Friday 5 April 2013

Smother love

Five things -

1 I seem to be making a habit of early-hours online conversations, but it really does while away the hours of insomnia in good company, so thanks to Zain and I hope you slept eventually - I did, right through the alarm, so just as well I didn't have any appointments first thing.

2 I don't think I can replicate Facebook videos here, but if you're on FB, do look at my page (befriending me first if need be, of course) and check out Rupert, who is adorable.  I should say, ADORABLE because .. well, you'll see.  I love him even more than Ben - not that I've met him yet - and have told Hannah it'll be hard to hand him back after their holiday.

3 Ben had a bit of leftover salmon from the fridge.  I only turned my back for a moment.  Little tinker.  Well, socking great bit tinker.  I can't remember how I trained Chester not to steal food, but I did - I just explained to Tilly and she promised never to do it again, and didn't.  At least he didn't get the leftover pork'n'leek sausages I was intending to eat for lunch.

4 The four 'affordable rent' houses next door are nearly ready, the utilities will be laid on next week and they're putting in the driveways etc - they look lovely.  Two are three-bedroom, the other two two-bedroom.  There was an open day at the village hall a few weeks ago and we went to find out the criteria for applying for one - very pleased that residency, now or in the near past, was the top requirement.  I'll probably write more about that at some time, but it comes close to the more-or-less political sort of thing I normally avoid, so may steer clear.

5


                     
We all knew he'd end up on my lap.  He really is a bit big for it, but I've never known a dog who minded that.


23 comments:

allotmentqueen said...

Are you sure you're under there?

Z said...

Not waving but groaning!

Rog said...

It always came as a surprise to me how much dogs love fish and cheese. As a Beano reader I knew they were partial to strings of sausages .....

Z said...

As long as they're strings of sausages, of course, streaming behind them as they run.

Dogs like such a range of food, another reason they're so much more intelligent than cats.

Compostwoman said...

Honestly - Dogs are not more intelligent than Cats!

And I have been owned by both.

Z said...

I knew I'd get someone going there!

Beryl Ament said...

Um, how can I friend you if I don't know your name?

I am on Facebook under my name which you know:)

Z said...

I'll look for you, Beryl. My surname is on our china website on the right.

Z said...

Request sent :)

Compostwoman said...

I have found you Z and sent a friend request on Fb

Compostwoman said...

And np you did not get me going :-) just being factual lol

janerowena said...

That's an awful lot of dog.

You could apply for one of those little houses - that would solve all your problems.

My in-laws are fearful hoarders and over the years have moved many times to houses with more and bigger bedrooms but still never have any space to put up guests. Seven large bedrooms and an acre currently and we are still likely to end up in a B&B as their idea of a clear-out is to move everything from one room to another. They are thinking of moving again and I have recently made myself very unpopular by suggesting they should buy a three-bed semi and rent a large barn for all their hobbies in a farmer's field that they won't have to maintain. I can't think why I suddenly thought of you... :) Anyway, MIL told me yesterday that estate agent no3, when asked why their house wasn't selling, told her that it is because no-one can see how big the house is when it is filled with layers three-deep of books and mementos. I could kiss the man.

I may befriend you just so that you can see that I am not joking when I tell you their current solution - they have bought a holiday house near Alnwick so that as well as their house, which has a 2-bed annexe, they now own a three-bed bookcase. It doesn't revolve though.

Z said...

All friend requests being accepted, thank you.

In our last house, a large former Rectory, the main spare bedroom became unusable because the Sage filled it. We have several outbuildings that are full of stuff there's never been room for in the house. But all rooms here are usable now. It's been the achievement of my lifetime - so far. Your in-laws beat the Sage, though only just - last year I made him clear a room (26' x 18', you could hardly get through the door) and he simply moved everything into two bedrooms. It took a couple of months to get the house clear - by our standards, it's still cluttered.

Compostwoman said...

I feel overwhealmed with "stuff" here - most of it not mine!

i have to fight really hard to get stuff out of the door to "outside" , here.

allotmentqueen said...

OMG This is all sounding way too familiar. OH insists on filling any and every available space so you can't get to the front door without wending your way past umpteen boxes and piles. For a time I used to get rid of my stuff to make the house seem more habitable but now I realise that any space I create he will fill so ... why bother? Periodically this does my head in.

allotmentqueen said...

Oh and by the way, dogs do not come and crap in my garden - which cats do. I have buckets of water at the ready.

Z said...

I've read that cats cannot follow the direction of a pointing finger. I know that dogs can. That's good enough for me.

After many years, I simply broke through years of overloading. I couldn't put up with it any more.

Anonymous said...

... books ... I mean, well ... everything else is just stuff, but one can not have enough of these book-things. They insulate you know?

LẌ said...

"I've read that cats cannot follow the direction of a pointing finger"

They choose not to.

Rog said...

Cats are evil bastards.

Sir Bruin said...

Recurring conversation in the Bear household -
Me: Can we get a kitten?
Mrs Bear: No.
Mrs Bear: Can we get a doggy pup?
Me: No.

Currently, we have neither.

janerowena said...

I have the same problem as allotmentqueen - DBH has inherited the hoarding gene and I clear out my beloved possessions in the misguided belief that I am Setting A Good Example but he then appropriates any space that I have made before I can blink. We are currently dismantling a pergola and the wood is being sawn for firewood, being ash. But the pile of wood elsewhere that he keeps on promising to find a new home for as I can no longer get into greenhouse2 has mysteriously grown, and he has just admitted to hanging on to some of the pergola wood that 'looks as if it could be useful'. I despair sometimes.

I would love a dog, but fear that I would not be able to walk it in cold weather. Friends suggest a greyhound, but I can't warm to them. I like fluffy dogs. I also have the problem of a rabbit with the right to roam - in her opinion. Maybe if I let her have a puppy to play with she will train it up.

Z said...

Better to say nothing and be thought a fool... is a cat's philosopy, LX? I like cats and have considerable respect for them, not least because they keep me guessing, but they know they're already perfect, and therefore have little capacity to learn - as a generalisation of course. Dogs want to learn from us. Both species realise that we're putty in their paws, though nominally more intelligent, and they run rings round us.

Mago, you'd approve of the walls of books here. Though probably not the random way they're totally unarranged and uncatalogued.

Rog, that is part of their strength. Dogs are daft. That's part of theirs.

Sir B, the Small Bear isn't doing it right. I'll have to explain to her.

Jane, I feel for you. I've actually put stuff in the bin (broken children's toys, for example) only to find it has been removed and hidden in a shed. I can't warm to greyhounds either - and you can't trust one near a rabbit!