Tagged!! The Saga of the Everlasting Doughnut

First I have to explain the background to this tale. There is, or was, a box of doughnuts that has been passed around among the members of Georgia Team Pharaoh for more than a year now. It started when someone tucked what was left of the morning’s munchies in Brianna’s car after some event. Her passion for doughnuts is well known!!. Apparently, they stayed in her car for quite a while, and still looked ready to eat. They were so hard, you’d break a tooth on them, but there was not one speck of mold to be found. They were perfectly preserved. Kind of a scary thought if you’d actually eaten any of the original doughnuts. What did they put in them to preserve them for so long?

That box of stale doughnuts became sort of a boobie prize to be secretly or creatively pawned off on an unsuspecting victim – sort of like a hot potato. They even made an appearance at the Pharaoh Hound Nationals back in October and were presented to Brianna as an award for being the Raw Food Educator of the Year. I’m sure I don’t have the back story exactly right. I know my Pharaoh phriends sometimes read this blog so please feel free to comment and set the story straight.

Anyway, I guess I need to explain why I'm telling this pastry adventure story here. I got to the coursing field Saturday ready to set up camp and was presented with a very nicely wrapped present from my friend Bekki. I should have suspected something when she made me open the package then and there. I’m sure you can guess what it contained. Yep, the original donuts have now finally gone to the great dustbin in the sky, but have been lovingly and creatively replaced with the toy pictured here.

Now I’ve got the doughnut and I’m already plotting it’s next adventure. You guys watch your backs!!

Christmas Wish Fulfilled....

Or, be careful what you wish for….

I haven’t posted in awhile as the holiday rush washed over me like a tsunami. As a result, I have lots to report, but will start with Christmas Day and its aftermath.

As a kid, I always wanted to sleep by the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. For obvious reasons, my parents never allowed me to do so. Gee, I wonder why? Even as an adult, I really like to turn all the lights off in the house, plug in the tree, lay on the floor, and just watch the tree. It’s as good as a campfire, and better than TV. Why you ask, am I giving you all of this unsolicited information? Wait a minute, you’ll see.

On Christmas Day, the whole crew, by that I mean my mother, my sister, her husband, and her four kids, all came to my house for dinner. No big deal there, I cooked some, my sister cooked some, and my mom made her famous cheesecake. Just as an aside, her cheesecake is to die for. I had ten hungry people in my house on Christmas looking for food, drink, and Christmas cheer. The kids were also looking for presents! Just before my sister’s crew arrived, I opened the fridge door and the butter dish fell out and hit me on the foot. After muttering some expletives not in keeping with the spirit of the day, I looked around for the stick of butter that should have been on the dish. No stick of butter was to be found, so I assumed that someone had put the empty dish back in the fridge so they didn’t have to wash it. If you have kids in your house, you can understand how that might happen.

After everyone arrived, Rosie managed to find the butter that had escaped the refrigerator. Unfortunately, I only realized her discovery as it slid down her throat. I briefly considered pouring hydrogen peroxide down her gullet to bring the butter back up, but decided that such a cure was probably worse than the problem, especially since we had a house full of folks who wouldn’t appreciate my dog running around the house foaming at the mouth. I figured I was in for a long night as the butter worked its way through her system.

Yes, she had diarrhea, pretty much all night just as I expected. The fun part however, occurred at about three in the morning, After just coming back inside following about the sixth or seventh trip out to the potty, she jumped up on my bed and puked – all over my pillow and about every other sheet and blanket on the bed. Then she jumped down and continued the barf-a-rama in various locations around the bedroom. My poor girl was about a sick as I’ve ever seen her. The good news was it seemed that other than a couple more trips outside, the butter was pretty much out of her system. The bad news was that even if I could have managed to get the carpet cleaned in the middle of the night, the bed was gross, right down to the mattress.

Rob and I looked at each other, laughed pretty hard (it was either that or cry) and went downstairs and slept in the family room on an air mattress right next to the Christmas tree. Be careful what you wish for; your wish might just come true!!

P.S. I’m doing my part to stimulate the economy by purchasing new pillows for my bed. The sheets wash, down pillows, not so much.

Wishing You A....

Merry Christmas!!

It really is A Wonderful Life!!!

May you and your family have a
safe and happy holiday...

Weekend in Review

First of all, I learned that one of my loved ones has an addiction. It’s serious and I think he needs real help. I’ve never dealt with substance abuse before and had hoped I’d never have to go down this path.

Now some of this problem is my fault. I brought the offending substance into the house and I encouraged some moderate use. What I didn’t know was that the problem would get so out of hand.

Nick is really and truly addicted to marshmallows and I think Wheeler is his enabler. You see, Wheeler likes munching on mushies too, and has been making regular trips to the pantry to sneak a sweet treat. Apparently, he’s also been sharing with Nick. For the record, Rosie still thinks they’re disgusting and is holding out for liver treats. She takes the mushie in her mouth, I guess because Nick seems so excited about them, but she spits it out every time.

The irritating part about it is that now, every time anyone opens the panty door, Nick rushes over and starts bouncing around. Not exactly behavior I want to encourage. Wheeler on the other hand is unrepentant and continues to share.

In other news, we finally got our Christmas tree decorated. I know, I know, we’re very late on the draw this year. We’ll leave it up though until the 12^th day of Christmas though. I must admit, now that it’s done, I’m glad. This is Nick’s first Christmas, and I can see the wheels turning. He’s filed this one under “people really are crazy.” He’s wants to know why, if we go to the trouble to bring a big bush in the house, he can’t use it as a potty, especially since it’s so cold outside. Rosie, on the other hand, is probably encouraging him to water the tree figuring that any misbehavior on his part will make her look more like an angel.

Procrastination - Wordle

I have tons to do – it’s that time of year when I have to make a list and check it twice just to be sure I remember to do everything I’ve promised. Tonight, I’m supposed to be wrapping presents. So what am I doing? I’m creating a wordle and posting it here. Kinda crazy, huh?

You can procrastinate and make your own at www.wordle.net. Try it if you haven't already, its fun!

Edited because I posted the wrong image.

It was a Mommy Kind of Weekend

I spent this weekend doing mom stuff. Wheeler had a wrestling tournament that lasted all day Saturday. His school was hosting so, of course, we had volunteer duties. I agreed to a three hour shift at the door. We charge a small admission, just enough to cover the costs of putting on the tournament. What amazed me were the excuses I heard from people trying to get out of paying to get in. “I just want to come watch my kid wrestle. Do I have to Pay?” Well duh, I don’t think there are tons of attendees that aren’t here to watch someone. “I only have a $100 bill, can you break it?” Lady, this is a high school wrestling meet, no, I don’t have ton of change. I started the day with $50 in ones. Eventually, I’ll have change, but not first thing in the morning. Now bear in mind that most of the people complaining were carrying cups of coffee that cost more than our paltry admission fee. They didn’t seem to have a problem with paying for that.

Door duty also makes you the complaint department. One lady harangued me because the sign pointing the way to the tournament was not big enough. There was a sign on the door that said “Wrestling” as well a much larger sign indicating the gym building. Call me crazy, but even if I missed the small sign on the door, I’d probably look in the gym before say, one of the classroom buildings. The school’s not that big anyway. Even without any signs, close your eyes and listen for the sounds of ref whistles.

Truly, those whiners were the minority. I really love door duty because I get to meet and talk to lots of folks.

All in all, it was a good day. Wheeler wrestled well and no one got hurt. Sorry, no pics though. He made me promise not to post one as he says he looks like a dork in a singlet. News flash Wheels, so does everybody else - but they are better than the Speedos the swimmers have to wear.

Comfort Food

Everyone has different favorite foods remembered from childhood. You know, that consumable that always makes everything, no matter how upsetting, seem better. For me, I remember afternoons with my grandmother who believed, and rightly so, that what she called a Black Cow could fix just about anything from hurt feelings to a skinned knee. They’re simple and easy to make with very few ingredients, and very, very tasty. It takes only about 2 minutes to pour a Coke over a scoop of vanilla ice cream, stir in a tad of vanilla extract, and top with a cherry…mmmm!!!

Not everyone has the same childhood associations and some may not even like my grandmother’s Black Cow whether they’re in a funk or not. In fact, my fizzy favorite may sound downright disgusting to you. The funny thing is, apparently my two canine pals, both adopted as adults, have a difference of opinion when it comes to one of Nick’s favorites. Reading Patti’s blog reminded that greyhounds are often given marshmallows by their trainers at the track as treats. They’re cheap and the dogs find them to be yummy – well usually. I used to buy them for Speedy and Sugar, but have fallen out of the habit in recent years. The other day, I walked past a shelf full of marshmallows in the grocery store and tossed a bag in my basket, thinking that the pups would love them.

When I got home, I pulled out the bag of white, fluffy goodness expecting both dogs to love them. Nick recognized the bag before I even got it opened and began bouncing around excitedly as soon as he saw it. Now Rosie is no dummy; even though she's not a greyhound and had most likely never seen a marshmallow, she could tell Nick was expecting something tasty, so she also began a happy dance. Nick happily gobbled up his prize. Rosie also seem thrilled to get the marshmallow. I wish I had a video of what came next. Rosie got a horrified look on her face and promptly spat the offending white, fluffy morsel out. She nosed at it for a minute or two, obviously trying to figure out what Nick found so wonderful about marshmallows, then walked away. Nick was happy to take care of her leftovers.

I guess marshmallows are an acquired taste…..

Who Stands Outside for Two Days in Cold, Rainy Weather?

Apparently , I do! The Metropolitan Atlanta Whippet Association hosted an ASFA field trial Friday , Saturday, and Sunday. What better way is there to fill out the Thanksgiving holiday? Actually, we only coursed Saturday and Sunday, but the trial went for all three days. My pharaoh phriends are always prepared for all sorts of weather, so we didn’t suffer much from the cold rainy weather. Bekki scored a great deal on a tent at the black Friday sales, so we were dry and warm inside with heaters going. Sandy outdid herself with hot soup and BBQ for lunch and Brianna brought tempting sweets. Despite the weather, it was impossible to be unhappy as we were warm and well fed :-)!

Despite my reservations, I let Nick run on Saturday. I was scared as it was wet and the course at Calhoun is hilly. I’m used to coursing Rosie. Pharaohs are lighter and not as fast as Greyhounds and aren’t as likely to get hurt if they fall. In fact, Rosie has tumbled more than once and never been the worse for it. Nick though, moves faster, weights more, and isn’t as experienced. Obviously, I’m a Nervous Nelly. In the end, I let him run and he did very well. He was the only open Greyhound, but he outscored both field champion greyhounds that ran. He tumbled down the hill on his first run (my worst fear realized) and skidded in on his shoulder when he “came in for his landing.” After I got my heart out of my throat, I checked him over – he was fine. He ran well in finals in the afternoon, and managed to keep all four feet under him. I didn’t wrap his legs at all for that run, but did in the morning, so I don’t know if that make a difference. He didn’t run as well in the best of breed run off though, so he only came away with 4 points for winning open. I think is was probably sore from his fall when he ran for best of breed, and I can’t blame him. He woke up Sunday morning pretty stiff, so he stayed home, much to his dismay. He was fine by the time I got home, and didn’t let me out of his sight the entire night. I think he was afraid I’d sneak off with Rosie again and leave him home.

Rosie, the trooper that she is, ran well both days and took best of breed Sunday. All the Pharaohs ran well, including Femi, who at age eight, has decided she wants to try her paw at coursing. Apparently, she was never much interested when she tried as a youngster. She won open on Saturday, but lost by a hair to Reign for best of breed. We teased that she just didn’t want to over obligate herself in her younger days as she’s had great success in agility and in conformation. Trey won field champion Sunday, so really the Pharaohs passed the honors around with everyone having a chance to run off for best of breed.

All, in all, it was a great weekend. It was fun for human and hound – despite the weather!!