Of Course

   At our rest stop at the halfway point of our hike today, I saw a man unloading two large Borzoi from the back of his car. It surprised me, because how often do you see Borzoi?! Then I saw an Afghan hound, a Basenji, a Rhodesian Ridgeback... what was this, a sighthound convention?? The man informed me that a group was there with their hounds practicing lure coursing. I'd heard of this sport for years and often wondered if my dogs would be into it, though I'd never had a chance to see it run in person. 
   Today's lure coursing is humane: rather than chasing an actual hare, the dogs chase a white plastic bag, zipping along on a line being pulled by a machine through a series of pulleys along the ground. There are straight sections, and quick jogs to simulate the erratic path of a real animal. The people were friendly and invited me to bring the dogs to watch, and one even suggested that we might try it. Hmm...

The best photo I was able to get, of a very fast Afghan on the course

   We gathered to watch. And the second the plastic bag moved on the line, Aki and Taylor both went berserk. They thought it WAS a real animal! They shrieked and howled and lunged on the leashes while the other dogs ran one by one. Apparently my dogs didn't realize they had just hiked 3 miles!

   One of the organizers came over and I paid the small fee and she suggested that my dogs should try a quick out & back rather than the first course, since this was their first time. I said I'd leave it up to them, but that my dogs were good runners, and would likely do more. She nodded, and showed us to the course, instructing me where to stand and how to hold the leash around their necks so that the dog could be instantly released when the pulley started.

   Aki was first, and made a valiant effort, chasing the bag to the back of the course and through a few turns. She wanted the bag, but isn't especially fast nor was she especially bloodthirsty. She returned and touched the plastic with her nose to ensure it was still. A good first attempt. 
   Taylor was a mad man. He completed the full half-mile course, relishing the chase, and even more: relishing snatching up the plastic in his mouth & shaking his head, to "kill it", much to the amusement of the group. He was my ringer. In fact, he was SO FAST that no one got ANY PHOTOS of him.  ;)
   I rejoined my group and we continued our hike back, and Aki and Taylor kept stopping and looking back in the direction of those evil plastic bags. They seemed to want more. And they continued to drag me along the trail for the entire 6+ mile hike.
   I couldn't help but think of a scene from one of my favorite films, Snatch, in which hounds coursing after a real hare is likened to a man being hunted and kidnapped by his enemies. (The coursing starts at 2:33, and there are several f*bombs. You've been warned.)

Big Day

YUM.

   I'm catching up on some posting today... check out the Big Day summer collection runway show.

Friday night hangout

RAIN!!!!!!!!

   I was beginning to think we'd never see it again. A nice rainy Friday night. (And the rain continued for over 24 hours... finally!) Fortunately, it couldn't dampen the indoor activity I had planned...
   I go climbing with friends once a month or so. It's a great way to end a long work week, and Ibex is open 'til 10 pm on Fridays. It is SO MUCH FUN. Mentally, I could go all night, but after 3 or 4 hours my fingers are begging for mercy. Better shape up, fingers! We have more climbing to do!!!

Time to make like a squirrel!

We're slightly less blurry in real life. Unless I remove my contact lenses.

Here, as you can see, Britten's cracking me up.

   Surprise, surprise. Just like while I'm planking in yoga, her jokes make it VERY hard to concentrate! She & Rich & I had a ton of fun.

My new favorite path, if only for the name: Serengeti Yeti.

I cannot wait to try climbing in the wild someday...

Jim, on the right, is a lot of fun. And William, on the left, is FREAKIN' SPIDERMAN!!!

   And after our climb, a great, big burger at Clancy's Irish Pub. The rain was still falling, but it was a quick run across the parking lot. About 20 of us hung out and traded stories over our meals. That's what I call a happy hour!

Art Unleashed 2012

Tonight was Art Unleashed, and another good one at that! (I found out a couple weeks later that we raised over $77,000 in a single evening, with over 400 pieces of artwork, and hordes of volunteers making it all happen). It was held at the historic American Royal again:

This sweet dog greeted everyone at the door. I WANT HIM.

The crowd grows

Posing with some of my metal artwork

LOVE this pug painting! Didn't win it. BOO.

LOVE Mary Ann's mixed-media collage!

LOVE Charlotte's drawing!

LOVE Donna's new mosaic!

And Joni & Jack's pieces in the live auction... WOW.

Kelley's "downward-facing dog" yoga bag

Dawn & Ginny with their wins (Ginny won my dog frame!)

Britten won the surly monkey photograph!

Sawako, me, Britten, Nicole, & Amy (with Rich hiding in back)

Art Unleashed: Mirror, Mirror

   Amber happens to work at 3Axis Inc., and they happen to be experts in woodworking and happen to have a CNC router, and I just happened to create a design that we thought would make the perfect frame for a mirror! So here is her friend & coworker, Bryce, showing off the cut piece that we will be donating to the Art Unleashed auction.

WOW.

Amber with the CNC router (not to be confused with the C+C Music Factory)

The router at work! It took over an hour to cut all the intricate details...

...almost there...

Bryce shows off his work

Amber finished the mirror & frame beautifully...

They're supposed to be making one for me to keep. I think I might have them leave the circle out, and make it a coffee table with a piece of glass on top!

Bolt vs. Canines

   I wish I lived in Japan, if for no other reason to watch their hilarious & clever TV shows. And I love watching the Olympics (which explains why I haven't gone to sleep before midnight in 2 weeks... eek!), so what brilliance would result from combining these two? Feast your eyes on this: Jamaican sprinter, the "fastest man in the world", Usain Bolt... versus several different breeds of dogs. 

ボルトVS犬!

   And, of course, one of the competitors is a handsome Shiba, which only makes me love this more. GO, SHIBA, GO!!!

Trail Run for Haiti

   This morning I woke up way too early for a Saturday, and Taylor and I drove out to Lone Elm park in Olathe for the 1st annual 5k Trail Run for Haiti, by Heart to Heart International. I usually run Race for the Cure this weekend (which is tomorrow), but I wanted to try this one for two reasons: I believe in the cause, spurred by my friends Pam Kingsley and Melissa Bolden; and the organizers welcomed Taylor to run with me. The first reason makes the second seem trivial, and I guess it is, but Taylor sure LOVES these 5ks—and the crowd LOVES "Mr. Personality". So why shouldn't he join me?
   It was a nice course through a small dirt section, and mostly mowed grass trails. The Heart to Heart volunteers were SO wonderful! Very welcoming, and stationed along the course to cheer us on. They did a great job organizing the race. There were only about 100 runners, so it was a nice, chill way to start the weekend. Once the pack opened up, we had a stretch of trail to ourselves, so Taylor was able to dart back and forth a bit, hunting as we ran.
   They had a ton of food for us at the end—fruit, sports drinks, and premium bagels (spinach & gruyere, anyone?), and the race packet included a ton of local coupons. I felt like they gave me more than I gave them with my entry! Definitely a race I would do again—super friendly crowd, and they were very appreciative to all who attended.

   You can easily support the children of Haiti by purchasing a handcrafted necklace. It has been three years since the terrible earthquake that changed their lives, but they are still very much in need of our help. From what Pam and Melissa have told me, the people in Haiti are so wonderful and grateful for the world's support.

   I'd love to get over to Haiti to help sometime. Melissa was trying to twist my arm, not that it needed much twisting. Hmmmmm...
   Taylor and I finished the race in 28:13, mostly due to Taylor's momentum. Not too bad, considering my Nike+ thinks we actually ran 5.5k. Starting to get my times back down to where they used to be... just need to get back into shape!

Trail Run for Haiti Videos KSHB-TV

Nice job, Jadh—on the interview, and on organizing the race!

Color Run Posts!

   Better one month late than never, right? Here's a description of the race with photos. Here is a peek at the colorful after-party. And here are a few videos I took during the race. Thank goodness for the iPhone & especially the Otter Box Defender!

Unleashed at Machine Head!

   Once again, Dick turned us loose in his shop to make metal art out of my logo for this year's Art Unleashed. We worked for 8 hours and turned out somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 pieces of all shapes, sizes, & finishes. Plus, we had a lot of fun as usual. This year it was Dick, Robert Q, Matt, Jared, Connie, Randy, Jason, Amber, Ricky, Jana & me. Whew!
   More photos to come... I've volunteered over 22 hours this week (for HSGKC & for my friend Michele's business—in addition to working 40) & I need a nap!

HSGKC Mug Shot

   Check out the Art Unleashed mug that I just created. Shutterfly generously sent me a code for a free mug (I only had to pay shipping), so I decided to create one that commemorates this year's event, which I plan to donate to the art auction. Here's hoping it will bring in some good money for the animals!
   Click & drag the image below to see all sides of the mug... this preview is almost as cool as the real thing! And did you know that if you post about your Shutterfly project and email a link to shareproject@shutterfly.com, they will give you a $10 credit for a future order? Talk about paying it forward. Thanks, Shutterfly!

Mug

View the entire collection of cards.

Annual Machine Head Day

   Today Dick once again opened his fantastic metal shop up to the motley crew of volunteers to make cat & dog artwork for the annual Art Unleashed auction. As you can see, Dick, Robert, Jana, Connie, Randy, Jason, Amber, Ricky, Matt, Jared—even Aki, Taylor & their new pal Lambert!—and I, had a blast.
   We made about 40-50 pieces of metal art for donation, and this year we got extra creative. Our best collection yet! Sincere thanks to Dick Jobe for his generosity!

"You're not thinking of putting US to WORK, are you?!"

Lutes family photo

Connie & her adorable grandson

Whoa. Ricky is TALL. And I am SHORT.

Dick & Matt get down to business

Cutting begins

A tribute to my dear Gypsy

Ricky prepares the rods for garden stakes

Sandblasting

Amber's in the grind

Artwork, and the dog who inspired it

The all-important lunch order: Jimmy John's this year

Artwork piling up

Tons of yard art

Artwork almost taller than me!

Frame me up

Sitting down on the job

Look at us—we're ART!