Week 31 - 34

07/10/11

Week 31

Thursday 17th December

I got a new lead this morning because I will keep chewing them. I had an afternoon with Helen as mum had to finish her Christmas shopping today, but she wasn’t long and then we had a cup of tea and walked home. I was left on my own this evening and I always bark and grizzle a bit when I realise that I am being left and then I take the opportunity to catch up on my sleep.

Friday 18th December

Today was very special, when the back door was opened this morning for my early morning wee, the whole world was white. Everything had disappeared under a thick blanket of snow. When we went out for our morning walk about an hour later it was just fabulous. I ran with my nose under the snow and got a pile of snow on top of my face. The snow stuck to my legs in balls, so I made my own snowballs without even trying. I met lots of my friends when we were out this morning and we played and played in the snow, it was great. I hope tomorrow is just the same.

Saturday 19th December

Another great day in the snow. Spent a lot of time in the garden in my new rug just messing around. Mum was supposed to be at Parmoor House today for the Albanian website launch, but it was cancelled because of the weather and I would have been with Helen and Ed, so I missed a day out and probably missed helping Ed eat the ginger biscuits.

Sunday 20th December

We have had more snow, yippee. If you put your nose in the paw prints you can follow the tracks and sometimes I know which of my friends are around. I went off this morning after my bassett friend, nose to the ground, and mum had another run to catch up with me, this time on icy ground which she was not too happy about.

Monday 21st December

Now I’m not allowed to leave home without my lead on having run off twice after picking up scents. Another new rule!

I had to entertain myself today as mum was busy filling in grant forms and making next year’s Tea Time Tales programmes. I helped her take the programmes out of the printer in the afternoon but then there was a bit of a row about it, so I gave up.  

Tuesday 22nd December

I was abandoned this morning with just a pig’s ear for company. Mum and Helen went to do the big food shop for Christmas. This afternoon we called round to Helen’s at the end of our walk to pick some things up. Mark was there helping with some jobs and we all had a cup of tea. I was very happy to be there so I barked, and Mark jumped and his tea went all down his trousers. We all laughed and so I did it again a bit later. He jumped again but not quite so much, but it was good fun.

Wednesday 23rd December

And still we have snow and I met Tess and Mandy today and we had a great romp around together. Then three others joined us and I was a bit afraid, but it was OK. I was happy to go a different way to all of them after a few minutes, and I was off the lead so mum said I was improving.

We had to go and drop off the grant application for the Town Guides this morning. So off we went in the car. It was a really pretty journey, and I cried a bit because I wanted to be out there in the snow, not stuck in a long line of traffic. It was a slow journey, foggy, and it took us all morning to get to Dunstable and then home.

We have cleaned all afternoon and a few of my toys have gone in the bin, especially the ones who look as if they have had chemotherapy. Father Christmas will apparently bring me new ones, but how can I be sure of that? Wouldn’t it have been better to get the new ones before we throw out the old ones?

Week 32

Thursday 24th December

More cleaning this morning after our walk and then Gill came with lots of luggage and parcels. There are some interesting parcels, one with legs sticking out of it, could that be mine? I helped her unpack in her bedroom but to no avail, I got nothing except a telling off for jumping on top of her a number of times.

This afternoon mum was cooking a gammon and making puddings. The smell in the kitchen was fantastic and I spent some time just wandering round with my nose in the air.

Christmas Day

Life seemed fairly normal this morning, the usual walk to the river and back and then I got to taste the gammon when it was prepared for roasting. Just the trimmings of course mixed with my wafer thin ham for breakfast, but it was just so good. Ed came and collected some food and then we walked round to the bungalow.

The day started really well with what Helen calls nibbles. Cocktail sausages appeared in my bowl and everyone was eating these very yummy nibbly bits of food. They were extremely scrummy and that was followed by everyone opening parcels including me.

I had loads of new soft toys, a new fleece coat, a T shirt and some chewy treats. Lunch followed shortly afterwards and this was beef and gammon with roast potatoes and lots of vegetables. I didn’t want to miss anything but after lunch when they all sat down I just had to have a sleep. Pork pie for tea and some games with Ed just made this a perfect day.

Boxing Day

Ed came round and collected more food this morning that mum had made. I was a bit concerned because I had been looking forward to tasting the chicken curry. It was definitely a nose in the air morning again in the kitchen.

Are we going to see Ed and Helen again I wonder. Yes, yes, yes we are! When we got there Jennie and Paul, Danielle and Scott were also there and we started with different but just as scrummy nibbles again. Then we did parcels again. I got some more toys and some chewy things.

Scott was very pleased with his parcel of designer clothes. I noticed that all my clothes have the labels on the outside too, so like Scott I must be at the front of fashion. My new fleece that I got yesterday has two front sleeves and it fits beautifully. It is very cosy and I love it. Gill says that I look as if I am off to the gym in it.

After tea we had a cracker each and played games. Inside the crackers were whistles and the idea was that you each blew your whistle when the conductor pointed at you and it made a tune. It was a disaster! A cacophony, an assault on the eardrums, I cannot describe how dreadful it was. First Helen conducted and then Scott. I think my barking is more tuneful. Whose idea was this?

Photos

Sunday 27th December

Today was quiet and restful and so I caught up on my sleep. I enjoyed my parcels and the food but I do need my naps. Then mum and Gill went off to help with a Ghost walk in Dunstable and I went to see Helen and Ed for a couple of hours.

Monday 28th  December

A fairly quiet day again so I made a nuisance of myself. Two of my Christmas soft toys had a bag of sand inside so we have a new beach effect on the new carpet. The snowman and the penguin have no scarves or hats and are missing the odd feet, and the floor is littered with stuffing and parts of toys. Gill complains loudly when I jump all over her and so I did it a lot.

Tuesday 29th December

I took Gill’s slippers off her feet so many times that she gave them to me today, but it is no longer a game and so I don’t want them. I have had her socks off in the past and then wiped soggy socks across her legs, but today I could not get them.

Wednesday 30th December

I was left on my own this morning and mum and Gill went to Ikea for a look round. Gill will be moving soon and she needs a lot of new things.

This evening Bryan and Steve came for dinner. It was fish pie. I was of course beautifully behaved and no one believed Gill when she said I was a nightmare.

Week 33

Thursday 31st December 2009

I had some time with Helen today while mum and Gill went out. They bought some things in the sales, then they met Bill for lunch and then they said Happy Birthday to Lou. I was just having a nice nap with Ed when they fetched me and then I had to go out for a walk in the cold.

We stayed up late tonight and there were lots of fireworks all around us.

Friday 1st January 2010

Today is the day when you make a New Year Resolution. If I have understood this correctly it means that you have to promise to do something that you don’t really want to do, like give up sausages.

Saturday 2nd January

Gill went home this morning and life returned to normal with washing and cleaning the order of the day.

Sunday 3rd January

I went to Helen and Ed’s this morning and this afternoon Carla came and I was attacked with a pair of nail clippers. I fought and squirmed and tried to bite everyone until after three claws they gave up. I played with Gucci the poodle and everything was alright until mum arrived and said that they would have another go. Mum tried to hold me but I won. I am to go to the poodle parlour to see if they can do it. If that fails the vets is the only other option for some calming down tablets.

When we got home I watched Countryfile with the sheepdogs herding Indian Runner ducks. Fascinating.

But what a traumatic day.

Monday 4th January

Very, very cold this morning for our walk so I had two layers on. After the usual clearing up, and I do have to say that most of the mess does usually seem to be mine, mum went off shopping. She returned with some bargains; cold meats that have to be eaten fairly quickly, great, that means loads of garlic sausage and ham for dinners. I had a pig’s ear for solace when she left me and the radio was on as I do like music, and because of that and the fact that I had chosen to have a short nap, I did not hear her return until she opened the kitchen door. This means that she is under the impression that I don’t mind her going out without me, but this is simply not true.

Tuesday 5th January

A normal kind of morning, met Bailey when we were out this morning, came home, had breakfast which was a short half a tin of Winalot with a little rice and some garlic sausage to jazz it up a bit. We cleared up another lot of toy stuffing and cleaned again and then Bryan from number 2 came round and I went off with him. We had a really good time and a nice long walk followed by a bit of a rest and then I went home. Helen and Gemma came round and so we had a few games and then it was dinner time. Then the day started to get interesting. I had been up the garden after dinner and all was normal, but by bedtime everything was white and deep. It was snowing like mad which was just wonderful. I ran round and round and then much to my amazement I found that I could walk on the pond. How cool is that!

Mum kept calling me in, but I wanted to stay outside and play so I ignored her. After half an hour I decided that it was bedtime so I went in to the kitchen. I was absolutely covered in snow. Mum had put my big rug on over the top of my pyjamas before I went out and now she stripped it off and dried my legs. They had little snowballs stuck to them up all the way round and right up to my knees.

Wednesday 6th January

What a great day. I just love the snow, but it does stick to my curls in small balls, but it’s OK, it just means that I dry off with the hairdryer when I come in.  Mum made snowballs this morning and threw them at me and I couldn’t find them. They kind of disappeared when I went to grab them. I have been out to play lots of times today.

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