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I am in London tonight and ate a really bad hamburger. I don't know why all the food tastes strange over here. They used a spice in the burger that tasted like mothballs. Maybe it was mothballs. It looked really good, like everything else, but once you taste it...the best meal I had was in a pub in Edinburgh. It was a creamy haddock soup and a salad with a honey mustard dressing. I was lucky to get on an earlier flight to London this afternoon. I am VERY appreciative of the woman at British Airways who did some finagling to get me that seat. And when I got on the plane, I ended up being seated next to someone I knew which has never happened before (this isn't that exciting-- he was at the conference and going home rather than someone I hadn't seen in years who was on my plane from the US and wasn't attending the conference). And I got to land in that new and infamous Terminal 5 at Heathrow. I head for Chicago tomorrow and Albuquerque tomorrow night. Hope you all enjoyed my trip to Scotland!

Last night in Glasgow

I will be in London tomorrow night and then bound for Chicago and Albuquerque on Sunday. We had our banquet tonight and I ended up running late. I had to get to another hotel to meet up with some friends and the man at reception here told me it would take me 10 to 15 minutes to walk. I made it in 8 minutes with heels and a dress on! I imagine I was quite the sight on the streets of Glasgow tonight. The weather was much nicer though-- dry!

Friday in Glasgow

It's Friday in Glasgow and I wore a black dress and someone asked me for directions on the street. I think that I blended in pretty good. Turquoise definitely gave it away yesterday that I was not from here. I'm sure when I run in the morning with my shorts and t-shirt, they are thinking, "Who is that crazy American?" But it's not raining or misting today!

No new photos...sorry!

Sorry there are no new photos. It has been raining (more of a mist) and now I'm into the conference gig (where I should be right now-- shhhh! Don't tell anyone!). We had a reception last night at the city chambers which is a really old building with a whole lot of marble. Frank Campbell and I ate at an Indian restaurant and it's nice to know wherever I go in the world, saag paneer tastes the same! I also ate it in Oslo, Norway. I better get over to the conference now!

Holyrood Palace

Edinburgh

I am going to have to do these in several posts as the hotel's wireless keeps falling out on me. I took the train to Edinburgh this morning. There were people everywhere. I have been told it's like that all the time. It's also amazing how hilly the city is. I toured Edinburgh Castle and then walked the Royal Mile (and looked at every kilt, cashmere sweater, lochness moster made of china, and raincoats for sale that looked like garbage bags available). At the bottom of the Royal Mile is Hoolyrood Palace, the Queen's Scottish home. I toured that and stopped at checked out Scottish Parliament as well. The Haggis Cafe photo is for my friend Chris D. who insisted I stay away from it. If you don't know what it is, google it!

Michelle's arrival into Glasgow

The plane wasn't too full last night and I ended up moving over to a middle row that I had to myself. I did find out that the arm rests on Aer Lingus planes do not go fully up though! I had about 2 hours of sleep before we landed in Dublin where I had about two hours before leaving for Glasgow. I got into Glasgow around 10:30 this morning (Glasgow time) and it was pouring rain. By the time I had showered and napped, however, the sun had come out and I took a walk to find some dinner and check out some of the scenery a bit ago. Glasgow is undergoing a revitalization and it's hard to get any good photos as there's a lot of construction and the scene is very old with new next to it. But it was just like home when I turned the corner and there was a Borders...and a Starbucks...and a TGI Fridays....I'm not sure what's up with the peacock on the building. The river is the River Clyde. I bought a prawn and mayo sandwich for dinner. Tomorrow morning I catch the train to Edinburgh.

Lexi learns to swim in the Linn-Gust pool

Our neighbors, Tess and Ed, brought their 8-week-old puppy Lexi for her first swimming lesson late this afternoon. Joe introduced Hattie at about the same age to the water. Lexi seemed to enjoy the water although she wasn't ready to float around on a raft. She almost seemed to say, "Hey, I can barely walk on solid ground, get me off this thing!"

Happy Birthday Hattie!

Today Hattie is three years old! I actually almost forgot (shhh, don't tell Hattie) and checked the file last night and sure enough, it's today. She is currently flaked out on Joe's bed. He washed the bedding and she is curled up in the mattress pad. When I went to remind Joe this morning that it was her birthday, he said he had just been thinking about how I had wanted him to bring back a Golden Retriever from Mississippi when he went to deliver supplies to the people there. I looked at Nestle, crazy yellow lab that she is, and told Joe that I could not handle another Nestle. Joe's comment was that Hattie has more than fit the bill for a fourth dog for us. Hattie hopes to go swimming later if the sun comes out and the wind dies down and watch the Olympics tonight. She keeps asking Joe to tell her train for the 2012 games. She's not sure if she'd be best at the butterfly or breast stroke and asked Joe if that meant she'd have to use her back legs. She's come a long way from the sick puppy she was in Lucedale, Mississippi.

The Blog Resumes!

After some technical difficulties, the blog is back and better than ever! We have recreated the old entries below although they are somewhat out of order, you can still enjoy the photos and events of Ginger and all her friends. It's been a summer of house guests and pictured above, niece Britt holds Hattie in the pool while a month later, Devlan (visiting from Belize) floats in the pool with Hattie. Hattie's newest trick is getting onto a raft by herself. That's right-- she is getting more brave by the day! If the float has settled itself next to the pool edge, Hattie will find a way on it.

Ginger oblivious to her fame

On Tuesday, in Naperville, a photographer (Danielle) came to see Ginger in action for The Naperville Sun article that ran this morning. Ginger and I played for an hour although I think she really just wanted to lay in her dog bed with a toy. She is quite the photogenic dog as she seems to know when to pose as someone is looking at her with a camera (not that she knows what the camera is!). When I talked to Mom this morning, Ginger was snoozing away in the family room, totally oblivious to the story and photo that are running in today’s paper.

Nestle celebrates her 5th birthday

December 3rd is the date that Nestle moved into the Linn-Gust home, four years ago. She was about a year old then so we celebrate her birthday on this date. She was the lucky girl to have a Three Dog Bakery cake. Hattie got one in August and had been more interested in guarding it from her siblings than eating it (although today she was disappointed she got one of the cat cookies– I could tell she really wanted the cake Nestle had). Nestle, being Nestle, was the absolute pig eating it as you can see in the photos. She KNEW it was hers and jumped for it which she knows she isn’t supposed to do.

A big week for Ginger

Ginger had a big week. One Monday, she made her television debut on the WGN Noon News. It was her first venture into the city of Chicago and she sat up most of the way there, unusual for a dog who sleeps most of the time, even getting a good view of the downtown skyline from the Tri-State. She wasn’t such a happy clam until at about 12:15 (she was due on the air at 12:44), I took her out for a bathroom break on a grassy knoll at the studio. Mom forgot her brush for Ginger and used a hair pick to clean off some Ginger’s fur while we were in the green room. But Ginger did great on air. She sat patiently during the spot and slept all the way home. On Tuesday, we had the book signing at Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville and Ginger was once again the star of the show.

There’s an umbrella in my pool!

We came the other day after some wind to find one of our umbrellas floating in the pool. Usually they sink to the bottom but this one ended up upside down. Daisy is lounging in her favorite outdoor chair.

Eeek, there’s a dog on my raft!

Hattie went swimming for awhile yesterday evening and then got out of the pool. When I was lazily swimming back and forth across the length of the pool, she did a first– jumping onto a raft that was “docked” on the side of the pool. We were sorry we didn’t have video of it! The other dogs were hanging out and Nestle was perched in her favorite place in the deep end.

The other day, Joe and I were sitting out in the backyard on the patio. The new thing we knew, Hattie had used Joe as a ladder and was standing on the patio table. We think she is part cat (and also part monkey since she jumps on the wall in the yard and hangs).

Hattie on tableWe’re having a new front door installed today and when I came out of my office, Nestle was laying in the open doorway, obviously not planning to leave. We joke sometimes that if we opened the front door and asked her to leave, she wouldn’t. She likes her home too much.

Nestle at DoorI heard from the printer that GG will be printed Friday and then sent on to the hardbinder. It’s getting close!

Nestle Models Joe’s New (’71 Chevy) Truck

Joe’s new (old– ‘71 Chevy) truck arrived from Oregon Saturday and Joe arrived home from Maine (neither are related) last night. Nestle modeled the truck this morning. I had visions in my mind of Nestle looking happy with her head sticking out of the window. Instead, she almost was afraid to get in and it took two tries for her to finally jump up on the seat. Then she refused to look my way for a photo. After using keywords “treat” and “cheese,” she wouldn’t look my way at all for “steak.” Still, here she is, the Queen Bee herself.

chaco-remembers-his-rescuer-jim

Chaco and Jim


On Monday evening we had a visitor from the past. If you’ve read Chapter 1 of Ginger’s Gift, you know that our former neighbor Jim found Chaco eating out of a garbage can near the University of New Mexico campus. Jim moved away in early 2004 to Florida and returned to Albuquerque ths week for the first time since then. Jim was already at the door when I heard Chaco barking and went to see who was there. But when Jim came into the house, Chaco immediately remembered the guy who saved him the garbage.

An Exciting Day at the Linn-Gust House!

It’s been quite a day here at the Linn-Gust House and it’s only 12:35 pm. When I went to check my email this morning, I had an email in my junk folder that started with “Congratulations.” I just assumed someone had won the UK lottery and needed my bank account to access the funds. I almost deleted it until I saw it was addressed to me and that I was a winner of the Moen (as in faucets) “Show Us Your Style” contest! You can see my lime green kitchen in all its glory (with Nestle in one of the photos) at www.showusyourstyle.com. If you click on the photo of my kitchen, you can see more photos (including the one of Nestle in the kitchen) plus more information about the remodel. I get a nice cash prize that I surely will not share with anyone. I also talked to the printer today and they have started work on the pre-press piece! I should have proofs at the end of the week, however, the process will slow down at some point because hardcover takes two more weeks than softcover. Finally, I had a Ginger report from Mom. Seems Mom left the house and Ginger found some eggshells on the counter. I guess, to her, they are like potato chips. Thanks to everyone for stopping by! The photo gallery should be up by tomorrow (I hope!).

Welcome to the Ginger’s Gift blog!

On Friday afternoon, we sent Ginger’s Gift to the printer. In (hopefully) five or six short weeks, GG will be ready for distribution. In the meantime, this is your place for updates and exciting adventures with the dogs. However, today it’s cloudy here in Albuquerque and the dogs are snoozing for the afternoon. Daisy is here in a corner under my desk while the others are scattered around the house.