Meditations on an Old Dog

My friend Ann, who has taken in more than one needy geriatric dog and who has spent whole lifetimes with others, has always said that old dogs are like old shoes. They don't ask for much. They're just comfortable to have around. They bring a quiet joy all their own.

I tend to think of them as Velveteen Rabbits — they might be old, slow, and lumpy with half their fur loved off, but they just grow more beautiful every day in the eyes of those who live with them and love them. Of course, old dogs have been "real" all along, but their slow march toward mortality lends them a more spiritual quality somehow. It seems as though they're closer to being at one with the Universe.

All three of my boys are seniors now. Charlie turned 14 on May 17. Badger's 9th birthday occurred on January 8. Famous Seamus celebrates his 9th birthday on November 2. It hardly seems possible that so much time has flown by. Only Dinah (who turns 6 this coming November) is still on the early side of her prime, and even then, The Princess isn't a baby any more. Maybe we have to start calling her The Queen instead.

It wasn't so long ago (or was it?) that I referred to Charlie as "the puppy." All through Duncan's and Doogie's long lives, he remained the baby of the family. When Doogie, the last of the "old guard," shuffled over the Rainbow Bridge at age almost-16, Charlie was still only 6 years old. He had established himself as Lord of the Realm many years before, and he ruled over all of the newcomers with a benevolent, but firm, paw. Little puppies gravitated to him, and he graciously instructed each one in the fine art of excavation. Many of my friends' yards sport (or sported) holes resulting from Charlie's famous tutorials on Dirt Appreciation.

The only thing Charlie likes better than dirt is water. At our old Beardie Bounces in NH, our hostess would make especially sure to have a kiddie pool filled with water for Charlie, no matter what the weather forecast.

These days, Charlie just grows more beautiful with time. His shaggy brown coat is thinner now, and he has lost a significant portion of the muscle mass that he had when he was younger. His hearing has taken on that selective quality that prevents him from hearing you calling him, but he can still pick up the sound of a sandwich being unwrapped from half a mile away. As old dogs do, he spends a lot of time seeking comfort, nudging for head rubs and samples of lunch. He does appear to spend some more time sleeping, but he still prefers to be outdoors, barking at the wild turkeys to get off his lawn and working on his latest tunnel.

Charlie's breeder still hears from some of his siblings' owners, but many of us have fallen out of touch with one another over the years. We do know that sister Bennet-J went off to the Bridge a couple of years ago, and that brother Tristan joined her in November. Brother Benny in California is still going strong, and so is sister Lucie in Nebraska. We don't know about the other three, but we hope that they're all still around and still running their respective households.

This week, Charlie suffered a bout of Old Dog Vestibular Disease (details on my Shaggy Dog Stories blog). He improves just a little every day; his nystagmus (twitching eyeballs) is essentially gone, his head tilt seems better, he can get up and down stairs, and he's getting stronger. He is starting to eat dog food again -- still mostly canned, but with some kibbles added in. Earlier in the week, the only thing he'd eat was canned Vienna sausages. He still sleeps a lot -- mostly in front of the bedroom box fan -- but he was a world class napper before the ODVD.

So many members of the Class of '97 (and earlier) have gone across the Bridge of late that it's about all I can do not to crush his creaky old bones to my chest and beg him never to go. I'm almost afraid that I'll leave someone off the list. Daisy went, and then Charlie's best brown buddy George, and Jubie, and Ghost... too many. Too sad.

Charlie, George, and Duncan the Wonder Dog with me, all those years ago

Charlie's dad Jamie made 15, and his mom Taylor almost did. We can't know -- and don't think about -- how much more time we'll have with the old man, but we're mighty glad that he dodged the bullet this time.

Motivation for the Day

How to Be the Best at Practically Everything

Okay, I admit it. I've neglected this blog like an unloved houseplant. Instead of noisily observing my "6th blogiversary" with 24 hours of tweets and a full-press publicity blitz, I... wait, what was I doing? This blog turned 6 sometime in June, and even I missed it. But hey, vote for me for something! I feel as though I'm behind in my campaigning.

Not that I don't have a huge variety of excuses to apply. Here's the short list of things that have been going on since mid-March:

• I finally healed up completely from spinal surgery and have been just fine ever since. There's a new dimple on the back of my neck, but otherwise, everything is business as usual.
• Dinah and I are working through my handling foibles and ring nerves, but we've managed to finish two APDT Rally titles: RL1X and RL2. We have one leg toward the RL2X. I'm busy scanning the horizon for local AKC trials we can enter, since we've vastly improved our honor-exercise work for RE.
• I finished up my first project at work and helped finish another one. 
• Charlie turned 14. 14!

• Greg is working on a CD of his piano improvisations.
• It feels as though I've been working 8 days a week for a while now, between the upcoming National Specialty, website clients, my day job, and training classes. Sometime I'd just like to take a long vacation (more than a week, even) and just RELAX.  I'm thinking about Hawaii next January; my birthday seems like a good time to go someplace sunny.
• The socks I've been knitting are in suspended animation until it gets cool enough again to pick them up without sticking to them.

I intend (in my mythical spare time) to send this blog to Blog Rehab and make a nicer skin for it. I'm tired of looking at this one. (hey, it was the first Blogger skin I made all my own self. It's time to move on, though.)

In the meantime, Dog Show Newbie and Shaggy Dog Stories have both been moving right along. If you'd like to enter a drawing for a Kong Squiggles dog toy, go visit Shaggy Dog Stories while this blog is in rehab.

They're Ready for Their Closeups

Dinah and Badger embarked on their careers as canine supermodels yesterday. (Well, they've been the subjects of fine art paintings before, and Dinah's appeared in books and on AKC Meet the Breeds materials, but this is the very first time they've worked for remuneration.) The kind folks at FetchDog contacted me a little while ago after going through their photos, looking for catalog models. I had completely forgotten that their "talent scout" had snapped some pictures of Dinah at a Meet the Breeds event a couple of years ago; she seemed particularly interested in Dory at the time, so I thought nothing of it and completely forgot about the whole encounter. The call from their production manager came as quite the surprise!

At her request, I emailed photos of all four of the Beardies, plus their vital statistics. Since Charlie and Seamus are clipped, their coats aren't as glamorous as Dinah's and Badger's -- so Dinah and Badger were selected to take part in the next photo shoot. They would be modeling a couch cover, I was told. Our friend Liz is the "dog wrangler" for the shoots, which was also welcome news. Liz understands bouncy Beardies and how to get the best out of them. After a panicked call to our saintly favorite groomer, the kids were dispatched to the doggie spa, fluffed and folded, and returned. I packed a bag with grooming supplies, brushes, hairspray, and hair elastics.

We arrived at the shooting location in Yarmouth half an hour ahead of our scheduled shooting time. The folks who own the house are both brave and generous; their beautiful house gets invaded periodically by small crowds of people bearing equipment, props, toys, collars, and various dogs on leash. The front entryway is protected by dropcloths and all the humans remove their shoes to minimize the amount of dirt and grit tracked onto the pristine hardwood floors.

All of the shoots for a given day are scheduled for particular times, by the dog's name and the products they'll be modeling. We waited a little while for the adorable German Wirehaired Pointer puppy to finish her session. She was sweet and very wiggly; I'm not sure if she settled down enough for the photographer to get what he wanted. I signed our photo release-cum-vital-statistics form and collected our copy of the current catalog with a gift certificate. Robin, the production coordinator, came in and out with collars, toys, and other props for shoots. She dropped off some, then picked up others and disappeared back into the house.

Production Central was located in the garage of the house. The kind owners had cleared out for the morning, leaving both parking spaces available for soft crates, bins of props and collars, and all of the paperwork associated with scheduling the photo sessions. Two beautiful little Aussies waited in one of the big soft crates, which doubled as a work table. Dinah and Badger were more comfortable in the car, so they waited there as we humans stamped around in the garage and sipped coffee to keep warm.

After a bit, the crew rearranged the furniture in the living room so that the couch and its cover stood in the middle, free of interference. Liz came out and helped me bring Dinah and Badger into the house. Everyone made a fuss over the pretty shaggy dogs. Dinah danced and wiggled. Badger took everything in and waited thoughtfully. We met Dennis, the photographer, and a number of other crew members.

Liz and I managed to get the two Beardies up onto the couch and positioned together. I asked, "Do you want me to get their hair out of their eyes? I brought hairspray and everything." The crew seemed to prefer having their hair down in their faces, so we left them as is. The tan couch cover they were modeling was thick, quilted, and lush, with a faux-sheepskin underside. I had to force myself to stop fondling it long enough to back away and let the photo shoot begin.

After some urging and a number of duck treats, Liz and I managed to get both dogs to lie down and stay in place -- though neither of them felt inclined to stay there for long. Dennis took a number of shots, and then I was asked to walk Badger outside while Liz stayed with Dinah. I didn't get to see how that worked out, but I'm hoping Mama's Girl wasn't too restless with both of us gone. The set designer came out and said, "We love your dogs, but..." -- so I'm not sure whether they sat still enough to provide good shots, or whether these wiggly shaggy dogs will be invited back.

Dennis then came outside and asked us to pose both dogs close together in the front yard and then the backyard. He tried several views with different lenses and light directions. One of the crew members walked back and forth behind him as I held Dinah and Badger. She squeaked a toy and talked to the dogs to get their attention.

Dennis shot several photos, changed lenses, and shot several more.  He indicated a set of stone steps on the side of the house and asked whether both dogs would sit up there. I replied that Dinah probably would. We set her up on the steps and shot several photos of her pretty face before she grew restless and descended the steps. We're still working on that sit-stay in obedience.

He asked us to wait a bit while he checked the photos indoors to see whether he had the shots he wanted. We waited in the front yard and watched a Sheltie and her owner walk past, plus a portly but adorable Nova Scotia Duck Toller who would be gracing a number of the shots. Liz came out, checked with Dennis to make sure he had what he needed, and then told me we were done for the day. We shook hands, thanked Robin for inviting us, and headed homeward.

Now, all we need to do is wait for the photos. I hope that Dennis was able to get shots that he can use, since it would be Cool As Anything to see the kids in the catalog, professionally photographed. In the meantime, I'll be cruising the FetchDog website, looking for a backseat cover for the Subaru.

It's possible that none of the shots we took will be used, but at least we can say we've had the experience -- and who knows? Maybe their next career move is just around the corner. The cover of Dogue, perhaps?

This Dog Climbed Mount Washington

That's Badger Blue in the photo, on the trail leading through the Alpine Garden on Mount Washington.

This adventure took place on Labor Day, when other folks are holding backyard barbecues, hitting the sales at all the stores, or leaning on their car horns while stuck in zillion-mile-long traffic on the southbound half of the Turnpike. (I would have voted for hitting the sales, myself. Our TV is showing signs of giving up, and I've been looking at bedroom furniture sets so I can get rid of that crappy old futon once and for all.) Greg had been talking about the two of us going for a hike -- and then we decided to take Badger along. Badge is Greg's hiking buddy on all of the short-haul hikes, so it only seemed right to enjoy the trek with him.

We had a great time. We drove up to the head of the Hutchinson Trail (I think) and hiked down from there into the Alpine Garden and across. This is what the Alpine Garden Trail looked like from up above...

...and from where we stopped in the Garden itself for a picnic and the view.

Badger was content to hang out...

The trip back was a little hairier than we'd intended, at least for a short distance. Climbing up is generally easier than coming down, which is why we began the climb from the top. We drifted a couple of yards to the left of the actual trail, though, and the "stairstep" rocks turned into a series of boulders and small moving rocks that Badger found hard to negotiate. I had to lead him over a few and lift him onto a few others, but conditions improved markedly for all of us when we realized our little mistake and moved back to the actual trail.

Badger was happy to see Greg's car again...

...and snoozed contentedly while we admired the views and took some more photos.

I often say that "the best kind of dog to have is a tired dog," but we were all pretty tired dogs by the time we reached home. Greg and Badge recovered quickly, but my out-of-shape quad muscles threatened to secede from the rest of my legs for the first couple of days that followed. Still, we managed to get to the mountain on one of the few perfect days we've had this summer. I guess I can always hit the sales later.

Just Got Lucky

Just can't get this song out of my head... I laughed like crazy when they used it in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," but I've loved this song since it first came out.

Anyway, it makes a good soundtrack for all of the good news that we've had here of late.

Music News

Greg's Sax Quartet finally came out on the CD Quartet at the Crossroads by the New Hudson Sax Quartet. Here is the link to the MP3 version on Amazon, where Greg's tracks are numbers 6-9. Sadly, iTunes has misspelled the title to read "Corssroads," so no one will ever be able to find it using title search; you'll have to search on New Hudson Sax Quartet to get anywhere.

I've been blogging about this piece, and this recording, for so long that I don't know which piece to announce next. Halling has been re-orchestrated for solo cello, and will be released on CRS at some point.

Greg himself has been busy planning a few live improv concerts for the fall. There will be another performance on Meetinghouse Road, and possibly other venues as well.

Canterbury Tales

The lovely and talented Miss Dinah Moe is now... Am/Can CH Breaksea November Storm HIC CGC RL1 RN!

We almost didn't enter the rally trial where she earned the title. You see, we love doing APDT Rally so much that I focused onto entering the APDT trial the same day at All Dogs Gym. When I hesitated just a little too long and the entries filled, I decided to override my own dictum about not entering any more outdoor trials until we had trained and proofed outdoors some more. The Lakes Region Kennel Club was holding an AKC obedience/rally trial in NH with a slate of some of the nicest judges I've ever trialed under. I've stewarded for one and showed Seamus to two others. What the heck, right? Even if the Princess decided to make me Talk to the Paw, at least I'd be among friends.

Greg had always wanted to see the Canterbury Shaker Village, so he helped set up the EZ-Up and then dropped us off for the day. A few of our friends fro POC fund us and hung out under or near the EZ-Up, so we had our own little cheering section.

Since Dinah and I were entered in Novice B, we were able to watch our friend Barbara qualify with one Aussie boy in Advanced and the other in Novice B. Charlene, one of our classmates in Staci's rally class, ran in Novice A with her English Cocker and qualified. Finally, it was our turn.

We knew the judge from the BCCC Specialty in 2008, when I stewarded for him through a very long obedience/rally trial. Dinah even got to be the honor dog for that rally trial. He gave us a huge grin and said, "Let's see what that Beardie can do now." The course was a nice, clean, fairly simple design without any traps or surprises, and we managed to get through all of the stationary exercises without my being given The Paw. We were even tied for second place, but finished a few seconds after the other second-place finisher -- so we took third with a 94.

The temperature turned from Sunny and Quite Warm to Just Plain Stinkin' Hot for the afternoon as the sun moved across the sky and the shadows shrank to zero. I considered moving our base of operations to the tree line on the other side of the field, but there were too many cars parked in the little remaining shade. We huddled together under the EZ-Up and toughed it out, and Dinah snoozed on her waterbed.

Barb's Novice dog had finished his RN the day before, so both boys ran in Advanced. Charlene and Delta qualified again in Novice A, and then we took our turn in Novice B. The afternoon course, while not as simple as the morning course, contained a couple of turns in unexpected places. I worried about them while studying the map, but walking the course and talking to myself out loud usually helps engrave the movements into what little muscle memory I can acquire in ten minutes. This is where looking like a lunatic during the walk-through helps during the run -- we took third again with a score of 97 to finish Dinah's Rally Novice title.

Could it really have been that easy, after all the agony we went through for one stinkin' leg at Vacationland? Apparently it was, for Dinah. Unlike the trials at the cluster, Dinah was attentive and happy, paying attention, and moving nicely on lead. LRKC presented us with a lovely New Title medallion, which Dinah modeled all the way back to the EZ-Up. Greg picked us up eventually, and we sang Dinah's praises all the way home.

The next day, with the forecast threatening even more dire heat, we moved up to Advanced A. I was grateful to run a little bit earlier in the day, with my car right there for a getaway before the sun reached its zenith. Would Dinah tell me to Talk to the Paw in our off-lead debut? Would I end up singing opera again, as I did with Famous Seamus?

The girl managed to surprise me again! She did a good enough job -- a little sniffing here, some curious looks at the offset Figure 8 there -- but she managed to hold it together enough for us to qualify with an 83. The course was definitely an order of magnitude more challenging than the ones from the day before, and we ended up finishing in second place.

Now, we have one leg of Rally Advanced and fairly high hopes. The next trials we've entered (one APDT, one AKC) are both indoors. Maybe, with luck and a little more training, we could make a little more progress.

Music, Travels, and a Busy Summer Indeed

Compared to last summer, we've just had a frenzy of activity here on the old homestead! Here's a condensed version of the latest news:

Sound the Trumpets -- er, Saxes!

Remember Greg's Sax Quartets CD, the recording that just never seemed to have any luck getting released? I'll link to the previous stories about this later, but this was the CD that just had everything going against it: one of the composers was displaced by Hurricane Katrina, the recording engineer first got sick and then was killed in a traffic accident, the label was sold to another company when the original label's owner retired... and on and on. For a while there, it looked as though this one would never get released. That would have been a sad thing, since one of Lukas Foss's last compositions (as far as I know) is one of the quartets on the recording. The New Hudsons (New Hudson Sax Quartet, that is) even set up at his home to do that recording session.

Quartet at the Crossroads will finally be released on August 31, after 4+ years in the making! Amazon has announced its availability for pre-order, and you can hear samples on the page devoted to the MP3 downloads. Greg's quartet spans Tracks 6-9.

Parma (the new record company) wastes no time, much to their credit. The tracks will probably show up on iTunes shortly.

Road Trips

The Man and I haven't taken a real road trip in years. He does get two weeks' vacation time from his job, but he rarely takes it. My primary traveling companion for all of my excursions is Dinah Moe, since almost all of my road trips involve dog shows or trials. I'll post the tale of our latest road trip to Canada to my Dog Show Newbie blog.

Because we attended so few dog events last year (largely due to our standard of living on unemployment), I've tried to make up for the lack of activity by getting out this year as often as I can. We're hoping for more good news in AKC Rally at the Lakes Region KC trials at the end of the month. In September, we'll do one day of Finish Forward's APDT trial, since we're doing CGC testing at Meet the Breeds on the other day of that weekend.

(Attention Locals: Meet the Breeds will take place on Sunday, September 19, at Tractor Supply in Scarborough. Come visit the lovely and talented Dinah Moe, Distraction Dog Extraordinaire, and members of a number of local all-breed, obedience, and rescue clubs from around our part of Maine.)

One road trip I will not be taking is the one to the National Specialty this year. I must apologize to the host club, but I'm just tired and I need a year off. My local club will be hosting the National next year, and I'll be wacky busy getting ready for that. I'm really of more use to the club by staying home and close to my broadband connection.

Yarns About Yarn and Other Adventures

As far as knitting goes, there's not that much to report. My lovely Crock-O-Dye socks (in color Grape, of course) are still in the cuff stage. Until very recently, it's just been so sticky out that the thought of holding wool in my hands just makes me sweat. I still haven't even tried on the Kureyon socks I finished ages ago. When the weather gets cooler, I'll be making up for the lack of knitting activity.

Not that there are many other adventures to report either. Pop on over to Shaggy Dog Stories to see what we've been up to there. Dinah has become an artists' model, and she doesn't even have to pose for long periods of time!

Epilogue and More Summer Plans

Dinah's certificates arrived from APDT this afternoon. I'll forgive the APDT office for giving Greg top billing on her certificate in spite of the fact that I'm the one who does the training, takes the classes, makes the entries, speed-dials the groomer, pays for the vet, and so on. He deserves a little bit of doggie limelight for driving the doggie taxi all over hell when I can't.

Anyway, we received quite a nice surprise in the envelope! We were expecting the RL1 certificate all right, but it turns out that Dinah also earned a Level 1 Award of Excellence (AOE-L1)! I had to go look this up. Apparently it's awarded when your first three scores in the A class are all above 190. Woohoo!

It will be several months yet before the trialing year is through and the national rankings are compiled, but this makes me happy. Our first Q in Level 2 will never make the world record for Highest Score Ever Recorded, but hey -- we did pretty well, considering we hadn't really even practiced Level 2 before going out there. Any double Q is a good double Q, but the very best ones are the ones that count toward the ARCH.

We're entered in the Lakes Region KC's AKC rally trials at the end of August. I swore we would never attempt another outdoor rally trial until we'd done enough proofing, but we just adore the judges and wanted the opportunity to trial under them. If we can do a not-too-shabby job on a rally course at an outdoor demo with some hundreds of people in the audience and some dozens of fellow POC members with better-trained dogs watching our performance, then we stand at least a chance to look good for judges we really like.

Of course, going to the LRKC trials means we had to give up on APDT rally at All Dogs Gym that same weekend. The choice was actually made for us when the trial filled up; I was still trying to decide what to do when the announcement came out that the waiting list was filling up. Ah, well. We snooze, we lose. Maybe in the other venue, we won't do either of those.

Rally-Roo and Other Stuff Too

Since we in the Freakin' Northland have to hibernate during the winter due to a dearth of events and crappy traveling weather, each weekend in the summer is always stacked twelve deep with events, activities, and other stuff. Of course, we want to take part in all of it. It's often hard to choose just one thing to do on a given day or weekend. Maybe it's just me, but it seems that this summer we've had more to choose from than ever, and every one a difficult choice.

The lovely and talented Dinah Moe earned her first leg in AKC Rally Novice, her APDT Level 1 (RL1) Rally title, and her first double Q (qualifying in Rally Levels 2 and 1 in the same trial)...

Photo by Jerry Bergen.

Charlie and Dinah attended the Fifth Annual BCCME Beardie Bounce and BBQ. For once, the weather was sunny (if baking hot) and Dinah didn't come into season...

Charlie on the half shell

Seamus and Charlie got their summer haircuts...

"Looking Good, my man!" (actually took this last fall)

...and Badger was immortalized by a talented painter friend of mine.

"Waiting" by Jeanne McNally, shamrockartworks.com. Copyright Shamrock Artworks.

Dinah Moe finally finished her Canadian CH, which you can read about on my Dog Show Newbie blog if you're interested...

That's Penny Cary handling The Lovely One. Photo by Walt Norris Photography.

...and we've signed up for even more events for the remainder of the summer. I'm hoping to enter a few more AKC and APDT Rally trials, and we're entered in the BCCC National Specialty next week. Wish us luck!

Greg, Dinah, and I attended the annual POC Demo at York Days...

Look, Mom! We're almost there! Photo by Greg Hall.

...and we're looking forward to getting back to Rally classes with Staci in the fall. Until then, I'm hoping we get even one summer day when we can laze around!

Public Service Announcement: Herding Clinic

Badger loves working the sheep! Won't you join him?

SEPTEMBER 11&12, 2010 


Two Shadows Farm
16 Skivira Lane
New Braintree, MA
Site of the 2011 BCCA National Specialty Herding Trials 

Do you have a Beardie and think you might be interested in herding? Join us at Two Shadows Farm in central Mass for two days of exposure to working sheep

Our instructor is Sandy Weiss of Sellersville, PA. Sandy has been training Beardies to herd successfully for many years. Her Winston was the first Beardie to earn an AKC Advanced title. Sandy’s Chip was the first Beardie to complete an AKC Herding Championship and the BCCA Masters In Versatility. Sandy has also completed an HC on Chip’s son, Bond, and recently earned an Advanced sheep title and a Started cattle title on her English import, Marty. 

Saturday you will be introduced to herding vocabulary, learn first hand what your Beardie faces working livestock through handler exercises, and see demonstrations by herding titled dogs. Sandy will help new handlers show their Beardies the ABCs of beginning herding. All dogs will be worked at least twice. Sandy will also help more experienced teams with problem areas. Sunday your Beardie will have a chance to earn an HIC in a BCCA (and possibly AKC) sanctioned instinct test.

The cost for a working slot on Saturday will be $110; auditors (no dog; but will be allowed to participate in handler exercises), $45. Continental breakfast and lunch are included in the fee. There will be an additional fee of $40.00 for the Sunday instinct test. There are a number of pet-friendly hotels in Sturbridge, MA for those wishing to stay overnight.

For further information, contact:Joanne Williamson
balgrae@ix.netcom.com
978-263-9485

Harmonious Dissonance, Time, and Other Concepts

Happy Fourth of July weekend, Happy Canada Day, and Happy everything else that has to do with sunshine, the beach, and grilling stuff. Charlie and Seamus are doing the Happy Dance...




We've had some reasons to celebrate lately. Greg's name is up in lights again, so to speak. Remember my post about "The Ugly Quintet"? Well, 5 Variations on Ongiara finally was released in two tracks on the recording "Harmonious Dissonance" on the Navona label. It's available on iTunes, Amazon, and Naxos Direct as a CD or as the individual MP3 tracks. The cover art is pretty nice, too:

Now we're just waiting for the Sax Quartets to be released, probably also on Navona.

As for me, I'm just so happy to have a week off (albeit unpaid) that I'd be cheerful even if the weather weren't gorgeous, and if I hadn't just celebrated the end of my 3 years on the Board of the national club. I did enjoy being Corresponding Secretary -- at least most of the time. I'm just happy to have shed one more volunteer job. I expect to be working half-time for a while at my next assignment, and if I need to find additional work to add to the household bottom line, I won't have space in the budget for more unpaid work. I'm also delighted beyond description to be shipping off piles of boxes containing club newsletters, rosters, brochures, forms, and so on -- and gaining back half the square footage of my office in the process.

Living with the Gang of Four has redefined luxury for me. Back in the days with a houseful of old dogs, I sometimes got to sleep in until nearly noon on weekends. Nowadays, with roosters for neighbors and the Chowhounds of the Baskervilles whining for breakfast by sunrise, it's a good day when I can sleep until 8:30. Today the height of decadence was achieved when I slept till (gasp!) 9 AM.

Sunday is the twins' birthday, which means that we run errands such as beer-buying tomorrow, and then the Long Friggin' Pilgrimage down and back on Sunday -- but I don't have to work on Monday or Tuesday. Every weekend -- long or short -- starts with the best of intentions and a to-do list long enough to reach halfway across the Atlantic. We'll see how many of those list items manage to get done -- but it's just plain nice to have time.

Virtual Virtuoso and Other Stories

It's hard for me to describe the musical path Greg has been taking lately without ranging off into some musical technical terms so arcane that I don't even understand what I'm saying. Maybe the simple version is this: he's doing some exploration into pushing tonal harmony to its limits, and he's been doing much of that work through improvisation on the piano. He does record all of these works to MIDI, and I have no doubt that something of them will resurface when he gets back to good old-fashioned composition again. In the meantime, the best place to hear him do his thing is in Second Life. He plays 3-4 hour-long gigs in a given week, and he even has a booking agent who finds him concert venues and makes sure he gets paid. (Yes, the agent gets a percentage. Second Life is a reflection of real life, after all.)

I've created a tab on his Web site for Musical Improvisation, but it's up to him when he fills that page, and what he puts there. If I find out that he's uploaded something, I'll announce it in the blog.

Caffeine Makes It All Possible

On Monday, I'm taking off to New Brunswick (Canada, not New Jersey) with Dinah for a cluster of dog shows. We'll be joining our friends Val and Pat up there with Trav and Fiona -- and there should be plenty of fodder for my other blog.

As soon as I get back, I'll barely have enough time to switch out dirty clothes for clean and Dinah for Badger before it's time to jump back in the car and drive in the opposite direction to make Badger's AKC debut in Springfield. Just thinking about that schedule makes me tired already!

Soggy Doggy Fun

Yesterday, Greg and I loaded Charlie and Dinah into the Subaru and drove to Belfast for their annual Celtic Festival. Our friends Bill and Cathy live there with their Beardie and Bouvier, and I had never seen the new place -- plus the Festival offered a showcase for Celtic dog breeds. Why not?

We encountered typical weather for this summer -- gray, alternating between rain and mere drizzle -- and ended up looking mighty bedraggled by the time we made it to the exhibition tent to give our little spiel. Charlie had a fine old time flirting with the Lassies...



When it came time for the Beardies to give their spiel, we stepped up on stage and delivered the usual stuff. I was particularly tickled that people asked questions about the AKC Canine Good Citizen program when I mentioned that Dinah was my demo dog. Of course, we fielded the usual questions about how much they shed, how much they eat, and so on. (My sister has threatened for years to make me a T-shirt with all of the standard answers to the standard questions. "Yes, we know they don't look like Lassie...")

After we finished our portion of the program, we browsed the other vendors and picked up some absolutely wonderful pulled-pork sandwiches from the BBQ vendor (whose stand kept wafting glorious scents in our direction as we waited our turn in the Celtic dog breeds demo). Greg tried the cornbread and pronounced that wonderful. We had a delightful old time, sharing beer, BBQ, and Beardies and Bouviers with a couple of my old friends. I'd never seen their Belfast house, though I'd been to visit them when they lived in Owl's Head.

After lunch, Greg and I decided to explore the rest of downtown. I LIKE Belfast. It still retains a little of its old "real Maine" funkiness along with all the boutiques and galleries. It definitely reminds me of how Portsmouth and Newburyport looked before Starbucks and The Gap came to town.

I sacrificed a week's worth of Weight Watchers points for a frozen yogurt in a homemade waffle cone (still warm!). Greg asked the nice woman at the counter about gelato. "Oh, we've run out," she said, "but we've just started making more in the back." They make their ice cream and gelato as well as the cones! I want to move into that shop.

(Oh, and I did find the yarn shop downtown. Great place -- small, but amazingly well-stocked, and with enough room for three regulars to hang out together and knit. They even stock local yarns!)

This Week in Web Stuff

I'm feeling a little bit better in general about my post-employment life as a freelancer these days. I'm still not earning squat, but I do have to keep an eye on what squat I do earn. Unemployment has an upper limit on the amount of money one can earn while still collecting.

The client whom I thought hated her site actually liked it a lot, but wanted to meet in person to trade thumb drives of photos and other stuff. She asked me to create another page and move some stuff, and she's actually delighted with it. I won't hear from her for a little while -- her "high season" started last Friday, and she's going to be out straight for a while.

With Greg's help, I also managed to get the site that wasn't working to run the way I wanted it to. Now that it's actually useful and usable, I've been making behind-the-scenes tweaks and additions to get the other stuff I promised online. This makes me happy.

I'm ready to start another site for a friend of mine, but she's been a bear and a half to track down. I've called, I've emailed, and I would send snail mail if I had her address. At least she doesn't appear to be in a rush to get the work done. I'll just move on to some site updates for another client and a mini-site for some friends-of-friends who really just want something simple.

I really love the work. I just wish I could make enough to live on -- I would walk away from technical writing forever if I could. In the meantime, I'm still seeking out and applying for the few jobs that are available, all of which are located in some other city where management really only wants people on-site, and less-expensive ones at that. One recruiter keeps sending me announcements of every job in Maine that he can find. He means well, but I don't think he's read my resume. Otherwise, he might think twice before sending me announcements of jobs for QA engineers in Augusta. The entire state of Maine is right next door, right?

Your Call Is Important To Us

This too shall pass, but today I think I've reached my volunteering limit. The problem with being at home, having a computer which you haven't broken yet, and belonging to any organization is that people constantly badger you for free, immediate technical support. I am currently ignoring two phone calls and an email demanding my immediate attention. It wouldn't even be so bad if I could just fix the damn problem and get off the phone, but I'm just not ready to invest a couple of hours in listening to someone else's life story AND trying to sort out their computer issues -- particularly when people aren't really interested in learning how to do things for themselves, so the phone will definitely be ringing again shortly thereafter. Sometimes I think that people should have to pass a test before buying a computer.

On top of which, I just plain got annoyed at a couple of emails I received this morning. One demanded that I sign up for yet another work detail for our National Specialty (to which I really wanted to reply, "I've been working on this show all year, too. Pick on someone who hasn't done dick yet."). Another email remarked that no matter what our financial circumstances, we ought to attend at least one of our desperately-overpriced banquets to show our support. The only way I will be able to get to the show in the first place to work all week and attend numerous lengthy and dead-boring meetings is to carpool with other people and minimize my expenses. Comp my effin ticket and I'll think about going. Otherwise, no. Ask someone else to volunteer for a change.

Bounce!

Every year, we look forward to the BCCME Beardie Bounce & BBQ at my friend Val's house. We set the Beardies free to romp in their big fenced yard with a couple of dozen of their friends, grill up some burgers, smooch some puppies, and see friends we haven't seen in ages. When the weather is good, it's very, very good. When the weather is bad, we try to muddle through.

Last year, we not only had to contend with rain showers, but a tornado (or a facsimile of a tornado) had visited the neighborhood only a few days before, ripping up trees, wrecking fences, and smashing a hole in Val's roof. Through the herculean efforts of Val and Pat, several family members, and some hired guns, they managed to get the yard ready for a Beardie invasion... but we still couldn't fix the weather. I've decided that I just don't enjoy holding a meeting with rain running down my back.

This year, Mother Nature did us a solid by giving us a lovely sunny day — maybe one of the two or three we've had in this region since the solstice. Apart from the fact that the winds kicked up and actually bent the legs on one of the EZ-Ups (it was tied to a tarp that tried to set sail for Portugal), our weather was perfect. It wasn't too hot, it wasn't too cold, and it wasn't too wet.

We had so much junk to bring that we barely had room for Charlie (Dinah was in the crate). He had to endure a ride sandwiched between coolers and plastic storage bins, but he refused to stay behind. I only wish we'd been able to bring all four pups, but Seamus and Badge would have had to have ridden on the roof rack or in the glove box. Every cubic inch of the Subaru was already stuffed full.

In spite of the uncomfortable ride, Charlie had a fine time.



So did Greg and Dinah Moe.



The canine guests ranged in age from 15-year-old Raleigh (who proudly sported a tam o'shanter in the Royal Stewart tartan) to 9-week-old Archie (whose paws rarely touched the ground because everyone wanted to pick him up and smooch him). Sadly for Charlie, we had no kiddie pool this year — the old one sprang a leak.

Charlie and Tucker Ashworth did set up a browns-only clubhouse in the absence of a pool...



One tradition we've continued through the first three Bounce & BBQs (this is our fourth) and all other BCCME events is the offer of free lobsters for all Beardies. A few years ago, I managed to score some of the last boxes of the old PetEdge "Daily Catch" lobster toys. Little Denbigh Marshall, who was born in Ohio and who recently moved to New England, was quick to embrace our Mainiac traditions...



The club's chefs did themselves proud by covering a groaning board with multiple fabulous hors d'oeuvres, munchies, salads, and desserts. Oh, the desserts! I probably blew my Weight Watchers points allotment completely by indulging in a single delicious homemade strawberry cupcake, but it was sooooo worth it.

Eventually, we sent home a couple of dozen tired Beardies with their people, packed up the leftovers, and declared another successful Bounce. We're fairly sure that a good time was had by all...

A Dozen Years of Chuckles

Charlie (WayToMe Midsummer Knight, HIC) is 12 years old today. It hardly seems possible that my little brown fuzzball could be a canine senior citizen. It wasn't that long ago that he was jumping four feet straight up to pull the babies off my spider plant and hanging on to Doogie's ears for free rides from room to room.



His name was Charlie long before he was even a twinkle in his sire Jamie's eye. Since Beardies are Scots dogs, I was possessed of the deeply non-original idea of naming my next puppy after Bonnie Prince Charlie. Little did I know that I'd end up with Good Time Charlie instead.

Charlie might actually be my first "slacker Beardie." Maybe that's due to the experience of having shared a household with Duncan, the Border Collie in a Beardie suit, the canine A student. Maybe it's because he's brown. (In the ancient Beardie lore, the brown Beardies are the troublemakers, the dirt-rollers, the silly ones, the ones who don't play by the rules. It's part myth, part self-fulfilling prophecy, and part spot-on description.) Anyhow, Charlie was always destined to go his own way.

I tried every activity in dogdom with Charlie, looking to find something he and I could enjoy. He enjoyed puppy-K and basic obedience classes, but more for the social aspect than for any genuine educational value. Sure, he did what he was asked and looked really cute in his POC mortarboard, but he made it clear that obedience just wasn't his thing. At the Canine Good Citizen test, he jumped on the examiners -- but passed all of the other, harder tests. He didn't want to be seen as an overachiever.

Herding was my first love as a dog sport, and Duncan lived for it. I started taking Charlie along to herding lessons. He half-heartedly moved the sheep around a little and then went off to splash around in the stock tank. Although he did earn an HIC (Herding Instinct Certificate) from the BCCA, he never really thought much of sheep. The stock he was given to work in his instinct test had been ripped on all day by at least a dozen Malinois, and it was the hottest day of the year. No way were they moving for anybody, least of all a Beardie puppy. The passing score was more or less a gift. (Not that Charlie can't herd. He's tried it since as an adult, and is good enough at it. He could just take it or leave it.)

We tried agility for a while, too. He would run the course perfectly and end up at the door. "All right, I've done this. Let's get out of here." He did enjoy flirting with the pretty Rough Collie babes, so at least agility class had a few perks. At agility trials, he'd run the course, head straight for the kiddie pool, and start splashing.

Next, we tried tracking. Charlie actually did a brilliant job and found all of the objects on his trail. He also found the swamp closest to the tracking field, plunged in, and emerged grinning, looking like The Creature from the Black Lagoon's dog. People recoiled at the sight of him.

Charlie loved many activities in his youth, however -- and he still does. He's always enjoyed hiking, and is far more obedient off-leash than he has ever been on-leash. Most of his favorite activities involve dirt, water, or a combination of both. At Beardie Bounces, the hosts always filled the pool for Charlie. He'd spend the day in it, and would invite other Beardies (preferably clean, well-trained ones) to share it. No matter the season, he'd never pass up a chance to jump into the waves on the beach and lie down to let the surf roll over his back. To this day, he's never so happy as when he's running on the sand and splashing in the surf.



He also possesses a great fondness for rolling in stinky stuff, a habit he learned from his dad Jamie. Be it big or be it small, he would never pass up a chance to roll onto -- or in -- something smelly. He'd try to roll on dead earthworms in the driveway. He'd roll in deer and fox poo on the trail. His ultimate score was the very, very dead seagull he once found on the beach. If I could have, I'd have driven the car home with my head out the window.

These days, Chuckles presides over the household as elder statesman. From the age of about 9 months, he held the post of alpha dog of the pack. Although it appears that Badger might want to take over the day-to-day operation of running the dog pack, Charlie still surveys his domain like the king he is -- even if he is King of the Slackers.

Happy Birthday, Cheeseball, and here's hoping for many more!

If It Weren't For Twitter, I'd Have No Blog at All

It seems like forever since I've taken the time to update this blog. Sorry for the long silence! If it weren't for the Twitter stream on the right side of the page, there would have been no signs of life here. Because spring is here and the show season won't be too far behind, I started by updating my other blog.

In my own defense, I did have some sort of flu for the past week or so, and was too busy coughing to blog about it. Greg had it first, and the two of us are still coughing some. Aside from getting tired easily, we're both over it at this point.

We did get some spring cleaning done, so to speak. Dinah went to the groomer's...



And so did Badger. Doesn't he clean up nicely?



Then Seamus and Charlie got all spiffed up...



Brief Man Update

The Man's Sax Quartet has reached the final stage of editing, and will be released shortly. We heard it last night, and it never fails to amaze me how much depth and color a piece gains when you hear it played by real instruments for the first time -- even if you know every note of the MIDI version by heart.

Likewise, we're still waiting on the release of the Water Suite and the String Quintet, but those should happen Any Day Now.

Greg isn't actually composing anything at the moment, but he's been buried deep in his study of harmony. He has also been taking on more piano students, plus one adult organ student. He's pleased to discover that he actually enjoys teaching children, and he has a small herd of kids to teach now.

And In Yarn News...

One of the red Happy Feet socks is now complete. Once I've finished the pair, they'll go to Jody (who loves red) -- just in time for flip-flop weather (timing was never my strong suit). Happy Feet is such a pleasure to knit with, and it creates a terrific fabric. I might have to knit a pair in every color!

Not content to cast on just one, I'm also working on a pair of blue, black, and white socks for my friend Lynne, who put me up on my trip south to pick up Badger. I had some Sock It To Me yarn that was looking for an excuse to get made into something, and so I'm working on cuffs as my current "idiot knitting" project.

As far as non-idiot knitting goes... I'm still taking my Wednesday morning knitting class. This time I've tackled a more complicated (but still simple) lace project, and have finally mastered it. Lace knitting requires decent light and concentration, so it's highly doubtful that I'll ever be able to do any here at home. When I do take the time to count everything correctly, though, it's fun to see the pattern emerging.

Other Stuff

Job hunt: Don't ask. I'm still trapped in a horrible inertia as far as updating my resume goes. Now that the severance has come in and I've been well and truly set adrift from Sun, I have to get working on it. Maybe I'm just having trouble working up the enthusiasm; I don't know.

Travels with Badger Blue

Meet Badger (Breaksea Revolution)! He's handsome and sweet, he's 6 years old, and he fits into our pack as though he's always been here. He also has a fine appreciation of music, including that old Irving Berlin tune "Blue Guy's smiling at me...".

When I met up with Badge down in Virginia a couple of weeks ago, I didn't know whether I could ever help fix this poor dog. His owner had died at the end of January. He seemed sad and lost, as though his heart had been broken and he didn't belong anywhere any more. The light appeared to have gone out of him. He started to perk up a bit after a night's sleepover with my dad and sister in Massachusetts, but he refused to eat or pee, and he still seemed timid.

However, when we walked into the house here and he was introduced to the three resident Beardies, he turned and gave me the biggest, toothiest grin I've ever received from one of these shaggy buggers. He knew he was home. He simply fit into the pack and was accepted instantly -- no doggie-fraternity hazing, no discussions on pack hierarchy... none of that. Dinah loved him instantly because she never met a man she didn't like, but even the boys were romping around the dog yard with him within minutes.

I didn't fix this poor dog's broken heart -- my other dogs did. All he wanted was a pack to call his own. Now he's the Mayor of Everything, Mr. Hail-Fellow-Well-Met. Everyone loves him -- people, puppies, even a few cats here and there. I thought I would have to hard-sell Greg on the concept of a fourth dog, but Greg is as smitten with him as the rest of us are. Badger will be Greg's new running buddy.

Of course, only I could leave Maine for the South and get snowed on down there. Mother Nature laughs at me; we were visited with 10-18 inches of the horrendous white crap that i thought I'd left at home! I ended up staying an extra day in Virginia before the roads were cleared, but we made it home eventually.

Even though I could have made it to Richmond in one 11-hour stretch, it sure was nice to be able to break up the traveling into pieces and to see friends all along the way. This might be as close as I get to a vacation this year, so I'm glad I was able to mix in a little fun between rest stops.

Missions of Mercy

I would enjoy this not-working thing if only it paid better. Actually, I'm not un-employed, but under-employed -- I'm working part-time as a Web monkey for an office services company and taking on a bunch of fun Web site work. A month into my kiss-off from Sun, and I've been so busy that I haven't had the time to apply much serious effort toward looking for a full-time job. I've attended a couple of webinars (the person who invented that term ought to be slapped with a dictionary), talked with my outplacement counselor, and done some networking. My resume is still rusty and covered with cobwebs, though. That's the next task. I've just been too busy working to look for work.

This is one of those times when having a wide network of friends and acquaintances, many of whom have experienced the same situation at one time or another, will save one's sanity. I've been in touch with several friends who have experienced the same thing. They've supplied me with help, advice, leads to writing gigs, links to useful articles, and so on. One friend got me my current part-time job as a Web monkey for a virtual-office company. Dale has been more than helpful and generous, funneling a number of Web projects my way. Sue recommended that I talk to her neighbor about a site, and a whole new friendship is evolving thanks to her. If it weren't for the people I know, I probably would still be cowering under the blankets. Thanks, everybody, from the bottom of my heart.

Got Nothing But Time -- Oh, Don't Have That, Either

Spinoza knew what he was talking about when he coined the famous phrase "Nature abhors a vacuum" -- and he wasn't talking about our crappy old Electrolux, either. The very second I lost my job, dozens of tasks rushed in to fill the space where work used to be. How did I ever work 8+ hours a day and take care of all of the things that needed taking care of? Oh, yeah, that's right. I juggled. I juggled then as I do now, only twice as much and twice as crazily.

A couple of weeks ago, Dale and I were having a breakfast meeting at her favorite local hangout (the cafe at the local airport). That place serves up a pretty mean breakfast for not too much money, plus you get to watch planes come and go. Can't hate that! Anyway, while we were sitting there, I received a message on my Blackberry from Dinah's breeder in the UK saying that a mutual friend of ours had died in January. He owned a Breaksea dog (Dinah's uncle Badger), and did I know anyone who could help with the dog?

A few texts, some emails, and a bunch of phone calls later, and all was set: I would go to Virginia to pick up Badger and bring him here. I knew Badger back when he was living in the Old Country, and he became one of my best buddies when I went over to bring Dinah home. If I didn't have Dinah's dad Danny on my lap, I had her uncle Badger (Danny's half-brother).

Sure, Badger could have found a home in the area. The National Capital Bearded Collie Club has a crack network of rescue volunteers, and a number of people offered homes when they heard that our friend had died. I admit to being selfish about this one, though: I love Badger and didn't want him to go anyplace else. Greg will probably take us all to the animal shelter when he realizes that Badger isn't just here temporarily (if I can help it), but he's actually been fine with the idea thus far.

Since I'm technically out of work, I have the opportunity to make a mini-vacation out of the trip. I could just drive the 11-12 hours straight, pick Badger up, and beat it home, but why rush? I can visit people along the way -- stop in to see my dad in Massachusetts and give my sister some time off, crash overnight near Baltimore with a Beardie friend and go to a huge local craft fair, visit another friend's new house in the DC suburbs, and enjoy my time in Richmond seeing old friends. If Mother Nature cooperates, it could be a fine little excursion. Badger's a good traveler and gets along well with everybody -- we could celebrate our first road trip together.

That's the thing about being laid off -- the first instinct is to berate oneself for not getting a new job right away, coupled with the fear of what happens if you don't find one before the severance package runs out. It takes some time before you can look past that fear to the opportunities beyond. Having time is a vastly underrated opportunity. I can't say as I've used it all wisely in this first month, but at least I understand that my time is now mine to make use of, or to squander, as I decide.

More On the Time Thing

Although I haven't realized my dream of going straight back to art school as soon as I became newly unemployed, I did sign up for a daytime knitting class with a friend of mine. It's nice to be able to get out of the house and concentrate on nothing but knitting for a couple of hours. The instructor is a mutual friend of ours who once worked at our late lamented local yarn shop, and who has been teaching multiple knitting and crochet classes for the local adult education department since then.

I've taken the opportunity to learn lace knitting. Sure, I can do yarnovers with the best of them, but I've been averse to taking on projects that involve much counting just because I am constantly interrupted here. Any time I have to set down my work mid-row to answer the phone/answer Greg/let the dogs out/go to the door/change channels on the TV, I'm lost. This explains why I've had a simple basketweave throw sitting in a bag in the Frog Pond since the 2004 World Series -- being able to concentrate on anything here for more and a minute at a time is impossible. If I were smart, I'd just frog the poor thing and take it with me to class.

Anyway, the prospect of doing some dedicated lace knitting is exciting. I'll be making something tiny like a bookmark, but no matter. The important thing is that I get to devote two hours to nothing but lace knitting.

Bittersweet Man News

Greg says that he's almost finished with the editing of the recordings for the Sax Quartets CD. He took on the editing tasks for his piece and that of his former professor at BU, Lukas Foss. This past week, we got word that Lukas had died on February 1. We had known he'd been in declining health for a while, and the New Hudson Sax Quartet had to record his piece at Lukas's apartment in New York because he wasn't able to go to them. Still, it's sad news. I never met Lukas, though I answered the phone a couple of times when he called looking for Greg. Sad to think that Lukas won't be around when this CD comes out.

The same label that is issuing the Sax Quartets recording is also recording and releasing Greg's String Quintet. You might remember this piece from my post about "The Ugly Quintet." Anyway, in its new and beautiful form as a piece for strings, the Quintet will be recorded in the Czech Republic sometime soon (if it hasn't already), and will be released at some point. I have no idea whether the piece will be included in another collection, released on its own, or whether it will be part of an all-Greg CD. The label has a whole spiderweb of distribution agreements with Naxos Records, iTunes, and a gazillion other musical outlets. I've been promising that all these CDs in the works will be released Any Time Now, so I'm not going to make any more announcements until I have a copy in one hand and am typing into this blog with the other.

That's Snow Biz...

Geez! No sooner do we get done with that gawdforsaken ice storm than two successive snowstorms roar into town within the space of three days. Usually I can wait until February to say this, but enough is already enough!

The dogs don't exactly see it the same way. They love the snow. Seamus will sit out on the deck during a snowstorm and let himself be covered with the stuff until he almost looks like Frosty the Snowdog. Charlie likes to lie down in a snowdrift to survey his domain. Dinah can't decide what she likes better -- eating the snow or bouncing around in it -- but she insists that both boys join her outside when she wants to go, and she won't take no for an answer.

Seamus walks the circuit inside the dog yard...



Dinah challenges Seamus to a game of tag...



...and Charlie declined to be a part of the proceedings this time. We'll catch him in the next snowdrift.

The Princess

...enjoying a beautiful fall day.