Saturday, October 30, 2010

Glamorous house guest.

I can imagine that Emily causes quite a stir among your house guests Rosey ! Love the apron too. What a great way to help deal with your feelings of loss.

Thinking about mannequins reminded me of a funny incident a few years ago. A friend of mine, who taught Bible in Schools at the local Primary school, decided to assemble a life size Nativity scene in one of the sheds on the farm. We celebrate Christmas here in the summer ofcourse. The plan was to have an end of term picnic on the farm , and carols around the Nativity scene. She hired life sized mannequins from town and was seen driving home with their legs sticking out of the back windows of the car !! It took her awhile to live that one down ! I wonder how you got your glamorous Emily home Rosey ?

Went to a "quiz" evening last night (a fund raiser) . Managed to avoid being in a team by selling raffle tickets. It's the first one I've ever been to . I was amazed at how seriously the participants took it ! They even had a man there with a computer to check any contested answers. It was a fun evening though and lots of money was raised.

Sunny day here but a cold wind.
Have a good week.
Marion.

Ads

Rosey, LOVE the apron and your au natural model. LOL Today's ad (in Internet Explorer) is for itchy dog/allergy remedies.

The other day, the link was for a dog trainer in my own area. Interesting . . .

Wondering what mischief I can get into


This is Emily Big-tits. I bought her on KiJiJi (sp?) this past summer in downtown Toronto. I needed a mannequin upon which I could place my quilted clothing for photography. Emily resides in my guest dining room for lack of room elsewhere. She's lucky to have clothes on and during my B&B season this past summer, often did not. This caused a few male guests to comment on her abundant 'gifts' which were blatantly present as they ate their breakfasts. She is a shameless hussy.
After loosing Ceilidh to hemangiosarcoma and learning to know what the term 'heart-dog' meant, I turned to making dog-grooming aprons to alleviate my grief process and which I donated to the recently held Australian Shepherd Nationals in Texas this past week, hoping to add to the funds raised by ASHGI (Australian Shepherd Health & Genetics Inst.) for canine cancer and epilepsy, two diseases this organization donates money to for research.
Since our ads here on the Chat Board seem to pick up threads from our posts I'm wondering if the subject of erectile dysfunction has come up; bed bugs (a current topic in Toronto)...what else can we think of to challenge the Google ads...surely there must be other topics we can talk about and see how they run with it.

Rosey on a Saturday night in the country.

Friday, October 29, 2010

What beautiful photos

All the photos here are so gorgeous. As our fall color is peaking as best it will this year, after eight weeks of no rain, seeing the colors in all the photos brightens the day.

I wonder if the Skunks add on the banner was triggered by the discussion of moles in the yards. Speaking of moles . . . our yard is mole-free,,, just for today. Directly across the street from our yard, I saw a fresh tunnel along the curb. No doubt that varmint will be in our yard soon.

Sophie is taking to the clicker training quite well, because treats go along with it. Silly dog. LOL

Colour in the garden .


(just wait for the gardening ads...!)
When I planted this rhododendron it was the size of a football. I hoped that we would be here long enough to see it spread underneath the window. Isn't it pretty ? The colour doesn't last for long but I do enjoy it when it is in flower.
Rosey, what a glorious photo. It catches a wonderful moment. Congrats to the photographer.
Fran . Good to know that you've enjoyed a day at school. Not long now before you are a lady of leisure ! Do you think you'll miss the students ? (some more than others I guess. )
I was tempted to click onto an ad. this morning, for cheap domestic air fares . Spent more time than I had available, to book a return ticket to Auckland for next March, so that we could spend DH's bday with the family. Pressed the finish button only to be told that the cheap fares weren't available for the flights I had chosen (although it said "special deal" on all flights...) I was furious because they booked me in for alternative flights, leaving and returning at some unearthly hour in the morning . I left DH to cancel the whole thing as I needed to leave for an appointment. Fortunately he had the time to do that. That's hardly fair busisness practice surely ? I won't be booking with that airline again.
Friday night here so we're heading for the w/end. Some of you have all day Friday to get through yet !! That's a strange thought isn't it ?
Enjoy.
Marion.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Couldn't resist this

There will be no stopping me now that I know how to load up my pictures. This one came in overnight from friend Susan, whose husband Buzz writes a weekly blog. Hamal, their brand new Australian Shepherd puppy came to live at their home near Morro Bay in California last week. Hamal is a purebred Aussie, ten weeks old. He is the fulfillment of great sadness in their loosing their old dog last spring and Buzz was certain that no dog could ever replace his buddy, Rocko. Well, little Hamal, who lives in the canyons a short distance inland from the great Pacific Ocean, accompanies his human father to the top of the hill to watch the sunset near their home; he goes to work with them and he's going to be one very well socialized pup. Hamal is named for a bright star in the universe, I believe. He's one sweet boy.

Rosey

aaaah

Found it! Thanks Rosey. Above, not next to. Mine still refers to dog itches.
Woken up early on my day off by a van delivering 3 boxes of chocolates for a fund raiser. Not for us; he misread the street name!
Now.......a reference to chocolates should muster up some sort of reaction, surely?
This is quite fun! Thanks, Marion.
Fran, who might start cutting out a new quilt today, with another greatniece or nephew on the way.


I don't see the ads . . .

. . . here at the BB Chat. I use Firefox 99% of the time, and IE only when forced to. When I open the BB Chat in Internet Explorer, I see them. Maybe my Firefox pop-up controls are working?

With seemingly nothing better to do in my life, Marion has now started me off on a whole new career...that of trying to copy the ad just above the postings on the board. This morning, this ad appeared but not in this verbal context on the board. Somehow, when I copy the ad, the wording changes...hidden wording that only comes when I copy it. The subject this morning is skunks.
Skunks,skunks,skunks
The Skunkmen can solve your problem we also skunk proof your shed
www.TheSkunkmen.webs.com/

I'm afraid to hit the copy button again. This will end my preoccupation with anything resembling Viagra, Marion and the ads put there by Google.

Fran, the only part of a BC that I see in your fellow is the intense 'stare' in his eyes. I can see that trait in your dog. Australian Shepherds have this trait as well. Most dogs don't want to look people in the eye. Interesting how parents inherit their children's pets, isn't it.

Rosey



CODY

MARION! Now who's being naughty! lol
ROSEY: That was amazing for them to come up with that combination. For some reason I don't see any ads on the side of my BB posts. What a shame LOL
This is Cody, who we've had for nearly 4 years. He was originally DS#1's dog but we inherited him when the marriage broke up. He is a Kelpie/Border Collie cross, although we can't see much of the latter. (Can anyone else?) He loves his walks and runs but seems to enjoy his bed just as much. He also makes it his business to let anyone or anydog walking past know that they are almost trespassing. Having his bed in the sunroom at the front of the house, lined with windows, helps in the process.
Had a good day at school. For the whole year I've dreaded Thursdays because of one particular boy who seemed to make it his business to upset the lesson one way or another each week. For the past 2 weeks he's been polite (to all his teachers and classmates, not just me), shared jokes, followed directions and accepted the fact that some work needed correction without reacting negatively. And now that we're enjoying each other there's only 4 lessons left before we go our separate ways. Hopefully he'll keep it up.

Oh dear.. !

Fran, sorry about the itchy bites. Nasty. I'm allergic to most bites . A few years ago I developed little red itchy lumps on a regular basis and, having gone through all the humiliation of the Dr. considering scabies , along with other unmentionables, I finally went to see a skin specialist. She thought I was being attacked by a microscopic harvest mite. It didn't make any difference, knowing what it was . We failed to stop it, even though the bedding was washed every day and I covered myself in a nasty cream after showering. It stopped eventuallty ofcourse, but came back again the following harvest season. Nothing for a few years. Maybe because the cropping farms are now dairy farms...

Rosey...behave yourself ! If you mention that V word again we'll be flooded with ads...! The question of how would we "handle " that, brought a smile to my face.....

Marion.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

See, it worked...

Help Itchy Dog w/Allergy
Safe. Vet Formula. Works Great. Help Your Dog the Natural Way.

We have Fran's itchy bumps and we have the dog theme all rolled into one. Uncanny isn't it. How does Google do this. I still think we ought to shoot for Viagra, Marion and see how they handle that topic.

Rosey

Insect bites?

Let's try that, Marion..... I was teaching a class earlier this week when suddenly I started
scratching my arm and made it all very red. Forgot about it until the middle of the night
when I had to go and find my spray can of Tea Tree Spray which we keep for such emergencies.
I have a cluster of tiny lumps inside my elbow, almost like a trail. Have no idea what has bitten me - must have been something up my sleeve, surely.

Mmmm, wonder if that will work LOL

Loving the canine photos........I'll post a pic of Cody sometime later.......off to school right now. 24 working days to go before retirement!

Hugs to all
Fran

That makes sense....

Thank you Doris for that simple explanation ! It does make sense and it's probably a timely reminder that nothing on the Internet is private... The challenge now will be to find a subject matter which will might promote some interesting and/or amusing ads... !!! PLEASE not Viagra Rosey ! Any ideas ?

Marion.

Google

I think this blog is a freebie service offered by Google. Google does "read" posts, just like it "reads" emails when one uses gmail as an email provider. In gmail, there are often sidebar ads that are related to one's email content or topics. It freaks a lot of people out. I think AOL is like that, too. I often notice little sidebar ads that are related to stuff I email. Now I don't notice them, so they either don't do it or I have learned to ignore it. ANYthing we do on the internet is not private, anyway, which is why I don't post private, personal stuff on web sites nor my face book page. The internet is like the old telephone party lines.

BTW, if you have a hotmail email address, change your password and make it something more secure, with numbers and symbols, etc. A friend of mine from sewing guild had her hotmail address hacked last week. She is the third person I know, whose hotmail account has been hacked in the past six months. I can always tell they have been hacked --- I get an email from that person (their address) saying that they are in the UK, have had their money and credit cards stolen, sometimes it says they are too embarrassed to tell their family, and would I please help them out.

One of these hack-and-scam emails came from a neighbor down the street. I immediately called her house, and she was home, not in London, and trying to deal with the nightmare of having her email hacked.

Hmmmm....

Marion, how observant you are and how observant I am not. I can see what you mean with Google tagging our messages. Anyone else know about things like this in cyberland...Kathi, you are a good sleuth...Jean??

Wonder what would happen if we were discussing the benefits of Viagra?!

Rosey

That's interesting..

Is Google reading our posts ? When I pushed the "Publish post" button and ad came up on my screen saying "Ask a dog vet questions on line " Ads by Google.... spooky or wot ?
Marion.

Murphy..

What a delightful photograph. Murphy doesn't look at all sorry though does he. Loved your description of the various dogs and their personality types Kathi. You were spot on with the Labradors. The only reason we got a Beagle was because it was a smaller dog and we thought it would be easier to have inside....little did we know..

Marion.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Of Course...

that would be your quilt, right Kathi !! The terminator is at it again.

Rosey

The difference in dog breeds


The difference in the various types of retrievers was brought home to us when we got Murphy. He's half Chesapeake Bay Retriever and half Lab. We've always had Labs and Golden Retrievers. We found the difference in personality between Labs and Goldens could be explained like this: When you are feeling ill or low, the Lab will sit by you and try to make you feel better; the Golden says, "Since you are down here anyhow, you might as well be petting me"; the Chessie says, "Get up off your butt and do something!"


The other difference is in how hard-headed the Chessie can be. The puppy trainer said that she had heard once that you train a Chessie with love and a 2x4. Murphy has been a challenge from day one, but he is turning into a lovely dog. He's only ten months old and weighs in at 75 pounds, but he's beginning to show the Lab side of his personality now. He also likes to "help" me quilt.
And how can you resist that face?????
Kathi


Monday, October 25, 2010

A gentle dog ?


Yes, Rosey, I suppose Holly could be called that. She lives a very sheltered life, she seldom leaves the property. DH and I try to have a walk at the beach once a week, and she does enjoy that. Occasionally we get to meet another dog there and that is very exciting !! Our good friend and neighbour, also has a Beagle , she comes for a play day at least once a week. Holly barks when an unknown car arrives here , but is shy when anybody gets out of it ! She is motivated by food and scent . She has a few acres here to run around on. Rabbits and hares visit during the night, so there is a great deal of excitement first thing in the morning. She's not as affectionate as a Labrador (the only other breed we have had ) .. She likes to be petted but it is always on her terms and when it suits her. We wouldn't be without her though, she's a lovely dog and gives us a lot of pleasure. This was her yesterday , keeping me company while I was gardening.
Marion.

This morning's 'job' for Cooper


If you can stand one more dog picture, this is Cooper stretched out in our Telecheck office with me at the desk. Cooper has matured, thankfully. He nearly drove me batty looking after him in the years past but at eight, he's matured nicely even though he's got to be the most stubborn lead-bottomed dog I've ever met, all sixty pounds of him.

Rosey

Quilters love....

Dogs, cats, flowers, books, fabrics...what else...we all seem to have in common the love of other things, people and most of all quilts.

Holly has the look of a gentle dog, Marion. Is she? And your greenery will be more than welcome to see in another month for me up here in the northern hemisphere. You may have a quiet settled day but my guess would be that you have the continual awareness of aftershocks hitting you. I'm very glad that you are living in a rural area.

Jane, I'm very sorry to hear of Kit's nervous system problems...if it can be called that. Poor girl. The breeder would not have known when giving her to you, for he sounds like a very sound breeder. At least Kit has a good home with you and you're on top of her medical needs. Your other fellow there sounds like a real character.

Jean, of course, your two beauties stand out in their regal bearing, don't they. Standard poodles all have that wonderful carriage and set. My cousin's new standard moves like the wind and it's nothing but sheer joy to watch him run.

Rainy day yesterday and again for today. I'm off early for Telecheck, my volunteer work. Cooper and Hope go with me. Thankfully, my supervisor does not object.

Rosey

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Handsome dogs..


Love the photos of our four- footed friends. Here's Holly, looking attentively at the cows in the neighbouring paddock. She's fine providing they stay their side of the fence. We met a few of them on the road one day when we were out walking, she wasn't at all keen on the interest they showed in her !
It's a holiday here today. We have had a lazy day at home, pottering here and there in the garden, sitting around reading our books and generally doing very little... I suppose there will be more days like this as we get older !?
A sharp after-shock had me nearly off my chair yesterday afternoon. More damage in some homes. None here, but we have taken some of our belongings back down off the shelves , it isn't over yet evidently. We tend to just roll our eyes when they happen now but it would be different if we were in a built up area or in a high rise building...
Marion.

OBEDIENCE

I fully intend to take Rocky to the local "Courteous Canine" classes when I can. I did a lot of obedience training as a kid including some competition at dog shows. I suppose things have changed since then. Rocky needs to learn to behave in a social setting. However, come 11/18 I will undergo hammer toe and bunion surgery and will be confined to a walker for at least a month with only partial weight bearing so won't be able to get to it until I fully recover. I have so much foot pain now that our hikes are getting shorter. Come the new year I'll be able to give them and me a much more active life and maybe, just maybe, I can get some quilting done.

Jane

going to the dogs . . . !

Jean, your poodles are gorgeous. I have always heard that Standard Poodles make great obedience dogs.
Rosey, Cooper looks so handsome!

Sophie and I are signed up for some more obedience classes. She is a quite well-behaved dog, but she continues to want to jump up on people and pull on the leash. This is not fun. The other (classical) training method was not working and did not match her learning style. (Duh)

We both went to a new place yesterday. These people train and title internationally, and I think we'll see some good results. I told them that I am a sponge and ready to soak up whatever they can teach me, so that walking Sophie will be a pleasure.

I am now learning Clicker Training, as well as some new things I have never heard of, such as "Watch", "Wrong" and will be learning "back" for having the dog take a few steps backward. If all goes well, I may consider a fun level agility class for Sophie; she is unlike any other dog I've ever owned (or been owned by!). She has a quite sharp mind and loves games and mental challenges. Agility may be for her. We'll get the leash pulling and jumping under control first, then explore agility.

Jane, if your dog swallowed a mole, i think it would choke to death. The moles in our neighborhood are quite large --- two to three inches in diameter as adults, and approx. eight inches long. Maybe yours ate a young one. Our Irish setter of 30 years ago caught one, or else it was a shrew or vole, but most likely a young mole. I still remember seeing its back half hanging out of the dog's mouth. EEEEw! My neighbor down the street tells me they never had a mole problem until their Golden Retriever died. He was an outside dog and behind an "underground/invisible" fence. Our dog is too small to defend herself, and these fences don't keep other dogs out, nor the foxes & coyotes around here, so they are not a good option for 17-lb. Sophie.

More dogs!




Hello from the Left Coast!


Love the picture of Cooper, Rosey, and decided to show the world what my girls look like. This is Gucci (black) and my new rescued Poodle, Coco, who is an apricot. I got her last May, when she was turning one year old.

Jane, you need to find an obedience class or a trainer for your boy! Neither of these dogs had any training whatsoever when I got them as adults, and Coco was totally out of control. She is just finishing her second round of obedience classes and, like Gucci before her, is the star of the class. They want me to take her in competitions! The difference the training makes is amazing and I recommend it to anyone who is getting a new dog of any age.

When I am not hanging out with the dogs I am still working with my feral cat rescue group. We are putting on our big annual fund raiser on November 13th and there is so much work to do! Of course I still have a house full of foster kittens, too, so things are never dull. Not much quilting getting done, but I still come here every day to check up on everyone...
Hope you are all well!
Jean

MOLES & SUCH

ROSEY, that is one beautiful pup.

All you mole victims fail to have the right kind of dog. Both Molly and Shadow while walking around would suddenly stop and with nose pointing toward ground, with ears as erect as spaniel ears get, and head slight cocked to one side. Moments later they would dig furiously and come up with a mole. I think they were able to hear the activity under ground. Molly, of course swallowed her catch while it was still moving (yuck) but goody two shoes Shadow would deliver it to me often while it was still wiggling (yuck). I told Shadow what a good girl she is and when she wasn't looking gave the mole to Molly to dispose of (yuck again).

Kit's on Xanax, a medication used for people suffering from anxiety. In a few days she will add clomipramine to the mix. That's also a central nervous system drug used in people for OCD. I've seen significant improvement this week but she's still pretty far from mentally healthy. Vet says the severity of her infection which led to her surgery may very well have altered her wiring to some extent. Anesthesia might be a contributor to her problem too.

Heading to Toccoa, GA on the 8th for some nice quiet days of quilting. No telephone, no TV and no computer nor mess to clean up. I'm taking a class in hand applique with wool so all I need to take is my little pack of wool, appropriate needles, small sharp scissor, my child size thimble and that's about it along with clean underwear and a tooth brush. I think Kit will be able to endure having my friends come and feed her twice a day and through that she might even start bonding. Rocky goes his merry way and, unknown to me until I was told by one of the lucky parties, that he traverses the woods when bored even when I'm home but not entertaining him, and drops in on neighbors all of which have considered stealing him. He is a most agreeable little guy and probably won't even miss me. He's bonded with the spaniel at my dog sitting friends' that used to growl at him putting him on his back so that they are now fast friends and play happily together. He does need some serious obedience work though so I can take him other places with him without wrapping the leash around my legs or running off and getting lost, hit by a car, or annoying someone.

Time to think about a walk with the beasties.

Jane in NC