yulara's Home Page

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Kids 'n' Dogs 'n' Dreams

Kids 'n' Dogs 'n' Dreams

Great News!!! ... Finally

On Sunday, 9 May 1999, Abri became

CH Jassz L's Szoloskert Abrand

She is now a champion and did it in style. She took Best of Breed over two specials.
What a fantastic Mothers Day present from her.

This Page Is Dedicated To The Memory Of
RINGO OF VALLEY CENTER, UD, HIC
31 August 1979 - 3 December 1993
Have a good rest my friend

In the fall of 1996 Ringo won "Reserve Best in Show, Deceased Variety" and "Best in Herding Group, Deceased Variety" in the Idyll Mountain Virtual Dog Show.

To see Ringo's Page, click on his picture

Once in a while, something comes along that is absolutely picture perfect, so we take a picture of it. Unfortunately, the "picture perfect" picture that we take, cannot possibly capture the perfection of the scene. This picture was taken in Lake Alpine, California in August 1998. It is called Duck Lake, and is at about 8000 feet elevation. From far off we could hear the sounds of the cowbells, quietly bonging through the trees. When we hiked out of the trees, this is what we saw. There was no noise but the sound of the bells as the cattle grazed, and an occasional bird song. The air was crisp and clean. The temperature was somewhere around 70 degrees, maybe less. It was perfect. I could have stayed there all day .. just sitting and listening and absorbing.

Let me introduce myself. I am originally from Santa Rosa, California - in the heart of the wine country. I had a difficult time deciding whether to move into the Napa Valley neighborhood or not, because of that. Currently, my family and I live in the rainy Pacific Northwest. My family consists of my husband, Bryan, two young sons, two dogs, a cat, one guinea pig, a rat, a frog, and a whole mess of walking stick insects and pill bugs.

My hobbies are a mishmash:

Swimming -

I grew up around a swimming pool and began teaching swim lessons as a Red Cross volunteer at the ripe old age of 12. By the time I got married, I had been a certified instructor, lifeguard, swim team assistant coach, and manager of a membership pool. I had also swam on a variety of swim teams and was captain of my high school swim team.

Dogs -

In 1979 I got my first purebred dog, a sheltie named Ringo. By the time he was six months old, it was quite evident that he needed obedience training. In my effort to 'educate' him in the world of obedience, I found a whole new world of fun. We went on to earn our Utility Dog Degree in AKC trials. He was tested for herding instinct not long before he earned the last leg of the UD title. The man testing us said I had trained all the instinct out of him ... until I turned him loose to show how strong his instinct was. He passed with flying colors. I taught obedience classes for 7 years with a local dog training club. Everything I know about dogs, I know because of Ringo. He was my best friend and we learned together. At the age of 14, kidney failure took him off to Rainbow Bridge. A new little puppy came into our family, on August 2nd in 1996, to carry on where he left off. She is a Vizsla

named Abri. Vizslak are a pointing breed which originated in Hungary. Pets, and dogs in particular, are my favorite hobby. All too often, we hear only the bad things that dogs do.

To read some Nice Dog Stories, click the little running pup.

Needle work Crafts -

They relax me. I do crewel work and work with plastic canvas. Unfortunately, this hobby, which I enjoy very much, has taken a backseat to my next hobby. Currently I'm working on a felt Christmas stocking for my newest little niece or nephew, who is due to arrive in this world sometime around Thanksgiving.

Chatting -

This hobby has greatly increased my typing skills, gotten my fingers in shape and saved my vocal cords from strain. It has also allowed me to talk to people all over the world, learning of their lifestyles and cultures. And it has made me some new friends. Some of them are very good friends. One or two are such good friends, that I don't know how I ever managed without them, and I don't know what I would do in the future without them. This is definitely one of my favorite hobbies

Music -

I have always been a Beatles fan. And I am an avid John Denver fan. When I'm feeling low, I turn to his music for my JD fix. Toss in some Beach Boys, Neil Diamond and Billy Joel. I like music from the 60's, 70's and the first few years of the 80's. Having listened to this type of music for 3 decades, I badly needed a change. In the spring of 1997 I resurrected my liking for Country music. George Strait is my favorite in this venue. I've seen Alan Jackson in concert, and ... wow! I'd give my eye teeth to see George Strait in concert. I'd stand in the Pacific Northwest rain for days to get a good ticket. It's too bad that these days, they do it by the wrist band lottery method. Being a die hard fan doesn't get you any better seats than someone who couldn't care less. Another artist I like is Mark Wills. His songs are almost guaranteed to bring tears to the eyes.

In Honor of the late John Denver
He may be gone, but his song and his spirit will live on

Writing -

I have always been the writer in the family. I have been encouraged by a vast number of people from family, to teachers, to friends, even to a chat friend, to do some serious writing. I enjoy it and do it mainly for myself right now. Perhaps some day I will sit down and try to do something for publication.

KIDS:

My boys are the lights of my life. My oldest is Philip who just turned eight at the end of August, and started school again on the 10th of September. Philip is also the one responsible for bringing the walking sticks (Strider & Slim) into the family. They are kept as pets in a 10 gallon fish tank - sans the water, of course. They eat Blackberry leaves. He has also brought us pill and sow bugs. Shortly after the habitat was set up, a couple of the bugs layed eggs. Not long after that, there were hundreds and hundreds of tiny white baby pill bugs running around. Philip decided at the ripe old age of 6 that he wanted to be an entomologist. It would seem he's on the right track. Read about the newest "bugs" in the household further down the page where the caterpillars are.
My youngest is Patrick who was four in September. At his four year check up, I was given a sheet outlining all the things that four year olds do. One of them said that they talk and talk and talk. And that describes Patrick pretty well. It seems we can't wait for the kids to talk, then we wish they'd give us just 5 solid minutes of quiet, because it seems that they just never stop talking, once they start. Although both boys try hard to be the same age as the other, they are starting to branch out and away from that trend .. thank goodness. Life is never boring with them around. They keep me busy in body and mind, and happy in heart and spirit.

DREAMS:

Are what keep me going sometimes. Someday, I'd like to be able to live in a rural area back in the part of the world that I will always call home. I hope to open my own business out of home - possibly dog grooming with some training on the side - so that I can keep on staying home with my kids.
For those who do not believe in dreams, well, "dreams don't cost a cent." Making them reality does. When I was ten, I had a dream to go to Australia. When I was 29, I made that dream come true, travelling for three months by train, bus and foot and staying in Youth Hostels. I travelled with the man who is now my husband.
I'm a firm believer that when we give up our dreams, we give up everything.

No longer the newest member of our family, but, by far the most entertaining
ABRI
Jassz L's Szoloskert Abrand
In the Fall of 1996, Abri won "Reserve Best of Breed, Vizsla" and "Best in Sporting Group, Puppy Variety" in the Idyll Mountain Virtual Dog Show. Now, in the Spring of 1997, she has won "Best Puppy of Breed," "Overall Best of Breed," and "Fifth Puppy in the Sporting Group"
(click on Abri's pic to see more of her)

And now, Abri has a "Friends and Family" page

Here Is The Rest Of Our Menagerie

Vani is our newest addition to the family. Pronounced "Vah' - nee". Learn more about her by clicking on her thumbnail. The picture there is bigger and easier to see, too. More pictures will follow, but, I wanted to get her introduced to you.

Yulara whose genetic heritage has escaped discovery by even the best of them. Small dog, big voice. Goes to ground and points. Yulara left us for higher ground on 1 May 1998 and is very much missed.

... Two pages have been added -- "The Rainbow Bridge" page, which is a tribute to a few of our beloved pets who have gone before us. And "Yulara's Story"

Peanut who, despite dubbing herself as the ruler of the roost, will sit beside Alice and share Timothy Hay.

Alice who chases Peanut. Alice is the only creature in the house that Peanut will make exceptions for.

Sedona who joined our family in February of 1997 in a pregnant state and gave birth to four beautiful babies a few weeks later. She was a great little piggy. Sadly, at the age of not quite three years, she has passed from this world and gone to play at Rainbow Bridge, as of 24 February 1999.

In honor of the memory of Sedona

Fred and Rizzo joined our family shortly after Yulara passed away in May of '98. They had been abandoned in a pet supply store one morning. I went in to return an item, and walked out with these two guys. Unfortunately, Rizzo (the solid colored one on the right) has since left this world, too. We have no idea how old they were when we got them, and rats typically only live 2 or 3 years. Fred is an adventurous fellow and his cage is firmly secured after a 24 hour excursion.

Strider and Slim were our two foundation walking stick insects. They have long since gone to that great branch in the sky, but their ancestors live on generation after generation in our home. They don't shed, make noise, smell or take up too much room. They eat blackberry leaves exclusively and generally are great pets. Of course they are just a bit difficult to obedience train.
We recently found out that there is nowhere in the states of Washington or Oregon where walking sticks are native. They are considered pests in the wild. It is for this exact reason that these interesting pets are never allowed outside the house and their cage has a secured screen lid.

Arm 'n' Hammer was our first snail. He (or she -- or it?), too, has passed away. BUT, in July of 1997, Philip brought home two snails from "Grandma and Grandpa's" house. In April, Philip and Patrick found a few dozen more. Good old Mom, here, told them where the best snail finding would be when we visited Grandma and Grandpa again. I collected them as a child, too, but, put my foot down, telling them they could only bring home six. About 15 or so actually made the trip home. So much for that foot. :)

These Tobacco Hornworm caterpillars came to us at the beginning of our vacation to Lake Alpine in California. They spent vacation with us, and made it home to form into chrysalises. All three survivors left the chrysalis a while after that and emerged as large moths whose wings look much like bark. They were quite beautiful. Unfortunately, these moths will never see the outside world. The caterpillars came from California, and introducing non-indigenous species into Washington (or anywhere) is very dangerous to the ecology and agriculture.