It's About Time!

How long a minute is, depends on which side of the bathroom door you're on.
    ~Zall's Second Law

Apologies for being so tardy with this post. So much has happened that I do not know where to begin when it comes to writing about it.

Apologies to those of you who were hoping to see updated puppy photos of our now 10 week old puppies. We just did not get around to taking photos,  something quite unusual for us.

So...here is what we've been up to. The first couple days in July were spent getting ourselves and the dogs ready for us to leave for Miami, where our daughter lives and where her wedding was taking place. I drove to Burlington Monday AM to pick Mom up from the Amtrak station there. She rode the train from Nebraska so she could go with us to the wedding. We spent the rest of Monday and most of Tuesday grooming and bathing all the dogs. A few went to the veterinary clinic to be boarded and the others stayed home. I hired a dog sitter to come in to care for them. (She did a great job!)

We left for the St. Louis airport early Wednesday AM. Unfortunately, delay after delay for our departure seemed to be the theme of the day. The major worry was that we would miss our connecting flight in Atlanta. All the later flights to Miami were overbooked and we'd have to wait until Thursday. Fortunately, Atlanta weather caused delays there also and, following a mad dash from one concourse to another, we made our flight.

The visit was great. The wedding was beautiful. The reception was fun. Our son-in-law's family was warm and welcoming.

All too soon, Monday morning arrived and it was time to fly home. It was so hard for me to say good-bye. I miss my daughter a lot!

Unlike the flights to Miami, the return flights were on time and we arrived in St. Louis ahead of schedule. Soon we were back in Macomb and being happily greeted by the dogs who seemed thrilled to see us again.

Fortunately, I'd made arrangements with my friend Jane for her to groom Rafe once while I was gone. I should have done the same for Windy! Oh...hindsight is wonderful! Evidently Windy decided that the week I was gone would be an excellent time to go through a coat change. I also think the rain and high humidity exacerbated the problem. When I picked her up from the vet's office where she'd been boarded, I could feel how tightly packed the mats were on her sides and chest. My heart just fell. I know we were "in for it."

Thus began Tuesday's marathon grooming session. My husband spent over two and a half hours grooming Windy Tuesday morning. He had to stop since both he and Windy were getting tired and more than ready to have the session end. After taking Mom back to the train station Tuesday afternoon, I had my turn tackling the severely matted Windy. I also spent a little over two and a half hours grooming her. What came out was soft undercoat, which we refer to as "the scuzzies." By the time we finished, the pile was huge. Here's a picture.

The pile of Windy's undercoat after 6 hours of de-matting!

I feared that Windy would be bald. She was not. I think we're going to be okay, but I am very glad we returned home when we did.

Then Rafe had a turn and I was so thankful Jane had groomed him a few days earlier. He was easy to do compared to Windy.

Right now, we have only three dogs with long coats. Breaker has an easy-to-care-for adult coat and took less than an hour to groom out.

Windy after the marathon grooming session

Since then, it's been back to work where we've spent a lot of time catching up on all the things that piled up during our time off.











So, here are pictures from the wedding and the reception. I have more, of course, but I know how boring it is to look at other people's vacation pictures, so I'll limit the number I post.

Erikka with me after Friday's ceremony

Our daughter and son-in-law

Lynn with me at the wedding reception on Saturday

I also received a great photo of Tashi from Sarah. It was good to see him again. He has such a pretty, expressive face.

Here is a funny picture Lynn took of our granddaughter as she jumped into the pool at our Miami hotel. He caught her just before she went into the water. When we saw the photo, we laughed and I commented that we always knew she was perfect but evidently she walks on water!

We also spent an enjoyable afternoon on South Beach and Lincoln Road. It was a perfect day for visiting the beach -- clear blue sky with just wispy clouds; gentle cooling breezes; lots of sun, sand, and warm ocean water.

I got a kick out of speaking to Miami people about weather. They seemed to think they had the market on heat and humidity and, it seemed to me, did not quite believe me when I assured them that the midwest did indeed have high summer temperatures and many horrible humid days.

Hearing we were from Illinois, people automatically assumed "Chicago."  We had to explain that Chicago is NOT the only place people live in Illinois.

Two of the babies will be leaving soon. We'll be keeping Lila and hoping she will enjoy the show ring. Duncan loves to play with the younger puppies, but he has a tendency to be a little rougher with them than I'm willing to tolerate. Lila has learned to give it right back to him and is already establishing herself as the "boss." Those Lhasa girls! Since she and Duncan will soon be traveling to shows together, it's good she's establishing some boundries.

Duncan's first show is coming up at the end of this month. I hope he remembers his ring manners. Our training classes don't open again until August and, obviously, I haven't had time for a couple weeks to work with him. Rafe is staying home from those shows so I can focus on Windy and Duncan. Rafe's going to be upset!

Nutura is recalling some of its dog food. If you feed that brand, check the list on this site.

Life is better when you have a Lhasa to love you.

Joyce