A Rainy St Andrews Day

Greetings everyone! Today I bring you visual evidence of further torment at the hands of my 'caring' owners. On Wednesday I was subjected to anaesthetic in order to have my immaculately slim hips X-rayed. They wanted to get me hip scored to ensure that I will be a fit mother of healthy strong hipped pups. All very well and good but because the vet could not find a vein easily in one front leg I ended up with shaved bits on BOTH! Ruined my street cred for weeks to come. I was a bit woozy when they brought me home but after an hour or two (and a meal or two...) I regained sufficient strength to demand a game with a few toys. Least they could do, if you ask me.

I have been asked to post the next image as his lordship is terribly pleased with the refurbishment job he did on the trailer for his Fergie tractor. The trailer was pretty wrecked when he got it but now, after a mere two years, it has been restored to full working order and is holding some of this winter's wood supply.

Other exciting news in this neck of the woods? Hmmm, Lindsay had a fine afternoon at the Village Hall on Saturday with her Border Tart goodies - they sold well and she came home with a smile on her face. The smile may have been aided by the three glasses of mulled wine she consumed in the course of that afternoon(hmmm, only went out and bought new shoes a few days later AND a new sweater... not so much as a chocolate button for yours truly, though...)

We had frost last week and Hugh took this when we were out for a walk one morning. It is the view to the crossroads in our village and our house is the low one second from the left, with its windows glinting in the sun. Not a bad spot for a labrador to grow up in.

Her ladyship is off to Scott's Selkirk tomorrow to meet a good friend and enjoy some Borders fare. The little village of Selkirk has been laying on this two day event for the last nine years. The author Sir Walter Scott was sheriff there (not with a shiny tin star and spurs, he was a local judge) and there's masses of entertainment laid on for the whole weekend - live music of all (Scottish) sorts, reconstructed courtroom dramas, shop- and stall-keepers in costume. Lindsay has never been so has her fingers crossed that the rain stops at the very least, so she and Susan can wander about dry if not warm.

Oops...

Ermmm, I did mean to mention that The Workhouse website has had an update too, with H and L's newer artworks on their respective pages. They have been spending much time in their garrets of late and will have work at The Cairns Gallery and the Overt Gallery over Christmas as well as at Conundrum and Oscar's!

Commercial over.

Big Update

At last I've been able to get to the computer in a brief respite from the seemingly endless demands of country life. However, I had better start with the fact that her ladyship has uploaded a whole bundle of new arty things for the festive season, all gracing The Border Tart webpages so please go and say I sent you (anyway, there's some post free stuff so it's worth a sniff). Meanwhile, the glorious autumn weather continues, despite occasional high winds and chillier nights. The plus side to the latter is that the stove gets put on more often. We were all out this morning to enjoy the fresh air although my freedom was curtailed when Hugh spotted a couple of roe deer ahead of us and I was firmly re-attached to the lead. As if....
My fancy black collar has white paw prints on it - a Christmas gift last year - but the white bits are peeling off due to my enthusiasm for forays into the undergrowth.
I can now (not very) exclusively reveal that WE are all moving next door, permanently, at Christmas and H & L will then be working on our cottage so they can offer it as a holiday let from next summer. It will sleep four and will be wheelchair accessible throughout by the time they are done with it. As it is already a quirky property they want to retain all that and make sure there's still lots of art on the walls and some handmade furnishings to delight guests. Then there will be the fresh eggs and home made bread and preserves waiting for them, the walking and cycling from the door, the gorgeous brown hound looking cute in the next door garden - how can anyone resist?
As if that were not enough, they have only gone and acquired a 'mature' caravan! To be fair they were very kindly offered it by generous friends and with a few modifications and some TLC (no, not that one) it will be ready to roll. Sleeps three - that's two arty types and one ME, so I am looking forward to some mini adventures in the spring.

The Big Clear Out Starts Here

Lindsay has sneakily pushed this onto my blog as well as her own. She has mega stocks of craft stuff she inherited from her Mum and has decided to sell it off at the Federation Show next weekend - if it's your bag, get along and grab the bargains as they are going for sweeties!
With luck I'll be allowed to post soon about the developments happening round here, though she's threatening to add some of her Christmassy stuff to The Border Tart shop so I'll be lucky to get a look-in at the keyboard.