Oct. 1 - Lisa's (last) Musings about Every Day Life

I'm back.

But I'm gone.

But not completely.

Let me explain. Today is my last day at the A2 Journal, but after I finish recovering from this new tooth adventure, I'll do some freelancing for the Heritage papers.

So, as a farewell, and I have included a photo of my best friend, Becca, and Driver ... note that the puppy adores her ... taken before we headed to the dentist Wednesday.

Also included is me with the old, rotted chompers. I think that one ended up in the middle.

And me, with the new, fake chompers. I think that one ended up first.

During the last two days I've been recovering from having seven teeth pulled and a deep, deep, deep cleaning of the bottom teeth that can (yippee) be saved. It was a long, long -- did I mention LONG? -- procedure on Wednesday.

And, I was in no shape to blog that day or yesterday, either, as I drifted in and out of a drug-induced mandated recovery.

Which, by the way, I'm supposed to be continuing today. (So don't tell my dentist.)

I only say this in case this post doesn't make a lot of sense. But I learned the really painful way that it's too soon to quit taking the pain meds -- even though I thought the worst was over already.

I learned early this morning that listening to the dentist isn't optional. That not taking the drugs, even though I thought I was feeling better, was NOT a good idea.

So, before I'm lulled off into la-la land again, I wanted to post something.

Although I'm gone, I'm really not going anywhere ... I'll be doing some freelancing, concentrating my efforts on the book I'm writing, the cat magazine, and selling advertising for the owners of the chain of magazines of which I Love Cats is a part.

I'll also continue to review books for Heritage and today, I found out that a monthly newsletter for cozy mystery fans will pick-up some of the reviews I write for the papers. The Website is www.mystery-cozy.com in case you want to take a look.

I'm not sure what the status of Lisa's Musings will be since I'm not an employee of the paper. But, I'll let you know if I decide to keep going in November under a new name. You can "friend" me on Facebook for an update or e-mail me at lallmendinger@sbcglobal.net.

It's been a blast welcoming you through the door to my life. And I hope you enjoyed the insider's view.

So, hello.

And goodbye.

Sept. 14 - Lisa's Musings (on nature) and Every Day Life

I was in Allmendinger Park today and spotted this squirrel.

It seems that Mother Nature has been calling to me this week and far be it from me to not heed her call.

So, as I started through the park, I spied this squirrel and started shooting from a distance. Then got closer and closer. And closer.

He or she, not sure which, was eating a nut and it wasn't until I was pretty darn close that I was even noticed.

There seems to be a huge difference between country squirrels and city squirrels.

The country variety would never let me get this close. They work hard for those choice nuts, fruits and berries. They'll spend hours figuring out how to get into my bird feeders to get the black-oil seed.

The city squirrels are a different breed. They get so many handouts that they seem to expect every human to have one for them.

Do you think there are Republican and Democrat squirrels?

Sept. 13 - Lisa's Musings (on the little things) and Every Day Life

My Monday began by cleaning up multiple piles of dog diarrhea from a pink carpet. And I'm still not sure which dog was the guilty party.

I headed to Ann Arbor to take photos at the downtown library only to be told I couldn't take pictures of the children. Huh? I called Friday to give the library the head's up and I've taken numerous photos at many events in this library.

So, I turned around and drove home photo-less. And, yes, just a wee, wee, wee bit annoyed. Translated pissed as hell.

And it took until I was almost in my driveway before I stopped growling. Two wasted hours, mileage and parking fees for nodda. nothing. zilch.

So I decided to do something about it and what better way than to look to Mother Nature for a smile?

First stop, my bird feeders. Saturday, I'd gone to Dexter Mill and bought new bird seed (black oiler sunflower and thistle seed). By the time I got home Saturday, it was raining and yesterday, I didn't go far from the bathroom so ... I hadn't had a chance to put it out yet.

From there, I walked outside into the dog yard to let the dogs out. And Mother Nature saw fit to reciprocate my kindness and in the process make my day.

While standing there watching Driver bounce and run around, while Ryan rolled in the grass and dirt in a sunny spot -- two dogs content doing their individual thing, a Monarch butterfly landed on my shoulder.

Better than a blue bird (no poop to worry about) this bright orange butterfly hung out for a few seconds, then flew away leaving me with a completely new attitude for the rest of the day.

Don't ever poo-poo the little unexpected moments in life. It's the little things in life that can make your day.

Aug. 18 - Lisa's Musings (on hump day) and Every Day Life

It's Wednesday, and I'd really like it to be either Monday, (so I could start the week again and do it differently), or Friday, (so it would be over, and I could say I did the best I could, but I'm done).

I'm monkey in the middle, so I'm not sure which I'd prefer.

It's been one meeting after another this week (and I'm on the last one tonight).

Neither of the first two were very good -- story-wise. Both of them were pretty much a snore and a waste of time. But it was time spent. Had I known ahead of time that no surprises were in store for me, I could have been doing other stories, but now it's too late.

Am I making any sense here?

I guess what I'm saying is that some weeks are better for stories than others and this one wasn't a very good one, but it could have been had I played my cards differently.

So, since there's only so many hours I'm willing to work in a week these days, I'll do what I can for the remainder of them, and hope next week works out better.

Yeah, yeah, that's what I'll do.

Aug. 4 - Lisa's Musings (on The Day After) and Every Day Life

Last week, I lived through a Chocolate hangover after judging the Youth 4-H Creative Chocolate Chip Contest; this week, it's Primary Election Day hangover.

Actually, I think the chocolate recovery took longer.

Last night's election was a snap for me -- well, except for waiting on the final numbers. I'd spoken to the must-have candidates, who knew if they'd won or lost early on, because they had people at all the precincts.

The problem was no one had all of the candidate's numbers -- or if they did, they weren't giving them to me, so I was forced to wait on the county clerk's office.

I had written the story leaving blanks where the numbers needed to go, while the county took what seemed like forever to get the results up online. In fact, at midnight -- my deadline -- I filed the story with what I had and literally 5 minutes later, I got the totals I needed, so I sent those.

The problem is just because your story's filed, you're still all geeked up and it takes a while to relax.

In other words, you're tired, but your brain hasn't shut down yet. So I read -- for a LONG time until my eyes finally started closing.

The dogs let me sleep until 7:30 a.m. this morning, none of the candidates called me early this morning to wake me up, and after a couple cups of coffee, I was back at it and going strong.

In fact, I wrote and filed seven stories. I surprised myself.

So, unlike last night, I'll be relaxing in the LaZBoy -- something I haven't done in many nights.

Recharging my body for back-to-back meetings Thursday -- first of the Road Commission and then, my favorite, of the Ann Arbor City Council.

I'm taking bets on the time I might get home -- any takers?

July 30 - Lisa's Musings (on supporting local businesses) and Every Day Life

I love my local businesses.

Let me repeat this, a little more slowly - I Love My Local Businesses.

And during the last few weeks I've done my part to keep them in business.

First, it was the replacement of four major appliances and the addition of a fifth from Heydlauff's in downtown Chelsea.

For those who might have missed it, Mark Heydlauff came to my house to make sure that what I'd picked out not only was correct for its individual power source but also that it fit in its special space.

As Murphy's Law would have it, the day the appliances arrived, I lost power for 24 hours and still haven't had a chance to read all the instruction books, but, I've got the general hang of how to use most of them anyway.

Today, my hat's off to Village Motors.

I noticed Sunday that my van had developed a vibration, and so did my friend, who could feel it on the passenger side as well. I kinda laughed it off saying, I feel like a NASCAR driver, "(fill in the name of your favorite driver's crew chief)I've got a vibration."

But I had a very busy week and the shaking kinda came and went until Wednesday afternoon when I drove on the highway going 70 mph.

Then, I REALLY felt it.

But Thursday I had to be at an editorial meeting and had a couple assignments lined up, so it wasn't until this morning that I called Village Motors and explained the situation.

I was told they were slammed with business, but I could bring it down and have one of the mechanics take a look.

So, someone will tell me that the van won't blow up until you can get to it, I asked.

I was assured that this would happen.

So, with grocery list in hand, (Polly's is right next door), I headed to the car dealer.

The moment I arrived, Chad took care of me, and a very nice mechanic hopped in the passenger side of the van and we headed for a little drive -- so he could feel the vibration, too.

It didn't take long.

In fact, once he felt it, I looked over at him and his face looked like it had lost a little color.

When the shaking and the odd noise became more and more obvious, he got paler and paler.

As we were headed back, he told me it was a bad ball bearing.

So this is bad, I asked.

Very bad, he said.

I forgot to ask what a ball bearing did, or what would happen if it broke completely, but I got the distinct impression that he was very relieved when we were parked at the dealer.

Maybe it was because he quickly hopped out of the van and I'm not positive, but I think I heard him whisper a few Hail Mary's as he headed to safety.

By the time I got inside the service center, Chad explained that the van wasn't going anywhere -- not even to Polly's right up the hill.

In fact, he kinda grabbed the keys out of my hand, in a nice way, of course, and told me it was a safety issue.

That's not good.

But then the bad news: they might get to it today, or maybe tomorrow, but probably not until Monday.

Uh-oh.

During our test drive, I'd told the nice mechanic I was a reporter and I had a bunch of assignments this weekend, and my editor wasn't going to be pleased when I told her I was grounded for the weekend.

I think almost felt sorry for me.

Norm, the nice person who drives people to and from their homes if their vehicles are in for service, took me home.

I settled in to write a story and maybe an hour or so later, the phone rang and it was Chad from Village Motors -- my van was fixed.

Wow.

Oh, and Norm would be coming to pick me up after he came back from lunch. Then a second phone call -- Norm was en route.

talk about awesome customer service. No wonder they're busy, busy, busy.

I personally thanked everyone in the entire dealership for getting me back on the road. Then I found the mechanic and said while bowing reverently, "This is your world and I'm just a visitor."

I love my local businesses.

July 14 - Lisa's Musings (on blog post No. 300) and Every Day Life

This blog marks a milestone of some sort. Not sure what Number 300 is called officially, but that's what this post is.

Now, I haven't written all 300, but pretty close to it, which means I've managed to come up with almost 300 different things about my life to share with readers.

Gee, I didn't know my life was that interesting.

And, most days it's not. But let's face it, unless you're someone important or famous -- Oprah, a celebrity, or the president -- no one experiences a daily dose of excitement.

That's the beauty of this blog. Most people's lives could be interchanged with mine because, minus the reporter part, I'm just like you.

So I hope I've made this blog fun and familiar in an aw-shucks kind of way. And that many of the topics are things you've experienced. Or if you haven't, that because you read about them here -- you've lived them vicariously. Maybe at my prodding, you've even tried something new?

So, here's another one for you. From the Wonderful World of Classic Americana.

I want you to be aware of a very important holiday this month; one that doesn't get a lot of media play.

Truth be told, it doesn't get any media play. But it should.

July 22 is National Hammock Day. A day to celebrate kicking back and enjoying total relaxation.

So, who among you has a hammock?

I love hammocks, they are the epitome of summer, a "paragon of leisure." (Thank you press release, I couldn't have put it better.)

What could more fun than a string hammock, a sunny day and a glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade? (You may substitute iced tea, if that's your pleasure.)

According to the history of hammocks, Christopher Columbus is given credit for discovering them, too. They were used as beds by people in the Caribbean, and the name goes back to bark from the hamak tree. Get it?

July certainly seems to be the month to celebrate independence, huh? First from England and then from stress.

It's great to be an American.

July 13 - Lisa's Musings (on dog fur) and Every Day Life

I have a house full of reporters coming here tomorrow and apparently, I should have started dealing with all the dog fur weeks ago.

When all of us settled on a date for this workshop, I wanted it to be in an informal setting -- complete with food and booze -- so everyone would learn something and have a good time, too.

I was hopeful that we'd all be able to sit on the three-season porch that was already sorta clean. But with temperatures expected in the high 80's combined with high humidity, I'm guessing everyone will want to huddle inside. In the air conditioning.

So this afternoon, after filing three stories, I started cleaning and dusting. Meanwhile, the dogs, sensing something different was going on, wanted to be in the middle of it. And, of course, to do their bit to be helpful.

While crawling on the carpet to scrape inches of hair from places I don't normally look at closely -- like in corners and under furniture, Ryan stomped all over me, trying to steal the wad of fur from my hand.

Each time I came up for air, Driver licked me in the face. I'm fair game while on the floor, so both of them wanted heads petted and tummy's rubbed.

This meant it took twice as long as it should have. Thanks, guys.

And the nanosecond I finished removing dog fur from a piece of cloth-covered furniture, there was a dog curled up on it. Even though they hadn't sat there in months.

And did I mention that dog hair has the half-life of uranium?

I put a table cloth on a short table in the living room and turned around to find Driver stretched out on top of it.

The moment all the dog toys were gathered up and in the box, out they came again and within minutes, the floor was relittered with them.

I think it's hopeless, but I'm trying anyway.

Maybe it will be cloudy tomorrow and people won't notice; I've already warned them not to wear dark-colored clothing.

June 22 - Lisa's Musings (on fawns) and every day life

I thought this would be the first year that I didn't have a fawn (or three) born on my property. I hadn't seen any and I'd gone out to the usual birthing area to check a half dozen or so times.

Then Saturday afternoon when I was out mowing, I spooked one.

So, Lisa's baby deer refuge streak is still alive.

And just now, I watched the little one practice running -- in this case laps around a grove of autumn olive in the middle of the back of my property.

It's such a cute little snot. Racing around figuring out how to turn corners with its tiny legs.

Mom just strolled by -- so perhaps she told the little one to go get a little exercise. Not sure.

But that little fawn was sure having fun. Like a little child running around ... just because.

I love seeing these little fawns -- until they grow up and start chewing on stuff. Then they aren't so cute any more. And I admit it, I begin to root for the local hunters. The problem is, these hunters are a picky bunch and they leave the does alone -- hoping that they'll produce more bucks because that's what they really want.

A Trophy Buck with a Big Rack.

But until then, I'll try not to scare the little cutie like I did Saturday. First I spooked it from its napping spot in the tall grass while mowing paths, The little deer bolted for the woods.

I must have gotten too close to its new hiding spot because it blasted past me and headed for the thicket of autumn olive. Problem with that spot was, I kept riding by, and the fawn would look at me with that deer-caught-in-the-headlights look and shake.

I felt kinda bad about it but I was determined to finish mowing the back.

Like the barn swallows, this human trumps small woodland critters.

I pay the mortgage; I've earned the right to mow the lawn.

June 7 - Lisa's Musings (on turtles) and Every Day Life

First it was moles, then snakes, and now turtles. They’ve all been in the dog yard. So, technically, that pretty much makes them fair game for the dogs.

This afternoon, Driver got himself a small turtle. He found it in the tall grass along the side of the fence, and I haven’t a clue how it even got into the dog yard.

There’s not a lot of turtle-sized openings.

Moles, voles, small bunnies, snakes, those creatures have pretty easy access to the chain-link fenced-in dog yard. But a turtle?

And I think this was a small snapping turtle. It was kinda hard to tell because its little head and legs were tightly pulled into its dark shell.

But I’ve seen these turtles in adult size and learned, almost the hard way, NOT to help them cross the road. So, once I figured out what Driver had found, I got the pooper-scooper to pick it up and get it out of the dog yard.

The problem was, even though I tried to fake him out by picking up some poop en route, he wasn’t buying it.

He’s pretty smart for a puppy.

Driver knew I was coming to get his chew toy and take it away. Which, of course, I was.

So, he grabbed it in his mouth, crunch, crunch, crunch and took off with it. I tried to act all nonchalant and look for more poop, hoping that he’d stop chomping it -- they way he chews on raw, meaty bones.

It’s not like the turtle was moving around or anything. It was doing what turtles do when they sense danger.

Well, except for large snapping turtles.

However, Driver knows me too well by now, so the chase was on. Keep in mind, he’s got four legs and is in shape; I’ve got two and am woefully out of shape.

Ryan was pretty non interested, so there was only one dog to hunt down, and eventually, after Driver had taken some good-sized bites out of its shell, his jaw must have gotten tired because he dropped it.

An opening for me to scoop it up and toss it over the fence.

I have no idea if it’s dead or alive – as I said, Driver had done a pretty good job of taking chunks out of the side of its shell as well as chomping down on the center.

While I’m writing this, he’s looking longingly through the fence in the area where I tossed the turtle. Standing guard, if you will.

Or hoping it’s stupid enough to find its way back through the fence.

I’m starting to get a little concerned about these dogs as they graduate to larger and larger prey – I just hope a deer doesn’t jump into the dog yard next.

May 25 - Lisa's Musings (on cats and dogs) and From Every Day Life

If the cat vs. dog or dog vs. cat debate centers on numbers, cats rule and dogs drool.

According to stats from the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, there are 93.6 million cat owners and 77.5 million dog owners in the U.S.

However, if the percentage of U.S. households that own a cat or a dog is considered the deciding factor, then give a bark out to canines.

Thirty-nine percent of U.S. households own at least one dog, while 33 percent of U.S. household (or 38.2 million) own at least one cat.

Also according to the stats, 67 percent of Americans own one dog, while 24 percent own two dogs and 9 percent own three or more dogs.

Woof. Woof.

Fifty-six percent of cat owners have more than one cat and on average, owners have two cats. On average, dog owners have two dogs. Humm, guess that makes me average.

However, bone/catnip 'mate' there.

I'm not quite sure what to think about these 2009-2010 numbers because I'm a house divided. A good portion of my income comes from being the editor of I Love Cats magazine, so I'm all about cat lovers owning cats and buying my magazine to learn more about their felines.

On the other hand, my heart belongs to my pups, my canine pals, which, come to think about it, don't bring in any cash, rather add to the expense side of the ledger.

But what they cost me in food, toys, vet bills and show fees, they more than make up for in love, amusement, exercise, and stress relief.

Dogs (and cats) are king.

May 22 - Lisa's Musings (on baby fox) and Every Day Life

There's never a dull moment out in the country. Ever.

Today, after an aborted trip to Ann Arbor when the skies opened on the Jackson Road Cruise and before I even got to the city line -- I turned around and came home.

Where the sun was shining. Sure, everything was soaked, but I decided to head out and shoot a few photos of my newly emerging flowers.

What I came across was even more exciting.

I have a baby fox here. Actually, two little ones, but one's a lot less fearful than the other, and they apparently like the tall grass outside of my little storage shed.

As I was wrapping up the flower photo shoot, I looked out over my little kingdom and there it was -- a little fox. It looked at me. I looked at it. It looked at me and I was mesmerized.

Then, it took off behind the shed so I figured it had gone wherever little fox like to hang out during the day when there's acres of woods behind this house ripe for wee foxes.

So, the dogs and I headed out into the fenced dog yard. But wait, there was a little fox tail behind the shed. It watched me. I watched it. It watched me. I watched it as I walked ever closer to the far end of the dog yard that's closest to the shed.

And then I saw a bonus baby. But it saw me and was gone -- vroom ... off into the great woods where foxes don't have to deal with dogs that look like them and people.

I debated getting the camera because, of course, it was inside the house upstairs and I'd need a long lens to get a photo of the little cutie. I hung out and watched the little one while Driver did his best tolling (leaping through the air and pouncing, running, leaping, bouncing -- kinda like Tigger).

The fox was nonplussed. And try as he would, Driver finally gave up attempting to lure the little red guy any closer. Tolling works to draw in ducks, but, fox not so much.

When the fox took a lie down in the tall grass, I headed upstairs to get the camera, change the lens, figuring that the baby would be long gone before I got back down there and into position.

But if you look very closely between the tree and the shed, you'll see the outline of a fox head and ears.

OK, so they're not the best photos but, try as I might, coughing (which is second nature these days) banging the fence, calling "Here little fox," clucking like a chicken ... the little fox was not getting up to cooperate for a photo opp.

Sure, it got up once and changed positions, but, I have a healthy respect for Mother Nature and her creatures. I was feeling just fine with a fence between the little fox and I. I wasn't getting any closer.

What struck me as interesting was the fox saw the dogs. The dogs saw the fox, yet they never barked. Rather, they tried to lure it closer by tolling, and when that didn't work, they went off and did what dogs do in their dog yard.

Perhaps there's something to be said about how close dogs and fox are when it comes to the hierarchy of the food chain.

And I think I've figured out why I don't have a family of ground hogs under the shed this year.

Fox trump ground hog, right?

May 18 - Lisa's Musings (on Rotten Colds 2) and Every Day Life

I have rejoined the ranks of the showered and clean clothed -- after spending two days in the same clothing and wrapped in a blanket.

Along with the hacking, gacking and sneezing, I was freezing, and just could not warm up my ailing body.

Today, I made the effort to rejoin the ranks of people without colds and it worked -- for a while anyway.

I left the house and covered a Washtenaw County Road Commission meeting, warning and staying as far away from other humans as was possible.

I was almost full of energy until about 3 p.m., then the tank hit empty. I hit the La Z Boy, wrapped up in two blankets and attempted to take a nap. I left the walkaround phone on its holder because I really didn't want to talk to anyone, so of course, the phone rang off the hook.

It never fails. I rarely take an afternoon nap but when I want to, everyone, every PR firm, every telemarketer and assorted friends and sources, decide to call.

I ignored them all and stayed wrapped up in my blankie. Sorry friends and sources.

I don't get sick very often, so I might as well take full advantage of it while I am.

If the seven days of a cold hold true -- only three more days and I'll be my old self again.

May 14 - Lisa's Musings (on walk-a-thons) and Every Day Life

I'm so jealous of students, parents, friends and supporters of Haisley Elementary School.

They spent the day participating in the school's annual walk-a-thon today collecting pledges that will benefit programs at the school as well as other charities they've supported throughout the year.

They had perfect weather and by all accounts, they had great fun.

Unlike the last walk I entered. It was at Domino's Farms in the winter and I took a dog with me. Her name was Whitney and she was an Australian Shepherd. In fact, she was a puppy I kept from the one litter I on which I was listed as the breeder.

Whitney was a beautiful girl. As beautiful as she was lazy.

I know, lazy and Australian Shepherd, don't belong in the same sentence, but believe me -- her idea of a good time was hanging out on the couch and eating bon-bons. Moving anywhere quickly was not part of her idea of fun.

But, I decided she should go on this walk with me just because. She was not of the same opinion.

We started out OK for about a 1/4-mile and then she decided she'd had enough and laid down. And was done.

Really done. As in wouldn't move any more. No matter what I did.

So I ended up dragging her ... literally, and after a few feet, she finally decided to move. Very very slowly, stopping every few steps for the entire rest of the "walk."

I thought we'd never finish, but we did -- long after everyone else.

And I can tell you, I was not smiling like the Haisley "Family" was today as they walked or ran, lap after lap, enjoying a beautiful day, getting lots of exercise, and supporting a good cause.

Humm ... I bet Driver might like to give one of these walks for a cause events a try.

May 11 - Lisa's Musings (on a forgotten check) and Every Day Life

I'm sure it's happened to you.

You go to write a check and there's one missing. And you can't remember what you wrote the previous check for.

That's been my conundrum for the past few days.

I went to write a check this weekend to a photographer to have Driver's photo taken with his group placement ribbons and the number before the one I was writing was missing.

Poof. Not recorded.

And for the life of me, I could not remember what that darn check was for.

I spent hours going back over my bills, my dog show entries, anything I could think of -- to place that check.

And it seemed like every 15 minutes I was checking my bank account online for its appearance in the e-lineup.

Nothing.

Nodda.

And it was driving me crazy.

I brought it up to a couple of friends who sympathized, and said, just write it off as $100 and be done with it or, I'm sure you didn't write it for that much.

But, I just can't do that.

I might suck at math and numbers, but my checkbook is balanced to the penny. And, I'll waste hours over 13 cents to get it that way.

No, "Oh well, it's only 13 cents, no big deal," in this household.

I want to know that the number in the register is exactly what's in the bank. At all times.

I'm not sure why this is, really, because I'm pretty lax on a lot of other stuff.

But, when it comes to the checkbooks, I'm anal.

So, this morning, with the rain and wind whipping, as I poured my second cup of coffee, it came to me.

I'd had my hair cut and colored last Thursday.

Bingo.

Mystery solved.

And, it was like I'd been given a new lease on life.

Funny how little stuff like figuring out the amount of a missing check can do that to you.

I'm ready to face whatever else today wants to throw at me.

My checkbook is now back to perfect.

And all's balanced and right in my little world.

May 6, Lisa's Musings (on shiny shoes) and Every Day Life

What I didn't admit yesterday after getting my parking ticket and heading out of downtown Ann Arbor was that I went to Briarwood.

I figured I'd already made one donation to the local economy, I was on a roll.

Besides, I had several coupon cards from my favorite store, Coldwater Creek.

OK, so they weren't going to expire for a couple months, but still. They were burning a hole in my purse.

Not to be confused with the fire that I helped put out yesterday morning before I got the ticket and went shopping, though.

And, I was already a walking advertisement for the store because I had one of their jackets on my back.

And I had a purpose, too. This wasn't a willy-nilly shopping spree because I'd helped put out a fire and gotten a parking ticket.

No, I actually needed a couple more jackets with pockets.

To show Driver in stand-and-eat-food competition. The food part needs to go somewhere and that's where the pockets come into play.

You see, we have a big AKC dog show coming up Memorial Day Weekend where Driver will see his first real competition against other dogs of his ilk. Up until now, he's been the only Toller in his class.

So, Memorial Day weekend, we'll drive many, many miles to lovely Bloomington, IL, at least I'm assuming it's beautiful ...

And, his daddy's going to be there, so he'll get to meet him for the first time in the fur.

And, I'm hoping he'll pick up a few pointers about retrieving and field work because daddy has the highest title they offer called a Master Hunter, which means he's really, really good at fetching ducks from fields and the water.

Will Driver turn out to be daddy's little protege?

And, I will have the opportunity to meet his daddy's mommy, known in dog lingo as the stud dog's owner.

Her name's Donna LaHaise and she lives in Canada somewhere and apparently, she has raspberry patches on her property and makes the best raspberry cheesecake in the world.

Or, so other Toller people have told me.

So, I'm really looking forward to this.

But I digress.

About the photos with this blog. What you see kinda, sorta, is that I found a jacket with pockets that perfectly matches my shiny shoes.

And after last weekend, they are my "we-got-a-UKC-championship-in-them" shoes.

So, forget those stinkin' ruby slippers from the movies, I own the best sparkly shoes in the whole dog show world.

Although some people laugh at these beauties when I wear them, they are my favorites.
And although I've come close to finding jackets to match them, this baby from Coldwater Creek is the real deal.

It matches perfectly.

In fact, when I discovered this -- just this morning -- I couldn't wait to wear both the jacket and the shoes, so I did.

And everyone at the office will get to see the outfit for themselves at today's editorial meeting.

Hopefully, they'll be kind, and stifle their laughter.

May 2 - Lisa's Musings (on Driver Becoming a Champion) and Every Day Life

On with the show...

First, you'll see Driver show in his breed class. Note, there are no other Tollers there, which is why we needed group placements to get a championship.

And if you decide to watch the video, you will see why I call this conformation stuff -- stand-and-eat-food competition. Although, you'll read later in this blog that showing to the judge in this video was a bit unconventional.

This championship winning performance -- Driver's, not mine, doesn't involve a whole lot of exercise. There are a few jogs around the ring and to the corner and back, but for the most part, it's a beauty contest.

So, if you decide to watch this video again, please note my cool sparkly shoes ... and Driver's constantly wagging tail.

And, yes, he did try to bribe the judge by kissing her on the face when she leaned in to say hello.

We Are the Champions:


So what does a new UKC Champion puppy do on his first day "sporting" his first title? Although in UKC, the sporting group is called the gun group.

He pees on tall grass, plays with his brother, eats breakfast, and acts no differently than he did the day before or the day he was crowned a champion.

He's a dog. He doesn't care that on May 1, he earned a CH before his name.

Yes, WE DID IT. He got a Group 4 in the first show and a Group 3 in the second show.

Those two elusive competition wins we needed to make him into U-CH Redwyn's Hard Drive. At 13 months old.

Too bad there wasn't even a photographer at the show to record it for posterity. But thanks, my friend, Nancy, videotaped our performance.

For the record, one of the judges wouldn't let us take food into the ring. So in one show, it was a stand-and-fake-that-I-had-food in the ring.

Driver's pretty smart, so by the second time I reached in my pocket acting like I had a treat there, he'd figured it out.

He looked up at me adoringly, as he always does, then tipped his head to clue me in that he knew there was no stinkin' treat in my pocket.

Regardless, he still showed like the champion he'd soon be.

And I really owe this judge for not only awarding him the last group placement that he needed, but also for catching a glitch in his paperwork that would have null and voided both his group placements Saturday.

The secretary had mistakenly marked "him" as a "her" in the judge's book. The first judge missed this "small" detail; the second judge didn't.

So because of her attention to detail, the paperwork for both shows was corrected and now I'll wait for the championship certificate to arrive in the mail.

So what did I do the first full day of being the person on the end of the leash of a new champion?

The first dog I've owned and shown to a real honest-to-goodness, stand-and-eat-food title?

I watched as he peed on tall grass and played with his brother, and I made his breakfast. Then I tried out a new pet-friendly cleaning product on the toilet.

Do we know how to have fun or what?

May 1- Lisa's Musings (on a cracked coffee mug) and Every Day Life

This is a pre-recorded blog alert.

No, not a repeat, like on TV.

It’s a new post, but in the interest of full disclosure, I pre-wrote this blog – the day before it was posted.

But I dated it May 1.

Then left it in the blog edit mode.

Partly because I figured out after writing about 200 of these things that I can, and I wanted to try it.

Seriously, though, although the above is indeed true -- it’s really because I’m at a dog show. (See previous five blogs that mentioned it about 500 times.)

And since I’m not sure what time I’ll get home, you’ll have enjoy this post and wait until Sunday night to find out how I did.

Hey, you can read Daniel’s blogs from the president’s visit while you’re waiting.

So while I’m sure you were sending positive vibes our way, and crossing all of your fingers and toes for Driver and me all day Saturday, frequently checking this blog for news on those elusive group placements …

You’ll just have to wait a little longer.

Sorry about that.

Instead, I’m going to share a sad story with you.

I dropped my favorite mug and cracked it. I’m not sure if you can see it in the photo, but it’s there.

The crack starts on the right side of the block M continues through the A and ends at the bottom of the mug.

This shiny plastic one apparently doesn’t bounce on cement as well as the old not shiny plastic one.

I’m not sure if it will make any difference in how hot my coffee stays –
because I haven’t had a chance to give it a whirl post-dropping.

But it was a choice between the mug (five bucks) or My Baby camera (lots of hundreds of bucks).

It was a no-brainer.

I’m usually pretty good at balancing both but, apparently, not today.

Err, Friday.

(Full disclosure here.)

But, I’ll let you know how that turns out on Sunday, too.

April 29 - Lisa's Musings (on the weekend) and Every Day Life

It's been a long time since I've said, "bring on the weekend."

But I'm like a little kid before Christmas.

I realized it today when I was leaving our weekly editorial meeting.

As you know, the president's going to be in town Saturday.

And, I'm not covering it.

In fact, my editor asked me if I was going to whine about being bumped off A-1 for President Obama's speech to U of M graduates.

Nope.

Un-Uh.

Narry a whimper.

Take it away. No problem.

I know there are a lot of people who are really excited to see a sitting president in Ann Arbor.

I just don't happen to be one of them.

Been there, done that.

I've covered Nixon, Reagan, Ford, even Carter. Think that's all of them.

You see, I've realized that I'm getting a little long in the tooth to cover some things.

Like presidential visits.

And late night meetings.

I actually fell asleep during a meeting last night, which means I need to turn in my crown; it's official, I'm no longer the Queen of Late Night.

But I'm OK with that.

So, it's time to pass the baton on some assignments.

To younger reporters, who haven't had the opportunity to cover really big assignments.

Like presidents coming to town.

So, while I will be setting an early-morning alarm, like all the people who will see and cover the president on Saturday, I'll be heading in a different direction.

I'm taking the weekend off to show my dog.

And, I'm very excited about not working. And heading out of town.

Did I mention: Bring on the weekend?

April 27 - Lisa's Musings (on good days) and Every Day Life

You know when you wake up and you just know it’s going to be a great day?

Before your feet hit the floor.

The kind of day when your coffee tastes really, really good, and the birds are chirping loudly?

And, the sun’s out, but it’s cool enough to wear a vest -- but not cold enough to wear a coat?

As I headed to Project RED at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds, I was in the kind of mood that the morons who cut me off didn’t faze me.

I “Glee”-fully sang The Beatles’ “Hello, Good-Bye” loudly to the radio version, and although I knew it was horribly off-key, it was OK.

It was the kind of day when it sounded great, anyway.

Project RED, as always, was lots of fun. Lots of kids oohing and aahing over the farm animals.

I think my video will tell the story – and I’m waiting for my Internet connection to come back up, so I can get the code and Facebook AND Tweat about it.

I know my photos turned out really, really well and I couldn’t help myself, I’ve included a few since the story won’t appear in the paper until next Thursday.

My house smells like herbs because I stuffed and am roasting a chicken with some of the ones that I’ve been growing since I bought an herb garden from Gracia Greenhouses at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market.

It’s the first time I’ve harvested and used them so I’m excited to taste the difference between the bottle variety and the ones I grew myself.

Yes, I knew when I woke up this morning it was going to be a great day and by George, it’s been a dandy humdinger.