Monday, April 20, 2009

the season is winding down.

What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, I was hoping that I would finish in the top 5 in the region. Now......here we are. Polar currently is #2 in the Region and 16th International in the Alter class. He should be sitting in the number one spot in the Region but apparently the owners of the Siamese alter in the region only think that they can beat Polar by agenting someone else's American Bobtail alter the last few shows of the season.

That's right sports fans......they brought the cat to the Phoenix show. Polar and the cat split their rings and Polar lost out on 3 finals he usually gets. Now the owner of the cat has been encouraged to let the owners of the Siamese alter bring it to Tucson. Nice.....the cat has nothing to gain by going. He won't make a regional win, he can't get best of breed either in region or international. But the agents have everything to gain by bringing the cat along. Hmmmm.........just being nice and helping out or being ultra competitive and backstabbing. You be the judge.

All I want in Tucson is a level playing field. I would be more than happy to go head to head with the Siamese and see who is sitting in number one after the dust settles after the last final. But now they've decided to win by backstabbing and being under handed. All we can hope is that Karma will be keeping an eye out for them and that eventually they will get what's coming to them.

So off to Tucson I will go, head held high, and hopeful that little Polar can take back his lead and beat the pants off of them and be the number one Alter in the SW Region as it should have been. We will see what happens in 7 more days......stay tuned.

There was much to talk about after the Easter Arcadia show. Frosty turned in another stellar performance bringing home a bunch of Best Cats and taking Best in Show again. The bright star in the weekend came from the one Best Frosty didn't get. PJ got the Best Cat in Alex Chisholm's ring. That Best Cat made PJ a Supreme Grand Champion. You know what this means.....yet another reason for a party!!! Woohoo........

That Best also moved PJ into the Best American Bobtail slot internationally. Which means.......we could sweep the breed category internationally. Best Kitten, Cat and Alter. Little Nicky is still holding on to an International Kitten spot. He's at #23. Frosty is currently 15th International and #1 Cat in the Region.

It's been a whirlwind of a season. We never in a million years thought we would have a season like this. It's been truly unbelievable. We are truly thankful that we have so many good friends to share all the joy with.

When the backstabbing occured over the Best Alter position in the region, many people came forward with words of encouragement and support. All those words have been taken to heart and are truly appreciated. What goes around comes around.........unfortunately, those who did the deceiving were considered to be friends. That makes it all the more heartbreaking to me. I supported their cat and cheered for it for three seasons. I thought they were doing the same for me. Unfortunately I was wrong in thinking that they were our friends. Kind of makes me wonder sometimes if people can be trusted. Is Jon the only person in the show hall that I can trust?

I have to admit, this whole thing really wanted to make me re-think the whole showing thing. If I consider someone a friend, then they're my friend. No strings attached. I get very hurt when someone who is considered a friend does something deceitful towards me. Probably because I would never dream of doing something like this. I did consider borrowing a Siamese alter and entering it. I had many offers from people. I chose to take the high road and to not bring a Siamese with to Tucson. I had several people contact me and say that they could get me a Siamese alter to show. I turned everyone down. This way I can walk into the show hall with my head held high and know that however it turns out, I did my absolute best and I did it with honesty and integrity. I can live with my self and sleep well at night. They on the other hand.......that's their problem.

Anyhow.......on to bigger and better things. Tucson this coming weekend and then time to plan the festivities for the Regional and the Annual. I can't wait. It will be a great time for sure.

More on Frosty at the PACE show and PJ and Polar at the Orange County Pet Expo in another post.

meow for now...
melissa

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Good news and Frosty's world tour continues

So....this season has been so busy it's been terribly difficult to keep up and post as much as I would like. I am also, hopelessly addicted to Facebook. I admit it. So....if any of you meowers out there are on Facebook, add me as a friend, Melissa Eichler, so long as you promise to sign up for Mob Wars, Mafia Wars, Dragon Wars and Pirates so I can get more crew members. :-)

Anyhow....on to the exciting cat news. First off, I'm a grandma. My beautiful Izzy, Cooncreole Iziza, had three beautiful kittens early this morning. I got the call this morning. When I answered the phone I heard, "Good morning, Grandma". She had two browns and a lynx point. I don't want to gush too much and jinx anything. The first few days are critical, but so far so good. Jon said at first she didn't want to stay put with the babies. We were afraid of hypothermia. But he put Izzy and her babies in with Basha and her babies and all is right with the world now. Just what the world needs, three more Siberians. I'll keep you all posted.

And now for Frosty's world tour update. Frosty and Polar traveled to the beautiful, cloudy and rainy NW last weekend to Tukwila, WA. The boys did well. Frosty finaled in 14 out of 18 rings and Polar finaled in 9 out of 12. Polar only attended for two of the three days. Frosty continues his retirement world tour this weekend in beautiful Lewiston, ME, where he and Jon will dine on crab and lobster rolls while I keep you all updated on how the show is going. Does that seem fair? Frosty's world tour will continue for the whole month concluding at the Inn Suites in beautiful Tucson, AZ. We hope many of you will be able to join us for the conclusion of the tour. If the tour does well and ends successfully, we will be hosting a party in Orlando, FL, over Labor Day weekend. :-) Keep your fingers, toes and paws crossed.

Not to be out done, Polar has been doing his own mini tour. He is Frosty's opening act at the more local shows. If all goes well for Polar's mini tour, he too will be co-hosting the party in Orlando with Frosty. Time will tell........

I can't believe how lucky and blessed we have been this season. We could have 2, maybe 3 International winners. We could possibly sweep the American Bobtail category internationally. Frosty and Polar should both receive International wins, their Lifetime Achievement awards and possibly Best Cat in the SW Region for Frosty and Best Alter for Polar. It's been an amazing season with only 29 more days to go.

Stay tuned......
meow for now,
melissa