Sheriffs in Lethbridge

Editing

2012-02-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

I hate editing photos. Probably because I'm not good at it. I need to learn more about the software for one (I'm using Photoshop Elements 9) to get the most from it. Right now whatever I try doesn't work the way I want, so I end up doing only the basics and using the more advanced features. I think I could probably improve my pictures if I knew how to edit better.

Here are some edited pictures of this Saturday's dog park fun.

And this is why you check your settings before starting to take pictures!

Capturing Light

2012-02-04T18:36:00.000-07:00

We have had the most beautiful weather this week. It's been warm & sunny, with very little wind. It feels more like April than February. I know it can't last, but I'm determined to take advantage of it while I can.

John & the gang are in Fernie this weekend skiing. I opted to stay home with the little dog rather than kennel her, so we've been doing a lot of walking. We went out yesterday around 4pm, and it was so gorgeous we took our time and wandered around for more than an hour and a half. It was that time of night when the light is starting to fade, and everything has a golden glow. I took my camera to try to capture it. I am still working out the kinks of the new lens, but when things go well it really does take a great close up.

Here are some shots from that walk.

More Dog Park Fun

2012-02-04T17:52:00.000-07:00

Paisley & Fundy had a great time at the park yet again. I got some unflattering pictures of the little dog, but they do capture her personality! I keep telling people that she is NOT a tidy poodle.

Dog Park Fun

2012-01-28T14:16:00.000-07:00

Jennifer, Fundy, Paisley & I went to Popson for our usual Saturday dog park visit. John was off socializing today. It wasn't one of our best visits. It didn't start off well for Paisley, with a bossy Boston trying to jump into the car with her. That riled her up so that when Fundy arrived paisley was nuts. It took a while for her to settle down. After that things were OK, and we met the cutest little black lab pup, who took a real shine to Paisley. I think he recognized a kindred puppy spirit in her! There was also some weirdness going on down there, and the police came to check it out. I'm not sure what was going on.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the pups having fun. I need a better lens to get better shots. Maybe next Christmas John can get me one.

Big Cake

2012-01-15T16:52:00.000-07:00

I made a pear ginger cake with whipped cream icing and rum caramel sauce for New Year's Eve. It was very big. Some people liked it, but I thought it was just OK. Not sure if was taking the gluten out or what, but I wasn't wowed. I think I'd have preferred a cream cheese icing instead. It was fine, it just wasn't spectacular. Except for the height, that is!

A Few More, Without Frost

2012-01-01T16:07:00.001-07:00

It is such a beautiful day. It's clear and sunny, with very little wind for a change. These days we have to take advantage of that! We took pups for a walk along the top of the coulees this afternoon, and I brought my camera to try the lens again. I really like it. The only catch is I will have to switch lenses for close-ups versus non-close-ups. That's not really a problem, except I will need a bigger camera bag, and taking the time to change lenses may be nearly impossible with the little one!

New Lens

2012-01-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

John got me a new lens for Christmas. I have been wanting a close-up lens, and Nikon came out with a great little micro lens that got great reviews, despite the low price. It's an ice-foggy morning today, so Paisley & I went out to see what the lens could do. So far I'm really happy with it. The biggest problem is focusing. Not because of the lens or the camera, but because I have a poodle pulling on my arm! Although I have to say, she enjoyed my stopping to take pictures because I was distracted. That meant even more deer poo for her since I wasn't paying attention to what she was doing.

Here are my first attempts with the lens.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-31T14:45:00.001-07:00

We had a very quiet this year, just the 3 of us hanging out together. We didn't decorate as we thought that might be a bit much for Paisley until she matures a bit. In some respects the day was kind of like any other, except we opened presents. As usual everyone was far too generous. We got all kinds of great stuff, that's for sure. Thanks to everyone for their thoughtful gifts.

Here is a selection of pictures from Christmas Day.

Odd

2011-12-24T20:08:00.001-07:00

I bought a little point and shoot for travelling with, and taking about the dog. The odd thing is, even though I can see all the pictures in my software, any picture that I uploaded to Facebook aren't available in Blogspot. No idea why, but that explains why there are gaps in the last post. I'll have to figure that out for next time.

Las Vegas!

2011-12-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

John decided he wanted to run the Rock N Roll Marathon in Las Vegas at the beginning of December. Vegas isn't a place I've been desperate to see, but but chose to in the end. Everyone says you should see it at least once. I wasn't a huge fan. It was disturbing to have that in the middle of a desert. All that water and power use - sheesh. It wasn't so bad at night because it was easy to be distracted by the noise and lights and people, but during the day it was really not good.

We did have great meals though. We decided to go to some places that we knew would have great food, even if it was expensive. Our meal on Friday night at l'Atelier by Joel Robuchon was especially amazing. John had the tasting menu. Wow, the dishes were incredible. I had a few different dishes, though not the tasting menu. So good.

On Saturday we did some shopping, although we didn't buy much. In the evening we walked to dinner, but stopped at the Bellagio to watch the fountains. I loved that. I'll get to the Bellagio later, but it was my favourite part of the trip. Our meal at Mon Ami Gabi was tasty, but the restaurant was very noisy and the service was terrible. Really terrible. Fortunately, the food almost made up for it.

We found a breakfast place we really liked as well, called MoZen Bistro. They had a gluten free menu, even for breakfast, so I had lots of choice. We liked it.

The Bellagio. We didn't stay there, but went to see the Art Gallery and the Conservatory. I really loved the gallery. The exhibit was: A Sense of Place: Landscapes from Monet to Hockney. There were many different artists included, covering a wide range of landscape styles. It was the highlight of the trip.

The Conservatory was decorated for Christmas and was gorgeous. It was packed and difficult to get good pictures at times, but it was worth seeing.

As for the race, yikes! There were 44,000 people registered, and 33,000 were heading to the race start AT THE SAME TIME! It was a nightmare for someone like me who doesn't like crowds, or people in general. I thought I was going to lose my mind. In the end John left to get to his corral and I went shopping and back to the hotel. I couldn't take it. John was smart and walked back to the hotel outside after the race. Fortunately he did well - 1:50:19 - and enjoyed the run. Not everyone did according to reports after, but he had a good time. Oh, the medal glows in the dark!!

After the run we went to miX at Mandalay Bay. It's right at the top of the hotel. The food was great, and the server was amazing. He made some fantastic recommendations for us. We enjoyed the restaurant a lot, but the highlight for me was the washroom! When you went into the stall it was all glass, so you peed looking out over Las Vegas! Fabulous! Unless you have a problem with heights, in which case you might not like it so much. I, on the other hand, loved it.

And finally, a picture from the plane.

Henderson Lake Walk

2011-11-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

John was out for a run this morning so Paisley & I went for a walk around Henderson Lake. I took my camera again, although I'm finding it quite difficult to take pictures when walking her. She isn't especially cooperative at times, so I don't always have time to change settings, or even to hold the camera with both hands. So I do the best I can. And she enjoys checking out new places.

Coyote!

2011-11-12T17:28:00.001-07:00

My friend Marlene (who adopted our little Riblet/Hershey/Max) lives out towards Seven Persons on a farm. They have a dugout with an air-bubbler so the water doesn't freeze over completely. Sometimes local wildlife takes advantage of the open water to drink. Today she noticed a coyote there who may have been injured. She kept an eye on him (her?) and he did eventually leave the area, so we assume he is OK.

She got some great shots of him while he was there. He's not in any danger or under any threat, he just wanted to her to know he wasn't to be messed with. I think she should submit the photos to a contest, they are so good. I love the last one.

Windy Walk

2011-11-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

I am trying to take Paisley for walks in different areas, partly because it's more interesting (we do a LOT more walking now than we did with Molly), and partly because it's good for her to see different things. She was a bit unnerved today, and I think it was because it was very, very windy, and thus very noisy. Her tail stayed at half mast most of the time. She had a great time sniffing though.

Here are some picture from the walk.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-10T17:10:00.000-07:00

Here is John's costume for this year. Again, crappy pictures but we were rushing.

Fancy Jacket

2011-11-10T17:04:00.000-07:00

I bought Paisley a new jacket online, from EZYDOG.com. I also got her a collar and leash. I like the collar a lot, and the leash will be good but it needs to loosen up a bit. It's stiff. The jacket is fabulous though. I love the fit and the fact that it covers her chest. It fastens well, and even has pockets for stuff. Even better, when we had that terrible rain a few weeks ago, Paisley stayed warm and dry. And it's stylish - she looks fabulous in it!

Unfortunately, the pictures are terrible. I was trying to take them before we headed out, and she just wanted to go.

Gorgeous Morning

2011-10-22T13:16:00.000-06:00

We had another beautiful sunrise this morning. Paisley & I went out with the camera for the first time in a long time. It's hard to take pictures with the little one attached to my arm. I really wanted to get some good shots of her in the morning light, but between being a restless puppy and the windy wind, I didn't get many good shots. We'll keep trying. It sure was fantastic though. Also funny was the herd of deer that were heading into the coulees as we were. They were running & jumping and just generally being silly. It was cute to watch them let loose.

Paisley's First Race!

2011-10-19T18:46:00.001-06:00

Lisa & Zack do the Bare Bones Run every year. This year Paisley & I joined them, as well as Carla & Monty on the course. We chose to walk the 9k route. Paisley is still too young to run, so walking was our only option. Maybe next year we can try a run.

Paisley had some issues settling when we first arrived, just given the number of people & dogs there. She did pretty well for a 7 month old pup though. Once we got walking she settled right down, and had a great time with Zack & Monty.

We weren't very fast, but we did have fun. What I really like about this race is that they list the results by canine! So here is Paisley's very first race result:

9K Canine Results

All Done

2011-10-16T19:22:00.001-06:00

That's it, it's official. I now have a Master's degree. Took me long enough, but it's done. I convocated yesterday. Despite trying desperately to avoid attending one of my own convocations I was convinced to attend this one. My friends all sat on the stage in their various regalia, looking - not surprisingly - quite regal. We even managed a couple of good groups shots after the ceremony.

It was a lot of fun to have my friends there. Everyone came to hug me as I crossed the stage. Someone asked me after why I got the "VIP treatment"! Because I have such great friends, that's why. We all went out for brunch, and had a great time.

Family Photos

2011-10-16T19:16:00.000-06:00

Pauline wanted to get some pictures of us before they left. Paisley wasn't so interested in that. Here is what we got:

More Beautiful Sunrises

2011-10-16T19:08:00.000-06:00

We have been having the most amazing sunrises these days. Every day is gorgeous, and so different from the day before. I could take pictures of the sunrises every day.

Getting to Know U 2011

2011-10-16T19:00:00.000-06:00

John & Jennifer organize a fun run at the University. This is the second year, and they hope it'll continue to be an annual event. There were 60 participants this year. Hopefully each year it will grow. As John's parents were here we made them volunteer.

Beautiful Sunrises

2011-09-23T10:13:00.000-06:00

We've been having the most beautiful sunsets lately. Yesterday Pauline & I tool Paisley out early to watch it. It was truly spectacular. Here are some photos of the many colours. What's neat about them is how the colours change by the minute.

Morning Walk

2011-09-23T09:18:00.000-06:00

Drumheller has some really great walking paths, including this one along the river. We saw a beaver!

More Drumheller

2011-09-22T22:27:00.000-06:00

On Saturday, after the museum we went to the suspension bridge, the hoo doos, the mine, and a few other stops along the way. I wish we'd made it to the mine before it closed. It was actually quite and impressive place.

Royal Tyrrell Museum

2011-09-22T21:21:00.000-06:00

Pauline, Maurice & I went to the Royal Tyrrell Museum. Poor John had to hang out with Paisley, although that did give him the opportunity to watch Saturday morning soccer. The museum is fantastic. A huge amount of money obviously went into that. We probably could have spent even more time in it than we did.

Drumheller 2011

2011-09-18T19:08:00.001-06:00

We decided to take a trip to Drumheller this weekend. None of us had been, so it seemed like it might be fun. We were able to rent a little bungalow attached to the Heartwood Inn so that the little dog could come. Because she is still healing she couldn't stay at a kennel. I think she enjoyed the trip, and was a really good little dog for the most part. We managed to tire her out each day.

Drumheller is a strange, strange place. Possibly even stranger than Red Deer, I don't know. We had fun anyway, although the trip had some less than stellar moments.

For example, we had just merged onto the highway to Vulcan when a car going the wrong way drive down the highway toward us. Then we stopped for a pee break in Strathmore. I won't explain the whole situation here, but let's just say John just about knocked me over with the car, accidently of course. I hurt my back, and unfortunately it bothered me the whole weekend. It's still sore on occasion, but at least the spasms have lessened.

Here are some pictures from Horse Thief Canyon.

We crossed the Bleriot Ferry as well, one of the oldest cable ferries in Canada, and the last one of 13 that crossed the Red Deer River.

The scenery was equally gorgeous on the way back to Drumheller.

Ultra!

2011-09-18T16:41:00.000-06:00

John & Jennifer decided to run the Lost Souls Ultra Marathon this September. They did the 50k, but there's also the 100k and 100 mile runs. They started off really well, running ultra fast, so we were hoping they would have no trouble beating their time goal. However, about 3/4 of the way in, Jennifer developed a serious IT band issue and was forced to walk for quite a while before she could run again. About 2/3 of the way in John developed terrible issues with his stomach and couldn't eat anything for ages. Not a good situation when you have to run for 7-8 hours.

Fortunately, despite these setbacks both were able to rally, and came in under the 8 hour time goal they had set. Yay! And both liked the experience enough to sign up for next year's race as well.

See how good they looked at the end?

And this is what they got for finishing:

Our Beautiful Poodle

2011-08-28T10:50:00.000-06:00

We took Paisley to a new groomer for her second hairdo. She looks so good! Furry Friends did a great job. Here she is in all her glory.

She is becoming such a nice dog. This morning we let her snuggle in bed with us for a little while. She is so sweet, she alternated resting her head on John then me. We love her very much.

A Night At The Fair

2011-08-28T09:57:00.002-06:00

A group of us went to Whoop Up Days on Friday. Whoop Up Days is a strange, strange event. I think you have to go to know what I mean, although I suspect most small-town fairs are probably similar. We started off at the Go Dog Go agility demo, which was fun to watch as always. Then we started eating - pickles, corn, beef and/or pork on a bun, elephant ears, shaved ice, and so on. Yum! I'd really have liked to try the wiggle chips, but alas, they fried other things in the oil.

Courtney won a Spider Man hammer in the hammer test, and he won me a little stuffed dog in the balloon dart contest. We had to head back to the little dog, but the others went on to ride a couple of rides, and they stayed for the concert, which I believe was Trevor Panczak.

All in all, we had a lot of fun.

Tonight's Walk

2011-08-10T21:16:00.000-06:00

Some odds & ends from our walk.

Bicycle Pup!

2011-08-07T18:26:00.000-06:00

We've been meaning to get the pup in the bike trailer since we got her, but only just got around to it today. I was cleaning it up as we hadn't used it since before Molly died. When it was all clean and set up, Paisley sniffed around it, then jumped right in. She sat for a bit, then settled in to lie down.

She was a little less settled when we were actually riding. We just went up and down the alley, then around the crescent behind us a couple of times. She did so well! She wasn't sure at first, so we had to tighten up her harness. After a few minutes she seemed to understand that everything was fine. Most of the time she lay down, and didn't move around too much, which is good for John.

All in all, I think she'll be a good bicycle dog!

A Funny Series

2011-08-07T12:31:00.000-06:00

I thought this was a funny series from this morning's playdate. Poor Zack!

Let's Play!

2011-08-07T12:22:00.000-06:00

Paisley loves Zack so much. We have a hard time walking past his house. Even his car is exciting, because on a couple of occasions he's jumped out while we walked by. Paisley just can't get enough play time with him. Fortunately, Zack is willing to put up with the little lunatic. They play really well together. It's good that Zack is a terrier, because despite being small, he's tough and feisty. He can take what she dishes out and give back as well. They had a great play this morning, helped by the fact that it's a bit cooler. I got some good pictures, and I think Lisa did as well, so check out her blog too for more.

Digital

2011-08-07T08:27:00.000-06:00

When Molly came into our lives digital cameras were rare and very expensive. The few pictures we have of Molly's puppyhood are only those we printed out from film, and the camera I had then was near the end of its life. It's sad to think how few pictures we have of Molly when she was a baby.

Now that we have Paisley, and digital cameras are readily and inexpensively available, you would think we'd have no end of pictures of her. While we certainly have more than we do of Molly, I often don't get around to taking pictures of Paisley because we're playing, it's too awkward to manage her and a camera, or whatever reason. So I've decided that even if we're just goofing around in the backyard I should be sure to get pictures of her regularly so that we have a record of her growth. Puppies develop so quickly it's easy to miss some cute stage.

The funny thing about Paisley is, even though she is a goofy, happy, silly puppy, when I get the camera out she gets all serious, and gives me this funny sideways look. She looks adorable, but it doesn't always capture her true, fun nature.

I also worried a lot about her eyes, because they seem very pink all the time. I asked the vet and apparently it's nothing major. The 3rd eyelid is usually rimmed in black, but Paisley's are all pink with no black at all. It makes the pink stand out a lot, so she looks like she has pink eye. The vet says it's nothing to worry about it. Just makes her even more unique!

Swimming?

2011-08-03T21:02:00.000-06:00

Paisley & I went to Nicholas Sheran to meet Julia, her dogs, and her friend Judy and her dogs. They were practising retrieves with bumpers. Paisley kind of swam, but is still a bit nervous about it. We'll keep trying. She did fairly well, but ended up overexcited and lost her mind at the end. She became a raving puppy lunatic. I hate when that happens, because she becomes uncontrollable. Very frustrating behaviour. I don't know if it's puppyness or me and my lack of ability to control her behaviour. We'll keep working on it.

I did get some nice pictures on the way though.

Off Leash with Stiletto and True

2011-08-03T11:49:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we went to the off leash park again with Julia, Stiletto, & True. Paisley isn't great about recall, so we prefer to go with people whose dogs will come back as Paisley will follow them. Stiletto is the same age but has great recall. She's been off leash since she was fully vaccinated, and it shows in her behaviour. I hope Paisley learns from her.

Paisley sure loves to be off leash though. She wants to meet every dog she see. There were a few that weren't especially friendly and chased her off, but she seemed to deal with it well. She wasn't nervous or traumatized. Poor little poodle gets so hot though. The one time when we had the most trouble getting her to come was when she was desperately trying to get to the water.

Pool!

2011-08-03T11:06:00.000-06:00

Paisley gets very hot, so we had been thinking about getting a pool for her. Zack didn't like his, so he passed his along for Paisley to try. She likes it! She hasn't really immersed herself in the water yet, but she wades around, and when she gets the crazies she runs splashes around in it.

After our off leash walk yesterday (see next post), she climbed into it an lay down, I think hoping it would be cool. Unfortunately I had emptied it so the water didn't get nasty. Poor doggie.

We are going to a place where she should be able to swim today, with some dogs who are water dogs (flat coated retrievers). I'm hoping she'll learn to swim with them in a safe place, so that we'll be more comfortable with her swimming in the river. I'll let you know how that goes.

Waterton with the Russells

2011-07-27T07:55:00.000-06:00

Cathy, Rachel, Natalie, & I went to Waterton on Monday. The weather could have been better, but we still had fun. The girls really liked climbing through Red Rock Canyon. Next time we'll spend lots more time there, and maybe go to Cameron Lake & Cameron Falls.

Successful Meeting!

2011-07-26T20:38:00.000-06:00

Fundy came over for another visit. This one was much more successful, once she realised that there was a box where she could go for safety from the little poodle! She spent a lot of time retreating to the box for a break from the stress. Paisley, on the other hand, thought it was the greatest visit ever! She didn't always respect the box safety zone though. She also needs to learn that jumping on other dogs' back is not a good idea. Hopefully a nice dog will teach her that.

Off Leash!

2011-07-26T19:59:00.000-06:00

We took Paisley to Peenaquim Park for her first off leash walk the other day. We went with Wendy, Coulee, & Lacey. I thought it was safest to go with someone whose dogs would come back, thus encouraging Paisley to do the same! Wendy has some great pictures on her post. Paisley had the best time ever! She loved every minute of it, except maybe for leaving. I was happy she was comfortable wading into the water. I need to take her to a place that is a little shallower so she can learn to swim. The shore at Peenaquim is quite steep, and the water is fast moving because of all the rain we've had. I know I'd feel more comfortable with her swimming abilities before sending her off in the river.

I didn't get many good shots. I need a bigger and better lens in order to get pictures like Wendy. One day that'll happen, but not now. I love the one of Lacey though, it's my favourite.

Back to Writing on Stone

2011-07-26T19:26:00.000-06:00

I love Writing on Stone. It is just so beautiful there. Fortunately Cathy & the girls wanted to go so I had an excuse to go back.

More, More Birds of Prey 2011

2011-07-26T18:46:00.000-06:00

Back to the Birds of Prey centre! This time we saw a young bald eagle flying, which was very cool. The birds are always so photogenic.

Evening Walk

2011-07-21T13:21:00.000-06:00

Cathy, Rachel, Natalie, Paisley & I all went for a walk to look for the moon. It took a while to come up!

Writing on Stone 2011

2011-07-02T19:02:00.000-06:00

I took Mom to Writing on Stone yesterday. I just love that place. It is so beautiful, and unlike anything I've ever seen. We picked a good day because it wasn't too hot.

More Birds of Prey 2011

2011-07-01T08:38:00.000-06:00

I took Mom to the Birds of Prey centre if Coaldale. It is a fascinating place. If you haven't been, I recommend it.

Red Deer

2011-07-01T07:00:00.000-06:00

John was competing in the Woody's Triathlon this past weekend. The four of us went up overnight. Red Deer is an odd place. Mom & I really wanted to see the Douglas Cardinal church there. St. Mary's is gorgeous, inside and out. It was a strange but interesting couple of days. I got some nice pictures though.

Big Wheels

2011-06-29T19:54:00.000-06:00

No More Tree

2011-06-29T19:48:00.000-06:00

We had a willow tree right in the centre of our back yard. It was always in an awkward spot, so that bothered me. For the past few years the tree has had an infection that we were treating, but with the puppy, I wouldn't spray it. It finally was being attacked by so many different bugs that we had no choice but to take it down. It was completely infested. I feel bad because I love trees and hate to remove them, but we just didn't have much choice. So we had to say goodbye to the tree.

New Hairdo!!

2011-06-23T20:52:00.000-06:00

Paisley got her first hairdo and she looks so cute! I love the new look, although it highlights how scrawny she is.

Weeds can be Beautiful

2011-06-23T20:11:00.000-06:00

More Paisley

2011-06-23T19:32:00.000-06:00

Bath Time!

2011-06-23T18:12:00.001-06:00

Who's a soggy dog?

More Zack!

2011-06-23T17:54:00.000-06:00

Another play date withy Zack, this time in his yard.

New Friends

2011-06-23T14:31:00.000-06:00

Stiletto (a Weimaraner pup) and Catch (a Sheltie pup) came over to play. Poor Catch was being bowled over by the girls so he had to retire. They had a lot of fun though, I think. They were fun to watch.

Puppy!

2011-06-22T19:21:00.000-06:00