Cook'in!!! (Idol Musings)

WOOHOO!

OK....I'll admit it....I watched American Idol from the very first episode this season. I've tuned in in the past somewhat regularly - and usually one of my faves is dropped around the top 5-6. The series seemed doomed to be a wussy-pop/soul/country promotion without chance of getting out some good ol' power singers since Clarkson's inaugural win - although some good singers have certainly come from it (Daughtry, Bice, Constantine)...just not top honors. I thought I was headed for another bummer year when Aussie Michael and Carly were dropped. But fave #3 (and top choice for me) proved the charm!!

I figured it should be a no-contest between the David duelists - but worried about the tween and granny factor voting for Archuletta! Granted....he's certainly talented - but he's also been something of a one trick pony. He's got 1 style...elevator easy listening muzak. Cook has been showing his originality and instrument talent, not to mention the fabulous pipes! His rendition of Billie Jean earlier this season just knocked it out! I eagerly await his first album - I am so glad they got it right this year! Rock on!!

Munch Goes Crunch

Well...more like "CRACK"! Adding to our recent wonderful luck (NOT!)....

Last night I heard screaming in the yard - went outside and found Munch laying in the corner of the side yard along the driveway hollering his head off. Superscared at first seeing his hind legs twisted around each other - I thought he had broken his back.

No....but he darned sure broke his rear leg. Muzzled him (he was snapping everywhere anytime I even thought about touching his leg, the poor soul - although he never tried to mouth me when I put the racing muzzle on him) and managed to carry him into the house.

I laid him on one of the dog beds in the living room and removed the muzzle (he had calmed down greatly) and manipulated the leg a bit - I could feel it moving above the joint, but it hadn't broken the skin.

What did Munch do? Began eating the food in the bowl by the bed....heartily. He certainly lives up to his name. Since he wasn't in shock and the fracture wasn't open, we opted to keep him calm (easy) and wait until morning to take him to our regular vet (avoiding the shysters at the local ER clinic) as long as he maintained his condition.

This morning I carried him to the yard and stood him...and he peed and peed and peed some more and I set him up in the back of the Astro-van (Victor had removed the back crates last night and laid down several pads) and took him to our vet for x-rays and evaluation....then got sent to the surgery center as it was too messy for them to set.

The diagnosis - Munch has a fractured left distal femur - just above the "condyl" (aka "joint"). He also broke (cracked) one of the vertebra in his tail.

So...he's having surgery to repair the leg today. He only broke it because we put him up on our "Available" page this week - I am sure of it. If he comes through surgery okay, he'll make it.

OTOH - my wallet is terminal :(

Here's a picture of his x-ray...


UPDATE: Munch has come through the surgery to repair his leg just fine. He's staying overnight at the clinic. There's still no hope for my wallet though :(

Some New Pix and a Brief Update

Posted some new pictures we took this past weekend of the Spells pups that remain here (Nox, Azchyl and Pumpkin - 8 months), 2 of Sassi's, J/T and Shugah (7 months) as well as Peepers.

Peepers
At the lure coursing in Cleburne this past weekend, Peepers turned it on for her JC run and surprised us by earning her first JC (Junior Courser) leg. Why surprise? In practice she rarely turned more than once! So it was great to see the switch go off and watch her put some effort into it! She looked pretty darned fast too - and got some nice compliments from bystanders there. Unfortunately, the brilliance only lasted halfway through the course the next day - so no JC title yet.

You can see in the picture of Peepers above that we had some pretty scenery at the coursing site. So we took advantage of it by bringing the Spells-girls with us the next day and snapping some photos. We also took advantage of the leafy tree in our front yard for pictures of J/T and Shugah.

Nox
I've uploaded the new pictures into the online albums at Gryffyn's Aeyrie and there are links to the individual albums on the Updates page.

I received some pictures from the Selmans of Lance and Tasha, and from Deb of Mukki. Need to get those downloaded, edited and uploaded as well!

Tag Cloud Created

I've seen those "tag clouds" or "label clouds" - or whatever nickname one gives this bit of coding - on other blogs and thought it was a pretty neat concept. The linear listing of labels/tags provided in the Blogger elements area was just too, well..., linear for me. I liked the more unusual appearance of the "cloud". Yesterday I finally found a speck of time (and the temporary mental acuity) to attempt this for this particular blog - and I'm happy to report that I was successful!

So...TA-DA....it's there on the right-hand side.

If you would like to code it into your blog layout - follow the directions available online at http://phy3blog.googlepages.com/Beta-Blogger-Label-Cloud.html

I figure if I can figure it out...just about anyone can!

Some Recent Ad Creations

With the ISWS National Specialty (aka "SilkenFest") rapidly approaching, I managed to create an ad for the catalog. I was pretty darned happy with how it turned out!

I also managed an ad for the BCOA National Specialty catalog as well, featuring a neat photo I had taken of Wulf back in February.

What Celebrity Is Your Dog

This link was posted on a chat list I belong to - and for grins and giggles I did the little survey for Solo.

http://www.dogster.com/quizzes/celebrity_dog_quiz/

OMG - they NAILED it! Solo is the canine equivalent of Johnny Knoxville (one of the stars of an occasional guilty pleasure for me, MTV's Jackass - I know, I know....I just can't help myself sometimes).

Here's the description:

"Johnny Knoxville
Up for Anything

The kind of pet that can leap tall fences in a single bound (or not, but give it a shot anyhow), Solo is the original Jackass, Johnny Knoxville!

Going through the pain so you don't have to, Solo knows that he trots a fine line between funny and stupid, but he doesn't care—he's laughing about it all the way to the pet store. His over-the-top antics make you grimace with fear and you often find it hard to believe that he actually enjoys playing the class clown. But Solo laps it up and continues to defy the odds, despite your warnings and concerns. Other males in the pack tend to be a little jealous of Solo, but the females find him simply dreamy. A die-hard good ol' boy, Solo is more of a General Lee type than a Knight Rider, but give him enough time to think things through and he's sure to find a way to wreck both vehicles at the same time. "

That's the UberGoober to a "T"!

If It Weren't For Bad Luck...

...I'd have absolutely friggin' NONE at all.

Last night I fell in the yard while bringing in Faina (Solo/Monkee "bozo" pup) to prep for the local show this weekend. I fell pretty darned hard, and landed a bit twisted on one knee. Got back in and went about the rest of my day/night.

Well....this morning I couldn't even lift my leg to roll over without feeling like something sharp was being stuck in my knee. Managed to get an appointment to see the doctor at lunchtime - and the verdict isn't very promising.

I refused an MRI scan today - the wallet began crying, so I let it have its way for now. The doc thinks I have either badly sprained/irritated the medial collateral ligament in my knee...or torn or displaced it. For now we are treating as a sprain with an anti-inflammatory (Celebrex), a steroid (that tastes nasty - I had that when my back originally failed 7 years ago) and pain killers (hooray for Vicodin).

The offending part is trussed up in a brace and currently elevated with an ice pack on top of it. If it isn't better in 4-5 days, then I have to ignore the wails of my budget and go in for the MRI so we can get further diagnoses.

Soooooooooooooo....my ability to show at Silkenfest may be sorely compromised :( Victor can't attend as we can't get a petsitter!

Who wants to show some Silkens? I am especially dying to make sure Tyler gets shown in the Specials class!

I


am


miserable


:(

To console myself, while at the CVS pharmacy picking up my 'scrips...I was looking for some comfort food. So I hit the candy aisle. I found, quite possibly, the most bizarre junk snack idea ever. It looked like a cheeseburger - but it was made entirely of marshmallow. It is "Peeps" taken to a new level of bizarro. It was a pretty good rendition of a burger too - even had little "sesame seed" imposters on it. I bought it. I bought the "fries" too - which came with some sort of strawberry goo disguised as ketchup. I kid you not - this actually exists! I took pictures of them!

And then I ate the "burger". After I took my pain meds.

Look for pictures of the funky junk snacks soon - I just couldn't help myself!

Beautiful Spring Weekend

Munch and J/T fuss at sister Shugah
Last weekend was absolutely what I needed! Mild temperatures with a bit of wind - blue BLUE skies and signs of spring everywhere, with blooms of color appearing everywhere, and the grass a vibrant green. Kept the back door open throughout the morning to try and coax some of the fresh air into the house.

Victor had left for Boswell, OK (and WindyGlen) to attend the ASFA lure trials there and attempt some practice with Peepers, Wulf and Buster. For myself, I attempted to catch up on some work and some housecleaning (yuk!) and a bit later in the day, get some new pictures of some of our crew....namely, the youngsters. Ginger's pups were also introduced to the wide, wide world (of our backyard) and spent a few hours sunning in a large ex-pen setup.
the 3 J-Litter brothers
I did manage to get gobs of photos of Missi, Tyler (about time I got some nice ones of him!), Gabe, Shugah and Goth. Also got a few of the other kids as well. I will be posting direct links to those on the Updates page at the Gryffyn's Aeyrie site.