Moving In....

Wowsa! What's THIS all about?!!!  THREE posts in one day!??  Yall don't git used to this!  It's just that there's a LOT going on and there are a Lot of Whiners (you know who you ARE) out there who want to know Everything that is happening since they cannot BE here to join in on the revelry, uh, serious Collie Nationals Business...


So....we Moved IN today!!!  The Expo was open for "exhibitors only" at 5 pm, and since I kinda crowd in w/the Collie Health Foundation folk, well, we set up our grooming area and got everything organized.

I drove INTO the Expo Building, yall!!!!

But, First, let's back up to earlier in the afternoon.  Tea time, perhaps.  A need for a bit of the juice of the vine and maybe a few potato chips and some Collie hugs...

We met at Nancy's suite. She's sharing it with Mary and Hal. And several Collies.

This Collie (Betsa)  finished her Championship with Carl and has gone to live with Mary and Hal.  She is beloved and doted upon by these people, literally dogging Hal's every step when they are at home.  I see such wisdom in her eyes.  And she has a big work ethic and loves her humans.

Collie noses. What a sad thing that there are actually people in this world who have never Seen such a sight as this....

The Madam of Sunnybank went to WalMart. I'd asked her to look for a Starbucks store while she was out.  Wanted to get some decent coffee to replace the packets the hotel has....Well, this resourceful woman found Starbucks coffee AT Walmart!!!  She stopped by Nancy's to deliver the goods to me...Whoooohooooo!!!  We shall truly have some good stuff come tomorrow morning...THANKS, Gerrie...

Doncha just love this picture?!  Gerrie is a very beloved person....

ANYway, back to the Expo.  Where I'm DRIVING in, remember?!  I have never had to "thread" such a small needle with a minivan before.  As Eileen said, I "stretched" a little today.

Greeting us as we came in at the building is Anne Cross.  My friend that Susy McHughes gave me....But THAT is another blog post unto itself.  Anne has Huge dreams for me.  This week ONE of them is coming true when James and I dance at the Nationals...

These people sure do HUG a lot, don't they!

 

This is my Disapproving Look....This woman and her climbing up high on thangs scares me to de-yauth (Southern pronunciation of "death").  I got up there to maybe, I don't know...catch? her if she fell....If ya cain't stop her, then you might as well BE close by to break th fall....

ANYway, we got the ex-pens off the roof rack and set up at our grooming space.  Banners firmly placed behind them..

Looking GOOD, huh?!!!

Tomorrow is set-up day (fer real) and also Breeders' Education Class.  Brenda's going to that.  I'm not "brave" enough to be a breeder...I think I'll take some nice time with the boyz, maybe get into the Big Ring and dance around a bit.  So...the Collie Nationals will be in Full Swing in another day.  But it SURE looks like it is swingin away right now!

Hail Hail! The Gang's All Here!!!

Well, almost everybody...Still a few more to ck in and drive up.  But there's Lots of Collies at our hotel, and the NC colition has arrived.  They made it in TWO days...Makes me tired just thinking about it.

I was snapping away with my camera.  Here's a few shots of some Collie folk. 
This is Eileen. She's from VA.  She flew in, dogless....We've got several to loan her should she need a Collie-fix....

Hugs all around from Carl and crew.

And the Madam flew in---bearing only ONE suitcase!!!

With her came Nancy Van Note...It is SOOO wonderful to meet her in person!!  Doesn't she have a welcoming smile!

Nancy Van Note recognized James right away.  He EXpects his Publick to know him...

This is Carl's sister Brenda, meeting Nancy VN for the first time.  As you can see, she only has eyes for James....He kinda DOES that to people....

Here's the group in the hotel lobby. Uh, yeh....That's Nancy McDonald....She tripped and broke her dang fibula in the puppy pen.....Dunno HOW she's gonna race around the ring this week...but she sure is taking it with grace and courage.

SOME folks might look at the above picture and think "construction site."  But others might look at it and think, "Go Tunnel!"

Here's James trying out the Agility equipment at the nearby hotel going up....It was pretty cool...he'd go In one, then turn and come back thru another...

SOMEtimes my camera just isn't Fast enough...

Sunday in Tulsa

Last night we fell into bed around 1 am.  The boyz chose to crash earlier, in fact, I "missed" Prosper, and went looking for him...found him sound asleep in his opened crate.  On his Back, of course...He is, after all, a grandson of Anthony....

Woke up early to a bright sunny day, needing to pee, of course.....

I had shut my bathtub/toilet door before I retired (the boyz like to drink the essence of the toilet), and omigosh!  The dam door was LOCKED!!! 

NOT one to "think" early in the morning, especially before coffee and before peeing....So I did not think to get the magical paperclip to unlock the lock....

I had to Pee, yall!

My backside fits right in the bathroom sink.  Okay, so I Rinsed it out....Kleenex right there beside my makeup to finish the job....Later on, after a few more winks, the Magical Paperclip did its thang, and all doors are open wide. 

Beautiful day here in Tulsa!  Birds are going Crazy nest building and vying for the Best Real Estate.  Temp is warm.  Wind is, of course, blowing wildly about.  Hoping it will bring some rain with it today.

We are heading for breakfast.  The NC crew should arrive around noon. 

Day One in Tulsa. Central Collie Club Specialty

We left for Tulsa this afternoon.  Vans laden down with unnecessary stuff to maintain Life and to maintain the Collie Coat.

Our hotel is Wonderful!  We've got a suite of rooms with more room than we need! 

Each of us has her own bedroom/bathroom.

That's Brenda's Jeremy, cking out my digs....

And then there's a livingroom/eating area between the two bedrooms......

What's that on top of the refrigerator, you ask....

Only about 80 chocolate vaginas....But there's more to that detail in a later post....Suffice it to say that I need to get some new friends....

James finds the coolest place in the suite to lie down....He is SUCH a Collie!

Once we were unloaded and all our suitcases emptied, we headed for the Central Collie Club Specialty at the Raddison Hotel on 41st and Garnett.

Nigel showed Beautifully....but did not win, place, or show....But, as always, it is so much fun to just BE at a dog show in and amongst the fuzzies and all that it takes to make the "so." 

Our Norwegian friends showed up, right as bitches were being shown.  They went NUTZ taking pictures and exclaiming over all the pretty dogs, declaring that our Nigel was, by far, the most handsome of the lot.  But, of course, theirs was not the opinion of the judge, so we did not take away a ribbon this time.

Brenda looked so pretty in her liddle red jacket and black pants....

Afterwards, we took the Norwegians to supper at the Cracker Barrel. They were Thrilled at the down home, country cookin, and loved every bite.  Of course, while we were waiting for our order, they had to shop in the gift shop area, and found lots of treasures...

Marianne had a 1/2 pound hamburger, and she was excited to tackle such a big job!!!  I Must say she did us all proud, devouring every morsel, french fries as well....

Afterwards, we sat outside while Jorunn finished up her shopping.  I shared my Tootsie Roll with everyone, and we laughed and giggled like girls...

We got back to our hotel around 9 pm. Fed the dogs (they, too, had hamburger meat tonight!), and walked for about a mile. Back inside with a glass of wine and some Girl Scout mint chocolate cookies, a warm bath (Brenda has it Quite Chilly in here....My sister Sherry would heartily approve), and a little Kombucha Tea.  Life is good.  Collies strewn all around us....

Until tomorrow. 

xoxoox

CCA....BEfore it "Officially" begins......

Today is Friday.  Our vans are packed and ready to go to Tulsa tomorrow. 

On Sunday, the doors to the Expo Building in Tulsa Oklahoma open for a week of Pure Heaven....This year, the Collie National Specialty will be held in Tulsa ....only an hour from my front door. 

My dear friend Brenda from northern Virginia has been here for a week with her three Collies.  We have bathed dogs, trained dogs, planted flowers, mucked out the water gardens, hosted a water garden program for the Garden Club, gone to Lowe's numerous times, built stands for banners to hang over our ex-pens,

taken long walks in the neighborhood with 5 Collies, cooked, eaten lots of chocolate, and maybe even vacuumed....once....

Today we welcomed 4 Colliewimmen from Norway to my home. We had met at the 2009 National Specialty in Massachusetts, and so our reunion was beautiful and delightful.

I only took one picture.  It was before we ate our lasagna.

We talked non-stop about (what else?!) Collies. Training Collies.  Grooming Collies. Collie Health. Collie Diet.  Clickers. Collies in the snow. Collies who are too smart for their own good and find ways to challenge us.  Collie puppies. Whelping Collies. Collie books. Collie figurines and pictures. Collie wool. Knitting Collie wool. Collies dying.....

And, at some point along the way, we all six became One...I cannot explain it, it just happened....I am certain that our mutual love and passion is at the core of this phenomena. It was like family...an intimacy that is usually reserved for long-term friendships. Amazing.

As they left Tahlequah and headed back to Tulsa, we went with them to WalMart for a quick shopping spree.  Each one found treasure of some sort, and were amazed that they had "everything" there.  Ah.  WalMart. THE American Icon...

Dog treats and dog vitamins, capris with lots of pockets, shampoo, sunscreen, power bars, fresh apples, chewing gum, cotton shorts, cotton shirts....and many other things that would not fit in their suitcases for the return trip.

We bid them good night, came home and fed our Collies, walked them thru the neighborhood, fed ourselves and settled in for a slow, relaxing night.  We Know that, come Sunday, our week will begin to sail past at a pace we never even imagined could be. This One Week has been in the making for So long for So many of us.  I can only to hope to slow it down a bit with a daily account here.  Keep checking back.  I'll write till my head hits the keyboard!

Random, Snow-y Thoughts and a Couple of Recipes

Yesterday it was -31 degrees an hour north of us.  Yeh, thatsa minus you are reading there. And I do NOT live north of the Arctic Circle. Today it is 36 degrees. On the plus side. Next week will bring balmy 70 degree temperatures and sunny skies.

Additionally, there is about 8 inches of snow on the ground, in various, unmelted places. Here's a few shots of Collies in the snow...BEfore the full-blown mass came down.

Mostly, I've stayed inside managing to thaw out until noon.  My fingernails have never looked prettier. My knitting yarn stash is diminishing. My computer skills are surpassing Bikeman's. I've watched all the Bonanza re-runs. The Collies are groomed. So are the cats. I've sewed several costumes for the upcoming Freestyle competition. I'm taking an online Dog Training course, and doing all my homework. I've watched several movies that were stashed away and drunk gallons of coffee and (weird ) hot teas.

And baking.  Why is it that whenever the weather turns cold, the baking mood hits in full force?

Here's a couple of Wonderful gluten-free recipes.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

7 oz really good (45-75% cocoa) semisweet chocolate
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs, separated.
1) Preheat oven to 300deg. Melt chocolate and butter (double boiler or 50% power in the micro)
    Stir together half of the sugar and 4 egg yolks. Now mix that w/the chocolate mixture.
2) Beat the egg whites in an electric mixer, slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar until stiff peaks form.
    Fold that mixture into the chocolate. Pour into a Pam-d 9-inch cake pan.
3) Bake 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out w/just a few crumbs on it. Cool 30 min.
    Dust w/powdered sugar.

Okay, now....HERE's MY edited, snowbound, caint git to th grocery version:

I used plain ol COCOA!  Yep!  Just the powdered stuff from Hershey's. A CUP of it.....And still only used the 3/4 cup butter.  I also sprinkled  a few walnuts into the batter and on the top. We Like walnuts here on Patti Circle.

This is a GOOD Cake! Really. I had No Idea that it would be so wonderful. I would serve it to company, if anyone chose to mush by....

Here's another good one. BTW, I found these in the Sunday newpaper magazines.

TOFFEE KISSES

3 egg whites (give the yolks, raw, plus crunch up the shells, to the dawgs)
1/4 t. cream of tartar
1/4 t. salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (if you don't have any brown sugar, use about a Tablespoon of molasses, stir into the granulated white stuff...it's the SAME thang!)
1/2 cup milk chocolate toffee bits (I had Heath chips--leftover from Christmas baking I Didn't do, and added some chocolate chips)

1)  Preheat oven to 350 deg. Line a baking sheet w/parchment paper (side note:  Parchment paper is a     Necessity for many reasons....You don't use it that often, but it IS necessary for various reasons). 
2)  Beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt with a mixer at high speed until SOFT peaks form. Add the sugars, a little at a time, beating until stiff peaks form (note: you CAN overbeat this....so don't get over-zealous when you see those whites getting stiff).
3) Gently stir in the toffee/chocolate bits
4)  Drop batter by tablespoonsful onto the parchment-lined pan (you can do that fancy piping thang if you have the inclination or the equipment---can even use a ziplock bag w/the corner cut off).
5) Bake 40 minutes, or until crisp. Makes 40. I didn't get that many, but I tend to wield a heavy spoon....
35 calories per kiss. 1 g fat

There's also a Chocolate-Mocha version of this, but I haven't tried it. Instead of the toffee chocolate bits, you add 3 T of chocolate chips (is that ALL???) and 1 Tablespoon of instant espresso powder (do they even MAKE that??).

And, regarding feeding the dawgs RAW eggs, well, that's the Way We Do It around here. All my boyz eat a RAW diet, human grade food, really quite easy to do.  I add an egg every once in a while....especially when I have farm eggs to share. Perhaps I will blog about this in the future. They are all thriving and doing Quite Well on this diet. Even my 14-year-old Collie. 

So....the World Outside is beginning to Melt......I think I will brush my teeth and get dressed and go practice dance with my dogs.

Junior sez he's stayin inside.....

LIDDLE WOLF CUBBIE

Three years ago last month, he wove his way into my heart and claimed me as his very own.  The pup who has never met a stranger, happily greeting anyone who comes his way, still has an innate need to check in with me and remind himself that he is Totally and Forever mine.

I truly do not believe that I deserve a love this strong and pure....But it is a gift, and Mom always said to graciously and humbly Take the Gift....So, it is mine, and because of it, I have grown and learned and experienced a dog like none other.

The Standard for the Collie includes a major portion devoted to "expression."  It is the subject discussed by the Best of Colliefolk, and its interpretation is as vast as there are Colliefolk....But the main component in a Collie face is summed up in the Expression.  And, even tho he has entertained us with his silly antics and eternal puppyhood, SOMEtimes, through that dorky little face I am beginning to see traces of wisdom and even a bit of elegance.

Man, it has taken a Long Time!

He's actually learning how to pay attention, how to respond gently, and how to receive guests without jumping up. Why, we have even completed a visit to PetSmart without peeing in the store.

Next month he will qualify for his second "leg" in AKC Rally Obedience. Off leash.... "No net" as Bikeman calls it. In March we will dance in the upper level at a World Canine Freestyle event. April finds us at the Collie Nationals and completing that Rally title.  May is an Animal Communication workshop in New Hampshire. And, of course, June is CampGoneToTheDogs.

In the meantime, we still take time to do a few therapy visits....

This is my "kennel help" who assists me when we load up the van at the Retirement Center.  The boyz do whatever he tells them to. And the Wolf Cubbie doesn't jump up....I'm thinking that he might be a pretty good ambassador for the breed....Dorky smile and all....

FORTY Years Ago

Do you remember what you were doing 40 years ago?  How OLD were you? Do you remember the fashions you wore back then (certainly something Very short if you are female!).....How old was yer Momma? Your sisters and brothers? Who was president then?  What car did you drive?

Forty years seems like such a very long time ago, and when I was 19, the folks who were 59 seemed ancient and Quite Stoopid and out of the loop.

I turn 59 this month. The last year in my decade of fifties....And as I look at that Ancient Age, I look back to that young woman who was 19 and so desperately in love. In love with Life, with herself, and with a very handsome and kind Sailor stationed at the Naval Base in Memphis Tennessee.

I married that kind man, and we have been on a Roller Coaster Ride for the past 40 years. It doesn't look like there is any hope of things being much different.  We speed up, we slow down, we rocket downhill, we fly to the top till we are almost out of track, and there have been Very Few non-breathtaking moments in the whole dam ride.....

Together, we have lived thru 8 presidents, several wars and rumors of war, 4 college degrees, 2 mortgages,  countless cars, vans, dogs, cats, and various other animals. We have gained and lost weight. Grown our hair out and chopped it off (well, that would be ME, Bikeman's hair has stayed the SAME all these years.  Really). We have argued over children, money, the thermostat setting, schedules, who gets to mow the lawn...

I Love mowing the lawn! I LOVE it! WHY does his "manly duty" get in the way of this wonderful activity?

I wanted to write something about Wisdom and Knowledge and give Sage Advice about Something, ANYthing in this Blog, but, honestly....well....I don't feel much different than I did 40 years ago when I knew everything and believed we would someday be Famous.....It was only Yesterday when I first laid eyes on that blonde, blue-eyed handsome sailor.  Only yesterday when we embraced each other and "Knew" that this was the end of our lives as we knew it.....Hours after that, we had children and minutes after that, they finished college and married and gave us grandchildren. Seconds later we were retired and riding bicycles nonstop and teaching dogs how to dance.

HOW can one learn something Important in so short a time?

Fifty-nine.....Apologies that I do not have any Wise Words to go with my Advanced Age....

I will tell you one thing that I have learned, and truthfully, I did Not learn it from the Dali Lama...tho I do have his book  The Art of Happiness and have digested every word...

I believe that it is Very Important to be happy.  My Mom quoted Abraham Lincoln as saying that "Most folks are as happy as they make their minds up to be." She also handed me her Dale Carnegie books---"Act enthusiastic and you will be enthusiastic." and "Happiness doesn't depend on any external conditions, it is governed by our mental attitude."

 Grow up with those attitudes in your face everyday, and some of it is bound to sink in....With or WITHOUT the Dali Lama.....It also shows on your face, and in your relationships and in the manner in which people react to you. When you are Happy, you will accomplish much, you will benefit many, and you will allow the Love of the Great Creator of us All to shine outward and warm the planet.

That's about all I have to "give" you of my nearly60years....

Figger out a way to Be Happy, then spread it all around.