green green grass of home

The old home town looks the same as I step down from the train, and there to meet me is my Mama and Papa.Down the road I look and there runs Mary hair of gold and lips like cherries.It's good to touch the green, green grass of home ... if you are familiar with this song, you surely know this is Tom Jones's Green Green Grass of Home.

We were competing at Caerphilly this weekend, we let the famous Dragon trophy slipped away again and again ... Nevermind, instead, we brought back this big colourful dragon:

I had a bad week to start with last week, my left ear became very sore and red on Wednesday, I thought I've somehow got an insect bite. It was quite muggy and not surprised all the insects are active. I've applied a lot of insect bite cream but the swelling got bigger and bigger; then on Thursday after my training at Pachesham, I couldn't shut my mouth properly, it turned out to be the inside of my mouth was swollen too! I cannot think of why, I thought it could be another insect bite on my face, so I put more insect bite cream but it got worst in the evening, my left eye swell up and it slightly affected my eye sight and my left face was stiff! Don't know why but I decided to take an allergy tablet. I have never suffer from allergy, not any kind but I was so keen to go to Caerphilly so I want to be well enough to drive all the way there. Luckily the swelling went down a bit on Friday morning and I took another allergy tablet on Friday by the time I set off to Caerphilly in the evening, most of the swelling has gone, Phew! At least my eye sight was back to normal.

To make me more stress, Seagull decided he will not eat his food but tried to get to the kitty's milk and start eating her poo! Yuk! When we had Tikka, he was an outdoor cat, he always went to the same spot to have his toilet, then Seagull will go and eat his poo afterward! Gross! I have tried everything to stop him from eating the cat's poo but never really succeeded! This little kitty is litter train, so we have an open and an enclose litter tray. She was train to go toilet on the open one but I want her to learn the enclose one too so we have two litter trays. She uses the open one a lot and hardly want to try the enclose one. If I am late to back the poo, Seagull will have it all! Arrrrgggghhhhh ...

Colin was finishing late to start with, so we didn't leave until 6:30pm, 150 miles with traffic and road works, we managed to get there at 9:40pm! The gate to Tredegar House was shut but the organiser were brilliant. They left a note on the gate to ring them on arrival if the gate is shut and we got let in and directed to our pitch. Excellent service!

By the time we set the caravan and garden up for the dogs, had dinner ... we got to bed nearly midnight! I was really tired and I have two classes first thing in the morning so I was dying to sleep. The dogs were very tired after a long journey too.

I am not sure what was wrong with me but I was grumpy and emotional on Saturday. I felt really tired and lack of energy, even just one run is good enough to kill me. This is the first time I came to a dog show and I don't feel like I want to run a dog.

My first run was with Sing in G4-7 Agility, there were so many pull through that I almost gone crazy! Sing got marked on the DW for missing the contact, so we haven't have a good start. Then, I ran Saturn over the same course, for a change, he actually got all the contacts but because I was holding it to make sure he understands it and we lost a lot of times, no placing for us, that didn't bother me, I knew we did good to have all the contacts.

this is Sing's crazy pull through run:

Then, I ran Sizzle in the G4-7 Jumping, we both weren't tune in, my handling was terrible to watch, I didn't cue him and he turned the wrong way a couple of times. We went clear but real mess!

The next couple of Jumping classes with Saturn and Sizzle were horrible. I went one way and the dogs went the other! I think I need to calm down and chilled before I ran the dogs again. I felt calmer when I ran Sizzle in the G4-7 Agility, it was the last one of the day. I told myself I want to make it good. Hilary Bowden set up a nice course, Sizzle and I ran really well, we have Jump - See-Saw to start with. Normally, Sizzle will slow down to run up the SS when we have a jump-SS to start but he was a good boy, he went full power and ran all the way. I felt really good about it. We sail across the course smoothly until we came to the snake sequence and then back again, I didn't pull well so Sizzle back jump, otherwise, it was brilliant.

As I was really moody, Colin thought he will treat me to a takeaway food. We found a nice Indian curry not far from the camp site. We ordered some curries that we can't find in London. OMG! That's real delicious! I want more!!! Colin said it could be my diet is affecting my mood swing? He said I feel more relax and happy after a good meal. Hehehe ...

I thought I am back to normal on Sunday to run the dogs but now the dogs have problems! First of all, Saturn was not stretching out his left hind leg. I noticed that after his first run, so I have to pull him out. Then, Sizzle got stung by a wasp before his first run of the day, so he was constantly scratching, even when I put him on the startline. He just can't concentrate! Poor boy! There were lots of wasps near where we camp and I have heard there are some wasp nest around the showground as well! Yuk! I did washed his ear/neck/shoulder with warm salty water. He was ok but not great.

Then, I ran Sing in the G5-7 Agility. It was a tough course,  obstacle discrimination. I know Sing will do well. There was a tunnel under the A Frame. You have to do the tunnel the first time then come around a couple of jumps to go up the A Frame. A lot of dogs got eliminated on the obstacle discrimination but Sing was very responsive and he ran really well too. Unfortunately, I forgot the course! I took the wrong jump! Arrrggghhhh ... I let the Dragon slipped by once again! I am so cross with myself! Even Colin thought I went crazy! When I got out from the ring, a lot of fellow competitors asked me if I do not want to win the class, this is why I ran the wrong course? I told them NO, I WAS STUPID!

Anyway, I determined I will ran better next class with Sizzle. We were queuing, then we met a sheltie, of course Sizzle wanted to say hello, he is a friendly little man but the other sheltie isn't. He lunched and nip him, so I pulled him back. Luckily Sizzle looked ok. We were a few yards away to book in and again, this sheltie lunched and nip him hard! What a day for Sizzle! Of course we just ran casual in that class.

That sum up our Wales weekend.

 here are some of our runs:

It has been so hot over here, all the grass turn brown (basically DEAD!), when we crossed the Severn Bridge, all we saw was GREEN GRASS! There is no single brown patch on the grass! I am jealous! Maybe Colin's suggestion to move to Wales begins to temp me now!!