trip to Ireland...life is wonderful

As promised, I'm finally making a post of photos about our trip to Ireland back in February.  We decided to go on rather short notice, as Chris was asked to go for work and so I took the opportunity to go with him and take my second international trip.  We spent our time in the city of Cork, in the southeastern part of Ireland, and it was a lovely time even with the limitations of the weather and offseason.

Chris flew out on Monday and I followed on Thursday, each arriving the day after we left, so Saturday and Sunday were our days spent doing touristy things together.  This is the river that flows through the city of Cork, taken from one of the bridges we crossed as we wandered around.

We visited the Cork Butter Museum, where we learned about the butter industry in Ireland and how it changed in the mid-1900s with the advent of Kerrygold and other brands.  This is a display of some of the many individual dairy brands of butter available in the 1800s in Ireland, all of which joined together to make a single high-quality brand of Irish butter for export.  Sadly, no taste testing was available.

Saturday afternoon we took the bus to Middleton, where we toured the Jameson distillery, which was very interesting and very cool.  The copper pot still in this picture is one of the original ones used for decades/centuries before they built the new modern facility, and it's enormous.  While I don't drink alcohol, it was pretty neat to learn about the whiskey making process and the differences between American, Scotch, and Irish whiskeys.  Plus there was a stag party in our tour group, with the groom-to-be dressed in a cow costume and carrying a frilly pink handbag, so that was pretty entertaining.

 

Chris got invited to join the small group at the end of the tour who got to taste all three types of whiskey and thus become official Jameson Whiskey Tasters.  Pretty neat!

On Sunday we took the bus out to visit Blarney Castle, which was lovely and very interesting to walk around and enjoy.  This photo is of the Poison Garden, seen from one of the castle windows above.

The castle watchtower, as seen from one of the arrow slits in the main castle building.  You can see the moat just past the watchtower.

Spinning while I waited for Chris to finish up what he was doing at that point in time, whatever it was.  The portion of the castle visible behind my hand was added on in the 1800s and was more of a manor house than a castle, which was destroyed by fire unfortunately.

We also toured the grounds, including the gardens and the rock fell, as well as walking around some of the mysterious and ancient spots known as the Witch's Kitchen and the Druid's Cave.  This is me walking up the Witch's Steps, where legend has it that if you go up the stairs with your eyes closed and focus on a single wish, the witch will grant it as payment for the firewood she collects every night.  Yes, I made a wish...

This is the cathedral near the hotel where we were staying, which was very beautiful and lovely to walk past every day.  Lots of goldwork to catch the sunlight.

On Monday while Chris was working, I took the train to Cobh (formerly Queenstown) in order to visit the Titanic and Lusitania memorials and go through The Titanic Experience.  The town was gorgeous all on its own, however, and I had a good time looking at the lovely painted houses and doing a bit of shopping in the shops that were open.  I also had an incredible cup of hot chocolate and a scone that morning as I waited for the museum to open, as well as a lovely lunch at the Titanic Cafe after I went through the museum.

The Titanic Experience in Cobh is housed in the original building of the White Star Line offices, where those who boarded the Titanic bought their tickets and waited for the tenders to take them out to the liner, which was moored out of sight in deeper water.  The museum experience was very well done, smaller than the traveling exhibits I've seen before but full of information and presented in an interesting yet respectful manner.  It was an experience to walk the same space that so many had walked who were lost on that fateful voyage, and to see the ruins of the dock and the photos that show how things looked a hundred years ago.

After lunch I walked up the steep hillside to see the cathedral that looks out over the city, which was incredibly beautiful.  I loved the ironwork on this door, so intricate and clearly made by hand with love and attention to detail.  The interior of the cathedral was phenomenal, with an inlaid mosaic floor that had Celtic knotwork flowing throughout the entire building.  I did not see a gift shop, unfortunately, so I have no photos or postcards of the interior, but it's well worth the visit should you ever be in Cobh.

Tuesday I took a bus to Kinsale, noted as a very "foodie" and tourist-friendly town on the seaside just about a half-hour from Cork.  The harbor was full of boats, mostly shuttered for the winter, but still pretty especially with the early-morning sun rising over the harbor.  This was also my one encounter with an automated pay-for-use public toilet, which was interesting yet a brilliant idea.

The city castle in Kinsale is now the home of a winery (IIRC), but as it was February and not tourist season it was still closed for the winter.  The details on the castle were very lovely, especially these windows, and I wish I could have gone inside - maybe next time!

I walked from Kinsale out to Charles Fort, which was a very long walk that was broken up by an interaction with an adorable JRT out for a walk with her papa who jumped right up in my lap as I sat on a bench.  Very different looking dog than Phoebe or other JRTs I've known in the States!  The fort was okay, but very bare without a lot of stuff to look at, but it was interesting to read about the history of the site and the roles it had played in various wars.  This is a traveling apothecary/surgeon chest from the 1800s, which I found pretty neat.

Our last full day in Cork was spent visiting Chris' company worksite there and getting a tour, followed by relaxing and a nice dinner out as we prepared for the long day of travel to go home.  I thoroughly enjoyed our trip, and I hope to visit Ireland again.

from four dogs down to three

 Friends, family, and those who have read my blog know that having Phoebe the JRT in our house has been a challenge for the last five years.  While Phoebe was an amazing flyball dog, a phenomenal ratter, and a great JRT all around, her personality conflicted with my border collie pack and led to several fights (one of which put her in the hospital).  In order to manage the conflict, Phoebe was rarely allowed to wander loose in the house and always under supervision, and she spent most of her time leashed to a piece of furniture in whatever room we were in at the time so that she could not attack the border collies if they pissed her off.

With the advent of Phoebe's retirement and the impending arrival of our new border collie puppy, it was time to find Phoebe a new home where she could be loved and spoiled as an only dog for her retirement.  I put Phoebe up with several rescue groups, including WA/OR JRT rescue, Old Dog Haven, and New Rattitude, in addition to posting at several local companies and at our own vet.  We tried a trial placement with a coworker of mine, which did not work out, and I was starting to despair of finding her a home and worried that I would have to put her to sleep instead.  Luckily, one day in January, I got not one but two inquiries about her within two hours of each other, and the first one panned out and we arranged the adoption of Phoebe to a lovely retired couple in La Grande, OR.

Phoebe with her 2011 Region 7 MVP plaque, her retirement plaque from JCJ, and her retirement blanket which reads "Phoebe - Always A Jet City Jumper."

Phoebe ran in her last flyball tournament a week and a half ago (February 16/17), and on Saturday February 23 my teammate Tami and I drove to Sunnyside WA to meet up with Phoebe's new family.  Having Tami go with me was a very fitting end, as she's the one who discovered Phoebe at the breeder so many years ago and brought her into the Jet City Jumpers flyball club.  We had a smooth trip to Sunnyside where we met up with Phoebe's new family, had a nice lunch at a nearby cafe, and then separated to go to our respective homes.

 

Tami, Phoebe, and me on the handoff day.

 

Phoebe with her new family - she will be so happy!

 Phoebe waiting for us to finish lunch so she could go to her new home - she rode all the way there on her new mom's lap!

Her new family was so excited to bring her home it was amazing.  I am thrilled that they want her so much and they're already happy with her, having settled her in on Sunday and taken her to the vet for a checkup on Monday.  Phoebe will have a fenced half-acre to run and play in, recently checked and reinforced by her new dad, as well as squirrels to watch from the windows, laps to snuggle in, and a bed of people to sleep with.  And best of all, she won't have to deal with any pesky border collies in her life anymore!

We will miss Phoebe in the flyball lanes and on the barndog course, but will not miss the stress and trouble she brought to the house of border collies.  I hope she has a long and spoiled life with her new family, and even though she's about to turn 14 in May I expect she's got a lot of adventures left to enjoy with them.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

this weekend, in pictures

We got back from our trip to Ireland late on Thursday evening, and then after just 18 hours at home we left for the first flyball tournament of the year up in Canada.  Four countries in less than forty-eight hours, oof!  Pictures of the trip to Ireland will come later this week, first I wanted to put up some of the amazing photos and celebrate the milestones from this weekend.

First up are a couple of shots of me playing with Jadzia in the runback.  She never really liked the tug in the first place, and in her old age I'm only using it as a visual marker for her and instead I play with her using the ball she's brought back.  This makes her very happy, as you can see by the tail blur in the photos!

Finally, at long last, this weekend was Jadzia's FGDCh-60k title - Flyball Grand Champion 60,000 points.  This will be the final title of her career, as she'll be retiring from active racing in April at her ninth anniversary tournament, and it is a well-deserved title.  One of my teammates got this shot while I was watching the clock to see if the time was under 24 seconds to get those last few points....and it was! 

The other milestone this weekend was Phoebe's retirement from flyball, as next Saturday I will be taking her to her new family who lives in La Grande, OR.  She will have a retired couple all to herself, with no other dogs or cats, and I think she's going to be very happy.  These photos were taken by several of my teammates, and they really sum up Phoebe's career in flyball.  As much of a pain in the ass as she was (and still is for four more days) at home, at flyball Phoebe was always great and I will miss running her.

Barkblur!

Last flyball run ever...

Curzon and Ezri did well all weekend, in fact Curzon even helped "break in" a new handler on our team as she's never run a racing dog at a tournament before.  She did great, and he behaved himself, so all was well.  I'm pretty proud of him this weekend - he had fewer bobbles than he did in December, and several times he did return over all four jumps after a bobble.  He wasn't perfect, but he ran mostly clean and had a great time, and that's all I want right now.

And last but not least, some incredibly beautiful shots of both Curzon and Ezri by my teammate Liz.  These are two of the best photos of Curzon that I have period, and definitely the best of the last few months hands down.  I love the photo of Ezri stalking the tennis ball...so much focus!

 

And yes, for those paying attention, we have changed flyball clubs with this tournament being our first running with Unorthodogs.  Curzon and Ezri, as well as our soon-to-be puppy will race with Unorthodogs moving forward, and Phoebe and Jadzia are retiring with our friends on the Jet City Jumpers.  This was not an acrimonious move at all, and was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made, and I'm ever so grateful that my friends on both clubs have been gracious and accommodating as we make the change.  It means a lot to me that Phoebe and Jadzia will retire in lime green, the color they've raced in their whole career, and I'm so glad that they are going to do so.

Wednesday morning photos

Last Friday I was surprised to get a random package in the mail - my sister had sent me a birthday present from an Etsy vendor, PetitBeast.  It turned out to be a set of three Jellyfish Air Plants, which are just wiry air plants with a sea urchin shell and clear line to hang them, which when put together makes them look like little jellyfishes.  These are *awesome,* and I was very excited to put them up in my kitchen window, where I hope they will be happy and you know, not die.

Close up of jellyfish air plants - yay for purple shells!

Jellyfish air plants hanging in my kitchen window - sort of looks like they're swimming against a current, which amuses me.

I also finally did something with the pretty dragon patch that I bought in a shop in San Francisco when I was there with my mom and sister several years ago.  It's just been tucked into the ribbon board in my office at home since then, but I am trying to make strides to use the pretty things I buy rather than just sticking them somewhere "for later" so I decided to attach it to my even older small Timbuk2 bag.  It took a lot of work and a few tries, but I finally got it secured and even protected the knots on the back with some nail polish, so it should be safe for use.  I'm taking it with me tomorrow on my trip, in fact!

Last week I had my phone out and ready to take a picture when I opened the bedroom door, and this is what I got.  Chris is awake before me, and by the time I'm up and dressed he's already let the dogs out of their crates and taken them outside to potty, so Curzon and Ezri are usually waiting by the bedroom door to greet me as soon as I open it.  This photo is a little blurry, but I love the look on Ezri's face and the fuzzy blur of her wagging tail, as well as Curzon trying to get to me as fast as possible despite me not stepping out of the door.

And last but not least, a photo of the handsome boy himself, waiting for me to get dressed this morning  I thought his positioning on the blanket was just perfect and had to take a photo of it.

last quilt of 2012

At the beginning of last March, I went to the Sewing Expo in Puyallup, and one of the classes I took was a "slash it up" quilting class.  The technique taught used twelve fat quarters stacked up and then cut up in a random pattern, then shuffled and reassembled to create a quilt top.  I finished the quilt top in the spring, but it kind of languished as I worked on Averie's quilt (and started, but stalled on Aidan's quilt) throughout the rest of the year.  In November, however, I decided that it needed finishing to give as a Christmas gift to my sister in law, and so I worked hard to finish it up.

Ezri decided to photobomb the picture of the finished quilt, shown laying over our couch.

 Fold of the quilt showing the backing (including the feather fabric I had to use to complete the backing) and the striped inset made from the leftovers of the original quilt blocks.  I had bought out the rest of the bolt of the brown/black fabric used for the sashing and intended to form the whole back of the quilt, but it wasn't enough and I couldn't find any more.  I used a neutral feather pattern to take up the space, and while I wasn't thrilled with it I think it did turn out looking pretty nice.  I also had some difficulty with seams, and ended up using some bits and pieces of iron-on labels to cover those problems after the quilt was completed.  I managed to make it all look intentional, but this wasn't my proudest finish to date for sure.

Back of the quilt after washing - you can see more of the random straight-line quilting that I did after it was washed.

Binding shot - I love this purple color that I chose for the binding.

My sister in law loved the quilt, and I think it will be well used and enjoyed, so that is awesome.  Right now I have two baby quilts in progress, one that's finally ready for quilting (and that baby just had his first birthday), and another that's in the piecing phase and must be done by March 2nd for a baby shower.  I absolutely have to put down my knitting and spinning for a while to get these done!

one year ago today

One year ago today, I took Curzon to SVS in Kirkland and left him there in the competent hands of Dr. Kirkby and her staff, as he underwent rib resection surgery to remove the three ribs affected by his osteosarcoma.  That morning was very hard for me, as we were making the best decision we could, but there were so many variables that we had no idea if it would end up being the right one.  The doctors had good hopes for the surgery's outcome, but nobody could tell us if Curzon would heal and be able to play flyball again for sure, or if this would cure him of the cancer.  So with a hope and a prayer, I hugged and kissed my boy and left his cheerful self there to undergo the surgery.

Today is one year since that day, and this is the photo that I took this morning.  Curzon is still here with us, a year after surgery and after the cancer was found, against all odds.  The internet tells me that the median survival rate for surgery only is a scant 2-3 months, with increases to 7 months with radiation and to 12 months with radiation and chemotherapy combined.  At two months post-op, Curzon was preparing for his first flyball tournament after his surgery, and at three months post-op he was competing.  At eight months post-op, I took him to flyball nationals (NAFA Can-Am) in Indianapolis, IN, and he performed fantastically.

photo credit Irene Cotter, Fur-Fetched Photography

We are not completely safe, unfortunately, as when I had a set of 12-month x-rays done last week, there are three questionable things involving Curzon's lungs visible.  There is a soft-tissue something either in or next to his lung near where the surgery site was located, and the radiologist found two tiny nodules, one in each of his lower lung lobes.  Surgery can't fix these, so we are continuing to keep him on the artemisinin/butyrex combination, I've restarted him on the Hoxseys support tincture, and I've added a Chinese mushroom/herb blend for immune support.  Our vet is also doing some acupuncture based on a technique she recently learned that targets metastases by treating the original tumor location, and he's had his first treatment already with the second scheduled for four weeks later.  Two weeks after the second treatment we'll do x-rays again and see what we're dealing with, and hopefully see a reduction in size or at least very slow growth of the nodules.

For now, Curzon is showing no signs of anything wrong, as even his "old man hairball" cough that he's had since August 2011 hasn't gotten worse and still isn't triggered by any form of exercise.  So he's still competing in flyball (next tournament February 16/17), he's still tormenting his baby sister Ezri, still taking any chance he can get to go swimming, and still being his lovable goofy self.  That's all we can ask and all we can hope for, and to love him and enjoy every day that he has with us as a gift.

Except when he's whining, of course.

I'm going to make a point of posting at least once a week, as going for months at a time without posting is kind of a guilt trip on myself.  Next post will be more cheerful, I hope - a look at some of my quilting, knitting, and spinning projects over the past year!

six months later, Curzon is cancer-free

Apparently I took a summer vacation from the blog.  Oops.

Well, it's more like I got behind on my posting, then ended up sort of paralyzed that I hadn't posted, and then I went on vacation.  But the end result is no posts for two months, so we'll call it a summer vacation.  Rather than start with my mental backlog of posts, here is the most important thing that's happened in the last two months.

Curzon is cancer free at six months post-op.

Let me say that again.  CURZON IS CANCER FREE AT SIX MONTHS POST-OP!!!

I took him in for chest x-rays on July 10th, which are included below, and he looks perfect.  Apart from the obviously trimmed ribs and sternum, as well as a few surgical clips where his muscles were adjusted, there is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about his chest films.  His heart, lungs, and other organs are clean.  There is no tumor regrowth around the surgical site, and no visible lumps or metastases on the film.  There are no physical lumps anywhere on his body.

We have our boy back, and that is a wonderful thing.

I will be taking him to the NAFA CanAm Classic, October 12-14 2012, which is essentially "flyball nationals" in Indianapolis, where he will race with a friend's team.  Next year, during 2013, he will earn his Flyball Grand Champion 50,000 point title, and in October of 2013 he will earn his Iron Dog Award for earning points in 10 consecutive NAFA racing years.

I can't wait.