Time Flies : Happy 2yr Anniv Norman!

This is what he looked like the day he came home at about 4 months old.

Laura says goodbye to her sweet boy!

He seemed really BIG. HE seems alot BIGGER now!

We got Mr. Norman 2yrs ago on MLK Day! How time flies! In other news, we are shopping for an Airstream for Frank to live in since he is working in Nashville now....I think an Airstream could be VERY useful for (ahem!) other things too. We have been looking at fixing up an older one....not much luck at finding a decent one so far....but Diamond found a boat she REALLY LIKED on Saturday in Albany, GA!

Win Pic

Here is Diamond's win pic from Priceville. Cheryl always makes her look so pretty. Hopefully, we will go this weekend to see Santa at Lenox Sq. Mall in Atl. They let the official Macy's Santa do pet photos a couple of hours on two Sundays in Dec. It should be fun. Oh yeah... and the girls can have their picture made with Santa too :).

We have ribbons....

Diamond was WB and BOW Sunday in Priceville AL. Only one point (I think), but a good finish for her final entry in the 6-9mo puppy class. (She will be 9 months on the 20th). Now she will come home and have fun till next year. I am sure she will especially enjoy watching the Macy's Parade this year as Neil Diamond will be riding  and singing on the South Dakota Mt. Rushmore float this year! Then, of course we can watch the Philly Dog Show...We will be glad to have her home! I will post the win photo later when we get it, but here is a pic Cheryl snapped of Di 'laxin' in her crate:

Halloween Fun, Dog Shows, and Deer

Ready for Halloween...Sarah is Marvin the Martian, and Norm is Marvin's dog, Commander K9

 Emily and me are in our Star Trek Uniforms!

Costume parade at Kennesaw Show was led by Emily and Diamond!

Marvin the Martian and Commander K9!

Happy Diamond at the ATL Show a week b4 the Halloween Shows.

This was a pretty appropriate response to this judge for sure.

We have two young yard deer. They are so pretty and my cat stalks them.

Resistance is futile...

"

"We are Cardigan...you will be assimilated....resistance is futile..."
They are definitely in charge. Happy 6 month Birthday Diamond!

Not Much Happening Here...

Hello, this is Diamond! I am trying to keep this big stick I found in the yard away from Norman....I also ate a book today, and threw up in the Element like three times! Like I said, not much happening here!

 BUT ...I hope to meet some new friends in Atlanta at the shows in a couple of weeks. We all think Norman needs to enter the weight pull 'cause he's so big and strong.... I will just be out in the ring looking cute and wagging my tail, I think. I will try to be a good girl!

Miss Diamond practices...Norman Barks

Our club had a match yesterday so Frank took Diamond out in the ring for some fun and Norman got to stay in his crate and...BARK. A good time was had by all!

I Am Cardigan, Hear Me Roar

Hello, this is Diamond. I got my Cardigan ears yesterday.  Everybody says they make me look very cute now that both of them are standing up.I also had to go see people who poked me with needles and things, and that microchip thing really HURT!!. The Dr. gave me a yogurt treat to make me feel better. Please look at the video below if you want to see what me and Uncle Norman do all day (when someone is around to watch us, that is...otherwise I have to stay in my "bullpen"). It sure is fun being a Cardigan! PS: You need to look at Emily's blog about me at diamondiscute.blogspot.com .

Winner of the Silly Cardi Award....

Here are a couple more shots of Norman from Nationals. It is possible that he could have won the silly Cardigan in the ring award, if such an award existed! Please note in the first picture that he spotted me and became a total ham! We had a good time, and it was a great experience for all of us. I have about 2000 photos from Nationals (conformation movement and candids) that can be viewed and/or purchased at www.ashotinthebark.net/cwcca2011 . I have prints, digital downloads, and other merchandise (like mousepads) available. Even if you were not there, please just enjoy taking a look at all the dogs.

There will be a new and exciting announcement coming in the next couple of days! Stay tuned!

A visit to the relatives'

Hello, this is Norman. We went to Tennessee to see puppies on Wednesday. They belong to my half-sister Jill and some dog names Ferris. Nobody paid much attention to me, but I got to see the puppies, my mom Katie (who growled at me when I got too close to her bone) and several more of my relatives. The puppies are really cute. My little girls were really fond of them! I hope to see all of you in Houston. Stop by and pet me and I will give you a big kiss...

My mom made some pictures of the puppies and she also has a new website for her photography: www.aShotintheBark.net. Maybe you would like to look at her website and all the puppy pictures HERE. And if you scroll down to the bottom of this page there is a youtube video (it WILL view in HD if you select it) of our visit too. I make several very brief appearances.

Mail call again...

The Saturday Bath and the $600 Cat

Well it's Saturday, so I told Norman he needed a Saturday Bath. He was not impressed, but relatively compliant. It's not such a bad deal Norman...you haven't had a bath in about three weeks.

Now to the topic of the cat. The cat pictured above (Smokey) that I found in the woods this past summer (feral) wound up with a $600 vet bill. We had just had him neutered and microchipped and all that jazz when he disappeared on Valentine's Day (or if you prefer...the last day of Westminster...) He was gone for about a week, then he reappeared and it became evident something was wrong. Terribly wrong. He spent about 6 days in kitty ICU at the vet getting pumped with steroids and IVs. The vet determined that he had suffered a very serious head injury that caused his brain to swell. At one point he was totally blind. The photo above was taken today and it was his first adventure into the great outdoors in about 3 weeks. Smokey is really a sweet kitty. They told us he is a Maine Coon mix...which means he will probably be HUGE! He is doing great and we are thankful.

The mailman brought something today...

That was really fast. It's only been a week. And thanks to the photog for letting me pay online. I rarely write checks anymore!

What I did on T'giving Day (by Norman)

Norman, the Builder

Norman is such a great boy with the girls. My mother recently found my old (like VERY OLD) Lego blocks and the girls were playing on the floor with them. When Norm came in , he just sat down beside them and watched intently. I would really like to thank Laura for entrusting us with Norman . He brings so much joy to our lives everyday.

Happy Birthday, Norman!

We had lots of fun celebrating Mr. Norman's Birthday on Thurs. Sept 2! Here's a short video I put together of the festivities.....

"Ring of Fire"

"I fell into a burning ring of fire

I went down, down down

and the flames went higher.

and it burns, burns, burns ....the Ring of Fire"

All I can think of is this Johnny Cash song when I ponder how hot is was at the shows in Asheville. I thought it was supposed to be cool in the mountains. Our ring times were 9 and 10, so it was not SO BAD....but the poor people and animals in the afternoon with forecast highs of 96 degrees. We stuck around sat for group so I could try out my new lens. If you are interested in seeing some more of my shots look at my FB page here.

Congrats to Norm's nephew Yippee for going WD on Sunday for a 3pt major. As far as Norm goes...not so much. He actually stacked nicely and looked good on the table...but movement-wise....he was totally...goofy. We continue to be learners.

Field Day

The girls had field day at their school last week, and Norm was very happy to tag along for some petting....but it was HOTTTTT! Unfortunately, my SD card crashed on my camera, so I had to spend $20 for a recovery program to get the images out, and the best ones from the field day were unrecoverable (it figures!) I bought a Nikkor 2.8 80-200 zoom on craigslist the other day. I want to try my hand a dog show action photography. It really takes a fast lens at these indoor shows. I spent 20yrs as a wedding photographer, and I really think dogs are a LOT more fun!! Norm and I are going to a B-Match in Carrollton GA sponsored by our club on the 5th. Hope everyone is enjoying a long Memorial Day weekend!

Good Show Weekend!

Norman went Winner's Dog on Friday and Sunday for two more points in Montgomery AL at Garrett Coliseum... he was apparenty pretty wild Saturday so he just took reserve. It was great to be able to see Norman and his sis Rosie in the ring on Sunday! (we were not there saturday but Laura kept and handled him for us) I will not steal Laura's thunder but Rosie did VERY WELL TOO! Congrats to the puppies! Thanks for all your help , Laura!

Happy 7th Birthday, Sarah!

March 18th was our daughter Sarah's 7th Birthday. She had a birthday party with her school friends at our kids party and play place , http://www.airjumpusa.com/ on Friday the 19th. A good time was had by all , I think. Unfortunately, Norman could not come to the party, so I got a picture with him and the Birthday girl in the flowers a little later.... Anybody going to be at the shows in Newnan GA on April 3rd and 4th? Norm is entered...we are dipping our toes into the show ring. After our first meeting at the closest kennel club, the prez saw his pic and just insisted that we enter him. Made us feel good. I only hope we are prepared for this (if that is even possible!)