Me and my big mouth....

Things to never say out loud..."They'll be fine", "That'll never happen" and "Heyoka's been really good lately". The last one I said on Saturday when Stuart got home. Sunday afternoon, Heyoka beat the crap out of Anvik! It's always Anvik who looses these battles, mainly because he coudn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag. He just doesn't have it in him. It was a short, quick fight since we were both home to break it up in a hurry. Anvik still spent yesterday at the vet getting the holes closed back up.

Anvik won't wear an e-collar. He freaks right out and actually injures himself. Somewhere in his past, he must have had a bad experience with one of those things. He has figured out the bite-not collar and won't keep it on either. Right now, he's wearing a t-shirt with a kitten on it! He looks silly, but the stitches and drains are staying in place and he's not freaking out about it!

It will be awhile before Tehya is allowed to play with him again!

The end of a season...

Mushing season may be about to begin, but football season for me ended Sunday afternoon. Yah, I grew up in Saskatchewan and come from a long line of proud Rider fans. No, I am not one. I am a Stampeder fan, a die hard Stamp fan; the kind of fan who can recite the roster off the top of my head going back to the early 80's; who someday is naming a dog after Ken-Yon Rambo(because he's a great receiver and that's just a fabulous name!); who's brain is full of useless trivia about Stampeders players no one else can remember(Did you know Marshall Toner was the UofS male athlete of the year in multiple sports? Do you even know who Marshall Toner is without using Google? Didn't think so); who's parents called early today cuz they knew I wouldn't answer the phone after 2pm; who's most treasured possesions are a collection of autographed pictures and a practice football signed by the '86 team that my Mother somehow managed to get me for Christmas that year. Yup, she was the coolest Mom ever for that one! 21 years later, I still think it's amazing that she got me that ball!

I could probably type ten pages of why we lost today; I could blame Henry Burris for not showing up, for his inconsistency, for his damaged left shoulder; or Tom Higgins for sitting Brian Clarke as a healthy scratch; or for releasing damn near every veteran on the defensive line during training camp; I am still bitter that both Abdullah brothers were gone this year; maybe the defensive co-ordinator should have been fired months ago; for not using Joffrey Reynolds today; Maybe Ben Sankey should have come in; but in the end as it been all season, the Stamps did themselves in with penalty after penalty(Trey Young, you got lucky when the ref missed the retaliation call). Would they have got into Sandro D'Angelis range if the on-side kick had worked with 53 seconds left? It's unlikely, but this is the CFL and anything's possible; that's the great thing about the CFL! And Sandro does have one heck of a leg on him!

Potentially the greatest offense in CFL history, a receiving core with depth other teams can only dream about and for the third year in a row, watching games on CBC with the rest of the country in late November. One man will wear the blame for that. Tom Higgins lost his job today. The team just hasn't made it official yet. He knew he lost his job earlier this week when it was leaked to the media that John Hufnagel was already hired. That's not fair. I like Tom; I've defended his coaching strategy for years, but this is pro sports and eventually all coaches get fired. Tom Higgins is a class act and it's unfortunate he hasn't been treated with the same class by the organization. Good Luck, Tom.

I was a Stamp fan in 85 when we went 3-13 and almost folded in the off-season. I will be a Stamp fan in 2008 with a new roster to memorize--makes yelling at the TV so much easier. You know Burris can hear me if I yell loud enough, right? But for the next two weeks, I am returning to my Saskatchewan roots. GO RIDERS. If you are going to beat my team, the least you can do is win the Cup.

Look familiar?

Regular readers of Stacie's blog may find this picture kinda familiar

Apparently Franklin and his sister, Gracie, share more than just a striking physical resemblance. Can a love of couches be genetic?

The joys of being slightly neurotic...

Neurotic or a little obsessive, either term could be used to describe me and my critters. It's also why Kayleigh spent Thursday at the vet clinic. Because I swear Wednesday night her right front leg was swollen and she was limping. I was not imagining that! Despite the fact that she had a full range of motion, pain free, and no swelling by the time the vet looked at her!

It did eventually turn out that I am not completely crazy! Kayleigh has a fatty lipoma under each front leg. Yah, she's a little hefty which isn't helping with those things. Her first owner starved her and food is still a very big deal to Kayleigh. She still worries that someday I am going to forget to feed her. Anyhoo, the lump under her right leg blocks lymphatic fluid from draining when she lays in certain positions. That causes her leg to swell and messes up her gait. It also vanishes when she moves around a bit. Which is why I saw it and why it had disappeared by the time Kim saw it!

Kayleigh went to the quarry to celebrate her "it's not serious and my Mom's not completely nuts" diagnosis. Nothing like a good roll in the snow to celebrate, at least when you are a malamute!

Retired?

"Run? No thanks, I'm good here."

Pingo's not stiff, not sore, and not interested! She's done one training run this fall. She ran nicely, as well as she ever did and looked happy enough doing it. She was 10 in May. I don't think she's too old. She has a ton of energy when it comes to her tennis balls. I think she's just lost her drive. Maybe she'll show more interest when the noisy ATV can be parked and the sled comes out. She's a little spooky and the ATV has never been her favorite thing. It's never been mine either! Otherwise, I guess she's retired and can spend the winter lounging on the couch or her doghouse! Which means Tehya's leader training might be sped up and I'll have to catch Pingo's kid soon.

Sundin hasn't done a single run yet because he won't let me touch him! Happiest dog in the yard when left to his own devices; a confident, pulling machine when I can get him into a harness and a spooky, freaky little dog who much like some of my cats would prefer I just feed him and leave him alone! I do love the little freak!