Patience, my friend! Enjoy a cup of coffee and get to know us a bit! I look forward to your story.

lol. When I first joined I was so confused because I couldn't send a PM!

I'm always glad to see more roleplayers. Just make sure to read not only the general rp rules, but our own rules as well.

Hello again all. Sorry for my long absence, uni and RL in general are keeping me unpleasantly busy. Frankly not much other news of interest here, just thought I'd say hello.

It is a method intended to prevent first time posters from spamming the forums and PM boxes with porn and mmo real world trading sites.

Unfortunately it has been a problem in the past.

mALX . . . *shakes head*

Just read your post about the new puppy. Let's hope she doesn't inherit the same problems Dixie has. I think we agreed it was the sire's - umm - seed that was at fault, but ya never know!

BTW, just how is Dixie doing?

Oh, and at this rate you'll be classed in this state as an animal hoarder. Watch out! Once you get started you'll never go back!

Where are the admins? I noticed that Alexander's profile lists his last visit being back in August...that is quite a while back. Hopefully the forums don't disappear anytime soon due to neglect.

I think they are lurking somewhere in the background... Now I'm here almost every day though..

I was concerned over that too, and worked closely with the University of Tennessee Veterinary College and Hospital Geneticists over the issue.

They could never determine if the frozen "seed" had become degraded over time or during Hurricane Katrina without wasting a vial of it for testing (and the breeder wasn't going to do that since Dixie was the only pup with a heart murmur and neither Sire or Dam had ever thrown a genetic defect before).

There was also no way to know if that was caused by the surgical procedure of the artificial insemination itself for the same reason.

They determined it may have been just a fluke of nature - but whatever the cause, we had to spay Dixie so that defect wouldn't be repeated.

The breeder kept both a male and female from the litter, and neither of them showed any health issues at all. I had the University of Tennessee Veterinary hospital check the pup as soon as I arrived in town, she had no heart murmur (or any other health issues, thank goodness!).

Hoarding? That is so funny! I feel sorry for any dog or horse breeders there then, lol. We will have only one breeding pair as foundation stock when the pup reaches 15 months old, and don't plan to expand into a fullscale operation by adding any more.

We will never get rid of Dixie, but unfortunately her prognosis is that she will die young. Around here two dogs and a puppy on a farm (with a full acre penned as a dog lot) isn't considered a hoarding situation, lol.

When the pup gets old enough to breed (15 months old), all issue will be secured for sale with a good sized deposit before any breeding takes place.

Between the male and this new female pup they encompass three of the top national and regional Grand Champion Catahoula bloodlines - Stones Throw Colby G, Crane Strike 2, and King Augustus. It took a lot of research and four years of planning to get these three bloodlines.

When Dixie showed with the heart murmur, I was worried and immediately got together with the geneticist at the University of Tennessee Veterinary College. The bloodlines are totally free of any defects, they determined Dixie was most likely a fluke of nature, and since she has been spayed - one that won't be repeated in future issue.


@ Everyone - I'm back! (Yeah!) I got back early Sunday morning - about 2:30 am - had to take the pup straight to the University of Tennessee Veterinary hospital before even going home, she got a little ill on the trip home. I was afraid she was dehydrating because she wasn't drinking the water when I put it down. Didn't actually get to the house till about 5 am.

Sunday was spent trying to sleep and juggling dog feeding/play schedules around. The big surprise to me is the initial reactions by the big dogs - the male was fine at first, then later decided he was upset by the presence of a new pup. The female turned kujo at first, but mellowed out relatively quickly.

I spent all day sunday trying to fine tune schedules between the dogs and the new pup - finally came up with one that is working so far.

The older dogs are getting some bonus things they've always wanted:

1. For the older female dog - sleeping in the living room instead of "The Kennel" (our guest bathroom with a child gate across the entrance) at night - the pup has taken over "The Kennel."

2. Since the pup has to eat four times daily (as opposed to the older dog's twice) I have been making a tiny bit more than needed each time the pup eats - and putting a small spoonful of it in the older dog's bowls - not enough to mess up their feeding schedule, just so they don't think the pup is getting something they aren't.

3. The older dogs always wanted more time inside the house with the family. (they are usually turned out in the mornings and only come in for meals and at bedtime). Now they get to come in a few times per day (individually) to play with the pup for short supervised stints.

The puppy has to spend most of its time in "The Kennel" because she isn't housebroken yet, but she gets several walks per day and several indoor playtimes - either with just me or with one of the older dogs - just so she is not in the kennel all the time.

Anyway, I finally got some sleep last night - thank goodness !!! So hopefully as the new routines around here begin to settle down a bit, I'll have the next couple weeks at home to relax and catch up on reading, etc. - maybe even (hopefully) play Oblivion some, lol.

There is a part of my that misses having puppies around but then this very loud voice in my head screams "WHAT???" hehe.

I backed off on rescue work a few years ago when I went to work full time and I miss it at times. I seemed to be the one to call when babies got sick because I would bring them home and nurse them until they were well and ready to be adopted. Although there were times when I sat holding one crying all night long hoping against hope, the end result was, all but once, well worth the heart ache. The one pup I lost, in the 5 plus years that I was involved this deep was exposed to parvo along with two others that I was hand raising. They were found on the side of the road in a box, hours old, stiffling heat, and still covered in after-birth. The little one I lost was compromised from the beginning, almost completely deaf and limited vision as well as being much smaller than the other two. They were exposed, of all places, at the vet. The other two survived, and are healthy and hearty. Unfortunately, working in rescue, parvo is a recurring nightmare.

Good luck with the little one mALX!!!! Keep us posted on her progress. OH, What did you name her?

Lol on the snipped part. I did animal rescue for years, mostly dogs - got one razorback boar piglet though.

Thank you for your well wishes!! I hope to have a picture of her up sometime soon, just need to get a good sunny day and be away from the other two dogs to do it (unless you want to see a picture of a moose's butt instead of a cute puppy face, lol).

She has black markings over and under both of her eyes - not sure if she looks more like a football player, a bandit, or a raccoon with those markings, lol. She also has a zig-zag (lightning-bolt-looking) black marking across the top of her butt.

We haven't picked out a name yet. She comes to you if you call her, if she thinks you've called her, if you whistle or make a kissing sound, lol. We are trying to figure out her personality, her appearance - trying to come up with a name that encompasses who she is (and hopefully is Cajun as well, lol).

Having the most stressful time of my life! I'm in the middle of teacing myself how to iron, sew badges, polish shoes and tie a full windsor knot. The worst part is I've only got about an hour and a half left! Oh, just so you know, this is for a uniform inspection at the ATC.

Well, Grif?? Did you pass uni inspection? I hope you did. Learning to tie a W Knot is challenging, but once you do it, you'll never forget it.

As for me, I've started Nanowrimo, and am liking what I have so far. But I would like to appeal to a certain segment of our fellow Chorrolians.

The story I'm writing is Fantasy/Romance, and I'm drawing from my meager knowledge of Scottish history and culture and environment (Lowlanders, primarily). I would like to expand on all things Scottish so I can flesh this story out and create an entire world.

Having never been out of the US, I am really anxious to capture the Scottish feel. And no, I have no Scottish blood in me. Just German, Italian and a little Slavic (Transylvania?) all mixed up in a deaf Chicagoan accent. But I've always found Scotland fascinating. It ranks right up there with Mongolia, Korea and Peru on the list of exotic places I'd love to go see.

So any Scots natives out here that would like to share their favorite and least favorite parts of their heritage with me? You can PM me if you'd prefer. I'd appreciate it so much!

I am an expert at the half-windsor, which is exactly the same as the full minus a turn.

To me, it really doesn't matter between half and full, I prefer half because it doesn't take as long to tie and leaves a good length of material for you to make it easier to hide the tail. Plus, the way I tie it, you really can't tell the difference between a half and a full.

Yes, I did pass, with an 8/10. My shoes needed more polish but that was it. I was told I was a natural sewing expert, but I didn't let them see the back

Oh, and I'd be glad to tell you a bit about Scotland. If you PM me a little questionaire, I can tell you what you need to know.

Yeah! The puppy no longer has hung chow, the golden steed has left the gate! (closely followed by a fudge dragon and mud monkey) - thank goodness, and thanks to everyone who helped and/or "rooted her on" with their well wishes.

She is back to her old self again too, the tummy ache left with the "issue." (and no emergency run to the vet).

YAY!!!!!! I am so happy to hear that. It is hard to know they are miserable and not know whether it is just a thing you have to get them through or if it is an emergency. Hard enough with human babies, with dogs sometimes I think it is harder.

Give her a pinch on the butt for me for worrying you and then you can give her a scratch on the head too just cuz she's so cute.

mALX, glad everything came out okay from the little unnamed Catahoula girl!

I know you were very worried about her, I'm happy she's pulled through!

This should read :





... well, you get the idea, ROFL !!!


Thank you everyone for your well wishes for the little pup, and for keeping this panicked owner calm, lol.

Bourre (boo-ray) belle ..... stuffed girl....cajun....hehehehe even though we are glad she isn't anymore.....

Glad the puppy's well...Bless her...


I HATE COLD WEATHER!!...I'm a farmer...I get chronic hay-fever in the summer and I DETEST the winter to the very (frozen) core of my being...THE COLD?!!!...AAAAAHHHHH!!!...

It's -3 here this morning...And I've discovered too late to do anything about it, that the wife chucked the old ice scraper out of the car!!...

As a wise man called Fred is fond of saying - AAAAAAHHHHH!!!...

Snassnfrassnbloodywinter... ...

I know how you feel, every year during the Scottish Winter Months you have snow up to about 6-8 Inches deep. The landscape does however look like the mountains of Skyrim!

As I get older the cold just HURTS!!! There was a time when I could tolerate, even enjoy, the cold. Now even
45 F seems cold. I have to bundle up like an eskimo if it's below 40. Maybe my youngest son will make the pros and I can retire in the Bahamas, ROFL.

I hear you, Athynae. I’ve always been sensitive to the cold and enjoyed dry heat. I’ve never carried any extra body weight to help insulate and, as I close in on 60 years, I find myself growing even more cold-intolerant. Fortunately, winter snow is rare in my desert mountains and wearing a resist frost-enchanted ring in the winter helps some.

Lucky you. I'm even further south and have to deal with the stuff every year. Every year, we get at least two storms that put more than a foot on the ground and close the freeway through the canyon (my only real means of transportation into the city). First snow has already fallen, in fact.

Northern New Mexico is effectively a poor-man's Colorado when it comes to annual snowfall in the mountains. There's a reason we have so many ski resorts in the area.

So I bake in the summer and turn to ice in the winter. And there just isn't enough spring and autumn to enjoy a decent reprieve at all. Still, at only 21 years, I still have a ways to go before the cold gets downright painful.

Thank goodness for space-heaters, though.

Well I have to say that tolerating the cold would be eased some by the beauty of the snow. Around here it just gets cold, not really frigid, 20's to 30's through the winter, but snow is rare and even then only a couple of inches. The problem with that are the idiots that think they can drive in it like it's 70 and sunny. I have pulled more people out of ditches than I can count, watched as cars went down the road like a spinning top, the stories are endless because you can't fix stupid.

I'll have to see about getting one of those rings, man wouldn't that make a difference, lol.

TK enjoy your youth! I wouldn't go back for love or money but the memories....wow. When I was 21 I just knew I was 12 feet tall and bullet proof.

Make that second snow now.

Oh, and we get it just as bad with king-of-the-snowy-road drivers down here in NM, too. Plenty of ditched and overturned cars find their way into primetime news every winter down here.

Let me say I have had the immense displeasure of driving in whiteout conditions a couple years ago, TERRIBLE. Never want to do that again.

I can deal with the cold in winter, it doesn't really bother me. I only put on the heating when things start to freeze up (burst pipes are a nusience, as is having the water by your bedside freeze). You can always put on more clothes/ blankets. It's the dark. The sun isn't out until about 8 here and then it's too low to get over the buildings and it's dark well before I leave uni in the afternoon. Coupled with a lab with no windows it means I never actually see natural light from about now until Feburary. It's going to get a whole lot darker too. I might have to get out my 30w energy saver soon, that bulb is like my own little sun.

When it comes to driving - ever tried cycling in snow. On the plus side you're cold enough that falling off doesn't hurt much...

Any more room in the Bahamas Athynae?

LET'S GO OLEN!!!! If he makes the pros one more won't cost that much!!!! And we could sit on the beach, sipping margaritas and writing to our hearts content. All that Vitamin D...aaaahhhhh.

Never have driven in a white out and don't want to. Got caught in a small dust storm once and that was enough, oh and fog so dense you could barely see the end of the car hood, that was less than amusing too.

*Pouts* You people live in really interesting places...

*Looks out at Moel Fammau and Clwydian Range*...Ho-hum...

Still, not so cold this morning...YAY!!...

Scotland had about 3 months of freezing snow last year didn't they?...We in Wales weren't so badly off, well, where we live anyways...


OOOOH!!...SnassnFrassnOpeningTimes...

Robert has pre-ordered Skyrim la-la-laaa...Many weeks ago actually...."Will you be open at 9am?" I ask the chap...

"Yes." says he.

Ooooh-ho-ho no...Nooo, it's 10...Schweinhunt!!!...

Do you think that I can wait that long?...It'll be nearly dinner before I get back home (after the queue)...

So guess what?...Robert is going to the MIDNIGHT OPENING...Ouchie...I'm too old for that...Urgh... ...

McB you aren't pushing up daisies yet son! You need to do some catching up before you start saying things like that. Besides, any time you get the chance to act like a kid, DO IT!!!! (Voice of Experience in the School of Life) I spent too many years acting like a grown up all the time, it's a lot more fun to give the kid thing a spin every once in a while. Might hurt a little more but the pay-off for you spirit is worth it!

The grass is always greener....the only reason it looks more interesting where we live is cuz you don't live here. I can say without a doubt that I would find where you live far more interesting than where I do. Come for a visit, I'll show you around.

Precisely, when people who don't look at New Mexico come here, what they notice are the incredible sunsets, the Balloon Fiesta, the pueblos, and our growing space industry.

But when I look at it, I see a flat, brown plain with crime problems and mountains with stunted pine trees.

Anywhere you don't live is more interesting than where you do. Once you put down roots, the tourist attractions all fade away and you start to see everything outside the light they want you to look at.

Having visited New Mexico several times during the mid- to late-1990's, I can agree with everything TK says.

Beautiful sunsets, the pueblos, the art community in Santa Fe and Taos, and the amazing red rock. Also the brownness of the area (especially coming from the green Midwest), the crime and the alcoholism. Though I disagree about the pines. Having ridden and driven through Kit Carson National Forest, those trees (lodgepole pines, if I recall correctly) are huge! Okay, not as big as those on the California Coast, but nothing like the overgrown shrubs that make up the Coconino National Forest in Arizona. As a matter of fact, my mom and I drove past the sign that said "Welcome to Coconino National Forest!", looked around, looked at each other, then I asked "Where are the trees??"

Up here in the Northern Illinois area, we have wonderful rolling hills, hidden valleys, woods and prairies both, since this is the edge of glacier country. Only thing is, winter is dreary here. But better here than North Dakota, I always say. At least the trees and the hills break up the wind.

Well, to tell the truth, I would also somewhat disagree with myself about the flat part, too. Having visited Kansas this year, flat has been redefined for me. You do get some nice mountains up north (edge of the Rockies), and living near Albuquerque puts me near the southern edge of them. It never gets old staring at the regal Sandia mountain range that watches over the city.

Speaking of that... did you know the Sandia Peak Tramway is the longest cable car track in the world? Another tourist attraction that has since faded into obscurity for me, as I never really have much reason to visit it (not much of a skier, all the good snow falls up the way of Santa Fe, a little far for a regular commute from where I live).

Also, let me say, it shames me that the number one stop for Mexican food in our state is... Taco Bell. Come on... really? A state that takes so much pride in its chili prefers to eat greasy burritos?

Sometimes, I really don't get this place.

Would love to come visit all these places, but the wife has sort of promised to go see her email-chum in San Diego sometime...Methinks we're going there first... ...

Blimey...Longest cable-car...I'd love to see that...Y'know...From the ground... ...

I have a dream, it's to go and see Everest...From lower down...Get close-ish...Say "Oh look, there's the top of Everest..." and come home...

Ooooh, I dream big me!... ...

Oh, and as for the food...Britain, fish and chips?...Bangers and Mash?...Spotted D*ck?... ...Wiki it ...No, Number one food, Curry...*Shrug*...

BTW, I just fell fowl of the Censor on that last bit...How exactly do you cope if you want a character called D*ck? (short for Richard)...

Well you would just have to call him Duck, he wouldn't get hit as much that way.

I think I spotted D!ck the other day.

And welcome to the chorrol.com mature people area

Acadian is on the right track, but why not a spanish upside down exclamation mark? Hold on, why am I helping to encourage this!

Oh, and on national cuisine, Ive noticed that Scotland has changed from Haggis & Whiskey to Deep-fried Mars Bars & Irn Bru. And I thought America was bad (No offence )

None taken.

McB, you’ll just have to call Richard ‘Thermos’ for short. I’m betting that most of us will know what it means.

A typical New Mexico twilight.

Yes, it's a bit blurry (hastily taken), but the point is the sky colors.

And over to other news, just recieved my copy of Skyrim Collectors Edition for my 360 in the mail...sometimes it pays off to order from amazon. Forgive me if I don't check in for a few days, I have a weeks worth of holiday that is going to be spent wisely

I shan't be joining in on the Skyrim Craze.

I got caught up in the hype back in 2006 for OB...and was terribly disappointed. Than a year after it came out, GOTY for $40, KoTN and SI expansions included....as opposed to the 60 plus tax for the vanilla package, 30 for each expansion, and $3-20m for each DLC, as opposed to free as with Morrowind, which is still available free.

I'll likely wait a year or two before I even take a jab at that game, which is looking even worse than its predecessor.

Really, out of everything I'm seeing, it looks like a reskinned Fallout 3, but this time with Dragons. I almost expect to hear a public domain radio playing in the background as I hunt them down.

No Classes, no class descriptions, Attributes severely stunted....really?

M. Night Shyamalan's gotta ruin Avatar....Bethesda's gotta ruin RPG's.

'llo all. Hardware-and-free time-willing, I just might take a peek at this dragon-hunting action game that's around the corner.

In the meantime, warm 3-in-1 for everyone.

*coughs from sprinting as fast as he could to this thread* Friends! I have news! Our impending doom is near. Skyrim comes out tonight... Our social lives are going to die!

But on a more serious note, I just wanted to check in (haven't been able to for a few weeks due to computer troubles).

WOO HOO Zalphon !!! My son is forcing me to get both the 360 and the PC version because (and I quote) - MY laptop will play it. Does this mean I can kiss my laptop goodbye? ARGH !!!!

Sadly...I won't be getting my copy for a week or two (even though I pre-ordered) because GameStop likes to nickel-and-dime the people and I couldn't afford to pay for over-night, only value...

I guess I'll have to abandon the internet until I get it to avoid spoilers...

I wish I would've known 6 months ago when I got this for my birthday that Amazon would have it arrive on release date for $ .99 (vs. the $2.99 I'm paying for it to arrive at least 5 days after release )

I went through GameStop too - but got 20% off because my son is in some kind of points program membership thing that I signed him up for. I didn't pay them to ship it to me, just for the game (but have to drive out and pick it up at midnight).