Daily Doodle Catch Up & It is COLD

Our dogs enjoy the snow.

Our dogs love the snow and as it has snowed pretty much all night and all day we thought we would take them out for a run around into it.  Unfortunately despite the fact we have had both dogs for nearly 15 years, Shadow still wants to eat Pirate, so they have to play outside separately.

Not bad for a 15 year old dog with arthritis!  Hopefully this means he will sleep tonight and not yap, whine and bark all night which is what he has been doing the last few nights, keeping us awake!

He certainly enjoyed his ball.

Pirate still acts very much like a puppy in the snow and despite his age you wouldn't think he too was nearly 15.

He spent quite a long time out there chasing the ball and playing.

He has had that yellow ball in his mouth almost 15 years as well!  He has kept all his toys, and not lost one!

Advent Day Five - Snow!

We woke to a light covering of  snow this morning!

A bit of a moan I'm afraid, but some good stuff too.

I'm fed up with taking pills and STILL being in pain.  No motivation, nothing getting done and yet only 15 days to go before I go away which I should be looking forward to.  Right side and arm is on fire today so feeling fed up, fed up, fed up.  There got that out of my system.

 I had to post a couple of letters today to let some friends know I will be over in NZ soon.  I popped in to the CS on the way home (like you do).  After all if you are trudging in the snow, you might as well have a browse as well.  

Now I don't buy Cath Kidston goods, just can't bring myself to pay the prices for what is essentially now mass produced.  However if I see a bargain, that is not to say I won't.

So when I saw this cosmetic type purse for 99p, brand new in the CS, I thought I would buy it.

Now I left some clothes behind in NZ last year, but I am thinking that some of the things might not fit me any more so when I saw this:

I thought it would be just right for the warmer weather.  The lady in the shop had just been talking to one of the other salespeople about bring out some warm clothes (I guess everyone is buying for the colder weather)  and when I took this up to the counter she said, 'Now that looks nice and warm'!  Now I just couldn't hold myself back I'm afraid and came back with the quick reply, 'I don't think so, it is a sleeveless vest with a little bolero cardigan, hardly warm weather clothing!'.  I think I must have then flustered her as she took rather a while to ring up the total on the cash machine...making lots of mistakes.  I didn't mean to be rude, it just came out as there I was thinking of cool summer wear...and she was on a completely different wave length.  I gave her a smile and wished her a pleasant afternoon on my way out.  

Just some photos of my Kidz n' Cats dolls that I bought early last year.  They have been sitting in my sewing studio just waiting for the right moment to come out and have a play!

SNOW

Overnight has seen the the first snow for this winter...several inches in fact!

I don't think I will be venturing out very far today.

A Pause in Advent - Week 4

Some Christmas Cheer, scented pot pourri and a table centrepiece.

Some more advent gifts.

Very snowy and cold indeed.

What better way to celebrate the last Pause in Advent with a very special guest all the way from Australia. Christmas is all about family and friends, a time to be thankful for all we have and the being able to spend quality time together. When you live so far away from most of your family and friends this can be difficult. It has been six years since I last spent Christmas with my family in New Zealand and I miss them a lot. Goodness knows how long it has been since I last saw my friend at Christmas, however I was lucky enough to spend some time with her last year when she flew over Australia to see me in New Zealand. So who is our guest?

My best friend's daughter. Just look at that wonderful smile

We sat down to a lovely roast dinner and enjoyed the company. DS2 (not pictured) did a LOT of talking, I hope he didn't overwhelm our guest too much.

Goodness a smile from DS!!

We went for a walk in the snow with the dogs.

How perfect to have this opportunity, and how very special to have my friends daughter staying with us. We feel very lucky indeed.

Not sure what is planned for today. M had a long sleep in and we are now awaiting our boarder (of the guinea pig variety) to arrive and then we might pop off to the shops for a wander around.

Stay safe in the snow and ice everyone and enjoy your warm weather those on the other side of the world!

Eerie

We awoke to an eerie calm on Wednesday morning. The sky was white and the snow was still falling. The boys were off school and doing their own thing so hubby and I took the dogs for a walk over the fields.

Our collie absolutely loves the snow and tried to catch snowballs, as well as scoop up snow as he walked along.

What we didn't expect was the strange shadowing and spots in our eyes. Although there was no sun the starkness and whiteness of the snow obviously had an effect. Must wear sunglasses next time as it was a very weird sensation!

We watched a programme about dogs on Horizon last night - I don't think we really learnt anything more than we already 'knew' although the dog identifying toys from a picture was pretty amazing. Seeing the dogs enjoy themselves so much in the snow, but also interacting with us was and is wonderful, they give so much back.

Yesterday was a much more glorious day - the sky blue and a very crisp snap to the air. We had to go into London and I was hoping for a lovely wander around, but the train was delayed so we only just got to the hospital in time for my appointment. I spent the rest of the lovely day enclosed in an MRI scanner having an MRI and two MRA's! Needless to say when I came out at 4.45pm we thought it more prudent to head straight home in case of more train delays. Fortunately the tubes were excellent, no delays and no crowds, as for the train - they only put on three carriages and it was positively heaving - talk about sardines in a can! Hopefully an experience not to be repeated.

Both boys are back at school today - yippee!