Tuesday, June 14, 2011

3rd Place, Derby Weekend and Beautiful Gardens...

The Shelter Contest is over! And Great Lakes Bengal Rescue pulled in the votes in the last hours and has come in THIRD PLACE!! I lack words. THANK YOU! Shelter and Rescue Groups run on the will and determination of the people who run them. I wish every group who entered could have won. If you find one in your area, help them. Every single bit Makes A Difference. We can save these animals, they have no voice.

WE are their voice.

In honor of ALL Rescue Groups, and Bengals today, here's two of my favorite pics of two of my Bengals who are alive and happy today because people cared enough to help. That's Magic, F1 Bengal, first, his story came down to the 11th hour because no one understood him, and the verdict was he could not be saved.

Wrong.
King Lear the Huge here, with me in my bath. Yes, I know this could have ended quite badly but both the bath and his story came out just fine.

If they cross my path, I will save them. With your help. Again, simply: Thank you. This means so much to me.

Moving on and catching up...I went with some of my teammates on The Chippewa Valley Roller Girls on a road trip to a Mixer this weekend. A Mixer is Roller Girls from all over, randomly assigned to teams, and Bouting all day. That's (From L to R) Genetic Defect, Pitbull Scarier, Arm and Slam'er and Calla Doctor.

I ended up NSO'ing (Non-skating official) Bouts RUN on Volunteers. If you love Derby, but think skating is not for you, trust me, the team in your area still wants you. They will cheer you in fact. You can still be very much a part of the sport.
I love this picture. Each team at the mixer got a Shirt of a different colour. Obviously, the first thing that needed to happen was they must be destroyed. Carnage it was. It was the best thing for them, really. They looked much better afterwords.

I love this sport. It was beyond fun. And very bonding as a team. Why, the girls who stayed at the bar until close after the Bout even came into our room to check on those of us who retired early, after they got back. Very sweet it was.

As for the rest, they are all very nice girls and I had a lovely time.

And to close: My Gardens! If you've been following along (and if you haven't, catch the heck up) you will know my gardens here at the Spooky House have been sore in need of someone who actually knows what they are doing to save them. Did you know the thing about plants is they need to be planted in specific PLACES depending on if they need SUN or not? Yeah, I didn't either.

My friend Slam'er knows these things and she came over yesterday to see what could be saved. Her first words, literally, as in before, say "Good Morning" were "Oh Gods, this is worse than I thought" Not encouraging, but true. I am not sure she really believed me when I told her what was here was the result of my Gardening efforts for the last four years. Again, not encouraging, but true.
I don't know that I will ever be able to keep up with the Jone's on my block, these people are SERIOUS about their gardens, but now at least, I have hopes of it. The beds are neat, there are no weeds, I know what the plants ARE. (I may name my next cover band "Ligularia" THAT is a plant that belongs in the Spooky House) We have Plans this fall to dig up the front yard and change a boring hill into a thing of beauty.

Took about 8 hours yesterday. I "Helped" mostly by staying out of the way and letting her get to it. I was in awe and it may well make my list of "Top 10 Coolest Things anyone has ever done for me"

Had a great Derby Weekend. Saved a whole lot of Bengals. And now when I come home, my gardens are beautiful and I relax just a little bit more inside.

Yeah, it's all good.

Really good.

Love and Every Little Thing,
Lorraine

84 Comments:

At 08:35 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hooray for bengals, roller derby bonding, and beautiful friends who have a way with flowers! Lovely, all of it. :-) ~Ali

At 08:38 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Way to rally the Bengal-saving troops!

At 08:45 Blogger bengalgirl said...

Wow, is all I can say about the contest. Yesterday was really a nerve wracking day but in a good way. I was so happy when we were in 5th place as that was the line that gave a bit more $$. I was in with cats away from computer and when I came back to check the status to report to Lorraine we had jumped 70 votes - what??? And then it just kept going. I finally gave up after mid-night even though I knew there was still 3 hours to go but by then we were in a very comfortable lead. My thanks to Lorraine, her wonderful fiends, and of course wonderful Boss. This will get us some good exposure.

At 08:50 Blogger DataGoddess said...

Yay!! I am in awe of your drive and determination - you do what you set out to do, finding people along the way who can help you get where you want to go and do what you want to accomplish.

And you have a nice ass!

*swoonthud*

At 09:16 Anonymous Allie Gator said...

Ha, told you it would be worth the 12 pack! The garden looks beautiful!!

At 09:28 Blogger Beez said...

Beautiful. All of it.

Yes, and your ass too.

At 09:30 Blogger Arwenn said...

Hurray for Bengals, Gardens, and Derby!!!

Janet - I hope this does lead to some great exposure, both for your group and for bengals in general!

At 09:36 Blogger dabbler said...

Hmmm..methinks there are many stories behind that "They're all nice girls..." and behind it they shall stay! :-)

At 09:42 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

VERY happy morning here! It went all amazing, thanks to my Boss, in the last few hours. We did it!

Thanks, Data! This workout stuff IS paying off!

It was a 12 pack AND a sandwich, Allie. Can't wait for you to see them! (The gardens, the beer and sandwich are gone)

Oh, there were stories, however, there are RULES about afterparties in Derby. It was...enjoyable.

At 10:15 Blogger spacedlaw said...

That heart felt comment on the state of your garden had me chuckling and that chuckle was sorely needed to THANKS.

It's so great for the kitties that Neil helped along. No Benmgals around Rome that I know of, but I send moneys to Gatti di Roma, the coolest cat sanctuary ever (in the middle of Roman ruins, no less).

At 10:23 Anonymous Morgawse said...

Yay, so happy about the rescue coming in third! I tried to vote but it wouldn't let me, not sure what was up with that.

On a completely unrelated note, you don't know me at all but I've been lurking for a while and I'm totally in awe of your getting fit programme. I've been gaining weight I don't want over the last two years and I'm so unfit it's not even funny. Your honesty and determination has been inspiring - I've got off the phone with my local gym and seem to have booked a 1 hour consultation with a trainer tomorrow. I'm.... well, terrified doesn't even begin to cover it. But I'm going to go, and I'm going to get him or her to help me design an exercise program that works for me, and I'm going to get healthy.

Sorry if this is weird me writing this here, what with the being a total stranger on the other side of the world and all, but I had to talk about it somewhere.

At 10:28 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Don't you worry Morgawse, we all started as stalkers here. And stayed for the Quiche.

At 10:35 Blogger Arwenn said...

Morgawse - We're all fiends here! And, you never know...there could very well be someone that read your post and thought "phone call? I can do that!" and will be motivated to make a change.

At 10:55 Blogger Chantrelle said...

A blog full of WIN! :)

I'm heading out to Chicago for the week. Must finish packing, get breakfast and get to the airport.

Yay for bengals and gardens!!

At 10:55 Blogger Chantrelle said...

Dang it...and boo to ticky box.

At 12:02 Blogger Jess said...

For the record, I'm still a stalker. Did Slammer trim these bushes, Quichie? The view through the front window's much improved. O_O

*rustle*

Garden looks fab! It pleases me. Yay Ligularia! And how is that dwarf astilbe doing? The little purple thing round the back. (Am I imagining this? I'm sure you had one of those.) I'm still coveting one.

At 12:03 Blogger Jess said...

Almost forgot! Any idea how much money, Janet? Enough to build a cat spa? ;)

At 12:22 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Please tell me you didn't just ask if Slammer trimmed my bush. That's kind of personal, and at any rate, no, she's happily coupled with another teammate.

You'd never make it in Derby, Stalker Wife...

At 12:26 Blogger Marjorie said...

Yay for Bengals!
And hello, Morgawse. We likes new stalkers :-)

At 12:35 Blogger spacedlaw said...

The trimming comment was great.

At 12:35 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Hi Morgawse, forgive me for not responding but I was distracted by my Stalker Wife's lewd comments. Really, we're not like that. All normal here.

YAY! Getting FIT, I can tell you that first step is the hardest. (well, then all the ones after, but they are hard differently) Knowing and doing something about it is HUGE.

Just remember, better to be the fattest one in the gym (I was) than the fat chick in the donut aisle. You'll find tons of love and support there from people doing the same thing you are.

And we're here too! No more lurking. Join us....

At 12:43 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Normal? Are you sure? Not sure I want to be normal.

At 12:48 Blogger DataGoddess said...

Normal? I'm supposed to be NORMAL? Oh, heck, I'm in trouble...

And yeah, between the tweet and the trim Jess is really being entertaining ;-)

At 12:53 Blogger Cecily said...

Woohoo and tick!

At 13:01 Blogger Bulfinch's Aglaia said...

Thanks for the shout-out for us NSOs. I'm not up for skating (yet, maybe, possibly) but scorekeeping is a total blast as well. And good on your for taking care of the bengals! *hugs to everyone I haven't seen much of lately...*

At 13:02 Blogger Jess said...

Christ! And I'm not even trying.

You're right, Q. I wouldn't. You pretty much had me decided at "prison van". :P

At 13:08 Blogger dabbler said...

Woohoo! A BA sighting. Miss your voice here...


And, I gotta say, aiming for normal is a waste. We are all so much more.

At 13:17 Anonymous Morgawse said...

Aw, thanks for the welcome and encouraging comments all! I'm seriously terrified of this appointment tomorrow, but I'm going to go anyway.

The weight isn't even the biggest problem - I'm in a healthy weight range, although it's more than I used to be, I'm just not a fan of the recent wobbly bits and I wouldn't mind them gone. The thing is, I have a chronic medical problem. It's not serious, in that it'll never kill me. There is, however, also no cure, and the only treatment, other than copious quantities of painkillers, is to get fit. I'm only 25, and this condition already stops me doing so much stuff (including, ironically, making exercise difficult). I don't want it to get worse, and ideally I'd like it to get a bit better.

So I have to do this. Now. For my health. There's no better reason, really, is there.

At 13:25 Blogger Cecily said...

Morgawse sweetie, you are in the right place for support with FIT and chronic pain. I myself have Fibromyalgia, defused bursitis throughout all my joints, and nerve damage in my lower spine that cause sever hip pain, just to start with! And I am one of many fine women here battling the hell that is chronic pain. I will probably never derby, but reading Quiche's travels definitely helps me with my own. Plus all the amazing Fiends that have become staples in my life. We GET IT.

Have a good time tomorrow. No need to be worried, with the right people, getting FIT can be FUN. :-)

At 15:38 Blogger Beez said...

*pokes Fearless Leader*

Ignore her on that comment, Morgawse. We are like that here.

Normal...HAH! Normal doesn't stand a chance with us.

At 15:52 Blogger bengalgirl said...

Still waiting on notification, might take days it looks like. Third place carries a $4,000 prize, more info also coming about that. Still kind of in shock. Plus I am so use to going to the site and refreshing many, many times a day, am a bit aimless now, lol.

At 16:08 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Photos of Magic still leave me breathless. Such a stunning boy.

Janet, words really can't express how happy I am for you and all the Bengals who come your way.

I don't wanna be "normal" phhht to that!

Morgawase, welcome from another Fiend on the other side of the world who also suffers from chronic health issues and tends to live vicariously through Lorraine's, ah, exploits. What Ceci said was SPOT on!

At 16:43 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I am normal. Don't come no more normal than me, folks. I'm just a regular girl. Like you.

Ain't a bad way to be.

Ok, off to Derby practice. Looooong day it's been. Really ready to relax and hit some bitches!

At 18:08 Blogger Siri said...

GRACE!!!!!!

At 18:15 Blogger Siri said...

News alert for fiends not on facebook - From Oragami fiend Becca Manner "Going into surgery for transplant in an hour and a half."

She's at the Mayo Clinics in Minnesota. Here's the Caring Bridge link:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/beccamanner

At 18:35 Blogger Cecily said...

I just started crying with that news.

COME ON BECCA!!!!!

At 19:21 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Beautiful bengal boy!

A friend pointed me here, as I, too, love bengals. I have a beautiful 16 pound boy named Julius. He was born a snow, but the way his color developed, he isn't "show quality" (too much gold or bronze, not enough white). He loves water of course, and will in fact ignore his water dish in favor of all the bathtubs in the house. We are fond of saying he thinks he's a dog, as he and our lab/husky mix are the best of friends, and every other dog that comes into the house is, in Julius's eyes, "prey".

Friends come over and say "Wow, that is a big cat!" I am always a little defensive of this. He doesn't seem big to me, but then, I'm used to bengals (my Mom has one as well, and my friend Paula has three.)

I think I will look into GLBR when we're ready for another cat. :)

At 20:14 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Wonderful news of Becca! Thanks for passing that along, Siri!

At 20:20 Blogger dabbler said...

Prayers and thoughts for Becca for a beautiful new functional liver...and a beautiful new freedom to live without so much daily struggle....

At 21:04 Blogger LihuaEmily said...

My own garden is not going to become a garden ... ever ...

At 21:53 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Oh wonderful news about Becca, before I left home this morning I read her Caringbridge blog where Michelle told us she was on her way to the Mayo Clinic, I have everything crossed that this goes well.

At 22:03 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Rhein, Lovely! Bengals are so the best!

Keep me posted about Becca, I met her once and she is a game little fighter!

Skating was learned a lot feel like a sucked sort of evening. It's a process. One will get there. One hopes.

At 22:06 Blogger AletaMay said...

Yay for Bengals! Yay for Becca! Yay for our own special kind of normal!

At 00:04 Blogger Dragonsally said...

BECCA'S MUM HAS JUST POSTED ON FACEBOOK THAT SHE HAS A NEW LIVER. And yes, I did shout that, such good news.

At 00:19 Blogger spacedlaw said...

It is such a blessing. Her quest for a new liver was so long and difficult.

At 11:31 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Good news on Becca!

I'm going to see someone named "Abby the Ass-Slayer" tonight with my Derby team, for a workout.

We're all going to die. I am sure of it. But our asses will look GREAT.

At 17:33 Blogger elionwyr said...

Yay! I'm so glad the rescue did so well!

At 21:37 Blogger LihuaEmily said...

I'm so happy about Becca! I really hope she gets well soon.

At 21:37 Blogger LihuaEmily said...

Oh, and happy for Derby too. Always ...

At 06:42 Anonymous Morgawse said...

Just back from the gym where a very nice trainer spent an hour trying to kill me. I lived. Just. This is going to hurt in the morning... but I can do this. I think.

At 07:17 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

You can do it, Morgawse! That first going in is the hardest. Well, maybe the first month or so. But you'll get to the point where it's just normal, both being sore, and going to the gym every day.

And you'll like it.

Speaking of which, Abby the Ass-Slayer rocked. Sure did sleep. It was really fun. There's two workout groups on the team, half went to the sport training, and the other half who couldn't make the times, went to Abby. Last night they moved to Wed and we merged. Way fun.

Venus is puking. Charming. Lovely morning.

And my Boss comes back today!

At 07:20 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Poor Venus! Too much hair ingested? My cats do that a lot what with the increasing heat, no matter how often we try to groom them.

At 12:21 Blogger Pi R Squared said...

So happy the Bengal Rescue did well in the voting and will be receiving money! :) (Yay fiends! Yay good boss!)

Hugs Becca! Sending white light your way.

Morgawse...welcome! The fiends are here for one and all. As someone w/ chronic pain issues, I've been really focusing lately on foods which can inflame...and the less inflamed I am, the better I can exercise. Everything is connected! Good luck w/ your trainer and keep us informed.

Quiche? I must know more about the tigers at Lola's dog training? Your tweets piqued my curiosity!

At 12:38 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Tigers AND elephants. I don't make this stuff UP.

My job is not dull.

At 12:41 Blogger Pi R Squared said...

No, it certainly doesn't seem that way! In the last week there have been soggy squirrels, bears! and now tigers and elephants! I am deeply impressed!

At 14:53 Blogger ariandalen said...

Tigers and
Elephants and
Bears!
Oh, My!

So...does this make Hans the "Tin" Woodsman?

Our Fearsome Leader is, of course, Dorothy with Lola standing in for Toto. So now we need to know who the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion are.

This -definitely- isn't Kansas.

;)

At 15:03 Blogger Arwenn said...

I vote for Magic as the cowardly lion....or Lear

At 19:43 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I would not have left OZ and I would have gotten a ride on that horse.

At 04:29 Blogger Marjorie said...

Should we be worried that it was all 'tigers and elephants' and now it's gone silent?

At 04:55 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Indeed. Let's hope this is only sleep after a full day...

At 07:40 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I was asleep before 9. DEAD. Those sport workouts leave nothing.

Up at 5 tho and feel great!

I think I found my tattoo artist. Which is good. Sadly, she's in Chicago, which means LOTS of travel. But she's REALLY good. Likely REALLY expensive, but I need someone good for what I want.

Check out this portfolio:

http://www.hannahaitchison.com/gallery/

At 08:38 Blogger Cecily said...

I love Hannah's work! She was on the show LA Ink. Great artist. Her pin-up tattoos are FAB.

At 08:56 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Sadly? There is no sadly that I can see ;-) Please do let me know when you're here! Heck, you can even stay with me if you like. That would save a lot right there.

At 09:19 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Hmmm. Place to stay in Chicago would def up that idea. Been looking for the past few hours and she's still the front runner.

At 09:24 Blogger One Sock Short said...

I live about 3 miles from her studio, and you would be most welcome.

At 13:05 Blogger Na said...

which horse in Oz, Lorraine; the one that changes colours? :)

happy everything, all.

personally, i'm very, very glad for it to be Friday.

At 15:45 Blogger ariandalen said...

Na, that's the Horse of a Different Color. That's the one that I'd want to ride.

Beats riding a flying monkey. ;)

At 21:29 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I hate monkeys. Even flying ones.

Sleep now? That's all I got. Butt kicked but good at practice tonight.

At 21:34 Blogger Jess said...

How can you hate monkeys? Mai the one-armed gibbon loves you.

At 22:27 Blogger LihuaEmily said...

Lorraine, you hate MONKEYS? ALL monkeys????

In other news, this play thing. The stage. It's starting to freak me out. But I am excited.

At 08:24 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Whoa! I need to do a new blog, don't I?

On what, one wonders...I feel kind of boring these days. Where is the excitement? Train, that's it.

Tho I do say, Friday will be fun! Oh my yes. Event. Big one. With surprise guests.

At 10:06 Blogger dabbler said...

Tiger and bears report maybe?

At 11:16 Blogger ariandalen said...

Getting back in the saddle after being off due to injury?

At 18:15 Blogger vampi said...

oh never thought about volunteering for roller derby. i might have to look into that. i'm so envious of the cool names the girls have, but i can't skate. well i can, in a straight line as long as i don't need to stop or lift my left foot off the rink.
(i'm special)

*twirls*

At 18:27 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Clearly Vampi, your name would be twirls, although we may need to toughen that up somehow.

Hello everybody!
I'm going with the Beloved to see the King Tut exhibition today. I may return and talk antiquities.

At 18:30 Blogger vampi said...

ha twirls is appropriate, but that is well beyond my skating capabilities.

Sally, check out the gift shope. when i saw them a few years ago, there was one item i found awesome and i regret not getting it.

At 20:21 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Riding went well, short, and gentle, but seemed to work. Hurt, but not as badly as I thought it would.

Volunteering at Derby Rocks, and as an event coordinator, let me tell you THEY NEED YOU! Oh, I did. In my blog. It's been so long.

Gods, I have no brain. Be in bed before 9, this girl will. Sport training has upped the anti, they were brutal.

We need Sally to come back and talk to us of King Tut the Beloved.

At 21:33 Blogger Dragonsally said...

King Tut has been put back to next week. Discovered we had storm damage in our back yard from high winds in Melbourne last night. A few big branches of a tree came down -luckily it fell away from the house or we'd be minus roof in one section. And our gazebo blew over bending one bar totally (its one of those ones you put up and take down). yesterday the fabric cover over our carport was torn in half. It was already rotting...but still. I am now going to rest for the remainder of the day because I've done the big clean up!

At 08:50 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

New post is UP!!!!

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