Olympia....It's the Water....And a Lot More

(Olympia, WA) I think my parents are going to start hoping that one of the dogs has a health issue. Why would that possibly be, you ask?

Our vet is in Olympia so each time we need to see the vet we go down to Olympia and then spend the day with my parents.

But today is Sunday. Vet is closed. And we went to Olympia. Reason....my brother came down from Edmonton, Canada to visit. And of course when he comes to the U.S. then his daughter (our very special niece) comes to visit as well.

The weather was beautiful so people were out doing all sorts of fun activities. We watched from the house as these three kayakers went by out in Puget Sound.



The view is so beautiful from my parent's house. And their yard is beautifully landscaped. But most of all, when we all gather, the house is filled to the brim with love.

Wazzu was getting her share of love from her Grandma. I think they are both enjoying this moment.



While the house was filled with love, it wasn't filled with much furniture. They are getting ready to have their carpet replaced so all the furniture was gone except for the couch. The dogs think this is how a house should be. They made a huge racetrack out of the living room and chased each other around and around the couch and they each plopped. It was especially fun to watch as Slugger rarely wants to play anymore but he was full of vim and vigor today!

No wonder Dave and Yumi have smiles on their faces. They just finished having big bowls of ice cream!



The time just flew by and before I knew it, it was time for Dave to fly back home. Sure wish he lived closer. But I guess that's what they say about us as we travel the U.S.

Debbie
8/8/10

Sticky

(Olympia, WA) Today we went to Olympia as Mike wanted to make strawberry jam. My parents have a much larger kitchen that we do so we went there to make the jam.

Mike cooked and cooked and ended up making four batches of jam. For a guy that literally eats peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day....usually breakfast and lunch....that amount of jam should last him about two months.

It was also, my niece's birthday so of course we wanted to celebrate that as well. My ex-sister-in-law, came over and made a fabulous dinner for all of us and mom made a great desert. I think Yumi should have birthdays much more often! Maybe next time I'll even be able to join them and sit at the table.

Happy Birthday, Yumi. Congratulations on your promotion!

Debbie
6/29/10

Making New Memories

(Olympia, WA) Thirty years may have passed but Izumi and I picked up right where we left off those many years ago. I will cherish these past few days for the rest of my life.

Since I can't do all that much, we mostly stayed home and talked. But we did manage a couple activities.

My dad is in charge of building a new Rotary Park in Olympia. So we went down to check it out. It is going to be so nice....the city will be lucky to have such a nice park right on the water with a beautiful view of the capital.

Weyerhaeuser was really busy across the way as a huge ship was on its way.

Boogie was such a good boy for Izumi as we walked around the park.

In this picture of me taking the above picture, you can actually see more of the park.

A couple things I notice in this picture. It's the end of May and we all look like we're dressed for winter. Seattle is stuck in winter this year. Yuk. And what is it the dogs are all looking at...whatever it is, it is in all different directions.

I happened to mention to Izumi that one of my favorite meals when I lived in Japan with her was Shabu Shabu. So one evening, Izumi surprised me by making Shabu Shabu for dinner. You put all the food in boiling water...only takes seconds....even for the meat as it is sliced paper thin.

And then you reach in with your chopsticks, choose your item, then dip it in one of the two sauces.

This meal took me back to my days in Japan. Oh I'd love to go back....but I have a lot more recovering to go if that is ever going to be a reality. Guess I'll just dream.

We don't have a dishwasher in the RV but after six years Sparkie still remembers that her favorite job is helping with the dishes. I guess you'd call this the pre-wash cycle.

Once a week is sailing club night. Luckily for them, it was about the only time all week it wasn't raining. This was taken from my parent's "rain room". Most parts of the country would call it a sun room....

One day we took a walk around the Beaver Pond. We used to see so much wildlife activity there. But today all the critters must have been on vacation. All we saw was a lazy, and hungry, newt....

....a snail...(exciting huh?!).....

....and one lone pretty duck.

We spent some time playing my parent's Wii game. Most of our time was spent either playing tennis or bowling as that's what Izumi and I did together those many years ago...except for real.

One time, Dad accidentally chose Mike as the player. Mike is left handed...Dad is not. But he decided to try it left handed.

Izumi and I have the same natural style....huge curve.

And what a game! Izumi bowled her highest score and was feeling pretty good....until she saw Dad's score. I'm sure this record will stand for quite some time. And as you may guess, Dad has decided he is indeed left handed.

We wanted to get pictures of everyone before Izumi left. So here is what we got. (And no matter what I do I can't get these pictures to format correctly. Sorry about the mess.)

As you can probably tell, we were having a great time. We took a bunch of pictures so Izumi could share them with her husband, Shusaku, and Okaasan - both of whom we miss very much.

Left to right: Izumi, Deb, Mike

Left to right: Izumi, Deb, Mom, Dad

I sure hope it's not another 30 years until we get to see each other again.

Debbie

5/24-29/10

Rats and Romance

(Woodinville, WA) What a week...mostly for Boogie, but for me too.

On Monday, I got to see my sister, whom I haven't seen in thirty years...literally. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time...my side was hurting so bad from all the laughter. We had a great time talking, playing Wii (bowling and tennis), and talking some more.



During the week, we met some people that have a Border Terrier. We thought it would be great fun if they could get together and play. And did they ever!




Most of the time they were moving too fast for me to get a clear picture.



They did stop a time or two for a brief moment. Of course I missed the shot...but here is the "second too late" shot. They were kissing each other. Way too cute. I think Boogie is in love.



Boogie was a little out of breath but very happy when play time was over.



Once the romance was over it was time to get down to business....playing with rats! And once again, Boogie was a highlight of the weekend....and not just according to us but to the judge as well. I'll start with this.

In Senior, the dogs have to work the rats (bark, dig, etc) for 90 seconds. Then the rat cage is removed from the tunnel. The handler then has 90 seconds to recall the dog. The dog must leave the empty den, make its way back through the tunnel and return to the handler...a very difficult task.

So Boogie, got to the rats, and worked his 90 seconds. They opened the lid to remove the rat cage and as they pulled it out, there was a dog attached to it! They were not only shocked but startled. That never happens. Mike immediately grabbed Boogie and asked the judge if that counted. The judge said there is nothing in the rules about it as no one ever considered the possibility that a dog could ever do that! So the judge decided that Mike had gotten Boogie in less than 90 seconds (about two seconds actually) so he figured it should be a pass. Leave it to Boogie to once again stump the rule book. Needless to say, I wasn't expecting this so I didn't get a photo. Darn.

Here's what happened. While Boogie was in the tunnel working, he had eaten through a couple dowels in 60 seconds. At that time he started barking like crazy for the next 30 seconds. Then when the rat cage was being pulled out, Boogie didn't like his rats leaving so he grabbed the cage as it was being pulled out. And now you know why Boogie's nickname (given by a previous earthdog judge) is Chainsaw. No dowels are safe when Boogie is around.

On an earlier run this weekend, Boogie was moving his lips all around and was making funny faces when he came out of the tunnel. We looked in his mouth and there were a whole bunch of wood chips stuck between many of his teeth from chewing the dowels. Oh Boogie! We cost the club a lot of money this weekend as they always had to replace the dowels when Boogie's turn was over.

But the highlight of the weekend for me was that we got to see Boogie's breeder, Harriet. She is one of the nicest people I have ever met...a very special person indeed in many ways. Here she is with Boogie.



Very special also was that we got to see Boogie's daddy, Higgins (far right),the most handsome guy you'll ever see, and Boogie's sister and littermate, Mimi (between Harriet and Higgins).



Another reason the weekend was special for me was that I actually got to do one event (Senior) with Boogie! My first time in about a year and a half. Boogie was perfect for me. Too bad I wasn't perfect for him. I forgot the rules since I haven't done it in so long - I was thinking Master when in fact, we were doing Senior. If I just would have kept my mouth shut, Boogie would have passed. Needless to say, Mike didn't let me try again the rest of the weekend! Here is Boogie popping out of the hole...coming to my recall. Good boy.



This weekend there were three Master's tests. Twice Boogie was paired up with another BT. His first partner was Angel. They hunted very well together. But at the point the dogs were supposed to hide their eyes, Boogie's partner Angel was peeking....didn't help her though as she still couldn't find the rats. Boogie, of course, had no problem.



His next partner was a 12 year old Border named Piper. Boogie has hunted with Piper before a couple years ago. And like last time, they were great partners. Look at the big smiles on their faces as they are hunting. That's what it's all about.



His final Master's partner was a Bedlington Terrier. We had seen this dog all this weekend and last weekend as well. Very nice, mellow dog. But as soon as this dog saw Boogie at the staging tent, he started barking non-stop and pulling toward Boogie. I didn't like the looks of this at all. I asked the handler if this was normal for her dog and she said "absolutely not". I started telling the handler that I was a bit concerned that her dog was so obsessed with Boogie. At this point, Boogie was completely ignoring the other dog. Boogie was excited to go hunting so he wasn't paying any attention to this nonsense.

The dog wouldn't let up so I started voicing my concern to the handler. She got a bit upset and started stomping off. I called her back and said they could try going out together...maybe her dog just wanted to play...which is what she was trying to convince me.

Shortly thereafter, it was time to start. Mike let Boogie off leash and he immediately romped off to start hunting. The other handler let her dog go and it immediately ran over and started pestering Boogie. Boogie was great and tried to ignore the other dog. But this dog wouldn't let it go. He started circling Boogie and growling. The judge, the handler, and Mike all immediately knew that an attack was imminent. The other handler, very wisely, immediately jumped in and got her dog and withdrew from the event.

That meant this turn was over. Boogie couldn't understand why he had to go back on leash and leave the area. He was very disappointed and didn't want to leave. Poor guy.

So they had to move us to the end and find a "bye" dog to run with Boogie since all the other dogs were partnered up. His new partner was a Cairn Terrier. They were perfect partners. It was this dog's first time to do Master so Boogie showed him the ropes.

Boogie did a great indicate.



His partner then came over to see what Boogie was doing and stuck his head right in the hole with Boogie. This is how they were the whole hunt up. Great partners.




I really enjoyed watching Harriet participate with Boogie's relatives. Here is Boogie's daddy...now you know where Boogie got his silliness.




The tests are usually a fair distance from the spectators. So we, as spectators, never know for sure if the participating dog passed or failed. So as people return they always give a thumbs up or thumbs down to let everyone know how they did. Here is Harriet returning after a successful attempt.



There were many breeders at Earthdog this weekend. And where there are breeders, there are puppies! I happened to walk by this cute puppy who had fallen asleep in his food dish.



There is nothing more adorable than a puppy.

Debbie
5/17-23/10

Happy Mother's Day

(Olympia, WA) We drove to Olympia today to spend the day with my Mom. We had an absolutely fabulous time...as you can tell.




For the first time in years, Mom and I took a walk around part of her neighborhood. We took Wazzu and Boogie with us. Who knew just a simple walk could be so wonderful. All four of us enjoyed it but it was a very special thing for Mom and I to get to do together.

Mike was wonderful. He made my Mom her favorite dinner and her favorite desert. While he was slaving away, Mom, Dad and I played Wii bowling.

What a perfect day. Happy Mother's Day, Mom.

Debbie
5/9/10

First Week

(Rochester/Olympia, WA) After the weekend trial we drove south to Rochester where we stayed for the week. We immediately got started on all our WA chores. The dogs all went to the vet....you should have seen five dogs in one little exam room.

Boogie was lying right next to the door where the vet would go in and out. He had his nose to the ground and whined and cried the entire time. Finally I asked the vet if they had rats back there. She said they had cats but no rats. Boogie really doesn't know about cats so I wasn't convinced that was it. A few minutes later the vet said "we do have a ferret back there". Ah, that had to be it. Finally about a half hour later the vet asked if she could take Boogie in the back to see what it was he wanted so badly. So off they went. It turns out Boogie immediately went through the hall turned a corner, went through a door leading to the back examination area, sniffed a bit there, then continued on through a maze of halls to a very back room where the ferret was in cage. Jackpot. What a nose! That back room was quite a ways from the exam room we were in. As a side note, the vet said they had just been examining the ferret on the table where Boogie first took them to before continuing his search. Dogs have such amazing noses....it just astounds me.

During the days we found various fields where I could track with Boogie. He is getting so good. I'm really amazed at what he can do and what focus he has. I'm also happy that I can walk far enough with him to start on this sport.

Each day we also went in to Olympia to visit my family. It was so good to see them after such a long time. We were fortunate that my brother was there for a few days (from Canada) during this time. He brought his little Dachshund along....so we had six dogs in my parents house. My poor parents! This is Dolly in her favorite place...a lap, in this case, my dad's lap.




I tried to get a group picture but two of the dogs don't have good stays so we had to have helpers...Mike and my Mom. I took 14 pictures and Boogie had his eyes shut in every one. This is the closest to open I could get.




It wasn't until later that I found the best way to get a picture of all the dogs. My Dad was cutting up ham and that got everyones attention! Boogie was already licking his lips and dreaming of how good that ham was going to taste.




My niece, Yumi, also came by a number of evenings to join us for dinner. This was certainly a nice treat. The last time we saw her she was single and now she's just getting ready to celebrate her 2nd anniversary. Like most youngsters she is into the phone and texting. But I do have to say she was great and put it away almost the whole time she was with us. Now that is love!



Rex, Yumi's husband stopped by for a quick visit one evening while we were there.




Mom spent some time showing me the different Wii games. I couldn't begin to do most of them but I did manage to bowl a couple games. Unfortunately I disappointed my mom as I beat her high score of 202 with a 208. Guess I won't be invited back for a while!




Friday we left Rochester and moved to Elma where we will be doing a USDAA agility trial. We only entered the trial because we wanted to park at the fairground. And to park here, you had to be entered in the trial. So we entered Boogie in everything and Sparkie in just two runs a day.

We got to meet another batch of friends that we haven't seen in many many years as we haven't done USDAA in the PNW for eight years! In the last eight years we have only done one USDAA trial. It was five years ago in Phoenix. This ought to be quite the adventure.

Debbie
4/5-9/10

Sedona Tour

(Cottonwood/Sedona, AZ) What a busy day we had planned. The first order of the day was to get all the dogs loaded in the car and head over to an Arizona Earthdog member's house here in Cottonwood to help load all of the tunnels for this weekend's test into the trucks. As you might guess, Mike worked hard and I hardly worked.



From there we raced up to Sedona to meet up with Mom and Dad and get started on our day of sightseeing. Since Mom and Dad had never been to Sedona before we thought it would be a good idea to show them around a bit.

We started off by going to Bell Rock which is very near the house they are renting. When we got out of the car to start our hike, I noticed I'd forgotten my camera out on the deck back at the house. Darn! Fortunately I had my little point and shoot camera with me so not all was lost. But it was still a disappointment.

The trail around Bell Rock is very flat. It's a very popular trail so the dogs had to stay on leash the entire time. And while I'm sure they wished they were off leash, they were very good and seemed to have a fine time. Behind us, you can see Bell Rock.



As we got closer to Bell Rock, there were some pretty and interesting views.



We were all marveling at the formations - not only of the rock as a whole but the lines and crevices within the rock.



As we got closer, we found it interesting that the rock didn't look like a bell at all.



Hey, look what grew on this rock. If you look very closely I think you'll see the entire Mason family.



It was interesting to see all the different plants that can grow out of the rock. Here you can see green trees, blue bushes, and cactus.



From this angle you can just see the top of Court House Butte in the background.



It was at about this point that we turned around and went back.



As we were heading back to the trailhead, a whole line of horses went by. Slugger and Boogie thought this was very interesting. The girls just said, "oh it's only a bunch of horses" and continued on their walk. We still have some work to do to get the boys to behave in the same manner.



From there we went to downtown Sedona to our favorite lunch spot - Wildflower Bread Company. In addition to great sandwiches and soups, they have outdoor seating where dogs are allowed. So, of course, this was the place for us!

The portions are really big (in my opinion) so Mom and I split a sandwich. The dogs got plenty of bites from all four of us - so needless to say they were all very well behaved. Even though we were all stuffed, we couldn't pass up Cold Stone Creamery which was just a few doors down in the same little complex.

Darn, I don't know why I didn't think to take pictures of the art work in this little plaza. There were probably 10 - 12 different animals all made from various old items (garbage) like rusty wrenches, hub caps, saws, shovels, rakes, etc. They were all very interesting and cleverly done.

Mom and I waited outside with the dogs while Mike and Dad went in to get the ice cream. It turns out there was only one worker in there and the line was getting longer and longer. All the dogs were very calm for quite some time. But then Sparkie decided she just couldn't wait any longer...she must have suddenly smelled the ice cream. She started jumping straight up into the air to the end of her leash. Everyone in line for ice cream was very impressed and entertained. So then many different people came out to pet her and all the dogs. It was amazing how many of them said that seeing our dogs made them miss their dogs so they wanted to pet our dogs. We got to hear many cute little stories of other peoples dogs. The thing that touched me was that everyone that came up to us during this time had rescue dogs. How cool is that!

By the time we finished our ice cream, Mom and I were so full we were pretty sure we never wanted to eat again! But it all sure was good.

After getting back to our cars, we continued our drive through downtown Sedona and headed off toward the Oak Creek Canyon drive. This is a very scenic drive and probably something that all tourists do at some point during their visit.

The weather was turning on us as the day went on. We were plenty warm on our morning hike but during lunch we all had to put our coats on. But that didn't deter us from our plans.

After driving for a while we stopped at West Fork Oak Creek for another hike. This one is also flat so it isn't difficult in that respect at all. Since there is a special fee to come here, it isn't very crowded at all so the dogs got to be off leash - how fun is that! Best of all, the views here are spectacular. Once again, it's hard to show you the great expanse that we could see, as the human eye has much better peripheral vision than a camera. But hopefully you can use your imagination a little bit as you look at these pictures.



The dark lines you see on the rocks is where water has gone down over many years - probably a gazillion years....however long that is!



One of the pretty things about this hike is that it criss crosses the river numerous times.



That's also one of the problems with this hike. To cross the river you must balance on a very narrow passage of rocks and logs...many of which aren't all that sturdy.

We all managed to get across the first one without incident although we had to take it slow and easy. The second crossing was much too difficult - even Boogie was stymied on how Mike and the three big dogs made it.



When he just couldn't figure out a way across from there, he came back and decided to try a different route. But he got stuck there too.



When we all got back to the same side of the river, we let Slugger off leash as well. The dogs had a huge playtime chasing each other around and around as fast as they could. It was so fun to see Wazzu racing around doing crazy dog with Boogie chasing her as best he could. I really love it when Wazzu lets down her guard and just has fun.

At one point, we told the dogs they weren't to dig. Boogie looked up at me and said, "I didn't dig, Mom." Do you think I should believe him?



Just as we were about back, it started to sprinkle. Our timing was sure lucky! We did stop for a minute to get a picture of Mom and Dad in front of what used to be the entrance to someone's garden. Just behind them is the river. Between me and them is where the garden used to be. And just behind me is the foundation of an old house.



As quickly as the sprinkles started, they stopped. But it still was a bit chilly. A perfect time for a drive. So we continued our drive up the canyon. It is more spectacular on a clear day but we could still see a little bit.

Here you can see the view from the top. As you can see, it's a long way down. We had quite the time trying to get Mom this close to the edge so we could take this picture. The white dots that you can see in the background are snow patches. And while there's not a lot of snow left, that tells you how cold it is up this high.



I think Mom felt much safer near this sign!



Now it was time to head back home. If you look closely you can see the road winding down the hill. That's the road we took to make our way back down to Sedona.



When we finally got back home we found that it had rained harder there. This meant that my camera was all wet. I sure hope it will be okay.

Unfortunately, our visit with Mom and Dad came to an end this evening. I was really sorry to see our time together draw to a close. My hope is that we get to something like this much more often.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, we didn't have dinner - we were still stuffed.

Debbie
4/3/08