Whew and a winner!

What a weekend. I'm not sure I will ever recover or catch up on my sleep. But it sure had its ups and downs.

Bright and early, well not so bright at 3 AM, I got up Thursday and was on the road to dog show number one for the weekend. We arrived and Rory looked great, behaved and won his class. We walked around and he was petted and fussed over by many. This happens a lot and he just loves it! Well, who wouldn't love be the center of attention. Early afternoon we were back on the road heading for Connecticut and the next dog show. I even managed to stitch a little that night!

Friday, a relaxing morning with no fuss, Rory had a great time visiting old friends at the show. He was a good boy in the ring but the judge didn't pick him this time. I was a bit disappointed since she had liked him and gave him Best of Winners back in July. Oh well, win some - lose some. We stayed long enough to watch his cousins do a little winning and were back on the road home at 12:30. We took the ferry across the Long Island Sound. Something that Rory just loves. Again more attention and people stopping to pet him. He is such a ham but amazes me at how gentle he is with the children. I don't have children myself and most of my younger nieces and nephews all live states away therefore he really has very little experience with children. I know Irish setters are supposed to be good with children and my others were but they had little ones around all the time. Rory just seems to be a natural!

Friday night after we got home and Rory ate I went over to the hotel my brothers, sister, niece, nephews and sister-in-law, niece-in-law and future niece-in-law were all staying for the wedding on Saturday. Saturday morning was busy as I quickly cleaned the house before all of the above came over to visit with Rory and I. Washed the kitchen floor, (my kitchen floor is white and if you look at the photos in the previous post you can well imagine what it looked like after a week of rain!!! Don't EVER have a dog and a white floor!! LOL) vacuumed and did a little dusting. After that it was time to dress and get ready for my cousin (also my God-daughter) Erin's wedding.
Blue skies and warmish temps. What a picture perfect day! For a picture perfect wedding. The reception followed and everyone had a fabulous time. I was going to try to leave early but being with family and friends was too delightful.

Sunday morning began at 3AM when my alarm went off. Rory and I were back on the road for the 3 and a half hour drive back to Connecticut for the last dog show of the weekend. After only two hours sleep I was doing pretty good! (I got home from the reception at 12:30 AM!) We were about 40 minutes away from the show when my front tire blew. It was a pretty scary few minutes and a longer more tense wait for the State Trooper and then the tow truck to come change the tire. I would have and did try but just could not loosen the lug nuts for the life of me! And I have the nicks and cuts on my hands to prove it! Rory and I should have been at the show site by 7AM. So he could run a bit and I could groom him, wash his belly feathers and blow him dry. His ring time was 10! Instead we got there at 9!! Talk about running around and being stressed to the max!! We did make it in the ring on time but I was shaking with stress and nerves. And guess what? Rory did fantastic! He moved great. Stacked (stood at attention) for the judge and got second place in his class of 6. Much better than Fridays results! We then just relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the show.

We were on our way home by 2:30 PM. Again took the ferry. I love it since it saves driving around New York City and all that traffic. And this time even more since I was driving on the bike tire spare. You know those half size tires that they now put in cars? I drove all the way praying that we would make it home. You aren't supposed to drive far on them. I really didn't have much choice since it was Sunday and I didn't know any places open there that would be able to sell me a new tire. The prayers worked and we made it home in one piece at 6PM. I fed Rory and promptly sat in my chair and fell asleep. Rory woke me at 9:30 and after a quick trip outside we both went back to sleep.

So that brings us to today. I found a tire place and got the tire fixed. Now I can drive without the fear of the tire going flat. I did some laundry and played with the photos from the wedding and weekend. Still no stitching!!
Oh and now for the news you have all been waiting for. I had the random number generator thingy do the work for me. (Rory is just too tired to pick out a winner.)

The winner is.....................................

Jennifer!!!!!!!!!

Now I am off to stitch. Have to make up for the past few days and still have an exchange to finish. Until next time..............................

Love and stitches

Kathy

and licks from Rory too.