Friday, December 30, 2016

National Specialty and a week in Colorado in October

Lavonne at the Pony Express Station
Every year we go to the National Specialty of the American Lhasa Apso Club. It is an annual ritual to go to the National and the Regionals that accompany it. We see old friends and make new ones. We get to see the top winning lhasas and show off our lhasas to others. It is fun.

This year my lhasa apso partner, Karen, was unable to go to the Nationals because one of our gals, Secret was due to have puppies. So she chose to stay home to wait for the puppies to come. So I traveled with our friend, Lavonne to Colorado. We drove out to Loveland together with four lhasas.
The trip out was long and uneventful until we stopped for the night in Nebraska. We get checked in and start to drive around the building to get to our room and I look at the person standing in the parking lot with an Alaskan Malamute. It was our friend Pam from Wisconsin. I could not believe it. We ran into each other so far from home. Weird. She was on her way to the National for her breed in a different part of Colorado. We chatted for a while then we all headed to our rooms for a well deserved rest after being on the road most of the day.

We got up early the next day and started out. We stopped for breakfast down the road and then did a little touring. Lavonne jumped the fence to see the sod house. I kept the van running in case we needed a quick getaway.

The Sod house and the fence Lavonne jumped.
See the little red dot next to the Sod House that is Lavonne.

We got going and then stopped at the Pony Express station in a cute little town. It was free to go into and was very rich with history as well as the volunteer who told us all about the station and the town.

The Pony Express Station
The Station's desk
So we continued on. Oh I almost forgot to tell you... we dropped this cute little kitty off to a friend our on way to Colorado. She is doing fine in her new home and couple who adopted her just love her to pieces.

So we get to Colorado and get settled in. It sure is beautiful there and the weather was great. Hotel was beautiful and very accommodating to the American Lhasa Apso Club and the lhasas. We started showing on Tuesday with the Regional #1 and the Futurity. I had Tryst entered in the Stud dog class and we had Mo and Sydney entered in the 6-9 and 9-12 puppy bitch classes. Little did I know this was going to be a hell of a day.

More later.........



Wisconsin Winnebago International Travelers Campout in Stevens Point

Rainy Campout

Water outside my door into rig. Surrounded and sitting in a little lake.

RAINY CAMPOUT IN STEVENS POINT!!!!

So I am trying to get all caught up on the posts from Fall. Well looky at the last camp out of the year in Stevens Point. Oh it rained and it was damp and cool most of the days. Day one the bar/grill has a great fish fry for us and it was good food. The weather was nice that night. 
My hubby showed up the next night and it was rainy and damp and cold. We had club meetings most of the day and those who were interested did some tours or shopping. I stayed in with Rosie and Flash. We got some well needed cleaning done in the rig. 
It rained most of the night and I woke up to my hubby climbing out the drivers side of the cab because the water surrounding us was not as deep there. A couple of the other campers and a guy from the campground helped me unplug and get the rig ready to move. They were telling me what to do so that I did not get stuck. I said that "this was not my first time at the rodeo" and that I could get out of my lake. So I got her started. Took off the parking brake and then off I went. No sliding, no spinning tires, just drove out like it was not even wet. They just stood there staring at me.
Overall the campout was great. First time for Dean in the motorhome overnight. It was nice to have some time alone with him.
So there is the summary of the Camp Out. Now on to the National Specialty in October in Colorado.

Monday, December 5, 2016

Time to Catch Up and Catch my Breath!!!

Well - I have been a bad bad blogger. Things just got out of hand this Fall. I started a part-time job in late August and so time has been dedicated to that and the current on going job search. But that is another story and not one for the blog.

So the last show of the year in September was Sheboygan and we did well. Not sure if I shared that or not. We won winners bitch with Sydney one day and Mo one day. Stewie lost the breed to Sydney one day too. Cause he was a putz.


 Karen with Mo winning Best of Breed Puppy and Puppy Group Placement

Stewie showing what a dork he is

Sheboygan set up, rained the last day.

Sydney winning Best of Breed over Stewie
 So it was a cooler and then rainy show. We had fun. Next on tap is the National Specialty in October. Will bring that information on the blog after I download all the photos. So have fun catching up with me. More later.

Monday, September 12, 2016

A busy start to Fall...

Oh Fall is in the air!!!! 
             Yes I saw some yellow and orange leaves in the trees going to and from Marquette Michigan over Labor Day weekend. The lhasas, Karen  and I went to the four show weekend in Marquette for Labor Day. The weather was beyond perfect. No rain. Not hot. Great temperatures. It was fabulous.

We had some hook-up drama when the plugs we had did not work in the electric plug on site, but we got it figured out and all was well. We had a site that had a tree and electric and water. Which is rare at a fairground for a dog show. Here is a photo  of the site all set and ready to go.


All set up, right next to the show building. That was fabulous and a spot to die for. We were close to our grooming and if we did not want to use our bathroom there was one right next door. I told the club members that I will request the space next year. It was quiet and had plenty of light at night for security.

My friends came up for the weekend too. Dianne and Karen came up to go touring and shopping in the area. We all went out to dinner on Friday night and had a great time at a wonderful place in Marquette that serves a rib eye that melts in your mouth. It was great. We also got red velvet cupcakes from Huron Bakery in Marquette. It is a great bakery that makes super breads and of course, huge cupcakes.

We ate dinner at the club's annual show dinner on Saturday night and it was great. Nice to talk to club members, vendors and other show people. Everyone was so nice. Food was great. The raffle that they had was wonderful too.

I love when a club has a casual dinner like that during a long circuit. It helps with having a balanced meal rather than eating some of the crazy stuff we eat while living in the motor home during the shows. The 4H club had the food booth at the  shows and the food was homemade and wonderful. You could get a breakfast or lunch plate for $5. Yummy!!!!

Now for the showing part. We showed Sydney and Stewie. Sydney went Reserve Winners Bitch everyday to Mike Reinke's bitch. Syd is getting better everyday with every show. Stewie won the breed 3 times no love in the group though. He is learning the Group ring and what all that means. It looked nice, but you can tell he is only 15 months old. So we felt the showing part was good even though we did not rock it.

Karen won two raffle baskets and I won one. The club always has a great little raffle. They also have a great bake sale. Yummy desserts. I know I seem to always talk about food.  Oh well.

Our friend Pam and her Malamute had a great show circuit. She won her last points to finish her Championship and then on Sunday, she went Best Owner Handler in Show. We are thrilled for her. She looked great and we cheered and cheered for her. Again congrats to Pam and her girl.


We had fun as usual. Cheered on our friends old and new. We have a break for a couple of weeks and then one more show before the National in Colorado.Check out www.lhasaapso.org for information about the shows. It will be a fun week.

So I had a quick turn around this week and went to Lanesboro, Minnesota to the Eagle Cliff Campground for the RVing Women rally. Dianne came along with me for the weekend trip. We took Flash along so we had canine company. I am not so sure she liked most of it. But she seemed to be more comfortable on Saturday when it stopped the raining that occurred all day on Friday and into Friday night.
Looking over her domain.

Looking out window from the bed to see what the dog next door was doing.





So you see that Flash seemed to get a little more like herself on Saturday while we were getting ready to go for a walk around the grounds. The cliffs are beautiful and the river was running very fast. The campground had canoe/kayak trips and tubing. The weather was not exactly the best for doing any of those. The RVing Women LyteHearts group went for bike rides and Owl watching during the day on Saturday. Dianne and I decided to just relax. We took a walk around. You can see the white cliffs in the pictures. I never knew that this area of Minnesota existed. So I was pleasantly surprised.
The Eagle Cliffs

More cliffs

The Root River boarded the campground.

Fast moving and muddy after all the rain the day before.


The campground lower area near the river.

The campground was nice, clean and very pretty. The site I had was on the end of the row so we had only one person next to us. It was quiet and very very very dark at night. It was so dark you could not even see your own hand. It was truly dark. Sleep well.

On Saturday night the RVing Women has a pot luck dinner and Bingo. We made a skillet dish to share. There was so much food, it was insane. If you went away hungry from that dinner, you did not try. Dianne and I stayed and played Bingo. Dianne won one game and received some $$$ and camper shaped Salt and Pepper Shakers. Very Cute.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you - we colored most of the afternoon so we could enter the coloring contest. My deer coloring won 3rd place!!!! I was totally surprised. I received a coloring book and a little comical dancing chipmunk. It was fun. 

Dianne and I met some great ladies and and had a great relaxing weekend despite the soggy start. I am very pleased with MOM and now I can say that I have turned on the propane and use it for running the refrigerator, the water heater and the heat. We were dry, warm and had hot water. Yea!!!

MOM rests this week and gets cleaned up and then off to Wisconsin WIT in Stevens Point. The last rally for the year. It should be fun. I hope the weather is good. 

Well, all of us deserve a rest after these two trips. Thanks to Dianne, Karen, Karen and Pam for all your support and help at the shows and traveling with me this summer.

More later...... have safe Fall.

Jan and Rosey











Monday, August 29, 2016

OUCH! OUCH! OUCH!
Oh my gosh, yes this is the front passenger side of MOM. Oh I was on my way to clean out the tanks from the last weekend and I met a van in an intersection. Well  I guess MOM will be getting a facelift.
Thank God no one was hurt. Dean and I are fine. The other party in the van is fine. I am madder than anyone will ever know. Dean said that he had never seen me as mad as I was that day.
Well needless to say MOM was towed to the dealer for estimates and repair. I had a dog show to go to that weekend not to mention all the shows where I all ready had sent in my RV parking reservation. Yesh!!!

So I am pleased to say that the body shop at Maritime Ford in Manitowoc worked their magic and I was able to go to the dog show on the weekend to Marshfield. So let me tell you I will sing the praises of the Body shop at Maritime Ford. Thanks!



So my friend, Dianne and I get on the road Friday to head to Marshfield. The Marshfield Kennel Club holds their show at the Central Wisconsin State Fairgrounds. This is the home of the round barn. It is a wonderful show site. We had had rain so the motorhome parking areas were a little soggy, but they offer water and electric at the sites. It is cozy and close to the show and grooming buildings. It is a great show site.


 There was a rainbow over the showgrounds after the rain one of the days we were there. I had Sydney entered and she showed very well - she won her class one day and placed the other. She is really starting to like this showing thing. Karen dropped her littermate, Faith off on Saturday morning because she was ring stewarding all day and did not Faith to be alone in the grooming area. So she came with us. Then she got to sleepover so Karen did not have to tote her back home and then back in  the morning. The two girls had fun playing outside.

Lavonne Bennett won with her bitch Misti both days. So she now has all her majors and more. I think Lavonne said that she only needs a few singles to finish now. Great job and congrats to her. Lynn Replogle's dog was the only dog and the judge gave her BOW on Sunday for the major. Congrats to you. Joyce did well with Josh her special and he got  Group placements in both the All-Breed Non-Sporting group and Owner Handler groups.

It was a nice weekend with dog friends and with my buddies Dianne and Karen. They explored the area while we showed dogs. They always had a great time and that Dianne spent lots of money that weekend at the thrift shops. But wouldnt you with all the bargains out there?
Next shows are in Marquette. Dianne and Karen are coming up to explore the area and cheer Karen and I on at the shows. Our friend, Pam, will be there too with her Alaskan Malamute.( I hope I spelled it correctly).So we will photos and more stories to tell.

Till next time- Jan and Rosie
Sidney and Faith enjoy the cool day.
You can see how well the Body shop fixed the booboo.

The sun was starting to come out while the girls were playing.    



Monday, August 1, 2016

Weekend of No Dog Show for me. Actually did something different.


This is my set up at Waupaca County Fairgrounds in Weyawega, WI overt the last weekend. I was there for the WIT Wisconsin Rally, Winnebago International Travelers group. This organization is a membership group for owners of Winnebago RV's.  Since I own Mom, a Winnebago Access, I joined.
It was a fun and tiring weekend. Rosie sat this one out since I did not know how much time I would be away from Mom. My friend Dianne came with me. Per our usual craziness, Dianne and I had a crazy fun time. 

We went shopping on our way to the rally at the Country Garden Barn outside of Waupaca. It is great unique shopping experience. I got some looks pulling Mom in their little parking lot, but it worked. We then went to the rally location, checked in and settled in for the night. We looked through the schedule and welcome packet. People who we met when we checked in were all so very friendly.

I went to the opening on Friday and met some great people. Dianne and I listened to the SkyMed presentation and then had lunch. There were many activities to go that afternoon. We stuck around and talked with people and got ready for the Pig Roast that evening. The roast was great and we had a nice time with everyone, we dressed up in our Hawaiian clothes for the theme of the party. The K9 Unit from Waupaca County came and gave us a wonderful presentation. Awesome dog and handler. After that we had ice cream and the Fire Department talked about fire safety in our RV's. So then it was off to bed. 

The next day was a potluck breakfast which was very delicious. We then again could chose to go on some tours, but we stayed behind because we had the Wine and Canvas at noon. So here are our masterpieces in Mom. Mine is on the right and Dianne's on the left. I think we did very well.

So that night we had a catered dinner and some entertainment. The silent auction was chosen and so was the winner of the Quilt Raffle, it wasn't me. Congrats to all the winners. I did receive a very beautiful handmade cutting board from the door prizes. Very beautiful. So it was a great but tiring weekend. My next trip is a dog show with Rosie and Dianne. So it will be fun. So look for more on that later in August. 

Oh and is by chance you thought we would be without dog love all weekend, not to worry many of the WISWIT members in attendance brought their dogs with them. I even clarified several owners dog breeds in their dogs. It was fun and great to talk about dogs and of course lhasa apsos.

Toodles for now - Jan and Dianne

Monday, July 25, 2016

Here we are in the hot summer...

Wisconsin on Lake Michigan is usually cooler near the lake. Usually it is, but not this summer. WOW! Do not leave children, plants, animals or anyone or thing in your car, motorhome or home without a means of staying cool. Check on your neighbors - especially the elderly. Heat affects them fast.

I have been home, cleaning and getting ready for the next adventure. I pray every time I hear that it is going to rain with the potential of strong winds, rain and hail - my MOM is sitting out side under the stars. So any bad weather can harm her. So fingers crossed that she stays safe. MOM, my motorhome means alot to me and I do not want anything to happen to her.

This is Lake Michigan views from Manitowoc.



Planning to go to the WIT State Rally. I have not gone before, will be meeting other people who own Winnebago RVs. All sizes and shapes. It will be good to talk to people who have a common interest.
There will be a meeting, lots of food, activities and a Wine and Painting event. It should be fun if it does not rain or be too hot!!!

Dog shows are not until mid-August in Central Wisconsin. Looking forward to it. Then I am gone almost every weekend to dog shows. Dean's brother gets married in August too, so it will be a busy month.

Well stay cool. All the lazy lhasas are sleeping all ready to stay cool. Tomorrow is cherry picking in Door County. If you never have done it, you should. It can be a fun day and you donot have to be on your knees like when you pock strawberries.

Jan and Rosie

Monday, July 18, 2016

Here we are doing the best we can do....


                                                          





Well, we went to a 4 day dog show in Duluth Minnesota to have fun and enjoy a fellow dog show exhibitors wedding.    Yes, I said wedding. More on that later.

I got moving at 5 am last Wednesday to start the drive to Duluth. I stopped outside of Wausau to pick up my partner in crime - Karen and 2 lhasas. So off we go. Basically the ride is uneventful which is great. We get closer to Duluth and had to go around some nicely flooded and washed out road. The northern part of the State of Wisconsin had some very bad flooding and damage from crazy rain early in the week last week. So we make it through and arrive at our destination - Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center (DECC).

Double Rainbow after a quick rain at the DECC


Our MOM setup at the show. Behind the rig is the city of Duluth MN

 I check us in and find out we get a 20 amp service and are two parking areas away from the dog show. That is okay, I need the exercise, but 20 amp service hardly runs the air conditioner with any thing else. Well, a friend of Karen's and now mine,  showed me how to turn on my propane so I could take the load off and run the frig on the propane. So I now know how to do that and it worked fine all weekend and I did not blow up. YEA!!!! Gus also gave me some other helpful RV tips and I gave him some. SO it was great.

The dog show it self was great. The Duluth KC folks are really nice and work so very hard. The show went well I thought for the exhibitors. If you never have gone you should. The area that the show is in is the Canal District of Duluth. They have wonderful shops and food establishments there. Grandma's is the famous one that everyone loves to visit, but there is a variety of places and for every price range. We went to Grizzly's on Thursday for steak. It was delicious. It rained while we were walking back to the MOM. Also, an other important note of this show is that there are showers in the facility for exhibitors who are staying in their rigs to use. We used them while there and it was hot water and clean. There were lines at times, but it was worth the wait.

Saturday night, two dog show exhibitors chose to get married after the Best of Show. It was wonderful and the Coopers are now a married couple. The wedding was wonderfully done and you did not feel like you were at a show site. The wedding vows were personal to the couple and either done with singing or music to represent how they felt about each other. Good friends were the wedding party and that include dogs that represented the 7 groups. It was really a cool thing. There was as party afterwards at Grandma's and everyone had a great time.

setting up the wedding area

one of the decorations


The showing of our lhasas got complicated when we realized that we needed one more person to take a dog in when we went in for Breed. Thursday we asked a random exhibitor who was kind enough to help us out. Friday and Saturday our friend Tami and her daughter helped us. Sunday the specials played hooky so we did not need help. The two litter mates - Sydney and Faith did very well for 6 month old puppies at this long circuit. This was Sydney's first show as Faith had been at West Bend a few weeks ago. They adjusted to the schedule well and had fun playing outside when it wasn't raining back at the setup.

Sydney won the points 3 of the 4 shows, which gives her 3 points. Faith won one show which gives her 1 point. She also won Best Bred By Exhibitor in lhasas and then went on to take Group 1 Nonsporting Group. Sydney received Best Puppy one day and then on Sunday Best of Breed.Penny - Stewie's sister, won Owner Handler and did get OH Group 3 one of the days. Over all she did well going BOS. Our Judges were Dale Simmons, Barbara Dempsey Alderman, Thora Brown and Arley Hussin for our breed. All of them were wonderful with the puppies.

Day One - Point 1 - Winners Bitch

Sunday - Best of Breed - Winners Bitch - 1 point



Stewie was Best of Breed three days and went into the Non Sporting group having not been there since December. He was not sure of what was going on and why all these odd looking creatures were in the ring with him. He was extremely nervous. I tried to calm him the best I could. He got away from me and pooped in the ring on Thursday, but he managed to get through it. Friday he showed better but dropped his tail and got very anxious when he saw the Chow Chow, he does not like them for some reason. Friday he was way more comfortable with the Group Ring and showed very well. I think once he gets comfortable in that big ring where he can really stretch out his legs and move he will do so.
Stewie moving at Kettle Moraine, photo taken by Michael Yang


The photos below are from his two Best of Opposite Sex at the Kettle Moraine shows- supported entry and specialty.

Stewie winning Best of Opposite at Specialty under Wendy Paquette
                                 



Stewie winning Best of Opposite under Dr Alvin Krause

Both of the above show photos were taken by Booth Dog Show Photographers. They are a generational photo family of dog show wins. I have over 35 years of Booth photos of my wins. I appreciate how hard the photographers work.

Well, the week was good . Now I take a little break. Rosie and I are off to the WIT State Rally at the end of the month to sit and meet and party with other Winnebago owners from around the state of Wisconsin. It is my first one and should be fun. Hope it is not too hot. I just cant believe that the temperatures in our Northeast Wisconsin area are going to be in the 90's later this week. That is hot. Summer is going fast, but it has been a good one so far. So off to bed we go. It is a warm night.

More after the WIT State Rally. Stay cool, enjoy your summer. More when time allows.

Jan and Rosie


Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Kettle Moraine KC Dog Show weekend

Stewie in the Best of Breed at Milwaukee Lhasa Apso Club Specialty.

               




This is the motor home set up at the show. There is water hook up and electric at each site. Very nice.
I know now how to hook up to the water and I finally opened up the awning. Our neighbor helped me through the process. Then I guess I put it away correctly because it stayed on the motor home on the way home. So yea!!! All is good. At the next shows I will be taking water with in the tank, because they do not have hookups for water. It looks as if the weather will be nice but with on and off chance of rain the week we are there for the show. I will tell you where we are with photos after we return home.

So it has been a decent summer show season so far. I did miss Cambridge shows because of a major infection from dental work and my arm and shoulder are still giving me a tough time - so I am trying to be good.

We had a good time at the shows. Stewie received 2 Best of Opposite Sex and 1 Select Dog. His sister Penny received Select Bitch each show and Best of Breed Owner Handler. The new kid Faith did well and showed cute. Joyce's puppy Jenna was winners Bitch for 5 point major and Faith was Reserve bitch that show. Lavonne's Misti was winners bitch for her first major and then went on to a Puppy Group 2. All in all everyone did well. Lynn finished her dog and bitch at these shows. And Polly's specials bitch Bella was handled by Lynn Meyer to two Best in Specialty wins and a Best of Breed win.

Anyway, I hope you had a good 4th of July weekend. Safe and not too much fireworks noise for the dogs.

Toodles till next time.

Jan and Rosie




























Sunday, June 5, 2016



OUCH OUCH and OUCH!!!!!  How did I do that?


No, Rosie did not hurt herself. She is just screaming for me. I think I told you that my arm hurt. Well after visiting the chiropractor and the massage therapist, yes I have really hurt my shoulder. Not a rotater cup but the muscles and tendons that work with the shoulder. So right under my left shoulder blade through my shoulder and down my forearm - IT HURTS constantly.
So it is getting better so I thought I would catch up.

Not going anywhere for a couple more weeks then it is off to Minnesota for some shows there. I have not been there for many many years so I am looking forward to it. I am a little apprehensive though because all I keep hearing about on FB is people having issues with their motorhome tires. I have 6 brand new tires, but Mom sits between shows so I move her around and I really need to get covers for the tires.

I decided to take her to the tire place after I weigh her tomorrow to be sure that the tires are okay. I also need to be shown what to do as far as checking them. Hubby usually does that and he is not always with me. But I should know. So  that is tomorrow's assignment after my morning chiropractor appointment.

So have a good couple of weeks. Will check in after or during the shows. Be safe. Be at peace with who you are and the world. Be healthy and be kind.

Jan and Rosie

Wednesday, May 25, 2016


 It was a great weekend! Beautiful weather, good food and great friends!!

 Here we are at the dog show this past weekend in Oshkosh. I arrived on Friday and stayed through Sunday. We had a great weather weekend and the lhasas got to stay outside in the exercise pens for most of the day. They loved barking at other dogs, people and horses.

The weather was great - no rain. We showed late in the day so puppies got to run around. It was a relaxing weekend.




Great food was prepared and we had steak with mushrooms and potatoe salad. Yummy!

  Stewie was Best of Breed on Saturday. Karen showed him in the group for me so I could see him. He looked nice. Sunday Penny won the Breed and Group 3. Yippie!!!



                                               
This is one of the beautiful horses that was being shown at the Oshkosh Dressage at the fairgrounds where the dog show was.                                                                                                       

I also took a picture of the motorhome inside at night, so you can see how the dogs are all tucked in their bunks. It really works well for the shows, with the rest of the coach accessible and not disturbing the dogs. 

I am making this post short and sweet today as I also hurt my arm over the weekend. I can not keep my left arm in a typing position very long, it really hurts. Not much gets me but this really is. So please have a safe weekend this holiday weekend. Have fun regardless of what you may be doing, dog shows, cookouts or nothing.

More after I feel better.

Toodles - Jan and Rosie