Happy Thanksgiving!

Another silver grey sky. It was sleeting yesterday, yet it's dry so far. After several days off, his tendonitis even had a chance to clear up, Jeff is will be running with the gals this morning. I'll get the sweet potatoes started and then get Zac out. We'll be seeing family today, some we don't see often.

I've ben thinking about yellow the last couple of days. Yellow, for the solar plexus chakra, yellow for fire, self-confidence and the ability to act. Every other color had paraded through a list of favorites; blues and greys, reds and oranges, purple with all its variants, an occasional touch of green and of course, the obligatory black phase. Yellow, the hot color of the sun, has always left me cold.

But now it's yellow's turn.

The Upside of Denial

Denial can be a good thing. For example, the reality is I'm never going to be a good disc-dogger. I'm just too uncoordinated. But I kid myself that the Crossfit workouts and a little disc practice are just what I need to join the top ranks. Yep, I'm delusion, but what's the downside? I'll wind up being better than I'd be without the workouts and practice. Yep, I could wind up being disappointed, but hey, I'm a big girl. I can take it.

But denial can be dangerous. So many people kid themselves about just unhealthy their diet and stressed-out sedentary lifestyles are. How can these people be encouraged to face reality and dump denial?

Abby, Like Whiskey, Mellows with Age

The sky is a silvery grey and a cool mist permeates the air, although the temperature is mild for the end of November. Sable-colored oak leaves, the color of Abby, the color of whiskey, still cling to trees. Abby could get lost in them.

A car streaks by. Abby checks in with me; does Mom have a treat ready?" Yes, I do, and Abby sits and impatiently waits for it. I give her the treat, she bites my fingers to get it and she leaps, spins and barks at the receding car.

OK, she hasn't mellowed entirely, and yet for years, Abby woke up promptly at 5:01 a.m. and wanted to go outside. Now she'll sleep in until 8:00. I think back, trying to remember, when did that change? She can now be off-leash in the house. She's able to be recalled from scorching off in a sable blaze to the kill the cat we've had for four years. Another subtle change.

Yes, Abby, our little whiskey-colored girl, is mellowing with age. And though life with her is smoother, it makes me very sad.

Intriguing and inspiring, the Hindu Temple in Maple Grove supplies a mini-vacation to an exotic location. The larger temple is filled with smaller, intricately carved concrete temples, each of which houses a Hindu goddess or god. The goddesses and gods are carved from marble, granite or wood, and garbed in colorful silks. Incense scents the air, and priests perform ceremonies in melodic languages.

What a difference a disc (or two) makes

The past few weeks, Zoey and I have practiced Freestyle using seven to nine discs, because we were going to participate in UFO and AWI events. The MNDDC is having a Skyhoundz format comp this Saturday, so I thought we should practice with five. Now I don't know if being killed in Crossfit over the lunch hour was a factor, but I basically stood in the middle of the field with Zoey, wondering what the heck to do next when I had no discs to work with!

It's not looking good for Cattail days...

Still coming back to reality after two great weekends of disc-doggin'. Huge competitions and perfect fall weather.

Zoey, Zac and I went to Naperville over Labor Day weekend for a UFO Major and the Ashley Whippet Invitational. Yes, I'd hoped Zoey wouldn't freak out and chomp one disc, but we might actually be able get through our oh-so-simple Freestyle routine. Despite my threats to drop her off at the Naperville Humane Society if she didn't cooperate, she still chomped and she is still with me. Well, we had fun anyway, and as a personal "victory", I didn't buckle under the pressure as I had in Colorado at the Quad.

Zac did good for Zac at Toss and Catch --- we did get one scorable catch, and a few non-scoreable ones. He certainly is top dog when it comes to being excited to be out there.

The MNDDC held its Minnesota State Championships last weekend. Zoey and I competed in Freestyle Saturday, and though we rocked it at the park the previous Thursday, she was once again a little chompmeister when competing. Zac and I did Catch 22 and Zac had three of five catches, which is a recent record. The practice has been paying off!

Ghost Hand Punch and Blurry rocked the campground Saturday night --- awesome bands.

Sunday offered some unique events --- UFO style longshot and fastest dog competitions. Zac and I led off the Women's division, and he made the 10 yard catch the first throw, so a great way to start out. With the Sofflites I use for him, I pretty much max out at a 20 yard throw, and we struck out that round. Jeff ran Zoey ---- they did quite well and hung into the final four.

For the fastest dog, Zac competed in the small dog recall event. He brought home some hardware with a third place. (There may have been only three teams competing.) Abby and Zoey competed in the small dog chase event, and Abby took third, while Zoey took second. I think that event did actually have more than three competitors.

Two very fun weekends, making it very hard to get back to the reality of school and daily life.

Freestyle Addiction in the Making

Life's been good. I've had numerous chances to demo Freestyle disc with Zoey in the past couple of weeks, including a gig at the Hennepin County Government Center, an agility fun day, and the Minnesota State Fair.

We've got a big comp coming up this weekend, lots of big names. Yes, I wish I had a few more weeks or months to get ready, but I'm feeling pretty good about it. We may come in last. That's OK. If I do my best, and work with Zoey through her one-disc chomping obsession, and both of us go on and off the field with smiles on our faces, we'll have been successful.