Paws at the Palace v2

It's been a quick week with work being a bit crazy, but that means that the wait for Paws at the Palace 2021 didn't seem as long!

With it being based at Scone Palace in Perth, we had decided to use it as our monthly Perth get together and have a girls trip (with hubby in tow, who these days is an honorary girl anyway). The weather was set to be fair and Missy had gotten over her poor spell at the start of the week (she'd scavenged something that did not agree with her). So we bundled on the car and set off to Perth.

It turns out we all had super crazy weeks. Between one friend in the process of selling her house, the other having crazy staff issues with work, and my dealing with an incident at work, we were all completely beat. So it was a very leisurely day out where we simply chatted with the other dog owners and cuddled all the doggos. 

Everyone agreed it was exactly what we needed for the soul, ally he happy dogs giving cuddles. 

We all mooched about the stalls, stopped for lunch and ice cream. Watched the agility. Had a wee wander about the grounds, stopped for tea and cake (I can finally say I've had a scone at Scone!), and entered Missy into best rescue.

She didn't place, but I know she's the best, so it doesn't matter! 

We filled the day with chat and laughter and had a great time all round.

Definitely the day we all needed! 

Wee Bens Come to Visit

Its been a very quick weekend - mostly due to the arrival of Wee Ben who is going to be staying with us for a few days. My sisters family are taking her MIL up to Brechin for a few days and, owing to covid and everyone waiting to staycation, were unable to get a place that would allow dogs.

I'm working from home full time at the moment so I volunteered to have him. As a thank you, my BIL was round yesterday doing maintenance on some of my windows and the doors (I can now open and unlock the front door without aggressively wiggling the handle, so a definite win for me, though I regret not having it sorted sooner!). Him to-ing and fro-ing and a few dog walks completely filled in my Saturday.

Wont lie, last night was a bit of a challenge - he has seperation anxiety and my hope that Missy being dowstairs with him would mean that he would sleep fine down there didnt prove true. We persisted to ignore the barking and scratching at the bedroom door for an hour (and four trips to return him to his crate) before conceding defeat and putting his crate in our room. Which meant we also had to bring in Missys bed too. I'm a ridiculously light sleeper, so two dogs randomly shaking and turning around just served to keep me up most of the night.

That meant todays plan was to make sure I wore off his little socks so he might give sleeping downstairs a chance (will update you all on the success/failure of that next week!). I'd already organised a girls get together in Perth so Ben got to be an honorary girl for the day. I will say though, an extra dog is a lot of work and it took me ages this morning getting them both organised (thankfully Missys old harness fitted him, or we'd have had to brave putting him alone in the boot) and just simple things like having them both clipped into the car was suddenly a time consuming task.

It was the usual tag team of Brewdog followed by the Brew and Chew with a walk along North Inch in between and South Inch before going home. Missy was on top behaviour, which she is prone to do when with another dog. She's learned somewhere along the way that she gets far more attention by showing up her canine companions than trying to be naughty! For that I am very glad!

The three of us all took turns walking the different dogs and I think I may have convinced one of my friends that she really needs one in her life! It was a really nice day with a lot of chatting, good food (and glorious cake) and nice walking in the good weather. I couldnt have asked for a nicer day.

Both dogs are snoring now - so my objective of wearing them out seems to have been a success! 

A Unique Getaway

In these unusual times, the idea of a holiday is a bit too good to be true. We were fast approaching our birthday week time off and decided to see what was doable as a holiday bearing in mind I didn't want to be anywhere close to crowded, Missy would be coming and both hubby and I really needed a recharge, so no long distance driving.

We decided on Perth. Its only an hour away should the worst happen (ie a lockdown) and has lots of options for walks and things to do. We found a beautiful little shepherds hut at Greenhill Farm Glamping and decided to wing it. 

Storm Francis had other thoughts. Our plans of a stroll around the Falkland Estate was cut short (although we managed to find shelter under the canapy at the Pillars of Hercules cafe and warm up with some soup). Being based in Dunning, we tried there to kill some time to find out the only cafe didn't allow dogs and the pub didn't open till 5.30pm. So we just went for the Shepherds Hut and hoped they wouldn't mind us being 10 minutes early.

Once the stove was lit and we had begun to dry out we saw the humour of the day and our good moods and optimism returned. We returned to Dunning for our dinner and found another log fire - this we could get used to!

Our second day was dedicated to Perth itself. With Perth being the main place I meet my friends these days, hubby was insistent we go to the Brew and Chew at the least, and that he also wanted to see where we typically walked Missy. We walked South Inch and then found an adorable cafe called Milas Bakery and stopped for breakfast. Then we went to our intended destination of Branklyn Gardens. The weather was drizzly, but dry enough it was pleasant to walk, so we wondered about the plants and flowers before stopping for some tea in thier tearoom.

The staff were fantastic. It was very quiet and we were the only people out in the courtyard under the canopy and they were keen to chat. They insisted on saying hello to Missy and, after we discussed her unknown heritage, made light talk of the world with them and discussed the building and gardens. 

By then it was time for more tea. We had a wander about the high Street which was pretty quiet and stopped in at the Brew and Chew, as requested. Missy was recognised and fawned over and then we went for a walk around North Inch and found the Black Watch Museum. Dogs are permitted on the grounds, but not inside, so we enjoyed the buildings exterior before calling it a day.

Our final day ticked off the last bit of the truly Scottish summer weather we had yet to encounter: fog. We had booked in Arbroath for the final day to meet up with the in laws who we haven't seen since March, way back before lockdown and when Covid was just begining to be a thing.

Remember those times? It's beginning to feel like a lifetime ago. 

Arbroath is always lovely. It's a quaint fishing/tourist town which offers a rocky beach and more ice cream parlours and fish restaurants than you can shake a stick at. We had a lovely time. It was great to catch up and watch Missy play with Ruby. Despite her years, Missy is still a touch faster, mostly due to her better cornering, but I don't think it will be long before Ruby figures her feet out and overtakes. 

There was beachcombing and a lovely fish restaurant before we went for another walk and had an ice cream on the shore. I'm not sure I really could have asked for a nicer finish to the holiday. 

For my mother in law, I made this adorable tea cosie. Everyone is stitching and embroidering these days, so I was goaded into picking up the needle again by my friends. I used to cross stitch prolifically as a teen. Then I discovered knitting where I could make toys and things to wear. Then I discovered sewing, where I could make anything I wanted.

Either way, it was nice to revisit the hobby, and have something I could quietly work on whilst listening to a book, and I was pleased with the outcome - not bad after a 15 year hiatus!

And lastly, for those wondering, today's letter for the #leadthewayatoz was U. Ironically, it's the perfect letter for our holiday - unique in many ways, whilst hiding under our umbrellas! 

Returning to Old Haunts

I'm gonna start with that this weekend, well, the 3 of the 4 days rota off I have, has been a really good one. 

On Friday the hubby and I had booked into the 5 Sisters Zoo for a afternoon slot. Ordinarily I hate late starts, especially 4pm (the earliest slot we could get) but it worked out perfect. I got a lie in (if 6am is considered a lie in), took Missy out on a nice walk around Murieston which neither of us have done for ages and then I baked some cake and totally chilled out for the bulk of the day.

By the time 4pm rolled on round, I felt energised enough for the zoo and was in a super happy mood. We got lucky with the animals too; the otters were out and putting on a show, the lions were showing off as usual and the wolves made a guest appearance:

An awesome afternoon, and it put me on the right foot for the rest of the weekend.

Yesterday was a long overdue girls trip to Perth. I met my Inverness based friend alongside my more locally based one and we went to Brewdog for some pizza and then to the Brew and Chew, which we have decided is our Perth haunt. We always end up there - but the cake is just so reasonably priced, how can you resist?

Despite forecasted thunder and lightning, it was a beautiful day and we sat outside at both venues (which we were more comfortable doing, to be honest) and then enjoyed a nice stroll along both North and South Inch. It was a good day for dog spotting, which always makes a great day perfect, and we all had a really nice time. 

The evening was spent with a social distanced party as another friend celebrated her birthday. There was Say Anything, Jenga and Throw Throw Burrito - so a good day all in all! The cake (because there must be cake) was this Haunted Mansion inspired piece:

Which went down very well! 

Today has been a sewing day. I've gotten quilt fatigue, so I've put the Christmas one aside for now and decided on a single day make:

It's loud, but I'm loving this Lion King backpack. It's really a test run of the pattern as my eldest neice wants to make a drawstring backpack, so I wanted to make sure the pattern was within her abilities. It was easy, it's fun and quirky, and best of all, it's deceptively huge in the inside.

I think we may see some more of this style of bag in the future! 

Birthdays and Baths

Its been an odd week - we're getting a new bathroom fitted and, as with all these kinds of jobs, its invariable grown arms and legs. Basically the plaster on my 70 year old 50s build had given out and needed replaced, setting us back a week.

Missy doesn't like change. We all joke about how she doesn't like Christmas and always seems happiest after visitors have left and life is normal again, but that's very normal. So a week of having strange people coming and going, drilling and hammering and banging about has really put her through a loop. 

She also doesn't like me working from home. If I'm in the house surely I am there to do as she wishes? Opening doors, inviting her onto the sofa, playing with the squeaky toys, giving her cuddles - all the things a human is meant to do. Not sit at the dining table staring at a screen and occasionally talking to myself wearing my very fashionable Britney Spears-esque headset.

I had to apologise on a call when she decided to play the squeaky toys at me and I can only iagine what the flies on the wall thought of my frantic miming for her to just lie down and not go into the hall where there were workmen drilling.

Friday was big sisters birthday and, after joking that I really had to steal a shower ad would come bearing cake and gifts, she organised a get together in her house for us all. As a surprise, she ran me a bath and I got to have a long overdue soak whilst my hubby helped build my sisters new sofa.

She always has the oddest parties, and coming from me, that is saying something!

Saturday I tried to make amends with Missy and we had a nice quiet day with lots of cuddles on the sofa and her favourite local walks. The weather was fair, so I also got work done in the garden as she sunbathed.

Sunday...not to fair. It was positively horrendous. I had organised a girls meet up in Perth and, despite doing our best to stay out the rain, we got pretty soaked through. In fact, you can how bad the weather was when I took just one photo:

I follow Dog Friendly Perthshire on Facebook (owing to the fact that I often end up there for days out) and The Yard has been advertised as a new local venture and, most importantly, dog friendly. Its a pop up foodie thing and we had lunch there (the waffles were to die for) and admired all the dogs. My only complaint was that there wasn't anywhere comfortable for Missy to lie down, it being coarse gravel underfoot. Food was great though and we still had a nice time. 

Then we headed into the city centre and rocked up at the old favourite, the Bark and Chew. We were too stuffed from the waffles to enjoy cake as planned, so just had some tea whilst Missy napped under the table.

And that was the weekend! Short and sweet.

Now back to the banging and drilling, I do hope Missy forgives us soon!

Perthshire Highland Games

Well, its been a busy few weeks! We finally got the sheds replaced (it only took us six years to get around to it!) so that was the entirety of last weekend and, just as the cuts and bruises from demolishing and then erecting two sheds had started to fade, the hubby and I got rid of the old sheds yesterday. I'm sure there was some kind of inanimate spite from those sheds, I am completely black and blue from getting them hacked into small pieces and then shipped off to the dump.

So today I went with the girls for a meet up in Perth. One of my friends moved to Inverness at the beginning of the year, and we've been trying to figure out a good meeting point that doesn't involve driving for 3 hours. Perth didn't work out as a perfect midway, so we may need to revise logistics, but that's a battle for another day! We had brunch at The Rose House cafe which was really nice (thier raspberry cake comes highly recommended!) before deciding the brave the dreery weather and head out to the Highland Show at Scone Palace, which was only 10 minutes away.

I've mentioned many times that I love highland shows - the heavy games, the dancing, the pipe bands and the freshly made doughnuts make for a fabulous day no matter the weather. This games was much larger than the Bathgate games that I've done before with foot and cycling races in addition to the usual contests. I got really lucky and finally managed to watch the dancers compete in the national dances (including the Hornpipe and Flora) which I tend to miss as they run at the same time as the heavy games. I adore the Hornpipe costume, the little sailor outfit is so distinctive that we could tell from the main field the dance, which was why we went over.

Surprisingly, the tug-of-war, which I haven't seen competed live, was largely underwhelming. I thought tere was going to be lots of shouting and pulling and instead I saw sixteen men (two teams of eight) basically anchor themselves to the ground and not move. It was 22 minutes before one team started to gain traction over the other and, I will confess, we enjoyed the band master competition (where they throw and twirl the batons) much more which was happening in the same field. Missy was fussed over during the event (she always gets lots of attention in her little pink raincoat) and we then went and got some doughnuts, purely to keep warm, honest.

The last event we watched was the caber tossing. It's always a crowd-pleaser and was totally packed with people clapping and cheering. Sadly, the ground was too wet to get a proper toss, and we only saw one proper turn before sneaking out. We were all cold and soaked through at that point and Missy had started to shiver, so it was a good time to go. Fortunately I'd packed her little dressing gown, so I had her all dried off and wrapped up in no time and she snoozed away for the drive home. Unfortunalty I had to contend with lashing rain (we exited just before the heavens opened) and then fog! What a change of weather its been in only a few weeks!

Still, despite the weather and hairy drive, a brilliant day!

A List of Adventures!

Looking for somewhere a bit more unusual to take your four legged friends? It can be difficult scrawling through web pages trying to look for dog policies in places that someone somewhere has obscurely mentioned may be dog friendly, so to save everyone time, I've put together all of Missy's adventures into a list (broken by region) to hopefully save everyone else a little stress.

Missy out ghost hunting at the abandoned asylum!

Please share any suggestions of places we've yet to discover ourselves across the UK - Missy is always on the lookout for new adventures!

Scotland:

Edinburgh and the Lothians:

Walks:
Beecraigs Country Park
Antonine Wall/Falkirk Wheel
Bangour Village Hospital (abandoned asylum)
Union Canal (Ratho - Edinburgh)
Hermand Beechwood
Cramond Island
Cairns Castle
Pentlands
Cammo Estate
Korean War Memorial and Witchcraig Woods

Attractions:
Camera Obscura and World of Illusion
Summerhall Gallery
Almond Valley Heritage Centre
National Museum of Flight
Muiravonside Country Park
Bo'Ness and Kinneil Railway
Scottish Seabird Centre

Historic Scotland Sites:
Cairnpapple
Blackness Castle
Craigmillar Castle
Linlithgow Palace
Crichton Castle
Tantallon Castle (revisit)
Dirleton Castle and Gardens (revisit)
Dunfermline Abbey and Palace
Craignethan Castle
Thistle Knights Tours (Edinburgh Ghost Walk)


Events:
Bathgate Highland Games
Linlithgow Jousting
Siege on the Forth
Edinburgh Kiltwalk
Arthurs Ambles
Prepare to give Fire!
Dalkeith Show
40s/50s day @ Bo'Ness Railway

Kingdom of Fife:

Walks:

St Andrews Beach

Attractions:

Historic Scotland Sites:

Arbroath Abbey

St Marys
Ravenscraig Castle

Glasgow, Clyde and Ayrshire:

Walks:

Attractions:

New Lanark 

Glasgow Botanical Gardens

Historic Scotland Sites:

Bothwell Castle
Craignethan Castle

Perth, Kinross and Angus:

Walks:
Killiecrankie

Attractions:

Historic Scotland Sites:

Huntingtower Castle (dogs not permitted in buildings)

Bothwell Castle (revisit)

Events:
Perthshire Highland Games

Central and West:

Walks:

Attractions:

Loch Katrine Lake Cruise

Inverary Jail

Historic Scotland Sites:

Inchmahome Priory (revisited)

Castle Campbell and Gardens

Dumfries and Galloway:

Walks:

Attractions:
Crawick Multiverse

Historic Scotland Sites:

Caerlaverock Castle
Jedburgh Abbey
Dryburgh Abbey
Sweetheart Abbey
Lochmaben

North and Grampian:

Walks:
Culloden (dogs must be kept on leads)

Attractions:
Landmark Adventure Park
Jacobite Cruise Loch Ness
Dunnator Castle

Historic Scotland Sites:

Kildrummy Castle

Glenbuchat Castle

Corgarff Castles (dogs not permitted in buildings)
Fort George (dogs not permitted in buildings)
Clava Cairns

National Trust Sites:
Crathes Castle (dogs not permitted inside)

England:

Greater Manchester:

Walks:

Attractions:

Stockley Farm

White Peak Alpacas

East Lancashire Railway

Events:

Heald Green Festival

The Lakes:

Walks:
Grizedale Forest
Whinlatter Forest

Attractions:

Pencil Museum

Puzzling Place

Windermere Lake Cruises

Laurel and Hardy Museum

Stott Bobbin Mill

Lakeside Motor Museum

Haverwaithe Railway

Old Hall Farm

If you've found somewhere fun to go through this blog, Missy and I would love to hear about it - please let us know and share your travels with us!