winning, or even qualifying…yeah a perfectly executed, fast and clean agility run with your dog is exhilarating and of course a blue ribbon is nice, but it’s the moments and the memories in these little video clips below that are what make my face and heart smile and are what matter most to me…there are quite a few clips below, but they are all short and cute and will make you smile...
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain...
Friday when I got home from work, we did some more detail work on the west wall of my house. Saturday morning we finished up all the rest of the details...sanded around the windows, got the rest of the old caulking out from under each and every plank, sanded the whole wall with the random orbital sander, and caulked...
It was also Bike Fest in Sanford this weekend...
I met a friend at Wolfy's for a drink and then we went on to The Breezeway for dinner, and then did a little bar hopping...ended up at a little Italian place and had a chocolate martini...yum!
From there we walked down to Fort Mellon Park and saw Molly Hatchet...
And then, Sunday morning, the west wall got primed!!!!!
I got some yard work done, filled up the pool and let the boys play...it was great fun...then...my friend came back over and we went for a ride on his bike...to Jolly Gator in Geneva...
We ate, drank and spent a bunch of money on the juke box...I love juke boxes and this was a state of the art, digital touch juke box...awesome! It was a beautiful weekend and the weather was perfect especially to be out on a bike...and oh yeah, my friend also has a 1967 "Triumph" motorcycle :)
I miss my sweet Pauli...this was one of the last pictures I took of her....
I'm not even sure how to begin this post as there are just no words to describe how I feel and there are too many words to describe the last 15 years with the most amazing little dog, my sweet, Pauli.
I had to say goodbye to Pauli on Tuesday, October 2, 2012. It was one of the toughest days of my life and my life will never be the same without her in it.
I met Pauli the day she was born, she was only a couple of hours old, and I loved her from that moment on. I brought her home when she was six weeks old and she stole my heart, she stole everyone's heart she met.
One of my favorite pictures of us - this was taken at one of her first Earthdog tests - something she loved probably more than anything.
A day at the beach...Pauli was about 2 years old in this pic and wanting me to throw the frisbee!
A couple of my favorite agility pics with Pauli...
Screaming at the start line...
She was so much fun to run and finished every run jumping up into my arms...this is one of her last agility runs...she was almost 12 years old...Steeplechase round 2 at a local USDAA trial - she won...she won lots and lots of blue ribbons during her agility career.
These pics were taken at the last Earthdog test we did in Ocala this past March...she couldn't wait to get out of the van...she knew exactly where we were and what we were going to do...
The last trip Pauli went on with me was to South Carolina in April...we got to go to the beach and of course, she got to sit on everyone's lap at the trial site...one of her other very favorite things in life...always wanting to be sitting on someone's lap
The Journey
Deep down we somehow always knew that this journey would end. We knew that if we gave our hearts they would be broken. But give them we must for it is all they ask in return. When the time comes, and the road curves ahead to a place we cannot see, we give one final gift and let them run on ahead, young and whole once more. "God speed, good friend," we say, until our journey comes full circle and our paths cross again. And bless their souls for sharing their lives with us... and adding so much to our very existence...
