Rants and Raves and Market Moments

Rant-  When you're setting up at the market in the morning, unload your vehicle, remove your vehicle, and THEN start setting up your booth.  At the Abbotsford Market there is not enough room down the middle of the road once vendors start setting up, for two vehicles to pass each other, so who gets there first or second or whatever tends to limit who can come in next.  Therefore common sense would surely make you realize that Unload, Remove, Setup is the polite and timely thing to do. 
Another thing, if you are waiting to move your vehicle in to unload it, and are just sitting there, don't keep the engine running.  Don't think I should even have to explain that one.  Of course, if it was me in that situation, and I can see a way to move things along, I would be asking people to do whatever it took.  The woman with the engine running, well if she had just got out and asked the two people in front of her if they were finished unloading, she could have been in there sooner.  I could see that they just needed to be asked/told to move their vehicles, and went and did it.

Market Moment- Way back 8 years ago when I was taking agility lessons with Calli, there was a woman in my class called Chantal, and she had a Jack Russell called Terrence.  Like some Jacks, Terrence had a mind of his own.  I ran him a couple of times; I loved it, he ran like stink and I had to go all out to keep up with him.  His recall left something to be desired though, and if he didn't come back the first or second time when Chantal called him, well then she called Calli instead.  Calli would rush over and get the treats.  Terrence realized he was missing out pretty quick, and started to make sure he got there in time for the reward. 
Over the years I would see both of them occasionally, and then they became regular visitors to the Abbotsford Farmers Market, and would stop and chat.  Terrence gained a brother called Henry, also a Jack.  Last Saturday they stopped to visit.  Chantal commented that Terrence hadn't eaten his breakfast which was really odd.  Not long after she said she was taking him to the vet, as he just wasn't right.  The vet determined an infection and a mass in the abdomen.  Sunday he seemed better and then Monday afternoon took a turn for the worse.  On Tuesday morning the vet went in, hoping it was just his spleen, but he had cancer everywhere, and he was let go there and then.   
Chantal came to the market today with Henry.  We shared a big hug and a few tears.  Fly free Terrence.

Market moment-  We had all sorts of weather at the market today.  There was a cold wind, sunshine, and a few heavy showers.  I have two tents over my booth, one behind the other.  The back tent is over where I stand and the utility trailer is behind me with the extra boxes of jam in it.  Where the two tents meet is over the back of the table and the shelf with the jam on.  When it rains of course the water runs off and drips down right there.  I made a plastic gutter thing that velcros to the bottom edge of one tent, hangs down a little way, and then turns back up and fastens to the bottom edge of the other tent.  It makes a U-shaped channel all along that side where the two tents meet for the water to run into, and that channel is on a slope, so the water runs out at one end.  Well I couldn't remember quite how to put it up, did it backwards, so the pieces of  velcro didn't really match other than in a few spots.  Then I couldn't get the other side fastened up properly.  In the meantime the rain is pouring down, and the wind is blowing it in on the sides.  I was fiddling around and a few times the gutter collapsed right over the jam shelf, cascading water everywhere.  Once I had my arm up and the water shot down my sleeve, and another time it came off in a spout and went down the front of my neck.    At one point I felt like sitting down and crying.  Anyway, I finally got it sorted out, the rain didn't continue on, and things had dried up by the time it came to packing up.

Market moment (rant?)- A dog club showed up today.  When I asked one of them about the group, the woman said the were a 'remote' club.  I didn't catch on right away, thinking 'remote', as in a long way off, in the wilderness, whatever.  No it was remote, as in remote collar, and I noticed all the handlers had the control in their hand.  Wellllll...... the dogs were certainly well behaved....and I think that's all I'm going to say on that.

Rant- If I stop to let you cross the street, despite the fact that you aren't at a crosswalk (which is only thirty feet away, in case you didn't notice), please have the decency to give me a wave of thanks, and hustle your butt across that road.  Oh, I guess you can't do that, because it just might interrupt your texting:(

Rave-Thanks to the nice young guy who called me over to his empty checkout at the grocery store, and was really pleasant

Rave-Got to the library to pick up the Crate Games DVD I had requested.  Our dog club donated approx. $900 worth of agility books and DVD's to the library.  Checked the shelf in the pet section, and there were two other agility books there that I wanted to read, yay!

Off to an outdoor agility trial in the morning.  Hope the weather cooperates.  Now I just have to find where I left Luna's ID card..... Wish us luck!