Posts Tagged ‘Mia’
This past Sunday morning I enjoyed what I like to call the running of the Australian Shepherds. Periodically Mia’s breeder Theresa invites the dog owners out to her farm. It really is quite a sight to see all them bounding around the fields; different coat colors, ages, generations and personalities. While the dogs are chasing one another, we the doggy moms (and occasional dads) get to catch up and compare notes on all things, Aussie! Mia will be two in May; she has gone from puppy to adult and Duke is now a senior dog, how quickly that time went.
Winter is slowly starting to wane in Alberta but the landscape has a dull, muddy look to it. Is it a midlife thing when we start to measure our life by the seasons? I know that I need to break the brown monotony, with some flowers. This is actually my favorite time of year for flowers. In my dating prime I always thought that the man who really got me would have come to the door with spring flowers instead of those expensive roses. A bouquet of daffodils, some vivid iris and tulips, the scent of jasmine or a beautiful bowl of hyacinths would have delighted me. Add to this offering a leather bound copy of one of my favorite books and I would have ……… (insert own words).
Another measurable part of my time is the chunks of it that I spend R&Ring or doing Reading & Research. Finding information & resources for clients and my writing has me uncovering all sorts of interesting material. I therefore thought that I would start to share with you some of the websites and articles that I come across in that process. Some engaging bits and pieces from around the world that will go well With Your Biscotti & Coffee
This week we have; ladies only trains, why acquiring water is still such a challenge in may parts of the world and an article on what may be happening between you and your best friend. Enjoy
1) Ladies Special
In countries where women are breaking with tradition and becoming the bread winners we are seeing some unexpected outcomes. India is now running women only trains. This came about because the women are tired of being verbally and physically abused on the regular trains. Another offshoot is women vendors who sell everything from earrings to hairpins to frozen yogurt to the female passengers.
BBC News: Joy of India’s women only trains
2) Water.org: Women Can’t Do Everything Campaign
Searching for water takes hours out of the day for women around the world.
3) The Myth of the BFF by Kate Fillion
Irene S Levine has a PDF version of this really interesting article that was published in Chatelaine Magazine, January 2010.
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It was a cold Christmas and New Years’ here in Alberta with temperatures often in the -20′s. We however were comfortably ensconced at home having made a decision to have a quiet holiday season; wanting to relax, regroup and restore.
Needless to say this was not ideal dog walking weather so I stretched my imagination to keep them amused with indoor activities. Duke who is known to many of you as the neurotic chocolate lab recently turned nine and his long legs are showing the early onset of arthritis. His vet has just started him on a course of Cartrophen Vet which is of plant origin and not a steroidal anti-inflammatory. There are four shots so we will see if it helps. Mia, his 18 month old Australian Shepherd sister has no sympathy and continues to bug the hell out of him until he plays with her so he needs something!
The weather is particularly hard on the two feral cats who have adopted me or vice versa. I have my quota of indoor cats; anymore and I will be close to ‘cat lady’ status. So we built them a shelter and ensure that they receive dry bedding, regular fresh water and food. No matter how cold and hungry it is my voice that they wait for first when I go outside. When I speak to them their bodies relax and ears perk up, next they want the fresh water and then finally they eat.
Whether soothing a frightened animal, talking to a friend or writing an article it is our voice and the words that we choose that carries the message.
Blogs are all about our voice, the words that we type convey the nature and style of the blog. One of the first things I ask my clients. What do you want to achieve with your blog? Do you want to post about business, life, lifestyle, travels, writing? The range is vast so in order to stand out you have to have a clear vision and goals for your blog.
So with that in mind we have changed the look of this blog to reflect more of what we are about. Imagine that you are sitting in a café with friends discussing movies, politics, books, food and life in general. Life Deco is a blog where we aim to capture that same atmosphere. Drop by anytime all you need to bring is your favorite beverage. We hope that you will leave a comment for that will keep the conversations stimulating.
Thank you to Alanna Morley of Alanna Inc for designing the Life Deco blog.
Yes, here it is the moment you have all been waiting for; a photograph of Duke, the neurotic chocolate lab. It is a far from perfect picture (I definitely didn’t photo-shop him in) I had to take it quickly before he realized that in exchange for the dog cookie the camera was going to take a piece of his soul.
My boy is not having the best of months, he was always a thin dog but his weight loss has recently become so severe we have had to subject him to numerous vet visits and medical tests including a somewhat costly ultrasound. Still not sure what is wrong with him. We are starting to wonder if it is psychosomatic……… and you wonder why I call him neurotic.
Mia is 10 months old now and since we got her in July I have been amazed to discover just how many new theories are out there on the right way to raise a puppy. From what to feed; raw, kibble or vegetarian, when, if and what to vaccinate, when to spay, rabies shot yes or no and how to train; clicker, treat, dog whispering. Last week I spend more time deciding on the right style & color of collar for her than I did buying a new blouse.
Somehow we are getting through the first year. I have a great vet clinic and her breeder to guide me and when all else fails I follow my instincts. She is loving and happy and I can live with the fact that getting her to sit or lie down on the first command well that is still a bit on and off.
Being in the throes of puppy raising I decided to read Marley & Me by John Grogan and it had me laughing out loud. I admire John and Jenny for persevering. Chris & I had to call on a lot of patience when we acquired our chocolate lab. While I loving call Duke ‘neurotic’, in fact he 
came to us as a rescue dog and we went through a lot to get him to a state of near normalcy. It took years to socialize him and for us to learn what he could and couldn’t handle. For instance the reason that there are no pictures of this fairly handsome boy is that he cannot overcome his fear of cameras.
Duke has finally realized that despite all his best attempts to end her young life that Mia is not going away. He is willing to play and interact with her from 8am -8pm, then he retreats to his bed with a do not disturb snarl at the ready. At 6 months of age Mia is an Australian Shepherd in progress. She recently started puppy classes where I tend to get more attitude than obedience. Overall though she is the happiest of dogs so I don’t have the material for a Mia & Me book, but with that face maybe a bit part in a Disney movie?
As it is uncharacteristically warm in Alberta and there are no icy sidewalks to contend with we are able to continue our regime of 5:45ish am walks. While Mia & I are ready to go at that time, Duke and beloved need to stretch, yawn and perform various masculine rituals before we can even get out of the door. As you can see from the pic, Mia is wearing her favorite scarf and her impatient “I’m ready to go” expression.
We made the decision, found a great breeder and got an Australian Shepherd puppy. What was I thinking!!!??? Actually Mia is wonderful but all that energy. I have surprised myself though, I am more patient than I use to be, laugh at her antics and quickly realized that the best thing to do was go with the flow and enjoy her.
I especially like the way that she has re-decorated the house. The living room is a delightful blend of PetSmart toy aisle accented with a few chewed up magazines tossed here and there for that splash of colour. The kitchen she has done in the wet look of upended water bowl. But nothing can surpass the bathroom now a trendy grunge look of toilet paper draped everywhere except on the roll .
House breaking is so much easier in the summer, as is her training and exercise. The blip is that the chocolate lab really doesn’t like her so I have to keep a close eye on the two of them. The back yard is fenced but I worry that he may try to push her through one of the few small openings or whisper in her ear that the little green unripe crab apples are really puppy treats. So I usually sit outside with them which has actually been a good thing. I stop slaving over a hot laptop, grab my book and relax for awhile. I have even strayed from my schedule, made my afternoon tea and herded them both outside. Quelle shock!
A friend of mine, UK Life Coach Lynette Allen is currently raising TWO spaniel puppies, she is using the Life Coaching puppy training method mixed with some timely cursing. While I am trying the Zen like ‘what the hell’ method mixed with expletives. Lynette’s blog is aptly entitled The Life Behind the Coach .
Here are some pictures of our new addition Mia on the Casselcreek Australian Shepherds website.
(For those of you who are new to this blog the Aussie in the picture with me is Jenna, we lost her to a brain tumor in May.)