The Weekend and Other Stuff

I have had months and years where agility legs were very hard to come by and so I am not feeling too badly about being proud/overjoyed at all the excellent agility runs we had this weekend. Zoey went 5/8 and each of the five qualifying runs was clean (score of 100) and earned a first place; she also earned Grand Championship points and is now up to ten (need 25). Mac was 2/3 in open jumpers -- we do not count that unfortunate fourth run where we were whistled off due to rated PG language ;)

Here is a picture of most of our ribbons -- evidence of a good weekend:


This year I camped with three other people from Montana and that was a lot of fun. I slept in the car instead of the tent and that was a better choice for my ouchy back. Mac and Zoey were Happy, Easy Campers and only two dogs was definitely a better idea for my current back situation than the four I had last year.

Zoey is the kind of dog that you can have loose at your campsite and she ignores all other dogs and people. She enjoyed the other Montana campers and all her admirers -- it is unusual for an agility dog to be so well-groomed as she was, and she got noticed and soon had a Fan Club. Not only was she stunningly pretty, but as one person said -- "she is competing two levels below her training". Yes, she is very, very well-prepared and it showed in her performance; it supports my position that one should only show a dog that is very ready for the event.

This is a link to a picture of her taken by photographer/fellow berner person/very nice guy, Randy Gaines and you can really see how nice her coat looked: http://www.photoreflect.com/store/Orderpage.aspx?pi=1NF0005A000011&po=11&pc=228

Mac was also awesome. To so easily get two legs in open jumpers is really amazing. Here is a link to a picture that Randy took of him:
http://www.photoreflect.com/store/Orderpage.aspx?pi=1NF0005B000099&po=99&pc=254

So we got home and it was like Christmas/Hanukkah!!! I have to start by telling you how the Lucky Socks got started -- in 2001 at the Specialty I needed some socks and so I bought green berner socks, put them on and Abra went High in Trial with a 198.5!!!! Of course I immediately knew that the socks were Lucky and told everyone, including the vendor, and soon the socks were being advertised as the official Lucky Green Socks.

I had many pairs of those socks and they were very lucky indeed -- but they wore out and the vendor had stopped carrying them :( For years I was without the Lucky Green Socks -- it was very sad and luckless :(

My daughter gave me the Lucky Hanukkah Socks -- she lives near a sock outlet and so I have socks for all occasions. I discovered the luck in those particular socks by accident but they have served me well -- a UD, TD, TDX, etc. I wore them -- holes and all -- the first two days in Blackfoot and you know how well that went :)

You can imagine my great delight when -- at the Specialty in April -- Cindy H. passed along socks that her son/daughter-in-law (parents of Mika Ireland from the Glitterari) had found in Colorado -- LUCKY GREEN BERNER SOCKS!!! The original Lucky Socks!!!! What a find!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wore those socks the last two days at Blackfoot and that also went extremely well. But only one pair of Lucky Green Socks is so risky -- they wear out and then there you are -- luckless. And the Lucky Hanukkah Socks are on their last legs, so to speak -- thinking about showing dogs with just one pair of Lucky Green Socks and extremely fragile, holey Lucky Hanukkah Socks is a dismal prospect indeed :(

So you imagine my delight when I opened up a package last night from a real Jewish grandma to find NEW Lucky Hanukkah Socks -- oh my gosh, those are going to be seriously Lucky Socks!!! But there is more -- the package also included a pair of the original, hard-to-find and irreplaceable Lucky Green Socks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Yes, that is a lot of exclamation marks but well deserved! I went years without the Lucky Green Socks and now I have TWO pairs (I used to have 5 - 6 pairs and I am serious -- you cannot have too much luck in your drawer) -- plus a very attractive new pair of Lucky Hanukkah Socks plus excellent heart socks that are no doubt also lucky :) So a HUGE thank you to Sharon and Halo's puppy, Jemie (Asia's littermate) for the wonderful present of more Lucky Socks -- I cannot wait to test them out!

And there is more -- I also came home to a mailing tube that Dear Husband guessed involved the damaged tree from the draft test. I did not think he was right -- but he was -- a poster of the picture from the magnet, complete with the heart and "M-A + Mac" -- many sighs... Dear Husband insists that it will be framed and prominently displayed -- but where does one hang such a ... well... work of art? The closet?! Sigh -- more on this soon...

And so wraps up an excellent few days -- thanks to Dear Husband for managing things at home so I could go and have fun. And now we get ready for Camp Kaibab (Friday and Saturday) and the three days of the Missoula shows where we know that -- thanks to our new excellent Lucky Socks -- we are assured of more points and (more importantly) fun times!

I hope you had an excellent weekend and are looking forward to a fun week -- it is not too late to head for Montana and Camp Kaibab!!!!