Last night it rained. Lots. Our village is flooded from next doors house onwards. Nobody down that end can get in or out. We are OK but our well is almost full and the field behind is flooded. Mummy got up early and went to Tesco to stock up in case we get flooded in. It's still not stopped raining but the flood hasn't got any higher yet.
Mummy and Bryn ripped all the wallpaper off in the hall. Now they have to redecorate cos it looks awful. Although Mummy says she likes it, cos she can visualise what the hall will look like when it's finished now that wallpaper is gone.
We sold the hot tub. I think we might have sold it too cheap cos we only put it on ebay on Saturday night. Yesterday we had four messages asking for a buy it now price so we gave them all the same price. Three of them asked if they could come and get it, one offered £200 less. We let the first person have it cos that is the politest way to do things so him come down last night with his wife and daughter and paid 20% and is coming back tonight with five big strong friends to take it away. We are going to buy an oak table and six chairs to go in the dining room and two three seater settees for the lounge with the money. We also put the sauna and the old fridge on ebay, they haven't sold yet. But they only just gone on.
Hmm what else to tell you? Katie is watching video blogs on youtube. I realise now I'm supposed to start every blog with HI GUYS! Sorry I have been so remiss. I didn't know this til now. That's why I've only got 19 followers and Phil and Dan have got two million.
Uncle MrJeff is making us a website for our new rescue. We can't wait for it to be finished. We did a rescue on Saturday. It turned out to be an incredible story. Me explain...
So we seen this dog on preloved in Merseyside for £60 on Friday so Mummy emailed the seller. We arranged to pick her up on Saturday. Miss Lesley was going to collect her from the seller and Miss Susan going to foster her until we find a home (we got someone very special in mind but more on that later).
Anyway Miss Lesley got to the home handed the money over and was told that the doggy is in season. Uh-oh. Not that it would have stopped us taking her but it makes things difficult. We can't send her to new home until she is spayed unless we are sure the new owners will get it done. We checked with Miss Susan she was still OK to foster but her say yes that is fine, no problems with her own dogs.
Miss Lesley says doggy is lovely and sweet and very well behaved but shy and nervous. Miss Susan went to pick doggy up and took her home. Only when she got her back and had a good look at her papers does it become apparent there is more to this doggy than meets the eye. Turns out, after a little detective work, this is only another doggy of a different name (that funnily enough when called she responds to much better than the name the seller gave her) that we saw advertised free to a good home on another site three weeks ago. We were all really upset at the time cos we had emailed the seller and got no response and were worried about where she had ended up. Anyway alls well that ends well and we got the doggy that we wanted in the first place. This only makes us even more determined to make sure she ends up in the perfect home (who I already know who it is but they just need to be convinced that they are perfect).
Monday 28 October 2013
Friday 25 October 2013
Why bassets are not stupid. By Bessie
I was thinking about human's interpretation of dog intelligence. You see according to most people Basset Hounds are pretty stupid. But my humans don't think we are. Like last night for example, Carly walked into the lounge and every seat was taken. So she starts jumping round the room, doing play bows and barking. Lotty jumps off the settee to play fight with her and Carly jumps right up and steals her spot. Now that's not the work of a stupid dog is it? Once, Lotty wanted Mummy's spot in the bed and Mummy said no, she wasn't having it. Lotty tried tugging the duvet off her but Mummy still wouldn't give up her spot. So Lotty takes Mummy's clothes that were by the side of the bed and threw them all down the stairs. So of course Mummy has to go and retrieve them. When she got back a minute later Lotty was fast asleep (allegedly) on Mummy's pillow and had managed to make herself weigh ten stone.
Stanley Coren's book "The Intelligence of Dogs" rates Bassets #71 in the most intelligent breeds. Really Mr Coren? And on what criteria do you measure intelligence? Working and obedience intelligence is the answer. i.e. doing as you're told. Now you tell me, which is more clever? Blindly following instructions or thinking for yourself? My Mummy considers herself a reasonably intelligent human but she never does as she's told unless she's stopped and thought about the consequences beforehand. Same goes for us three houndies.
According to Mr Coren the most intelligent 10 were:
1. Border Collie
2. Poodle
3. German Shepherd
4. Golden Retriever
5. Doberman
6. Shetland Sheepdog
7. Labrador
8. Papillon
9. Rottweiler
10. Australian Cattle dog
and the 10 least intelligent were:
79: Afghan Hound
78: Basenji
77. Bulldog
76: Chow Chow
75: Borzoi
74: Bloodhound
73: Pekingese
72: Mastiff Beagle (I don't even know what one of these is)
71: Basset Hound
70: Shih Tzu
Now, don't get me wrong, I know dogs of most of them breeds (except the ones I've never heard of) and I know some really nice border collies, Poodles and German Shepherds. But if I was going on Who wants to be a millionaire, I might not pick one as my phone a friend.
So, say Mr Coren took one of each of these 79 breeds - presuming he can find a mastiff beagle, what with that being a made up breed and all that just stuck in there to make the basset even further down his dumb list - anyway, if he took one of each and lined us all up on a cliff edge and shouted "Jump!". Us 70s would all be stood there peering over the edge at the broken and battered bodies of the 1-10s and asking ourselves why they didn't look to see what was down there. OK, so they weren't broken and battered really. I don't think Mr Coren would do that for the sake of an experiment. Lets assume there was a massive cushion at the bottom. But you wouldn't know that unless you looked over the edge first. And the 1-10 didn't. They just jumped because they were told to.
If you throw a stick for a border collie they will bring it back and wait for you to throw it again. If you throw a stick for a basset they will lie down and have a nap while you fetch your own stick. That's independent thought, not stupidity.
So there you have it. The moral of that story is....what is the moral of that story? Hmmm. Disobedience doesn't always equal stupidity? Maybe that dog is just thinking of the consequences.
And finally, I know some of them dogs at the top of the list have jobs and everything and you're probably thinking they must be really clever cos no basset ever had a job. But HA! No cos I met loads of stupid humans who have jobs. And they get paid like real money and everything, they don't just do it for biscuits.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Intelligence_of_Dogs
Stanley Coren's book "The Intelligence of Dogs" rates Bassets #71 in the most intelligent breeds. Really Mr Coren? And on what criteria do you measure intelligence? Working and obedience intelligence is the answer. i.e. doing as you're told. Now you tell me, which is more clever? Blindly following instructions or thinking for yourself? My Mummy considers herself a reasonably intelligent human but she never does as she's told unless she's stopped and thought about the consequences beforehand. Same goes for us three houndies.
According to Mr Coren the most intelligent 10 were:
1. Border Collie
2. Poodle
3. German Shepherd
4. Golden Retriever
5. Doberman
6. Shetland Sheepdog
7. Labrador
8. Papillon
9. Rottweiler
10. Australian Cattle dog
and the 10 least intelligent were:
79: Afghan Hound
78: Basenji
77. Bulldog
76: Chow Chow
75: Borzoi
74: Bloodhound
73: Pekingese
72: Mastiff Beagle (I don't even know what one of these is)
71: Basset Hound
70: Shih Tzu
Now, don't get me wrong, I know dogs of most of them breeds (except the ones I've never heard of) and I know some really nice border collies, Poodles and German Shepherds. But if I was going on Who wants to be a millionaire, I might not pick one as my phone a friend.
So, say Mr Coren took one of each of these 79 breeds - presuming he can find a mastiff beagle, what with that being a made up breed and all that just stuck in there to make the basset even further down his dumb list - anyway, if he took one of each and lined us all up on a cliff edge and shouted "Jump!". Us 70s would all be stood there peering over the edge at the broken and battered bodies of the 1-10s and asking ourselves why they didn't look to see what was down there. OK, so they weren't broken and battered really. I don't think Mr Coren would do that for the sake of an experiment. Lets assume there was a massive cushion at the bottom. But you wouldn't know that unless you looked over the edge first. And the 1-10 didn't. They just jumped because they were told to.
If you throw a stick for a border collie they will bring it back and wait for you to throw it again. If you throw a stick for a basset they will lie down and have a nap while you fetch your own stick. That's independent thought, not stupidity.
So there you have it. The moral of that story is....what is the moral of that story? Hmmm. Disobedience doesn't always equal stupidity? Maybe that dog is just thinking of the consequences.
And finally, I know some of them dogs at the top of the list have jobs and everything and you're probably thinking they must be really clever cos no basset ever had a job. But HA! No cos I met loads of stupid humans who have jobs. And they get paid like real money and everything, they don't just do it for biscuits.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Intelligence_of_Dogs
Friday 18 October 2013
So we likes Shakespeare now. By Bessie
Daddy made a fence so we can't go round to the front gate and bark at the horses. But he left us with a nice big bit of garden this time. Not like in the old house where we weren't allowed on the grass.
Last Friday Grandad came to stay. The humans was all posh and had pudding and cheese and biscuits with their dinner every night. Them decided them was going to be sophisticated for a change. Mummy made fish and chips and salted caramel cheesecake, Grandad loved the cake and asked for the recipe so he could make it for his friends. And her made trifle, him didn't ask for that recipe but then me think you would have to be a bit stoopid not to know how to make a trifle.
On Saturday some of the humans went to the mall cos Grandad said he wanted to buy us a new telly as a moving in present. So him took Mummy and Daddy and Katie to John Lewis and him and Daddy chose a telly. Mummy didn't help cos her was just looking for the cheapest and it made Daddy and Grandad cross so her and Katie went to play on the ipads while they waited. They didn't have the telly in stock what they chose but they had one in Cardiff so Grandad paid for it over the phone and him and Daddy said they would go and get it on Sunday.
Then they looked round the shops for a bit and then come home and had cottage pie and trifle for tea. On Sunday Daddy and Grandad went to get the telly, Katie and Bryn had an all day rehearsal which they wasn't pleased about cos it meant they had to go to school on a Sunday. Mummy and Tom went to Tesco to buy more cheese cos Nanny wasn't there to tell Grandad he'd had enough so he ate about 2kg of cheese all by himself. Then they went to Pets at Home and bought some food for us cos Tesco don't sell the right ones.
When them got back Daddy and Grandad was in the lounge setting up the telly but they hadn't let us out the cage. Mummy was really cross with Daddy but he said we was alright. I say we wasn't alright, we does not like being locked in the cage when we knows humans is in the house. So Mummy let us out but then Grandad said we had to go away cos we smell and Daddy locked us out of the lounge so Mummy and Tom stayed in the dining room with us and sent off some job applications. Then Katie phoned to say they were ready so Mummy went to get them and then they had a Sunday roast for their tea and treacle sponge pudding and custard. Mummy did think she had to intervene with the cheese cos she knew Nanny would be cross if she didn't so after a while she snuck the cheeseboard back into the kitchen.
Grandad went to Swindon on Monday to see his friends and then over to Uncle Nicks on Wednesday. Katie and Bryn had their play on Tuesday. Mummy, Daddy and Tom went to see it. It was at the Riverfront Theatre in town. There was four schools each doing a short version of a Shakespeare play. My minihumans school did Midsummer Nights Dream, the others did Twelfth Night, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. My big humans all agreed that Midsummer Nights Dream was the best and they swears they isn't just saying that cos it was our minihumans. Katie played Hermia, this one of the starring roles, her had loads of lines and her got them all right and acted good. Bryn was Cobweb, he was one of the fairies. he only had one line but he had lots of jumping round the stage and moves to remember and he played a song on his guitar to help Titania go to sleep. Anyway it was really good and the minihumans loved performing and the big humans loved watching.
Today was Mummys day off so her stayed home and did loads of housework and laundry. Her still hasn't fixed the lights on the fishtank, she said she needs Daddy's help but he is always too busy playing with his new telly or plugging things in. Then we went for a walk through the golf club before dinner and had a sleep.
We got people coming on Sunday, we very excited to have visitors. Mummy got her friends coming over, they has started a new basset rescue and they is having another meeting to talk about the Christmas party.
Sunday 6 October 2013
Bertie the basset comes to stay.
such a busy busy weekend me has had. On Friday we had a rescue dog, Bertie, come to stay. He come at tea time. We showed him our garden while Mummy made dinner and then we all come in and had food and then we sat on Mummys lap in the evening and watched telly. It was a bit of a squeeze with four of us but we just about fit.
Yesterday me, Bertie and Mummy went to Miss Tara's house to collect her and then we all went to Miss Sam's house and Miss Louise was there waiting for Bertie cos she is going to foster him. We played in Miss Sam's garden with Shirley and Ollie and Miss Sam's minihumans and then we went to the pub for lunch.
After we got back from the pub Bertie went home with Miss Louise. Bertie was ever so good except when he took a fancy to the sofa and Miss Sam had to clean his boy stuff off it.
Then we took Miss Tara home, went to get some petrol and went home. But when we got home there was nobody in and we had no house keys cos we hasn't got round to getting more keys cut yet so we had to sit in the drive and wait for Daddy and the boys to get back from McDonalds. Katie went to the Man O' Gwent for her friends birthday and didn't get in til eleven. Dirty stop out she is.
Today us houndies, Mummy and the boys - but not Daddy cos he wanted to do stuff in the house or Katie cos she couldn't be bothered to get out of bed - went to Somerset to walk with the pack. Mr Wayne and Ronnie come too and we met Miss Sue and Mr Neil again with Sasha and Herbie. Miss Moppet went to rainbow bridge last month and Matilda was pining for her. She so miserable we did all feel so very very bad for her.
Mr Neil found the worlds biggest mushroom. Ronnie has a new boyfriend called Mr Smith. We went to the pub and had chips and gravy bones and chatted with Mr Wayne and him make us laugh with his funny stories. And then we come home and had our tea and watched Countryfile and X Factor and Downton Abbey.
Yesterday me, Bertie and Mummy went to Miss Tara's house to collect her and then we all went to Miss Sam's house and Miss Louise was there waiting for Bertie cos she is going to foster him. We played in Miss Sam's garden with Shirley and Ollie and Miss Sam's minihumans and then we went to the pub for lunch.
After we got back from the pub Bertie went home with Miss Louise. Bertie was ever so good except when he took a fancy to the sofa and Miss Sam had to clean his boy stuff off it.
Then we took Miss Tara home, went to get some petrol and went home. But when we got home there was nobody in and we had no house keys cos we hasn't got round to getting more keys cut yet so we had to sit in the drive and wait for Daddy and the boys to get back from McDonalds. Katie went to the Man O' Gwent for her friends birthday and didn't get in til eleven. Dirty stop out she is.
Today us houndies, Mummy and the boys - but not Daddy cos he wanted to do stuff in the house or Katie cos she couldn't be bothered to get out of bed - went to Somerset to walk with the pack. Mr Wayne and Ronnie come too and we met Miss Sue and Mr Neil again with Sasha and Herbie. Miss Moppet went to rainbow bridge last month and Matilda was pining for her. She so miserable we did all feel so very very bad for her.
Mr Neil found the worlds biggest mushroom. Ronnie has a new boyfriend called Mr Smith. We went to the pub and had chips and gravy bones and chatted with Mr Wayne and him make us laugh with his funny stories. And then we come home and had our tea and watched Countryfile and X Factor and Downton Abbey.
Tuesday 1 October 2013
The latest from our house. By Bessie
The washing machine is working. The humans have clean underwear and Mummy is no longer wearing ballgowns to work.
The waste disposal still isn't working. Daddy refuses to give up. Even if it costs a million pounds to mend it he will persevere.
The dishwasher is working.
Tom and Mummy built the rest of the beds on Friday, sorted out Tom's room and dismantled a wardrobe.
The pond now has netting over it but it needs a filter.
The fishtank is set up but the water still needs to settle and then it needs topping up. The fish are happy to be back in their big tank though. They got so much room in there all four of them can have a corner each and invite each other over for tea.
Mummy asked Daddy to put the bookcases up from the old house. He must have misheard though cos what he actually did was chop them up and use the wood to line the attic. Now we have nowhere to put the books, DVDs and CDs. But hey, at least the attic looks nice.
We have a rescue basset coming on Friday. His name is Bertie. This will be our fourth rescue Bertie. Mummy is taking him to meet Miss Louise on Saturday. She is going to foster him for us til he is a good pet (foster fail me coughs).
That's all the news so far. Thank you for waiting so patiently my friends.
The waste disposal still isn't working. Daddy refuses to give up. Even if it costs a million pounds to mend it he will persevere.
The dishwasher is working.
Tom and Mummy built the rest of the beds on Friday, sorted out Tom's room and dismantled a wardrobe.
The pond now has netting over it but it needs a filter.
The fishtank is set up but the water still needs to settle and then it needs topping up. The fish are happy to be back in their big tank though. They got so much room in there all four of them can have a corner each and invite each other over for tea.
Mummy asked Daddy to put the bookcases up from the old house. He must have misheard though cos what he actually did was chop them up and use the wood to line the attic. Now we have nowhere to put the books, DVDs and CDs. But hey, at least the attic looks nice.
We have a rescue basset coming on Friday. His name is Bertie. This will be our fourth rescue Bertie. Mummy is taking him to meet Miss Louise on Saturday. She is going to foster him for us til he is a good pet (foster fail me coughs).
That's all the news so far. Thank you for waiting so patiently my friends.
Tuesday 24th September. In which Daddy forgets his own name and Mummy goes commando.
Mummy took the minihumans to school and told Tom to have a shower, make himself presentable and then go and find a job. But when she got back he said he did what she said but when he got halfway there he looked down at the dog on the lead and realised he hadn't accessorised very well for job hunting. So he went home and said he will go again tomorrow, on his own this time.
When Daddy came home all the humans went to Currys to buy a fridge and a washing machine. On the way in Mummy saw a toaster she liked half price. It was the last one and there was no box so she picked it up and carried it all round the shop with her so nobody could steal it. They picked a washing machine they liked and then they went to look at the fridges and picked one but it was late and the boss had obviously left for the day cos the music was up really loud and all the staff were stood at the other end of the shop chatting. Mummy sent Katie to ask if they could possibly tear themselves away could we have some service. Obviously Katie more polite than Mummy though cos what she actually said was "Could someone help us with a fridge please?" So she comes back with this really tall australian man and he says "I thought I was about to sell a fridge to my shortest customer ever." "You still are," sniggered Tom and Mummy kicked him.
The man said it was £26 for a next day delivery. Daddy said he wasn't paying that, how long do we have to wait for free delivery. "Two weeks," said the man. "Two weeks!" squealed Mummy, "I ran out of knickers two days ago and I wore an evening dress to work today." Anyway her soon wished she hadn't mentioned her knickers cos the man kept going on about them and making Mummy blush.
Then them decided they would rather pay for a quicker delivery so they are getting a fridge and a washing machine on Friday for £22. Then the man wondered who left a toaster on top of the fridge and Mummy remember she put it there so the man went in the storeroom to find the box but there wasn't one. Mummy say not to worry, her got enough boxes in the house. So they went to the desk to pay and the man ask Daddy his name. "My name. Hmmm" say Daddy. "Do you need help?" asked Mummy. Anyway then Mr wotstisname payed for his new white goods and Mummy paid for her toaster and then they went to Pizza Hut for tea cos Daddy promised ages ago that once they sold the house they would go out for dinner.
When Daddy came home all the humans went to Currys to buy a fridge and a washing machine. On the way in Mummy saw a toaster she liked half price. It was the last one and there was no box so she picked it up and carried it all round the shop with her so nobody could steal it. They picked a washing machine they liked and then they went to look at the fridges and picked one but it was late and the boss had obviously left for the day cos the music was up really loud and all the staff were stood at the other end of the shop chatting. Mummy sent Katie to ask if they could possibly tear themselves away could we have some service. Obviously Katie more polite than Mummy though cos what she actually said was "Could someone help us with a fridge please?" So she comes back with this really tall australian man and he says "I thought I was about to sell a fridge to my shortest customer ever." "You still are," sniggered Tom and Mummy kicked him.
The man said it was £26 for a next day delivery. Daddy said he wasn't paying that, how long do we have to wait for free delivery. "Two weeks," said the man. "Two weeks!" squealed Mummy, "I ran out of knickers two days ago and I wore an evening dress to work today." Anyway her soon wished she hadn't mentioned her knickers cos the man kept going on about them and making Mummy blush.
Then them decided they would rather pay for a quicker delivery so they are getting a fridge and a washing machine on Friday for £22. Then the man wondered who left a toaster on top of the fridge and Mummy remember she put it there so the man went in the storeroom to find the box but there wasn't one. Mummy say not to worry, her got enough boxes in the house. So they went to the desk to pay and the man ask Daddy his name. "My name. Hmmm" say Daddy. "Do you need help?" asked Mummy. Anyway then Mr wotstisname payed for his new white goods and Mummy paid for her toaster and then they went to Pizza Hut for tea cos Daddy promised ages ago that once they sold the house they would go out for dinner.
Monday 23rd September. Nanny's memorial.
Today Mummy and Daddy dressed up smart and took the minihumans to school then they went up to Stafford to Nannys memorial. They went to the cemetry and met Grandad, Uncles Simon, Nick and Sid and Aunties Jackie and Sue and Grandads cousin and his wife and three of Nanny and Grandad's friends who couldn't make it to the funeral, one was on holiday and the other two were too old to make the journey north.
They went to the family plot and the man from the council took Nanny's casket and said a prayer then he lent by the little hole and said "I hope I don't fall in." Just as he slipped and nearly fell in. Nanny would have laughed at that. Then Daddy left the flowers him and Mummy chose for Nanny and they all said goodbye to Nanny and Mummy and Daddy promised her that everytime they is going up north they will stop at the cemetry on the way and bring her some flowers.
Then they all went to a hotel for lunch. After lunch the family went to the stonemasons to choose Nanny a plaque. Grandad said he wanted marble so it would blend in with all the other stones but the man said they haven't used marble in years and it was difficult to get hold of. Grandad was upset but then Mummy said "Why does it need to blend in? Mum was never one to blend in, she liked to be different. She liked to make a statement." Everybody agreed but Grandad say him need to think about it so they left the stonemasons. Then they went back to the cars and all kiss goodbye and Mummy make everyone promise to come and stay with us soon.
Mummy and Daddy got home just after the minihumans got back from rehearsal. Them has to admit walking home from school not as bad as they thought it would be. It only took 20 minutes. Tom say it would have taken twice that if I had come. Cheeky boy that he is.
After tea Daddy finally got the telly in the bedroom working so we is sitting in bed while Mummy writes this for me. Daddy was out in the street weeding the front of the village hall cos it next door so he thought he would be nice. Him didn't realise there was a council meeting going on until they all come out and say "Oh hello what are you doing?" Him introduced himself and the leader of the council said they just discussed that they would put a sign up asking for someone to do the weeding. Daddy say he guess he just volunteered then. I think that makes Daddy a member of the council. He says he thinks that doesn't. And she invited all my humans to a talk in the hall by a lady who wrote a book about the big house that used to be on the hill behind our house. Mummy and Daddy is looking forward to that, they is very interested in the local history but they couldn't find much on the internet. Mummy had planned on going into town to see if there was anything in the library when she got a chance.
They went to the family plot and the man from the council took Nanny's casket and said a prayer then he lent by the little hole and said "I hope I don't fall in." Just as he slipped and nearly fell in. Nanny would have laughed at that. Then Daddy left the flowers him and Mummy chose for Nanny and they all said goodbye to Nanny and Mummy and Daddy promised her that everytime they is going up north they will stop at the cemetry on the way and bring her some flowers.
Then they all went to a hotel for lunch. After lunch the family went to the stonemasons to choose Nanny a plaque. Grandad said he wanted marble so it would blend in with all the other stones but the man said they haven't used marble in years and it was difficult to get hold of. Grandad was upset but then Mummy said "Why does it need to blend in? Mum was never one to blend in, she liked to be different. She liked to make a statement." Everybody agreed but Grandad say him need to think about it so they left the stonemasons. Then they went back to the cars and all kiss goodbye and Mummy make everyone promise to come and stay with us soon.
Mummy and Daddy got home just after the minihumans got back from rehearsal. Them has to admit walking home from school not as bad as they thought it would be. It only took 20 minutes. Tom say it would have taken twice that if I had come. Cheeky boy that he is.
After tea Daddy finally got the telly in the bedroom working so we is sitting in bed while Mummy writes this for me. Daddy was out in the street weeding the front of the village hall cos it next door so he thought he would be nice. Him didn't realise there was a council meeting going on until they all come out and say "Oh hello what are you doing?" Him introduced himself and the leader of the council said they just discussed that they would put a sign up asking for someone to do the weeding. Daddy say he guess he just volunteered then. I think that makes Daddy a member of the council. He says he thinks that doesn't. And she invited all my humans to a talk in the hall by a lady who wrote a book about the big house that used to be on the hill behind our house. Mummy and Daddy is looking forward to that, they is very interested in the local history but they couldn't find much on the internet. Mummy had planned on going into town to see if there was anything in the library when she got a chance.
Sunday 22nd September. In which Lotty meets her nemesis.
On Thursday Daddy went to work. Mummy took the minihumans to school then went to Tesco to finally buy some food. Then Grandma and Grandad came over and they all went out to buy hangers cos Katie had taken every last one to hang all her clothes including her pyjamas. After tea Grandma and Grandad went home. They said they would be back very soon and that the hotel across the road is lovely.
On Friday Mummy and Tom unpacked most of the boxes and rearranged the furniture in the dining room. When Daddy came home he said he liked what they had done so it can stay.
Yesterday Mummy and Katie went to Ikea to buy stuff for the house. They got a throw for Katie's bed and a new dog bed which we love, and a cat flap and a new bed for Spicy cat. Spicy cat was still locked inside so she doesn't run away.
Today Mummy and the boys took us for a really long walk. We walked all the way to Tesco cos Mummy needed to buy a dress for Nanny's memorial service tomorrow cos her funeral dress is at the bottom of the washing basket and the washing machine is broke.
While we was out Lotty got scared cos a little gypsy child tried to stroke her. We have never seen Lotty scared of anything before.
While we was out Katie let Spicy out of the office and she decided she wants to sleep in Katie's bed with her. Mummy and Daddy say that OK but they had to get Katie some allergy tablets cos she got big puffy eyes from cat fur.
On Friday Mummy and Tom unpacked most of the boxes and rearranged the furniture in the dining room. When Daddy came home he said he liked what they had done so it can stay.
Yesterday Mummy and Katie went to Ikea to buy stuff for the house. They got a throw for Katie's bed and a new dog bed which we love, and a cat flap and a new bed for Spicy cat. Spicy cat was still locked inside so she doesn't run away.
Today Mummy and the boys took us for a really long walk. We walked all the way to Tesco cos Mummy needed to buy a dress for Nanny's memorial service tomorrow cos her funeral dress is at the bottom of the washing basket and the washing machine is broke.
While we was out Lotty got scared cos a little gypsy child tried to stroke her. We have never seen Lotty scared of anything before.
While we was out Katie let Spicy out of the office and she decided she wants to sleep in Katie's bed with her. Mummy and Daddy say that OK but they had to get Katie some allergy tablets cos she got big puffy eyes from cat fur.
Wednesday 17th September. 18 months later we is on the move.
My humans pack all weekend. Tom and Bryn takes us out for walks cos apparently we is getting under everybody's feets.
My minihumans is in a shakespeare play at the riverside theatre soon so they have to go to lots o rehearsals. They stays in school late on Monday and Tuesday.
On Tuesday Grandad, Mummy's Daddy, comes down to help. Him and Daddy take the spare keys to the estate agent then they have chippy chips for tea and stay up very late finishing the packing.
This morning Mummy and Katie take us houndies round to our friends Beau and Bones house. We have a great time with our friends while the humans is working hard. In the meantime the removal men come and they put all our things into a big wagon. Unfortunately while Mummy was at Beau and Bones house, somebody accidentally packed the mugs and tea making stuff away so when the removal men asked for a drink they couldn't have one. So Daddy went next door and came back with three mugs. "Don't worry" he said, "I've saved the day."
"Not really," said Mummy, "We've go no coffee or sugar." So Tom and Grandad went to Waitrose to buy some. Luckily the milk and kettle hadn't been packed away - yet.
At 12 o'clock the solicitor phoned and said the sale was complete. "We've got a new house!" shouts Daddy. So Mummy mopped the floors, sprayed febreze everywhere and they left the house for the last time.
Daddy, Grandad and the boys went straight to the new house. Mummy and Katie came to get us first. On the way they passed the removal van parked up down the village, unmanned with all our worldly goods on board. She wasn't impressed and said she would have liked to wait by the van to watch our stuff but she was already half an hour late picking us up.
When they got to Beau and Bones house Miss Tracy and Mr Peter said we had been such good girls we could stay longer if we wanted. We did want and Mummy said it would be a big help so her and Katie left us and went toMcDonalds for the humans lunch.
When they got to the new house with everybodys food Grandad was being shown round. We think he likes it, him said it was hard to work out where all the rooms went though.
The humans was just finishing their food when the removal van turned up. They put all our things in the house, drank lots of tea and then they went home. Mummy and Tom came to get us, Grandad took Katie to her rehearsal and then he went to fetch Grandma from the train station.
When we got to the new house we did run round and round the garden and the house. If all the doors in the house are open we can do laps! After we had our tea Grandma came and she loves the house. Mummy said they could stay the night and Mummy and Daddy would sleep on the settee cos the spare room full of boxes and flat pack furniture but them wanted to try the hotel across the road.
My minihumans is in a shakespeare play at the riverside theatre soon so they have to go to lots o rehearsals. They stays in school late on Monday and Tuesday.
On Tuesday Grandad, Mummy's Daddy, comes down to help. Him and Daddy take the spare keys to the estate agent then they have chippy chips for tea and stay up very late finishing the packing.
This morning Mummy and Katie take us houndies round to our friends Beau and Bones house. We have a great time with our friends while the humans is working hard. In the meantime the removal men come and they put all our things into a big wagon. Unfortunately while Mummy was at Beau and Bones house, somebody accidentally packed the mugs and tea making stuff away so when the removal men asked for a drink they couldn't have one. So Daddy went next door and came back with three mugs. "Don't worry" he said, "I've saved the day."
"Not really," said Mummy, "We've go no coffee or sugar." So Tom and Grandad went to Waitrose to buy some. Luckily the milk and kettle hadn't been packed away - yet.
At 12 o'clock the solicitor phoned and said the sale was complete. "We've got a new house!" shouts Daddy. So Mummy mopped the floors, sprayed febreze everywhere and they left the house for the last time.
Daddy, Grandad and the boys went straight to the new house. Mummy and Katie came to get us first. On the way they passed the removal van parked up down the village, unmanned with all our worldly goods on board. She wasn't impressed and said she would have liked to wait by the van to watch our stuff but she was already half an hour late picking us up.
When they got to Beau and Bones house Miss Tracy and Mr Peter said we had been such good girls we could stay longer if we wanted. We did want and Mummy said it would be a big help so her and Katie left us and went toMcDonalds for the humans lunch.
When they got to the new house with everybodys food Grandad was being shown round. We think he likes it, him said it was hard to work out where all the rooms went though.
The humans was just finishing their food when the removal van turned up. They put all our things in the house, drank lots of tea and then they went home. Mummy and Tom came to get us, Grandad took Katie to her rehearsal and then he went to fetch Grandma from the train station.
When we got to the new house we did run round and round the garden and the house. If all the doors in the house are open we can do laps! After we had our tea Grandma came and she loves the house. Mummy said they could stay the night and Mummy and Daddy would sleep on the settee cos the spare room full of boxes and flat pack furniture but them wanted to try the hotel across the road.
Friday 12th September. In which something finally goes right.
The estate agent finally phoned back at 5pm today to tell us that the people buying our house were only asked for their deposit at 1pm TODAY! So all the times their solicitor said it had been paid she was LYING.
But anyway it has, apparently, definitely been paid and will be in the account on Tuesday. So we can complete on Wednesday. We have no idea why it should take so long, we paid ours last week and it took two hours to show in the account. Anyway Daddy goes back to the cottage to ask if Wednesday is OK. They phoned their movers who said yes but if they change it again they will have to be the full amount twice. Cheeky sods I say. Our movers say Wednesday is good for them so we pay our money and start packing at long last. Yes you read that right. We are moving in five days and we haven't started packing. We were all so worried about it falling through we didn't dare.
But anyway it has, apparently, definitely been paid and will be in the account on Tuesday. So we can complete on Wednesday. We have no idea why it should take so long, we paid ours last week and it took two hours to show in the account. Anyway Daddy goes back to the cottage to ask if Wednesday is OK. They phoned their movers who said yes but if they change it again they will have to be the full amount twice. Cheeky sods I say. Our movers say Wednesday is good for them so we pay our money and start packing at long last. Yes you read that right. We are moving in five days and we haven't started packing. We were all so worried about it falling through we didn't dare.
Thursday 12th September. In which £23,000 goes missing and Carly has a birthday.
On Saturday the 7th Mummy and Katie went round to the cottage to make sure the peoples solicitor had told them about the moving date. She hadn't but they were happy to move on this date.
On Monday 9th Daddy phoned our solicitor to find out if the people buying our house had payed their deposit. So she phoned their solicitor who said it would be in the account Tuesday.
Tuesday came and went and no deposit. Daddy phoned the removal company who said they were now booked up for Monday. They couldn't hold our booking as other people wanted to move and had exchanged contracts. But she said she could do any other day next week.
Wednesday they still hadn't paid. Our solicitor checked again and their solicitor said definitely tomorrow.
Thursday still no deposit so we was really panicking by then. We was supposed to be moving on Monday but we got no removal company and keep getting lied to about the deposit. So Daddy phoned the estate agent and asked her to phone the people and ask them what's going on. In the meantime Daddy went to the cottage to tell them what's going on. They say they have booked for Monday and paid their removal people.
By the way it is Carly's birthday today. She is 5.
On Monday 9th Daddy phoned our solicitor to find out if the people buying our house had payed their deposit. So she phoned their solicitor who said it would be in the account Tuesday.
Tuesday came and went and no deposit. Daddy phoned the removal company who said they were now booked up for Monday. They couldn't hold our booking as other people wanted to move and had exchanged contracts. But she said she could do any other day next week.
Wednesday they still hadn't paid. Our solicitor checked again and their solicitor said definitely tomorrow.
Thursday still no deposit so we was really panicking by then. We was supposed to be moving on Monday but we got no removal company and keep getting lied to about the deposit. So Daddy phoned the estate agent and asked her to phone the people and ask them what's going on. In the meantime Daddy went to the cottage to tell them what's going on. They say they have booked for Monday and paid their removal people.
By the way it is Carly's birthday today. She is 5.
Friday 6th. In which we take Nanny's flowers to the cemetry.
Mummy tried to send the minihumans to school but they was so tired and overwraught after yesterday that she got halfway there, turned back, tucked them into bed and went to work.
In the meantime Daddy and Tom collected us from Uncle Jed's. We was very pleased to see them, but we did wonder what had happened to Mummy, we never been so long without seeing her. On the way home we went to Stafford Cemetry and put Nannys flowers on the family grave and Daddy cleaned all the headstones ready for Nanny to come and be with her relatives in a couple of weeks.
By the time we got home Mummy was back from work. We was so excited to see her Lotty peed her pants.
In the meantime Daddy and Tom collected us from Uncle Jed's. We was very pleased to see them, but we did wonder what had happened to Mummy, we never been so long without seeing her. On the way home we went to Stafford Cemetry and put Nannys flowers on the family grave and Daddy cleaned all the headstones ready for Nanny to come and be with her relatives in a couple of weeks.
By the time we got home Mummy was back from work. We was so excited to see her Lotty peed her pants.
Thursday 5th September. Nanny's funeral.
Today was Nanny's funeral. In the morning Mummy, Daddy and Uncle Simon took their cars to the golf club and Uncle Nick drove everybody back to Grandad's cos they was going to the funeral in the big funeral cars but they needed to get home afterwards.
Then they had showers and everybody dressed in their smart clothes. Not black though, Nanny loves bright colours and patterns. Katie wore a blue flowery dress and Mummy wore a black and cream spotty dress. Daddy wore his wedding suit. Mummy wished she could still fit in her wedding dress. The boy minihumans wore smart shirts and ties. Then Aunty Jackie, Uncle Sid, Georgie and Andrew came and they all went outside to wait for Nanny.
Mummy, Daddy and Grandad were waiting at the end of the drive trying to be brave but when they seen the hearse come round the corner with Nanny in it they all held hands and cried. Grandad did go in the car behind Nanny with Aunty Jacke, Uncle Sid, Uncle Simon, Georgie and Andrew. My humans and Aunty Sue come behind and Uncle Nick and his family at the back.
Then they drove to Southport Crematorium. Them drove very very slowly until there was the biggest traffic jam in the world behind them. Mummy said when she dies she doesn't want a big religious funeral but she would like a really slow procession to the crematorium cos she wants to be a nuisance right up to the end. Aunty Sue said in Uganda, where her and Uncle Simon live, when there is a funeral or a wedding they have processions all through the town and trucks and buses and everybody joins in.
When them got to the crematorium there was about a hundred people waiting. As my humans got out of the car Grandma and Grandad come out of the crowd and everybody hugged and kissed and it was all very sad.
The funeral was very sad too. Uncle Nick said nice things about Nanny and Aunty Sue and Georgie did bible readings and they all sang a hymm. Nanny wasn't a very religious lady but the hymm was the one from her and Grandad's wedding so her would have liked that. Afterwards the curtains didn't close cos Grandad said he didn't want that. Then they went to the golf club in the funeral cars. Katie was too upset though and her wanted a cuddle off her Grandma so she went in Grandma and Grandad's car.
While they was in the car the solicitor phoned to ask if we could move on Monday 16th so Mummy checked they could get the day off work and checked the removal people could do it and they could so they booked it for the 16th.
At the golf club there was a hot and cold buffet lunch. Mummy said I would have liked it cos there was bacon tarts and chikkin. Then all the family went back to Grandad's house. Them was sad that Nanny wasn't there cos she loved having all her family around her. After dinner Grandma and Grandad went home and then Mummy and the minihumans had to drive all the way home too. Them really didn't want to leave Daddy and Grandad but everybody was off work the next day so she had to be in. She was very cross about this.
There was lots of traffic on the motorway and when them got to Ross On Wye the road was closed but there was no diversion marked so Mummy had to guess the route home. You is not going to believe this but they made it home, in the pitch black and half asleep with no satnav or road map in ONE GO. Honest, they did. Mummy kept driving what felt South and she made it. When they got home after midnight they was so tired they dumped all the bags in the hall and fell into bed.
Then they had showers and everybody dressed in their smart clothes. Not black though, Nanny loves bright colours and patterns. Katie wore a blue flowery dress and Mummy wore a black and cream spotty dress. Daddy wore his wedding suit. Mummy wished she could still fit in her wedding dress. The boy minihumans wore smart shirts and ties. Then Aunty Jackie, Uncle Sid, Georgie and Andrew came and they all went outside to wait for Nanny.
Mummy, Daddy and Grandad were waiting at the end of the drive trying to be brave but when they seen the hearse come round the corner with Nanny in it they all held hands and cried. Grandad did go in the car behind Nanny with Aunty Jacke, Uncle Sid, Uncle Simon, Georgie and Andrew. My humans and Aunty Sue come behind and Uncle Nick and his family at the back.
Then they drove to Southport Crematorium. Them drove very very slowly until there was the biggest traffic jam in the world behind them. Mummy said when she dies she doesn't want a big religious funeral but she would like a really slow procession to the crematorium cos she wants to be a nuisance right up to the end. Aunty Sue said in Uganda, where her and Uncle Simon live, when there is a funeral or a wedding they have processions all through the town and trucks and buses and everybody joins in.
When them got to the crematorium there was about a hundred people waiting. As my humans got out of the car Grandma and Grandad come out of the crowd and everybody hugged and kissed and it was all very sad.
The funeral was very sad too. Uncle Nick said nice things about Nanny and Aunty Sue and Georgie did bible readings and they all sang a hymm. Nanny wasn't a very religious lady but the hymm was the one from her and Grandad's wedding so her would have liked that. Afterwards the curtains didn't close cos Grandad said he didn't want that. Then they went to the golf club in the funeral cars. Katie was too upset though and her wanted a cuddle off her Grandma so she went in Grandma and Grandad's car.
While they was in the car the solicitor phoned to ask if we could move on Monday 16th so Mummy checked they could get the day off work and checked the removal people could do it and they could so they booked it for the 16th.
At the golf club there was a hot and cold buffet lunch. Mummy said I would have liked it cos there was bacon tarts and chikkin. Then all the family went back to Grandad's house. Them was sad that Nanny wasn't there cos she loved having all her family around her. After dinner Grandma and Grandad went home and then Mummy and the minihumans had to drive all the way home too. Them really didn't want to leave Daddy and Grandad but everybody was off work the next day so she had to be in. She was very cross about this.
There was lots of traffic on the motorway and when them got to Ross On Wye the road was closed but there was no diversion marked so Mummy had to guess the route home. You is not going to believe this but they made it home, in the pitch black and half asleep with no satnav or road map in ONE GO. Honest, they did. Mummy kept driving what felt South and she made it. When they got home after midnight they was so tired they dumped all the bags in the hall and fell into bed.
Wednesday 4th September. In which we go to Uncle Jed's hotel.
Katie went back to school yesterday. Daddy and Tom took us houndies to Uncle Jed's hotel. Mummy had to stay behind cos she had to go to work and the mini humans had school. Because there was nobody to look after Bryn yesterday he went to work with Mummy and sat in the upstairs office reading the hunger games. He looked bored Mummy said but he said he didn't mind, under the circumstances.
On Wednesday Mummy went to work, the minihumans went to school and Daddy and Tom came to get us from Uncle Jed's. They took us to Grandad's house cos Rosie, Hannah and Uncle Nick wanted to meet us. They said we were very cute so we let them come for a walk with us. But then we had to go back to Uncle Jed's and Daddy and Tom went to the chapel of rest to see Nanny. Tom didn't want to see Nanny cos he wanted to remember her how she was but he went to keep Daddy company. Daddy said he was glad he'd gone cos now he knew Nanny's soul had left her body and that was comforting.
After Mummy finished work and the minihumans finished school they got in the car and drove the 200 miles to Grandad's house. They stopped at Knutsford Services on the way so the minihumans could have tea. Mummy said it was the worst services she ever saw in her whole life and she was surprised the minihumans didn't get tummy ache after eating there.
When they got to Grandad's house the grown up humans had snossijs, beans and baked potatoes for tea what Aunty Sue made. Then they played scrabble but some people cheated and said all Mummy's words didn't exist.
On Wednesday Mummy went to work, the minihumans went to school and Daddy and Tom came to get us from Uncle Jed's. They took us to Grandad's house cos Rosie, Hannah and Uncle Nick wanted to meet us. They said we were very cute so we let them come for a walk with us. But then we had to go back to Uncle Jed's and Daddy and Tom went to the chapel of rest to see Nanny. Tom didn't want to see Nanny cos he wanted to remember her how she was but he went to keep Daddy company. Daddy said he was glad he'd gone cos now he knew Nanny's soul had left her body and that was comforting.
After Mummy finished work and the minihumans finished school they got in the car and drove the 200 miles to Grandad's house. They stopped at Knutsford Services on the way so the minihumans could have tea. Mummy said it was the worst services she ever saw in her whole life and she was surprised the minihumans didn't get tummy ache after eating there.
When they got to Grandad's house the grown up humans had snossijs, beans and baked potatoes for tea what Aunty Sue made. Then they played scrabble but some people cheated and said all Mummy's words didn't exist.
Saturday 31st August. In which Bessie has her teefies cleaned.
So many things to tell you. Where do I start? Firstly me would like to say a big hello to all me new followers. Couldn't help but notice how many views there have been recently. Sorry there has been nothing to read for so long (and I fear that some of you will be dissapointed not to see their own names in print. *waves goodbye*).
On Tuesday I went to the V E T to have my teefies cleaned. They only had to take one out and I was a good girl and didn't bite anyone. I did do a poo in the waiting room while Mummy was paying but the receptionist cleaned it up and said that it was OK cos I had been in my crate all day.
Daddy went up Norf to be with Grandad. Him stayed until Friday.
On Tuesday I went to the V E T to have my teefies cleaned. They only had to take one out and I was a good girl and didn't bite anyone. I did do a poo in the waiting room while Mummy was paying but the receptionist cleaned it up and said that it was OK cos I had been in my crate all day.
Daddy went up Norf to be with Grandad. Him stayed until Friday.
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