Tell Me Thursday #11

Well, my favorite day of the week - another episode of Laura's TMT - thankfully this week's questions are not quite so brain taxing - thank you Laura!

#1. What movie do you love and are too embarrassed to admit you love it?  

My Date With the President's Daughter - Oh yeah!!!! I know all the punch lines, the song, everything. It used to be the movie I put on when I ironed clothes!! My kids would just roll their eyes and disappear. I'm not sure I'm too embarrassed, but I know they were too embarrassed to let their friends know that their mom watched that movie!!

#2.  Ann wants to know how far do you drive/travel to attend trials, clinics, lessons? How far is too far?

Right now my travel limit for trials is 4 hours. The reasons are: funds, novice status, only trialing one dog and time. I've not attended any clinics, but I only travel about 2 hours to practice at Emil's, and I usually only do that about twice a month due to reasons listed above. But, when I have more than one dog to trial and move up a class or two, it is in my plans to travel more frequently and farther. I know I will have to haul a lot to get my dogs seasoned - and my goal (not a six month one, so not listed last week) is to 1. Show at Meeker and 2. make the USBCHA finals.

#3. What is your theme song (circa Ally McBeal)?  

Wow, girl, you are stretching me. Number one, I had to Google Ally McBeal to even know what you were talking about! Number two, I didn't watch the show. And Number three, I"m struggling to get enough different tones on my whistles for the dogs, and You think this brain thinks about music!!!! But when I iron I listen to Beethoven and in particular like the 5th symphony (I've upgraded from the above mentioned movie!)
Does that count!!!

#4. Laura S wants to know: if you had to choose a new dog activity, one that you had never done before, what would you choose? 

I have the "Google bug" today, because I had now idea what I would do. But there is a Wikipedia list of dog sports and I got some great ideas from there!!!!

Dog Scootering

Skijoring

These looked like a lot of fun and I absolutely refused to imagine me loosing my balance at any time what so ever!!!

#5. What would your dog choose?  

I went outside and took a poll from each dog and this is their responses.

Sonya: I'm really, really tired of taking care of these little rugrats that appear every few months or so -

So, my new dream is total retirement, preferable on a beach somewhere -

Tate:  Well I tried a new occupation - the one that yelled at me for two hours the other day said I was "sky bugging", but I had a great time chasing that lamb into the brush!!! But it got me solitary confinement, so I think I best be getting back to herding and obeying commands.

Bess: I want to be a mud wrestler!!!!

 Liesl: Anything Bess wants I want!!

Pete: When I'm not bugging the big white dog (man is it fun!!) I'd rather just sleep!

Note: I polled each dog to see if they thought scootering or skijoring was in their future and they just looked at me!!

That's all for this week!

Happy Fall Ya'll!! 

P.S. Laura, here's your chocolate!!

 

Do you really want me to send it?

Tell Me Thursday #10

I read the question this morning and have had all day to contemplate my response. I'm not sure if that was good because I too long to think about what I want to accomplish in six months. I'm not a novelist. So I'm going to do the best to just pick a few things that are important.

Going over the next six months, what are your goals?

Goals for myself:

• lose about 15 pounds - our only son is getting married in six months and I want to fit in the dress that I bought 2 years ago
• write more consistently in the journals that I have started for all my kids and their spouses

• correspond with my extended family more - they live in Colorado and Wyoming so don't see them often

Quilting goal:

• finish hand quilting small Christmas quilts for the girls
• hand quilt "colors of the sea" quilt that is a wedding gift for a friend
• design, make and hand quilt son and fiance's wedding quilt

Dog goals:

• after this fall, my desire is that Tate and I will be competitive in the ranch class, which means working several days a week, which really has been easier since it is cooler.
• continue to work with Liesl, who is really testing my patience, but my goal is to trial her next year.
• be absolutely excited every time I work with Bess - she is doing so well, I have to be careful not to let her do too much too soon
• name the new pup - yes I have a new puppy!!!! (hopefully the naming won't take six months!!! lol)

  

 Ranch goals:

• finishing building the holding pens around the round pen
• build the roof to the breeze way between two barns
• start saddle breaking the long yearling gelding, GW McClintock
• wire the lights in the box car (which we use for storage)
• repair the chute

House goals:

• remodel master bath
• extend rock patio under porch
• repair/refinish several pieces of vintage furniture

Random goal:

• document all the crazy work verification letters and try to make sense out of them  - "pingyfro", "grami", "hairtc" - is that like a tick in the hair, or a wild person with some really wild ideas???

Happy Trails to You!!!

Tell Me Thursday #9

Thursday already!!! Wow this week has flown by! Not sure what I got done, but oh well......Here's a go at feeding Laura's insatiable curiosity!

#1. If you're not at the 2011 Sheepdog finals this weekend, what are you planning to do?

 Check scores like one million times, catch a little streaming on the free one hour (yep, you're right I didn't buy any time) and play with these little guys. Their granddaddy is at the Finals, so we're cheering for him!!!!.

#2. One item you NEVER walk onto the trial field without? 

My clothes!!!! LOL I know this is a serious question, I'm sorry, I've been such a crab lately, I'm trying to cheer myself up - it's working!!!! I don't have a special cap, but I have to have a cap on. In fact, I don't go out the door with out a cap. I have a National Finals Carbondale cap, but haven't started wearing it yet.

#3.  Katy wants to know if you have a pre-run ritual that you observe.

Since I'm still a novice, I can't say that I one particular thing that I do, but these are things I do prior to my run. Very seldom is my class the first of the day, so I get there in plenty of time to watch lots of runs. I like to watch the sheep and see what their tendencies are. It's a thing I picked up when our daughters were doing cutting horse competitions. I like to "read" stock and try to "out think" them. I like to have Tate with me a lot, just walking around, sitting, visiting, lying down, seeing what's going on etc. About 20 minutes before my run, we take a walk, mostly potty break, but loosens us up and relaxes us. Most of all, I tell myself to "have fun" because that's why I'm doing it.

#4. How old were you when you had your first "real" kiss?

I was a freshman in high school, dating a senior basketball player and it was one night after a basketball game. I think I'd had a couple of 'junior high pecks', but John's was the first.

#5. Bonnie wants to know what you do for yard mud control during the winter?

I have one question? What in the world is MUD? 

Notice the following map, notice Texas (that's where I live), notice in particular the dark, dark, red - exceptional drought.  Ergo, I don't know what mud is!! Love to have MUD problems.

Tell Me Thursday #7 - OOPS #8

Time for another installment of TMT with Laura !!! Always a Fun Trip - so pull up a chair and take a ride with us. Last week 20 people played and linked up. What a great time for all involved!!

#1. What is the biggest thing that grossed you out over the past week?

Okay, when I first read this I had no idea what grossed me out - hey I'm the woman with a cast iron constitution -NOTHING bothers me!!! But then I remembered one little incident. This past weekend is our community's annual Goat Cookoff. We never go to the actual cookoff, but our SIL likes to go to the local barbecue place and get a big plate of goat barbecue - the rest of us eat beef or chicken. So, we were eating and enjoying the food and company and hubby asks SIL how the goat was and SIL said reeeeeeaaaalllll good except this piece of goat hide and hair that they left on the rib!!! Then he proceeds to hold it up for all to see!!! You're right I GAGGED!!!!!

#2. What do you feed your dogs?

Dog food - oh you mean what kind of dog food - so sorry. I tell them they are getting

or sometimes they get

Twice a week they get

Two different days a week they get

But if they are telling the story - this is what they get most of the time

And they said it doesn't taste like steak!!!!





#3. If you could move anywhere, where would you live?

Without a doubt somewhere where it is green cause it is brown or black in Texas!!! Some place like:

THE SANDHILLS OF NEBRASKA

or here

WYOMING

or maybe even here

DALVEENPASS SCOTLAND

#4. What is the funniest thing that occurred to you (or happened to you) this week?  

I had tears in my eyes and my sides hurt when I read Laura's account of gathering eggs!!!!! And those weren't sympathy pangs for her either!!! So sorry Laura, I wish I could have been there!!!!

#5. If you couldn't have your breed of choice, what would be next on your list?  

Okay, I'm making a huge assumption here that since we are primarily border collie people, Laura must me talking about dogs - but hey, it's her game so I wasn't sure!! lol

Without a doubt I would take another Irish Setter!!!!! Had one when I was in junior high and high school. His name was Chipper and he was awesome. Besides, I like to hunt birds (even chickens - wanna go along Laura?)

I got Chipper because of this book:

Happy Trails to You!!!

Tell Me Thursday #7

Well here we go again - another exciting installment of TMT with Laura !!

 #1.  What five things can't you live without?

        The Lord and my family.

        Morning Cup of Coffee with "quiet time" - in other words DO NOT talk to me until I've had my cup of
        coffee (usually it is really about 1/2 pot) - and then still tread carefully!

        Chocolate - got to have my daily dose of Chocolate - any kind but prefer it in brownies, cake, candy,
        pudding (homemade), ice cream, cookies, chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered
        raisins, chocolate chips straight out the bag - Yum Yum!!!

        Living in the country - only lived in town when I went to college and for four months in 1982 - people
        say that I'm pretty much a hick!

        My dogs - they keep me focused and sane.

#2. How do you transport your dogs? This question posed by several peeps, including Mara.

In Big Red

Tate gets latched to the head ache rack and the girls (Liesl and Bess) have crates that we load in the back - though this will be the first I've hauled them. Tate doesn't like to ride up front - gets all schitzo on me, but Bess likes to sit on the floor behind the console and you better not block the AC or she gets cranky!

#3. What role does obedience play in your training or the running of your dogs?

I'm a stickler for instant obedience when I give a command, but I want a dog to obey because he wants to please not because "I made him". When working stock, I'm learning to relax and let me knowledge of working stock not make me "over talk" my dog. I want him to feel free to read the stock and move them accordingly. When I give a flank or a lie down, I want them to respond in kind, but use their own judgment about the intensity of the command. I have found I'm a little lax at times with Liesl, because she and I haven't always been on the same page and I've had to work to make our relationship a good working one. I was WAY TOO hard on her at first, so I do let some things slip if she seems to be working well and thinking for herself. Right now with Bess, she has her play time and her work time, so during work time she has to mind.

#4. At what point do you start putting commands on your dogs?

Day one, but in just in every day interaction with the pup. I'm talking about the lie down, get off, general obedience commands. As far as working commands, as I put them on stock and they are showing a particular action (i.e. away to me) I'll reward them and say the command every time they go that way and I try to only introduce one command at a time. I don't over use the command word because I want them to recognize that the command is associated with an action. So it isn't just general conversation, but specific. But when Tate or Skeeter (when I worked her) don't obey a command, I'll wait a little to see if they are reading their stock, I've given the "wrong" command (I know you guys have never given the wrong flanking command in the rush of a fetch!! Right!! LOL) or if they are just "sky bugging" it and need correction.

#5. Do you talk to strangers in elevators? 

NOPE!!! I'm the one that just smiles and hopes that Laura doesn't ask me anything!!!!!


Happy Trails to You!!!!!