Tomorrow is another day

Tomorrow the pup and I will head out for the Ridgefield shows. The details of the whens and hows and wheres are still a bit sketchy, but it is the end result that matters, right?

My favorite show dog color? Purple. Nugg-pup's favorite color? Brown. As in mud brown. Everything is flooded around here and that just makes the Nugget boy even happier. Does he not understand that he is supposed to be cool, calm, collected and beee-you-tea-full? His white is brownish, his black the same. But the smile on his face is priceless. For this reason I always put off his bath for an extra day and get to pay for it. If he gets a couple of days for the coat to settle and shine up, then he looks so much nicer, but I just cannot deny a puppy his FRAP. So in another hour he will get one last romp in the mud and then it is bath time.




All arrangements have been made for the care of the other two dogs and for the feeding of the horse. The lists are made and the packing has begun. (Well, in all honesty, I never completely unpacked the truck from the last shows. It just made more sense to leave some of it, namely my show coats, out hanging in the truck.) I'm excited about this one. It will be fun.

Once back, the tree that is sitting in a bucket by the carport will take its spot of honor by the front window. I've been collecting strings of LED lights whenever I see them for a decent price, so will be pitching all of the old strings this year. I have boxes of them. All those that were guaranteed to stay lit, that didn't. Why do I not pitch them when they go out? I really don't know for sure, but think I will blame Dad for this one. After all, he was the one that made us carefully collect the tinsel back off the tree after Christmas. It was then laid out straight and carefully folded into paper for the next year. I swear some of those strands were only about two inches long, but we still had to carefully place them (No throwing!) and re-collect them each year. No plastic back then, it was a thick foil, I believe. Then again, it could have been lead based, hard to say...

I received a beautiful ornament today as a gift from a friend. It will get to go on the tree first as it will need to be in the perfect spot under the perfect light. Yep, I guess I did get a wee bit of Dad's precision, when it comes to the tree. That's about it, however. Dad had his Christmas decorating traditions. They included painting the front window each year, and setting up spotlights outside to show off his work. It was always based on a Christmas card that we had received the year before. I think we must have learned VERY early on that we were to keep our fingers away from the painted windows. I don't recall any of the four of us kids ever etching our initials into the paint. Dad had a box that was filled with his window paint. It was just always there. Then Mom had her places for each decoration that she had gathered over the years. The egg carton tree and macaroni wreath hung with such pride one would think they were made of gold. And those awful fuzzy wreaths! A green one and a white one. Each item took its spot each year. Always the same. Only the design on the window changed. When Dad sold the house he included the Christmas lights that were hung under the eaves each year. I doubt they were ever used again, but I suppose it is possible. He was so proud to give them to the new owner. I sure do miss him, and Mom too. The little irritating things from back then are so endearing now. It's funny how that happens.

Off I go to run the dogs in a break between rain squalls. Then it is back to reality...wait, is dog showing reality????

G2