Close up of Katie having a snuggle...

Vince and the doggies :)

Ben and the doggies

Horse having a snuggle with Vince...

Katie on the left and Horse is on the right...

Here they are...isn't Horse HUGE. He comes up to Vince's waist and is very goodnatured. He's just a lovely dog. Katie is a little petit girl and is also very goodnatured and affectionate.

No problems getting them home in the car. Quite the contrary, Katie LOVES the car, had her head out the window for almost the whole trip and for the rest of it was quite happy curled up on the pads we had on the back folded down seats. Lots of room for the both of them that way but noone else.

They slept on their pads in the kitchen last night, no poos or wee's issues at all. Which is amazing as its a bit stressful on them in a new environment and not knowing us at all. The only small thing that has happened has been they've been a bit snarly with one another on the odd occastion, but that is also settling in issues and I think it has to do with working out where they fit in the pack. They hung around together at the kennel alot and get along well, very well in fact but to be on the safe side we will muzzle them when we go to work tomorrow. Greyhounds have very thin skin and what would be nothing to a labrador (small tussle) can tear the greyhounds skin and cause problems and visits to the vet. This will all settle down as they get used to everything and more comfortable.

Contrary to popular opinion (my dad :) ) they aren't having the run of the house. Dog food only, no hand feeding, and they are being taught really quickly whose in charge which is Vince and I. Being such big dogs you have to be pretty consistent with this stuff.

These are our new doggies. The first one is "Horse" (may have to change that, he's as big as one though) and the little brindle dog is Katie. Aren't they BEAUTIFUL. They are pure-bred ex racing greyhounds. They are very good friends and they will make an extremely nice addition to the family :) We pick them up next Saturday morning! Can't wait :) The dogs are from the Greyounds as Pets society. They rescue greyhounds that are finished their racing careers (usually at the age of 3 or 4 or earlier if they are too big (like Horse) or injured or just slower than they should be).

If you are considering a dog for your family PLEASE consider an ex racing greyhound. They are the nicest dogs. Lovely and calm and very good natured as well as affectionate, you should have seen Horse with Vince. They are also incredibly smart and house train very quickly. They don't dig, or shed lots and haven't a vicious bone in their bodies. There are greyhound rescue societies in the US and Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. Vince was joking yesterday that we are never going to be rich what with the dogs, child support and the rest of it but its much better to invest in your life I think. Greyhounds are routinely put down once their racing careers are finished, vets charge around 50 dollars per dog and some are simply hit in the head with a shovel or similiar by the racing breeders, which is a truly awful thing to do to any animal but particularly one as sensitive and loyal as these dogs. A greyhound can live past 15 and to put such a wonderful little being like this one down at 3 is truly cruel and inhumane. As is racing them.

This is a picture of the famous Tui Brewery where the beer is brewed by gorgeous girls in cut off shorts and halter tops...not really but those are the commercials anyway :)

Terrible beer, great merchandising and ads :):)

This picture was taken from the car window as we were driving by...see explanation below...

We went to Palmerston North today to look at a pair of greyhounds we are going to adopt from the Greyhound Rescue Society. They are BEAUTIFUL. And lovely lovely natured. Horse is HUGE fellow and just thinks Vince is it already. Greyhounds are very very gentle and affectionate and intelligent. People think they are these terrible mean animals but they aren't in the slightest. Katie is the second greyhound and she is much smaller and a sort of caramel/brindle greyhound. She is beautiful as well if a bit more aloof than Horse but I think that's due to having just been spayed and having been dropped off at the shelter only on the 14th. She's still in a bit of shock.

These are the wind turbines on the way home. To give you an idea of size this was taken from across the gorge. They are MAMMOTH. When they are being built they lie the blades on the ground and you can see them from kilometers away.

Here I am at the A and P show today! It's like a very mini version of the PNE but just as much fun. Even more so actually. Just the right amount of people, very laid back, very rural and fun. It isn't a show without mini donuts!!!

Vince and I wandered around and looked at everything. I liked the home art section and the alpacas and chooks in particular. It was a really nice way to spend a day.

One of the belly dancers...

My pink John Deere hat - couldn't resist! :) Vince thought this was funny. He commented that I was wearing a pink John Deere hat and carrying a Che Guevera bag, I said I was merely mixing my cultural metaphors :P

The dahlia display in the home arts section...very nice...lots of wool products! :)

Belly dancers waiting to go on stage. The woman on the far right was quite a curvy lady and had very obviously had kids, quite a large stomach complete with a C-section scar. And she just got up there and was dancing away quite unselfconcsiously. I thought it was fantastic actually. People forget, or for some don't even realise that the whold size debate that goes on in the lives of so many women is very culturally specific. Skinny is NOT beautiful in many many cultures around the world. The pressure to look a certain way and hide if you don't is very strong and I think these women were really cool getting up and doing their thing.

This little fellow was quite well covered in ice cream and enjoying himself very much...

Need I say more? This IS New Zealand after all :)

Chainsaw carving...this guy was pretty good. There was a really nice horse's head I liked but as his carvings went from $400 and up it was a bit more than I could afford. Would have been around $900 for it...

Look at that smile! This was a wee collie at the fair. She was really quite friendly and came over to have a good cuddle and a pat from Vince and I.

This was the other little alpaca that had been shorn, he was also very cute. They were sort of cuddling up to each other as they were a bit nervous of all the people.

Alpacas! "Oh look Mummy we are SOOOOOOO cute!" These littlees have just been weaned from Mum, they are about 7 months old and just so sweet! We spent quite a bit of time talking to the young guy who works on the farm and were invited up that way and I think we'll go! This is what we'd like on our land if we get a few acres rather than sheep...

These were some very pretty little cows. You weren't allowed to touch them unfortunately but I was allowed to take a picture. They were just very fuzzy and nice...looked like pets really.

This was taken in front of the entertainment area. You had two seating choices the ground or hay bales. And these were real hay bales that were going to be used over in the animal areas...not for show :)

This old tractor was pulling a huge carriage and people were riding around the fair in it...

This big old rooster won first prize and a special prize. He was beautiful! The rooster directly behind me was crowing his head off the entire time, probably wanting me to take his picture instead!

Isn't this pigeon cute? I love his little upturned bum feathers! Once we don' t have so many kids hanging off of us Vince and I are thinking about downsizing the house and upsizing the land. I would love some chooks, and a couple of alpaca's, and a milk cow.

This was a beef stew I made in the crockpot, I think it looks great (very artistic) which is why I have posted it on my blog. :) I LOVE my crock pot, it is so nice to come home and smell dinner cooking and now all you have to do is make a salad, biff some bread on the table and there you go!

My friend Shona came for a visit one weekend and we all went to Masterton and Queen Elizabeth Park for coffee, cake and hot chips (fries you North American's). Shona's great, I met her at work and she is probably one of the nicest, most practical and kind people you will ever meet. She has great advice and is a really good person to have a yarn with. I don't think we drove her too crazy. :)

Alexandar took this pic of his dad...Vince looking contemplative ("now let me see...how did I end up with a Canadian again??")

On the 21st of January we went to the airshow in Masterton. It was actually a lot of fun (I had a couple of misgivings) but I enjoyed myself heaps. Wandered around and ate all sorts of rubbish and looked at the little shops that were set up and watched the planes and slathered on sunscreen :)

One of the shows of the day, it was interesting to see the planes flying in formation...the Harvards put on a good show as well

This was the jet of the show, very loud but man was it fast...

I believe this is also a Harvard just painted a different colour...Dad can correct me if I'm mistaken

This is a pic of the flying boat...great shot and it looked pretty cool up in the air...very big though

One of the Harvard airplanes at the show. They put on a really good demonstration. The funniest bits were the staged fighting scenes. They had very loud guns and a 105mm Howitzer there (blanks of course) but it was deafening! All of the guys in camo who were playing parts looked beside themselves with excitement...boys will be boys and all that.