"Furriners"

The title is the colloquial pronunciation of the word "foreigners."  With that out of the way ...

Ikea is running an ad for a new store location in Spanish.  Tell me you don't immediately understand what it's saying -  

El Nuevo Ikea Burbank.  1-5 en Olive Avenue/Verdugo. Obten detalles. 

If we can easily read this and translate it to English, why can't Spanish-speakers as easily read the message in English?  Ikea comes to us from Sweden.  Maybe they know meatballs better than Spanish ... incidentally, their Swedish Meatballs are said to be excellent. 


A Four-legged Fur-riner.  That would be a German Shepherd dog who took Best in Show last night at the Westminster Kennel Club's 141st contest.  Rumor, a female dog, is owned by four women and a man - Americans all, as is the dog. 

German Shepherds appeared back in 1892 in guess where?  Such was the enthusiasm for a dog that looked like a wolf, that a fan club sprang up.  And shut down a mere two years later over disagreements over what the dogs should look like.  More wolf-like or less? 

The Kennel Club lists them as "working dogs."  We've seen this live and in person at the K9 shows here in Redondo.  The thing about this breed that I really notice is the notably sloping hind quarters.  Even at rest, they look like they're sneaking around.  LouisDonald.com explains that over the years, the dog's have been bred for a curved lumbar and longer bones.  His Website (above) can tell you all you ever wanted to know about these dogs including what judges look for in teeth (diagramed for your viewing pleasure,) wet or dry mouth, a masculine or feminine face and a great deal more..

An Irish Setter won his class; his name made me sit up straight - GrC, Ch Vermilion (one l) Sea Breeze; routinely called "Adrian."  Vermillion (two ls) was my maiden name.