Friday, February 28, 2014

Happy Birthday!

Today is my mother's 80th birthday. She lives in a nursing home in New Brunswick and next week one of my sisters and I will be going down to visit with her for a couple days. I wish I could spend more time with her but the cost to travel limits how often I can go down.

Mum's birthday has me thinking though about family and what's important in life.. and like the song says, life is about the people you love.  The song is one by Lynn Miles; she's a musician from right here in Ottawa. I made this video with family photos, some are not the best as they are scans of old family photos but the feeling is there.  In life, the people you love are all that really matters so we need to cherish them and tell them they are loved.



My mother Anne and brother Terence

Anne with her mother Louise and brothers Terence and Philip
Anne with a doll

Graduation from Teacher's College
In the air reserves. 
Mum and Dad with all of us, 40th wedding anniversary
Mum and Dad
Mum with some of her brothers and sisters
Birthday Girl!
Love you, Mum! Happy Birthday!

Monday, February 17, 2014

Mish Mash Monday - Making Trails

Keltic decided to make some of his own trails to try and get a non-existent squirrel.  I looked carefully, there was nothing up the tree but some dried up leaves still hanging on the branches.

Breaking trail, if you enlarge this picture you can see Keltic is pushing up powder.

Made it to the tree.

Sniff, what's that I smell.


Is there something up there?

I'm sure there's something up there.

Nothing... back to the game.


Google + added snow to one of the pictures we posted last time and turned it into an animated gif. Isn't that cool! Just like a snow globe.


Saturday, February 15, 2014

Going Walkies

Just thought I would show you the antics that happen at my place as I put my boots or shoes on before taking the boys for a walk. It's like this every time.  Some days, it goes down and back, down and back without stopping, other times they wrestle over the toy at the front door for a bit before racing back down the hall. This video was shot over three days.


Today we didn't go for a walk as I wasn't sure the sidewalk plows would have been out to clear the walkways in the park yet so we just played out in the backyard.

Let me get it!

I'm coming.

Happy Boy!

Here I come again.

His favourite game!

Cool Dudes
We have an agility practice this evening so they'll get to run around again. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice and sunny so we'll get over to the park then but will likely have to stay on the walkways. Normally, we go to the school soccer field where the snow is trampled by the kids but that won't happen until next week after the kids have time to run all over it and stomp down the snow again.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

My Fur Kids!


For my 300th blog post, I'm remembering all my fur kids with their baby pictures. It's my first attempt at a collage. I really have to learn to work with the photo editor software that I have but it didn't turn out too bad.

Clockwise starting top left:

Ceilidh, my second bi-black and, to date, my only little girl, wonderful crazy Ceilidh gone too soon.
Duffy, my first Sheltie, the one who started this addiction.
Keltic, my youngest, my wild child, but he'll grow up one day.
Beckett, my cuddly handsome boy and my second Agility Champion.
Gryffon, my first bi-black, couldn't live without a bi-black now, so handsome, he also was gone too soon.
Tucker, my second sable, my first agility dog and first Agility Champion.


Thursday, February 6, 2014

Throw Back Thursday


This a pre-digital "selfie" taken before digital cameras, smart phones, tablets or computers with cameras. This picture was taken at my first posting to CFB Downsview (Toronto) and was taken in the early 80's soon after I joined the Canadian Forces.  This was my first Mess Kit, the uniform that we wore for formal evening military dinners. We were required to buy Mess Kit within 6 months of being commissioned; I was lucky and was able to get mine second hand from an officer who was getting out of the Forces.  Buying second hand saved me a bit of money which was pretty tight as a lowly lieutenant. 

Monday, February 3, 2014

Ground Hog Day

On Ground Hog day we went to our first agility trial of 2014. The drive down after a snow storm made me wonder  why I was doing this but playing agility with Beckett and Keltic made the drive worthwhile. I had to be down at the trial location for Keltic's runs which started at 8:30 am, usually it only takes about an hour to get to this venue; this time, because of the road conditions, it took more than an hour and half. I left early though so we still weren't rushed, arriving at 7:50 am.

Keltic's first run of the day was a Starter Jumpers. I worried about it a little as the very first obstacle was the tire and I thought he might just decide to go underneath.  I needn't of worried, it ran beautifully.
Keltic was on fire, he ran this course in 28.02 seconds, going 4.46 yards per second. This was his first qualifying score in Jumpers.


The next run was a Starter Gamblers.  Since the dog walk was worth five points we started with that line, tire, dog walk, tunnel.  Keltic certainly didn't have a two on two off on the dog walk but he didn't leap off the dog walk, just zoomed straight into the tunnel This could be a bit of a problem in future.


We did the four point jump and I wanted to get him round again to the 4 point by doing the single jump. Keltic had other ideas and raced over to the teeter but then wouldn't do it and bailed off. I got him back over the four point and then on to the mini gamble which he did beautifully. We had a very nice opening with 31 points. In the main gamble, he came back to me after the first jump but I got him back out to the second jump and he stayed out and did the tire, I was pretty sure we had finished in time but you never know until the results are posted.  He did it, and this was his first Gamble qualifying score.  Keltic now has one Q in each of the games making up the Starter Games title, he only needs two of each for that title, he's half way there!

Last up for Keltic was a Starter Standard.  I was worried about the teeter since he had bailed off of it in the Gamblers. The opening line was much like our Gamble opening, tire, dog walk and tunnel.


Keltic decided he had enough of tires and went underneath then backjumped, went underneath again and then came around and finally did it. We still need more work on our weaves as I had to guide him through them all but the rest of the run was nice even the teeter which he did very nicely.

So two for three for Keltic such a nice way for him to start the new trial year.

Beckett didn't do as well and went 0 for 4 but he did have some very nice runs.  First up for him was a Masters Standard. I didn't get him a good line for his weaves and he missed the entry then on the last line after the teeter, he was well ahead of me and after 18 started to turn in my direction then almost took the chute. I got him off that but he was spinning so we faulted on the last jump. Good thing we had faulted the weaves or that would have been a real bummer.


Beckett's course time was 43.81 seconds with a standard course time of 58 seconds so we were running well.

Next up was a Master Gamblers, Beckett had a nice opening, getting 40 points. He did the main gamble too but we were over time. I have to take a little time to settle him down and then he came back into me after the jump following the tunnel. But I was very happy that he found the blind tunnel mouth at the beginning of the main gamble and that he went back out to get that last jump. We have worked very hard on that, still more work to do but we're progressing.


The next run was a Masters Snooker, I decided that I would try 3 sets of weaves. Beckett has great weaves (usually), this run we only got one set of weaves out of three. I could have started my close right then but decided to go for the fourth red and obstacle 5. Just after obstacle 5, the buzzer went for time so we finished with only 25 points far short of the 40 needed to qualify. It was a good run in one respect though, as I learned that I can get Beckett past a number of obstacles without too much difficulty and that is a good thing in Snooker.


Last up was was another Master Standard, Beckett ran well but knocked a bar at 9. I probably was late on my front cross but other than that the run was beautiful. He ran it in 49.82 seconds on a course that had time of 65 seconds, more than 15 seconds under time.


So no Q's for Beckett at our first Ground Hog Day trial, well I think it was the first time we trialled on Ground Hog Day but he ran well and we had fun.

The drive home was much nicer and faster even though it was in the dark. I had made a slow cooker meal so that was nice too, having a nice warm meal and vodka cooler to end the day. Nice too that I knew I could sleep in as I had taken Monday off.