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I just got this photo in the mail from a ringside photographer at the Louisville dog shows. It's beautiful, so of course I immediately ordered copies of it. But I couldn't wait to share it--it will take a few weeks to get the final copies in. Please forgive the color quality and the proof markings--obviously it's a scan of a plain paper proof...but you still get the idea of the photo!

The dog is my boy, Luke (CH Potomac's Goodnight Gekko), and he is being handled by Luke Baggenstos (a professional handler). Usually I handle my own dogs in the ring, but this one is an exception. He's a big dog, moves faster than my knee can handle, and likes to see what he can get away with. He doesn't get away with much with a guy like Luke B. on him though!

(yes, both the dog AND the handler are named Luke...it made it rather amusing)

This morning, we woke up to nice thunderstorm. Clearly Chewie had not noticed yet (he was asleep at the foot of the bed). There was a BIG boom of thunder, and suddenly Chew was on his feet, barking at the ceiling. It was NOT allowed to make noises like that! We laughed and calmed him down. Such a brave Chewie!

miintikwa responded with yet another edition of:

The World's Most Terrifying Penises

though this one is not so much terrifying in an ewwww kind of way...more in a "um...seriously? wtf" kinda way.

The World's Most Terrifying Penises: The Leopard Slug

(don't watch on a full stomach)

(that's him at 1:08 to 1:10 brushing his hair back with his fingers)

and the bloopers from it:

So there are people that modify My Little Ponies. You know the ones...they change the hair color, add a little paint, a little glitter, and a little bit of schoolgirl glee, and in the end they have...well...a My Little Pony.

And then there's this chick: Mari Kasuren's Ponies She wins all.

The Jim Beam Distillery! We weren't allowed to buy or sample anything, as it was Sunday and that county has some funny laws. But we could explore the property and buy some good barbeque sauces! We'll have to go back next year for sampling (that was such a great show circuit, how could we not go back?).


This is the first thing you see when you pull into the long driveway. They don't let you tour the big factory type buildings, but they are apparently working on renovating them and will allow tours by this time next year. In the meantime, there were lots of other things to see.

( more pics! )

They hatched!

Next stop was Heaven Hill. They don't have a distillery on site anymore as it burned down in 1996. Apparently the fire was incredible. They now use an offsite distillery, but still age all of their whisky on the property.



( more here! )

Since we were out in Kentucky, Scott and I had to explore the bourbon distilleries. First on the list was Makers Mark.


This is the Visitor's Center. It is a reconstruction of the original Samuels family home. When you walk in, you are warmly greeted, offered a tour and tasting ticket (free), and directed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. The house was beautiful, and entertaining. The pictures of the various Samuels family members bickered with one another on the wall. The phone occasionally rang, and if you answered it, you were entertained with a story about Bill Jr's attempts at making wax lips with his mother's bottling wax.

( there's more! )

And the gift shop, where we got to dip our own bottle of Makers Mark. Apparently the drippy wax is trademarked. So, we bought a bottle, signed and dated it ("Scott and Riss"), and elected Scott to do the dipping while I took the pictures.


Scott was being shown how to dip the bottle...


and in it goes...


now rotating it to get the wax to spread evenly....


and then slamming it onto the coaster to get it to drip properly.

Uh what? (spelling failures):

• Ferniture
  
• House Hold Fuerniture
  
• XXXXEntertainment centerXXXX (not nearly as exciting as the subject line would lead you to believe)
  
• Ottomin
  
• NEGOTIOABLE (yes, this was all in caps, as was the entire ad)
  
• GREAT CONDITION AND DO NOT HAVE ANY STREANGE SMELLS OR ANY THING (same ad)
  
• I WAS GONNA POST PICS BUT CANT FIND MIND CAMERA USB CORD (this ad was a gold mind mine!!!)
  
• blue swade couch (don't you step on my blue swade couch!)
  
• French Preventional Couch Excellent Condition (this one may well be truth in advertising as it is a very formal, thinly cushioned thing that appears to be designed to prevent anything fun that might occur on it)
  
• Beige carbon fiber couch and chase (oh where to begin?)
  
• burgendy sectionnal couch / burgendy couch big and long (compensating? projecting perhaps?)
  

What are you actually selling?:

• couch/sofa -- seats 3 or more, might have a bed hiding inside, or might recline
  
• love seat -- seats 2 (TWO! TWO!!!!!) people, hence the term LOVE seat...If it seats THREE, it is not a love seat. Three people would make for a sticky love situation. If it seats ONE, it is similarly not a love seat. Again, one person would also make for a sticky love situation, but for an entirely different reason.
  
• chair -- seats 1 person. Just one very lonely person. All by him/herself. For example, this is a chair...or really, a chaise lounge thing...that is not worth $285. Or $300 for that matter! Get with the program!
  

Gallery of BAD:


black vinyl sofa bed....awww yeah...black vinyl....


um...what color is it? er...what SHAPE is it?


Again with the slip covers! According to the ad, it "LOOKS BRANK NEW". No, this was not the same ALL CAPS PERSON as earlier. Apparently it's contagious.


You couldn't clear it off before taking the picture?

( more behind here )

They didn't allow us to bring cameras on the actual tour, so I didn't get to take any pictures of the worker-elves making the bats. You'll just have to take my word for it--it's pretty cool. It's also still largely done by hand, even at that scale. The lathes are computerized now, but everything thing else is done the old fashioned way.


The world's largest baseball bat!

( more under cut )

(as I work my way through some of my pictures) The overall architecture of the place made me happy. I loved the old feel of the buildings.



( more underneath )

Scott and I had a free afternoon after the show on Thursday, so we took the opportunity to head to downtown Louisville to see the Louisville Slugger Factory. As we turned a corner, I saw penguins! On top of a building!





Apparently, this is some kind of center for the arts. I was delighted.

There is a leather couch in our living room. It is about 15 years old and is now really showing its age. The seams have parted in many places, and there is hole in the right most cushion (small, but there, and coupled with the splitting seams, not good). I would like to replace this and Scott agrees. It's time for it to go.

However, we don't really want to, or have the means to, buy fancy new furniture. So, to Craigslist I go. Craiglist has previously done well for me. Bed frame for Tim's bed? Found one! Dining room table that I like with a pretty blue tile top and matching chairs? Done! So it doesn't seem like it would be a stretch to think that I might find either a sectional type couch or a couch/loveseat combination on Craigslist without too much difficultly. I am naive. Also, I can't believe some people actually keep these things in their houses as some of them are beyond ugly. I know that this is subjective, so if I pick out a couch that looks like your current living room beauty and comment that it looks like a cat barfed the pattern on it, well...I meant it lovingly, ok?

( click for the parade of ugly )

This is my mom. She's 65--seriously!


Fortunately, Dad had the foresight not to put 65 candles on her birthday cake tart.

Mom made these cats last summer--paper mache and beer/wine bottles. I absolutely love them, so here you go!

____

ETA: I have gotten a few comments and some private emails about Mom's cats. She makes them each individually and each one has its own personality. She doesn't really produce them commercially--it's just something she loves to do. The cats even get names. She says she has two tall skinny ones that she hasn't painted yet (or put eyes in). She says she can make a short fat one too, but she needs to find an appropriate bottle ("I'll have to run out and drink some booze!!!"). If you want one, they are $40, plus shipping, and depending on whether you want a fat or skinny one, will take a few weeks to make (paper mache has to dry before it can be painted). You can specify what colors you want or even send a picture of the cat you want your bottle cat to look like. You can also specify whether you want it to have open eyes (marbles for eyes) or closed eyes (get eyelashes), etc. You might even get a cute collar or something (like the short grey one).

This is Chief. He's my parents' rescued pit bull, and he's my mom's best friend.


They got him when he was a puppy--I was doing a rescue transport from Maryland down to Richmond and stopped to give the dogs a rest at my parents' house. There were three dogs on this transport--a huge adult male pit bull and two male pit bull puppies that had been pulled from a shelter in Ohio. Mom fell in love with Chief (who was a puppy at the time). I talked to the rescue contacts at his destination, and they agreed that this puppy could go live with my parents. That's how my parents came to own a big old scary pit bull.


Chief likes things a certain way. He gets up in the morning, wakes my parents, and goes outside to boss the squirrels around. He knows he's tougher than the squirrels. However, Chief is afraid of large flying insects. He will go hide behind a person, or if none are available/willing, he will try to fit under my parents' bed. He can generally cram his head and shoulders under there. He also loves his special blankets, sets his own bed time, and knows a number of tricks that my dad has taught him. My parents told me that when Chief dies, they are going to have him cremated. They want to save the ashes for when they die. They want me to combine all of the ashes (Mom's, Dad's and Chief's) so that they can always be together.

Dogs like Chief are very few and far between.