:East Hill Motel

Where on earth, how on earth, Vickie finds this stuff out there in cyberspace is beyond me. During our powwow, as we were exploring ideas for unique trophies, I sat beside her as she shopped online. She’s so efficient!

Here’s a postcard from the 50s of our favorite Seward motel.

These motels are a dying breed, mostly dead actually. Rick and I would rather stay in unique motels and hotels when traveling. I speak from experience. Sure, if you’re lucky (and some might not use that word) enough to find one that’s still open, modern conveniences might be lacking. What may be lacking is usually compensated by character, history and…well…a bit of adventure.

My all-time favorite was the Wish You Were Here Inn in Fort Lauderdale. The first night, arriving very late, Anthony (Nate’s swim coach) wanted to leave. But it was late. Which was part of the problem. There was no one at the front desk. The keys to our room were left ‘out’ for us. All a little too creepy for Anthony! And he’s not exactly a wimp! The motel was art deco in style and backed up to the Inland Waterway, complete with a motel dock. Each night, after a long HOT day at the swim meet, we would sit at one of the picnic tables in the back, drink a cold beer and enjoy the stars. If Anthony were here, he’d tell you The Rothmans were right. It was a good thing we stayed.

The East Hill Motel was purchased about 5 years ago by a young couple. They’ve updated the rooms, the whole place actually. They welcome dogs. They’re friendly. The lower rooms on the left hand side of the postcard open to a small grassy area where we’re allowed to place our ex-pens. Our Lady Of Reservations saw to it that we got those rooms. Each room is equipped with a frig and microwave. I noticed a sign about wireless internet, but have never bothered to take the laptop. What more could we want in Seward?!

Here’s the back of that postcard, dated 1954.

Here’s a (poor) photo I took of a painting that now hangs in the lobby of the East Hill Motel.

:Moving with synchronicity

Andrea sent the photo below which is followed by her note in which she uses ‘in sync’. The word synchronicity popped into my head, so I looked up the definition. According to Wikipedia, the philosophical concept of synchronicity is the experience of two or more events which occur in a meaningful manner, but which are causally un-related. In order to be ‘syncrhonistic’, the events must be related to one another temporally, and the chance that they would occur together by random chance must be very small.

It could be debated whether moving a dog in the ring would apply to the above definition. However, it certainly brings a point home to me…just as did the slides Thursday night, quietly repeating in the background as we conversed. Dogs are masters at body language. It is how they communicate. The slightest movement in our facial expression may mean nothing to us, but dogs pick that up with great skill. If I’m having a problem communicating something to a dog, obviously sending the wrong message, I step back and ask myself two things. What am I reinforcing. And what am I inadvertently communicating.  

To move correctly in the show ring, dogs must first have the proper structure for their breed. Lhasa Apos move like a normal dog, unlike the Pekingese which roll when gaiting. Tigger, a Tibetan Terrier, in the photo below, shows balanced movement front and rear, efficient reach and drive and effortless movement. He looks like he could do that all day long…which some of his ancestors did alongside Yak trains in Tibet.

Assuming a show dog is built to move, other factors can influence that dog’s gait in the show ring.. The handler’s body language. Presentation. Attitude. And…perhaps…synchronicity?? 

Hi Debby – Just perusing your blog this a.m. and saw we had 
simultaneous insights!  This is about the 3rd pic I’ve now seen of me 
and my dog moving together with our legs in sync.  I also started 
wondering about the cause of this (it’s lovely I think, but quite 
unintentional on my part).  My best guess at this point is maybe it 
relates to something primal in mammals??  Anyway, what a great topic 
for a photo study (people moving w/ animals, animals moving w/ 
animals, birds flying together, etc.) -Andrea

:Sunday morning…and where’s she been!

Good Sunday morning! Whoops! Make that Good Sunday afternoon! My gosh! Where does time go?! I’ve missed writing an almost daily post, sipping a cup of java, connecting with you in that odd way cyberspace provides. Lots to catch up on, so I’m just going to do one of the those here and there, hear and there, bits and pieces, no rhyme or reason posts.

First the great news. Chandra is pregnant with at least four – did you read that?! – four puppies. Here they are..

As with Nagpo, they still have a ways to go before arrival, but we’re over a major hurdle. All puppies will be DNA profiled to determine the sire of each puppy. Keeper? Khamma? I should have a good idea though as they’re born. If the puppy has an indication of tan point, then it is most likely sired by Khamma. Keeper appears not to carry tan point, as none of his puppies from Nagpo were tan point. Keeper comes from a line that hasn’t show tan point in years and years, so it’s improbable that he carries this gene. Tan point is very common in the Gompa gene pool, which is why the legs and face often appear cream.

Vickie arrived Thursday evening and stayed through Saturday afternoon. Thursday night after dinner – hey! I cooked that dinner! – we retired to the library, like two old men in smoking jackets retiring to have a cigar in the study. I always thought that was a cool vision, so I threw it in here. We didn’t have smoking jackets. We didn’t have cigars. Shockingly, we had a glass of wine. I know. Pull yourself up from fainting. Bringing a rocking chair into the library, we turned the reading chair and the rocking chair a bit to face the computer screens. Now this doesn’t sound relaxing or old school, does it… This doesn’t sound like old men smoking cigars. But it was. The lights were dimmed over the bookshelves. The lights were out over the desk and computers. The ambiance was relaxing as we quietly – okay, okay, it probably wasn’t so quiet! – as we watched the slide shows on both computers. Both Rick and I have our screen savers set up as slide shows. His always shows family photos. Mine is currently set up to show all the photos we all took in Seward. There’s a lot more than I put in the slide show on the blog. That thing loads up, buffers long enough!

As the hours went by, sipping wine, catching up, the slide shows played in the dim light. What I started to notice, especially in light of recently looking at lots of movement photos, was how the dog, no matter the dog, mimicked the action of the handler’s feet. Wow. There it was right before our eyes. No matter the shot. Here’s my favorite…

Friday the powwow started right after the dogs were fed and caffeine was running through our systems. Wow. From morning until well into the afternoon, we worked as Directors of the Gompa Lhasa Apso Preservation Program…which, of course, we are. For nearly a year and half, the focus has been acquiring 501(c)3 status and getting puppies on the ground. The Program was granted 501(c)3 status in February. And, we’ve got puppies on the ground and puppies on the way. Next, we’ll be focusing on updating the Program’s Registry, utilizing different software that will allow for fairly intricate viewing of each dog’s relatives, along with in-depth details on each dog. We also planned A Gathering of the Tibetans, to be held Saturday night, September 6th, in Greeley. We’ll present an update on the Gompa dogs, complete with actual puppies and parents. Siku. Whisper. Echo. Keeper. Nagpo. Hoping not to jinx Chandra’s litter…her puppies are due June 16 – 18, so will be old enough to make a brief visit. So, hopefully Chandra, her puppies and their fathers – Keeper and Khamma – will be there too.

After a brief respite to make some lunch, we came back to the table wearing different hats, planning a fun get-together for Vickie’s rescue people and owners of the FleetFireTimbers dogs.

Changing hats, once again, we went over the details of the upcoming LACCC Specialty show. Right after the Specialty at Island Grove Park in Greeley, we’re holding another potluck picnic we’re calling Lhasas on the Green. Why? Because the showsite has lots and lots of trees and green grass. And, we’re holding Lhasa Races! Sorry, real Apsos won’t be racing but tons of fun anyway. Saturday night The Gompa Lhasa Apso Preservation Program is hosting A Gathering of the Tibetans. The format will be An Update on the Gompa dogs, including the Challenges of Small Population Genetics. Or How to Get Puppies on the Ground! Everyone is invited to both events.  Fanciers. Pet owners. Exhibitors. Breeders.  Both events are intended to be fun!

Late Friday afternoon – or was it early Friday evening – we took off all our hats and kicked back for a well-deserved drink and dinner. The following morning, again after caring for the dogs, and pouring a cup of coffee, we were back at the table. I really, truly thought we had maybe a half hour of work. Not so. We finished up around 2 in the afternoon. Talk about a marathon!

In the meantime, my ever-overflowing inbox of email nearly tipped over. The number hit 100! So, here’s some one-liners trying to catch up.

Alma, Roadie’s slide show will get done… My thoughts are with you and your upcoming tests about your ear.

Rose, Have you yet resolved Tango’s ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound?

Kathy, I miss you.

Katy, I guess it’s best to send the paintings, rather than drive down and get them. :::sigh::: I’ll send the balance this week.

Christa and Ginny, a grooming get-together will need to be postponed or scheduled one weekday evening.

Josh, I am embarrassed your email has been sitting so long. I am going to address your question about grooming Tomu on the blog separately. Later. It’s been so long, you’ve probably come up with a solution! And I haven’t forgotten the request about a dog for your mom. Also! Congrats on you and Crystal’s exciting plans!

Sondra, I loved the questionnaire.

Last, but certainly not least! Fernando is #1 Lhasa Apso in the USA in Breed Standings and #2 Lhasa Apso in the USA in all-breed standings. I am so proud of him and Julie!