Meet Mouse

Why is Peri looking so glum?

It may have something to do with a certain little bundle of fun who has joined our household. I mean is this anyway to be greeted on your own front step.


Not really the welcome Peri was hoping for. So who's the furry culprit?

Everyone I'd like you to meet Mouse



Mouse is a three month old Brussels Griffon. She's a tiny thing and at the moment she makes funny sqeaks instead of a bark. Hence the name chosen by my hubby who does have rather a way with names. It suits her even if she is likely to grow and learn to bark.



She is a pretty inquisitive young lady and Peri despite his absolute disgust at her arrival still feels the need to follow her and make sure she's OK, although he pretends he was going that way anyway.



I didn't plan to get another dog, in fact it was the last thing on my mind. Yesterday we'd gone into the pet shop to get hay for the rabbits where this little girl threw herself at the glass in a such a lovely manner, not yapping just excited, every part of her saying play with me. I fell in love right there and then but walked away. I already have so many beautiful babies, but her face wouldn't leave me. I kept talking about her so DH went back and bought her. She is utterly adorable and all the animals have adjusted so quickly to her it's like she's been here forever. Today Peri, Sasha and Mouse all followed me to the top of our steps and back down again. It was a real welcoming commitee, I can tell you. There's something very special about the loyalty and love you get from animals. I never feel as rested and as peaceful as when I am in the midst of my furry family



Mouse is a kind of birthday present I guess as it's my birthday today. Shhh only one more year until the big four Oh.
A subdued affair, book tokens from the girls, a pink Ipod from my son and a gorgeous Laura Ashley red jacket that I've been yearning over for a month.

Feeling a bit at odds on the knitting front now that the ravelympics has ended. I have one project to finish for it but now the whole impetus seems to have gone as out as the olympic flame. I think perhaps I ought to knit Mouse a warm jumper. It's still a little chilly here and she was shivering on her walk.

What a disgrace

Never, ever let me lose with a pair of scissors or clippers or even a knife. I am just not to be trusted it would seem with anything other than a pair of needles.
Let me explain, animal lovers, please understand that no animals were actually hurt in this episode but they may well have psychologial problems for a while.
Ollie, our adorably placid, laid back Shih Tzu desperately needed to be clipped and bathed. To say he was smelly is a bit like saying snow is cold. It was so bad we kept telling him not to move during the evening so he wouldn't waft the smell at us. We couldn't just bath him, as that involves a lot of pain and anguish on Ollie's part. So we bought a set of clippers and decided to DIY. Big mistake. Not only did it take most of the day, we went slowly so as not to make a mess of it and to make sure we didn't cut Ollie, but he looked a mess anyway. In some places he has very very short fur.



He didn't look so bad once it was all roughly the same length.
We are counting on him not seeking legal assistance to claim for damages although Peri was clearly willing to take up the challenge on Ollie's behalf. I would show you the end result but Ollie refused to be photographed naked. He slunk outside to hide until he was certain all implements of mass embarrassment had been put away. I think we'll stick with the dog groomer after all. We were just trying to save money.
Pups are all doing well. Weaning has started and what a messy palaver that is. I dread weaning, not only because pups have a knack of gettting it into every corner imaginable as they seek to do anything but eat it, but also because it means they won't be with us much longer. I would so love to keep them even though I know that
6 dogs would be 5 too many.



It's a good laugh this feeding lark.



Nothing better than a good sleep after a feed.



This is the life for me.

Book update
I have to be honest and say that Chesil beach while a finely crafted piece of prose left me feeling vaguely dissatisfied. It would seem that the trend is moving towards writing a whole load of poignant introverted wonderings that lead nowhere. I know Woolf did it with The Lighthouse and as a technique it has some merit, but I like my fiction to go somewhere, to take me on a journey and to let me step into another world. I need resolutions. I can't cope with this snapshot of life or a brief moment in time.
I am going to read if I can (library willing) the Orange Long list. That should keep me suitably entertained for a while.

Knitting update

Tonight I am going to spend some time with my stash as I think about what to put on the needles next, shut up sock, it won't be you. I really should finish a jumper for me in the softest blues and greens that has been at the bottom of the knitting bag for almost three years. I only have half a sleeve to do and the neckband,it wouldn't take any time, but I can't remember wherebouts I am in the pattern and so it just gets labelled too hard adn I ignore it again.
What project/projects do you have calling out to be finished?

I've been tagged by Fireflynights

For the book tag, here are the rules:

Pick a book at least 123 pages long.

Open that book to page 123.

Find the fifth sentence and post the next three.

Then tag five other people to do the same.

So the book nearest to me happens to be Anne Enright's The gathering, whihc is hardly surprising as I am just about to post the winner of the giveaway.
I'll tel you the winner in a moment.
Sentence five reads like this:
The suitcase was air-force blue; stiff, with rounded corners.
the next three are:
It belonged to my friend Deirdre Moloney from college, the one whose mother threw her out three months before her final exams. At this stage she still lived a twee little life, where things like suitcases and, say, walking boots, were readily to hand. So, it was an air hotess's suitcase I carried down the stairs filled with dirty clothes and squeezed out tubes of spermicidal jelly: in the middle of it all, the tiny, smothered sloshing of a mostly empty bottle of gin.
I found that there was a real sense of flow and rhythm to Enright's writing, it sounds authentic and realistic but is still quite obviously crafted. The little details that are thrown in but not dwelt upon allowing the reader to make of them what they will. I'm sure the winner will love it. Drumroll please. And the winner is number 6 because there were 6 puppies. So congratulations to Mr Puffy the dog

So now I have to tag five people to do the same. I know some people don't like being tagged so I am going to apologise in advance if I tag you and you don't like it. Just say thanks but no thanks and it's all cool. No pressure on anyone out there.
Verbal one
Tea time and roses
A patchwork of books
Pages turned
mabel's house

On another note all pups are doing well. We are having to supplement the smallest one but that's to be expected. Thank goodness for heat pads otherwise she would be getting quite chilled. There's always one that needs a bit of TLC.
I have managed to knit a grand total of 4 rows. I just can't relax until the pups are a few days old and I know their all thriving. I have several pieces in progress and will probably post about them over the weekend.

Dogs On Thursdays

I have two dogs,Sasha and Ollie. They are both Shizhus and extremely dim but terribly loveable. Sasha is expecting her second set of pups in about ten days and I am very excited. It was such a magical experience last time. Ollie is the father and while he is highly devoted to Sasha right now, (aside from eating her puppy food when he gets the chance) when the pups arrive he'll stay well clear and will pretend they're nothing to do with him.

The brown one from Sasha's last litter


The spitting image of Ollie


Ollie in his best outfit
I can't find one of Sasha at the moment as my darling hubby never labels the photos he down loads. I will try and get one, basically she is the same colour as Ollie but she has long hair.

Not a lot of knitting done tonight as Peri the cat keeps making off with my wool while I'm at work and tonight I spent several hours untangling the spaghetti mess he managed to make. I am going to have to start hiding it.