A nice 3-day weekend...

I talked with all 3 of my girls over the weekend. By this time next year, I'll have 3 grandsons! Guess I'd better double up on the vitamins now! Last Thursday, Amanda and James learned that their little one will be a boy--Jonah Mark. I think that's a lovely name and it's nice to see Mark honored. Yesterday, Jen and I were laughing about next Christmas and how much fun it will be. As I understand it, Kate and Joe are still talking about names for Logan's little brother. Miracles! I'm so grateful...God is good.

Zeke and I had our second Agility II class yesterday. It seems that many of the dogs were in a fog of sorts, and they were all watching each other needing reminders to stay on task. We all have days like that, yes? The weather has been sort of funky and that may have affected their concentration, but it was still a good class. Zeke was comical on his first trip through the chute. It had become twisted, and he had to roll his way through it. Other classmates were laughing and talking about how cute he can be. Gosh, he even did the teeter without falling off and easily jumped 36 inches. So, in spite of appearing to lack focus, he accomplished a lot!

When we head home after each class, it's obvious that Zeke has enjoyed himself and used some energy. He always curls up and nods off...calm and relaxed. And I leave there feeling that we've spent the morning in a good way. Nice people, loved pets, learning more about agility and a terrific instructor.

On Saturday, I took Zeke and Caleb walking around Town Lake. It was a lot of fun especially because it was such a beautiful, sunny day. Caleb was being his normal, goofy Great Pyrenees puppy self. When extra friendly dogs would greet us, Caleb would do a pyr dance as if asking them if they wanted to play. Those of you reading this with pyrs in your life, you know the pyr dance. It's entertaining and can make your heart smile in an instant, right? Zeke was in his usual Border Collie mode, watching and keeping track of all the dogs. Because of that, he was pulling on his lead, and that's not the way it should be. I'll begin taking them separately so that I can work on specific tasks and techniques. Caleb is only 6 months old (even though he already weighs 70 pounds!) and he needs particular instruction as well. And I can always use double exercise.

Funny how life works. Lately, it feels as if Mark passed ages and ages ago instead of 5 1/2 years. I  still, and always will, miss him. Yet, life goes on. Often times, I have conflicting feelings about moving on. For the most part, I'm dealing pretty well. Moving to a different house near more people has been the most beneficial thing I've done thus far. We were together for so long, and it's still weird doing everything on my own. Even after all of this time, I still miss sharing with him.

For this spring (early spring, actually), I have 3 projects of sorts: 1) continue with detailed dog training continuing agility for Zeke and therapy work for Caleb; 2) finish a couple of gift quilts; 3) create a vegetable garden on the west side of my driveway--herbs, veggies and perennials. It would be great to have home-grown food, and I love to share! All 3 of these projects are time consuming but each one has a time frame that is important.

And, of course, Iris continues to be the tiny princess of our domain. Bit by bit, she is coming out of her shell and learning to trust people. It is heartwarming to see. Going to work with me the past couple of weeks made a big difference. As time and Iris permit, I will begin training with her. Wouldn't she be terrific at small dog agility? I suppose we shouldn't tell her about the "small dog" designation, because she obviously sees herself as anything but "small!" And she actually would likely be a great therapy dog as well. She's small enough to be a lap dog for elderly people and would be an entertainer if she mastered parlor tricks. We'll see. Time will tell.

I'm thankful to have so many good people and my loving dogs in my life.

My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.  ~Author Unknown