Where's Brinkley?

If I'm at home, both dogs are never very far from me. Even if Neil is at home, the dogs are generally in which ever room I'm in. This morning I was doing some work on the computer in the study as I needed use of the printer, while Neil was catching up on the golf on tv in the lounge. Within 10 minutes of me going through to the study both dogs were laid quietly on the floor behind me.

Both dogs sleep in the bedroom at night. If I get up in the night and come downstairs Brinkley always comes down with me although Brandy normally doesn't distrub himself at night - he loves his bed far too much.

When we get up in the morning both dogs move to the top of the stairs. That way they can make sure neither Neil or I can sneak downstairs without them. 

So, this morning we were concerned when we couldn't find Brinkley. Neil had gone through for a shower and the bedroom door was open. I was still in bed so Brandy hadn't moved but Brinkley was missing. He wasn't laid at the top of the stairs, he wasn't in the bedroom and he hadn't followed Neil into his bathroom, (yes, we are lucky enough to have one each).

A check downstairs failed to find him and calling him with the promise of a biscuit wasn't even making him appear. Mild panic started to set in regardless of the knowledge that we knew he had to be in the house somewhere. Despite most of the doors to various rooms being closed, we started to look everywhere for him, even places we knew he couldn't possibly be.

And finally we found him. Sitting happily on the mat in my bathroom. It would seem I didn't close the door fully when I was last in there and he had managed to push himself through the door. Only, the door has a habit of swinging closed on it's own so when Brinkley had tried to get out he couldn't and pawing at the door had only resulted in the door closing fully.

Rather then letting us know he was stuck in there, he simply sat on the mat and waited to be rescued.

He is such a cutie!

3 Day Weekends AREN'T long enough!

When I worked 5 days a week and had a normal 2 day weekend, I did what needed to be done and Monday's arrived at their appointed time.

Now I work 4 days a week and have Friday's off the weekends just don't seem long enough. I think it's because I now feel as if I have loads of time so I plan things ahead whereas I am normally a 'I'll see what I feel like doing and then do nothing' type of person.

Take this last weekend as an example.

Friday was not a brilliant day, weather wise, but it was dry so a friend and I took the dogs to Rufford Abbey for the day. Rufford has great walks, a large lake with lots of ducks and swans to feed left over toast from breakfast to. It has good woods for the dogs to enjoy and a great visitor centre and cafe.

My friend has been in hospital since Christmas, and although she is much better, she is still being cared for in hospital but she is able to have days out. We had a wonderful walk and even managed a Q&A session with a group of children who had so many questions about Brandy & Brinkley.

Finally, Brinkley decided he had been detained long enough by all these half- sized people and we made our escape. On arrival at the cafe/restaurant we met a couple with a ruby cavalier, a very sweet little dog - it's odd how nearly every cavalier we meet is so much smaller then our 2, we must have fed them too well when they were puppies.

I left our 2 outside with my friend and went in to get some lunch for us. When I got back there was some hillarity from the table behind her. Apparently she had wanted to impress me by having both the dogs sitting sweetly by her side when I got back. Now, this may not seem such a difficult task but you have to know B&B don't really do sit. She had even been tempting them with left-over duck-feeding-left-over toast but, although they had been eating the toast, they had not been doing the sitting bit. However, the couple at the table behind her also had a dog who, apparently, had been sitting perfectly every time she issued the command - ah bless!

I enjoyed a Saturday catching up with shopping, laundry and all those little jobs that need to be done because we had more plans on Sunday.

Sunday we finally got over to Holmfirth to meet up with friends we hadn't seen since we lived in Spain. They moved back a couple of months after us and it was brilliant to finally spend some time with them. The dogs came with us and they got to meet Rusty again, who was, it has to be said, our Brandy's first love - although feelings seemed to have mellowed, if Sunday is anything to judge things by.

We had a great day, a great meal and a great walk through the woods and it hopefully won't be as long before we see them again.

But then, suddenly, Monday was here again.

It seems the more I plan and the more I do - the quicker the weekend flies by.

So, roll on this weekend - lunch with a friend Friday, a few hours catching up with another friend Saturday and......oh, I don't have anything planned for Sunday yet......better go and see what I can arrange.

I just hope I have a few more weeks before they ask me to start working 5 days a week - I'm really enjoying my long weekends.

Doggy Stress!

We let Brandy and Brinkley's fur grow longer than usual when they were going into kennels, to make sure they were warm enough, even though the kennels are heated. I normally clip them myself but I knew it would be hard work now that the fur was so thick so I decided I would splash out and get them trimmed at the local Dog Parlour. £20 a dog, £36 for 2.

As I was working, it was down to Neil to take them so I knew of there was any sulking to be done by the pups for what was about to be done to them, they would take it out on Neil.

Over breakfast I sat and wrote a full set of instructions on how they needed to be clipped, short clipped all over, no back leg feathers, an inch of feathers on front legs and tummy. Their ears to be left feathered and the tail feathers half the length they were. I left nothing to be guessed at.

And, they've come back exactly as I wanted. And yes, they are sulking with Neil, but I got a gorgeous welcome home from work.

Does this dog look Happy?

An early Valentine's celebration

We've just returned from a fabulous meal at our favourite Italian restaurant, where we have been going for special occassions for over 10 years. We've never had a bad meal there and tonight was no different.

This was a meal for Valentine's day but I had to book it a day early because I left it too late to be able to get a table at a sensible time on the 14th. My options for tomorrow were either 5.30pm, which was no good as I don't finish work until 5.30pm or 9.30pm, which is no good as I have to be up for work at 6.15am.

So, to all of you that didn't leave it too late and will be enjoying your Valentine's celebrations on the actual day - Happy Valentine's Day!

A Sign of Spring

We always know that Spring is almost here when the crocus and snowdrops start to appear.




At the moment I don't work Fridays, I will in a few weeks but for now I have a 3-day weekend, which I really enjoy, especially as Neil plays golf on Fridays so I get a few hours to do anything I want.

This morning I took the dogs for a lovely walk along the canal banks and the fishermen are back. The canal is flowing once more and the fish can get up to the surface. The little water birds are out looking for nesting sites and everything feels as if it's waking up after a very cold, snowy winter.

Unfortunately, the downside to this is the colour the dogs come back from their walks along the canal! But they have fun.

The rest of my day off is going to be spent on me. A spot of lunch in a local coffee shop and then a trip to the hairdressers.

Now, Fridays don't come much better. I hope you enjoy your.

Kennels - Good experience or not?

We landed at Manchester ahead of time and were soon on the road home. We decided that we would call and pick the pups up on the way, even though the boot of the car was full of suitcase and the back seat was full of golf clubs. We were desperate to see if the pups had been ok.

There were a few people in the reception area when we got to the kennels along with the 4 dogs that live there, including the smallest, cutest lady Cavalier Spaniel - a regal little lady of 9 years old, but so cute.

When they brought B&B through they saw Neil first and went crazy, they certainly hadn't forgotten us. After several minutes making a fuss of Neil, they started to check out the other dogs - they still hadn't realised I was there.

Eventually, they made there way through the crowds and saw me. It was one of those freeze-frame moments, both dogs were rooted to the spot for a moment, even their tails stopped wagging and then, like synchronised swimmers, their bodies kicked into action at the same time. Their tails were wagging so fast, their whole bodies were moving from side to side and they could hardly walk forward to get to me. I was suddenly covered by a co-ordinated mass of 2 dogs who wanted to say 'Hello'. I think they had missed me just a little bit. That was nice to know.

We collected their bedding, all nicely washed and dried, and their toys and headed out to the cars. They looked as if they had been fine while we'd been away, but there was no hiding the fact they were happy to be back with us. Once in the car, they curled up by my feet and never moved the whole drive home. There's not actually a lot of room in the footwell of a car for a pair of feet and 2 dogs - but we managed it.

Once home they had a good look around the house to make sure it was all as it should be and then we all went for a walk along the canal. They haven't shown any effects of being in kennels, other than they needed a good brush and extra cuddles for a couple of days.

Overall it seems to have been a good experience for them.

A bit more about Spain

Thursday saw Susan feeling a little better and the boys ready for their 3rd game of golf in 3 days. We were up fairly early as the plan was to get to Villaricos for Menu del Dia at El Mar La Mar, after they had finished their round of golf. As there was a Society booked in from 10am, they needed to get out onto the course before then or they would be in for a 5 hour game which would mean we would be too late to eat. El Mar La Mar is, without doubt, a place worth visiting to have lunch. www.elmarlamar.com

Breakfast over the guys got their golf stuff together and opened the door - which is when we all realised, it was actually raining - quite heavily. It stopped us all in our tracks, we needed a conference about what would now happen with our day.

Ever hopeful, the guys decided they wanted to go upto the course and have a coffee and see how they felt about playing in the rain.

As we drank our coffee, we discovered that the Society had cancelled due to the weather and it now looked as if Alex & Neil would be the only people playing that morning. Neil had already got a great deal on the cost of their golf but with the weather being so bad he managed to get a further reduction, so that it was just too cheap to say no to - whatever the weather, apparently.

With a hopeful glance to the south where the sky 'looked a bit brighter' the guys made the decision - they were on a golfing holiday, they would play golf. 

And off they went.

Susan and I decided we would stay dry and went into Aguilas to the shopping centre for a wander. Later, we decided we would spend a couple of hours with our books, or in my case, my kindle and I finally finished my John Grisham.

I was looking forward to lunch and had even foregone a bun with morning coffee to make sure I had a good appetite. However, lunch was not to be - on collecting the guys Alex told us he was not feeling too well and by the time we had returned to the apartment he was really not well enough to go anywhere. As we were due to fly home the following day we had to make sure he recovered enough to travel. So, he started on the same tablets that I got from the pharmacy, and which seemed to have worked so well for Susan and we left him to relax.

Neil & I decided we would have lunch up at Annie's Bistro, and catch up with a few more friends. We had a lovely afternoon visiting and I couldn't believe how quickly we ran out of time and there were still people we hadn't seen - sorry Steph, hopefully next time.

And all too soon, we were back at the apartment packing for the flight home the following morning.

Spain had been cold, very cold and wet but we had enjoyed our brief visit. All we needed to do now was see how the dogs had coped with their stay in kennels and if that had gone well, we could look to have longer holidays without worrying about them.

And so, there is no doubt, we will be back.

A Good Day at the Office

No-one has 2 heads.

I have a desk, a phone, a computer and people who make me coffee.

I have had my H&S and HR 'chat' and been issued with my high-vis jacket, incase I fancy a walk.

My first journey there in commuter traffic was a nightmare so, theoretically, can only get better - I think it was cold, Monday morning syndrome. Ironic seeing as the tv had been saying yesterday was supposed to be 'Happy Monday!'

I'm going back for day 2!

Overall, a good day at the office.