Catching up

My laptop died. For good this time. But now I'm back up and running on my shiny, new Not Dell. However, the computer-fixer-guy who was supposed to transfer everything from my old, dead computer to my new, alive computer didn't do a very good job...we'll be paying him another visit tomorrow since I'm missing thousands of photos as well as my photo-editing program. Not to mention all of my agility and sheep work videos. Not acceptable. I am less than happy.

Now to catch up from the last few days. Dad came to visit for a long weekend. He brought Chloe along, too.

Dad on the porch with the dogs. Right after taking this, Rae tried to help herself to the plate of cheese and crackers sitting out. BAD!

He helped accomplish a lot of projects while he was in town, like getting my VUE fixed in Winston so that Ella is no longer at risk of getting locked in with the windows up like happened at Robin's trial (thanks to Kelly who saved the day!). My car had developed a mind of its own and was constantly locking itself of its own accord. It would lock itself hundreds of times a day...in the driveway, while driving, in the parking lot, overnight. Over and over and over. Though the dealership was stumped and had never encountered this problem, they found something a little off in the driver's side door...it's been a week and so far so good. Dad and I worked around my house and yard, went out to eat, and did plenty of sightseeing in the country. I showed him some of my favorite dog-hiking spots, and we even found a couple new places on the Trail.

Ella in the New River at Fries (old photo - leaves are still green!)

On the Trail at Chestnut Yard Access; Ella finds sheer joy in playing in the creek.

Rae, on the other hand, doesn't find water so inherently exhilerating. She needs a little bribery to get in.

Chestnut Falls

One evening we met my boss' dog training group. They get together to work on obedience and rally, and several of the members have certified therapy dogs and participate in those programs. We all set up Ella's agility equipment in one of the small paddocks - which happens to be bordered by goats on one side, horses on another, and show lambs on yet another. Talk about distractions! Ella and I did a little demo and she was smokin! She sure loves showing off! Then the others played around with their dogs well after dark. We had a cookout in the barn and it turned out to be a fun evening.

My front porch now has a better view of the mountain thanks to Dad's work on the pines. We had a couple days of nice weather where we enjoyed sitting out there and having happy hour. One of my neighbors supplied appropriate entertainment in the form of her banjo-pickin and singing. It's nice, but I'd appreciate it if she'd learn a couple new songs to mix things up a bit!

I have a lot of work-related stories to catch up on later. We've done some interesting work in the country lately.