Berner Bumps

No Puppies

2011-05-20T16:15:00.000-06:00

Another disappointment - Lola is not pregnant. I was sure I could feel one puppy, but I guess it was just gas. We do not have any future breeding plans. I guess I'll be in the puppy market myself - looking for a new boy.

I wish I had better news. I hope all who were waiting for a puppy will find their little sweeties soon. I'll certainly keep my ear to the ground if I hear of any upcoming litters.

Great Aunt Deb

2011-05-18T18:38:00.001-06:00

I became a Great Aunt on May 16 at 3:15 pm. My niece Jenny gave birth to her daughter, Colombe. What a wonderful day. I managed to drive to Yorkton, SK yesterday to suprise Jen, new dad Neil and new Gramma Dar (I thought I'd be busy with pups). Darlene and I ended up driving to Regina that day to deliever the stem cell blood to the airport so it could be shipped to Vancouver. Fedex SCREWED UP and did not pick up the package for delivery despite arrangements made the day before. FedEX picked up someone else's stem cell blood instead. Makes you go hmmmm - wonder if that blood was delivered to the right place? This stem cell blood is precious and time sensitive and for FedEX to screw up like that (and it's expensive - parents pay around $2,500 to get the blood stored). Shame on you FedEX.

Anyway - Gramma Dar and Great Aunt Deb saved the day and delivered the package to Regina. It was quite the journey. We had problems finding the aiport (not great signage Regina). Then trying to find Air Canada Cargo...sheesh. The signs at the aiport did not point to the terminal. However, the staff at Air Canada Cargo were top notch. They have done this shipping of stem cell blood so many times. Thank you!

And after that, we were headed back to Yorkton (2 hour drive) and managed to get lost. Found ourselves headed to Winnipeg. Well, we did get back on course and arrived back in Yorkton around 8:45 pm. Had a great dinner at the York Steak House and then got back to our hotel and watched a movie on Netflix.

Sparkle is Not Pregnant

2011-05-13T11:54:00.000-06:00

I am so sorry to disappoint anyone who was waiting for a Sparkle puppy. We did xrays yesterday and there are no pups. Poor thing - she thinks she is pregnant and is nesting and moaning. This will last several days. She will most likely take stuffed toys and try to nurse them. It's quite pathetic.

Lola will be xrayed on May 20th to determine if she is pregnant. She is not very big so I do not anticipate a large litter.

We have no future plans for any more litters at Kimberlite. I am going to enjoy my retirement and my dogs.

Belly rubs to everyone.

Shasta and Boomer

2011-05-05T10:22:00.001-06:00

Sadly, there are two more Kimberlite angels.

Kimberlite's Little Lady Shasta passed away May 1, 2011. She was 8 years old. Beloved girl of the Felt Family.

Ch. Kimberlite's Master Blaster..."Boomer" passed away yesterday, May 4, 2011 - he was 8 years old. "Boomer" lived with us until he was 14 months old and then went to the loving Flick Family. This gentle boy will be greatly missed by all who adored him.

"Until this grand illusion brings us home. You and I will always be together. From this day on you'll never walk alone. I'm a part of you. You're a part of me." (Eagles)

April is Birthday Month

2011-04-24T13:19:00.001-06:00

So many birthdays this month. So Happy Birthday to all you Kimberlite berners.

Special mention goes to Kimberlite's Foreign Affair (Reigny) who turned 11 years old April 23. She is the last survivor of the F litter.

Happy 2nd birthday to Q Litter - born April 13.

Happy Birthday TODAY to O Litter - you are all 6 years old. The entire litter is still alive and well.

Tomorrow is N litters 7th birthday.

April 28th is the 9th birthday of I litter. To the best of my knowledge 4 remain from that litter of 10.

Hugs and kisses to all you Kimberlite berners...hopefully you all get lots of belly rubs and special treats.

Sparkle - just over 4 weeks

2011-04-18T19:37:00.000-06:00

I am 99 percent sure that Sparkle is pregnant. She has been extremely sucky and I see a bit of a swell in her belly. She is also very hungry and has twice raided the garbage can. I have to be much more vigilant now in securing the gate to the kitchen. I was going to do an ultrasound but decided that I'll just wait and see. Either she is or she isn't.

Johnny

2011-04-12T17:26:00.000-06:00

Sadly, Can. Ch. Kimberlite's Imagine was euthanized Sat. April 9, 2011 due to complications of bloat. Johnny was best friend and love of her life to Jane. He was a registered therapy dog and brought many smiles to many people's faces. Johnny would have turned 9 years old this month. Tears and Hugs dear Jane - my heart aches for you.

Tweet Return

2011-04-09T08:08:00.000-06:00

Saw my first robin this morning. I'd love to think it is "Tweet" all grown up.

Red Deer Show Weekend

2011-04-04T12:49:00.000-06:00

I went to a dog show with Joey this weekend in Red Deer, Alberta. Last week, I had carefully shopped for a cosmetic bag that has 4 compartments and hangs off the back of a door - this way I could organize all my toiletries. I packed it nicely on Thursday morning. I had bathed and groomed Joey the night before and had packed all my gear and was on the road by 10:30 am Thursday morning.

It was a good drive - the highways were bare and the weather was sunny. I arrived in Red Deer around 4:30 pm. I found my benching spot and set-up my equipment, then went to check into the motel (Motel 6) but they cannot find my reservation. I had booked it online a couple of weeks ago and I do remember receiving a confirmation number but never wrote it down. I did however have it in my email so used the motels computer to locate that email. That's when I discovered that I had made reservations for the following week. Luckily, they had a room for me - and thankfully I had come the correct weekend for the dogshow rather than next weekend. Sheesh.

I can't say enough about Motel 6 in Red Deer - it's extremely clean; they don't charge extra for dogs; they give you a dog collar; they give you dog treats; they have high speed QUALITY internet (I could stream Netflixs) and it's very affordable.

I dragged all my luggage up to my room on the 2nd floor and was unpacking and hanging up my showclothes. I went to hang my cosmetic organizer on the back of bathroom door only to discover that I had left it in my own bathroom. I had a small freak out wondering if I had also left my glasses at home too. I was relieved to find my glasses in my purse (this after I had strewn the contents of my bags around the room looking for them). Fortunately, I had packed my shampoos, blow dryer, and make-up (you don't want to see me without that!). But I was still without basic and necessary items (including my jewelry). So, off I went to London Drugs to replace those much needed items. I also had to go and buy Joey a different dogfood as he decided the stuff he was eating was POISON!

So - I am finally ok and have all the things I need and I go out for a nice supper with my good friend Paul. Got back to my room around 10:00 pm and plugged in my laptop and watched Netflixs (I LOVE IT) and fell alsleep.

Up around 7 am on Friday morning and get Joey out for his morning "walkie", then back up to my room to get ready for the first show. The schedule I saw online said my ringtime was 11:00 am. I got to the showbuilding around 9 a.m. and was just strolling around and meeting other dog people when someone mentions to me that ringtime is 10:00 am. The schedule I saw was wrong. OK - better go and groom my dog! Got Joey primped and fluffed and then go off to change into my show clothes. Here I discover I'd packed my "small" black slacks. Last time I tried to wear those I looked like I was stuffed in a sausage casing. Imagine my delight when I discovered they fit again! Yippee!

I was just fine for ringtime - but there were many people who also read the wrong judging schedule and were quite upset. Mistakes like this can cause a lot of problems especially with people (pro handlers) who have multiple dogs and rely on the integrity of the judging schedule to manage their time. I think there was a lot of swearing going on that day.

The rest of the weekend went smoothly without me having any more mishaps. Joey earned Best of Breed all three days. I'd like to express my congratulations to:

Adelaide for her first home-bred champion. I know what a thrill that is and how special.
Monica for her nice win with 6 month old Fergie - she is a lovely puppy
Ursula for her boy's new championship (I am having a brain fart for his name)
Ruth for her girl's win on Sunday
Wanda for Solo's win
and last but never least, Paul for Lucy's Best of Opposite on Sunday

Now Lucy was quite the showstopper - literally. Lucy was in standing heat on Sunday and all the boys knew it - especially Solo. I had a difficult time getting Joey's attention, but poor Solo he was howling and jumping around. Wanda certainly EARNED that win on Sunday! The ring stewart told us that we were the most AMUSING breed all weekend. It was a total gong show.

The drive home was good - once again bare, dry pavement. Luckily the storm that hit Calgary did not progress to Red Deer. I did have one moment though - I passed an oncoming police cruiser only to see in my rearview mirror him quickly turn around. I figured... BUSTED! He was coming up fast behind me with his flashers on. I pulled over and much to my relief he sped by me and pulled over the truck that was ahead of me. WHEW!

Got home around 7:30 pm on Sunday much to the delight of Lola, Sparkle and Bogart. I was greated with much howling, leaping, sniffing and licks. I just love coming home to that kind of welcome. It's always nice to sleep in your own bed.

Puppypalooza

2011-03-26T08:25:00.000-06:00

I sure hope I am not jumping the gun here. Both Lola and Sparkle have been bred and not the big "waiting game" starts. Sparkle's due date is May 14th and Lola's is May 24th.

I will be having ultrasounds done on both girls to determine if they are pregnant. Maybe I'll even have "pictures" from the ultrasound to post.

I guess I had better just enjoy the remaining days I have left before the Puppypalooza!

Spring 2011...hmmm

2011-03-20T09:13:00.000-06:00

The calender says it's the first day of spring but looking out my patio door I'm just having problems believing it. This has been the longest winter I can remember. It seems to be never-ending. Surely spring has to come sometime?

R Litter - The Hopeful Beginning

2011-03-12T17:35:00.000-07:00

Today Sparkle was inseminated via transervical technique. The semen was shipped from Victoria, BC on Friday afternoon and arrived in Saskatoon this morning at 9:30 via FedEx. At 12:30 - the semen was inserted into Sparkle's uterus using a device that goes in through the cervix. It's done in less than 10 minutes - she just stands there (no sedation). The device has a camera on the end so it's easy for the vet to pinpoint the cervix and in goes the cathetar and the a little push and in goes the fresh chilled semen. The body temperature warms up the sperm and off they go on their merry little journey to find the eggs.

We did three progesterone tests last week to pinpoint ovulation.

Here's hoping that R Litter is cooking right now. Sparkle's due date will be May 14th.

Showy Joey earns a Group 4th

2011-03-07T07:25:00.000-07:00

Joey and I traveled to Prince Albert, SK this weekend and spent a great 3 days up at the show. Despite temperatures around -30C we had a wonderful time showing and just hanging out with all the other dog people. PA puts on such a nice show.

Joey earned a Group 4th under Judge Carol Graham on Saturday. I was so pleased with my old man - he turns 7 years old next month and he still looks like a 4 year old. He's so handsome that I can't look directly at him.

Happy Birthday L Litter

2011-03-07T07:21:00.002-07:00

L Litter out of Can/Am Ch. Oberland's Don't Think Twice (Dylan) x Ch. Kiimberlite's Ebony Diamond (Bonnie) turned 8 years old on March 5th!

Belly rubs to all the Lers!

Gearing Up for the R Litter

2011-02-27T07:18:00.000-07:00

Sparkle is finally in heat and we will be starting progesterone testing next week. We are going to be doing a transcervical implant using sperm from "Gambler" (see my website for details). I anticipate the implantation will happen in the 2nd week of March. So - if all goes well, we should have puppies in May.

Stay tuned for updates.

Sophie

2011-02-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

Remembering Kimberlite's Harvest Moon - "Sophie", beloved girl of Bob and Ruby. Oct. 10, 2001 - Feb. 17, 2011. Tears and hugs dear friends.

Still Rockin' and Fresh - Heart

2011-02-19T09:41:00.001-07:00

Last night Peter and I went to see the legendary band "Heart" in Saskatoon. The bandly barely made it as their tour busses were stranded just west of Winnipeg due to a blizzard and Highway 1 was closed. With the mercury dipping to -30 C and a windchill of close to -40 C, the band did make it with just minimal time to set-up and performed to a sold out and estatic, mainly grey haired audience in Saskatoon.

Wow! That Ann Wilson sure has a set of pipes - she can still belt it out and hit those notes. No wonder she is called the female Robert Plant. Or maybe we should call Robert Plant the male Ann Wilson. And Nancy - I had no idea that she was so tiny, but, she is one amazing guitar player as well as an awesome singer in her own right. The vocal harmonies of those sisters are so tight. Their last songs were the iconic "Magic Man", "Crazy on You" and the finale "Barracuda".

Indy

2011-02-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

Sadly, "Indy" - beloved girl of Cathie passed away Feb. 17. "Indy" will live on her kids and grandkids. Peace dear girl.

Kimberlite's Indigo Girl - April 28, 2002 - Feb. 17, 2011.

My Heartthrob Turns 9 Today!

2011-02-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

"Bogart" turns 9 years old today. His fancy name is AKC/CKC Kasablanca's L-Sins Heartthrob, but, I just call him my boyfriend.

We found out last week that Bogart LOVES fur. My sister was visiting me and Bogart went into her room and rummaged through her suitcase (for some reason dogs love to rummage through personal effects) and he found her fur mittens. He comes sauntering out and casually passes us by with these mittens stuffed in his mouth. He was quite polite about the whole thing and was not trying to sneak by with them. We had a good laugh and took the mittens from him. About 1/2 hour later - out he comes again with the mittens stuffed in his mouth. We was quite smitten with the mittens!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hitchhiker and the Saga of the Astro Van Fan

2011-01-21T12:29:00.001-07:00

In 2010 I was having considerable problems with the fan in my 1998 Astro mini-van (I hope to get a new car this year). It worked sporadically. I stopped by my mechanics (Kal-Tire) in early summer and he said that the fan was getting stuck and he showed me where to thump it on the dashboard to get it going. Certainly this was a quick fix - he also showed me where to thump it when I opened the hood - in case I couldn't get it working with simply slapping my dashboard. Anyway, this thumping the dashboard worked until December.

I had this rubber mallet in the car and while driving I would reach over and bang the dashboard (above the passenger seat) and get the fan working to deliver the much needed heat. Well, while parked one very cold December morning (-20 C) it finally stopped and no amount of pounding the dashboard with the mallet would get the fan started. So - I popped the hood and took my trusty mallet in hopes of banging on the actually fan unit.

Upon lifting the hood, there sitting on the engine block staring back at me, was this little field mouse. I am not afraid of mice, but it did startle me only because I was not expecting two little black eyes to stare back at me from under the hood. Before I could react and grab it, it scuttled deep into the engine. I noticed it had made a little nest in air intake - so, I took out all that stuffing from the part. I thumped the fan component with my rubber mallet and voila!, the fan started working.

When I gpt back into the car, I happened to glance into the back of the van where the dog crates are set up and noticed that one of the dog blankets had been ransacked by Ms. Mouse and another little nest had been made. I inspected said nest but could not find any babies. I threw out the nest.

Despite the cold temperatures that day, I ran the van through a car wash. Yes, it kind of froze up, but I was able to tug the doors opened.

The following day, I again made my way to town for work and once again the fan stopped working. No amount of banging on the dashboard would get the fan working. I attempted to pop the hood and give the fan component a good smashing, but the hood would not pop. Oh great - either hood mechanism was frozen or it was broken. I decided it was time to go to the mechanic. I stopped by and told them either my hood was frozen or the popper was broken - the mechanic came out and I tugged on the "popper" - nothing happened. He tugged - nothing happened. I suggested it was frozen and he would put the van into one of the bays for a good hour, let it thaw and then pop the hood and get the fan going so I could at least have a warm drive home. I made an appointment to have the fan replaced - and then went to a restaurant to eat some lunch and kill time while the van was thawing.

After an hour I returned to the garage where the mechanic came out and he was laughing. He says to me that after 30 years of being a mechanic you'd think he would know how to pop a hood of car. All this time, we had been trying to pop the hood by using the emergency brake release. The reason he tried to use it was because he saw me reach for it to try and pop the hood, and he just assumed that was the hood release. I've popped the hood on that van numerous times, and why I had the "brain fart" that day (and him too) was just hilarious. So - it was not frozen or broken. Anyway - turns out he had time and replaced the faulty fan (the bushings were wore out) and I no longer have to smash the dashboard to get heat.

The mechanic did not see any signs of Ms. Mouse - but he did remember working on my old Econoline van back in the 90s and taking apart the air filter and finding it stuffed full of dog kibble. The mice are very industrious at our house and they sure love our vehicles.

Potato Soup Recipe

2011-01-18T13:39:00.000-07:00

Here's my recipe:

This is a meal on its own - serve with some crusty bread or and tossed salad.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter
1 to 3 shallots chopped
1 cup of celery chopped
1 cup carrot chopped
1 cup of turnip chopped
2 to 3 cups of diced turkey kabosah (very garlicy)
2 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of water
4 to 5 cups of peeled and diced potatoes
1 cup of sour cream
3 tbsp of white flour
2 cups of milk
salt and pepper to taste
sliced green onions for garnish (optional)
shredded cheese (I used the nacho cheese stuff)

Preparation:

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium to low heat. Add shallots, celery, carrots and diced kabasah. Cook, stirring frequently, until shallots are tender (about 6-7 min). Add broth, water and potatoes. Cover and cook about 25 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Whisk four, sour cream and milk until smooth and stir into hot mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mash the soup to thicken. Add more milk if needed.

Serve garnished with sliced green onions and a little shredded cheese.

Serves 4 to 6.

Thankfully, I have Netflix!

2011-01-18T09:19:00.002-07:00

I had plans to go to work today, but Bogart still wants to lick his incision and so he has to wear the evil cone. I will not leave him alone with that thing on. In any case, it's -36C with the windchill (that's -32.8 F). You know COLD! It's the wind - obviously blowing in from the arctic.

I've straightened every closet in the house and tidied up the clutter. I've updated my website and taken care of personal correspondence. I am going to make a pot of potato soup too - however, that's only going to take about an hour of my time.

Thankfully, I signed up to Netflixs and can stream movies to my PC (hook it to my TV to watch it on the bigscreen). What will I watch today? Comedy? Thriller? Horror?

Update:
Tried watching "Sleuth" - the original, but, it was just too silly for me.

Made the BEST poatote soup. I've never made it before, but, oh my - I think I made a winner!

Now am attempting to watch "Silent Running" a 1971 science fiction flick starring Bruce Dern.

2011 Breeding Plans

2011-01-16T11:23:00.000-07:00

After much waiting and planning I have finally determined my breeding plans for 2011. I expect "Sparkle" to go into heat any day now and we will be using Madeline and Geoff's lovely boy "Gambler". We are going to try the fresh chilled semen route and with a transcervical implantation. Fingers crossed!

And then "Lola" - I expect her to come into season around May and once again we are turning to Madeline and Geoff for their lovely boy "Smoke". This breeding may be a natural as I hope to drive out to beautiful BC. Anyway - this one is much longer into the future.

I am excited about these breedings and think the pairings will produce lovely puppies.

For detailed information go to my website http://bernese.sasktelwebhosting.com/litters.htm

Serendipty of a Poop Grass Mass

2011-01-15T19:19:00.002-07:00

I am writing this post in hopes that others might see the same symptoms in their own dogs and save themselves agonizing time.

Bogart exhibited an illness on Dec.21st - he had an extremely bad case of explosive diarrhea (literally painting the walls). subsquently he was quite lame and the lameness travelled from limb to limb. He was still eating at this point - and not refusing food. I watched him closely - he did not have a fever and did improve, so I did not bring him to the vet. By Dec. 24th he was eating again and no longer had any lameness.

Jan. 4th. Bogart did not eat his breakfast. Not a biggie for me, since often a dog will skip a meal. I had business in town to attend to and returned home around 3 pm. I found a small puddle of vomit that consisted of just yellow bile on the floor. Again - not a biggie for me, sometimes a dog (or cat) has an upset tummy.

I offered Bogart some food and he ate a small amount, but he was very restless. Pacing and panting. This was certainly something that alarmed me - I was thinking bloat. Apart from pacing and panting, he was not exhibiting any other bloat symptoms, so I just watched him. At 6 pm he vomited at my feet. The vomit was just food. His anxiety subsided after this and he laid down to sleep. A couple of hours later I offered him some water and a bit of food - he ate a bit, drank a bit and then became restless again. Around 9-10 pm he vomited again.

He had no fever. I watched him closely all day Wed. I would offer him water, he'd lap a bit. He vomited more on Wed.

I admitted him to hospital on Thursday since it was clear he was not holding down anything, not even water. He was put on IVs and monitored. He continued to vomit anything given by mouth while in hospital.

Friday we did an ultrasound that showed he had some kind of mass just south of his stomach (sorry - I don't know the technical terms). Also, it showed a mass on his spleen. So - on Friday afternoon - Bogart was prepped for surgery.

The mass in his gut turned out to be just poop and grass. His intestines were bunched up - why he could not pass this stuff remains a mystery. The surgeons were able to "milk" the mass up and into the stomach and remove it - so there were no incisions into his intestines - just one into the stomach. He also underwent a spleenectomy (I am awaiting the pathology report on that mass).

It took about 1 hour before he woke up from the surgery. I was on pins and needles because he would not wake up. He was breathing so shallow that he was not blowing off the sedation. All I could think of was the movie "Coma" at this time. Finally, he opened his big brown eyes and acknowledged me and I knew that he was awake.

Bogart stayed in the clinic for another 2 days and I brought him home on Monday...but...his incision was not healing. He was leaking a pink tinged fluid and had a fever of 103.2 F. I brought him back to the clinic where they swabbed his incision and did cultures as well as a ultrasound to determine if he had fluid building up in his abdomen. All tests pointed to just normal post leakage and most likely him licking his incision.

And now 1 week 2 days later his incision is looking much better. There is still a bit of spotting, but, for the most part the incision is dry and the swelling is going down. Bogart's appetite is increasing and he's once again begging for pets and belly rubs.

Bogart was not amused with having to wear an e-collar and did his best to crash around the house or just sit there and pant....making me feel even more sorry for him. He is also sporting one of the worst hair cuts ever - it just about killed me to watch his beautiful coat being cut off - but, hey, he can grow another one.

The serendipity of this entire story is that I would never have known he had a mass on his spleen had it not been for this episode. This poop/grass mass might very well have save his life. Here's hoping!

I'm Still Here

2011-01-15T17:57:00.001-07:00

Yep - I am still alive. What's been happening, you might wonder? Well, since my last post the following:

I became a great Aunt for the 2nd time in December.
I learned that I am to become a Great Aunt for the 3rd time in May (and it's a girl)
We put in new laminate flooring in the kitchen and family room (it's gorgeous)
I had my family over for the Christmas holidays and I had one gorgeous tree (see photos)
Sadly Kimberlite's Indian Summer (Marley) beloved boy of Scott and Bertha passed away in December.
I slept through New Years 2011
I haven't been outside since Thanksgiving because it's been too cold
Lola passed her eye tests and her hips are normal and her elbows are normal
My boyfriend, Bogart, was terribly ill last week and had to have emergency surgery - but he is recovering (poop and grass stuck in his gut).

We are gearing up for breedings in 2011. I am anticipating Sparkle going into season any day now and will have further information on her upcoming breeding soon. We will be breeding Lola on her next heat too, which I anticipate happening around May.

My tree

Happy New Year from Baby Puddy!

Bogart (my boyfriend) sporting his new hat.

Glacier Bay and College Fjord

2010-09-20T19:58:00.021-06:00

The last two days of the cruise found us gazing at the these spectacular glaciers. We were so fortunate with the weather - it was the best week of 2010 and apparently for College Fjord - the best in 4 years.

Glacier Bay

We cruised down Glacier Bay and then the ship creeped up, ever so softly, towards John Hopkins Glacier. She floated there for at least an hour. The captain turned her starboard for 1/2 hour and then port. And then we steamed away.

College Fjord

The first time in 4 years that anyone has seen all the glaciers at the same time. There are over 150,000 glaciers in Alaska and many of them are along College Fjord. All the glaciers in this fjord are named after colleges, except for Princeton (they didn't like that college when naming went on). The biggest glacier - Hubbard - biggest glacier (I thought they said Harvard) are seen here.

Sea Lions, Eagles, Martinis - Oh My!

2010-09-20T18:55:00.002-06:00

Rather than do a day by day of my cruise (since I am now boring myself), I'll just do the highlights.

Juneau

Darlene went ziplining and since I am afraid of heights, I booked a whale watching tour with Harve and Marve. It was a 3-hour tour (shades of Gilligan's Island here). The pilot of my boat was Captain Shawn and there was just 5 passengers. I rode shot-gun (since I have experience with piloting my rowboat in my pond). We saw at least 8 whales that day - so many, in fact, that I did not know where to point my camera. I do not have any good photos of my whale watching (I have some great video that I will upload later). Shawn said that this was one of the BEST days he'd ever had for whale watching. In addition to the whale watching, we were privileged to take in the sea lions (they only hang around this rock for about a month for breeding). Sea lions are not shy, and they readily came towards the boat and waved their flippers - but, man-oh-man do they STINK!

After whale watching I explored the Mendenhall Glacier. This is a tongue glacier. Breathtaking!

View from Sky Tram - Top of Juneau. I had a few hours to kill before heading back to the ship so took the Sky Tram. A couple of shots of Juneau and my ship The Coral Princess.

Skagway

Third and last port of call on our cruise. We decided to take in the Chilkat Eagle Preserve River Rafting Float. This was the highlight of our cruise in terms of excursions. It started off with a ferry ride down the fjord to Haines, so we were able to see where the ship cruised into port (in the middle of the night). Then a white knuckle bus ride to the embarkment point of the rafts. Our guide on the bus was Karl (with a K). Karl - well, just imagine some guy jacked up on speed who knows ALL the history of the surrounding area but also wants to tell you ALL ABOUT HIMSELF (because he was an only child). We did not take Karl's (with a K) raft - we decided to take Paul's raft. Paul...wow - I almost didn't see any eagles. Anyway - this float down the braided river was wonderful. If we saw 1 eagle we saw 30. And we also saw a brown bear with her two cubs strolling along a beach flat. After disembarking, we were provided with one of the best shore lunches of the entire cruise - gourmet sandwiches. I remark on this because all of the excursions we participated all they offered was a stupid cookie and a cup of hot beverage - however, this excursion was a real lunch. Big sandwiches, fruit, chips and homemade cookies and all sorts of beverages. The ferry ride back was exciting too because we crossed the wake of a cruise ship leaving port...WOW - that was quite the WAVE!

Oh I almost forgot - the martinis...CHEERS!

Wow!

2010-09-19T15:07:00.004-06:00

Just yesterday I was walking out in this field with Sparkle and wondering whether the tracks I was seeing was what I thought it was. Then just 10 minutes ago, I was walking from the garage around the house to the patio and happened to glance out into the field and thought..."why does that cow have a branch on its head?" I am so glad I didn't meet this big fellow yesterday!

Cruising on the High Seas

2010-09-17T08:20:00.006-06:00

Cruising - First Day at Sea

Our first day on the cruise we are at sea the entire day and heading towards Ketchikan, Alaska. The day is a bit overcast and the seas (at least to my limited experience) are fairly smooth. There are some rolling waves, but, I don't really think they are considered rough. We can certainly feel the sway of the ship and do loll from side to side as we walk down the halls, but, we're not being flung around. It's kind of a neat feeling - we can stagger down the hallways without being accused of drinking!

Darlene says something like - I am really sore this morning and now she's not running up and down the stairs anymore. I finally realize the way to deal with my overactive sister is to let her play herself out the first day (she was like a kid after eating all the Hallow e'en candy). So - the NO ELEVATORS of hers is over.

We had breakfast in the dining room and shared a table with two people from New York - The Bronx. We saw several dolphins swimming beside the ship - wow, are they fast! They were zipping along and diving in and out of the water. They could keep up with the ship.

We discovered the Deck 7 - Promenade Deck and walked the outside of the ship. Three times around equals one mile. This appealed to my fitness freak sister and it was much easier than doing stairs.

I guess we spent most of the day just wandering around the ship and exploring all she had to offer.

The evening was the first formal night and the Captain's Champagne party starting at 5 pm in midship around the winding spiral staircase on Decks 5 and 6. We got dressed in our finest clothes and wandered over to Deck 5 to watch all the other formally dressed people. It was sure nice to see all the ladies dressed up and the men in their tuxes. We got several pictures taken and enjoyed endless glasses of champagne.

At 7:45 pm we headed off to our dining room and enjoyed a wonderful evening in the company of our table mates. Once again, we closed the dining room.

I decided that I was not quite ready to go sleep after dinner and we headed to the Explorer's Lounge were there was karaoke going on. I mustered up enough nerve, bolstered by a vodka martini and got on stage and sang The Eagles, "Take It Easy". My heart was just pounding! I was a bit too fast at the beginning - way ahead of the music, but I finally managed to get into the groove. I figured I'd never see any of these people again - so why not just have fun.

Finally off to bed where we found that our cabin steward, Romil, had turned down our covers, arranged our pajama's and put chocolates on our pillows. What luxury!

Ketchikan

We wake up to find ourselves in port at Ketchikan. We have booked a tour through the cruiseline to go kayaking around the Tatoosh Islands. We are to meet our tour guide at 9 a.m. The tour is 4.5 hours long, and our ship leaves port at 1:30 pm.

We shower. I have to mention here that I just LOVE the shower. While it is about half the size of a telephone booth, the water pressure and spray is just wonderful. One of the best showers I've ever encountered. I do wonder though how "people of size" manage to use these showers?

We have breakfast at the buffet in Horizon Court (Deck 14) and all I can say is WOW - food is abundant.

We disembark the ship around 8 am and head into the small shopping centre. The night before we were tricked into attending the shopping show onboard. We thought it was going to be about where to shop, and they lured us in with promises of a free bracelet. Well, the show is a high pressure sales pitch to buy diamonds. Yep - that's the reason I went on an Alaskan cruise - to buy diamonds. In order to get the bracelets and charms, we had to go to the diamond stores in port and collect them. Now, one doesn't think that jewelry stores would be the most ubiquitous store in Alaska, but, there must have been about 15 in every port. We collected the "junk" at the first port and never bothered in the other ports. It is absolute junk.

We find our tour and around 9 am get on the bus that will take us to the dock. Once at this dock, we are given life jackets and heavier jackets to wear. We get in this inflatable zip boat and are off to the Tatoosh Islands, but, the boat operators suddenly turns around and heads back to the pier because he'd forgotten the smaller life jackets we need for kayaking. On our way to the the kayak start point we see several eagles.

We arrive at the kayaking station and don our smaller life jackets and are given a brief lesson in how to kayak. They are two man kayaks and Darlene takes the stern and she is responsible for steering as she will be using the rudders to turn right or left (the bossy one is supposed to go into the stern). We are a small group - 6 kayakers plus our guide Mark. It was a gorgeous day - a bit overcast, but in the lee of the islands there was hardly any wind or chop and we had a great time marveling at the beautiful scenery. We saw a few more eagles. Coming back we had to cross a small channel where the current was stronger and we were paddling against the tide - so, we had to do a bit of work. The entire kayaking trip was 1.5 hours. Once back at shore we had our "snack", which was a cup of hot chocolate and a chocolate chip cookie.

Back into the zip boat and a quick trip back to the dock. I was looking at my watch at it was around 1 pm and we had to be in port at 1:30 because that is when the cruise ship leaves port. Well, two people on this trip wanted to souvenir shop and I guess the tour operator wanted to make more money so he opened up the shop. 15 minutes later these two come back out. I have no idea what they bought except for pepsi. We kept reminding the bus driver that we had to get back to port and she was like..."oh, don't worry there are always lineups to get back on the ship, we have plenty of time." Finally, around 1:15 the bus starts back to port. And you guessed it! We were late and the ship was waiting for us. Talk about embarrassing knowing that all the people peering over the railings are wondering why these bozos cannot make it back to port in time. We were no sooner on the ship and the doors closed behind our butts.

After having a lunch at the buffet, we went to the Crooner's Lounge (which became our favourite lounge) I think this is the afternoon I discovered I liked traditional martini's and also olives. The waiters were wonderful there and when they brought the martini's they'd do a dance while shaking the brew. They also put down bowls of big olives to eat.

And then it was time for dinner again and this time both Darlene and I are very played out. We didn't do anything that night and went straight to our stateroom after dinner. There we discovered that Romil had arranged Darlene's pajamas in a lovely pattern on the bed. Mine were simply folded because I didn't have nice pjs like Darlene's. She was so impressed.

Anchors Aweigh

2010-09-13T19:43:00.010-06:00

My sweet sister gifted me with an Alaskan cruise (inside passage) and we embarked on September 4 from Vancouver harbour.

Prior to leaving (she asked me in June), I spent much time planning my outfits and just obtaining all the little things (according to Cruise Critic) that I would require to make my cruise enjoyable. Poor Peter, every time I would come home I would have some item and all he could see was a debit in our bank account. Of course, now I know what one really needs and I will make some post about what is absolutely necessary and what is just fluff.

Anyway - after much research about Alaska, reading forums, blogs, etc. the day finally arrives and I am on my way to the airport in Saskatoon to start my journey.

Day One -The Night Before

I have carefully packed all my luggage and make sure that I have the essentials in my carry-on and that my checked bag does not exceed 50 pounds. It weighs in at 45 pounds. I go through security and I don't know what it is about the Saskatoon airport but they must be VERY BORED or I have some kind of sign on me that says..."I should be strip searched". Well, I go through when there is absolutely no one else in security, and of course, Saskatoon has just received all those lovely toys for scanning people and I am chosen out of a line up of ZERO. I have a choice - either be searched by hand, or I can go into the new fangled body scanner. I chose the body scanner - only takes 3 seconds. I did want to ask for a picture, but I thought that would probably not go over well. And then they had to go through every item in my carry-on.

Since the only thing I was packing was shampoo, body lotions and a sparkly belt, I was allowed to proceed.

The flight to Vancouver was wonderful - clear, blue skies and wonderful views of the Rockies.

I found my sister at the baggage claim area and we saw people at a Princess Cruise kiosk and stopped to talk with them. Since we were not sailing until the following day, we were simply stopping to ask them what we should expect for tomorrow. Well, since we had booked our hotel through the cruise lines, they were waiting for us and after we collected our baggage, they whisked us off in a taxi to our hotel..://www.westinbayshore.com/">The Westin Bayshore. Talk about being pampered -and this was just the beginning.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon walking the harbour - absolutely gorgeous. Saw the 2010 Olympic Torch sculpture and did the obligatory pictures. We had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant that was perched over the waters. We also found the most important thing...a liquor store and bought 8 bottles of wine to take onto the cruise (this is important as you will read further on). I have no idea what time we finally went to bed, but tomorrow would be THE DAY to board.

Day Two - Boarding the Ship and Setting Sail

We wake up around 6 a.m. and it is shaping up to be a glorious day. I peak outside the curtains and see our ship, The Coral Princess, sailing into port. What a fantastic sight. We are supposed to have our BIG luggage ready and waiting at the hotel door so it can be transported to the ship. This is an important thing to note - you want to keep and have your most valuable items in your carry-on since you have no idea when you may see your main luggage on the ship. This means, have your toothbrush, a change of clothes, make-up, contact lens stuff, any medications and anything you do not want to lose (such as jewelry) in your carry-on. We packed all that important stuff, plus...the 8 bottles of wine - precious stuff, sure didn't want it to be broken in our checked luggage.

We were transported to the ship on a bus. Our bus driver was hilarious - he was German and it was like Arnold was driving and commentating. We get to the port and have to go through US Customs and Ship Security. Well, once again that target is gleaming on my back and the Ship Security were quite concerned about the corkscrew I had in my carry-on. They asked me why I had it...well, as I pointed to the 8 bottles of wine I had in my carry-on, it was so I could open them. They scrutinized my corkscrew and determine that the blade was only to open the packaging surrounding the cork (and not to commit mutiny on the high seas). After tossing my underwear and bras about the security area, I was allowed to continue.

At US Customs - all they did was scan my passport and say Welcome. And then we were on board the Coral Princess!

Once aboard we found our stateroom P615 - on the Plaza Deck 5 about midship. It was a really cute room. We had an oceanview and there was plenty of room and storage space for all our stuff. All we had was our carry-on, so we quickly dumped that in the room and set about exploring the ship. Darlene, of course said we were not allowed to take the elevators...EVER! and she like a fitness freak started running up the decks. We explored the Plaza deck first - that had the pursers counter and some shops. Decks 5, 6, 7 and 8 - amidship around the lovely winding staircase had all the shops and bars. Then we walked up another 5 decks to find the Lido Deck (Deck 14) and came upon this amazing buffet in the Horizon Court. So we did what comes naturally...loaded a dish with food (that is one of the main themes aboard a cruise ship - eat the amount you paid for your ticket in food).

After stuffing ourselves, we found the doors to outside and came across the outside pool and hot tub and more bars and a grand view of the Vancouver Harbour. Here we settled into deck chairs and next thing we know we have a Ceasar in hand and are now officially "crusin'"!

Our checked luggage arrives around 4 or 5 pm and we unpack. We ready for our first dinner. We chose late seating the formal dining room at a table of 10. We met our dinner mates - Ron and Diane from Southern California and Helen and Matt, Bruce and Glenda all from Perth, Australia. The other 2 never showed up.

During the course of the conversation that evening Ron was telling us that if we order 3 bottles of wine it's cheaper over the cruise. I said, we don't need any more wine as I brought on 8 bottles. He was stunned and said what? You can't bring wine on board. I said the only thing you can't bring on board is hard liquor. Well, Ron was just so upset with this revelation and spent the remainder of the cruise hunting down wine stores in ports so he could bring onboard extra bottles!

We were having so much fun at dinner that we closed down the dining room - the waiters standng there and staring daggers at us to vacate the premises. We finally left and went up to the Princess Theatre and took in one of the shows. And finally back to our stateroom and into bed.

The end of a great day and only the beginning of a great cruise.

Fantastic Voyage!

2010-09-13T18:52:00.001-06:00

I'm back from my cruise up the Alaskan coastline (inside passage). I have lots of stories to tell and pictures to share. Stay tuned!

Weekend at Fernie - Part 2

2010-08-08T18:52:00.011-06:00

Up fairly early on Saturday and after a lovely breakfast we head off to the Timber Lodge chairlift for a ride up the mountain. Now, although I was a skier for about 25 years (but have not skied since moving to the prairies), I am afraid of heights and am not a happy camper on the lifts - especially when they go over gorges that plunge about 100 feet down. I once was suspended over such a gorge -(Whistler Mountain) the chair had stopped for several minutes - my seatmate - evil B that she was, took great delight in swinging the chair and watching me cry. So anyway - it had been many years since I last took a chair lift (I have no problems skiing down though). So, I rode the lift with my Dad and my sister and I hung on for dear life while they wiggled around in the chair and asked me "what was wrong"?

Despite me being frozen in place, I did manage to look around a bit (moved my eyes). The temperature slowly dropped while we ascended the mountain. It was a bit foggy at the top, but the views were still spectacular. Thankfully, the little chalet at the top had a small restaurant and I got the best mug of hot chocolate laced with real whipped cream that I have drank. I savoured that heavenly brew while I silently worried about the trip back down the mountain on the chair. That is way scarier because there is no mountain in front of you - only sheer drops. We spent about 1/2 hour drinking in the sights and then it was time to go back down. I took the chair down by myself - no way was I going to let those two wiggly things on a chair with me. After the initial drop at the top, I managed to open my eyes and finally relaxed and enjoyed the glorious scenery. I would have loved to have taken a few photos while on the chair but between my frozen state and contemplating moving I was also worried that I'd drop the bloody camera - well, I did manage to take some photos at the top of the mountain.

Of interest - the mountain bikers are amazing - they take the lifts up and then scream like demons on their bikes down the mountain not only do they pit themselves against the sheer gravity of plunging downhill, but they also weave in and out of the trees as well as going over jumps and all manner of apparatuses. What an amazing sport!

I made it down the mountain with my sanity intact and now it's time to get ready for the wedding. Off to bathe, primp, dress and perfume myself. The wedding is at 2 pm and so far it is shaping it to be a beautiful day.

It's a small, intimate wedding of about 50 people and because the weather is cooperating the ceremony is performed outside. Leanne is gorgeous and I cannot believe that I am crying my eyes out (big wracking sobs) - I always thought people who cried at weddings were just putting on a show - but I could not stop the tears from flowing. And now my dear nephew is a married man.

The bride, groom and wedding party went off to places unknown for their pictures - I understand they took pictures on the chairlift! So - the wedding guests were left to amuse themselves in the lovely Lizard Creek Lodge. A light lunch came out with these amazing appetizers made of a melted cheese basket filled with brouchetta (sp?) and then some chicken skewers, veggie rolls and some lime flavoured shrimp...YUM!

The wedding party returned around 6 pm - and the common area around the huge fireplace was transformed into a dining area and hardwood dance floor had been laid over the carpet. We dined on a buffet of roast beef and chicken accompanied by many vegetable dishes, pickles, olives and of course an assortment of decadent deserts. A few speeches and then finally the first dance - again I was choked up watching the lovely bride and groom have their first dance together as a married couple.

The DJ was spectacular - not only did he surprise us with many dances and costumes but he took any requests and had all the music -he was never stumped. The music was fantastic and I danced like a woman possessed. Finally after several "last songs" the DJ finally declared it was OVER and I stumbled into bed around 1:30 am.

Well, morning arrived (way too early) and OMG! I was so stiff I could barely walk. My hips! My hips! What was I thinking? I cannot do the low rocking to the floor dance anymore - did I think I was 25 years old? I was paying royally for the dancing - but it was worth it!

I left around 9:30 am and made it to Medicine Hat around 2 pm. I could just manage to drag myself out of the truck and limped to the front desk, where the clerk took pity on my broken body and upgraded my room and assured me that I would not have to climb any stairs to get to my room.

I suffered for several days and was only able to walk kind of normal around Thursday.

Cheers Gord and Leanne - may you have a wonderful and prosperous life together. Thank you for including me in your celebration - it was the best wedding I have ever attended!

Weekend at Fernie - Part I

2010-08-08T17:36:00.007-06:00

It's taken me a whole week to recover from the extravaganza that was my nephew Gord and his stunningly beautiful bride, Leanne's wedding. They were married on July 31st against the extraordinary background of the mountains in Fernie, BC.

Unfortunately, our dog sitter was unable to take care of our dogs, so I went by myself and Peter stayed home. Poor guy - he missed a wonderful time.

I headed out on Thursday, July 29th and was planning on staying overnight in Medicine Hat, but since I got an early start, I decided to drive all the way through to Fernie in one day. I had a wonderful time - the weather was perfect and I had a caseful of CDs that I had not listened to in ages so, I set the cruise on around 110 km/h and sang at the top of my lungs. The highways were great - the only construction was on the Trans-Canada at Maple Creek (due to that washout in June) but that was only for a couple of klicks - it was practically double lane well past Lethbridge - where Hwy. 3 intersects Hwy 2. After that, it was a steady climb into the mountains going through Crowsnest Pass (not as spectacular as Kicking Horse). Franks Slide was jaw dropping - hard to believe all that mountain came sliding down - what a tragedy.

I had been calling my sister all day (she was already in Fernie) to tell her I would be a day early - but there was no answer. I had no idea where anyone was in terms of lodging, so I figured I'd either find a place to sleep, or worse case, sleep in the truck. My nephew actually lives in Elkford (which is about 70 kms away from Fernie). I was well past Sparwood, when my sister finally returned my call. She had been white water rafting all day, and they had just returned and were going out for supper in Fernie. I was about 18 kms away, so just continued on and met up with them at this lovely little Japanese Sushi restaurant (I HATE sushi) - just don't find raw fish and seaweed appetizing. So, I had a stir fry.

Well, I guess the rafting trip was amazing and I wish I had of known as I would have left a day earlier to join them. Probably about as amazing as the party in Elkford the night before - I understand that the cops came twice and something to do with emptying the hot tub due to hazardous substances...hmmm. But that was for the young folks anyway - not these old bones.

After the supper, we drove back to Elkford and I stayed in this little mom and pop hotel - quite nice, very clean - sharing the room with my sister, Darlene and Lennie (my step-niece). My parents were there - they did not go on the rafting trip (they are in their 80s and used that as an excuse not to go...imagine that?). I was a bit tired after driving 9.5 hours and it really didn't hit me until I was finally relaxed at the hotel with a drink in hand. No problems sleeping that night!

Up fairly early on Friday and my parents accompanied me to Fernie. I was having a bit of a problem locating the Lizard Creek Lodge (reading comprehension problem). I phoned my sister to ask her where was the Lodge and she says, it's where we took the bus for rafting at the ski hill. I say to her - I don't know where the ski hill is. She again repeats it's where we got on the bus for rafting. I remind her that I was not with her for that trip. I end up calling the Lodge and get directions. I had apparently passed the turn-off. Well, let me tell you what a spectacular spot this is - breath taking. The Lodge is located at the base of the ski hill and one can literally strap on their skies and once out of their room and simply step onto the lift. It is a beautiful alpine lodge with vaulted ceilings, huge timbers and a stone fireplace that reaches the 30 foot ceiling. Very rustic. My room - wow! I open the door to find that I have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room with fireplace and a full kitchen. And a balcony.

Since I've plenty of time to kill, I find the Curves Gym and go for a workout - then head back to the Lodge for a shower and change of clothes and wait for the other guests to arrive. The wonderful thing about this wedding is that we had the entire Lodge exclusively - fantastic. A meet and greet happened on Friday night with everyone mingling around the huge stone fireplace in the common area. An open bar and well - it was a splendid night with many toasts. At one point my nephew Gord tells me - that they not selected a song for their first dance . Well - I suggest that I might have the perfect song for him and I take him to my truck to play the CD that has this song. Gord says "it's perfect!". I am so pleased. On that note - it's time for bed. My sister and Lennie ended up staying my BIG room - Darlene and I sharing the loft bedroom (2 queen sized beds) and Lennie got the master bedroom (with an actual door) with the king sized bed because she claimed that Darlene and I make too much noise (hard to believe, I know).

Happy 2nd Birthday Lola!

2010-07-25T11:32:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday to my girly-whirly, Lola. CKC. Ch. Mountainair's Lullaby of Kimberlite. She's a big two now.

Move Over Dumbo

2010-07-25T11:12:00.003-06:00

I was out clearing and cleaning up the caragana bushes that surround our house, when suddenly my right ear lobe is on fire. I've been stung, by what I presume is a wasp (could be a hornet) and I go howling into the house and put an ice cube on my earlobe. WOW! Does that ever hurt. Now, my earlobe has blown up. Fortunately, I am not allergic to stings, but, I've kind of lost my interest in clearing any more brush. I went back...sneaking like a thief in the night, least those little buggers were still around, but I could not find a nest. So, maybe this was stray wasp, or maybe the nest is in the ground. Or maybe, this is retribution because I went and cut down a wasp nest this morning on the other side of the lawn. Perhaps I am being targeted now?

Working My Butt Off and Getting Fatter

2010-07-23T20:31:00.004-06:00

Sigh...I was weighed and measured on Thursday, July 22 and I was SO SURE that I would be a winner. My scale showed a loss of 8 pounds and my clothes are not so tight anymore and my sister said I looked different. However, Curves said I was bigger by 1 inch EVERYWHERE!!!! and what's more was 1 percent more FAT than what I was when I joined, and I'd only lost 2 pounds according to their scale.

I've been literally busting my ass for the last month and apparantly burning at the least 400 calories per workout - yet, no results. This is just not making sense to me.

King Birds

2010-07-20T16:33:00.006-06:00

Imagine - no posts in over a month and then two in one day!

Two years ago we had a pair of Western Kingbirds nesting in our Blue Spruce Tree. They are highly entertaining to watch and are very territorial about their tree. They would fight off anything that was around their tree, including us, the cats, and other birds. This pair successfully raised 4 babies. Both mom and dad care for the babies.

Last year they attempted to nest in the same spot, unfortunately something ate/destroyed their eggs.

This year, instead of the Western Kingbirds, we have a pair of Eastern Kingbirds, nesting on some dead willows out in our pond. I've been watching them, and apart from not having the yellow breast colour of their western cousins, these birds are very similar. They are also extremely protective of their nest and both parents care for the feeding and toilet duties of the babies. Today I spent the better part of an hour (while sitting in my hot tub) watching the parents feed their four babies - about every 30 seconds these babies received some sort of bug. And when the babies pooped, the poop was quickly scooped up and dumped about 50 feet from the nest. When I went down to take these pictures, the parents were VERY upset with me and dive bombed me screeching! The babies remained in a "frozen" position while I snapped these shots - I am sure the parents were screeching...DANGER! DON'T MOVE!

No, I Have Not Fallen Off the Face of the Earth

2010-07-20T14:42:00.003-06:00

So, it's been over a month since I've last posted. Perhaps some are wondering about "Tweet"? I've not had the pleasure of "Tweet" since my last post - I have seen a young robin flying about and I am hoping it is "Tweet", but he doesn't come to me. But, I should be happy about that, as it means he will make his flight down south and be a real robin.

It has been super wet here and all we've been doing is mowing lawns. It grows so quickly that I actually create "wind rows" when I mow. The lawns look wonderful - lush and green, but enough already. Luckily our property is on a hill so we have no worries of flooding, unlike many unfortunate people throughout the Prairies, including the farmers, who are dealing with this unprecedented wet weather. Hoard your flour people - the price of bread will be sky rocketing.

Peter and I went on our first vacation ( in 8 years) away from the dogs last week. An overnight in Regina - we went to the Science Centre and saw the amazing and extraordinary exhibit: "Our Body: The Universe Within" and also went to the Kramer Imax Theatre and saw the show "Mummies". Wish I had that flat screen in my living room.

My friend Lynne looked after our dogs and cats and did a fantastic job. She is going to look after them when we attend my nephew's wedding at the end of July. This time we will be gone a whole 4 days!

I have joined the gym "Curves" and it's been just a month now and I am already seeing results. I will be getting weighed and measured this week. I will certainly be posting my progress.

Lastly - perhaps the real reason for the inactivity on my blog is simply having nothing to say. After losing the 4 dogs this year and no luck in breeding, I am still trying to regroup and just figure out what my future holds.

Bath Time and Tweet News

2010-06-16T14:52:00.003-06:00

I've been wanting to give everyone their spring baths, but it has been so wet here (May being the wettest on record) that there was no sense in waiting for a sunny day to bathe the dogs outside. They were so dirty - I just couldn't stand them anymore. So, into the tub they went. I was hoping to blow dry them on the deck, but, the mosquitoes put a stop to that - clouds of them - so, blow drying in the back room.

Of course, each one of them had to shake all the way through the house and into the dog room (after the bath)...oh well, it wipes up and the floors needed to be washed anyway.

In the past, it has taken me at least 2-3 days to get all the dogs bathed, but, now that we are down to 3 dogs - well they were all done this morning. I could probably make a small garden out of the dirt that washed from their coats.

Lola was sure blowing coat - once I applied the forced air blow dryer , The Master Blaster (18 amp - two motors) her old coat came off in sheets reminiscent of felt. I am sure she feels much better. She carries such a heavy coat for a female - she rivals males.

Now all the dogs are groomed and smell sweet. I love the feel of freshly bathed berners.

The Tweet Beat

I get the Tweet Greet every morning when I go outside and off Tweet and I go to the garden; I turn the soil with the shovel and Tweet finds the big juicy worms. He also greets Peter on his way to the garage in the morning. And, lately, we are finding Tweet hanging out on the deck waiting for someone to come outside. I think he's lonely. Most likely he's way too snobby for those "other raised" robins.

Aw Tweet - rain and perhaps a T-storm tonight...hang on tight to those tree branches.

Free Bird

2010-06-14T08:09:00.005-06:00

No - not Lynyrd Skynyrd, but, Round Robin is now a free bird. For the last 3 days I've been putting him in the bushy part behind the house, and when I go back there I 'TWEET' (real tweeting, not twitter) and he comes flying over to me for some food. Last night he spent his first time out all night and I was relieved to see him fly over to me this morning for breakfast.

Yesterday, he was hilarious. I was in the hot tub and he kept hopping in the tub and then I'd fish him out and he'd flutter his wings hummingbird style to dry them. Then he'd hop around the deck looking for bugs. He was quite content to spend time on the deck with us. Here he is perched on my head.

My Expert Observations

2010-06-08T16:40:00.001-06:00

Now that I've "owned" (really s/he owns me) for just over a week, I think I've become a Robin expert! When I go - "tweet, tweet" - the Robin answers me. If I look at it and go "tweet, tweet", not only does it answer me, but it also does stretches. Stretches the legs, then stretches each wing, and then fluffs out its feathers. If it is really hungry, it will chirp incessantly (because its asking me to pull-eeze come up and feed it). I don't do that now, so after about 5 minutes of nonstop chirping, s/he will fly down and perch on my head..."Hello - remember me? - I think it's birdy num-num time."

I had to go to work today, and left Round Robin in the backroom (behind closed doors so the cats could not get it). I left a pan of chopped earthworms on the floor. I was gone about 5 hours and when I returned, it didn't look like Round had eaten any of the earthworms, and boy - did I get a frenzied welcome when I opened the door. Much flapping of wings and chirping. I stuffed about 10 worms into his mouth and brought him into the atrium and put him among the plants.About 15 minutes later, he came down perched on my head and demanded I feed him more. So, he got 3 blueberries and some Fancy Feast cat food. That seemed to satisfy him. (I know I'm going between him/her/it - I have no idea what sex the bird is).

I think I'm going to have to get tough and put him outside in the big evergreen tree. He can fly. I'll go out every hour or so and see if he flies down for "birdy num-nums". He has to learn to find his own food, get along with other Robins and make his trek south in the fall migration. Wouldn't it be cool if he comes back every year for a visit! Hope he brings back more than a lousy t-shirt.

Round Robin - 1 Week Later

2010-06-07T19:20:00.004-06:00

Hope you enjoy this video of Round Robin One Week Later. I phoned a licensed rehab wild-life person (Jan) and she told me I can put a plate of worms (shiver) down on the floor and he will learn to self feed - it's instinctive. Then, I will release him outside. I've been having a lot of fun with him. He flies down for feedings and perches on my head, squawks like crazy when being fed and then once he's done, he has a poop, and then flies back up amongst the plants.

Tweet!

2010-06-06T19:49:00.002-06:00

Well, Round Robin - or Tweet is still around and totally taking over our lives. He (?) is quite demanding and when hungry chirps incessently until fed. We have allowed him free reign of the house (when the cats are outside) and he just sits up in the atrium among the plants (pooping). We have been fetching him and bringing him down for feeding, but today, he has decided that he will come down when he's hungry. He now flies down and perches on my head - signalling that..."HEY - I am hungry - FEED ME!"

When we cannot watch him and guarantee his safety from the cats, we have put him in the back room. When I open the door - he CHIRPS loud and then flies towards me - and perches on my head.

I have to go and find live crickets and teach him how to feed himself. I am hoping to get some "cool" video of him flying down and perching on my head.

Stay tuned.

Round Robin Day 2

2010-06-02T15:13:00.002-06:00

Round Robin had a peaceful nights sleep in my office (tucked inside a puppy crate). This way none of the cats could terrorize him (her). I draped a towel over the crate and within no time he had tucked his head under his wing and went to sleep.

He greeted me with enthusiastic chirping this morning when I removed the towel...."HEY, I'm hungry!". He gulped down his catfood. I changed his bedding. Then I brought him outside and he perched on my finger chirping away. I was hoping that maybe Mommy Robin would hear him and fly around, but, no robin-red-breast came round.

I brought him back inside and secured him back in the office, as I had to go to town. I bought him some blueberries and raspberries, along with two tins of catfood (beef and chicken). I figure he needs a variety of food.

Birds certainly have a quick digestive system. Within 1/2 hour of eating a raspberry - the colour comes out the other end.

He's quite the character - chirps when he sees me and opens his mouth...FEED ME! FEED ME! - mouth gaping wide in hopes that I will poke food down his throat. He will perch on my finger and then run up my arm and perch on my shoulder.

Lola is quite fascinated with him and was just drooling up a storm while she looked at him. I am hoping to get some great pictures later on. The cats figure I'm just fattening him up for their pleasure.

I really don't know what I am going to do with Round Robin. If I don't feel he can fend for himself in the next week, I guess I will take him to the zoo in Saskatoon - hopefully, they have a bird section he can live in.

Round Robin

2010-06-01T19:52:00.003-06:00

Baby Bird

2010-06-01T09:40:00.002-06:00

A baby robin must have fallen out of its nest and into the dog yard. I found this poor little fellow being carried around in Lola's mouth. I brought him inside and tried to dry his feathers (I should have washed him first) since dog siliva is quite sticky. He's recovering - sitting up and will even perch on my finger. I suppose I could try and climb up the tree and put him back in the nest, but I don't want the mom to abandon the entire nest (if I disturb it). The little guy has some feathers missing. He's sitting in a bowl on my desk while I write this post.

Anyone know what I can feed this little guy? I tried to get bugs off the front of my car, but, he didn't want them. I wonder if he might eat tinned cat food?

Busted, Flat

2010-05-30T14:38:00.000-06:00

Where toys go to die.

Lola's New Toy

2010-05-30T14:05:00.005-06:00

I bought a basketball today and Lola immediately claimed it as her new toy. Within 3 minutes of playing with it, she had managed to puncture it. She then spent the next minute eyeing it suspiciously as it hissed - getting down and barking manically at it. Since the ball did not retaliate, she determined it was not about to bite her and resumed playing with it.

Even though this ball will be quite deflated in the next 24 hours, it will still be a great toy. We had a "yard" basketball before and despite it being flat and I think being wedged one winter in the blades of the snow blower - it still served as a fabulous dog toy.

UPDATE: Just looked outside and the ball is totally flat! (see next post).

Happy Victoria Day

2010-05-24T11:56:00.004-06:00

I feel really bad for anyone who had plans on camping this Victoria Day weekend here in the prairies. It was just nasty - rain, rain, wind, wind. But, today it is sunny and I got out in my boat and did a tour of the pond. Enjoy!

Apollo

2010-05-21T14:13:00.004-06:00

My heart is breaking, another one has left us. "Apollo" - Kimberlite's Fly Me to the Moon - was a very special boy with a very special look. Our blue eye boy. Safe journey sweet one.

April 23, 2000 - May 21, 2010

Apollo's tribute: http://bernese.sasktelwebhosting.com/apollo_tribute.htm

My Girl Callie

2010-05-21T08:18:00.002-06:00

Callie, our toy hoarding princess passed away yesterday at the age of 8 years. Here is her tribute. http://bernese.sasktelwebhosting.com/callie_tribute.htm

Candid Photos of the 2010 American Specialty

2010-05-18T17:35:00.002-06:00

If you are like me and didn't get to the 2010 BMDCA National Specialty well the good news is that photographer extraordinaire, Chris Stefanac, was "on the job" and taking incredible candid photos.

Check it out! http://www.csphotoonline.com/Dog-Shows/2010-BMDCA-National-Wisconsin

Well, check back from time to time because Chris will be uploading spectacular photos.

Berk and Ali

2010-05-13T15:23:00.003-06:00

Berk (Dylan x Pal son) having a roaring good time on Wakaw Lake, SK. with Ali. I've also been told that Berk protects "his girls" (Ali and her sisters and friends) when they have "hen parties" at the cottage. He will not let any strangers on the property. Good Boy!

Getting the Perfect Shot

2010-05-06T08:34:00.004-06:00

One of the show photos of Bogart was done with the great skill of photographer, Cathy French. Bogart was not co-operating on Friday when we were trying to get his Group 4 picture. He would look everywhere but where we wanted him to look. We tried throwing toys, food, calling his name...nothing. All I could do was laugh!

So, the following day Peter had come to the show with me and with his assistance (getting Bogart's attention off camera), Bogart perked his ears and threw his weight up over his shoulders and we got "the shot". Cathy, then photoshopped the judge, Fred Dewsbury, from the follow day into the new picture...and a star is born!

I really like this photo from Friday though.

New Champion!

2010-05-03T09:49:00.003-06:00

I am proud to present my new champion...Can. Ch. Mountainair's Lullaby of Kimberlite. I finished Lola on Saturday when she earned Best of Breed under Judge Fred Gordon (not in picture). Lola, bred by Darcy Babb, is out of my boy "Joey" Ch. Kimberlite's Not Yer Avge Joe and Ch. L-Sins Mountanair Navy Blue (Navy.

Here is The Princess - the New Champion at 21 months of age.

My Boyfriend

2010-05-03T09:40:00.003-06:00

I had a very good weekend at the dog show in Saskatoon. I entered Bogart and Lola. Bogart is 8 years old and well, he is my boyfriend. This was his last weekend to be a show dog since he will be undergoing surgery on Tuesday for lump and wart removal as well as being neutered. The old boy did very well - earning two Group IVs.

Pictured below - my boyfriend - Am/Can. Ch. Kasablanca-L-Sin's Heart Throb with Judge Fred Dewsbury and then Judge David Eadie.

Happy Birthday "I" Litter

2010-04-28T08:10:00.003-06:00

It is with great pleasure that I announce the 8th birthday of Kimberlite's "I" litter. My own sweet Callie is among that gang and is a good enough reason for me to go an get some more cake. With all these birthdays this month - human and canine, well - it's a good thing that there is lycra in jeans these days.

Dexter

2010-04-25T16:27:00.003-06:00

Here are a couple of pictures of "Dexter". He turned 1 year old this month (he's from the Q litter). If you go back you can find him in earlier blog posts - he was Mr. Gold. Dexter is out of Joey and Sparkle. What a handsome boy and apparantly a big suck too.

Happy Birthday N Litter

2010-04-25T07:39:00.001-06:00

OK - I'm getting fatter with all these birthdays and my throat is getting sore from singing the song. But one more time...Happy Birthday to N litter - today you are 6 years old.

Happy Birthday O Litter

2010-04-24T07:54:00.003-06:00

Another birthday at Kimberlite - today is the 5th birthday of my "O" litter. They are Sparkle, Ophie, Lacey, Frankie, Jones, Roman and Guinness. Bum rubs to you all!

Happy Birthday F Litter

2010-04-23T07:16:00.002-06:00

10 years ago today my Four by Four litter came into this world. 8 beautiful pups - 4 boys and 4 girls. Included in that pile of love was my own darling Paliwags and our sweet blue eyed boy Apollo.

Happy Birthday to Kimberlite's F litter! Apollo will be getting extra special belly rubs and a cake tonight!

And Then I Was Distracted

2010-04-22T21:26:00.004-06:00

By this hole in the ground. I have no idea what lives here - but I put my camera down and took some photos.

Geese - On Their Journey North

2010-04-22T21:19:00.003-06:00

Out and About on this fine spring evening. The Canada Geese and Snow Geese are resting in the fields before their journey north. I tried to get a few pictures.

Fabulous Weekend in Edmonton

2010-04-19T07:33:00.002-06:00

What a fabulous weekend I had in Edmonton. I attended the 100th anniversary of the Edmonton Kennel Club with Lola. Lola did exceptionally well at this show. She earned 3 points on Friday winning Best of Winners and Best of Opposite Sex; 2 points on Saturday earning Winner's Female and Best of Opposite Sex; 2 points on Sunday earning Best of Winners. So, she is now sitting on 9 points and only requires 1 more to complete her Canadian championship.

Additionally, my good friends Lynne and Paul finished their lovely boy, Boz on Saturday when he earned Best of Winner's for 3 points.

The weather was exceptional - I earned a sunburn on Saturday afternoon while I lolled around on Paul and Lynne's deck - jumping in and out of the hot tub at my leisure. Now - that is the way to attend a dog show! Thank you Paul and Lynne for being such super hosts and offering me a great place to stay. Lola had a wonderful time playing with her cousins - even though Chloe was guarding all her toys.

I got home around 5 pm on Sunday to see my niece Jenny. She is on her turnaround from her contract nursing, so we had another fabulous evening of great food, wine and company.

Q Litter Turns 1 Year Old

2010-04-13T07:30:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday Q litter - the 3 boys turn 1 year old - Petey, Dexter and Bear. Q litter is out of Joey and Sparkle.

Mom's 80th Birthday Bash

2010-04-13T06:47:00.004-06:00

I flew to Ontario this past weekend to celebrate my mom's 80th birthday. Flew out on Friday, April 9th and just before that big stinking storm hit Saskatoon full blast. The flight was late taking off - had to de-ice the plane and sat on the tarmac for about 45 minutes - being buffeted around by the wind, but, the take-off went smooth (I think that wind pushed us into the sky).

My sister picked me up at Pearson. My mother did not know I was coming - as well she did not know that her grandson, Gord was also coming (he lives in Fernie). Gord had arrived before me, and was already at the farm. When I arrived my mom was out in the barn so when she came back into the house, I was just sitting quietly on the couch and waited until she noticed me. It was a nice surprise! We celebrated her birthday that evening (just family) because we also had a surprise party planned for Saturday. My sister blew it though - she started talking about the party spilled the beans. She could have crawled under a rock.

The following morning - my sister told me mom there really was no other party and I guess she believed her. I was assigned the task of getting mom out of the house for a couple of hours so they could prepare. So, my mom and I went shopping at the lovely dress store in Mount Forrest. I got these rocking sparkly jeans, a coral cotton knitted top, and black dress pants. Then to try and kill more time, we drove to Shelburn. I arrived back at the farm at 1 pm - walked into the house and was almost killed by the "glare" my sister shot at me. "Don't you know how to tell time?" she barked. "I told you to bring her back at 2 p.m. - the guests are not arriving until 1:30 pm!"

So, I grabbed my mom and hauled her back into the car and told her we had to go. She is giggling like a school girl because now she knows that there is a party. We tour Dundalk (wow - what fun) and then my sister calls me on my cell phone around 1:30 and tells me I can come home. Now - my mom was surprised because she did not expect all those people - she thought it was just going to be the girls from the barn. It was a great party!

On Sunday, we toured a small retirement community called "Sandy Cove" that sits just off of Lake Simcoe. My sister is looking to a buy a home there. It's a cute little "village" that caters to seniors. That evening my sister drove me back to Toronto - I had a room at the Sheraton at the Airport. We had a wonderful meal at the hotel and then Darlene went home. I had a lovely king-sized room at the hotel, and in the morning simply walked out the door, got on a little shuttle train that took me to Terminal 1. I highly recommend this hotel for the convenience of being right at the airport and not having to worry about finding a shuttle. You can print out your boarding pass the night before. The hotel is sound proof and you don't hear a thing - plus the rooms are very nice.

I got through security at Pearson with no difficulties - unlike when I came was Saskatoon and went through security. They had me put my hands in my pockets and bring them out slowly - palms up. Then they swabbed my palms and checked to see if I had been making explosives. I guess I have that "look". I had a 3 hour layover in Winnipeg, so I spent that time in the Palister Lounge. It costs 15 dollars to go into the lounge, but, it is worth it. The lounge is quiet with lovely leather furniture (very comfortable). Free snacks and beverages. Tvs - magazines, washrooms, and two rooms with computers so you can check your email and surf the web. It also has wireless highspeed if you have your own laptop. You can fall asleep without worry about missing your flight, as the attendant will come a wake you up. It sure makes layovers much more tolerable.

It was a surprise to see all the snow back here in Saskatoon - huge drifts all around the yard. So back to reality again and the daily grind.

Washed and Fluffed

2010-04-08T17:26:00.003-06:00

I can always count on Michelle to send me the greatest pictures. Here is Boomer being washed and then fluffed. He's so handsome.

Cool Parents

2010-04-06T17:17:00.002-06:00

My dad turned 82 last week and my mom turns 80 this week. Look at how cool they were in their teens. James Dean...eat your heart out.

Eben

2010-04-06T08:00:00.003-06:00

I received wonderful news last night. Ch. Kimberlite's Lord Eben won Best Veteran in Sweeps at the 2010 Canadian National. He was shown by his equally awesome owner Susan Abramski and the judges was Krista Johnson (Meadowoods Bernese). What a thrill! Susan and Eben have also done some other great things - a direct quote from Susan:

"He and I got his required 3 legs of his RN in 3 shows. On the last
show his score was perfect – 100!! ... put his first CD leg on at the
specialty with a score of 185 or 185 ½, I can’t’ find the sheet right now, and
it was the 2nd highest score in novice B."

Eben is from my "L" litter and is the son of Dylan and Pal. Congratulations Susan and Eben!

Spring Baths

2010-03-31T11:29:00.004-06:00

Everyone has had their spring bath now and I'm too tired to lift my arms to take pictures. I love the feel and smell of freshly washed berners. They are so silky and look like big stuffed toys. I trimmed up everyone's paws and ears - no matter whether they are simply holding down a couch or actually going into the show ring - everyone gets the "show" grooming treatment.

Once I catch my breath again - I will have to do some intense vacuuming as there was a lot of coat blowing going on.

Apollo has never been a fan of bathing and grooming and he whined his way through the entire process and did jump out of the tub and then off table at the end - almost hanging himself in the grooming noose. He does this all the time while I struggle to lift him up and get the noose off his neck. He's bent my grooming arm and snapped my grooming table. So - he only receives a fast grooming since his tolerance for the table is about a half-hour. Everyone else will stand on the table (without the grooming noose) and I can blow dry, brush, comb and trim to my hearts content. Bogart will stand on the table forever - I am sure he would sleep on it if I allowed it.

Of course the yard is still quite muddy but the dogs really needed baths. They will all get another bath in June (assuming no one goes to a show or requires an emergency bath before that). I love doing summer baths because I bathe and groom everyone outside - no hair blowing around the house.

What's For Dinner?

2010-03-27T18:34:00.002-06:00

I bought this new cook book called "The $10 Gourmet" - restaurant quality meals that won't break your budget. Tonight we tried "Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken". This recipes uses boneless/skinless chicken breasts - butterflied and then stuffed with spinach, feta cheese soaked in balsamic vinegar and olive oil and various herbs. According to the book the cost of this meal, for two, is $8.24.

It was really GOOD!

The cookbook is by chef Ken Kostick and easily found at most bookstores.

The Eagle Has Landed

2010-03-25T09:55:00.003-06:00

Amore's semen arrived via FedEx at 10 am Thursday morning and was deposited into Sparkle at 3 pm. What a marvelous technology - using an endoscope the vet, Altina Wickstrom, was able to locate the cervix and then a small tube is inserted into the womb and the sperm is deposited right smack into the womb (rather than have to swim). I did not take any pictures, but if you go to youtube there is actual video of this technique used on a French Bulldog.

If those swimmers meet the eggs and have a party then we can expect puppies no sooner than May 27th.

R Litter Breeding Cost To Date:

4 Progesterone Tests and 1 Brucellosis Test: $440.78

Collection and Shipping of Semen: $305.75

Transcervical Implantation: $396.00

Total to date: $1,142.53

Which Way You Going...Jenny?

2010-03-23T18:47:00.002-06:00

An old '60s song come to mind.

"Which way you going, Billy?
Can I come too?"

Picture compliments of Michelle - featuring Jenny and The Boom.

Quick! To the Bat Cave!

2010-03-23T15:32:00.003-06:00

Sparkle has hit 5.2 in her progesterone so she is ready. Either the semen will arrive tomorrow or Thursday. I am hoping to video the transcervical - it's done using a camera. Neato!

Ophie at her New Home

2010-03-21T12:40:00.003-06:00

On Valentines Day Ophie went to live with Barry and Sheryl and here are some pictures of her out of on "walkies". The other berner is "Hugo" from my "H" litter.

Additional Use for that Mini Trampoline

2010-03-19T20:30:00.003-06:00

Since I am no longer bouncing on the blasted thing, I found a much better use. It makes an awesome "sweater dryer".

Kimberlite Face Book

2010-03-18T21:49:00.002-06:00

Just when you think you are on the cutting edge another technology comes along. So, along with my website, and this blog, I've just created a "Kimberlite Facebook". I have no idea how to use it yet - but if you can navigate to the facebook and want to join, please do.

I think this is the link:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=109691922381152&ref=ts

If that does not work, simply seach (while in facebook) for "Kimberlite Bernese" and join the group.

Goose!

2010-03-16T17:44:00.003-06:00

Two geese on our "Duck Island". Moose and goose - I guess it's spring in the prairies.

Moose!

2010-03-14T19:15:00.002-06:00

I was having a relaxing soak in the hot tub this evening - looked around and saw these dark spots on the horizon. Three moose! Really! These are not stray cows. I wish I had a better zoom on my camera.

Berner Bumps is One Year Old

2010-03-14T17:09:00.002-06:00

I missed my anniversary by 7 days. I started Berner Bumps on March 7, 2009. I've had 9, 180 visitors. Thanks.

We are gearing up for our "R" litter (hopefully will be bred in the next 10 days). Details are on my website. Hopefully, I will be able to blog about puppies.

Hello Spring 2010!

2010-03-14T16:34:00.006-06:00

It is just a gorgeous beginning to Spring 2010. We had a lovely time out on the pond (most likely our last weekend for frozen pond) and suntanning on the deck. It has got to be at least +17C on the deck.

Baby Kitty caught her first mouse of 2010 and ate it in front of Mr. Slinky without so much as offering him a single bite.

Sign of the Times

2010-03-10T09:13:00.003-07:00

He doesn’t attack, he just sits in his doghouse, staring at you and mumbling to himself. Source: Oddly Specific

Cool Dog Toys!

2010-03-09T15:20:00.007-07:00

I purchased some cool dog toys at Costco today. They are called "Ballistic Ruffs!" Three, well made sturdy toys retailing for 9 bucks. The package insert says (and yes - they are "in love" with exclamation points!).

Dino, our crazy chewing 2 year-old Golden, inspired our search for a more
durable material that would allow his toys to last longer than average toys.
Our Ruffs are the result of this search! They are more durable and just as
fun!

Your dog will have many hours of fun interacting with our new toys and
with you! Enjoy!

Bogart (toy snob) promptly took the blue one (he will only accept new toys),
only to have Lola steal it away. Sparkle is chewing on the black one. They do
look sturdy to me and have a really interesting squeaker sound.

Anyway - have a look at Costco - I think they are a good buy. Yes, they are made in China. Did the Golden live in China?

Update!...the cats LOVE the box the toys come in. Hey - a win-win situation.

Prince Albert Dog Show

2010-03-08T10:02:00.008-07:00

Well, it was a fine weekend in Prince Albert, SK for a dog show - not only was the weather perfect, but it was a fabulous weekend for the berners. Denise with her lovely boy Keeper earned three Group 1st and to top it off - Best in Show on the last day. Well done!

Lola earned her 2nd point too. Paul and Lynne's "Chloe" and "Boz" did very well, with "Chloe" earning Best of Opposite in 5 shows and Best of Breed for one show. "Boz" earned Best of Winner's for two shows.

Here is Lola (18 months old) doing the go-around. The judge is Leslie Rogers.

Here is Lola doing the down and back.

Boz (3 years old) doing the Go Around.

Boz doing the Down and Back

Best of Breed - Line Up: Keeper (3 yrs), Chloe (16 months), Boz (3 yrs), Lola (18 months)

Does this bed make me look fat?

2010-02-27T16:34:00.002-07:00

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

2010-02-22T17:19:00.003-07:00

I have no idea where this came from, but it landed in my inbox and I thought it was hilarious.

Hot Tub "Walkies"

2010-02-20T16:54:00.000-07:00

Peter and I often go into the hot tub, especially on weekends (and if the weather is good) and then let out a
"pod" of dogs. They entertain us. They go "wild" at first running around, up and down the hill - chasing cats and sniffing out glorious spots. They find sticks to chew and tresspassers paw prints to sniff. They eat berries off the bushes. And every so often they steal my shoes...so, far none have stolen my towel. Anyway, it is so wonderful to sit in the hot tub and watch the dogs having so much fun running around - a totally lazy and luxiourious way to exercise the dogs. Sorry, no pictures - too afraid I would drop the camera in the water.

Ophie and the Surprise Weekend

2010-02-16T08:08:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Ophie went to live with her new family, Sheryl and Barry Feller (who live near Winnipeg). I've known Sheryl and Barry for many years as they got a berner from very first litter (Basil) - and now have Blubebear Bernese.

We arranged to meet in Yorkton, as my neice Jenny is nursing up in Swan River, MB and she had a couple of days off so we would have an overnight visit in the big city of Yorkton. Well, I had a brainstorm (hee hee). I phoned my sister, Darlene and suggested she fly out to Saskatoon and we'd surprise Jenny in Yorkton. She thought that was a great idea and booked her flight.

Thursday rolls around and I pick up Darlene at the airport. I've been in contact with Jenny and she is none the wiser that her mother will be there. Darlene and I are both very excited and scheming on how this "surprise" should go down. Should we check into the room and wait for Jenny to knock on the door? Or should I be in the room with Jenny and have her mom knock on the door? Or maybe go into a restaurant and have her mom come up and say hi. All sorts of scenarios are going through our heads. Jenny decides to drive to Yorkton on Thursday night, so now the element of surprise is a bit different.

The drive on Friday was good - the highways were very wet so I used lots of "squirt" but at least the roads were not icy. It was a bit foggy so we didn't see much in the way of landscape. We arrive around 1 pm and decided to meet Jenny at the Boston Pizza. We get into a booth and wait for her to come in. I see her approach and stand up and she comes up to hug me. She still has not seen her mother - and then I point to her mom and the look on her face was priceless! (see photos).

The Fellers arrive around 5 pm and Ophie greets them with enthusiasm. We went out for a wonderful dinner at the York Steak House (I highly recommend it) and then spent the evening watching the Olympic Opening Ceremonies...what a comedy .

And now we down to 5 berners. The house seems very empty now.

Bag Inspection - Another Twist

2010-02-04T23:13:00.001-07:00

I am walking up and I have briefcase with me. Nothing else (this is certainly carry-on). I have no liquids, no make-up, my only electronic devices are my solar powered calaculator and my cell phone.

"M'amme - we have to inspect your bag." OK. I let them inspect my briefcase (which is festooned with doggies stickers) - they note the lovely doggy stickers.

I am now allowed to proceed.

What am I doing? I am a merchandising rep. and today I've been assigned to check out a certain bra line in a department store. The store name ryhmes with some one who might keep wine in cellars.Yeah never know where terror might strike - I guess it's best to be careful.

Dylan

2010-02-02T08:21:00.000-07:00

Dyl The Thrill. What a beautiful ride it has been. Thank you Wanda and Eric for this incredible boy. He brought us so much joy. My sweet Dyl Pickle Boy.

Please click on link to see Dylan's Tribute
http://bernese.sasktelwebhosting.com/dylan_tribute.htm

Bogart, Lola and Sparkle

2010-01-25T14:54:00.002-07:00

Just a fun little video of Bogart, Lola and Sparkle. Dylan is also in the video except he decided not to participate.

Lola at 18 months

2010-01-25T14:02:00.000-07:00

She's sulking right now because I washed all the "fun" off her. Now, she has to go out and roll, dig, shimmy and work on getting all the "fun" back into her coat.

Pal

2010-01-21T20:49:00.003-07:00

Today, a part of me...

My friend, my chum, my Pal.

Ch. Kimberlite's Fire Opal. April 23, 2000 - Jan. 21, 2010.

She was a serious "gas bag" and could clear a room in seconds. She was mom to 4 special litters, L, N, O and P and is gramma to many. She specialized in "press-on kisses" and did wonderful "Bhudda sits".

Poor Flipper

2010-01-19T19:40:00.001-07:00

Sing Along With Me

2010-01-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

Blow, blow, blow your coat,

All around the floor,

Hairly, hairly, hairly, hairly,

Now comb out some more.

The Boom

2010-01-19T11:48:00.000-07:00

We Bought a Treadmill

2010-01-17T07:21:00.002-07:00

We bought a treadmill yesterday. No more excuses now. Can't say - oh, it's too windy, too cold, too wet, or too hot out. Wonder when it will become a clothes hanger?

Update: Lil Pud has claimed the treadmill as hers.

Update: Lil Pud has demanded better bedding for this new fangled cat bed

Joey Has His Own Family

2010-01-17T07:18:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago Joey went to live with his new family in Saskatoon. Now he has the best possible home ever - his own family to love and he doesn't have to share anything. Joey was never a problem here and he is bullet proof with a tremondous temperament to match his oh-so-handsome face. It is a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Here is Joey with his beloved family - Lynne, Chad and Norm.

What About a Train Trip?

2010-01-10T10:09:00.000-07:00

Now that flying is such a PITA these days with long delays, super-long check-in lines, body cavity searches, no on-board amenities, seat restrictions, re-routing, etc. I got to thinking about taking the train. Sure, it takes longer but talk about relaxing - especially if one purchases a sleeper compartment. Nice views. You can walk around to observation cars, go to a dining car for scrumptious meals, there are bar cars and other activities. And you can bring your pets too (although they go into the baggage cars). You have access to your pets and can feed, water and walk them.

You can even charter and entire car! Talk about a fun time that would be. Get a bunch of friends together - charter a car and head out across this beautiful country.

http://www.viarail.ca/en

Congratulations?

2010-01-05T18:07:00.000-07:00

I was in Shoppers Drugstore today and happened to see a young woman inspecting and reading the "early home pregnancy tests". I just simply watched her going through all the boxes and reading...wondering whether this was a woman who was hoping she was pregnant or worried. Hope it's good news for her.