It's a Rant of Good Proportion...

We were there at 5 a.m.

Where were you? I’m specifically talking to people in Lockport Precinct 23. Yesterday, unless you missed it or were under a stump somewhere, was a Primary Election day.

Our precinct had an absolutely mortifying turnout. We returned to the Clerk’s Office – with FOUR boxes of unopened ballots. Our total vote count? A whole 151.

One. Hundred. Fifty. One.

If you crab about the Chaney-Monge referendum in the next few days, I want to see your voting receipt.

If your candidate for Park Board didn’t get in, I want to see your voting receipt.

If your candidate for Will County Sheriff didn’t get elected, I want to see your voting receipt.

If your candidate for Treasurer, Comptroller, or Governor didn’t get in, I want to see your voting receipt.

Otherwise? I don’t want to hear it. In Will County, we have a fantastic opportunity to vote early. You had weeks to go downtown to the Clerk’s Office to vote if you knew you weren’t going to be able to make it yesterday. We also have long poll hours. Polls opened at 6 a.m. and closed at 7 p.m.

How bad was it? I’m almost done knitting a sock. And I’m not joking. It’s a lovely sock. But we election judges should have been far, far busier. We weren’t and you know what? It’s YOUR fault.

I’ve been an election judge for a long time now, and I’ve seen the dismal returns for primaries. I’ve watched as people complain about the primary elections because they “don’t want to declare a party.” I have one suggestion for you: work to get that changed. Here’s the perfect opportunity for you to learn how to be an activist and get involved in an issue.

Don’t blame the election judges. We have to abide by the law and in Illinois, in a primary election you have to declare if you want to vote for candidates. You know what? It’s not like we’re bellowing out your choice either. We’re actually quite discrete and do everything to protect your right to vote in private – from silently handing the information to the judge handing out ballots to handing you a privacy sleeve to ensure that not one of us sees how you vote – we’re there all day waiting to help you exercise your rights. You can’t exercise ‘em if you don’t show up, though!  As an election judge, I can honestly tell you this: I don’t care HOW you vote. I care THAT you vote.

And Precinct 23 women?? What the heck… We got the right to vote in 1920. Where were you??

If you think that politics in Springfield are corrupt, sure – you don’t have to vote for a candidate. Our system allows you to do that and still cast a ballot. You can still make an effort to vote for your local candidates and issues. If you don’t, you have only yourself to blame. “The system is rigged.” Well – un-rig it. You – the voter – are the only one who can make a difference. 

Shocking...

The Chaney-Monge referendum passed. Oh my, I'm having the vapors! My kids went to that school, and back in its day, it was a great place. But years and years (over 30 of them to be exact) of NOT passing basic referendum issues have taken their toll. Their now-retired superintendent had to resort to putting temporary buildings alongside the main school building. That riled up the folks who had to look at them, but his point was well-taken. You want 'em removed? We NEED to add on. Kids were using the library for classrooms. Two classrooms. The library now relegated to the size of a small bathroom. We needed more handicapped access to bathrooms for the influx of kids with disabilities. And the roof was holding together with spit and prayer. I'm positive that this winter didn't do it any favors. 

It's a $3 million referendum. Much less than the neighboring school district - the one across town that managed a TEN MILLION DOLLAR referendum about 8 or 9 years ago. 

Knitting...

Blue Sweater with sleeves

As I said, there's a good whack done on the Pink Sock. Today is Teal Sock. I also did some yesterday on Blue Baby Jacket. This picture just shows the sleeves barely started. The Alternate Loop Cast On was interesting and I'll use it again. 

The sleeves, with the variegated yarn, look like they'll go to the lightest part right on top the shoulders. Hey, it looks like I'm brilliant, but really, the yarn's doing all the work. 

We shall see how the "schedule" test works out with what I'm working on. Next week's knitting will be shot to smithereens because I'm doing a lot of subbing for the yoga teachers at my home studio and another student just contacted me yesterday about a private lesson. Yes, I love it, but sometimes I'm a bit overwhelmed. 

Easter...

So we sort of have the menu set. The date will actually be Holy Saturday. Hey, we have a lot of in-laws to compete with, along with Hubby's and my obligations with the choir. And you know what? As much as I enjoy my family, since Hubby and I bear the brunt of the cooking (we delegated the clean-up now to the Nephews...), we actually like to just chill on the real holiday's date. 

Technicolor Devils

I have a ham in the freezer, so we'll do that. I'm sorry if the rest of the folks will have ham on Easter Sunday. Deal with it. 

I'm doing deviled eggs, but found this and I thought it was fantastic and fun. So we will have deviled eggs, in technicolor.  My filling won't be as smooth - we like pickle relish in ours. I may dig out my home-made pickle relish for that and leave a few plain. While I had a blast making the relish, it's really got too much onion for me! 

My mom's making Nodif, a Croatian ham-polenta thingie you have to taste. It's incredibly labor-intensive. My dad used to make it in a sausage casing. We now make it in a pan. One day, I may become adventurous and do it again in the casing, hoping that I don't explode it in my kitchen. It involves a pork butt, a car-load of spring onions and corn meal. 

I'm bringing the potica. And I'm making a lamb cake. Just like the ones we had when we were kids. It's time to go old-school, especially since K and the twins are now probably old enough to know what they're looking at -- K in particular, the smart little bugger!! Which reminds me, I should order a lamb cake pan. I can't find mine. 

The Wedding...

Well, M is now married. That's the second of The Nephews to be married. It was great to have the family together and Nephew S - father of the kids - took a formal portrait of us, which was something I was really wanting. Then my mom wanted a pic of "her remaining children" - which disconcerted brother D, but hey - just do it, you know?

Kid #1 and girlfriend K (we really, REALLY have to vet names better in this family!!) had a good time, because K and K (K is kid-K's mom) had a blast - they are good friends. Between the wedding and reception, K and S, being "childless" (as in "free from the kids for a day") got together with Kid #2, Kid #1 and G/F and J (S's brother) - apparently, they all headed out for Thai food. 

I'm so happy to see them all bonding. Though I did tell Kid #2 that when he acquires a G/F she CANNOT have a name beginning with "K" - it's just too weird. 

The wedding was just a ceremony. The reception was nice, but the DJ was not good. And we were fighting the volume of two other parties. Brother D had to go tell the manager of the banquet hall that if she didn't take care of it, "I'd be happy to go in and help them with their sound system." That might've been interesting. 

Kid #1 and K already told me that "if" they get married, expect to know AFTER the fact, when they call to schedule the party. I figured as much. I'm not overly troubled by that. It is what it is, and it's THEIR life. As long as they're happy. 

Raisa...

Graduation!

Actually managed to graduate from Basic Obedience! Yay - no heat so far, though we still think it's close. I have to attend a make-up session with her because I missed one. But that's ok. 

We're going to skip Intermediate right now. She's almost 6 months old; we're really bargaining with time and I don't feel like paying for the Intermediate right now only to pull her out when Heat Happens. After heat comes Spay... so you figure 1 month to get heat over with (21 days of actual heat, but you have to wait for at least 30 days so that things go back to normal) and then spay, which is about 4 to 6 weeks of recuperation. It's a good plan, and while I think she'll bounce back faster than Tippi did, I still want to be careful. 

Raisa + Quinn

She and Quinn are getting along well, too, which is nice. We still don't leave all 3 of them out when we're away. Raisa gets the crate. She's still a little too new in the house. And till after she's spayed, I can't be absolutely sure that Tippi & Quinn will behave either. It seems strange, but they get a weird kind of PMS-thing going on with her emerging hormones. 

Raisa managed a very good sit/stay/wait and she's really good with her long stay - though I've only gone about 6 feet from her. She's still got puppy-brain, though, so we are just thrilled she does what she does. 

I have to work on her walk. She thinks leash = run since Hubby takes them. She needs to learn that with ME, leash = walk. What I usually do is an about-face. That 180* turn kind of pulls her mind and she realizes that she has to wait on me. 

It's all a work in progress. She has the makings of an excellent therapy dog, as far as I can tell. It's early days yet, but she's got a lot of River's personality, and River -- well, River was Practically Perfect, if I may borrow from Mary Poppins. 

The Food Thing...

So it's been a rough couple of weeks. The week of the 10th, I ate out way more than I usually do. Salt. Processed restaurant stuff really kills me. I'm still recovering. 

Then yesterday, at the polls, I took a dangerous tumble off the wagon with a donut(s) -- ok, one whole big donut and a few donut holes. And some pizza around 5 p.m. 

Yes, I did bring my own food. And I knew it. But The Tired came over me and that's probably my worst time, other than The Worry. Breakfast and lunch were ok. Greek yogurt, some nuts, a cheese stick for a snack. Salad of baby kale, chard & spinach with olives and blue cheese. Snack of celery with peanut butter.

And then came 3 p.m......... Polls closed at 7 p.m. Yikes, that's an interminable span of time!! I knitted. I read my Kindle. I knitted some more. I checked my FB. Sent off some e-mails. 

But the siren song of junk food kind of whirled into my brain. I did do some damage control, though, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

And that morning? Mother Nature played a stinky on me - bloat and cramps and some Other Things potentially heralding another visit. Really. Seriously not funny. So that's why I probably feel Dolly-Parton-ish and out of sorts. 

So today: Greek yogurt for breakfast. Kale/spinach/chard salad with radishes and a half of a chicken breast. Celery with peanut butter. Dinner will likely be something light, as I have yoga tonight. I'll try to keep things under control and perhaps with lots of water and some mild activity, I can mitigate some of the future problems. 

The Rant...

Our local newspaper has been bought and sold again. Apparently, now -- it looks to be a real paper again, instead of the ad-rag it'd become under the prior ownership. Most of the reporter staff has of course been long-gone and we don't expect them to come back.

I submitted The Rant above as possibly a guest column or a letter to the editor. We shall see. I wouldn't mind writing a column again. It was great fun and I had a good time doing it. 

Of course, it won't be like this. No pictures and projects graphs! But still some fun, I think.

Random Picture...

Do I smell corned beef??

Yes. Miss Tippi as Miss St. Patrick's Day. And yeah, there was payback. Raisa tried to eat the pompoms and Tippi did get a lovely treat afterwards. 

We missed the visit on Tuesday, since I was at the polls. Next Tuesday, we go to St. Colletta's, our new potential gig. It's a trial visit to see how she (and I) will handle students with mental and physical disabilities.

I confess to a bit of discomfort in dealing with folks in that kind of situation. Tippi will likely be a star. Me? Not so sure. But the social worker there is a gracious young woman and I know she'll try to make sure I'm ok with my own discomforts. 

Though we will likely play it straight... no costumes. Less confusing that way. Oh, and I got her new cards, so now we're officially "TDIA." She's not impressed. 

Our next challenge is TDIAOV - one hundred more visits. 

At least 100 more voters was what I was hoping for last night. By this measure, Tippi will be Queen of Therapy Dogs by the time I see a decent attendance at a primary election. No answer for the problem. Just a Rant of Good Proportion...

You Can Tell it Was a Full Moon...



Me and my Bear

 Hi Everyone!! This is Tippi, your intrepid canine reporter. So I need to tell you about my training class last Sunday, but I need some help with the words.

What's a "revolt"??? My Mom said that was what was happening. Shallot's dad was laughing for a while, till Shallot apparently did this "revolt" thing too, but Bobbie, our trainer, had the last laugh when Mom mentioned that last Friday, the full moon was hanging low in the sky, like a "Harvest Moon" --- whatever that is!

Anyway.... I really was happy to get to class. I like class. We went to class and I was in a hurry to get inside to see who was there. It wasn't as crazy as last week's class, but there were plenty of people to sniff, corners to try to peek under and tons of food bits all around. Heaven!!

We got off on the wrong foot when I tried to pull Mom across the parking lot and through the doors - because there was a human lady there with a big blue wheeled thing - she was in MY way. But my mom snapped my martingale and said, "Tippi - you'd think you've never been here!" The other human lady just laughed.

The first part of the class, Shallot's dad and my mom helped Bobbie with some paperwork to become a CGC evaluator. She is a GREAT trainer but mom said she "needs work" on her writing. So, we had such FUN! Bobbie shut the training room door and Shallot and I got to play off-leash for a while. But that just meant our class ran a little later. See, Bobbie wants to become an Evaluator but mom says she's a Procrastinator. Her dog Leo actually passed the test but has to be re-tested because Bobbie didn't send in his paperwork!

Anyhow. Bobbie is doing a lot of work to make sure that Shallot and I pass our CGC exams. She would like us to be her first "graduating" class, and maybe Quinn, too, if we take her to be "refreshed." Dad says she needs "refreshing."

We did the loose-leash walking. We did meet-and-greet. We did the grooming thing. We did weaving through a crowd. Mom got hollered at because her hand was below the paper clip! I have to tell you that one.

My mom tends to keep me on a short leash. Not because I'm a bad dog! No sirreeeeeee. But because sometimes at PetSmart, other dogs don't have manners or their owners think it's "cute" when they come bashing out of a lane and lunge at us. I don't think it's "cute" and I've had to do my Big Bad Elkhound act more than once!

So Bobbie doesn't like mom to keep my leash tight, but she understands. So. For class, Bobbie put a paperclip on my nice hemp leash (courtesy of Fun Time Dog Shop at http://www.funtimedogshop.com/ in a lovely pink color) and mom's hand isn't allowed to go past it.

So we did Loose Leash through a crowd AGAIN. This time, mom did ok.

Then we did the U-turn, and right and left turns. That was fun, and I did good. We had to do it twice because Shallot did have a problem, but it wasn't her fault. When we had our free-playing, she did get into the water. She's got a bladder the size of a flea, and she had a few accidents. So we took a break while Bobbie mopped up and Shallot went outside.

Then. Oh my. We did the "long-down-come-when-called" thing. I was not cooperative. I understand what they wanted me to do. I just didn't feel like it, thank you very much. Mom took FOREVER to get me to sit/stay. And every time she turned her back, I got up. We kept at it; I thought Bobbie was going to move on to Shallot, but she got really stern with me and said, "Sit. Stay." She's got a deeper voice than mom's (and she's got a pretty deep one!) and FINALLY I did it. I did cheat a bit and started my "come" before mom actually said come. I think we took a long, long, LONG time to do that. I was just not going to cooperate.

So then it was Shallot's turn. Mom and Shallot's dad think we planned it, but we really didn't (much). Shallot had a hard time staying. But then, she really did stay and when her daddy called, she just cocked her head at him and sat there. And sat there. So my mommy tried. She just sat there. Bobbie was laughing and that was when Shallot finally came; and then Mom mentioned the full moon.

Now everyone understood. At least the humans think that was why we did it. I just wanted to see if I'd still get treats. Bobbie did say "no cookies for Tippi" after it took 4 tries to get a sit/stay out of me. Drat.

Me and my favorite bone

It's our last class next week. Bobbie wants us to come back after that to help her with a dog in Intermediate. Is that therapy work? She said the other dog needs to be "socialized" and that we could help! I love to help! Maybe it means more treats. I have noticed the treats are getting smaller. Something to do with my vet saying "Tippi needs to lose about 8 lbs." I'm starving already! As I'm sure you can tell by this picture.

So as we were leaving, Shallot needed to piddle once more, right outside the PetSmart door. And this guy with this really funny-looking dog came up. My mom said, "Oh, a Bedlington!" and the guy was very impressed that my mom knew what it was. It looked like a sheep to me. Her name is Vera and she was nice. We got to say hello. The man asked my mom if I was a "Siberian" dog. Well, with all due respect to my Siberian Husky elder sister, NO! My mom told him I was a Norwegian Elkhound and he then said he thought his brother had one. Well, believe me, if his brother did have an Elkhound, he'd remember!

Till next week! Please go visit Fun Time Dog Shop - all the proceeds go to rescues like me and Quinn. They also help other breed rescues, so you can pick from what's on the list. Shallot and I really like the organic treats and I love my leash. Until next time!

Tippi

Snakes on the Plain(s)...

Hi all! Tippi your intrepid "Guest Editor" here. (Sorry, I really should be the head writer, but I got overruled.)

Here in the middle of Illinois, we had a lovely Christmas. Apparently, the human parents aren't used to dogs who REALLY like toys. Our respected elder dogs who've gone before us were used to milk jugs and the odd frisbee, but Quinn and I get the good stuff!

River just plans to kill them all.

So this Christmas, we hit the jackpot! We got a SNAKE! And it SQUEAKS! We got it from my hu-Mom's favorite pet shopping place: Fun Time Dog Shop. You can find them, she says, on the Internet --- which I'm not sure what that is, but here's where they are on that thing:

http://www.funtimedogshop.com/  And the neat thing about them is that they donate their profits to rescues like me and Quinn! Check them out. There's even a "snake fan page" because they're really popular. Lots of good, organic and tasty treats, too.

Here are some pictures. Dad got us some Kong toys, and I admit -- I'm smitten with the Chris-Moose. I tore a hole in his hat right off the bat. And Quinn tore off the fuzzy thing on the Kong Santa. The snowman's nose is still there, though.



I really AM staying!!!

 Here's Quinn - just waiting. Finally. She's a bundle of energy, and this is the longest I've seen her sit still. She really thinks it's HER snake, but it's MINE!

It's MY snake.

She has learned to take all the toys OUT of the basket, but she needs to learn to put them back in. The humans have a hard time walking around us AND our toys! Here's one of me. It's MY snake! But I can't choose between that one and the Chris-Moose.

I finally had to resort to napping with it. And the flat-rat beaver thingie that River tried to kill. That was one of my favorites, but River got them all. We call them "flat rats" because they're the toys without stuffing, but they do squeak. River doesn't like the squeakers, so she's trying to figure out the snake. Everyone says it's "indestructible" but I can see in River's eyes - she's figuring out a "destructible" method. One of these days, we'll come home and no more squeak.

Here's me. I'm just figuring out that if I whack it good and hard, it squeaks. And the tail rattles. And it's been THREE DAYS and it's still alive, and has its tongue, though Quinn likes to chew on it. I sometimes have to carry it around. But sometimes, that snotty little Quinn grabs it and we have a tug-o-war with the snake.



Snake Fight!!



I think this is almost (notice, I said almost) as fun as the dog park on a snowy day.



Speaking of which, I went to the vet on Monday. Those tasty treats I've been getting for obedience classes have gone right to my waist. Why does my hu-Mom call me "Wide Load" now?? We go to the dog park nearly every day, and the vet's not too worried, but he did say I need to "lighten up" and I think my humans are starving me. I try to look pathetic. We Elkhounds really have that down. Those Labs and spaniels think they can do the "sad, starving dog" look, but nobody does it like an elkhound!

All we get is fruit. At least they finally stopped trying to give me carrots. Quinn and River eat carrots. But I have standards.

Naptime



One final picture: me with Chris-Moose. It's tough having all that stuff to play with. A girl needs her beauty sleep.

Obedience School Report

Hi Everyone!!!

It's me, Tippi!

I'm reporting about Intermediate Obedience. Mom and I have been going for about 3 weeks now, and so far, I think I'm the valedictorian of the class!!


Certainly the oldest, and I'm nearly 4 years old, but really - some of the stuff they're teaching, I learned in Basic Obedience. Like right turns, heel, long waits. But that's ok. I get treats. I'll do anything for treats; well, ALMOST anything.


Today was really fun, but a little annoying. We go to the PetSmart. The other place we went, a kennel club, had classes when we couldn't get there (Mom won't let ME drive), so we ended up at the store. Talk about DISTRACTIONS! There's stuff to sniff, people to look at, toys all over, and occasionally, a BONANZA when some kibble bag breaks open!! More on that later.


They don't let mom use the pinch collar, and so I do do quite a bit of tugging at her. She keeps saying, "Ack, Tippi - act like you've been to school!" So we go in today. Two rescue agencies are there. And there are dogs ALL OVER THE PLACE. We met a chocolate lab puppy with no name (his parents were "thinking about it") and Mom gave them several good choices.


And a Bernese Mountain Dog puppy that was just rescued, poor little fella: 3 homes and he's not even 4 months old! Then there was this brindle pit bull.


As I passed him, he lunged a little bit at me and was pretty aggressive. I just stood there, with my head held high, my "I'm a NORWEGIAN ELKHOUND so don't mess with me!" look on my face and was just like a statue. The guy who had him on the leash (he wasn't holding on very tight, I can tell you!) pulled him back and had to hold him, lifting the front of his body off the ground before he would back off and leave me alone. We were across the aisle from him. He didn't have to do that. He wasn't very nice, and our teacher was pretty upset. Seems that he was JUST rescued, and he's not too crazy about kids - which they kind of figured out AFTER they brought him! Well, PetSmart isn't the best place to be if you don't like kids! They wanted to pet the kitties and puppies they had, and this pit bull wasn't happy. My teacher finally had to ask them to put him in a crate or take him outside because he almost bit a kid. I think *all* dogs are pretty cool, but if they don't have manners, they don't belong in the PetSmart or the dog park!




Quinn



I know we've left both places when Quinn acts up (it's never me... just sayin'...). She looks nice and dignified in this picture, but even though she's been through ALL the obedience schools, she forgets what she's learned. She's only 1 year old, so I guess you can understand that. My dad says she has "doggie ADD" - I'm not sure about what that is, but I think it means she's a little bit lacking in the "paying attention" department.

 There were these 2 bigg-ish puppies, too - they were tugging and trying to get close to all of us as we were practicing in the aisles, but they were on a double-leash and their owners had a cart full of dog food, so they were moving right along. And I kept wanting to visit the kitties... (really, just a quick visit). They kept hissing at me. Hmmmmm.


Today, I was THE STAR!! We did "heel" when mom's back was turned. The idea is that I should be able to come right to her when she calls, even if she's not looking at me, and land at her left side. Well, Bobbie, our teacher, had me on a really long lead (she was worried about all the dogs and stuff, so we were all on that thing, which was a good idea!!) and told Mom to go to the end of the aisle. So Mom says, "Tippi, heel" and pats her left leg. I took off like a ROCKET!! I landed right at Mom's left leg, exactly where I was supposed to land. The teacher was amazed - she said something about "boy I didn't think she could move THAT fast!" I wanted to show her that I was quick, even if I'm not the tallest dog in the class! I went faster than Myla, the GSD puppy (she's my friend) but I don't think I was as fast as Shallot, a Chinese Crested - who I'd love to meet if the darned thing would HOLD STILL for a minute!!! I just sit there and bark at her telling her "calm down, dang it!!" She doesn't get it. Maybe she doesn't speak Norwegian Elkhound??? I thought I was making myself clear. When we did that move a second time, I started to sit a bit too soon, and wowza - I skidded about a foot in front of Mom, but I was looking at her! Bobbie said something about slippery floors. She should try living in MY house - we have a time with those wood floors!


We learned "Quiet" and I did that pretty well. The Golden retriever puppy and Myla had a little trouble with that one. They got sent to the "time-out" room quite a bit. I never had to go. Mom pulled a squirt bottle off the cart. That was all *I* needed!! :) Bobbie says that we SHOULD bark, but we need to know "quiet" when it's time to be quiet - and without a squirt bottle, if we can. Well, freeze-dried chicken persuaded me that "quiet" was a pretty good thing to learn. Now, if we can teach QUINN that.. (again, just sayin'...)


So then we had to do a sit-stay-wait (still on the leash) as if Mom was looking at something on the shelf. Mom was pretty crafty there. She took me to the DOG FOOD aisle! And there was a busted bag of kibble SOMEWHERE, because there was stuff on the floor. So not only did I have to sit-stay-wait, I had to LEAVE IT, too. And I did it!! Mom was so proud of me and Bobbie said, "Oh, what a SMART dog!" I got lots of ear rubs and a few extra turkey treats for that one.


Next week, we learn "park it" which has something to do with our bed. I wonder if it's the same as "good night" - which I already know. Hmmmm. It'll be interesting. Mom bought me a long (20') lead to practice on - if she ever gets done with her homework! And some Blue soft treats. The salmon is good, but not as good as the stuff she got from Fun Time Dog Shop (look for them here at http://funtimedogshop.com/ -- all the proceeds go to Rescue Agencies to help dogs like me!). And the turkey's pretty tasty, too. I have to watch because sometimes I do get a little nippy with the Pupperoni she stuck in my treat bag, and then I get a little bop on the nose. I think that stuff ought to be illegal (the Pupperoni, I mean. I'm not supposed to nip Mom's fingers!)! LOL


We get to have another week of class tacked on at the end - there was one family (and I mean the whole family came in!!) who missed 2 weeks (yikes!!) so we reviewed a lot this week. That's ok. I can't wait till Advanced, then the CGC. I would like Mom to take me to Tricky Dog. I showed Bobbie that I could sit up and shake, and boy-o-boy, I got freeze-dried chicken and another ear rub. Pays to be cute, I think!


Your pal,


Tippi