Contact Information

Top photo - CH Foothills Laki and Colleen - Laki is now an AKC Champion. Congratulations especially to Colleen Schmidt and also to Candise & Scott Berard of Foothills Kennel, Auður Valsdóttir & Ralph Biggs who bred Audurs Týra, Laki's dam, and Robert Lowther owner of Laski, Laki's sire.

Totty meets Rosalind the Icelandic Sheep. Totty is visiting a handsome male Icelandic who lives near us in Michigan and we're keeping our fingers and dews crossed.

James L. Hansen
810 W. 13 Mile
Royal Oak, MI 48073 USA
248-288-0947
jaimehansen1@comcast.net
AKC Breeder of Merit
http://www.sportsmens.net/
http://www.giftoflifemichigan.org/
AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SDTC/
http://vinlandsicelandics.blogspot.com/
http://icelandicsheepdogsrescue.blogspot.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IcelandSheepdogs
http://www.icelandicsheepdoginternationalbreeders.com/
http://vinlandsicelandics.blogspot.com/2010/06/puppy-application.html

Korpur - Alaskastadirs Korpur - BFF, CGC, RN, RA, RE, CD
Huld - Kersins Huld - BFF, CGC, TDI, CD, RN, RA, RE
Kria - Thórdunu Kría - BFF, CGC, RN, RA, RE, CD
Kata - Kersins Kata - BFF, CGC, CD, TDI, RN, RA, RE, NA, NAJ, OA, OAJ
Pila - Vinlands Piaf - BFF, CGC, RN, RA, RE
Tati - Vinlands Totty - BFF, CGC, RN
Bear - Bersi av Isheim - BFF, CGC, RN
Tryggur - Vinlands Kani - BFF, CGC, RN

Laki, Mori-Bjorn, Tryggur

Laki, Mori, and Tryggur (top to bottom) met in Novi, Michigan this weekend where they had a marvelous time. They are all good "typey" Icelandics.


Unfortunately my camera had an "oops" kind of weekend so I have no photographic proof.


However, here are some recycled photos of the boys.

I wanted to meet and talk with everyone but we were so busy I didn't have time! It was a swell time. Everyone was so helpful and friendly - just like our dogs! I learned so much. Thank you all!!

Amaryllis

My reliable, faithful, thrives-on-neglect wild Amaryllis is flowering again - now, in the winter, is exactly when I need it the most. I'm one of those people who regularly get SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder. Sun, flowers, garden catalogs, green plants get me through the next few weeks coming up.

I never know when my plants will flower. They always surprise me. But they always do flower.

I also find the wild ones much easier to care for and to bring back into bloom each year. They multiply easily too, producing offshoot bulbs that can be re-potted. If only I could find new homes for those off-shoots.

This is a species Amaryllis, which simply means it is a kind of Amaryllis that is found growing in the wild as opposed to those Amaryllis that have been bred for the trade. I like the hybrids but there's something very nice about the kinds found in nature, don't you agree? The species flowers don't last as long but they are more exotic, in my opinion.

If you click on the photos, you'll get a better view. I love the red, white, green striped flowers, They resemble butterflies - which happens to be their species name, I believe - Amaryllis papilio.

Karl Pillmer

I was listening to the gerontologist Dr. Karl Pillmer, who is an expert on our aging population, with one ear while typing and answering emails. He was on the Nightly News on PBS and said that 75% of our older American will be gone in 10 years taking with them their expertise and knowledge.




With apologies to Dr. Pillmer - these are some summaries of what I think I heard. I may have missed stuff.

They ( read we each time I write that) are experts at living through hard times.

They say that we have to be responsible for our own happiness. Happiness is a choice, not a condition.

They believe youngsters are happy because of "things" they have, not because of choices made.

They are not worried about taking risks, contrary to popular thought.

Life is very short. It seems to pass in a nanosecond. Use your little time wisely.

The older we are, the less panicky we are about dying. They are concerned about planning for the end.

They are extraordinarily resilient.

They are happier than young people.

He just published another book entitled, I believe "30 Lessons for Living".

Shredding, p.s.

I ended up recycling 18 garbage bags of shredded paper and taking 9 garbage bags of clothing to the Salvation Army this week. There will always be some sorting to do but now it's manageable, hopefully.

Shredding

Our training building, Sportsmen's Dog Training Club, has been having a new roof put on. (Flat roofs are problematic in Michigan.)

As a result, we have not held classes and have not been able to practice for over two weeks so I have had time on my hands. It was a perfect opportunity to sort through mounds of paper and shred most of it. (Who said that computers would eliminate or greatly reduce the amount of paper we use? Silly. I've never used more.)

My brother promised he would help me. There were Mom and Dad's old papers to "recycle" and many sheets from the early days of our breed club. I still saved incriminating pages though! Ha ha. (just kidding?)

I'm also recycling clothes that have shrunk over the years and no longer fit! The Salvation Army is a God-send - double meaning implied.

Huld and Tracy

This photo was taken almost eleven years ago soon after Huld's arrival from Helga Gústavsdóttir of Kersins kennel in Iceland. Huld has changed a lot but Tracy still looks the same.