barefoot and pregnant

You know how everyone had been commenting about puppies and all? I did wonder where these puppies were supposed to be coming from. Now I know.... it's me!

I've just had my tummy shaved and a gooey ultrasound done. I'm pregnant for sure, it seems. Puppies are due in around two and a half weeks!

This is a big surprise for me, as I didn't have a clue.

Kay has put me on a super diet - all raw chickens, bones and vegies. It's great - I absolutely love chicken.

I've had to slow down a lot on my agility work and Neil says I can't chase balls and frisbees anymore.

But I did get to be a demo dog at obedience class today. That was really good - you get a lot of treats doing that. "Show the class how clicker training works Ruby"... click, treat, click, treat, munch, munch....yes, ma'am.

Well, it's back to bed for me now, it's all just eat and sleep pretty much these days. Now I know why.

morning sickness

Things have been rather quiet around here lately. It is winter and it's cold and all I feel like doing is staying in my warm little bed most of the time.

Even though Kay has been making me all sorts of delicious meals with chicken necks and cottage cheese - stuff that I would usually love... I don't feel like eating much either.

Kay says it's probably morning sickness, but she's wrong because it's more like all day - not just in the morning. Oh dear... at least it's not swine flu.

Airedale fun day

Yesterday was the Airedale Terrier Association winter fun day... and I finally got to meet my blogging buddy, Noah!

He is a wonderful big, strong dale and it was great to see him.

Here he is looking very smart in his red scarf.

He wanted us to all know that he was the top dog - but I didn't mind, I was too busy chasing balls to worry about a small growl between friends.

We played some fun games - the craziest one was a combination of baseball and cricket. I never did quite work out what the rules were, but somehow our team won!

Here's me with my mate, Selby, he's a happy, relaxed dale and it's always good to catch up with him.

It was really warm and sunny, perfect for a winter day. We all sat around and had lunch and many cups of tea and cake. I even managed to lick some of the plates clean while Kay was busy talking.

I sure am hungry all the time these days. Lucky I won lots of treats as prizes - this was a whole bag full of yummy liver cookies and doggie chews. I wanted to scoff the lot, but Kay only let me have a few. Hmmmph.

I love catching up with all my Airedale friends - there were about eight of us there yesterday counting Griffin the new pup. I wish there were even more. If Noah brings his sisters next time, that will certainly boost the numbers!

The next fun day isn't until December... I can't wait. I'll have to work on a new costume for the fancy dress parade - if anyone has any good ideas, let me know.

my trip to Victoria

We took off last Saturday for Melbourne. I was so excited - but gosh it was a long, long drive to even get out of NSW. There was snow on the ground over the Great Divide and it was amazingly cold. But there were sheep everywhere you looked, so Kay wouldn't let me out of the car to play in it.

We finally crossed into Victoria and the weather warmed up and everything looked really green and lovely.
As we were so close, Neil agreed to drive me over to Romper's house for a quick visit. I couldn't wait. When we got there, his person, Keith brought him out and we finally got to meet in the flesh. He was wonderful! And even more handsome then in his photos.

He seemed really pleased to meet me and had the most interesting things to say and some really fun, new games to play. We had a great time.

I got to go back the next two days as we were staying down while Neil looked at the old bikes. He ended up getting two of them, along with a whole trailer full of bits. Finally it came time to say farewell to Rompie. We promised to keep in touch.

Afterwards, we headed south for a look at the famous Phillip Island where all the fairy penguins come ashore every night for the tourists to see. It's supposed to be really amazing, but you know what - they don't let dogs in to see it. So we just went and sniffed around a beach without penguins... whatever they are.

It was interesting and the water was decidely brisk. Brrrrr!

And then it was time to start the long, slow journey home. It also took forever - but I just slept and dreamed about my dear sweet Rompie.

Kay calls him my toy boy but I'm not sure why - he didn't have nearly as many toys as me.

must be fate

Yippppeee - we're going to Victoria!!

Seems that a bloke down there has a couple of old BSA motorbikes that he wants to sell. Neil reckons it sounds like a good deal, so we are going to drive down and have a look at them.

I was in Victoria when I was a puppy - my breeder lives there with my dad. But it has been a few years now since I've been back.

Hmmm, I'll have to check out a map and see if we're going anywhere near you-know-who's place. Neil says not to count on it...but I'm hoping.

Oh wow, you'll never believe it - Rompie lives just down the road from the motorbike guy! About a half hour's drive away! How perfect.

It must be fate that we are to finally meet.

How exciting, I'll have to email him right now!

Melbourne

Sigh.... I just can't stop thinking about Rompie - it would be so cool to meet him...

What's that? - Neil's talking to someone about an old bike... someone in Victoria...

Someone who is selling an old motorbike and lives near Melbourne?!

Say it's so!

trip to the beach

We spent the Queen's Birthday long weekend up at the beach - it was cold but sunny.

There had been mad storms and flooding just a few weeks before and we got to see how much it had reshaped the beaches.


Tonnes of sand had been washed away and an old wreck from the 70's which had been buried in the sand dunes was uncovered. We explored it thoroughly - there were lots of good smells.


Here are some pics of the Smokey Cape lighthouse and the southern beach.

As you can see, it was all pretty gorgeous.


I had lots of fun running up and down the sand dunes.

Up and down and up again. Endless fun.