Santa Paws is Coming to Town

I mean, we all know which ones on the nice list and which ones on the naughty list!

This weekend we had not one, but two trips to see Father Christmas. The first one my brother insisted we book back in September which was the official Grotto experience at Dobbies. That was tremendous fun as we arrived early enough to bump into the back if the previous slot, so we were in a lovely queue of dogs all in thier Christmas jumpers.

Maisie was clearly keen to impress as she bravely put up with bring in hers whilst Missy got lots of attention as the cutest one in a llama jumper as both hubby and I wore ours. Cringy. Maybe. But dud we make a lot of people smile? Absolutely. Which makes it all worthwhile. 

After a stop at the Dobbies cafe for breakfast (it would have been rude not to! ) we headed over to Jollyes for thier 1 year anniversary party, featuring (you've guessed it) Santa Paws!

He was clearly feeling more energetic after a morning cuddling dogs - we were treated to a sing along and stories before being given chocolates. 

Not a bad wee day! 

Sunday was a sewing day. I had completed the last of the Christmas sewing on Thursday and was pleased to get on with a different project. A pair of bride and groom sloths are slowly coming together (no pun intended) and I'm pleased with how they have turned out so far.

I had Maisie again so my brother could push on with his Xmas shopping and then I picked up hubby from work and we went along to the Beecraigs Festival of Light with my older sister, BIL and nephew. To say it's been a year for my poor sister is an understatement and truth be told, I think she really needed the distraction. Hubby and I were running about with out nephew and generally being upbeat and silly, who resulted in some of the nicest photos of my nephew taken this year! My sister held an owl and hubby got his photo with "Weegie Olaf" at "Freezin" and Anna and Elsa too.

My sister lamented about not being able to bring the dogs, but thats the way it is, the event was far too busy to drag a poor dog about in. 

And I'm sure Missy was pleased for the quiet evening. She was beat after a weekend putting up with her cousin (who we were shocked to learn had made it onto the nice list, she clearly smuggled some cookies in that jumper) and was sound asleep when we eventually got home.

All in all, a fan wee weekend. 

And there's more Christmas fun to come! 

Until next week! 

A Pre-Christmas Pause

I think Missy is the only one ready to tackle Christmas this year! Honestly, I'm still flip-flopping between being the ghost of Christmas present and the grinch. Hubby has found his Christmas spirit, and hopefully I'll have grasped mine in time for the big day next week.

Yep. Next week. This time next week we'll be in a turkey induced coma whilst Muppets Christmas Carol plays away. I'm very much looking forward to it, but, despite the snow, and finishing my Christmas jigsaw, and getting the last stitch in the Christmas gift sewing, I'm not feeling it yet.

Missy had her Christmas Lead the Way walk yesterday. As usual, most folk were no shows, but we had a lovely time with those who did show up and Missy made a new friend in Sven (below with Missy atop Cockleroy, the only part of Beecraigs free of snow!) Hubby was full of Christmas cheer and handed out the unclaimed gift bags to anyone with a dog that made eye contact with him, which cheered everyone up no end.

After that was running a few errands before we started listening to A Christmas Carol, as read by Derek Jacobi. We have gotten as far as the arrival of the Ghost of Christmas Past, so it's going very well.

With Christmas sewing out the way, I spent today chilling out and getting on with some other things. This Strontium Dog dice bag has been a few years in the making - I'm sure we all have that one project that is forever being put down! I also reprinted and recut the pattern for my Inverness coat. I haven't been happy with it since it was finished, so I took apart the original one I made, seam by seam, and I'm remaking it in a smaller size with the pattern printed correctly. Here's hoping I'm happier with it this time!

There are presents to wrap and hot chocolate to drink, so have a Merry Christmas, and I'll write again when the festivities are over. 

Bringing in the Bank Holiday Weekend

It will come as no surprise to hear that it was another busy weekend. Our Dundee friend is about to start a new job which will involve weekend working, so as a last hurrah, we had him visiting this weekend.

There was a pretty packed agenda: firstly IRL roleplay, then board games and finally 80s themed mini-golf. There was also a big wrestling match, but that was far too much testosterone for me, so I had a virtual catch up with the girls and enjoyed a stitch and bitch whilst the boys cheered and boo'd upstairs.

Missy wasn't forgotten. There was plenty of walks, but nothing too out-of-the-ordinary. We did get out to Beecraigs and went up Cockleroy today. Sadly the weather was dull and the view not as breath-taking as usual, but Missy found bunnies to hunt and chase, so it was a success anyway.

I've been pushing on with various projects which has been good, although I'm struggling to prioritise things - too many things I want to make! Plans are afoot for adventures over the course of May and June too, although I think next weekend will be kept quiet so we can all recharge a bit for the summer season.

Hopefully.

We'll see. Should be.

Probably not!

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! 

A Wild Windy Weekend

It's been a funny old week with the weather - each morning I scrape ice off the car before going to work and then the temperature ramps up with the sunshine to a near-tropical 11-12C. Unless you are in the wind, then you may as well be huddled amongst the penguins in the antarctic.

Still, I've done well with the garden. The grass has had its first cut, my indoor seedlings are threatening to either take over the world or move out and go to college and my outdoor ones have been well enough protected from the frost that they are slowly showing their little heads. Except the tomatoes. I broke and brought them in and they have appeared to have survived their brush with icy death and begun sprouting on the windowsills. Apparently you can develop green fingers as you grow older - I would never have imagined such success even as little as a year ago. Although I may have to give away some of the seedlings, no one needs almost thirty pumpkin plants (of various kinds I add, but still, that's a lot of gourds at the end of the day!).

Missy has enjoyed a lot of company this week with the way the hubby's shifts have worked out so we didn't feel a compulsive need to be off and adventuring. Both of us are also suffering a bit from burning the candle at both ends the last few weeks, so we decided to enjoy a long walk around Beecraigs including a trip up Cockleroy where we all felt like the wind was going to blow us away.

Truly though, if you are in the shelter of the woods, spring is here. We saw lambs and calf's frolicking in their fields whilst Missy sniffed through the undergrowth in the hunt for young rabbits and squirrels. El-ahrairah were on their side yesterday and she found none. Still, she enjoyed meeting some other dogs and her etiquette when waiting for horses to pass was much admired.

It was a girls night (with the hubby who these days is an honorary member) as my friend from Inverness came to stay the night. My more local friend came along too and we all played board games and ate too many biscuits and drank a lot of tea. A perfect evening for friends to catch up. We all agreed not to wait so long again and so hopefully we do manage another get together.

Today there was more hanging out and a bit of shopping before I dropped my friend off to get her bus home. I don't envy the four and a half hours it's going to take her! Missy was spoilt with lots of goodbye hugs and then a long walk around Almondell.

Sewing has been a bit on the wayside this week as I've focused on the garden, but I've managed to get three projects up and started, so hopefully I should have some fun bits to show off for next week. We did find time for some arts and crafts - this year we are resting the bonnets and doing egg decorating instead. Take a wild guess who decorated which set of eggs!

Now, time to get the house tidied up, but perhaps after another cup of tea!

A wintry day

Well, we've had our first snowfall of the year and the nights are officially drawing in, so in my books, winter has arrived. Its not all gloom and doom, we have an action plan in place to try and help Missy get over her Christmas phobia and December is pretty much full up already with plans to see people and spend time with one another.

We managed a lovely winter walk up and around Cockleroy today. It was surprisingly busy around Beecraigs, but we had the hill to ourselves for the most part. The wind was bitter though! I thought I was going to get blown away and Missy just showed off and trotted around us happily. She loves the snow, all the scents sit fresh on top of it and, thankfully, we only lost sight of her the once. She came back to us a minute later looking mighty pleased with herself and out of breath, so she had fun!

In other news, our plecs have had babies again - slightly later than last year! We spotted the eggs straight away and got them into a nursery tank this time, so no need to try and stress out fishing tiny babies from the big tank. Its been tremendous fun watching them grow up from eggs, to larvae, to fry and now proper juvenile fish. We hadnt expected so many to survive, but out of the whole clutch we've only lost half a dozen, so out best estimate of 70-100 fish still stands. I already have a shop lined up to take them off us once they get a little bigger, so its all ok, although I am watching out in the main tank in case we get another cluster of eggs!

I'll leave you with the development photos of the babies and aim to be back soon - I've got some fun sewing projects on the go that I'm looking forward to sharing, and if all goes well, Missy is meeting someone special tomorrow!

Beecraigs Country Park

Place Name: Beecraigs Country Park

Location: Near Linlithgow, Scotland

Cost: Free

Parking: Plenty, and free to use

Walking distance: Variable, see map: http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/media/1344/Beecraigs-Country-Park---Map-2015/pdf/BeecraigsParkMap-2015.pdf

Restrictions: Dogs are not allowed into the visitors centre or in the play park. Must be on leads when walking through the caravan site and the animal attraction.

Refreshments: Restaurant is currently closed (April 2015) but drinks and snacks can be purchased from the visitors centre.

Website:  http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/beecraigs

For Easter this year we decided to celebrate the sunny weather with a walk around Beecraigs Country Park. This is our go to walk at weekends when the weather is kind (Missy is thankfully the sort of dog who dislikes torrential rain and sleet just as much as we do) and seemed a good place to start with this blog – please feel free to suggest layout changes, or let me know what sort of information would be useful.

Beecraigs is certainly one of the most family orientated forested areas locally to us. With plenty of activities on throughout the year, generous amounts of hidden geocaches, a massive play park and plenty of open woodland, there is something for everyone. Onsite there is also an ‘animal attraction’ which houses deer, belted Galloway cattle and of course some highland cows. There are also barbeque pits which are apparently bookable through the website – a ban is in place for unauthorised bbqs. Fishing and rowing is available on the lake.

Joggers, cyclists and the occasional horse rider can usually be spotted, so if your four legged friend is prone to chasing, it’s best to keep them on the lead or stay off the main paths. Also on the chasing note, there are deer, rabbits and squirrels aplenty, so be prepared to shout and holler for dog (Missys favourite past time).

For dogs who enjoy a paddle, there is a small lake although it is worth keeping an eye out for people fishing – Missy has a general distrust of water deeper than ankle height, so is not something I’ve had to pay attention to!

With it being Easter, the Visitors Centre had put on an Easter challenge whereby there were twelve questions dotted around the main ‘loop’ of the park – a sheet to put down your results and to try and match the visual clues could be picked up from the visitors centre and the answers were also located on the information board inside. Between us we managed to get all twelve right, but some of them were very challenging questions!

Overall rating: 4/5 – a good day for everyone, although it can be very muddy and certain areas very exposed to the elements, so sensible footwear and clothing is recommended.