10/28 Mon

OMG,  can't believe it has taken me so long to get back on.  I had connections but NO TIME.  We went to Purina Farms for the dog show.  We got there a week early, but the facilities manager just let us come in and settle in a week ago sun in the spot we had been assigned to go in on Thurs. So we got in days early.  As I previously explained about the facility, it was amazing. Beyond amazing.
So in those days we became friends with the facilities manager.  Enough friends that Leroy talked to him about getting some sort of work their next year.  I think it would be a fine place to spend a few months and save some money, be busy, work dogs and etc.  Its just in a suburb of St. Louis.  Then we made friends with the head dog trainer.  He trains and has a staff and they put on the world incredible dog challenge, and shows there daily.  they compete in dock diving, agility, Frisbee, and whatever else their dogs are good at.  They train in their daily shows that they put on twice a day.  I mean what a job Annie, its right up your alley.
After meeting him and telling him we needed a place to practice he agreed that we could practice in the incredible dog arena at night, so when you see it on TV you will know that we were able to work in that setting.  It was really cool, knowing what it was and being there.  Its on AstroTurf which was good as that is what we were going to have at the show.
So anyhow, we had a great time.  Two little towns near by gave us what we needed like a post office, a laundromat, walmart, and a train store for Leroy.
The show was fun and exciting.  Iris did fair, but did not lite the world on fire like i had hoped.  We did finish our points for our U-ACH title in agility but the next level we tried at she blew EVERY TIME.  She only took her Grand Class in conformation UNTIL I found a nice gal to show her and then she won Best of Breed class but lost in Group.  That doesn't surprise me as in UKC there are different breeds and really good specimens of the breeds that are there and they can be pretty big classes so I figure her showing was respectful.  We got lots of ribbons for qualifying which we did a lot but the scores were so high we didn't get much for placements.  A few fourths and a third.  NOW, Sallee did a fair amount better.  She took her altered class every time, she took her best of breed a few times and she got probably half her agility classes.  She blows a lot of them cause she barks and gets excited and doesn't listen and dashes around the course like a madman on her own.
So that was Purina.  We met some really nice people and their were lots of people we knew from Washington there.  That was cool.  We met a neat gal with Argentine dogos and she so wanted us to take one of the sweetest pups around, but we didn't.  It was so sweet we were tempted but used our heads instead of our hearts. But in making friends it helped her out as she had a flat tire on the way to the show and Leroy ended up helping her out as she had to leave the car and dogs there and hitch a ride to the show with a few dogs and then Leroy had to take her back to change the tire and pick it up.  You know Leroy, Mr. random act of kindness man.
The weather last week was cool, fall, frost in ams a bit, cool wind, beautiful colors, great fresh smell and in general gorgeous fall days running in thirties and forty's but today we are in St Louis and its 86.  God has blessed us with the most beautiful weather this whole trip so we are grateful.
Have to tell you all about my little bird Ella.  She loves the other animals.  She loves Iris and runs (literally) up to her, crawls all over her.  If Iris retreats as she did the other nite, she goes after Sallee.  Sallee is scared to death of her.  So then she is on the floor and she looks around.  No one else to go after and visit, oh, she sees a furry creature.  I will run (literally) over and see them.   The furry creature was Sydney, the cat.  You should have seen his eyes, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.  I caught the little Ella and picked her up before she got to Sydney.  She loves these animals.  She crawled into the crate with Diesel the other day and he wasn't sure what to think.
It seems everyone is having surgery and its a bad time for me to be gone.  Gherry had surgery and I am sure he and Donna could have or had use for me.  Soon Joyce will have surgery and she can use me.  Now I am finally retired and can help people and I am not around.  Feel bad about that!  So all of you concerned that read this please accept my apologies.
I am in the process of switching insurance.  My HMO dropped me so in process of talking with people and getting that done.  What a pain.  These companies have way to much power.  think I will go with a medigap policy thru mutual of Omaha and hopefully that will remain in place for a long time.
I had a lot to tell but waited so long its not here in me right now so if there is anything worth writing i will add it later.
We plan on staying in the st Louis area for a few days.  There are some things we would like to do and most of them are free.  We need to see the arch, and the dog museum and the Clydesdale's, and a few other things, maybe the zoo.  there is a Holocaust museum and a buterfly place, and a bird place.  The outer areas are depressed and kinda backwards looking but the area is totally beautiful and we are getting such a treat to fall, but above all the people are so nice, it is truly something to make you feel great about.  We forget there are so many nice people in the world,and traveling you either see the good ones or the bad and so far we have seen more good than bad.  But of course, we are such nice people how could it be anything else? ha ha ha.