Saturday 26 May 2018

Close shaves









It's been a tricky day for Bert. He had a close shave this morning. Literally. The groomer took him all the way back to velvet undercoat. Oh he's so soft. Like he's made of chenille. Then I took his old basket away and replaced it with a new one. The old one was full of holes and he was constantly pulling the stuffing out.

He found the new one very disconcerting. Once he'd dragged it round the room a few times and jumped on it he settled down with it upside down and rested his chin on it. It reminded me of a book that I used to read to the children, 'Schnitzel von Krumm's Basketwork' by Lynley Dodd. Schnitzel's family get rid of his stinky, scruffy, messy basket, but Schnitzel is not happy. He spends almost the whole book trying to find somewhere new to sleep, but nowhere is just right. In the end he gets his old basket back. We're trying to avoid that here.

By the end of the day Bertie was learning to love it. We are all waiting to see what colour the stuffing is. No doubt we'll find out soon.

The trickiest part of the day was when he went out for a walk with the middle boy and came home on his own. He was deep in disgrace. The middle boy handled it well, enlisting a couple of passersby to help in the search. Bertie stayed home and ate his tea while we went to rescue the middle boy. I hope Bert doesn't make a habit of it, especially as it involved crossing a road. It doesn't bear thinking about. Do dogs have nine lives? I'm hoping they do.

The garden is full of salad things suddenly, but I'm a bit behind on planting other stuff. No doubt it will all come together in the end. I'm looking forward to a couple of days of not doing anything much, although other people may have other plans involving me Going Places and Doing Stuff. Hoping all have a good weekend whichever way it goes for you. Thunder is forecast here. The middle boy is scheduled to spend some time in a tent. A proper English bank holiday. Enjoy.

27 comments:

  1. Never a dull moment when you have a furry member of the family. I bet middle son was frantic.

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  2. Bertie looks such a sweetie in those photos; very handsome with his new haircut. Fingers crossed that he does indeed have 9 lives. I loved Lynley Dodd's books and if pushed could possibly recite most of Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy! Lucky you with the bumper salad crop - despite our huge stockade, the pesky deer have managed to force their way into our veggie patch and have eaten all my greens! Enjoy the bank holiday. xx

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  3. Bertie looks like he couldn't possibly be naughty and run away! Keeping my fingers crossed it is a one off and I hope your middle boy is not too traumatised. I hope Bertie's new basket is loved soon, once it smells a little no doubt. Dogs are so much trouble! Jack has been running away rather too often lately, always in the same area, a disused railway track that is now a jungle with dark tunnels. A body was recently discovered there, I am glad it was not me finding it whilst chasing the beast. The thought still makes me shiver. I was relieved to learn that Jack had been escaping to the tunnels long before the person went missing, no connection. He has to stay on the lead until we are well passed there now. There is no trusting a dog with puppy eyes.

    Moving on. Your radishes look most delicious. I wonder if they are easy to grow? I make a radish/cucumber salad with orange blossom essence (from the baking aisle) dressing. Amazing, even with limp Tesco radishes. I can see some nice salads on your table this weekend. Hope you get some more Tarzan vine swinging done also, and plenty of doing very little, too. xx

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  4. Ohhhh Bert! A new summer look! A plus. A new bed. A minus. Coming home on his own. A minus.

    But he made it! And is getting accustomed to his new bed. Hooray!

    Your photos are beautiful. Fresh food, from the garden. Yessss!!!!!

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  5. Lovely pictures of Bert. A haircut and a new basket on the same day is surely a bit too much to cope with.
    Thanks, and you too. xx

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  6. Aw Bertie is too cute. Glad he made his way back ok. CN x

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  7. honestly, your Bertie (almost) makes me want to consider another dog in the family...one whose misbehaviours are of a more typical variety. But then I feel a pang of guilt for our Emma-dog who is, after all, slightly damaged and therefore to be excused her transgressions. To a point. ;)

    your salad greens are enviable...and i completely forgot that i don't have any radishes either. *sigh* ah well....it'll be a grand autumn salad harvest...i might actually be organized by then!

    i hope you manage your doing-nothing days...or at least a portion of the days being blocked off for nothingness....i'm very much wanting a few of those myself! xoxo

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  8. Hello, I'm loving catching up with what Bertie's been up to, and how your garden grows, especially love the doggie story today, but what about you? Hope things are all good and you are realising your writing dreams?

    I've been off the circuit as my back has been terribly painful it's sapped my energy for anything and everything beyond getting out to work and keeping house. So glad it's a Bank holiday weekend. Much catching up to do and might even manage a blog post too! Happy Sunday x

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  9. Bertie is so cute. You can forgive him anything. Can't you?
    According to the Met Office, experts on all things weather, we have a <5% chance of rain all day today. And a yellow severe weather warning for rain. Please tell me how that works??

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  10. Bertie is adorable, really how could he cause any trouble at all? I just dropped off my two at the groomers for the first time. They were very nervous in the car and in the pet groomers. I just want their faces groomed, their paws and their nails clipped. They told me it would be three hours! What? I can't leave them alone there, all by themselves!!!! I begged them not to cut Bear's super long eyelashes and to keep them together because they cry and bark when they are apart, like even for a minute. We will see how it goes. Glad Bertie made it back but your poor son must have been in a state looking for him.

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  11. We have that book! We love the whole series. I'm so glad we have that in common. I don't think I've ever owned a dog that came home by itself, every one of them tore around the neighborhood and I had to run, or drive, to find them and drag them home with me. One time I did lure the last dog home with a container of leftover pulled pork from the fridge. I stood on the front porch with it, while he lurked around across the street. He knew he wanted pork, but he wouldn't give up the fight for a long time. When he finally did, I pushed him into the house by the rear end. He got one tiny scrap of pork.

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  12. Oh my, Bertie turned out so handsome after his trip to the groomer! He really is one of the most beautiful dogs ever. My little Buddy just got his trim and is asleep on my lap as I type. It's scary that he went rogue and ran home alone, I hope he doesn't do that again. Have a lovely weekend. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  13. Oh to be able to stroke Bertie’s velvety loveliness . I wish. We seem to have escaped most of the thunder so hopefully you do too. Salad is looking good and I hope that new dog bed is still intact :j B x

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  14. Oo! I can just imagine how soft Bertie must feel. Obviously his new hair cut made him feel all grown up and brave, but hopefully he won't try that again!

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  15. He looks gorgeous with his new ‘do. But Very Naughty running away. Thunder here last night. Four hours of sleep, but that could have been the impending marathon 😉. Have a lovely rest of the bank hol xx

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  16. Our pets can be a constant worry. Getting loose on a busy road and just getting lost is one of my biggest fears. Your poor son...he must have panicked. Good ending though.

    I so wish I had time again for a veggie garden. You have so much energy!

    We have storms heading our way on Wednesday and Thursday. Here at the lake it can take hours if the power goes put, which it often does.---grrrrr... Still, I love a good night's sleep with the sound of thunder and rain!

    Have a good week, dear.

    Jane

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  17. Owwwww Bertie is the cutest...so sweeeeet love your dog....love Ria x 💜

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  18. Well, Bert is just adorable....
    We had thunder here for a time on Sunday and a hefty shower, today it's foggy... and grey... and not that warm at all. Definitely a home made soup and rolls for lunch kind of day. A curling up to read, getting the knitting out and watching a DVD kind of day. Lucky me having a choice!
    www.Norfolkscribbles.blogspot.co.uk

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  19. Your fur baby is GORGEOUS with his haircut. Toby had one recently too, I do him myself but rather than getting all soft his coat gets wiry. Nevermind, it goes back soon enough.
    Your veggies look great, hope they are extra tasty x

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  20. Naughty Bertie running away at least he was clever enough to know his own way home! Sarah x

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  21. Oh that cute little face... how could he ever do something as naughty as running away!

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  22. Bertie looks as though butter wouldn't melt! What a cutie. Cassie came home on her own once. David phoned to say he'd lost her and a few minutes later I heard a bark at the door. She'd obviously decided she'd had enough and come home... Love the way you've planted your lettuces in a neat pattern. Hope you had a good bank holiday weekend and that half term is going well (if it's half term where you are!). S xx

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  23. Bertie runaway, chew on stuffing? Look how innocent he is. I believe none of your fiction! Your icicle radishes and lettuce look lovely. Best salad I have ever eaten always comes from my mother in law's lovely garden. The grand kids pick the radishes. Good times :)

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  24. Just love that sweet little face he is so innocent. Plus he has great name.
    This is a book in the making.

    cheers, parsnip

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  25. Oh Bertie! Well done to the middle boy for keeping a level head. We loved Lynley Dodd's books here (quite a long time ago now), in fact we've held on to them, together with Jane Hissey's Old Bear stories, we just couldn't part with them. Your salads look lovely. Have a great weekend. Jx

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  26. Hey CJ,
    Look at Bertie! So adorable. Honey dislikes it intensely when her bed is put through the machine. She'll ignore it for a day or two. As a lady of advanced years, she isn't inclined to pull the stuffing out of it. But she does like to find somewhere to roll and then rub that all over her bed. Bertie has an adorable face. Full of character and charm. And at least he found his way home; he's obviously got a good sense of direction. I hope you managed some quiet days. I have one planned for today.
    Leanne xx

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  27. I hope Bertie is learning to love his new basket. Oh, I remember Schnitzel von Krumm so well! We still quote Schnitzel von Krumm with his very low tum!

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