Dalkeith Show

Well, life's been a bit funny the last few weeks - without getting into far too much detail my brother-in-law (hubbys brother) has had to have a large operation, my mother in law is coming to stay with us for an unknown period of time from tomorrow and basically everything is being held together with spit, polish and smiles.

Its not all that bad, its just that by nature I am verging on pedantic about time and whats happening. Not knowing when something is happening, or for how long a thing is happening or even if its going to happen at all puts my heart into unhealthy palpitations. So, being the third wheel getting second hand information on a situation that's very uncertain to begin with really stresses me out but I need to be the calm one and support my hubby and those around me. In short, I had to call time on my family and tell them I had to take a step back and focus on my husband and his, which was hard to do, but as I said to my mother today, the worlds still turning and no ones irreversibly fallen out with anyone, so its all ok. The BILs op went well, it was less invasive than originally planned and he's not had to be tube fed so they're already looking at cutting out the time he's to be in hospital.

With that in mind, I needed to find something for Missy and I to do that was near the hospital as the hubby had promised he was going to visit on Saturday. Little France is an hours drive from me and we agreed it was unfair on Missy to be left on her own for such a long time and that, with it being highly possible that the BIL wouldn't really want company, that it was a long way to go to possibly turn around again. I spotted that the Dalkeith Show was on and, being 15 minutes from the hospital, was ideal. We went for the show starting and then at lunchtime, the hubby headed off to visit his brother whilst Missy and I got to enjoy the rest of the day. We had also organised to see a friend afterwards who lives ten minutes from Dalkeith so it was an absolutely perfect situation.

It was a really good day. I was in a bit of a panic when it was raining in the morning, but by the time we parked up it had stopped and the sun was out. We mooched about the stalls and were very pleased fur-parents when we were told Missy had an ideal body weight at the vet stand. She got a goody bag of treats and various things and then we were off to watch the first event which was the Clydesdale horses judging.

I have a soft spot for the heavy horses. I love their sheer size, their shape and just the way they gracefully and yet stoically get on with things. The foal was a real treat as he followed his mother on his stilt like legs, already stout and stocky but still a little wobbly.

Following on from the foal, the dairy calves and young handlers was a real treat. Dressed in shirts and too long ties, the kids wrangled their unruly calves with the ease of those born in the trade. The hubby and I were much impressed at the shortest lad, a stout wee ginger thing, who simply put up with no nonsense and dragged the calf where it was needed and were genuinely pleased to see him placed first.

As the pipe band played we had an early lunch of jacket potatoes and eagerly awaited the mysteriously billed "Ore Terrier Racing". A barking truck rolled out and a lure was set up and we were treated to watching genuine ratting dogs race after it. I will confess that o was surprised that ratting with dogs is a legitimate thing still - not because I'm squeamish, Missy bringing me back rabbits the size of small cats got that out my system, but because I thought poisons and traps had made it unnecessary. I suppose there are lots of situations where poisons would also be dangerous to human, or protected wildlife, health and can understand the lack of appeal of traps.

It was tremendous fun to watch and, as they offered the watching canines a go, decided to see what Missy would think of it. She was excited at the sight of the lure as it wriggled about but, upon release, hesitated as the other dogs decided to have a barmy and play and then clearly realised it was fake and showed no interest again. A pity as I would have much rather she took an inclination to chasing a lure than a real animal!

Very few dogs chased the lure, in the first or second display, but they all provided some great entertainment. I, and the whole audience, laughed as a little husky puppy would bumble with great purpose after it but then decided he didn't like the tables turned when the lure changed direction towards him and so the puppy ran away from it.

The hubby took that as his time to leave so I walked Missy for half an hour in the woods of the country park after saying goodbye. She had a comfort break and I got some nice photos of her on an old wall with an iron gate that led to nowhere. We managed to catch the end of the vintage tractors before getting to watch the ridden Clydesdale event. Missy enjoyed watching them walk, canter and run around the ring as much as I did before we registered for the dog show and she dozed through the champion of champions. A show horse won that I hadn't seen compete, so I can only assume it was judged before the event started or somewhere Missy was not allowed to go.

Then it was the cattle parade which I was really pleased to see - the livestock area was the only place dogs weren't allowed and so apart from the dairy calves, I hadn't seen any. The commentator stated that there was a Highland cow calf in a different colour to normal (apparently they come in seven colours, I'd only ever seen black and orange before) and I just had to laugh. My initial expectation had been something small and fuzzy. What actually happened was someone, who had to have been an older brother to the wee lad who had won the dairy calf at a stout six foot and ginger, hauling this cow that was nearly the height of him literally over his shoulder. To be fair, it was almost brindle in colour, but the comedy of the moment won over the fact.

We did the dog show (Missy didn't place in loveliest lady so I have decided that we need to learn an obscure trick to see if we could do better in that category next time) and then went for another walk. I messaged the hubby to check all was well (his company was being much appreciated, so all good) and then caught the second round of Terrier racing before the vintage tractors did a victory lap. Missy was getting tired by this point. She has a tendency to get very cuddly when she's tired and, any stranger who smiled at her and made eye contact with her got a cuddle whether they wanted it or not. She simply shuffles in close, sits on the persons foot so they can't escape and leans on them. I make some small talk, apologise about the cuddling dog, get told off for apologising, Missy gets fawned over and petted and clearly wins the arrangement! 

Thankfully the hubby arrived as they were clearing up and we went to see our friend. After chatting and food we played some retro video games on the N64 and laughed as Missy lay in her bed and snored through it all. She was unimpressed to be awoken when it was time to go home - and who says dogs aren't like small children?!

With the MIL due tomorrow, we've been cleaning the house today. She doesn't expect a spotless house, but is renowned for stress cleaning, so we didn't want to provide any targets. Missy still got a nice walk this morning and my friend popped round last minute to join me on the afternoon walk and save me from cleaning.

I have managed, at last, to finish my big project. It should not have taken as long as it did, but I'm happy with it despite everything that's going on:

A lovely three piece suit for the son of my sisters friend who apparently loves tractors but needs to look smart for a christening. Expect some dungarees for my nephew in the same fabric to turn up in the future!

Going to be a bit patchy over the next few weeks, so hopefully will be back soon with more adventures.

Cammo Estate

Its been a typical Scottish spring weekend, snow one day and then glaring low sun the next - I cant complain, at least today was dry!

So, I've been playing about with the Dog Furiendly site that launched earlier this year and, whilst not complete, it does list some places I didn't know about. Last weeks Muiravonside was one, and this weekends walk around the Cammo Estate was another. Located by Edinburgh Airport, it was a quick and easy drive out and we were well rewarded with a nice easy-going walk where Missy could quite safely be off the leash and ignore all the other dogs in her quest to find small furry rodents.

It took us about an hour to dither around the estate and admire the strange tall tower and the canal. The offices are more complete than the main manor and Missy got lost in the old piggery chasing the ghosts of scents. In true dog walker fashion, we only stopped to look at the map as we were leaving, and realised there was a visitors centre. We had clocked a load of orienteering posts, so I think next time we pop by we might have a shot at that - its been years since I did orienteering. 

Today is St Patricks day and to be honest, its been a bit of a wash out. Normally something local is organised but this year people clearly aren't feeling it. I made a cake to match the colours of the Irish flag and made a point of wishing my Irish relations a good day, but that was really it. Perhaps next year!

Its that time of year when my sewing stash gets full of starry fabric and I have something strange in the works - with the upcoming Magic Circle competition, the hubby has asked for a Wizards Carpet Bag. Complete with several pockets neatly hidden away inside and a leatherette base and details. Its my first time using a bag frame and I was frustrated when looking for tutorials online which mostly referred me to use the instructions provided with the frame. Would have been good advice had it come with instructions! So I made it up as I went along and I'm rather pleased with the results:

I do love the print, and have enough to make a matching waistcoat for the hubby. I might give bag frames another go and make myself a proper Mary Poppins-esque carpet bag, but that's a project for another day!

Summerhall Gallery

Its that time of year where no matter how hard you try, things dont quite work out to plan. Yesterday was the third attempt at getting out to the Summerhall Gallery to see their joint exhibitions: Invisible Spaces and Visible Girls: revisited. This gallery has been on my radar for a while now owing to the fact its dog friendly and I was simply waiting for an exhibition to catch my eye before heading over. With hubby working retail, our previous two attempts were cancelled as he was called in at short notice and I had warned him that Missy and I would be going ourselves if he was drafted in again.

Thankfully it didn't come to that! With our last "date" day in sight until after Christmas, we quickly filled it with glorious plans - a long walk in the morning, lunch out at the gallery and then the Christmas markets in the evening after a walk through the meadows. Firstly, owing to late finishes at work, the early start never happened. Then the yellow snow warning kicked in and, despite multiple layers, we were all frozen to the bone simply walking to the gallery and had to stop in at a shop and buy a jumper for the hubby. We could see that people were being made to queue to simply get into the markets and made a note that perhaps that wasn't going to happen. 

We did get to the gallery and the exhibitions really surprised me - I had expected to enjoy the Invisible Spaces one more, but the Visible Girls by Anita Corben was absolutely brilliant. Both the hubby and I lost ourselves to the wonderful portraits and were delighted to see that these punks and mods from the 80s had been, where possible, traced again and their portraits redone. I loved seeing past and present side by side, especially getting to see where such fiery and determined young women ended up. If it tours out your way, I highly recommend, its not a big exhibition, but you will find yourself reminiscing on times when everything was just a little bit rougher about the edges.

There was a workshop about archiving going on, and about how we should tackle that in a modern age. Getting to look though old negatives and slides was quite fun, but I didn't really feel like the statement being made was really that much of an argument. We discussed with the curator about whether smart phones have made us worse photographers despite better pictures, and what would happen with archiving a digital generation and then found ourselves drawn back to those portraits from the 80s and forlornly missing the days when you had your spool and the suspense of whether the photos would turn out or not.

Missy looking at the old negatives

We enjoyed some tea and cake in the gallery cafe and then shivered our way across the meadows. Even in her little fleece lined coat Missy looked miserable at being outside and we decided to call it quits whilst we were ahead of the game. Walking to the bus, we could see that the queue into the markets had only gotten worse and that the market itself was crammed with people. Getting home, cuddling up on the sofa with tea and hot chocolate seemed a much better idea, so thats exactly what we did.

I've been doing odds and ends of sewing today, cant really post too much about it (spoilers!) so I'll share some more of the Christmas crafts I've been doing, namely a new and updated wreath as the old one was getting far too shabby:

I've also started my Christmas baking (thank goodness for chest freezers) so there are cupcakes for my niece to help decorate when she visits, and some festive tiffin made. Next its White Christmas (an Aussie delicacy) and some short bread, and perhaps I may find the time to bake some real bread too. We'll just have to wait and see! 

Paws by the Prom

So last weekend I finally succeeded in getting to a dog show that wasn't officially cancelled due to heat, or canned owing to rain - and it was at a re homing centre close to our hearts: The Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home!

Fate has previously got in the way of me attending the Paws by the Prom event but I finally got Missy along. The weather was perfect, a light breeze to keep the dogs cool and the bugs away, but sunny and warm enough that we could stand and watch the displays without being uncomfortable. Sadly all my family were busy, including the hubby who was working, so it was just myself and my mum who managed to get along, and I was super disappointed that they all missed it.

We arrived just as it opened up and, after registering a photo of my mums cat (Elvis) into the cat photo contests (a lovely touch in my opinion) we made our way to the paddock and registered Missy for prettiest girl and best rescue. After a quick bite to eat, we watched the dogs compete and fail at the temptation alley, much to the embarrassment of all the owners and to the delight of the dogs. Then we watched the handsome boys before it was time for prettiest girl. My "no one knows or can agree" as Missys breed got a good laugh and despite her best efforts at flirting, she didn't rank. With all proceeds going to the EDCH, I really didn't care and we then mooched about the stalls (Missy somehow managed to gain a biscuit at every table!), had a chat with the guys from the fire brigade (and I got a snow cone the size of my face) before watching the agility demonstrations.

Missy is too clever to do agility. Whilst she is reward driven with treats, she will expend the least amount of energy possible, and go the simplest route rather than waste good squirrel chasing energy to preform pointless tasks. She is very capable of hurdles and the slalom, if muggins here is running as fast as possible with a treat held put before me!

My favourite show round was one I didn't participate in - most like owner. I never bother with it. Missy is small and stocky with black hair. I'm a skinny brunette and my husband a six foot ginger, so it's just pointless. Most of the time it just feels stupid and awkward to watch, but this time, a lady fully embracing her natural curly white hair strode out carrying her westie dog who was equally bedecked in curly white hair and they both had sunglasses on. It was absolutely perfect and the audience as a whole laughed at the performance. She placed first, rightfully so!

After that it was best rescue (again we didn't place, but by this point the dj doing the competition was so overwhelmed and in love with every dog before him he couldn't judge and was basically getting the audience to choose!) and then we checked to see if Elvis had placed in handsomest boy (again no luck!) before going for a stroll along the promenade and beach. A very successful show, and one I'll attend next year with any luck!

To bring things up to date and round off this week, things have been very busy and crafty in the household. The hubby has recruited my sewing and painting skills to hand build some magic tricks, and I'm now starting an absolutely fabulous wizards hat to go with his amazing wizards coat.

Although, first of all I finished the set for my sister and her family - a waistcoat for my brother in law. He's an odd size in garments, so I had to drape a pattern on him. It's my first shot trying to "tissue fit" an item, so fingers crossed it's a good fit!

And I couldn't spend all my time indoors crafting, so today I took Missy, my mum and my eldest neice and nephew to Crichton Castle. I've done it before with Missy, and we timed it well between rain showers. The kids enjoyed it too once we eventually got going, I despair at the new generation being so unable to cope without phones. There was no signal. And? We're all here. No one is going anywhere. Just enjoy the view without looking at it through a digital display!

Although my mother was cruel and insisted on a brisk stroll through the meadow, I think she takes delight in that at almost sixty, she can easily outpace and hold better stamina than a thirteen and nine year old! Missy enjoyed it, though no one can keep up with her pace as she chased the ghosts of scents.

Got special plans next weekend, tune in Monday to read about it!

Revisiting Castles

We've previously done Tantallon and Dirleton Castle before, and revisited them this weekend as part of my brothers birthday celebration. He purchased a Historic Scotland pass last year and is now working on getting all the castles in the central belt ticked off the list, so doing these two together seemed like a great idea.

The har almost hid Bass Rock from us

We had a panic about the weather as there had been lightning storms forecast for the weekend and then heavy rain was predicted for the day, so had made a back up option for the Seabird Centre (which I have only discovered now is dog friendly, so expect to see that in the future!) but thankfully the weather pulled through for us. We had some stunning har when we first arrived but it blew over in about 20 minutes to reveal a beautiful day.

Lunch was called for whilst in Tantallon, which was the first castle we did, and we enjoyed a picnic in a lovely sunny spot in the courtyard before moving onto Dirleton where we managed to catch the bulk of a 'Men at Arms' talk about medieval weaponry and life which was incredibly interesting (even though the thought of hurling burning piglet carcasses at the enemy was a bit revolting!). The chap running the show was great and did photos afterwards, my mum wanted a shot with him and, upon my request to pretend he was stabbing her, we got a terrific photo. Good times!

And then back to my mums for cake and take away - a very good ending for the day!

The weekend was finished with visiting friends in town. I had a moment of panic about whether Missy would be allowed on the replacement bus, but there was no problem at all. I popped over to the Meadows Festival as I had time to kill and we saw popped over to the Edinburgh Dog and Cat home stall and chatted away to the staff. Missy also found the fire brigade stand and decided that she was going to go and have cuddles there, so I had to make small talk in order to keep the dog happy!

I met up with my friends at the Holyrood 9a and their twins, now 4, are at that fantastic age where they can actually talk, and it's all sweet ramblings. Both are enamoured with Missy who, as I've said before, is very good with small kids. We then managed a walk around the 'mountain' (Arthurs Seat) and went looking for trolls in the hedges. After that we went back to theirs and the hubby joined us for dinner after work and we all stayed up far too late.

Tired today, but absolutely worth it!

Highland Games

It’s that time of year again were we celebrate our Scottish blood and watch the local Highland Games. As always, it was a great day out, though I fully intend to go to one of the other ones at some point in the future!

To shake things up a little this year, my mum, older sister and nephew came along. It was the first Highland games any of them had attended and I found I really interesting what they enjoyed and what they didn’t. It was also the first year I did the ‘add on’ stuff – the Scottish Police were there and my nephew got his finger prints taken in addition to us all getting a shot in the back of a paddy wagon.  The 105^th Regiment Royal Artillery were also there and proved to be a real highlight.

I set Missy up for the above photo with the gun whilst the rest of the family dithered off and, after getting the shot and rewarding her, one of the chaps manning the area dashed over and asked if she could do it again! Naturally, I obliged (any excuse to show off and talk about Missy) and she had her picture taken again, so I suspect she’s going to end up on their Facebook. Since we’d gotten chatting, they then decked my nephew up in all the gear and showed him the gun - VIP treatment! They insisted on a photo of everyone with the gunner at the gun and, looking back on the photos, Missy is being an absolute flirt with the gunner…

I can’t take her anywhere!

Whilst I adore the dancing, it didn’t take the fancy of my sister and nephew, and he wasn’t keen on the pipe bands either. I was starting to get worried when the throwing the stone, the first event of the heavy games, had proven a fail as well to get their interest. We bumbled about the stalls again and I insisted that we give the heavy games another go for the ‘throw the weight over the bar’ (yes, the names are very imaginative!). This one is always a hit, its impressive, it’s dangerous, everyone loves it and that proved the case on Saturday – the day was saved!

Missy then made friends with a staffie in the VIP area, and alas, it was not to be as neither could get through the fence. Watching the dogs play filled the gap between events and we all watched the caber tossing – the most Scottish of the heavy games! The weather was one of those odd days were, out the wind it was baking hot, but when caught in the wind it was bitterly cold, so they had to change direction for the tossing. It’s the first time I’ve seen them throw towards the crowd, and I got some great shots out of it.

And that was the day. It was almost 5pm and we’d been out since 10am! A very different games for me compared to previous years, but still a great day.

And this little goofball had a great time!

Sunny Days and Long Strolls

I feel I talk about the weather a lot, but when your furbaby insists on an average of two hours a day walking, your life starts to revolve about it. This last week has been constant niceties to the other dog parents - "Spring is definitely here now!", "Isn't this sunshine wonderful?", "Rumour says more snow" and my personal favourite; "I honestly don't care if its warm or cold, at least its dry!"

That sums up the weekends weather, dark cloudy mornings and then glorious sunshine with a chilly wind. Once in shelter, its glorious, but its certainly that time of year where you fear not bringing your coat then end up taking it off and putting it back on at least five times a walk! With that in mind, and the fact that the summer opening hours on all the historic Scotland sites has kicked in, meant it was a perfect weekend for a family outing to a castle.

Between my niece volunteering last summer at Linlithgow Palace, my constant inviting people along to the castles with us and last years jousting, pretty much everyone in the family now has a pass with Historic Scotland, so its a good cheap day out that lets everyone get some fresh air and much needed vitamin D. We have done Bothwell before, so I will spare you all the history, but it was the first time my brother, my sister and her two kids had seen it, so was well worth the revisit. Sadly the Beast from the East has damaged some of the foundations, so we were unable to get into the dungeon, but there's still plenty to see and wander about in.

This time we added the riverside walk to the day. It was my brother who had spotted it when looking up the castle, and it was a splendid way to burn off our picnic we had on the castle grounds. The path was just sheltered enough that it felt warm and pretty soon the kids were climbing in trees and insisting I get their photos. They love that my camera bluetooths to my phone so that they can see a big version of the picture instantly rather than crowding around a tiny screen.

"Wee Ben"

Missy's little cousin Ben had come along for the day too and, though he isn't trusted off the leash (he will chase anything - cars, bikes, joggers etc) he did very well and kept up with us all. He dislikes bridges, and wooden stairs you can see through which, as I'm used to Missy who has absolutely no fear, was very odd although I did feel sorry for him crawling nervously about, so insisted people carry him (I would have, but I have a strict one dog per person rule when in groups and was in charge of Missy).

And that was our little day out. My brother has definitely got the castle bug, so expect to see plenty more! The hubby and I are also thinking about our annual "staycation", and are tempted either doing the Isles or going up Elgin way to get a bunch of sites ticked off the list. I'll let you know what we decide on when I know!

Till next time!

Peacocks on the Pentlands

The weather has been glorious the last few days, so I had to go out this weekend and do something fun and a bit different for Missy. A friend of mine had suggested doing the Pentlands a few times, the first attempt was snowed off, the second I called off owing to having some teeth pulled (orthodontic work, every tooth pulled has been good and healthy, if a bit squashed) so this was actually the third time we've scheduled this and I think possibly half of Edinburgh too!

We met at the Flotterstone Information Centre and, at 10 am the car park was full, but thankfully I got a wee space in the small overflow section. My friend has walked the first reservoir a thousand times, but has never actually climbed them, despite living only five minutes away. We decided to do both the reservoirs and have a bumble about the bottom of the hills, but not actually walk them this time (we've got an action plan picked for next time!) owing to the fact its lambing season and, whilst Missy has no real inclination to sheep and would be on a lead, I didn't fancy the risk of upsetting a farmer with my big scary flobble dog.

I feel that comment needs explaining. Owing to her colouring, people at a distance (and sometimes rather close up too) think she's a rottweiler and her habit of running and showing of her sparkling pearly white teeth can give people a fright. Hence her pink collar. And the pink raincoats. And the little red parka jacket. And her cupcake one....

I do my best, but At 20 kg of pretty much just muscle, she's a sight to behold when running full pelt towards you, so I concede to the fact that people automatically see a big scary dog.

Anyway. It was a beautiful day for it. There were people fishing in boats, anglers out on the shore, dog walkers, joggers, cyclists and plenty of walkers. We could hear shooting at the MOD base there were running an exercise, but loud bangs don't bother Missy, so we spent a good 4 hours enjoying a nice walk and exploring a bit.

There was plenty of wildlife. As the title suggests, in addition to the sheep and local birds, we saw a peacock. Just strutting about like it owned the place! I need to stress that the Pentlands is fairly remote, and peacocks don't fly so well, so I have no idea how it got there or what it was doing, but it was certainly a highlight. Missy will flush birds but wont actually hunt them, and she was certainly curious and bemused in equal measure by the electric blue monstrosity strutting about. I feel a need to confess that, as it was on a wall far too tall for her to jump, I wasn't worried about the bird, however, I did not expect it to actually fly down right in front of her. Needless to say, she instantly went to flush it and the peacock very quickly went back on the wall, feathers ruffled but none harmed! My poor heart though, after Missy being so utterly well behaved I'd have died if she'd caught the thing - I'm too used to bunnies and squirrels that do their utmost best to keep out of the way of anything of the canine persuasion!

After the peacock we saw some toads which rounded off the end of a really nice day and we made a slow trundle to the car. By this point there were cars everywhere, both carparks full, the nearby pubs was full and people were parking on the street and verge, which really added to the impression of how busy it was. Still, it was really nice seeing people out and about enjoying the nice weather, and Missy got to bounce with lots of dogs and is now snoring away on the sofa. 

A very good day!

Beast from the East

Well...I was clearly speaking too soon last week with my hopes that a hint of spring was just around the corner, that the long dark winter had finally been broken...

Or I am just a massive jinx.

Whatever the case may be, I think it's safe to say that everything this week has been completely dominated by the "Beast from the East" and it hit us in the central belt hard. Tuesday was grim and I managed to get myself home safely from my abandoned dance classes, but I won't lie, it was tough going and I didn't get above 25mph. And then Wednesday arrived. I did actually think about going into work, but then I thought about all the other people on the road being frustrated at not getting to work and...nah. Not worth it.

So glad to have made that call. The hubby had work and braved it in only to get sent home at 2 (the shopping centre was shut down, that shows you how bad it was) and I spent 45 minutes having absolute kittens and desperately trying to clear the drive as he made the journey that we can normally manage in under 8 minutes. The worst. The absolute worst. My sympathy extends to everyone who's family got stuck out in the traffic, I think being the one waiting is worse than being the one in the car just about.

We did the altruistic thing of handing our number out to our elderly neighbours - and stressed that even if it was just for milk, to call us. There's no way an ambulance was gonna get into my estate and I'd never forgive myself if they fell in the snow for something silly. And then we took Missy for what's normally a 40 minute walk that, in all the snow, took us more than an hour (and from which most the photos were are done, I wasn't going to wrangle the dog and the camera at the same time). I had done two short walks earlier with her, but she likes the snow and the cold far better than her humans, so was keen to go again!

On Thursday I was sick fed up of the snow. All I could see was snow - out the window, on the news, on my social media - they wouldn't stop talking about it on the radio. We knew I advance that we were all havibg snow days again so I made the most of my improved "office" view and took some photos of the birds on the feeder during my tea break and insisted on doing the lunch walk in order to battle the oncoming cabin fever. Once the red warning clicked off there seemed to be more snow than there was during it. It just wouldn't stop. By this point the novelty had worn off for Missy and she was fed up wading through chest deep snow and being cold. She merely lay on the sofa staring out at the snow, her eyes clearly bemoaning the terrible state of affairs that prevented her from her life long squirrel destroying quest.

My improved view

Then Friday was another snow day. I'd made the call the night before as, even if conditions meant no more snow, it was so cold that it wasn't going to go anywhere and the car was going to need dug out. Hubby walked to work and it seemed like another day trapped in some bizarre apocalyptic zombie drama but without the zombies and, as I was finishing up for the day, I noticed a JCB rolling past my window - lo and behold, the community was rallying together. I soon joined the rest of the street in digging out what was left behind and the bad mood broke. Everyone was suddenly up beat and talking again. I got out with Missy and even she had a spring in her step, taking the time to play with every dog we met and bounding through the snow.

The weather warnings are back to yellow and it feels like we're through the worst. An odd week, not exciting but I feel its worth writing down. After all, its not every year that I get 3 foot of snow in two days.

*stops and anxiously peers through window as a lone snowflake falls past*

Perhaps I will leave it that and say no more, just in case...