and dogs and Simon in car and head for Jekyll. Swim down I-16 to meet Kimmy and Leah in Savannah. Continue swimming south through torrential rain to Jekyll Island. Check in for Sandy Paws and move into the Sistah's Villa. Again seek out coma.

2 March
Attend various and sundry Sandy Paws events and pick up Daisy from Anne and Cathie. Decide Daisy is the most perfect greyhound girly ever to be born. Host dinner for Follow That Hound folks in the Sistah's Villa. Sort out Daisy's first night with me and proceed to not sleep until around 3-4am, thanks to Daisy pacing and intermittently trying to open the door by biting the door knob.

3 March
Am awakened at 7amish by dogs wanting out. Am allowed to sleep a bit longer by the most wonderful man on the earth who takes the dogs out. Jeany and Daisy have a minor arguement resulting in a boo boo on Jeany's face. Resume attending Sandy Paws events and showing off the new baby, as well as getting to know Simon.

4 March
Pack up the villa and head for Jacksonville. Are not permitted into room until 3pm, make it to Cathie's for dinner around 5pm. Watch Daisy and Hunky run in the puppy pens and feel heart swell three times its size.

5 March
Do absolutely nothing all day but hang out with Simon and the pups, then head to the track at Orange Park in the evening for the FTH party. Totally enjoy evening. Become sad at the prospect of my vacation being almost over.

6 March
Drive the most boring road EVER, I-10, back to Alabama. Deposit dogs and go grocery shopping. Begin to mope that Simon is going back home on Wednesday.

7 March
Call Delta and extend Simon's stay till Saturday. Rejoice, give thanks, and sing. Take Simon to meet parents. Coma at the end of the day.

Thursday and Friday
I had to work, and Saturday my heart broke sending him back home on the plane. Now...I have to work again?? Ugh. Pictures to follow I'm sure.

It's 1am, do you know where your ability to sleep is?

If it's with mine, would you kindly send it back to Montgomery? I am still awake at 1am, staring down another day of work and so much left to do to be ready to go on my trip Wednesday.

Hmmm, why the insomnia?

In 3 days I will meet someone in person that has become a very dear friend over the past five months.

In 4 days I will meet my new babygirl for the second time, only this time she'll be coming home with me!

In 6 days I will be back again with all my FTH friends, people who know me better than most and whom I love dearly.

Yeah, I'd say that's plenty. I still have to change the oil in the car, pack my suitcase, make sure I have all that the dogs need, and get the car packed and ready to roll Wednesday morning.

I may not sleep till Wednesday night.

Hunkamuncha

Hunkamuncha
Originally uploaded by NanLassiter.

All my thanks go to Chris Grieb of Dogstar Photography for this incredible shot of Hunky. It just stops my heart everytime I see it!! Just needed to share... :)

Profile Seinfeld (or how to win a talent show)

So we're at Sandy Paws, right? I mention to my FTH buddies that I'm thinking of entering Profile in the talent contest because he knows his obedience commands in ASL. They all go with me and thanks to one of them knowing the MC we get entered, allbeit late.

Our turn comes and I'm breaking bits of lamb lung into teeny pieces as we walk out center stage. "Profile knows his commands in American Sign Language," I say proudly. I then notice that he's got THAT LOOK in his eye.

Those of you that know him know what look I'm talking about. It generally preceeds something getting peed on or a mad dash about the den like it's the race track at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

"Sit" I sign to him. He backs up and scans the audience to make sure he's being watched. "Sit" I tell him again and he goes into a down. "That's not a sit," I say, reaching down for a better grip on his leash. At that moment he decided to do the trick he taught himself, so he stands up on his hind legs and snatches the treat from my fingers, grinning like a fool.

The audience roars with laughter.

He did manage to "leave it" (with me signing it I might add) when I put the lamb lung on the ground in front of him (after I finally got the ham to down!) and I swear he waited until I looked up to smile at the audience in relief before pouncing on it. "I'm done," I announce, giving a tug on his leash.

He sat.

So next comes the voting for winner. "And tied for first is WomanWhoWentBeforeUs with her dog DoesAllTricksPerfectly and Nan with Profile for their COMEDY ROUTINE."

We had to do something else for the tie breaker so I picked something I know he loves to do when people will clap for him. He grinned like a fool, and we came away with first place.

Comedy Routine. Miss Jane would be so proud...

Shaking and Unpacking Part Three

Monday, 6 March
The photo is from Monday night at the track. After a wonderful day spent at the track kennel first and the farm second, we hit Orange Park for an FTH party! We had two races that were designated "picture races" that night in our honor so we trooped down in shifts to have our pictures taken with the winner. In the shot above, the winner is the one on the boxes but the dog in the number 6 blankie in front is Greys Big Chance, one of the dogs running for Cathie and Bill's kennel. He came in second and man oh man was he something to watch run.

My Daisy ran her first official schooling race Monday night and got 5th, not too shabby. I was a nervous wreck, especially after seeing Leah's boy Bernard go end over end and hit the wall in the first turn during the race right before Daisy's. That was a testament to the strength and determination of the breed though... Bernard hopped up and started following the pack but then turned around and made it back to the finish at the same time they did...just ran the wrong way. A link to the replays of the races is here, go to the Vault and pick March 6th, then click on 5scl for Bernard's cartwheel and 6scl for Daisy's race.

By the time Monday was over, I was exhausted and in some ways ready to come home, but in others incredibly sad. I think Mama Cathie put it best when she said she told her boss she had made some new sisters over the weekend. My house was so quiet when I got home, void of the sound of their laughter and squeals and especially the snorts. Daisy is again hundreds of miles away, and I miss her now more than I ever did before. She will be running her second schooling race tonight and you can bet I will be glued to my computer monitor.

Thanks guys, for the best vacation I've had in my life so far. I have not laughed that hard, cried that hard (at the memorial service), played that hard, or fallen in love with new friends that hard in a long time. I'm raising my coffee cup (full of Tim Horton's coffee, of course) to my new old friends. Until next year...if not sooner!!

More Shaking and More Adjectives

Sunday, 5 March, continued

We got to the La Quinta where we were staying till Tuesday morning only to be told that we could not check in until 1pm. It was about 12:55pm. But no, no check in, no keys given, no nada until 1pm sharp. We waited the five minutes that seemed an eternity to the growly tired hoarde in my car, and then headed off to our room.

The door wouldn't open. Finally my roommate Diane gave it a good shove and it relented, nearly sending her flying into the bathroom. We had a good laugh about that and then discovered that this teeny tiny room had no refrigerator. Wouldn't be a problem, but since I feed raw I wasn't relishing the idea of keeping raw beef and chicken backs in my room in just a cooler full of ice.

Apologies to those with sensitive tummies for not warning you before I described the meals I had for the puppers...

I got on the phone to the front and they said they would have a room for us with a working door and a refrigerator on the second floor "shortly." After determining that they did not know how long "shortly" would be we headed out with Janet and Leah to Walmart. Janet is from Canada, and says that all her trips to the states require a trip to Walmart because the selection at our Walmarts is better than that of the ones in her country. May I direct you to my post on Polka Dotted Undies and BBQ for a discussion on the inventory at your local US Walmart? Anyway...

We got back and there was still no room ready so Diane and I waited and waited and waited and hounded "Fingernails" at the desk and waited...and got our keys. We hurried off to get the dogs and head upstairs.

The door wouldn't work...at first, but I soon learned how to shove it to get it open.

Sunday night we went to a WONDERFUL BBQ at Mama Cathie and Daddy Bill's. The dogs got to run in their turn out pen which is long enough for them to get to full speed I think. Jeany was her usual tarty self and more than once gave some boy dogs the eye only to give them an ugly paragraph when they tried to get friendly with her. Hussy.

The highlight was sitting on the ground in the puppy run with Anne having our hair done by puppies. I even have the scars to prove it...precious little buggars.

More to come...

Shaking the Sand from our Paws and Unpacking our Adjectives

There will be a pictoral post later. I can't get to photobucket or flickr from here at work...not that I'm doing anything but working...I swear...

"When you come home from a trip...remember this little tip..." -"Unpack Your Adjectives," Schoolhouse Rock

Thursday, 2 March 2006

I got up late as usual and made a mad dash to pack the car, clean myself up, shove the dogs in on top of the suitcases and hit the road. Luckily Kim and Leah got stuck in traffic around Charlotte so I wasn't that late meeting them. We got the Carolina Convoy in line at a rest stop on I-26 and headed south.

We arrived at the resort in the early afternoon and headed to our respective rooms. Leah called to see if we wanted to head to JAX with her to see the schooling races and then go to the kennel...well DUH, Daisy's there, hello? Fed my pups, left them passed out on the beds and headed for JAX, an hour's drive from Jekyll.

Now y'all, I am not good in person with people I don't know. While I kinda feel like I know the folks from Follow that Hound they are still people who only know me via the internet and I'm really NOT as charming, silly, witty, and intelligent as I appear online. Heck I'd be sunk here on the blog without spellcheck... Anyway, those two ladies charmed the pants off me during the ride down...by the time we got there I had barely any makeup left from the crying fits brought on by too much laughter. There was the infamous incident where Leah almost ran a red light and I bounced off the back of her headrest, the woman in the drive thru at the McDonalds that sounded like a teacher from Charlie Brown, and the joke we saw walking down a side street in JAX: a nun and a prostitute. I'm surprised that the kennel security let us in when Mama Caffie got there, we'd been guffawing in the parking lot for an hour prior.

Then all time and space stopped and I laid eyes on my girly for the first time. She looks like she was cut from marble, her muscles and bones and face and all are just so perfect. Her ears perked up and I thought I would die...but that was just seeing her in the turn out pen. Seeing her in her crate, getting to touch her head and kiss her soft fur...I'm getting teary now just thinking about it.

We met Trish and Chris as well as Mama Caffie, Daddy Bill, and Anne while we were there Thursday night and Kim got a surprise visit from Dodger, her pre-adopted pup! She thought he was at the farm but he'd been moved to the kennel...and I think dogs in 16 states paused and tried to bury their heads to block out the squeal she let out when Mama Caffie said, "See that brindle there? That's Dodger..."

Friday, 3 March 2006

Day one at Sandy Paws. We registered and then we shopped and shopped. Pictures will be forthcoming tonight of all the loot my puppers collected...mostly collars. They haven't had a chance to have lots of pretty collars until now so I might have gone a tad overboard...just a tad.

Kim and Leah went to St. Mary's with Ann to get their tattoos about lunchtime. I was supposed to go as well but I wimped out. There's always next year I suppose... I shopped some more, and then just hung out with my puppers. I am so very proud of them, they behaved better than a lot of the other hounds I saw there...yanking things off tables, running around snapping at other hounds that got too close, etc. It has taken six years and a lot of work but I feel that I can pretty much take my three anywhere and not have to worry too much.

Friday night was the Roo-Au but we decided to eat dinner in the lobby. One of the highlights was when Trish and Anne sent me to the bar to order them some "Girl Drinks." I just told that to the bartender who looked at me like I was nuts. I explained that I thought they probably had liquor in them and maybe an umbrella? She thought for a moment then started mixing things up.

Saturday, 4 March 2006

Day 2 at Sandy Paws. The reiki seminar was cancelled, much to my dismay, so I was forced to do more shopping. There was a plan to go to a local restaurant for lunch, but that turned into hot dogs and chili at the villa with the JAX crowd. Ace, a race dog that was visiting Sandy Paws and a possible pre-adopter was fascinated with the hot dogs and the kitchen...he even tried to stuff himself into the refrigerator.

Saturday afternoon was the talent show. I got there late, of course, and wouldn't have gotten in if Mama Caffie hadn't spoken to the guy in charge. Profile wouldn't do any of his commands other than SIT in ASL, but we somehow ended up tied for first place for our "comedy routine." Maybe we should take it on the road? He grinned on command in the run off and we won! Bless his little pointed head...

Saturday night was rough. There was a memorial service for all the dogs that had left us since last year's event, and I went with Liz's tags in my hand. People got up and talked about their pets that had died and I was really okay until Diane of Burpdog Biscuit fame talked about missing the white face in her pack. Lizzard looked like Minnie Mouse with her white face and dark brindle ears...and I bawled as quietly as I could, sitting on the astroturf floor and hugging the stuffing out of my three. Hunky and I went to the beach after that and wrote Lizzard's name in the sand. I stuck the glow-stick they'd provided in the dot over the I in her name, and then Hunky walked right through her name...scattering it to the four winds. I think it was symbolic though...it's time for me to put aside the loss of her physical presence and concentrate on the aspect of her that will always be with those of us that loved her.

After that I was up till 3am with Trish and Anne talking smack...well, holy smack to be technical. The dogs came away with collars from Sandy Paws...I came away with new friends.

Sunday, 5 March 2006

My roommate Kim got up early Sunday and left to head home, leaving me to pack for my Jacksonville adventure. We loaded up the car again and headed out to see puppies, racers, and most importantly, my Daisy girl's first official schooling race. To be continued...

More than half-crazy

I didn't think it possible to love this little girl any more than I already did from afar...but I was wrong. Visit her blog or click on my flickr album linked on this page for more pics of my gorgeous girl and my trip to Sandy Paws.

With wind in my hair and sand in their paws...

The pups and I are taking off on our first real vacation together tomorrow morning. We're going to Sandy Paws, a greyhound gathering on Jekyll Island off the coast of Georgia. While technically my first "single" vacation was Mountain Hounds last summer, that was a hard trip for me because it was the weekend Liz died. So this one, with all THREE of my puppers, is going to count as the first.

The link in the title is to Daisy's blog. I'll be meeting my beautiful baby girl on Monday, and I can hardly wait!! I'm thinking that I'm going to give her a very special present while I'm there, from me and my Lizzard...if I don't change my mind. I have a collar ordered and paid for that is coming with the vendor to SP, so I'll get to give her that as well. Be sure to check out Daisy's blog for pictures of our first meeting, as well as my flickr album of her pictures.

Rest, relaxation, shopping, doggies, and the beach...plus meeting Daisy and getting to go to the track Monday night. What could be better??