...... as a friend has just lost a much-loved pet....
There is not enough darkness in the world to extinguish the light of one small candle
When sadness might make life seem very dark and empty, other people carry the flame and pass it around. It never goes out, it's just waiting for a new place to shine.
There's always light and hope, Hon. It just doesn't always seem that way.
Do you have cupboards like this?
Ones which you daren't open for the avalanche of things which throw themselves at you like a boobytrap?
I have two in particular... in fact, I need to empty out the whole lot and have a good cull.
I can feel a mammoth car boot sale coming on next summer... I shall see if I can persuade my good friend CP (who loves boot sales) to look out some of her stuff and join me :-)
I managed to get two such cupboards cleaned out this evening.... who on earth needs all those Tupperware containers? Why do I have THREE rolls of clingfilm?
Crouching down on the kitchen floor isn't much fun - it's too hard and cold to sit on; the dog keeps trying to help - snorting through and licking everything that I take out, so it all has to be washed again. She found the warm bit of skin at the bottom of my back as I was leaning forward into a cupboard, I jumped at her cold nose and thwacked my head on the top of the cupboard *Grrrrr*
Theer is very little room in my kitchen; it's long and narrow. Not quite a galley kitchen, but not far off. I am sat here at the PC, looking through into the kitchen and wondering how I can remodel it and make more storage space without spending too much. I could do it with wall cupboards, but they'd make the room look even narrower, but perhaps if they were half-depth it might work. *Hmmm*, I will have to sketch it out and see what I think....
Well, after the farmers' market in Stratford today, we went with Sarah and John out to a field on the outskirts of town. Lots of fields in fact and plenty of boggy water too *roll*
The lurchers raced around like loons, Ruby and Jenson in the lead with their long legs, and Willow bringing up the rear, in and out of the tall grass, round and round in the mud(!) and in and out of the water...
Here's Jenson, S&J's first rescue lurcher, he's Ruby's boyfriend... when she's finished beating him up that is!
Here's Ruby, all knackered....
... things always seem worse at night?
Is it because most other background sounds have shut down, and our senses are heightened?
I was woken up last night by a gale raging outisde and my bedroom window (which I usually have open a tad) banging on its hinges. I couldn't get back to sleep then (most unlike me) and stuff was circling around my mind until Fat Boy jumped on me, all wet from the rain and wanted a cuddle.
...............you always lose weight from the wrong places?
When you gain weight, it goes on round your waist and hips, but when you lose it... it goes straight from your face and breasts! Sooo unfair :(
I had an email today from an old friend (we go back about 25 years and used to work together in London); she lives in Cheshunt, Herts now and commutes into London for work. 'S' regularly sees the same few people on the train and got to talking with them. It turns out that one of the women - 'L' - used to live in Boreham Wood, now S knows that's where I come from, so asked if she knew me (used my maiden name) as she seemed roughly the same age. Turns out that L is one of the 5 children who lived next door to us when we were growing up, we were forever in and out of each others houses.
How odd is that?!
This picture made me smile.... of Lemmy (the dog of an acquaintance) drinking while on one of their walks.
Am looking forward to this weekend though - got it to myself; Phil isn't coming to stay as he's gone to Newcastle to see his friend, Rosie is with her dad. Got loads to do too.
This was one of those 'use what's in the freezer' projects at the weekend.
You will need:
Scraps of free range chicken (mine were left over from a roast and then frozen)
Some rashers of bacon, cut into small strips
2 small onions
Clove of Garlic
1 leek, cleaned and cut into 1cm rounds
Jar of M&S Chablis Sauce (great in emergencies)
Frozen puff pastry
1 egg for glazing
Fry up the onions and garlic, add in the bacon and fry until it's crispy. Add the leek and cook until that goes soft. Add the Chablis sauce and the chicken scraps and cook until it's all cooked through.
Pop it into a pie dish or similar, cover with the puff pastry, cut holes in the top and glaze with a whipped egg.
This is utterly delicious with garlic mashed potato :D Enjoy folks!
LittleMatt had me laughing with this definition of a lurcher:
The 'Idiothound'
Idiothounds have great sight but still crash into you when running at full pelt.
Idiothounds have great hearing until something else grabs their attention and they then go deaf.
Idiothounds get clobbered by the cat but insist on going back for more.
Idiothounds will 'mock squat' in the garden when its raining so they can get back in the house asap...........and then pee in the kitchen.
I could go on but I imagine many of you own Idiothounds and you never even knew it. 
Another definition was spot on though...
....I always thought the definition was runs, sleeps a lot, pinches stuff given half a chance, and just looks generally adorable
Probably both a bit right, although Ruby wouldn't be allowed to get away with weeing in the house!
Well, not strictly true, but we've had 5 days of really rough weather. Strong gales and lashing rain; the garden is mush! On Friday night I had to close the bedroom window as the wind kept banging it open, the rain lashing the window sounded like someone was firing rubber bullets at it!
Rosie and I drove out in the weather on Thursday evening to Eynsham, only about 45 minutes away, but the roads were so awash that it took nearly an hour to get there. Lovely meeting though, in a pub there to talk about setting up a lurcher lure coursing field. Met some great people and had a wondeful time.
On Saturday, we thought we'd take advantage of a lull in the rain to walk the dog, so we arranged to meet Rosie's dad with his dogs in Great Tew. Boy did the heavens open though - we got totally soaked and splattered with mud, dogs loved it though, except when Humphrey got zapped by an electric fence :-/ Rosie was starving.. having not had much breakfast despite my nagging.... so I went to see if there were any spaces in the Falkland Arms, but it was stacked to the gills with 'weekend hoorays' up visiting their weekend cottages, shame as the fires were lit and we could have dried off. That village never ceases to amaze me... if you go in there during the week, it's full of real locals - the sort of bloke who'd have a terrier or two at his feet and a pocket full of ferrets. At the weekend though, it fills up with weekend hoorays who come up to their weekend cottages, all driving their Aston Martins and braying like donkeys! LOL
We ended up in Bread & Milk in Bloxham, on the way home but not crowded and a delicious lunch. The dog was so filthy and plastered with mud that she had to be hosed down and bathed. All our sodden and muddy clothes went straight in the wash.
The weather was fine though on Subday for my course up at the yard - lovely and sunny, not a totally full course, but Jude's new website isn't up yet, so not a lot of advertising at the moment. Enough people to make it fun though and quite a few buying Omlet housing too. Rosie did well with helping out as usual, and when a child on the course got fidgety, she took her off to play in the dog agility field at the top of the farm.
I had my regular eye test yesterday - I get free yearly tests as my mother has Glaucoma, and her father had it too. My eyesight has hardly changed since last year, certainly not enough to change the lenses in my specs. Circuits was exhausting last night - far too hot in the studio, but they're not about to replace the knackered aircon as the new centre opens in December. Simon, my training partner and good friend, did well though - he finds it hard. Being an ex-rugby player, he's no small chap - about 6 foot tall and probably around 17 stone, so solidly built and not built for running. He took less water breaks than usual and his bad ankle held up well. Boy were we hot though.
Well, not strictly true, but we've had 5 days of really rough weather. Strong gales and lashing rain; the garden is mush! On Friday night I had to close the bedroom window as the wind kept banging it open, the rain lashing the window sounded like someone was firing rubber bullets at it!
Rosie and I drove out in the weather on Thursday evening to Eynsham, only about 45 minutes away, but the roads were so awash that it took nearly an hour to get there. Lovely meeting though, in a pub there to talk about setting up a lurcher lure coursing field. Met some great people and had a wondeful time.
On Saturday, we thought we'd take advantage of a lull in the rain to walk the dog, so we arranged to meet Rosie's dad with his dogs in Great Tew. Boy did the heavens open though - we got totally soaked and splattered with mud, dogs loved it though, except when Humphrey got zapped by an electric fence :-/ Rosie was starving.. having not had much breakfast despite my nagging.... so I went to see if there were any spaces in the Falkland Arms, but it was stacked to the gills with 'weekend hoorays' up visiting their weekend cottages, shame as the fires were lit and we could have dried off. That village never ceases to amaze me... if you go in there during the week, it's full of real locals - the sort of bloke who'd have a terrier or two at his feet and a pocket full of ferrets. At the weekend though, it fills up with weekend hoorays who come up to their weekend cottages, all driving their Aston Martins and braying like donkeys! LOL
We ended up in Bread & Milk in Bloxham, on the way home but not crowded and a delicious lunch. The dog was so filthy and plastered with mud that she had to be hosed down and bathed. All our sodden and muddy clothes went straight in the wash.
The weather was fine though on Subday for my course up at the yard - lovely and sunny, not a totally full course, but Jude's new website isn't up yet, so not a lot of advertising at the moment. Enough people to make it fun though and quite a few buying Omlet housing too. Rosie did well with helping out as usual, and when a child on the course got fidgety, she took her off to play in the dog agility field at the top of the farm.
I had my regular eye test yesterday - I get free yearly tests as my mother has Glaucoma, and her father had it too. My eyesight has hardly changed since last year, certainly not enough to change the lenses in my specs. Circuits was exhausting last night - far too hot in the studio, but they're not about to replace the knackered aircon as the new centre opens in December. Simon, my training partner and good friend, did well though - he finds it hard. Being an ex-rugby player, he's no small chap - about 6 foot tall and probably around 17 stone, so solidly built and not built for running. He took less water breaks than usual and his bad ankle held up well. Boy were we hot though.
