Thistle do Nicely

A backwards post today. My aunts dress, which I've been stringing this out since February. So at long last, the full story. My aunt has not had much luck with her health. My mother says her sister was a sickly child and, certainly, my experience growing up was that she was always down with something when we visited. So, several years ago now, whilst it came as no surprise to be told she had cancer, we were shocked to discover she had three individual cancers. The doctors said she was lucky, but as you can imagine, my aunt never felt that was the case. 

So there's been multiple surgeries to remove it. Reconstruction surgery which then failed and had to be removed again. The chemo. The steroids. Everything in between. 

So despite the joyous news that her son was going to get married, she was absolutely distraught, saying that she was going to look like "a sausage in a bin bag" on the day. 

I went through this with my mother when I was married (hell, even my MIL who doesn't give two figs what people think about what she wears had it). They want to put on a show for what is thier child's happiest day. My mother tried on more dresses for my wedding than I did! So when I got a mercy call from my mother asking if I would be willing to do a commission, of course I said yes. My poor aunt really does deserve to feel nice for a special day. 

So I agreed. I got some suggestions, gave a few of my own and saw my aunt once for the initial measure up. I had my sewing books, pins and measuring tape and (with the help of hubby who knows how to flatter someone into agreeing with him) came up with a battle plan. A smock, using a belt as a waistband (she can change size overnight) and a couple of thistles. Some thistles. Oh, they're your special symbolic flower from your late husband? Lots of thistles. 

And that was it. Fabric was ordered, the dress was made and... She was too poorly to make it for a fitting. Well, having to guess the length of a dress which I would be unable to alter again, was a bit nerve wracking to say the least. And then there was the thistles. So many thistles. 

After much anxiety, this weekend was the moment. I kicked mum into the other room, gave my best and most flattering pep talk (always use compassionate language) as I helped adjust the "waistband" into an empire line and fluffed the petticoats and....

She was absolutely delighted. Its the right side of dark for her comfort zone. Brings the eye away from the features she's worried about and matches with the coat she had picked out. So she was a happy bunny. She did try to pay me, but I insisted it was a wedding gift for her son - that his mother is happy. 

After that, I caught up with my oldest nephew to check out the pokemon event in town. It was a community day and, to be honest, was expecting more than a marquee that was handing out stickers. Thankfully my nephew is easily pleased, I showed him the best baked potato shop in Edinburgh and then we chilled out in the Gardens taking turns to catch stuffuls. 

There was ice creams too to enjoy in the spring sunshine and it was a pretty good way to end the end the day. My neice caught up with us and I saw them off on the train before heading to a friends for dinner. Poor Missy was absolutely beat from the day, so a quiet Sunday was definitely in order. 

Well. Quiet in a get on with the garden and get engrossed in a new sewing project kind of way! 

A Very Quick Easter

Following on from the weekend adventures at Seaton Sands, hubby and I decided to take the rest of the week off and have a quiet week in the house. 

You all knew that was never going to happen! 

Tuesday we went to visit big Sis to help kick start her vegetable garden endeavours. To be honest, I mostly played the Pokemon trading card game with the nephew. We were given a lovely lunch and then it was off to get the house in order from the holiday. 

Wednesday was nice dog walks before going to see Bowling for Soup in Glasgow. April the 13th marked 15 years since we officially started dating, so it was a lovely way to celebrate the moment. We're getting old though - sporting our inner-ear defenders, we lightly bounced at the back and just enjoyed the ambience. 

Then Thursday was a Missy day. It was the members only pre-easter soft reopening at Jupiter Artland, and we had great fun. Its been a while since we mooched about the art exhibits, so it was good to refresh our memories and enjoy the Easter atmosphere. With bonnet making and egg decorating, there was loads for the kids. Missy even got her photo with the Easter bunny - I can't tell if her expression is because this rabbit was bigger than her, or if because she was told not to chase said bunny! 

Friday the in laws arrived and it was a whirlwind trip. Fantastic Beasts at the cinema Friday (meh, better than the last one, but not as good as the first) and the Five Sisters Zoo on Saturday to see the newest arrivals: cheetahs. 

Cheetahs are my all time favourite animal. There's just something about thier athletic stride and quirky face stripes that I absolutely adore. I was absolutely delighted to see them sunbathing in the sand and can't wait to see the final enclosure when it's done. 

The in-laws settled on the quirky fossa for their favourite. I wasn't surprised that was the case, as he's such an odd and unknown animal that everyone is quickly enamoured by him. 

Of course we fitted in lots of dog walks, enough to deserve our Sunday lunch out where we were joined by the BIL and his partner. 

A very busy week! Now to go back to work to get some rest! 

A Little Sand Between the Toes

From one holiday almost straight to another. This was a very different holiday for us as we visited Seaton Sands with our good friends and thier 7 year old twins. Whilst holidays with small children are common enough for us (having done the lakes with an 11 week old once upon a time, and more recently Wales), this was the first time we never actually left the site. This was always the intention as this is our good friends were the dad suffers long covid, so we wanted to design a holiday where he could join in at points, but sit out and rest at the same time. We also wanted to give the twins' mum a break so she could enjoy time with the kids without worrying about dishes. 

So Seton Sands was the chosen destination. Less than an hours drive for all parties and right on the beach. After our near-summer holiday only a few weeks ago, it was a shock to the system that this one had overnights of -2C and daytime highs of 10C. Still, it was dry, which is really why the holiday worked so well. 

We arrived for check in and got unpacked and the kettle on in time for our friends arriving. Our neice and nephew knew about the holiday, but not that we were coming, so we had to peel them off the ceiling and take them to the beach before they internally combusted. 

Neice decided to pick every shell off the beach (no joke, 2 buckets, the bag said buckets were supposed to be kept in and her own pockets were full) whilst nephew went looking for monsters in the rock pools. It was thier mum who won that contest, finding a dead crab about the size of a dinner plate. Then it was home, food and bed (after much promise of adventures the following day) before we managed to catch up as grown ups and turn in for an early night. 

Missy is always the most important focus for us, so we had booked activities around her walks and made sure that she would be with someone at all times. We had intended that hubby and I would sit out of some of the activities on the Saturday, but as it was, the dad had overdone things the day before and sat out for the day. 

There was an archery lesson (nephew was delighted to be classed the overall winner) whilst I officially got the highest score in one round with three arrows. 

We found Missy fast asleep with dad when we returned. I know that the twins want a dog, so I'm sure they were delighted to see him warming up to Missy so much. She's always been very good at sensing when people aren't feeling right or are upset. Of her own free will, she did spend a lot of time choosing to cuddle up to him. 

There was some tears that afternoon when nephew realised that hubby wasn't coming to the pebble painting that afternoon. Whilst Missy was allowed at the ranger station, she was due a proper walk. I had clocked that nephew was starting to monopolise the hubby, so decided to nip that in the bud and sent hubby off on the walk, to the clear look of betrayel of my nephew. 

Still, after racing across the beach as penguins, and saving him from a deserted island in the vast ocean, we were firm friends again. A game of tig with all four of us (him, his sister, hubby and I) cemented the deal and the issue didn't come up again. I'm all for indulging the kids whilst on holiday, but I will not have any child play favourites!

Sunday hubby and I got to spend some time together and explore the wider site with Missy on the morning walk. The morning plan was a coastal explorer show that I was going to sit out on whilst everyone else went to watch followed by swimming that afternoon. 

I was surprised to be disturbed from my podcast and sewing with the return of everyone sans nephew and hubby. Neice (who had cheekily refused to go to sleep the night before) had passed out at the start of the performance and then it turned out it was a run-about-the-site activity, which my friend was completely incapable of keeping up with. Neice and dad were put to bed, and I made tea. After some grilling, it came out that the mum really wanted to see what the bingo was like (for that full butlins-esque experience) so I vowed to make sure it happened. 

Hubby and nephew returned high as kites, neice awoke bright eyed and bushy tailed and off we went to swimming. I know from my sister that sometimes what people enjoy best is sitting back and watching thier kids have fun, and I think that summed up the swimming. Hubby and I raced the kids down the slides in every combination possible and splashed about in all the spray and tap areas. 

Hubby carried them back to the caravan whilst we girls stayed behind for the bingo. It was good getting some girl time, even if we had no idea what we were doing and found that everyone seemed to be taking it far too seriously. We had a laugh and, after a round, decided to head back for dinner. 

And then it was bed and up and home today. A very quick holiday!

Would we do it again? Absolutely. But not in that way again. 

We had hoped the self contained nature of the holiday would allow our friend to join in more, as there was less distance to go to the activities and he could rest appropriately in between them. And had that been the case, the frequent down time would probably have been fine as the kids would have seen that as a good pay off. But as it was, the stopping/starting meant that the kids were swinging between over and under stimulated - they'd have been better doing a full day out somewhere and then a recharge day doing smaller activities. 

Also, whilst touted as dog friendly, I would describe Seton Sands as more dog accommodating. I totally respected that she wasn't allowed in the restaurant or the activities, but there was a few things that annoyed me, mainly, that the playparks were absolutely no dogs. Which would have been fine if there was a bench outside the park I could have sat at and watched the kids play from. As it was, we had to stand on the main path in everyone's way or the road to do so.

But nonetheless, it met the needs of the holiday, and had we planned it out more like the Wales holiday, it would probably have been fine. Which incidently is how we would organise a second holiday with our friends. A big day out so that the dad can rest, then a quieter day he can join in on whilst the kids aren't as hyper and full of beans.

I would say perhaps next year, but my holiday schedule is filling pretty fast already! 

A Grrr-eat Weekend

It's been a quick weekend. Friday was a belated Xmas trip to the circus with my mum, and then Saturday was a trip to Glasgow to see my cousin before he emigrates to the States.

It was originally Big Sis' who came up with the plan and then I joined in too. Since mum was at mine, I had her stay the night and we hopped aboard the train in the late morning.

We met Big Sis at the station, with Wee Ben in tow. He was immediately pleased to see Missy and gave her his usual shy kisses.

From there it was a quick walk about George Square and then onto another train to my aunts. It was the sort of visit I generally avoid - a gathering in the house were everyone talks over each other, but I was pleased to have made the effort. I went on a dog walk and had a chance to catch up with my cousin properly. 

By the time 5 rolled around, it was time for me to go, so I bailed off and made the journey home myself (big sis and mum were catching the same second train whereas I'm on a different line, and I wanted some space to myself, so it was fine). 

Both cousins walked me to the station for the first train and that was really nice. Missy was much complimented as always, it being the first time they had properly met her as more than an aside on an adventure. Then off I went. 

I knew I'd missed my connecting train pretty much right away. So I took my time getting off the train and got some nice photos of Missy in the station. The train staff were enamoured at her posing and she was much fussed over. And thn it began.

There is a phenomenon I have discovered, in which dogs in general just seem to attract anyone mikdy inebriated in a six mile radius. And Missy is an absolute magnet. Our quick walk to kill time took ages as she stopped and allowed herself to be petted at almost every traffic light and bar.

It got no better on the train, and I found myself making polite small talk to several strangers, all wanting to share dog stories (and ask about my cross stitch, which I hadnt really thought about as an unusual hobby to see out and about these days - my sisters wild knitting has clearly made me immune to the oddness of crafting on the go!).

Then it was home, tea and a bath. Well deserved! 

Today was helping a friend move house. Always an exciting moment, and she kindly treated us to lunch for all the help. I'm really looking forward to seeing how she makes it a home. 

And that's it! The weekend is gone. I got some quick embroidery advice whilst at my friend's and have started the long process of embroidering thistles on my aunts dress for my cousins American wedding. 

One down, 27 to go... 

An Expotition

It all started, I suppose, with a bear. 

Since the days before hubby and I were even BF and I, back when we were casual acquaintances playing wingman to my sister and her future hubby, he had one peculiar thing on his bucket list:

To play Pooh Sticks on the actual Pooh Sticks bridge. 

I was not a Winnie the Pooh kid. I liked the cartoons enough, viewing myself, like most in their late-teens-breaching-on-twenties, as a bit of an Eeyore, but had never read the books. Well. That would not do. So as we moved from acquaintance to BF and GF, hubby read them to me. He insisted that they were books best read to you, and so, we worked our way through not just the books, but all of A. A. Milnes children's poetry too. 

I begrudgingly accepted that I was not an Eeyore, but really, I was most definitely Rabbit. He was, and still is, a Pooh bear. Able to see good in every awful situation, and always with a random hum to hand. 

So it seemed fitting, as we moved from BF and GF to something more official, that we would include that bear of little brain there too, and had an extract from House at Pooh Corner read on our wedding day. If you think hard, you can probably guess which part. 

So I think it's clear to see that we are quite personally attached to that little rag tag collection of stuffed animals, which is why, having learned our lesson from losing two years of our lives, we chose to make East Sussex, home of the 100 Aker woods and the all important Pooh Sticks Bridge our next big holiday. 

The plans for our Expotition were rather simple: stay near Hartfield and wing it from there. We had two goals: the Pooh Sticks Bridge and Pooh Corner. 

A lot of people were confused that we would go so far to somewhere without much to do, but in the end, we ran out of time to do all the things we had discovered close by. 

We broke the journey up and down with a break in Manchester and staying at my sisters (a huge thank you again!). We arrived a little early for check in and so investigated some of the nearby walks in the Ashdown Forest. The land is primarily heathland, which is protected in its own right, and it goes on and on for as far as the eye can see. The landscape is a rolling sort, very different to our Scottish hills and peaks back home. Thankfully, heathland is also the kind of place Missys like best. We spent two hours rambling about, keeping an eye on the distant Friendship Clump so as not to get lost, and simply marvelled at out good fortune. March is a dangerous time for holidays, and we had packed jumpers and coats, fleeces and hot water bottles, and here it was, bright and sunny and warmer than a Scottish Summer day. That perfect rose tinted summer of youth, warm and pleasant but not hot and sticky - which was ideal as I always worry about Missy in hot weather! 

Perhaps I am a little like Kanga in my old age. 

Tuesday was the day. We had on our Big Boots, which are required for an Adventure to happen. We had packed our teddies: Pooh, Piglet and my very sad and well travelled Eeyore, and set off on the Winnie the Pooh Walk. We saw the enchanted place, and lost count of the trees, found the heffalump pit and Eeyores Gloomy Place. Photos were taken at the North Pole and lastly, the 100 Aker woods.

Piglet had a bit of an adventure himself, sneaking out of my bag. We realised he was missing and retreated back to the 100 Aker woods, where someone had kindly placed him atop a fence post. A heart stopping moment, but really, it fitted in perfectly with the theme of the day. 

Next was Pooh Corner. This fabulous teashop and "Pooh-seum" used to be the old sweet shop Christopher Robin visited. The website said dogs outside only, which we were quite happy to do, only to be told when we arrived that it was the discretion of the staff - being clean and we'll behaved, Missy was more than welcome inside. We did sit out for lunch and marvelled at the adorable teapots and crockery before I simply sat back and watched my husband become completely overwhelmed in the museum. 

Then came the moment. The Pooh Sticks Bridge. We walked from Pooh Corner (they kindly gave us a map) and found our way safely to the bridge. There was almost a sense of a pilgrimage as sticks were gathered and we dropped them into the water, as Eeyore describes, in a twitchy kind of way. 

I had always been under the impression that those from the South weren't the sort to chat (having "Northerners" as in laws is to blame for that impression), but that was not the experience we had on our trip at all. As we hunted down Poohs house (and Piglets and Owls), a passer by filled us in on what it was like to live by the bridge and told us all about the little houses and the area. 

Truly, a wonderful day. 

Wednesday was a "let's see what else there is" kinda day. I had scoped out a dozen options for the key part of the day before we settled on Battle Abbey. Firstly, it was the most dog friendly option, and secondly, it would be rude not to learn some English history. It was another beautiful day and, opting for the tour which was fascinating (so much so it overran the 1 hour it was meant to be and lasted two), we spent far longer than we expected. Really, we could have spent the whole day there, but I had done a Rabbit and organised a list to get through. 

Camber Sands was the next stop (we were out with the bathing season, so no restrictions). We had originally planned to do Rye first, but had overrun at Battle Abbey, so decided to do the walk first. It's a huge beach, some 5 miles in length (don't worry, we didn't walk all of it), and Missy preferred the sand dunes to the water. Still, it was beautiful and she had the chance to run and shake off the cobwebs from her history lessons. We shared a fish and chips between the three of us before setting off to Rye. 

I was excited to see Rye as its a medieval town with one of the most photographed streets in the UK (Mermaid Street). We arrived, found a great wee petshop and then as we left, realised everywhere had shut. Unperturbed, we found Mermaid Street to find it....closed off with a giant JCB on the middle. Hubby just laughed, it would make a good story to tell, really, and I should take a photo of the JCB instead. I did, then found another street of medieval buildings and got Missys photo there. It wasn't a wasted trip, it was nice to look about at the oddly named buildings (such as "the house with two front doors" and "the house with the seat") before we found a dog friendly pub for our dinner.

I had come up with all sorts of ideas for Thursday and then Hubby suggested that, since we had come so far for the purposes of seeing the world of Winnie the Pooh, that we should revisit it all again. I couldn't fault the logic and happily agreed, so long as we got to see the Sheffield Park and Gardens which was only 15 minutes away. I'm always a bit wary of repeating a day exactly!

Missy had woken up rather stiff that morning. At 9, whilst she would like to go all day, she doesn't know her own limits anymore and had clearly overdone things chasing Rabbits friends and Relations at the beach the day previous. I scrapped her morning walk to just a bathroom break and insisted on a quiet morning until the Gardens opened at 10. It was oddly charming sitting in the sun, hearing birds sing as we listened to the first Winnie the Pooh book.

Missy was raring to go come 10am. Her long morning sleep had re-energised her and she happily hopped into the car. The Sheffield Park and Gardens are like a Botanic Garden - lots of beautifully organised trees and plants. There were bridges and ponds and trees you could barely make out the top of, they were so large. Its short leads only for dogs going about the Garden, which suited us well as I had decided we were going to keep Missys walks to a minimum for the day.

Hubby had tried to book us an afternoon tea at Pooh Corner, but sadly they needed 48 hours notice for that, so we decided we would have a normal lunch there instead. He also wanted to eat inside this time and, even though the sun was shining and it was glorious, I agreed to humour him and sit indoors. I am so glad we did. At first I thought our luck had finally begun to fail as we were relegated to the smaller side room owing to all the folk having their afternoon teas being in the main room. We were recognised by the staff (as the couple who had brought their teddies with them and the really calm dog) and they chatted away with us, clearly realising that we were just happy to be there.

Then the owner got chatting to us. At first it was polite chatter. Then it was long stories about how we'd fallen in love with Winnie the Pooh. Then it was discussing Disney. We learned that they were putting together an exhibition about AA Milnes and Christopher Milnes military service and from there we just kept chatting. One thing led to another and we found ourselves getting to hold an original alpha bear in the collection - a vintage teddy the same type and age as the original Winnie the Pooh. 

I was impressed that Hubby didn't start crying from happiness on the spot.

After that, I felt we'd had enough excitement for the day and insisted we save the main Winnie the Pooh walk for the Friday morning before going home, and that we just walk Missy to the Pooh Sticks Bridge and back again.

Quite the perfect way to end the day.

Friday rolled round too quickly. We packed the car, said goodbye to the barn we'd been staying at, and went once more to Gills Lap (or Galleons Leap, as it is referred to in the books). Our aim, having just relistened to the book, was to look at the lone pine more closely before having a proper explore in the 100 Aker woods. We did try to find Owl, who lives there, but sadly couldn't. Missy did find some more of Rabbits friends and Relations, but thankfully they came to no harm. 

And then we were on our way to Manchester again, to good company and good food, and a long promised walk at the Quarry Bank Mill, before the last leg home.

Its been a the kind of holiday which was exactly what we needed. Warm, almost summer, weather. Stunning scenery and dog walks. A relaxed pace - we'll get there when we get there. And a very large dose of whimsy.

And tea rooms. Is it really an adventure without tea and cake?

This has rambled on long enough. So I will part with what I my favourite line from Winnie the Pooh:

"So they went off together. But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing."

Bringing in the Sun

A fine frost coats the dew. The rhubarb is sprouting. My greenhouse is full of little carpets of tiny green plants. The buzz of lawnmowers fills the air.

That's it. It's officially spring in my books!

I will wait a few more weeks for the frost to pass before letting loose the seedlings, but so far it's been a great start on the garden. In the planters I already have garlic shooting up, there's onions peeping out thier tips of thier shoots and the potatoes are slowly figuring themselves out, as they are want to do.

Very excited for the garden this year. 

With the good weather, we had my mum and brother visit, as well as our favourite fur-neice, Maisie. Little miss pouty was in fine form, careering about the garden and bouncing on the tables.

I showed my mum the progress on the dress for my aunt and we're both optimistic that she'll like it. Then it was lunch and a dog walk. 

It was surprisingly warm today, and both the dogs were in thier element. Missy flushed a handful of squirrels before watching, bemused, on the riverbank whilst Maisie enjoyed a paddle in the water. 

So it was warm, but not hot enough in Missys books to risk getting her paws wet!

Some things will never change...

After the walk, I carried on with my potting as we continued to catch up. I was genuinely sorry to see them go, but I will confess that I'm still pretty beat from my dance with covid. I think they picked up on my fatigue and said thier cheerios.

In final news, Missy was selected to try out the @burnspet Senior dog food. As you can see she was very pleased with the trial pack we received in the post (I swear, these days she gets more mail than me!)

That's all for today. Tomorrow is set to be a busy one - will fill you all in next week! 

Escaping the Plague House

So it was bound to happen at some time, but the Covid has come and gone (fingers crossed). It started with a sniffle and then a cough and, following best practice, tested. 

I have never been so upset to pass a test. 

I was meant to be having my eldest neice and nephew visit last weekend so my elder sister could have a romantic anniversary weekend with her husband. So I felt absolutely awful when I rang to cancel the weekend.

And then I subsequently slept though and basically lost the weekend. 

As I work from home, I was back in the "office" on Tuesday, more out of boredom than due to feeling 100%. Boredom was perhaps my key symptom - I was too tired to focus on anything like a book for very long, but too pent up to sleep anymore.

So I plodded along between various projects in a zombie like stupor. Missy, as always, was helpful in her own way. She tested all the fabrics softness. Sorted my cross stitch threads for me and would choose the quietest moments of my podcasts to start woofing and chasing squirrels in her sleep. 

Much needed company. Hubby was in spare room (more to do with my caught than a worry of catching anything) and had a busy week with work and magic, so I was left be a lot more than I'm used to. 

I tested positive on day 5. I had hoped beyond hope that I would get my two negatives by day six. And so we had to cancel all of this weekends plans too. 

Frustrations were taken out in the garden. The planters have been upgraded and the first round of seeds are in the greenhouse. And finally, on Saturday, I got my first negative. The line had been slowly growing fainter, so I knew it would be soon. So today, with my second negative test, we went to Beecraigs for a proper dog walk. 

And then Dobbies, for some strawberry plants. This year's new experiment. I'll need to get a net over them when they grow a little more - Missy eats all of our wild strawberries, so I need to keep her away from the big ones! 

Fingers crossed that's us and adventures will resume again!