Another's Odd Week

I've been on leave again this week and, whilst the weather hasn't been as nice, it's been a busy little week all the same. We've made an effort to get out walking in some more interesting places and I've made a dent on my sewing and other crafts.

The #mindfulmarch photo challenge has been ticking away in the background and, 4 weeks in, I'm pleased I've managed to post each day. "Motivation" was probably my fav to set up, mostly because I think wristwarmers for dogs should be a thing, even if Missy isn't so sure!

We did a new walk this week, starting at the Falkirk Wheel and walking to the Kelpies and back again. Missy absolutely made some toddlers day at the Kelpies as, during her obligatory photo with the horses, I could hear delighted cries of "look at the doggy! It's having its picture taken!"

Whilst I'm pleased we did the 8 mile walk, I wouldn't particularly recommend it; unless back-of-industrial estate canal is your kind of walk. We had a weird one where we were stopped by a lady who's 7 month old Westie had been allowed off lead and wouldn't return to her. She'd been trying to catch him for an hour and was absolutely wind bunt and frozen to the bone. Hubby and I were more than happy to help, but I was honestly shocked tmby the number of folk who completely ignored her pleas for help. We did manage to corral the pup and, 30 minutes later, he was caught and back on the lead (I suspect permanently). 

Our other big walk was another 8 miles, doing a repeat of the Bo'ness to Blackness walk. We met with our friend who lives in Bo'ness and gave a puppy play date a go. Lily, like Missy, is an ex-rescue who likes other dogs but is totally over this bouncing on each other thing. She seemed delighted to meet another dog who was passively interested in her and they took turns to casually sniff the other before going on thier adventure.

Rescued from the roadside in Serbia, Lily is definitely part terrier and she was content to sniff everything and everyone. Both dogs trotted alongside each other for the bulk of the walk and seemed rather pleased about the arrangement, so I imagine more play dates will occur in the future. 

Pleased to report that both dogs are totally tuckered out in thier respective homes!

Sewing wise I've done rather well in squaring off odds and ends with projects and getting things tidied away. I'm particularly pleased with this baby quilt and matching tote I made for a friend who's expecting. There will be a matching cross stitch, but I have a few months still before that needs finishing!

Gender is unknown and being kept a surprise, so I kept it neutral with nice greys and a lovely mint green. I find Dumbo to be a neutral character too, so either way the baby should get some use out of the quilt.

Hope your all doing well and staying safe, till next week. 

Keeping Christmas on the Rails

I think, maybe (possibly, hopefully) Missy is starting to cotton on to the whole Christmas thing. We decided not to do a tree this year (the below photo shows the extent of our festive decor) and Missy has been in generally better spirits than in Christmases past; certainly, I haven't had the panicked "omg, your home - you left forever ago!" that I was getting last year, which usually resulted in Missy running and jumping on me whilst trying to pirouette into a cuddle before slowly sliding to the floor to lie there, wagging tail between legs, on her back and whine crying. A phenomenon that only started when the tree went up and ceased when it went down again and, despite how funny the picture sounds, both hubby and I found very distressing. 

The correlation has been proven, no tree, no hyper anxiety, so that's us, no tree anymore. 

Missy got an early Christmas present after staring out her stocking for 20 minutes, and we spent the day doing the rounds. A dog walk with my brother (and of course Maisie in a wonderful Xmas bandana) and mum, and then a visit to the BIL who is doing well considering the year he's had. We then had the evening to ourselves and, after dinner, the three of us all cosied up on the sofa with a Christmas film and munchies. A good day.

I've said before that hubby works retail, so I had a few quiet days post Christmas to get the place back in order whilst he worked. I'd noticed online that the Bo'ness and Kinneil railway were doing a Diesel Gala Day the Saturday and decided that it would be a good way to get out and about again and burn off some of those Christmas chocolates.

Having a season ticket meant I could get one return ride as it was a special event day and I knew I wanted to have a shot on the DMU from the 50s. For those who aren't train nerds (and I certainly wasn't one until I got me annual pass!) a DMU is a diesel multiple unit, basically engine and carriage are one and the same. The one at bo'ness is so old and decrepit that it took the same time to run half of the line and back as the other trains take to do the whole thing. I had missed it at the 50s day in August, so was keen to try again.

My mum came along for the ride (no pun intended) and it was a good distraction from the news of last week when we lost my uncle. It was one of those funny days where everyone seems to want to know what breed of dog Missy is. I think those are the days my mum likes best, she loves talking to random strangers and Missy has raised through the ranks to be her favourite grand-doggy-daughter, so she loves talking about her too.

We had people in the cafe chat to us, and then two separate couples on the train ride itself as well as on the platform. Missy was in full tart mode, cuddling up to the legs of the people we were sat beside and demanding, via nose-nudging, for more pets. The return journey say us with a father and young son (5 yo). The boy was nervous but the father, who told us all about the rotties he used to keep, was quite keen for us to sit with them. Letting the kid give Missy some treats soon cemented that friendship and they were having photos taken together by the end of the ride.

A successful ride! 

We did the harbour walk afterwards and then it was home for homemade steak and ale pie before my mum left as we were losing light. The winter days are certainly too short.

I've been working away on the sewing machine, but this quilt was the last of my Christmas present makes. It's new owner (BILs girlfriend) was very pleased to receive it and I don't think will be parted from it anytime soon! She loves cuddling on the sofa in a duvet almost as much as Harry Potter, so this Hogwarts house themed quilt was a sure win.

We've always done Christmas for family and New Year for friends, so I'm looking forward to next week and will need to have a think in new year resolutions. Missy, after doing so well, broke her no vet visits resolution a few times this month, so I think we need to lower the bar for her! 

I look forward to writing again in the next decade! I'm looking forward to the 20s - I have grand plans for holidays over the next few years, and in a smaller time scale, some fabulous sewing projects (although part of me wants to get some vintage sewing patterns and really embrace the decade).

Until then! Have a wonderful New Year.

Trains and Rosettes

The 1940s and 50s day at Bo'ness had been on my radar for a while. I originally spotted this advertised when taking my friend to the railway earlier this year and have subsequently stalked Bo'ness and Kinneil railway through all their social media channels since. Ironically as I hated it as school, I've developed a real love and passion for history of all kinds in my old age and try and get along to all the reenactments that I can. This was obviously not a reenactment but a celebration of the time period with live music, dance displays, both steam and diesel engines and, of course, encouraging everyone to dress up. I love dressing up. Which is funny as I'm always in dog walking trousers, walking boots, a baggy jumper, tatty baseball cap and an obnoxiously bright hi-vis coat. My own mother today told me how lovely it was to be seen in a dress and my response was that they just aren't practical when walking the dog. But still, any excuse to embrace something bright and fun and I am there!

So, I've already said I wore a dress so the post today is a little back to front:

I actually made this nearly two years ago. It had not seen the light of day until now - not because I wasn't happy with it, I adore that I made something with a vintage pattern and the trials and tribulations I had as a novice at sewing at the time, but it's just so...fancy dress. It's bright and colour blocked and really in your face, which is exactly what I wanted until I realised that I had no opportunity to wear it! It was a vote two to one against a 40s vintage pattern outfit I've made (I'm keeping that for later!) and so off I went whilst wondering what I'd let myself in for.

My mother and I arrived in time for the first train of the day so we caught that and had brunch whilst the rest of the place was set up. We were both pleased to see three other women dressed up in our carriage having had a moments hesitation in the morning (whilst I don't care what other people think, the weather was changeable and I was concerned everyone else would be sensibly attired in macs). Missy had on her party collar and all three of us received compliments and we equally gushed over the other outfits.

Once off the train we jived a little and watched the dance demonstrations. We had already decided to skip the second train and decided to go warm up a little with some tea in the cafe. The staff all had on poodle skirts which I thought a wonderful touch. As we had our tea my eldest sister and her two (niece 14, nephew 10) arrived. I swear my birthday doesn't seem to be ending this year as I was handed pressies.

I noticed very quickly my niece didn't seem right. It clicked as we watched a group of flapper girls laughing in front of the pack of photographers - I had been actively trying to encourage all my family to dress up. My mother and myself were the only two to do so (credit to my nephew he wore a waistcoat and a flat cap to look a bit vintage) and had spent most of the morning explaining what we were wearing and that they should join in. My niece is at *that* age. She is very fashion conscious and doesn't like to break free from the herd and be different. She clearly expected my mother and I to be the only muffins dressed up and had instantly regretted that she had missed such an incredible Instagram opportunity. Those dressed up, I could see her little mind thinking, were clearly getting the most attention and having the most fun.

My sister had wanted to get me afternoon tea for my birthday but had lost out to two things, firstly that the buffet car is the only place you can have it and it's also the only place Missy is unwelcome, and secondly, you have to book months in advance. Even on days were there are no events it sells out right away. She had therefore decided to bring a picnic and we all enjoyed that on the next train. The ride was fun, my sister blagged me a shot on the foot plate at Manual saying it was my birthday and I got to hang out and play pokemon with my nephew.  A good day all in all!

After the excitement of the 40s/50s day, it was a day for Missy as we went to the Paws at the Prom event held by the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home. We did this last year and had a great time and, with the promise that this year was to be bigger and better than last, hopes were high.

In the car and off we went, picking up the entourage on route - my mum was coming as was Maisie; she was getting a wee day out without parental supervision owing to my brother working. We arrived in good time - I parked in Portobello and we walked over to the home, and both dogs were keen to say hi and meet new people and other dogs. They have recently built new paddocks on site and were using these as zones (Education in one, shopping another and so on) in addition to the arenas and stalls in the main field. It meant that even though this year was definitely busier than last (the good weather was most certainly the reason for that), it felt less crowded.

Gotta love a photobooth!

Neither Maisie nor Missy placed in Bonniest Girl and we decided to commiserate with lunch at the burrito van. My mum particularly loves the golden oldies category and, waiting for it to start, I got chatting with the "paw"rent of one of the competitors. I think they appreciated me checking if the dog was human or dog nervous owing to its harness being bright yellow with "nervous" stamped across it, and was told that it was a "generally everything" type nervous. We cheered them on, although we were pleased that a very elderly 17 year old dog won.

Following on from Missy completing her level 2 training, I had decided to place her into best trick as well. She decided that instead of spin and turn she would much rather lie down or give an unenthusiastic paw. Humiliated (but in good humour, Missy wasn't the only one to get performance shy), I returned to my mum and had to laugh that our new friends had stayed to cheer Missy on.

Maisie watching the competitions very seriously

We then went to the QandA session they were running at the Education Area and got some good advice to pass onto my brother about Maisies reactive barking. Then it was back to the main paddock for the last competition I had entered Missy in for: Best Rescue. The day had turned warm and the sun was out and Missy had decided that she didn't want to stand or sit pretty, she just wanted to lie down, sunbathe a little and have her belly scratched. Which is absolutely fine, but in a paddock full of dogs within a field full of dogs, certainly gains a lot of attention!

With the judges going through the names, I complied to Missy and gave her belly a scratch and she stretched comfortably and made herself very at home. I could hear people laughing at scene, even the DJ, when he clocked sight of us as he called out Missys name, laughed and said that she was clearly relaxed and enjoying herself. The judges deliberated for a while before announcing third place to the dog on my left, then second to the dog on my right. They clearly weren't going to pick all three dogs from the one corner so I was shocked when they called out Missy who "was clearly embracing her life as a rescue and showed perfectly just how wonderful a rescue dog could be".

Absolutely overwhelmed. Missy got to pose with her rosette and clearly didn't understand what the fuss was about. An over-proud doggy-grandma, my mum insisted we return to hers and celebrate (with tea, I was driving!).

Missy was glad to get home and fell fast asleep on the sofa (after I had put away the spoils of the day, you know, just in case I dropped some of the free sample dog biscuits). Her rosette and certificate are by her bed - a perfect end for the weekend.

Bo'ness and Birkhill Walk

So this was a funny weekend in terms of plans. A puppy play date was always on the cards and there was a list of places my brother and I want to take the dogs to. When asking my mother if she was free and fancied joining us, it was revealed that my aunt (who is undergoing cancer treatment and cant get out much) was coming through with her son, my cousin, and that my mother had already promised them both that we would all be going out and doing something together.

News to me!

Nonetheless, after pointing out that what doggie play dates generally entail is a lot of walking, we bumped heads together and decided on the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway. I quite recently took a friend there, so wont go into too much detail about the site itself, but it seemed a good choice as the weather has been particularly unpredictable of late and there wouldn't be much walking about. Owing to Maisie requiring her six weekly spa day and pamper, we agreed on the 2pm train and managed to talk my sister into coming along as well.

 

Anyone who knows me knows that two in the afternoon is a day of adventuring lost, so I decided that, after dropping the hubby off at work, I'd just head off and see what I had time to do in regards to local walks. I'd gotten very keen on the idea of walking from Bo'ness to Blackness Castle (a 4 mile circular) but as it was already hitting 20C and we'd be walking on an exposed coastal path, I decided against it. Coincidentally, as I was purchasing an annual ticket for the railway (there's at least one event I want to do this year, and I'm pretty certain I'll end up along there at least once more after that, so it will have paid itself off before the years out) it came out on the tannoy that there was the Kinneil house walk and the Birkhill walks that could be done as part of a journey.

I'd previously scoped out the Kinniel walk and knew it would be more than an hour, which would be cutting it fine to catch the train on return. A quick query with the station master revealed that the walk at Birkhill was a 20-25 minute amble of a walk and I'd have half an hour to do it in settled that for me. Missy decided to cuddle up to and hug a train spotter who made the mistake of smiling and making eye contact with her and, after assessing the situation where he was rubbing her face and ears and posing for selfies with her, I decided she was clearly causing no bother and got some photos of the train coming into the station.

Both Missy and I had lunch on the train in the 15 minutes it took to get to Birkhill and then disembarked at a scenic little station and found a clearly marked woodland walk sign. I was quite disappointed to realise there used to be a clay mine in the area and that the visitors centre attached was closed to public visitors in 2013. I found some old signs and peered down into the gorge before trundling along the track. With the thought of the return train in the back of my mind we briskly walked the circular route and were done in less than twenty minutes. I ambled about the remnants of the mine information for another five and then headed back to the station. 

As usual when I have time to kill, I had Missy pose about the place for some photos and we quickly gathered a bit of an audience who were all very impressed at her sit and stay abilities. She made friends with a little boy who, after realising they were the same age, begged his mum for a photo of them together. I'm rather enamoured at the thought of Missy making her way into someone else's holiday snaps, and was more than happy to let them have a picture together.

I timed the trip back well as everyone was just arriving as the train pulled into the station. It was good to see my aunt and cousin again and I was pleased that my sister arrived in time as well for the train. She had brought her very elderly MIL with Wee Ben in tow. She's too old and frail now to keep him full time, which is why my sister usually has him, but she has been desperate for some time now to come along on a puppy play date as I always make sure to send her photos of the dogs having fun together.

Tickets were bought, group photos taken and on the train we went. In contrast to the previous train I had gotten this one was mobbed. Clearly the post-lunch train is popular! We made do with what we could and I found myself chatting to my sisters MIL and my nephew. He was perplexed as to why we'd all want to go on a steam train (alas, he's clearly forgotten when I took him to a Thomas day many, many moons ago and he was inconsolably happy) and I joked about a lack of screens and enjoying the scenery.

He did enjoy it once he'd realised that this was his opportunity to rule the conversation and we spent most of it chatting about Pokemon Go. His mother and grandmother clearly thought we were speaking another language, but enjoyed the time all the same. Maisy however, was not happy. She looked miserable on my brothers lap and refused treats, so on the return we moved the dogs to a different car where they could lie down properly and Maisy seemed a bit better but still unsure.

After we disembarked, I mentioned that the tickets were an all day ticket and there was another train still if they wanted to go again. I found a booth in first class and they all crammed in except for my brother and his friend who'd found a roomier space in a different carriage. They messaged me and said they were going to do the Birkhill walk I had done earlier and I offered to take Wee Ben out and agreed to join them.

That's where the day was almost an absolute disaster. 

Missy spotted a deer or a rabbit or something and basically went missing. After ten minutes my somewhat nervous but its-all-ok attitude melted into blind panic and we split up to try and cover more ground to find her. 

After 30 minutes I realised that we were going to end up missing the train. My brother very kindly offered to get the train back, fetch his car and drive back to the station to help with the search. The rest of the family (barring my sister who was driving) had found out that the buffet car served alcohol and would be in no state to help having been left unchaperoned for so long, but he was resolute that they could suck it up and be left at a pub in Bo'ness if it came to that. He was going to come back and help.

40 minutes and I had reached meltdown. I couldnt shout anymore so was on the verge of sobbing out Missys name over and over when my brother called. No sign of the train yet and Missy was on the tracks. 

I've never run so fast in all my life. Missy was soaked through and cried at the sight of me before doing a 360 turning cuddle and whimpering and licking at me as I hugged her. Our guess if that she fell in the gorge, couldn't get back out and had to go downstream, cut across the woods at a distance where she couldn't hear us shouting and then made her way back along the tracks to find us. I have genuinely never been so frightened.

The train pulled in as we were all hugging Missy with an apology from the conductor about being late back (we said nothing, but boy, I was so pleased they'd run late) and we were back on the train. We reconvened at the station and, as my family staggered along and insisted we raid the gift shop, I discovered that the reason the train was late was that my sisters MIL decided to try and chat up the train driver and then stole his hat. There are photos of them all smiling with the driver taking turns in his hat.

For once in my life, I am not cross or embarrassed at them.

On a different note, today (asides from looking at dog trackers on Amazon at great length) I had a go at a craft project that's been on my to-do list for a while. Beeswax wraps!

Ok, not super exciting, but I'm trying to reduce plastic and this is whats being touted as the new clingfilm. I've made a few test sheets in some scrap fabric in different sizes to see what works and will revisit the project on a larger scale if successful.

Missy is asleep on the sofa. After a thorough check, she's non the worse for wear after her misadventure. Not even a broken claw or misplaced hair. 

She's stiff today but, after checking her PitPat activity monitor that doesn't surprise me - those 40 minutes I spent pacing and screaming for her, she ran at full pelt. She was very sorry for herself last night, and had clearly got a bad fright herself as she just velcroed herself to us. Saying that, clearly though she's not sorry, she vanished off after rabbits on her morning walk, but thankfully returned to me within a minute looking a bit sheepish.

Hopefully next weeks adventure will not be so hair raising!

Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway

Its been a weekend of two halves. Saturday rained. It poured and chucked it down. It drizzled and spat and was just a generally gruesome day. Sunday however, well, it may be cloudy at points, but its been warm and dry and just the right kind of day for getting out and about in the world.

Its been a funny weekend for reminiscing. We've got a friend visiting and, without really meaning to, we've mostly been recollecting adventures past and how things once were. My hubby and said friend are going to London for a boys weekend at the end of August (there's a wrestling match involved, so I'm very happy to leave them to it) and I was fondly recounting when I went as a kid with a family friend who, in the nicest and most fond way possible, is an absolute anorak, so we'd actually gone down to see some new plane or something at the time and caught a steam show too. It came out that our friend had never been on a steam train and we decided that needed rectified immediately.

The Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway is an oldie but a goodie - I've been to a few Thomas days and even without an event, the atmosphere is great and its busy. I like to see these little volunteer run places doing well and, as we waited for the train, we watched the model railway (house in an old carriage) and wandered about the engine shed. The place must be full of mice; Missy's nose was going the whole time as we looked about the old carriages.

It takes about an hour to do the round trip on the train, starting at Bo'ness and finishing in Manuel where they turn the around and head back down the line. It was busy enough that there was a good atmosphere but not so busy that we were going to struggle getting seats and soon we were on our way enjoying a picnic and admiring the view. We were sat directly behind the engine and there really is no noise quite like a steam train as it chugs along the track.

Missy was much admired by the staff, being mistaken as a puppy rottie, and her modelling skills got a good laugh (and a shot on the train footplate, not many dogs can claim that). After the round trip we decided to go on the harbour walk and let Missy stretch her legs. We had not real destination in mind other that a vague 'that way, towards Kinneil' and ended up going for a walk around a tidal island. 

The gorse bushes were clearly full of rabbits and Missy was almost yellow from the pollen when she decided to check in on us. As a treat, we spotted the train passing us by and I was lucky enough to get a shot of it before we lost it in the foliage. 

As I said, Saturday was miserable so I managed a lot of sewing. Missy was given plenty of walks and chased some bunnies, but wasn't in the mood for a soggy adventure and happily slept on the sofa whilst I worked away. I have a large project that I aim to start this week, but wanted to do a palette cleanse project first as I've done a few large ones on the bounce. This ones a gift for my sister who adores all things spooky:

There's a lot more to the set, but didn't want to clutter the photo too much - 4 place mats, 6 coasters, 3 big bowl covers, 4 small bowl covers (a must against the cats), 3 pot holders, the teapot cosie and table runner. I'm rather looking forward to offering to set the table when I next visit!

Although I am concerned her other house guests may start to presume she's a witch in disguise - or that she's gone completely batty!