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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

2 More QQs


Taylor had an awesome weekend, despite the rain, earning two double Qs toward his PAX2 title. The Qs also count as the eighth and ninth toward his Master's Jumper's Preferred 5 title (MJP5), and the seventh and eighth toward his Master's Excellent Preferred 4 (MXP4) title. They also count as the 12th and 13th double Qs of the 20 needed for his PAX2 title.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Italian Lentil Soup


Enjoy it with your best friend!

I planned to keep a narrow focus on this blog, but there's also the thing that I also like to cook. So I'm posting this recipe. It's actually for my sister-in-law Mary Pat. I made it for her and her family when they came to visit over Easter. It's easy and inexpensive to make for a group. Credit for the recipe goes to Taste  of Home and Healthy Cooking Magazine.

Italian Lentil Soup

1 Medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
3-1/4 cups water
1 can (14-1/2 oz) vegetable broth
1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
1 med. carrot, shredded
1 small green pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, optional
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 cups cooked brown rice (optional)

1. In a Dutch oven, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the water, broth, lentils, carrot, green pepper, oregano, basil and pepper flakes if desired. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until lentils are almost tender.

2. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes longer or until lentils are tender. Serve with rice if desired.

Nutrition facts: 1-1/3 cups with 1/3 c rice equals 269 calories, 3 g fat (trace sat. fat), 0 cholesterol, 383 mg sodium, 48 g carbohydrate, 14 g. fiber, 13 g protein

Si Doux

ROAR!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Agility + Sadness

When things don't turn out exactly as planned.

Image credit: Her Sadness by Olof Erla Einarsdottir

Here's how we picture ourselves running with our dogs in agility: It's a perfect day, the sky is blue, the grass is green. We make flowing gestures that form perfect cues to a dog whose attention is all ours, as we move effortlessly around the course. The moments tick by in droplets of pure happiness, as we move together in a dance that we wish would never end.

And that is how it is sometimes.

But more often than not, that is how it is not.

And that is where the sadness come in. You see it along the sidelines of every trial. You have your winners, and more than that, you have those who feel they did not accomplish enough.

Taylor, my perfectly imperfect little Papillon, has protected me from this feeling for many years now. Even if we don't qualify. Even if we aren't so fast. I feel we are always winners. Just because I feel so special to have been gifted this tiny flawed jewel of a dog.

But I see it all around me, and I remember it, will always remember it, from the years I used to run my little terrier, Shaun.

He was a wonderful little guy, rescued at two years old from a very tough start in life. He's the reason I started training dogs, and the reason I discovered agility. But at the same time, as much as he was healed by training, he found life in the show ring a challenge.

It was really too much for me to expect for him, to not only recover from a difficult start, but to also somehow metamorphose into a dog that would wear well and prosper in the ring.

His is still with us, of course. He is one of the "Men of Action" pictured just below this article in my blog. He is thirteen years old and probably as happy as as drowsing old terrier could be. He was and is, a good dog.

The lesson I learned with Shaun, however, is that the "myth" with which we so often decorate our thoughts of the way agility "should" be, too frequently pulls the ground out from under the way agility so often "is".

It's true we all usually start running "for fun." But it isn't long before other goals begin to overtake the ones we start with.

Soon, we want to develop the skills we need to show. Then, we want to Q. Not just sometimes,but often. Then we aspire to only double Qs, and of course, the time had better be fast.

Yet throughout this mental transformation, we have the same furry tail wagger at our side. The same one who, at first, was just happy to run, and jump and climb.

But somehow, as time passes, his tail seems somehow not to wag so often. Though we insist our dog is having fun, we notice his times are slowing down. Instead of bounding joyfully around the course, he seems to freeze, or release in odd directions. Or sniff. Or run away.

It's the beginning of a sad chain of events, that unless lovingly redirected, sets itself as inevitably as an anchor on a rock.

It's puzzling. How do the two mindsets -- both the highs, and the lows -- co-exist so inevitably in the sport. It's the limitless thrill. And yet so often also, the bottomless despair.

I actually looked up the symptoms on my browser to see if there might possibly exist a reason or a cure.

This is what I found:

The Highs

  • Racing thoughts
  • Grandiose notions
  • Elation
  • Irritability
  • Inappropriate social behavior
  • Increased talking speed and/or volume
  • Markedly increased energy
  • Poor judgment
  • Insomnia

The Lows

  • Sad, anxious, or empty mood
  • Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism
  • Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness
  • Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
  • Decreased energy, a feeling of fatigue or of being “slowed down”
  • Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions
  • Restlessness or irritability

These are, in fact, a slight moderated list of the symptoms that describe bipolar disorder. It's a wonder how such a simple sport can inspire such deep emotions.

As for a cure, I haven't found one.

Except for never losing sight of the fact that this is a sport we do this with dogs. It's a reality so obvious, yet prone to become lost in illusion.

Love the dog. Don't forget that it's a game.

Don't get lost in a quest that, in the end, leaves what's most important behind.


Friday, May 7, 2010

Belatedly posting our 2QQ Weekend News

Up and over the halfway mark to PAX2

So I'm getting to this a little late, but wanted to share that we earned our tenth and eleventh double Qs toward PAX2 at our trial last weekend. That puts us a little over the halfway mark to the 20 needed for the title. We earned our first PAX last August.

The Qs also earned us the fifth and sixth legs toward our MXP4 title, and the sixth and seventh legs toward our MJP5 title.

Good going Taylor!

This trial was held at our home base club and it's always one of my favorites. It's an outdoor trial, usually a negative, but we have a nice climate controlled building for crating and two nicely fenced rings for running in.

Best of all, at this trial, agility almost becomes a sideshow to the festival atmosphere that always makes this event so enjoyable.

Old friends come back to hugs along the sidelines and we get to meet all the new pups and cheer on the upcoming stars and and our hometown hero grizzled veterans. It's a sort of throwback to the way agility was years ago, when things were friendly and simple and where people were more about the dogs than the titles they hoped to earn.

The grass is always green and soft at this spring trial, and it's the perfect spot to roll on your back with a new puppy while gazing up at a cloud scattered, wildly blue sky.

There was a big cake set out for MACH4 Raleigh, chocolate on the inside and white fluffy icing outside. It disappeared as if by magic, the lucky dogs relishing contraband bits of crumb.

Taylor had a wonderful time, and I was sorry to see it end. He handily scooped up 4 Qs, smiling all the way.

Thanks to everyone who put their heart into making this trial a success. It's a treasure that we all can be proud of.