Life is a lemon...

Well a lemon curd at least, or orange or strawberry.... Despite the hot and clammy weather, the kitchen has been a veritable fruit shop these past few days. The lady of the house will not have any free time again till Saturday though I think she's scheming to bake fancy breads on Sunday morning. All this productivity is to stock her stall at the CURLY KALE & CREAM CAKES afternoon at the Village Hall.Recognise the strawberry thief? We have our very own. A young blackbird who WILL NOT stay out of the polytunnel where the strawberries are ripening. There are wire mesh doors to block his way but he perseveres, battles his way in and proceeds to take chunks out of every juicy berry he can fund. Her Ladyship is NOT AMUSED and has threatened retribution. Still, Midge and I score for some half eaten berries so all is not lost.

Blissssss

The weather has been pretty fine here lately. Much attention has been lavished on the garden - though it's mainly been in the line of destruction - grass cutting and strimming, weeding and other endless tasks. In my role as chief sniffer-out of moles and other unwanted critters, I have been busy, but the warm days and nights have made up for all that work.

And then, if we are inside and if the bedroom door has been left open, Midge and I are more than happy to slip quietly in to the empty room and take full advantage of the sun pouring through.

Her ladyship spent yesterday painting outside walls and finding bits of the garden to photograph, mainly to prove to herself that stuff really is growing.

His Nibs was painting a large masterpiece, to the accompaniment of old rocker type music - well, it keep him happy.

We've been for a dip in the river this morning so you'll excuse me if I return to steaming myself dry in yet another day of sunshine - such a life.....

Did you miss me?

I'm back, at long last.
It's been a busy old time, with lots of this

and this
a little bit of this
and even this...
A little explanation required? Well, the garden has been flooded and boggy the last couple of summers and really meant that the all-important vegetables were suffering - underwater strawberries are no fun. So Hugh decided to take matters into his own hands, borrow Brian's state-of-the-art (in the 1960s) tractor with diggery attachment and construct some drains and a 'pond'. It took a long time. It is mostly done now and some of it is working very well, and some of it stubbornly is not. He is not completely happy....

And then there's George - he is our Land Rover with special Ash-sized seat in the middle for viewing of wildlife in comfort. But George's chassis was not in good order, not at all, and the time had come for it to be replaced. This pic shows George's body returning to sit on its wheels complete with gleaming new galvanised chassis yesterday afternoon. However, the work continues and Hugh is still at the garage helping with the re-building process. One day soon they may return to the bosom of the family and we can all go for a drive together. (sigh)

The cottage is finished, and ready and waiting for lots of lovely visitors. You can read all about it here and here. Midge and I posed in the cottage garden so that we can appear online, thus demonstrating what a dog-friendly place it is. (If you read far enough through the text on the Cottage blog you'll find that children may be considered but dogs accepted if you just ask nicely - and quite right too, in my view.)

And the last pic? Well Brian and Linda had a fine birthday party and the theme was animated characters - though Dennis the Menace is a cartoon character he is a fairly animated one and Hugh entered into the spirit of the party with accessories - the catapult (which garden tree did he massacre to make it?), a bag of sweeties (Midget Gems and Smarties for the connoisseurs) and, best of all, a giant toy spider in a matchbox. You DO know who Dennis is, don't you? If not, check him out here. Although she could have gone as Minnie the Minx or Beryl the Peril, the other lady of the house failed to get her act together in time and has not been allowed to forget it.

Remember Me?

I am still here
I have not fallen off the edge of the world
I cannot get near the computer these days for PEOPLE
They're either ordering bits of house stuff or using forums to ask complicated vehicle maintenence questions, or designing things or just, well, getting IN THE WAY

Normal service will be resumed at some point, maybe before I turn grey with frustration.

Delicate Disposition? ...Look Away Now

At last sense prevailed, the temperature dropped further and the STOVE WAS LIT.

Midge and I enjoyed a blissful evening in front of it... and another....

all was going well...

until the day I was whisked to the vets,

suffered the ingnominy of a SHAVE,

drugged and sliced open,

vital bits removed,

stitched up again and left to come round from the anaesthetic in a CAGE.

What NEXT, for dog's sake?

I am now doomed to celibacy, no he-dog will ever show interest again, my looks will fade and I will become an embittered old hound, out on the lonesome prairie, shunned by all...

Yeah, well, it might happen like that. Meanwhile, I was given scrambled eggs for tea, lots of pampering, and the stove was on ALL DAY to keep me warm, so in truth I have made a speedy recovery and am back to giving Midge a run for her money when she starts winding me up.

Anyway, folks, Christmas is upon us and I should wish you all a very fine holiday, with lots of bones and snacks, milk and dog chocolates and anything else you can con out of them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ASH

Painting by Anne Mandeville 'The Marvellous Eve'

Winter Drawers On

Brrrr, the wind is howling, the rain is disguised as hail and I WANT THE STOVE ON.
Still no central heating in this house, still no new stove that will run it and the hot water - only been on order since July, for goodness' sake. So we make do with a measly electric radiator and then, eventually, the high and mighty ones get round to putting the stove on in the living room in the late afternoon. It only heats the room, no back boiler or radiators off it, you see, and it's at the far end of the house. They are 'doing things' during the day, or hovering over the radiator scoffing food, and have little thought to the comfort of us shivering hounds.
So I am curled up as tight as I can in my bed, with Midge sprawled on top of me, for half the day, waiting, waiting, waiting for the great moment when the stove is lit , knowing I can bake my bones for the next few hours. Ho hum, such is my lot....
He has just finished a commissioned painting and is off to install new kitchen units in the village hall, she is painting walls and doors and the like in the cottage, and pulling out wiring (eek) and in between time loading stuff onto her new online SHOP (aye, she's changed it again and is now with Folksy - for those of you who have no idea what I am on about click HERE).
She is also preparing for the Southdean Christmas Fayre - a feast for all the senses, with lots of crafty goodness as well as soup and bacon rolls, mulled wine and mince pies!

SATURDAY November 22nd

12 noon till 4pm

Southdean Village Hall

Autumn

Lindsay stripped the tomato plants, found a few sad leftover spring onions and rescued the last of the courgettes. The carrots got nobbled this year by carrot fly despite her defences (which meant you had to mountaineer over fleece 'fences' to get anywhere near them - not much chance of a sly theft by yours truly then...) Most of this lot went into chutney, I think, though an escapee rolled onto the ground. I didn't want it much but I wasn't going to let Midge know that.

She was too busy posing in her new collar. She outgrew her baby collar and then managed to break my 'spare' one - so whaddyaknow, she only got bought a purple one with white paw prints on it. Favouritism, methinks. L's been swanning about on committees and painting bits of the cottage but Hugh has been looking after us - particulary good walks in the mornings lately when we can really appreciate autumn sniffs and smells. Oh, and hen house cleaning and that sort of thing - mmmm, such rich sniffs....

We did have a mini nighttime safari too, when ALL of us piled in the front of the Land Rover. To be honest, it's time they realised it's pointless letting Midge use up valuable space there as all she does is curl up and go to sleep. That was fine when she was a titch and fitted on L's knee but she's leggy now and spreads herself onto the centre seat which is strictly MY territory. Anyway, as a result of her somnulent habits she missed two separate sightings of badgers, a barn owl and wee moosie that night and we were only out for twenty minutes.