Mazel Tov Zachary GPS June 10, 1992 – March 21, 2006 I had to put a good friend down last night. Few of you know him, he never won anything, never did anything special for the breed, and the only mark he made was in my heart. Zac was four months old when I got him. I was supposed to get a chessie pup from a big-shot local breeder who called me a few hours before I was to leave to get the pup to tell me that it was not available to me. That was going to be my first “well-bred” chessie, a big move up for me. My friend aimed me to an ad in the local paper and we went and found Zac. He did not like his first car ride with us, actually, he never did like car rides and I bought a 4x4 pickup truck with a cab on the back so he could pace back there. Since he still muttered and screamed through every trip, I finally got a van and stuffed him in a crate. He loved being places, just did not enjoy the trip. Zac was raised with my friend’s show standard white poodle Winston. They made quite an odd picture running the fields together, Zac looking intense, Winston looking rather silly in his do-dads and bounding along. Zac always liked standard poodles. Winston has been gone for many years but I bet they are together now. Zac was going to be my obedience dog. He hated obedience. He would never sit straight and he never wanted to heel. The collars got harsher and harsher and he got worst and worst (even with food in front of him). One day, the instructor had me take the collar off and he heeled perfectly. After that, he always heeled perfectly without a collar but fought any leash. I was protected by Zac. Once when someone came to the door and tried to get in – I would not have wanted to confront the Zac that appeared then. The second time, at the park, when a crazy bike person ran over another of my chessies and then came screaming at me. Zac stood between us and his response escalated perfectly as the man tried to kick at him and kept yelling. I always called Zac my “40-watt” dog because he always seemed a bit dim. Dim? Last night after he was gone I realized how well he had trained me. I keep listening for the blinds to rattle so I would know he needs to go out; I threw biscuits out for the other dogs as soon as the meal is over because Zac demanded them for dessert. I got up every few hours last night to check on him, even though he was not there. And, I kept hearing him last night. So did my three other chessies who are a bit confused that their leader is gone (even with problems walking, he stayed the leader. Zac was full of life and full of heart. Zac was my chessie. I miss him.

PREPARATION TO ATTEND A WEDDING I have not been to a wedding in a long time. I have reached the point where my friends are either divorced or determined to stay married (usually their second or third) until death parts them. However, I am off to Kansas City in a few weeks for the wedding of my nephew David and his lady Shanna. Please understand that I am very happy for them but I am surprised by all the work involved. First, lets talk about having to take care of my four chesapeake bay retrievers, Zac, Aspen, Ceil and Echo. Zac is old and sick (almost 14) but the universe is not letting me make 'reasonabl' decisions about him. Instead, I am planning on boarding all the dogs at the vet for about $100 per day. I can live with that, then we add the $150 in shots, the $100 in fecal samples and $400 in tires, gas and hotel bills. Hmm, they will be getting a quilt sometime in the future. Actually have all the pieces but can not figure out how to put it together, assuming that they like the fabrics. Really looking forward to seeing family, travelling visiting quilt stores and stopping at the Wichota dog show on the way out. OK, it is worth it - I am a'coming family!!!!

March 11, 2006 This is going to be a great Saturday. Listening to Alex Anderson's new podcasts (www.alexandersonquilts.com/podcast) Yes, I have been a Simply Quilts viewer since I got DISH and could watch HGTV. Been watching about two years and considered them a set of private lessons. Will miss them. This afternoon, I will be volunteering at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. Get to docent in a room full of wonderful quilts, I see it as an opportunity to study them for three hours and to get to talk to interesting people. Plus, my bitch Echo is about out of heat - thank god, no accidents, no encounters with my stud dog, plus a get a sleeping partner back. My triad piece went over well in my color theory class, lots of laughter, a few blushes, those women understood what that piece evolved into. Not sure how it got there but there it is. Before I start thinking about my next project for that class I want to show my analogous project that I called Duck Watching Sue Hunting. I am not a sunbonnet sue fan. Sunbonnet Sue is this cutiest creature with a big hat doing such girly things. Hmm, not my style. I was thinking about a hunting girlfriend and decided to combine my thoughts (assuming I can hang on to my thoughts long enough to act on them). Plus I wanted to show how stupid it was to hunt in a big hat that covers your eyes - she doesn't see anything. So she has a duck behind her plus three 'Birds in the Air' blocks overhead. All she sees is a barren brown field. I have to remember to look around more.

I just kept staring at the triad quilt piece (my last post) trying to figure out why it did not sing to me. Sometimes when I finish a piece, I will look at it on one of my walls and just go "wow", someone did a great job with that, then realize that it is me. Loved the shape but it was just flat. Yesterday I went into the yarn department. This is a first for me since my last knitting was as a child. Found some blue-green and red-violet yarns and just machine couched them in. NOW I like the look. I am still building the background that will let me think through options. My learning curve is very high and between the workshops and classes I take and the quiltart email list I am being exposed to numerous ideas. Right now I am still very hit and miss but I think this was improved and gives me a distorted vision of a woman. I think I will let people decide for themselves in class.