Turning 10

So, funnily enough, Missy has never celebrated a birthday. Being a stray with an approximate age of 11 months to a year when we got her, it just made more sense to celebrate her Adoptiversary. That said, this year marks Missy turning ten, so naturally she had to have a birthday party.

We started with a photo shoot. She was unimpressed at the hat, bandana and card, but did like the tin of treats. The bandana stayed on for the weekend, but the hat was strictly for photos. 

Wee Ben and his human siblings stayed with us for the weekend (I mean, yeah, their parents were celebrating thier 20 year wedding anniversary, but let's be honest, they really cane for the party). The plan was to meet up with Maisie at a freedom field. A secure field meant that Wee Ben would be allowed off leash which is a real treat for him, and Maisie could race about to her hearts content without my brother worrying about her jumping into a river or rolling in something awful. 

It was abject chaos. Missy would play on the obstacles with the right motivation, Wee Ben was eventually bribed into joining in and Maisie only partook if a ball happened to be passing over at the same time. 

All dogs got a good run about, as did the teenagers. Mission accomplished. 

Then back to ours for tea and cake. 

You didn't think we'd leave the dogs out, did you? 

And yes. The dogs are being very tightly held onto! Maisie was ready to run across the table and take off with the chicken! 

Certainly a day to remember! 

Although the birthday girl is absolutely wiped out. Not a bad way to spend the weekend! 

Until next time! 

The Suggestion of Spring

It's been a busy few weeks. We had the in-laws through again as they house sat (and Missy sat) whilst hubby and I went on a long overdue holiday to Disneyland Paris. I won't go into too much detail except to say that it's exactly what we've needed - a holiday away that felt "normal", a chance to throw the phones in a drawer and forget about them, and, most importantly, time for hubby and I together without work or chores or a million other things getting in the way.

It was cold, but dry which suits us perfectly. We had some lovely meals, met lots of characters and had some wonderful moments with them. My disney bounding was much complimented upon and we had a wonderful time.

Long overdue.

Of course I missed Missy terribly and, whilst I knew she was being well looked after, felt it was time to get home to her after the week. 

Missy was pleased to have us home, and to say farewell to Ruby! They get on great, but Missy has passed all notions of pandering to a young, naughty dog and is far more likely to ignore Ruby's antics than play with her. 

This last week has been getting back into the routine of things, although tomorrow marks the start of hubby's new job, so the routine is set to change again. He's rejoining the dark side and going back to retail. The cut in pay from the change and the reduction in hours is negated by the petrol costs, so we break even financially, and he'll have more time to help about the house.

And that's us. It's a true Scottish spring. The snowdrops are up, the daffodils are peaking thier heads through the soil and we have snow forecast for next week. On top of the torrential rains and winds (thank you Storm Otto, for the bath neither Missy nor I wanted!) 

Plans are afoot for a wee surprise next weekend for Missy, so until then, keep safe!

Another Year Goes By

It's been 9 years since Missy chose us and, apart from a wee grey chin, she hasn't changed a bit! Still biscuit mad, squirrel daft and as accident prone as ever.

I've told the story before of how we came to be a family, and it still feels like yesterday we found her sad and morose in a shelter. Yet at the same time, she's always been here.

We celebrated yesterday with a nice walk about Newhailes. So this picture, in addition to the 9 above, marks every Adoptiversary, including the day we got her. 

Newhailes have a wee art exhibition on, featuring local artists and thier interpretation of Newhailes and what it means to them. It was nice that we could take Missy into the gazebo to admire the work. Despite the hard frost today, Spring is definitely trying to come along, there were snow drops aplenty, and something very floral, that was so strongly scented it gave me a nosebleed (I'm thinking hyacinths, although I couldn't see any) 

A good excuse for a hot chocolate in the cafe though. Missy got lots of attention in her little coat. The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed the many hearts stitched along the back. Yep. Barely a week after she got it, she tore the whole back open going under a barbed wire fence - I'd much rather the coat get cut up than her, so just mended it up as best I could.

What did I say about some things never changing? 

We went into Jollyes on the way home and let her pick a treat. After failing to explain to her that there was no way she could have the knuckle bone the size of her head, she chose a chicken doughnut thing and then watched hubby very, very carefully as he filled a pick and mix bag with biscuits for her. 

And that was that. We are having a quiet day today with some nice local walks planned in, and much cuddling on the sofa. 

The flowers might be trying to tell us otherwise, but its definitely not spring yet, so we'll take advantage and have a well eared duvet day! 

Until next time