Awake, Asleep (pictures of a girl and a chihuahua)

So, in less than a week Caesar has managed to push his way firmly into our little family.  I have a feeling he may well be staying on past his engagement with the ladies.  LOL  Of course, I can’t say for sure one way or another just yet…  but if I were to place a bet?  It would be that he may very well have found his forever home.  When kid-kid announces “I think he needs to belong to me, he just loves me TOO much”?  Well…  that says a lot.  And what says even more?  How about a quick iphone capture or two?

Awake and getting settled in, ready to listen to a chapter or two from the second Harry Potter book.

 

Asleep shortly afterwards (my movement woke Caesar), time to douse the light.

 

Hail Caesar!

Well, Caesar arrived on his Westjet flight early this evening.  Sweet little old man Chi.    It’s been a while since we’ve had a senior Chihuahua in the house.  And he already reminds me of Noelle…

There really is nothing like a wee little old Chihuahua.  They’ve got such spunk, and are just the sweetest little things.  I remember Noelle – near the end…  couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, only had four teeth…  but she was still determined to boss around the other dogs at her play group.  Her silly tongue hanging out the side of her mouth, giving sideways kisses.  I’d forgotten just how much I missed her until this silly old boy showed up with his sideways kisses.

And just like Noelle, Caesar is a total Daddy’s boy.  Right from the moment they got off the plane – both of them instantly had a connection with Damon.  Sure, I’ll do in a pinch…  but Damon lights their faces right up.  Nothing like the glow of an intensely happy Chihuahua, basking in the love of the person they’ve chosen as theirs.  And I see that glow already on Caesar – even in the couple hours he’s been here.

Caesar was supposed to be coming here for his “last hurrah”.  His sperm tested out well, and so he flew out here to sire some puppies this year.  But I can’t help but wonder if he may also have found his retirement home with Damon – who appears to be the person of his dreams. 

Sleeping Chihuahua (pic)

Long day.

Folks checked into the hotel room next to ours at 6 AM…  loudest people ever!  Seriously.  I gave up on getting any more sleep at 7:00.  We had no plans on waking before 9.  So by the time Alice and I were in the ring in the afternoon, we were already ready for a nap.  Which is exactly what we came back here to do:

My cow baby, snoozing on her cow.

 

No points for little Alice today, but hopefully with some rest and treats she’ll be back to her usual self, and ready to own the ring tomorrow.

Amazing what a difference half a decade makes!

On Friday, I received my new drivers license in the mail.  A lot has changed since I had taken my previous DL photo.  Not just in my life, but procedurally as well.

Now they require a new photo every five years.  I think it used to be every seven (but don’t quote me on that).  It used to be you could wear glasses, smile, act and be natural in your photo.  Now, even if you wear glasses full time they have to be off, and not only are you not allowed to crack a toothy grin, you aren’t allowed to smile at all.  But, as you’ll note from my new license, a wry smirk is perfect acceptable.

My Driver’s License Photo – Old and New

 

I have to admit…  when I received my new license and pulled the old one from my wallet, I stopped and stared at the photos for a while.  What a difference roughly half a decade makes.  The first photo was before I was married, before Lily-Ann was even a vague idea.  It was before I’d changed focus from my work as an expert in Canine Communication to Professional Photographer.  I voted Green back then, but wasn’t a member of the party, and would never dream I would run the provincial party and run for office during a provincial election, a national election, and a provincial by-election.  It was before I returned to my roots and realized how much I missed working with youth.  I hadn’t outed myself as a former victim of sexual assault, and was ashamed of the fact that I had FMS and IBS.  It was a very different me – who was plagued by social anxiety disorder and had a specially trained Service Dog because I couldn’t leave the house alone.

Now?  Wow.  There really isn’t much of that girl left.

I chose my wording carefully, the use of “girl” wasn’t an accident.  I was a girl.  I was a nervous, scared, girl.  I hid it pretty well from most folk…  but I really did live my life scared that I’d be found out, that someone would realize I wasn’t actually good enough to be worthwhile.

I said it once already, but for emphasis, I’ll say it again:  What a difference roughly half a decade makes.

Now?  I’m probably a little too self-assured…  I’m actually downright cocky.  LOL  I know that who I am matters, and what I do makes a difference.  I’m a proud woman.  Confident and ready to tackle pretty much anything that comes my way.  I live out loud, and tend to over share.  Want to know something about me?  Ask.  I’m not afraid and will happily talk to anyone about anything.  I’m doing some pretty amazing things.

Someone asked me if I felt old now that I’ve turned 35, and you know what?  I totally don’t.  I feel like life is just beginning.  I’ve just hit my stride.

 

A couple dog show photos of Alice.

We’ve had a couple super late nights…  Mom and Dad went out last night, and did again tonight.  So we were over at their place keeping an eye on everyone.

I had brought my computer and one of my hard drives along.  So I spent some time doing editing from yesterdays shoot, and also had a peek at the photos my sister took for me during the HCKOC show on the weekend.  I knew going in that today was going to be just as late as yesterday so I pulled out a couple photos from the dog show.  Figured I’d share them tonight. 

It was Alice’s first weekend out, and I was quite pleased with how she did.  She was happy in the ring.  Stood pretty well on the table.  Her tail was wagging, and she focused on me.  And to take Best of Winners and Best Puppy two out of three times on a very first try?  That’s nothing to snub one’s nose at.

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HCKOC Dog Show – Mark your Calendars!

Mark your calendars!  This weekend is one of two dog shows held annually in Saskatoon.  This one happens to be the Hub City Kennel and Obedience Club show, and will be taking place at the Exhibition grounds in Hall E.  And, quite unusual for us, this is our first show of 2012.

This weekend marks the show debut of Alice, one of the pups from my first ever Chihuahua litter.  I’m super excited to be taking a puppy I’ve bred into the ring for the first time ever.  I have high hopes for this little one.  She really is an outstanding pup with a temperament to die for!

If you’re free this weekend, you should come on out.  The show will go from 9 AM until roughly 3 PM each day (except Sunday, which usually shuts down a little earlier so everyone who has to travel can start on their way home).  I highly recommend coming as early as possible though, as shows tend to thin out later in the day.  As people finish up with their dogs for the day, they usually head out rather than sticking around the show site.  So coming in the morning or very early afternoon means you’re more likely to encounter a wider variety of dogs.

Our approximate ring times on each day are as follows:

• 9:00 on Friday (in ring two)
• 12:15 on Saturday (in ring one)
• during the lunch break on Saturday (kid kid will be taking Alice in for Juniors)
• 9:00 on Sunday (in ring two)
• during the lunch break on Sunday (for puppy sweeps)

If there’s a particular breed you are interested in seeing, I recommend downloading the official schedule at http://canuckdogs.com/upload/DogShowDocs/2b117948-900c-11e1-bf94-46ab87a4a13a.pdf  It contains a listing of breeds that will be in attendance each day, along with the numbers of each breed and the break down of males, females, and specials.

To figure out an approximate show time for each breed you’re interested in seeing, take the number of dogs in the ring prior to the breed you are interested in watching, and multiply by 2.5.  It takes the judge roughly two and a half minutes to judge each dog.  So, if you want to watch the Irish Setters on Friday you’d multiply the 20 dogs in the ring prior to them by 2.5, giving you 50 minutes.  That group starts at 1:00, so you can estimate that they’d be in at roughly 1:50 on Friday.

So yay!  Dog show season!!!  One of my favourite times of year. 

Chihuahua with a Mustache

Today there was a book fair at the girl’s school.  She and I spent a great deal of time checking out all the titles on the tables.  Very honestly, there wasn’t much there that was even worth a second glance.  It was highly disappointing.  I knew we had to find something though.  The fair helps support the school, and a portion of the proceeds goes towards getting new books for their classrooms.  That, and the kid knew she was allowed to get a book.

Back and forth between the chapter book tables.  One mundane sounding description after another.  Then we wandered back to where we started – with the picture books.  We don’t read that many of them any more.  We read for a half hour (sometimes more) a day, but that’s almost all devoted to novels.  That’s when I saw it!

It was hidden beneath scores of boring paperback children’s stories…  a hard cover, only one letter of the title peeking out – but I recognized the font instantly.  “Lily-Ann!  What’s this???”  I slide the book out just a titch, so that two letters are now revealed.

“SKIPPYJON JONES!!!!”

I’m sure her animated shout could be heard throughout the main floor of the school.

Yep.  We found a copy of Skippyjon Jones; Class Action.

We love Skippyjon.  We read a lot about him at wegivebooks.org.  I remember the first time she saw the cover of the original Skippyjon Jones, she said “Momma, that cat looks like a Chihuahua.”  This sticks with me because I poo poohed her, assuming it was just the illustrators style… but very quickly found out I was wrong.  And yes, I made sure to apologize for it.

We’re Chihuahua nuts around here (as I’m sure you’ve guessed).  So these absolutely adorable books, with their smart stories, and rich characters?  We <3 them in a big way.

So yay!  The kid now has her very own Skippyjon Jones book…  and we popped the CD in to listen to it being read while we drove to get her Daddy from work (it was interesting to hear someone else’s take on the characters voices and the songs – her mom voice and my mom voice are VASTLY different, and curiously enough we were pretty dead on for every other character and the songs).  We’ve now heard it six times.  And it’s no less charming on it’s sixth than on it’s first, though I’m not sure her Daddy would agree.  LMAO

Anyway…  instead of sharing a book cover as I often do when I’m writing about a book we enjoy, I’m going to share a picture the girl did up yesterday.  She took a photo (using the iPad) of Deedee, and then proceeded to edit it.  So here’s Deedee, or as the girlie put it – giggling hysterically:  “She’s a Chihuahua with a Mustache!”

Little Dog Lost: a must-have book for every child’s library

I’ve already blogged about We Give Books and their amazing program that allows you to both read books online for free AND to donate a book to charity for every one you read.  So I won’t go into it any more than I just did.  But I do have to share about one of the books we read today, Little Dog Lost.

Little Dog Lost is based on the true story of the heroic little dog known to the world as Baltic.  I don’t know how many of you would have followed his story on the news a couple years ago, but I know I did.  As mom to some amazing furkids I found it absolutely terrifying to know this poor little one was lost out on the ice flows of the Baltic sea.  Thankfully his story had a very happy ending, and it has now been immortalized in this beautiful book.

As we read, Lily-Ann was so moved by the words and images.  You could see her concern visible in her face and body language, and hear it in her voice as she asked questions and read along with me.  The story asks “Is it a seal?”  And just as the book declares, she too would say “No!”

This one is one of the few children’s picture books that I believe will become a classic.  Definitely a must have for every child’s personal library, and a must have for every school and daycare library.  Wonderfully written, and gorgeously illustrated!

Go check it out, and give a book to charity at the same time:  http://www.wegivebooks.org/books/little-dog-lost?auto_launch=1

A Wintery Day in the Park – a photography preview for Pat Kilgour

I had a lovely time with Pat and her family on Sunday afternoon out in Gabriel Dumont Park.  It’s one of my favourite spots to do family photographs ANY time of year, even when it’s -20 out.  Thankfully it was substantially warmer than that, as we’re having the warmest Winter Saskatchewan has seen in my 34 years, so while we were all starting to get red cheeks and cold hands by the end of our hour together, we managed to get all the way through without complaint.  Well…  except for Shmee, who was unimpressed by the whole thing.

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Charlie and Family – photography preview

Charlie is a little dog with a ton of personality packed into his little frame.  I had a lot of fun with him and his people – in spite of a drizzly not so nice day.  So, without needlessly painting the lily, here are a few photographs: