Six Degrees of Sam

Jules over at Molasses Ain't Got Nothin' On Us recently posted that she had started a new agility class with Bug.    Sam and I used to take classes at the same place, with the same instructor so I told Jules to let her know that Bug and Sam are related and that I said Hello.  Which made Jules ask if my Sam was the Sam who got Katrin at  By My Side and Monty's Training Diary hooked on Cardigans.  He is.  But it also made me think of the game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon"  where most of Hollywood can be connected back to Kevin thru 6 or fewer movies.

So here goes....

Sam is:
Grandfather to Scout at Simple Things and
Grandfather to Grace at Days at Daybreake, Great Grandfather to Grace's daughters, Siren and Peace and he's in Magic's pedigree too, although I'm not sure where.  I think a Grandfather....
Related to everyone at Tails of Visions
Grandfather to Cooper at My Favorite People Are Dogs
Grandfather to Jenna at Shades of Gray
Great Great Great Grandfather to Monty at Monty's Training Diary (link above)
Grandfather and Great Great Grandfather to Bug at Molasses Ain't Got Nothin' On Us (link above)

Those are all the links I can think of off the top of my head. And no, he doesn't really get around all that much.... :)

Book Signing

Last Friday night, amidst the drama of picking up Mr. B, I got to go to Barnes & Noble in C'ville for a reading and book signing by one of my favorite authors.

Rita Mae Brown actually lives just down the road in Afton, VA, but I've been reading her books for years - since long before I moved to Virginia.  It started with the Mrs. Murphy mystery series - which were the books responsible for me getting involved with Corgis.  I started out wanting a Pem but there weren't any active Pem breeders in Southern Oregon at the time.  Carolyn from over at C-Myste was the only corgi breeder of any sort in the area.  She graciously invited me to come meet the dogs and the rest is history.  (BTW - if I never thanked you before, Carolyn - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!).

Rita Mae has a new book out (Animal Magnetism) and she was going to be at B&N.  The book is about her life with animals and is a series of short stories about different animals she has known and what she's learned from them.

If you've never read any of the RMB books, I highly recommend them.  Her earlier books don't include animals and may not suit everyone's taste (she is pretty opinionated about a lot of things) but the Mrs. Murphy  mysteries, the Sister Jane series and now this book are all terrific reads - good beach or fireplace books.

Me and RMB - who is shorter than I thought she would be.  I had a mental image of her being 6 ft tall!

How We Spent Sunday

These pictures say it all...

You can see a little bit of irritation from his surgery but, I assure you, he's feeling fine.

The old man, sleeping in front of the couch with a toy.

Notice how Ra and Sam are sleeping in almost the exact same position?  Only Ginny didn't cooperate with letting me take a picture while she slept.

Mr. B is Fine!

Ann just got a call from the vet's office and Mr. B came through it all with flying colors.  We'll pick him up this afternoon and then the fun really begins - keeping a super-active 9 month old pup "quiet" for several days.  HA!

Did someone say "SNIP?"

Tomorrow is Mr. B's big day at the vet.  We tried to get this done a couple of months ago but there were some issues with his blood work.  Hopefully, everything will be normal (or close enough) that he can go under the knife tomorrow for a little "tutoring."

I have mixed feelings about doing this.  I know he's not show quality but, I look at his little body and wish he would have testosterone running through it long enough to help that chest drop :)  He looks SO leggy right now.  Oh well, better to get this taken care of before he starts thinking he can do something with those suckers.  Thank goodness all the girls in the house are spayed!  And we all know how Sam feels about living with another intact male.....

Janey Come Lately

That's me - Janey come lately.  I tend to miss things that others find and love for months; then I discover them.  Then I proceed to tell all my friends about them and those friends say, "Oh yeah!  I've known about that for years."  Duh.

So this week I discovered The Pioneer Woman.  I'd seen brief mentions on the blogs of other Cardi friends but this week I actually went to the site and spent, roughly, 4 hours reading the story of how she met and married her husband.  Then, at 1 this morning, I went cruising around the site for other gems of humor.  I found the following story... (Spew Alert - at least for those of us w/a slightly twisted mind and experince in animal husbandry)

Did She Just Say....

Now I'm off to run errands and bake pies - pumpkin and apple today.

I'm Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

Ok, this is getting a bit ridiculous.  I haven't felt well for 3 weeks now.  I woke up October 20th feeling like crap; a bad, bad cold.  Managed to get myself healthy enough for a trip to a Cardi herding clinic that weekend but woke up that Saturday with an ear infection.  Broke down and went to the Doc in a Box in Ohio for a prescription of antibiotics and cough syrup.  Since then, the ears won't drain and the cough simply won't go away.  Oh, and before you say, "get some decongestants" you should know that my sinuses have never been the issue.  So for a quick recap of the last 3 weeks of Horde life....

Cardi Herding Clinic
Good friends, good fun, good learning experience. 
Ra got to work both sheep and ducks.  Her speed demon ways have not changed a whit and I realized, rather belatedly, that she doesn't have a good sense of where balance is.  The decision to move her to agility was the right one.
Bogey got to work sheep in the round pen.  He had a brief introduction to sheep at the end of August and didn't care for them.  It's amazing what a difference a couple of months can make.  He did a WONDERFUL job.  Easily moved both directions, yielded to pressure and has a lovely natural sense of balance.  He could be a terrific herding dog.  Ann did a terrific job too - she was quite adept at turning in circles while holding a stock stick in one hand and a long line in the other.  See a picture in my last post.

October 29th and 30th
Sam visited Dr. Dove in Gainesville, VA.  After a quick trip to the UPS office, Sammy's Swimmers were winging their way to NC for a date with some eggs.  Cross your fingers.....

Halloween - Pu Head's Bday
I totally missed posting on the Pu Head's 4th birthday.  She did get special treats and lots of extra love.  Her bday present this year was a new collar - black w/candy corn printed on it.  Belated birthday wishes to Sisters Scout, Grace and Fanny as well as Brother River.  Scout's mom, Janet, posted a great picture of Moira and Scout together on her blog Simple Things.  Personally, I think the look on Scout's face says, "I can't wait for motherhood so I can eat all the cake I want!"

Montpelier Hunt Races
For 75 years, the first Saturday in November means the Montpelier Hunt Races at the estate of James and Dolly Madison in Orange, VA.  Ann and I went for the first time last year and had such a grand time that we knew we would have to go again this year.  The Races were started by Marion DuPont Scott and are a Virginia institution.  There are 7 races run that day; 2 on the flat track and 5 steeplechase races.  We are fortunate enough to have friends with reserved, in-field parking that is right on the rail!  The event is very family friendly, with lots of good food, good beverages and beautiful horses - it's one big tailgating party.  As part of the opening ceremonies, the Keswick Hunt Club does a partial circuit of the steeplechase track w/horses and hounds.  A picture is below.  If life ever hands you the opportunity to visit central Virginia in early November, make plans to attend the races.  BTW, the weather was GORGEOUS!  Low 60s and sunny, we couldn't have asked for better.

Breaking News!
Sam or Ginny may be America's Next Top Model!  The photo producer for one of the catalogs I work for called me today to ask if any of my dogs would be available for a shoot tomorrow.  Seems the dog model they had booked cancelled.  So I told him I would bring Sam and Gin and we'll see which one behaves better :)  Ginny says she's ready for her close up, Mr. DeMille!