And now for something a little different...

...Pictures of me! Yes, I do exist!

Since I usually take the pictures, I am not in them. However, now that I have officially reached the "50 pounds lost" mark, maybe I won't be so camera shy. I spent weeks sorting old photos from the past 30 years (see my flashback post for the pic of me at age 18). I can't believe how few pictures I am in. It is sort of like I have been missing from my own life!

So I took the picture above of myself, in a mirror, to record my weight loss so far. It was taken on December 20. I look like I am getting younger since moving to Alberta! Is there a fountain of youth here?

With my sister visiting, I actually have a couple more photos of me and I will get her to take more. She snuck these of me on our Christmas Day walk...me taking a photo of Jet and Ted at the dogpark...Below I am walking ahead of her, with the dogs... taking the dogs for a walk on Christmas Day is one of my favourite Christmas traditions!And here is the picture I took of the munchkins, in front of a bird's nest I spotted. I love how Border Collies look in the white snow - so crisp and little black button noses!I took this one of Lori at Three Mile Bend.A few more of her photos from Christmas Day - these are the trees in front of my house. In Alberta they call this a "hoar frost." I understand this is a common term, but never heard it in Thunder Bay! And she snapped this shot of my little church house on Christmas Day! I love this house, it is so cozy and has such good vibes!
Here is "Auntie Lori" with Caden, who just loves her. She drove to Alberta with us when he was a wee pup and he still remembers her!
Here she is with my 6-month-old Caden at the little house I rented in Ponoka when I first moved to Alberta.
And I JUST turned around and took this picture! We are about to have our morning coffee. All of the dogs are competing for her attention - Ted and River share a chair to get closer.
I am enjoying my sister's visit so much! I can't believe we aren't 10 and 12 years old anymore. In fact, I will be 50 in 2010 - wow! I am so happy to be losing weight and feeling younger and happier and more healthy than I have felt in many years.

But can someone tell my eyes that? Maybe it is all this blogging, but I found out I need glasses two weeks ago!! Here is the pair I settled for - a nice copper-framed pair of Oakleys. I'll have them in a week.

Santa Came!

Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!

Of course, guess who had to be told they weren't ALL for her!

Here is a cute e-card to enjoy...

http://ak.imgag.com/imgag/product/preview/flash/pdShell.swf?ihost=http://ak.imgag.com/imgag&brandldrPath=/product/full/el/&cardNum=/product/full/ap/3173936/graphic1

Waiting for Santa

All is peaceful as everyone waits for Santa...The younger dogs are fast asleep, dreaming of 100% digestible pork rawhides,

liver cookies and giggle balls... Jet dreams that Santa will leave her a new bed, as she is sure he knows how much she loves to organize and re-arrange (and chew up) every dogbed in the house - the more the better!
Caden dreams that St. Nicholas sprachens ze Deutche and is appreciative of what a good boy he has been learning all of his obedience commands...When Santa comes, I will Fuss for him, and he will say "Break!" and toss me a treat or a ball, dreams young Caden...And even the older dogs keep a watchful eye for Santa. River even has a present for him - her best chewtoy (my IKEA slipper)...
River is thinking - when Santa shows up, I will parade by and show him that I have not chewed this slipper, so he will leave me extra cookies and tell me I am a Princess... Ted just really hopes Santa will give him a hug - more affection at the top of Ted's list because one can never have enough love, or give enough love!!! And Ted thinks, when Santa comes I will lean on him and put my chin on his arm and smile, so he knows what a kind heart I have, and give me a scratch behind my ear...And all of the dogs in Nanna's china cabinet look on quietly, knowing each dog will get its wish... they have seen many Christmases from their vantage point in the cabinet! The howling wolves on the piano howl something magical that only Santa and his reindeer can hear, to let them know dogs are dreaming here...
The angel sends a blessing to the animals, knowing what joy they bring to this home, and what loving hearts they all have...
The bear and the bunny know there will be special treats in this bowl on Christmas Day!
The little Santas can't wait to see their namesake as he makes his stop this Christmas...
"Do you see what I see?" says the picture behind them! Way up in the sky, litle lamb... And the humblest decoration of all, the little Nativity from my childhood, looks on and is happy that on Christmas Eve, so much happiness and peace fills this house, that was once a church.
Merry Christmas Everyone!

May all of your dreams come true

And may peace and love fill your home this Christmas

and throughout 2010

With love from

Donna, my sister Lori who is here for Christmas

River and Caden

Jet and Ted

Countdown to Christmas! Lights, snow, action!

We are on the countdown to Christmas! Tonight I put everyone out while I untangled lights and put them up. I got these beautiful starlights from IKEA...when I was finished decorating, I looked outside and saw that it is snowing again! Here is River's snowy face in starlight. I took this without a flash. I went outside to get this picture of River with her snowy face. The truth is, she shook before I could take it, so I drizzled this snow on her face to recapture the moment...work with me River, work with me! After patiently posing with her snowface, River said "let me in!" In my haste to get outside with my camera, I closed my curtains in the door! Caden's winter coat is coming in and he is getting very dark.

After finally coming in from the snow, the dogs welcome you into Spiritdance Church! I just love it with the lights up. River poses on the chair with a shot of my starlights behind her. Above in the window is my LOVE sign, and my Christmas tree angel is posed beside it. I remember buying that Christmas tree angel in the mid 80s at a craft show and I have always loved her. Jet and Ted pose in front of the dining room table. They are so cute, and they really hold a pose well.

Here's a glimpse of the lights in the dark. You should not be surprised I found purple lights. This year I managed to run them along the loft as well - I'll have more pictures another night.

Jet waits for me at the top of the stairs. I put some lights on the ironwork in the church vestibule.I'll post more pictures of my special Christmas decorations this week. I just LOVE decorating for Christmas. It is my favourite holiday of the year.

Here are two outtakes...Caden jumped every time he heard the camera beep before taking the picture, and River looks pained...And Ted talks to me, about how he would like a liver square for holding this pose for so long! And Jet looks pained. Funny, it is the boys in both photos being goofy!

Clearly, not much tracking and herding going on, but I can't even imagine Christmas without these guys. And this year, my sister is coming and I am so excited - 3 days! I haven't seen her in over a year.

Recipe for Christmas Dog Gourmet Liver Cookies

It was a joint effort to make around 800 little liver - carrot squares for all of our friends in Alberta. If you live further away, I could not trust the mail, sorry! But the recipe is below. Easy to make and very popular with my crew!Recipe for Liver and Carrot Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 F

Cut one pound of liver (beef or chicken) into chunks

Puree the liver
Add one grated carrot and one egg
Puree more

*note, this is not for the feint of heart

and those who get queasy at the sight of blood...

* it really helps if you have a dog to guard the bowls...
(or at least they think so)

In a separate bowl whisk together :

1.5 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup cornmeal

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp garlic

Mix puree with dry ingredients and put in a lightly greased 8x10 pan
I made double batches so used the bigger pan above
Bake for 30 minutes

Turn onto wire racks to cool completely

Again, it really helps to have your loyal dogs guard things at this point With your dogs assessing the correct size, cut into squares when cool
(mine felt most squares were too small)

At this point, it is also helpful to let your dogs taste them
To ensure they are good quality and suitable for their friends Now it's time to recruit volunteers for clean -up

*note that dogs with white ruffs will need clean-up after licking deep bowls (I found this out the hard way...pink hair!)

Very diligent dogs will pair up to make sure bowls are cleaned well enough to go right back into the cupboard! No one but you will know...Some dogs, especially dogs named Jet, work better alone...and will use one evil eye to ward others awayBut with adequate supervision they can sometimes be persuaded to share a gooey spoon, which once licked clean, can also be popped back in the drawer - so handy!After the treats are cut into squares, freeze them overnight for shipping to friends! Hey, look at all of my Alberta friends!At this point, I wanted a picture of the dogs joyfully wishing that everyone will enjoy the treats, but what they really seem to be saying is...We thought those were for US!!
What do you mean you are mailing them to our friends?
When are we making more???

And credit for the recipe is The Dogtreat Kitchen - thanks!

No bowls were harmed in the making of these cookies.

Flashback! Me, Beau and Jessie, 1978

What a flashback! I have been going through old pictures, and this is one of me in 1978 with my frst two Rough Collies, Beau Flambeau of Brackenbrae (on the right), and Ch. Banreigh of Brackenbrae CDX HC TT on the left. In this picture Beau was 9 and Jessie was 1-1/2 years old.

My family got Beau when I was nine years old in 1969 (OK, you can do the math). His great-grandsire was a famous dog named Int'l Ch. Lochinvar of Ladypark, a majestic British collie who some say was the greatest collie of all time. The Beswick figurine is modeled after Lochinvar. Beau was an old - style collie in appearance and temperament, a loyal and intelligent companion with a flashy temper and little tolerance for foolish people or dogs. He was a collie before the Lassie popularity phase influenced breeders to tone the breed down a bit and make them less 'sharp' and more 'gentle.' It is funny but because of Beau's influence, I have always enjoyed my dogs a bit on the edgy side - as long as they are solid in temperaent, a bit of fire is a nice thing.

He was an amazing dog to have from the time I was 9 until I was 21 years old. He came with me every day on my first job at a touristy place called Centennial Park, and often laid at my feet when I was in University (before all the dog rules made it hard to bring your dog to public places).

Jessie was also a great dog, but her background went to Ch. Chin-Peek Pacer, a Parader -based (Steve Field) dog on her sire's side and Ch. Bririch Gold Emblem and Dazzler of Dunsinane (British dogs) on the dam side. Jessie was the first dog I really did "dog stuff" with. Even though I wasn't into tracking, she was Utility trained and used to put on demos for boyscouts where they would pile their shoes into the centre of a room and she would find the match for any shoe I presented to her. She would have been a wonderful tracking dog! But she was a grand old lady of 12 when I discovered tracking, and lived to her 13th birthday. I will have to dig out the photo of her on her 13th birthday - she was stunning and in wonderful shape. One day she just went into a coma and I lost her, very suddenly. It is so hard when they get old!

I still remember the day I brought Jessie home that year, in 1978. She had won some trophies as a puppy - so I lined them up on our piano to convince my parents to let me keep her, I was so desperate for another dog! My parents fell in love with her, so much that when I left home they asked to keep her - but Jessie came with me, of course!

These were the two dogs that drew me into the dogworld. They were great dogs, good friends and I carry them both in my heart. This picture was taken at Centennial Park which was next door to my childhood home, also long gone but in my heart.

Free Run

When I came home from work the dogs greeted me with this bit of egg carton. I had strategically left an egg carton for them to chew if they got bored, because everyone has been housebound due to the extreme cold. Even though there were lots of little pieces on the floor, THIS was the one the dogs wanted me to see...it says "Free Run." I think this is a message that they are tired of being cooped up, and want to fun free! Like the chickens who laid those eggs. Caden actually stole this piece from downstairs, where it was Jet and Ted who carefully ripped out the message meant for me.

I've been keeping an eye on Jet as her tooth heals, so she and Ted get to play in the front yard.

Since it was a bit warmer, I took some Christmasey shots of them on the front stairs...And here are River and Caden. Caden has to be tied, because of the two dogs across the street that wander in and out of their yard (loose but they are old dogs). I made the wreath on the door many years ago...
Just for fun, here are some closeups of my stair decorations in the dark...And when we all headed in, I was not suprised to see who ended up with that one special piece of egg carton...River of course! It is funny how the dogs know which one is special too. I guess it has to do with scent, and maybe the amount of saliva on it, because it goes from dog to dog!

Tonight it is 0 C, or 32 F. It feels downright balmy! Tracking on the weekend!

Record cold temperatures set today...

A couple of weekends ago, I was out in just a sweater putting these decorations on my back deck. I had to take this picture through my glass door, which I can't open because it is iced stuck!
UPDATE: Christmas weather looks good - click here for the 14 day trend for Red Deer Alberta!
The good news is by Thursday it will be warming up. My sister is coming for Christmas. She is used to the cold, but I would be happy to have all the cold weather now, so we can have some fun outside over Christmas! Right now it is too cold to do anything, it is even hard to breathe, and Edmonton, an hour and a half north of Red Deer, was the COLDEST SPOT IN CANADA yesterday at -46 C, which is - 50.8 Fahernheit! This weather is only fit for snowmen! This cute little guy is a cookie tin from the dollar store!
To be safe, I bought some passes to the Collicutt Centre so we can play in the wave pool and sit in the hot tub at the state of the art ENMAX water center! The official newspaper report on weather is below...

Several Central Alberta school buses cancelled due to extreme cold

Red Deer Advocate story (link below)...from the December 14 online edition...

Brrrrrrr. Red Deer hit a new low this morning between 4 and 5 a.m. when the
temperature dropped to minus 39.7 Celsius. The old record of minus 35.6 was set
in 1926, according to a temperature log that goes back to 1909 for the city. But
Red Deer residents are not shivering alone, according to Environment Canada
data. Rocky Mountain House set a new record of minus 42.0 this morning, busting
its record of minus 39.4 set in 1927. Sundre hit minus 41.8, squeaking past
minus 33.9 set in 2000. Lacombe set cold weather records on both Sunday morning
and today. On Sunday, the temperature dropped to minus 37.3, breaking the
previous record of 36.1 set in 1963. This morning it was minus 38.7, surpassing
minus 35.6 set in 1927...(for the rest of the story, click here). Source: Red Deer Advocate

This WAS a pretty red bow. The other one blew away somewhere!

New Girl in Town!

Who is this pretty new girl? Have I really broken down and finally got a smooth Border Collie?You might almost think so...I know Ted hoped it was true, because she is so pretty! Ted did not mind spending a little time with the new girl in an x-pen in my front vestibule! Look at his happy face (and her coy look)...But no, I have not lost my mind - four dogs is enough (for now)...this is Asherah, or "Northern Alchemy" and she is an 11-month old Canaan Dog from Northern Tempest Farms and Sufat Sheleg Canaan Dogs, of Raven Alberta. I think she is one of the prettiest dogs I have ever seen! But not only is she pretty, she is already turning into quite the cattle dog according to her owner Michelle. You can read all about the Canaan Dog on the Sufat Sheleg website. They are a rare breed, originating from the wild, ancient herding and guard dogs of Israel. Michelle and Ash came for a visit yesterday. Since she hails from Ontario, we had so much in common! Michelle and her husband Larry moved to Alberta around the same time as me, with a dream of getting sheep and starting a new life here (hmmm, sound familiar - yeah, that is my dream too). They used to train and trial with Sue Jewell in the Barrie area. Sue is a friend of Scott Glenn - hosting clinics with Scott every year.

So...Ontario, herding, move to Alberta, Scott Glen, dreams of sheep - oh yes, and their Canaan Dogs have all started tracking...plus, Michelle went to Ontario College of Art and that is where my best friend went to school. It is one of the top fine arts schools in the world, and I have been there. We just don't run out of things to talk about. So here we are making our new lives in a new province, and we have discovered each other! Not only did Ted welcome Ash, but he schmoozed with Michelle too. Have I mentioned that Ted is a schmoozer? Below, Ted got a little to close to his new girl Ash and had to withstand Jet's icy glare...However, Ash and Jet decided that they could be friends and they had quite a silly outside - for just a few minutes because it was so cold out (still is)...
Ash decided she liked visiting Spiritdance Church. She made herself right at home! I still can't get over how much she looks like a smooth Border Collie, and I gather Michelle gets asked that question all the time here in Alberta. But when I see her next to Jet and Ted, she projects this aura of class, and Jet and Ted look like a pair of ragamuffins!
Jet is not impressed that Ash is in her spot! And no one was happy today, but it was inevitable - everyone got a brush and a trim after I saw this picture! Next weekend, Michelle and I are hoping to do some snow tracking as it will be around zero C (that is 32 F) and my crew will be shiny and brushed in those pictures! It is great fun to have a new herding and tracking friend within 45 minutes of my home here in Penhold. Stay tuned for more Canaan Dog pics if we track next weekend.

PS Michelle has a planned litter that will be the first in Alberta in a decade - check her website! Her dogs are the most accomplished Canaan's in Canada, setting breed records. They remind me of my GSDs and Border Collies - very versatile with a similar temperament and desire for a job.

Arctic Air Mass settles in, brrrrrrrrrr..........

OK, it is – 36 C at 7 AM here this morning. What is up with that? That is – 32. F. And the extreme wind chill warning is for -40 C. It is an “Arctic air mass…” I took this picture at 8:45, and the temperature has gone UP! It was too dark to take it at 7:30 AM plus my french doors are iced shut. I have to work on that today. We are using the downstairs exit to the backyard right now...I took the picture below of the highway at NOON yesterday! Yes, the days are short and it seemed dark all day. The city doesn't seem to be able to keep up with keeping roads clear. This is the road into Global Pets, just off Gaetz Ave. Under the snow is pure ice...Here is this week's weather forecast... look at next Friday - I might actually go tracking next weekend!!!!!!!!!!

Today: Wind chill warning in effect.
Snow. Amount 2 cm. Wind up to 15 km/h. Temperature falling to minus 26 this afternoon. Extreme wind chill minus 40 this morning.

Tonight:
Periods of light snow. Low minus 30.
Sunday:
Clearing near noon. High minus 26.
Monday:
Sunny. Low minus 36. High minus 21.
Tuesday:
Sunny. Low minus 33. High minus 19.
Wednesday:
A mix of sun and cloud. Low minus 21. High minus 4.
Thursday:
Sunny. Low minus 8. High plus 3.

Friday:
Sunny. Low minus 6. High plus 1.

It will feel like summer!!!!

So when it is this cold, everyone just settles in...time to start using the treadmill seriously, dogs included! River and Jet work out a couch arrangement...

Caden watches Dog Whisperer - he was very excited to see an Aussie...look how dark is was when I took this picture this morning around 8:15 AM...
...and Ted gets as close as he can to me - with his head on my feet, under my chair (that is the corner of my big warm housecoat!) - he is my footwarmer! What a pal.