A Little Hiatus

Tomorrow morning I will load The Horde in the Dawg Yacht and we will strike out for Nashville, TN.  It's amazing how fast our relocation happened, considering how long it took for me to find a job!

I've rented what looks like a lovely little house in Nashville that is very close to my new office and lots of other things too.  I rented it based on pictures and a description on the property management website because it was the only house I could find on short notice that fit all my criteria; pet-friendly, fully fenced yard and a single level. It's like internet dating except that I am locked into this relationship for at least 2 years!

The movers loaded up all my household goods last Friday and I've spent the last few days gathering up the things that are still in the house and deciding what to take and what to leave.  Since UHM will be staying in the house for at least a little while longer, there isn't as much of a rush to get EVERYTHING out.

I've edited my possessions pretty well and one of the things I no longer have is a computer :(  So, I'll be taking a hiatus from blogging until I get a new one.  For those who are my FB friends, I will continue to post bits and pieces there since my phone will allow me to.  When I get back on line, I'll be unveiling a new website for Fairway Cardigans in addition to updating the blog.  I'm not sure how long the hiatus will last so please check back often.  I hope to be back on line within a couple of months.

Changing Priorities

Know what happens when you get a job that requires a move?  Your priorities change and things like blogging fall to the bottom of the list.

So, here are more details on what is going on with my new job and move....

I got the original offer a week ago Friday.  There are a couple of details still to be worked out but I will be working for Kirkland's, Inc. (www.kirklands.com) based out of Nashville, TN.  I'm hoping for a finalized offer today.  Once I have that, we can set a start date.

I've scoured the internet for a rental property that will accept dogs and meets my other criteria (single level, fully fenced yard and safe neighborhood).  I've found exactly ONE property that I love and have submitted an application to the property management group.  I am waiting for them to say, "We'd love to have you and your Horde move into our newly remodeled 3 bedroom, 2 bath house that is just 2.22 miles from your new office."  Ok, I didn't tell them the dogs are known as The Horde - I think there might be some negative connotations with the name.

I have gone through a lot of boxes in my storage unit.  I've consolidated, repacked and donated things so I am basically down to the bare minimums of what I need to move.  My couch and 2 upholstered chairs will also be looking for new homes via GoodWill or Habitat for Humanity.  I think 15-16 years is long enough for me to get the value out of them.  That means I will be living on cheap patio furniture until I find and can afford new furniture that I like.  By the way, it's entirely possible that my new furniture may be patio furniture as well.  The thought of being able to hose off the upholstery when it gets dirty is darned tempting and, honestly, some of the 'patio' furniture that's out there right now is as nice as any indoor furniture.  Besides, isn't bring the outdoors in terribly in fashion?

So, for the moment we are in a bit of a holding pattern but I expect that when things break loose there will be lots of movement VERY fast....

By the Numbers

307 Days
91 Companies
4 In-Person Interviews
Innumerable on line applications and hours spent filling them out - repeatedly.

The only number that counts?  One.
One job offer.

Late Friday afternoon I finally got the call.  I received an offer from a company in Nashville, TN, that I am accepting.  There are, of course, details to be worked out but, I will once again be employed.

Many thanks to all of you who have expressed your support over the last several months.  While I didn't write a lot, the blog and your comments were part of what helped keep me marginally sane.

More details to come....  You just gotta know that moving The Horde to Nashville will be an adventure.....

Weenies

So apparently all my dog show friends are a bunch of weenies since not one of you sent me a less than flattering win picture.  Or maybe it's that none of you have ever taken a less than flattering win picture?  Because if that is the case, I'm screwed.

Now, to take the post title another direction...  This morning I was thinking about owning a stud dog and what that has meant to me personally.  In the world of dogs, there are people who prefer to own dogs and those who prefer to own bitches.  In most respects, it doesn't really matter to me - I have both - but owning a stud dog seems, to me, to be a little different.

When Sam came to live with me, nearly 10 years ago, it was supposed to be a temporary situation.  As a novice Cardigan owner I had no intention of becoming involved in the conformation or breeding side of owning dogs.  Ginny had come to live with me about 5 months earlier and I had originally thought I would pursue competitive obedience with her (the only dog sport I was aware of at the time) but that wasn't panning out.  Sam came along and things began to change.

I acknowledge that every stud dog is different and what I've experienced with Sam may not be the norm but, here's what I've found:

- Some stud dogs don't like other intact males.  In my first group of Cardigan friends, there were a bunch of intact males.  Some had stood at stud, others hadn't.  None of them liked each other.  We all socialized at agility events but we had to do it from a 6-10 foot distance if we had the dogs with us.

- Intact males can be wonderfully polite around girls in season or real idiots.  Early on, Sam was very polite when his girlfriends would come to stay with us.  As he's aged, he's gotten less polite and more of an idiot.  The whining and tap dancing that accompanied Georgia's last season were ridiculous.

- When you own a stud dog, you sometimes have to take matters into your own hands.  Enough said.

- Taking your stud dog to a good looking, male repro vet to be collected on can seriously impair your sang froid.

- Owning a stud dog causes you to have what most people would think of as completely inappropriate public conversations about testicles, penises, semen, sperm counts, motility and virility.  It also causes the guy at the UPS store to ask if you were the one who shipped a 'whole bucket' of sperm to England.  I was not.

- Owning a stud dog means you don't have to be married or have a boyfriend to experience having a man in your bed who hogs the bed, steals the covers, throws the pillows on the floor, snores, farts and kicks you when he's dreaming.

-Owning a stud dog means you can have lovely friendships all over the country and world with people you've never met because their dog has your stud in its pedigree.  I'm always thrilled to see pictures of members of the Samily and hear about their exploits.

What about the rest of you who own stud dogs?  Anything to add to the list?

Another Dog Show Take Away

I've been meaning to post since the first weekend in February but, I've had a cold and just haven't had the energy.  On February 4, Miss Georgia went Best of Breed at a show in Doswell, VA.  It was a small Cardigan entry, no specials, but I'm still super proud of the little girl who is growing into such a lovely show dog.

In the past I've talked about all the crap you need to show a dog; grooming table, dryer, special shampoo, brushes, combs, chalk, etc.  Then there's the wardrobe considerations for the handler; color coordinating with your dog, making sure the skirt is long enough to cover your lady bits if you bend over, pockets, etc.  Of course there's teaching your dog to be a show dog; hand stacking, free stacking, gaiting, baiting, etc.  Then you go in the ring and hope for a win.  When it happens, it's exhilarating!  And then you get to the win photo....

Traditionally, you have a win photo taken for your first point(s), both majors and when your dog completes its championship.  There is a photographer at the show who will take the picture with or without the judge (with the judge is preferable), in the ring or at a designated photo area.  The photo is mailed to you, in a sealed plastic sleeve, within a week or two of the show.  You can usually see enough of the photo through the printing on the sleeve to determine if you want to keep it.  If not, you send it back and pay nothing.  If you open the sleeve and keep the photo, you have to pay for it.

Sounds pretty simple I mean, we take pictures all the time.  If you have dogs, chances are good you have literally hundreds of pictures of them - candids as well as stacked shots (if they are show dogs).  You've probably been in lots of pictures yourself too.  No big deal, right?  WRONG!

What they don't teach you in handling classes, or anywhere else for that matter, is that the win photo should be practiced as well.  Getting your dog appropriately stacked shouldn't be an issue - you've practiced the hell out of that.  Getting YOURSELF properly posed is an entirely different issue.  Which brings me to Georgia's recent win photo.

Click to biggify.

You'll notice that my face is obscured.  That's because I was so focused on getting G set up properly, making sure the collar didn't make her hair do weird things, making sure the lead wasn't dangling in an odd place, etc. that when the photo was snapped my face was NOT prepared.  I look like a turtle that has been goosed.  My expression is literally so distracting that you don't see the dog.

I'm willing to post an un-retouched photo if my dog show friends out there will share with me their less than flattering win photos too.  Send them to me at dina.delsman *@* gmail.com and I will do a whole post of win photos gone wrong.  I need to know that others have felt my pain.

I Did What to the Cat?

Grace, the cat, doesn't get a lot of time on the blog but she does exist and I do care for her.  She's been around for 14.5 years - predating the dogs by 5 years!

This fall, I took Grace to the vet for a check up and while she was there we cut her claws.  Most people don't think about cutting their cat's claws but, if you have an indoor cat who doesn't use a scratching post it's not a bad idea to do it occasionally.

Today, I cut Grace's claws again.  While I was doing it, several things popped into my head.  In no particular order they are:

- It's a lot easier to cut Grace's claws than any of the dog's toenails.  Her quicks are way back.

- Damn!  Grace's claws are REALLY long!


- It's a lot harder to cut Grace's claws than any of the dogs toenails.  When held on her back, Grace becomes completely boneless and just sort of slides through my hands/arms.


- Where the hell ARE Grace's claws.  Between being retractable and her being long haired, finding her claws can be a challenge.


- Might be a good idea to keep Grace's uncut claws away from my face while I am cutting them.

If you have a cat, take a moment to check out their claws - if he/she will let you - and if they need it, give them a trim. The furniture you save may be your own!

Manscaping

Bogey was starting to look a little shaggy so I decided to do some manscaping on him this weekend.

Making those feet look a little less like a Snowshoe Hare's.

Not being a show dog, he really doesn't appreciate being asked to spend time on the grooming table.  When it was all said and done this is what was left.

Can it really be called manscaping if you remove this much hair?

And this is how the handsome boy looked.

A little less crazy grandpa hair coming out of and around his ears as well as tidier feet.