Keeping Your Dog Cool in the Summer

As you all know I have a black dog.  It is almost impossible to keep a black dog cool in the summer in the South, especially if you have a black dog that HATES water.    But I can't keep him locked inside all summer - that's not fair to my super duper agility dog.  He still loves his agility class, he LOVES his big backyard, he loves ROLLING in the freshly cut grass and he loves chasing all the critters out of the garden.

So what's a dog mom to do?  Well we have to find creative ways of keeping him cool during these horrible summer days.

The most important thing is we do keep him inside during the worst heat of the day. If he has to go out - then he is only out for a few minutes then it's straight back in.  He's constantly hydrated, he has water bowls all over the house. I don't leave home without plenty of water for the dog.  And occasionally I DO hose him down, or throw him in the dock diving pool after agility class if it's available.  Then I just end up with a mad black dog that looks like a drowned rat that I am sure is muttering obscenities at my under his breath.

But in the interest of trying to be creative here are some other things I have found to do:

A cool coat - this one is from Clean Run. It's not where I got mine, but this is close to it.  You can either put it on the dog as is, to reflect the light off the dog and keep them cooler or you can dunk them in water and them put them on the dog to keep them cool and that's usually what I choose to do.

Cool Coat

I also have decided to make him some nice cool treats this summer. I tried going the yogurt and fruit route but I discovered that he was spitting the fruit out once he ate the yogurt. :)

So I am going to make these this weekend and I will let you know if they are a hit!

Frozen Peanut Butter Banana Yogurt Treats  - Courtesy of TodaysMama.com

Don't they look yummy? 

Summer Dinners

Living in the South, it's challenging in the summer to find something to eat that is appetizing despite the heat.  We all want to eat healthy but have something yummy.  But, you never want to eat heavy in the summer.  No stews or soups.  No big pastas or roasts.  So it's always a struggle.

But last night I think I hit a home run.

Last night's menu was Turkey Burgers from Allrecipes

Actually Delicious Turkey Burgers

I paired that with easy corn on the cob( white corn of course).  It was crisp and sweet and just the best thing for it.

Along with that we had Chinese Coleslaw( courtesy of The Brown Eyed Baker)

Chinese Coleslaw Recipe
INGREDIENTS:

2 (16-ounce) bags coleslaw mix
1 cup sunflower seeds, shelled (you can buy just the kernels)
1 cup sliced almonds
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 (3-ounce) packages Ramen noodles, crushed

For the Dressing:
1 cup vegetable oil
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
2 seasoning packets from the Ramen noodles

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the coleslaw mix, sunflower seeds, almonds, green onions and crushed Ramen noodles.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, vinegar and seasoning packets until well blended.

3. Pour the dressing over the coleslaw mixture and toss until it is evenly distributed. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

And last but not least - Key Lime Buttermilk Icebox pie from this month's Southern Living - because you know I can't stay away from my Southern Living magazine!  I used the graham cracker crust, instead of the buttery cracker crust, but that was just a personal preference.  I also cheated and didn't make my own whipped cream.

Key Lime Buttermilk Icebox Pie

Oh and the drink of the night - Peach Bellini's - YUM!  Just some peach nectar with prosecco in a champagne glass!  Drop some raspberries in there and Voila!  Peach Bellinis!

Jaime Lannister or Jamie Fraser??

I read - a LOT.  I have been reading since I was a small child and I love it. I never feel complete unless I have a book in my hand.

Now I am not a fan of movies or tv adaptations of my favorite books.  In fact, I dread them - simply because they leave out so much of the story and the people that they cast are never the people that are in my head.

But there are two shows out now that are adaptations of two fantastic book series.  One is based on the Game of Thrones series.  This is a series that I just recently( i.e. a couple of years ago) read and thoroughly enjoyed. I was very excited when HBO picked it up to make it into a series.  HBO is known for their quality - The Tudors and the Sopranos, are among some of the great shows they have produced.  So I wasn't worried there, I knew it would be fantastic.

Then I heard that they were making a series out of Outlander.  And it had been picked up by Starz.  And I sighed, and worried and fretted.  I have been reading Outlander for 20 years.  I am now in the eighth book in the series and I have a LOT invested in Jamie and Claire.  A LOT.  I knew the author wouldn't let it go to a complete ruin but after TRYING to watch The White Queen on Starz and failing, I was very worried.

I feel in these adaptations that casting is crucial.    The reader has a certain vision in their mind of the character and if you don't nail that character in the tv show or movie then you aren't going to keep the reader.

I think that GOT and Outlander have done a fantastic job in their casting of the main characters.  They have made a few mistakes and it took me awhile to get used to Jamie and Claire in Outlander - moreso than it did the characters in GOT, simply because I don't have as many hours of my life invested in GOT as I do in Outlander.

I highly recommend both of these series if you haven't watched them - or read the books, if you prefer.  If you do watch, I warn you, they aren't for the faint of heart.

Say Hello to My Little Friend

I really do love where we live.  We get to see all kinds of neat wildlife.  We've seen deer, raccoons, chipmunks, owls and hawks, just to name a few.  And we hear the coyotes all the time, although thankfully, we never get to see those.

We also hear thousands of tree frogs - every summer they serenade us and it's so loud you can barely hear yourself think.  We always wondered about our tree frogs and last night we found this little guy on our porch:

We think he's a Cope's Gray Tree Frog. Isn't he cute???  Don't know where he came from but he stayed on our porch all evening.  Alas, he was gone this morning.  Maybe he will come and see us again soon.

Why So RUDE?

ARGH!  I am so tired of everyone being so RUDE!  I mean, I am not always the nicest person, I DO have moments, as my husband and all my friends can attest to.  Most of the times my rudeness is unintentional.  It's done mostly when I am in a hurry or very busy and I instantly regret my rudeness and if I get a chance I do apologize for being short or unpleasant.

But in the past 2 weeks I encountered people who were just outright rude to me and I am just baffled. They were rude for no reason.  I was not doing anything to them. I was minding my own business, doing my own thing, when they just busted into my business.  I don't want use specifics, so I will use an example.  It was like you were at the gym, and you were using a piece of the equipment and someone came over - WHILE you were using the equipment and just started to change the weights while you were resting between sets.
This is how the conversation would go:

"Um EXCUSE ME?  I am still using this machine.", I say
 " But you were resting", says the rude person.
 " But I have one more set" I counter.
 " Too bad" says rude person, "You can use that machine OVER THERE".

First I was too shocked to do anything. I couldn't believe someone would be THAT rude.  I mean, we are in the South.  The courteous thing to do would be to ask if I was finished, or if they could work in between sets.  I am a reasonable person and I would probably have been happy to accommodate them.  But, to just take over like that and try to kick me off?  The ONLY thing that kept me from making a HUGE scene was that I didn't want to make a HUGE scene and my mother taught me not to yell at my elders.  Although, I do admit I lost it the week before and DID yell at an elder.  My patience only stretches so far at times.  ( sorry Mom ).

The Importance of Good Friends

I am blessed.  I have some of the best friends a person can have.  I have the kind of friends that you can let loose and be yourself around.  I have friends that I can be stupid silly around - and I don't even have to have been imbibing a bit to do it.  They love me for who I am ( at least they say they do) and they aren't afraid to get stupid silly along with me.

I am also fortunate enough to have a wide variety of friends who share my interests.  And sometimes those friends can cross into other groups of friends and that's always fun - I like it when I can introduce new groups and they all get along.  But sometimes they don't mesh and that's ok too.

And it always amazes me how many friends the internet has brought my way.  I have people whom I consider *good* friends, who I have never met in person, but I would not hesitate to stay at their house if invited.  The only reason I haven't met them in person is I haven't made it to their geographic area - or them to mine.

As one of my agility friends commented to me one day, when we were at an out of town show - "

You seem to have a friend in every city".  It's true.  I think I know someone in every area that I travel to.  It's nice.  If I can, I try to meet up with them when I get to their area.  Sometimes they come to the show and visit, or sometimes we meet up for dinner, it just depends on time and scheduling.

Snow, Ice or Nothing in Between

It seems like Georgia weather ( whenever it's not just plain HOT) is always in some kind of a flux.  From April to June the question is always - is it going to rain? Can we have our party/concert/picnic outside or do we have to worry about getting wet?

From January to March the BIG question is always SNOW?  Is it going to snow/sleet/ice.  The very second the weatherman says the big S word the whole city is thrown into a panic.  Especially since the snowpacalypse of 2014.  I can't say that I blame them. I was one of the lucky ones that was at home that day.  I had minor surgery and had the day off, but my poor husband( who neglected to listen to my dire warnings) spent 6 hours in the car trying to get home - and he was one of the lucky ones.  Many people spent the night in their cars or less than ideal conditions in a fast food restaurant or wherever they could find shelter.

So when the weatherman forecasted snow/ice/sleet for this weekend, we all went into panic mode.  FILL UP THE CAR, GET BREAD, GET MILK!!!!!  The world is going to end!!!!!

Now I can never figure out why people panic SO much - I mean we are in the south, which really means if we are stuck it's usually not for more than 3 or 4 days.  So can I do without bread and milk for 3 or 4 days?  Yep.  Will I starve?  Nope.  I have other ways to sustain me.  Tequila is always a good choice.  Or wine, or even one of the lesser drinks such as soda or GASP - WATER!

I have a whole pantry FULL of food that can be eaten - that frankly SHOULD be eaten and hey, I could probably benefit from being stuck in my house for a week, JUST to go through my pantry and clean it out a bit.  Since DH and I have been on a couponing and BOGO kick, it's getting a little full.

So bring it on Mother Nature.  But if you do, leave the power on please but kill the internet.  That way I can stay warm but not feel obligated to work.  This is the one time I won't be mad if Comcast fails me.

The Making of A Ribbon Wreath

Over the years of showing we collect a lot of ribbons.  I like ribbons.  I think they are pretty and some clubs have some really nice ones in some very unique colors and designs.(Ok yes, I will admit it, I am a magpie "OOOH SHINEY!")

I am fortunate that although I am the direct opposite of crafty, that I have been savvy enough to surround myself with insanely crafty friends.  One such friend even has her own crafty business( plug here - if you embroider or vinyl go to AllAboutBlanks they are the BOMB)!  Susan has already helped me make a fantastic ribbon quilt ( quiet applause) and this weekend we embarked on a ribbon wreath.  MUCH easier than the ribbon quilt.

To make said ribbon wreath I got one wire frame from Michaels.  Then went through and I picked the ribbons that would be the easiest to pull the ribbon part off of or ones that didn't have rosettes.  Once we had all those we cut them in half like this:

We had started out using the whole length of the ribbon, but the ever savvy Susan figured out we could use half of it.  Warning though, if you are like me, you WILL burn every finger on your hand with hot glue.

Then we added the hot glue like so:

It didn't take a lot of hot glue to make them stick.  Once the glue was on we quickly wrapped them once around the frame getting them as tight as we could without burning ourselves.  Susan was much more successful at this than I.

This is the wreath with the ribbons around it.  Now some of them could have been tighter- again this was our first attempt.  We liked the writing facing out to give it some character.

After that we just had to decide how we wanted to place the rosettes and if we wanted any full length ribbons on there.  Reilly had some really pretty and unique ribbons.  Some had paw prints on them which we liked so we added those.  I had one title ribbon with a different rosette on it, and one ribbon that he got at the last show for his Grand Prix run, so we added those at the top and the bottom.  Most of it was just eyeballing it and personal preference.

Here is the finished product:

I need to iron some of the ribbons to get them nice and flat.  But I am really pleased with the result.

Running Like a 10 Year Old

People are always amazed when I tell them how old Reilly is - " He's almost 10"  "TEN REALLY??" They always reply in shocked tones, despite the fact that he's now getting a lot of visible gray in his muzzle.  He looks GOOD for his age.  He's lithe and happy and I think the quirky ear helps.

I am always shocked when people with older dogs ( double digits) act like it's a death sentence.  " Oh my dog is 10- she's so old, she can barely walk" - Why is that?  My dog at 10 is running 3 day agility trials and loving every minute of it.  Even if he wasn't doing agility,  he is unstoppable at home - jumping over bushes in a single bound, running laps around our property, catching frisbees, and tormenting me and my husband when he can't go outside and play because it's too dark and/or wet.

Why should age be a factor in how our dogs act or feel?  Sure he might have some arthritis, but there are ways to combat that.  There are simple, inexpensive medicines that can help our dogs feel comfortable.  There are some more expensive ways to help with things like that, but they aren't always an option for everyone.  They best and least expensive thing you can do for your aging dog is excercise and GOOD nutrition.  Double digits should not be a death sentence.

To Blog or Not to Blog???

Yes, it's me again - I haven't blogged in - oh how many years now? It's been awhile, but to be honest, we've been busy. Reilly has been racking up the miles in the agility field

and we have been busy vacationing:

and working to pay for aforementioned vacations! - Sorry no pictures of us working.

But on top of that, I have this coworker who came in sometime last year ( I can't remember when she started) but she has raised the bar here at the office from the way we dress, to forcing us to go to the gym :) and now since she blogs( and she has asked MOI to be a guest blogger) I thought I would start back on my own blog again and see what I could come up with. I mean she actually has me wearing heels almost every day which, as we all know, is not my first choice of footwear. So bar raised people!

 And this will NOT be a blog just about my dog, or my agility. But about everything that goes on even if I just think something is profound - or not.

 And let me leave you with this - want to have a REALLY good tune at the gym? Something to pump you up and make you move? I ALWAYS turn to my man Pitbull. No one brings it like he does. A little bit of Fireball will get the blood pumping and the legs moving.

 Try it Mikey, you will like it. Guaranteed.

Birthday Flights of Fancy

For Doug's birthday, I bought him a training session at Lookout Mountain Hang Gliding. This is something that's been on his bucket list for years and so I decided that it would be the perfect birthday present for him. We had to be in Chattanooga at 8am which meant getting up at 4am to leave by 5. That was REALLY difficult. When we got there, his group did what they called "Ground School". They took a small training glider to their bunny mountains and learned a bit how to control it and glide and land. That lasted for about 4 hours in which I sat in the car and watched movies on the IPad( gotta love it!) and read my book. The one downside was that there was NO bathroom, so I had to make nice with the bushes in the area. Good thing I am not allergic to poison ivy! After ground school, we broke for lunch with an appt for his tandem flight at 3:15. We headed to the landing zone after lunch to wait for his tandem flight. It's really cool how they do it, they tow them up in ultralights and then release them when they get to 2000 feet. The couldn't do the run and jump thing - it's too difficult with 2 people. They took pictures while they were up there:

They had a camera mounted on the glider so that you got pictures of the whole trip. I got a video too, that I need to upload. He had a blast on the tandem flight - but it was a long day. We finally made it home at 6:30 in enough time to eat something and pass out. I had to get up early the next morning for our first dog show of the season. We had a really nice day out in TN - I would recommend them to anyone who is interested in doing something like this!

Long Time No Blog

Don't I know it! Who has had time to blog with eveything that comes with the summer? It's been a CRAZY busy summer, but it's finally started to calm down and hopefully I will have more time to keep up with my blog.

And also as they say, no news is good news :) So we haven't had any devastating tragedies.... well nothing personally anyway.

Here at work, that's another story. We had a HUGE fire at our plant - I just happened to be there that day and it was pretty scary. Here's a picture from the parking lot:



Let's see what else?

Our nephew is in Afghanistan and so we put a yellow ribbon out on our tree in the hopes it will guide him home safely:



Also this summer, we interred my father's ashes down in Clearwater next to his mother. I think that's what he would have wanted and that means that I can go and put flowers on the grave whenever I am down visiting the inlaws:

RIP Dad



We are still in the process of going through a lot of his stuff. We got the house sold and his trailer. But we still have the van, and a lot of tools that we need to go through. That's been an adventure to say the least.

And last but not least, who would not want to see a picture of my LAZY dog?

Rolex KY 3 Day Event

My friend Luann was kind enough to let me tag along with her to the Rolex KY Three Day Event(www.rk3de.org) held in Lexington KY at the Horsepark. We had such a great trip!!

Our trip started tentatively on Thursday morning, right after the devastating tornadoes hit GA and AL. We saw plenty of tornado damage on our way up 75 north.

We made good time and stopped at Keeneland racetrack on our way to KHP. Watched 2 races( bet on one and lost) but it was so much fun.

The first day, we missed the competition, so we just got our bearings and walked the Cross Country Course. They have the most amazing fences. They are truly a work of art!



This was one of my favorites. I love the detail of the fly on the tongue.

On Friday, we watched the Dressage and did some shopping. Rolex is known for it's fabulous deals on shopping. I got a nice pair of Ariat boots.

Here's a shot of the Dressage Arena:



We also took the opportunity to walk around the park and visit with the racehorses, past and present.

Here's Cigar in his pasture:



He wasn't feeling sociable that day. So we didn't get to really visit with him.

We also visited the grave of John Henry.

Saturday was Cross Country Day! What an extrodinary event that is. It's amazing to see up close and personal. We had so much fun. Then that night we had tickets to a reining event that they were holding at the horsepark. It was Freestyle Reining and it was a blast to watch.

Sunday was Stadium Jumping and the final day. Luann and I got there early to watch the jog, then scoped out our seats in the patron tent. We did manage to get some more shopping in also! The Stadium jumping was fun - but a bit anticlimactic since we already knew who was going to win. There was no way that anyone was going to catch Mary King. But it was historic because no one has ever won both first and second at Rolex.

And you never know who is around you at these events! Luann and I ended up sitting next to, and chatting up, the Chief of Naval Operations for the US. He was such a nice man! We really enjoyed talking to him. We had no idea who he was till we got in the car and googled him :).....

We made it home safely and I am exhausted, but I want to do it all again next year!!!

Introducing - Boutwell's Life of Reilly!

We had a great weekend at the NADAC show and got our second Q, unfortunately it wasn't in the same class as our other Q, but that's ok! A Q is a Q. And, Reilly came in the top 5 in several of his classes which is really a big deal. We generally run in the largest class - the 20 inch or higher, which is also where all those pesky Border Collies and Aussies run. So for us to get it together and do that well was great.

And( drum roll please) for the first time ever in a show, he had a start line stay! AMAZING! Usually he's off and running as soon as I can rip the collar from his neck. But this time he sat and stayed until I released him. Again - AMAZING!

Our next show is an AKC show( ack! literally) and then an ASCA show, same day, same facility - we're just going to hop back and forth and make the ASCA show our base camp.

So since he had to have a NAME and be registered for the AKC show, his official AKC name is now Boutwell's Life of Reilly. Spiffy huh?

Here are some pics from the show. We had a great photographer who did a really good job getting the black dogs to show up well!

Happy New Year Everyone

We had a quiet ringing in of the New Year. Our life has been so hectic since July and my father's illness then passing, we decided to keep the holidays low key.

Doug and I spent NYE just doing some chores and hanging around. We had a nice dinner, then watched The Grown Ups( suprisingly better than I thought it would be) and were in bed when the ball dropped.

I am sincerely hoping we can start 2011 off on a good note and have some better luck this year than last, or at least an uneventful year.

We're going to kick off our year with a NADAC show and hopefully Reilly will repeat his Q and we can get the ball rolling.

Most of all I am hoping and praying that all my friends and family have a happy and healthy 2011.

Sam Isaac Francis, Jr - March 24, 1936- November 29, 2010.

It was a long and tiring week around here, as my father passed away on Monday the 29th. He waited till we got home safely from our cruise. He was asleep when we visited for the last time, but I think he knew we were there.

Dad and I weren't always close - he was such a loner, but I am glad he was with us these last 4 months of his life.

Our friends rallied around us all week - keeping us sane and helping with anything that they could. And I cannot tell you how much Doug and I appreciate their love and support.

The funeral on Saturday was intimate, but it was perfect, and we had friends back at our house afterwards to celebrate his life and it was a very nice evening.

I miss you daddy.....

We Had a Fabulous Weekend!

What a great weekend we had. We had DH's 40th birthday party( thanks to ALL who made that a great success!!!) and Reilly and I had a good run at the last NADAC show of the year. He finally got a Q and in Regular of all things! He did his weave poles in a show for the first time ever, and I have to tell you I am a super proud mom!

I would love to wax poetic about the entire weekend and I really want to, but I feel like dog poop right now - I have picked up some kind of bug and it is taking all I have to sit upright here at work and type. SO, that being said, I am off to call the dr and see if I can get squeezed in, so I can get some meds - which will also lead to some sleep( I hope) for both me and DH.

Summer is over, or so we hope!

WOW, what a long hot summer it's been here in the south. Its been totally miserable temperature wise, and just busy as heck. We did find time to sneak off to Williamsburg in July right before all the craziness started and I think that helped keep us sane, although it was almost a thousand degrees there and DH ended up with a tick.

But on the news front ( drum roll please....) the DH is FINALLY turning FORTY!!!!! He's the last of the "old gang" to turn and we all can't wait. It gets tiring listening to how old we are and he's not ;).... So let's all raise a glass to him on Monday.

Also having a birthday of some number not to be named is my friend Luann, so Happy Birthday to you too Luann!

Reilly is doing well. He's a goofball, but he and dad are getting along like gangbusters so that's good.

Busy weekend ahead - but it's supposed to rain on Sunday and usher in that Fall weather so I say Bring IT ON!

A Little More Under Control

Life is getting a little more under control now that we have Dad on hospice and the visits are on a regular schedule. Reilly has gotten used to all the in and out of the house and he is almost inseparable from Dad when we are not home. It helps that Dad keeps treats in his room for him.

It's very sweet to watch Reilly go in and check on Dad. Whenever we go up the stairs, his room is the first place that he runs to poke his head in and he has to see what he's doing. When we get up in the morning, he immediately runs to his door wanting in.

I want to say how very thankful I am for our good friends. Without their( and you know who you are) physical and emotional support, this would have been a much more difficult time. There aren't too many people who would give up entire Saturdays to go and so some really heavy cleaning and lifting and I think that DH and I have the market cornered on those friends.... So our endless thanks to those who are there for us.

So right now, it's just a day to day thing. We've gotten back into a routine and are trying to be as normal as possible. Gym, Agility and dinner's out are the norm again and we are just hanging in there.

Tired - All I am is tired

Yep, this blog is going to be all about me today. And it's going to be short and sweet. You would think with everything that is going on in my life, I would have plenty to blog about- and technically I do. But the flip side is blogging and sharing things that I just don't feel like I want to put out there in cyberspace. Most of you know already what is going on with me, and to put it into words would be, not only a lot of effort, but an emotional burden.

That being said Reilly is fine, we are fine, just going through a lot right now. But thankfully we have wonderful friends who are supporting us through this difficult time.

Don't know when I will get to blog next, hopefully Reilly will do something utterly fun and silly and I an tell everyone about it.