Artistic development

There's been a birthday - not mine, sadly, but it was an opportunity for me to teach Midge how to shred discarded wrapping paper into tiny pieces ready for the compost heap. It all goes well till you get sellotape in your teeth - oh and coloured tissue paper is pretty fine because if you chew it and spit it out you can stain all sorts of surfaces with it...
Last week Hugh had the inestimable assistance of his pal Jim and his mini-digger to clear the site for his fancy new 'shed'. Jim and the digger levelled it and laid hardcore and they both pegged out the area for the concrete to go down. The snow didn't really help. On April 1st (hmmmm) the concrete was delivered and Hugh and Lindsay spread it with the help of neighbour Brian and his little (vintage) dump truck. As I write this the concrete is continuing to harden off and should be fine for the arrival of the fancy big wooden shed next week. Hugh will use it to paint in and will graciously allow herself to use it too.
Today is a wee bit tortuous for canines. We had too many cockerels so two of them were dispatched earlier in the week. They are now being cooked up in various forms and the aromas are killing me... If I am lucky there will be some scraps heading into my dinner bowl tonight. (By the way, lest you think H & L are any good at this sort of thing, this time Joe did the dirty deed with the two birds and Lorraine cleaned them for us - it's great to have friends)

Yeah, well, you might have been right...

Ok, Ok, I admit having Midge about is not ALL bad, after all. I try the karate kicks, the sneaky stealing of her toys when she isn't looking, the occasional nip on the back of the neck, but she's a game wee lassie and just keep coming back for more. If she stops nicking my bed at every opportunity we may develop into friends.
She's eleven weeks old now and has had her jabs so in another week she can go beyond the garden gate and meet other dogs and perhaps stop using the flower beds with quite such regularity... Ha, just waits till she discovers the ignominity of being on a lead..... (teehee!)

[Editor's Note: For those of you not accustomed to dogs, the management seeks to reassure you that no puppies were damaged in the course of these pics and that this is normal playing behaviour, honest]

Jumbled Up

The Great Annual Southdean Jumble Sale is Imminent!

Sharpen your elbows in preparation for Saturday,

and sustain your strength on the day with

hot soup and sausage rolls, coffee and shortbread.

Saturday 8th March 11 am - 2pm at

Southdean Village Hall, Chesters

This great picture of the tawny owl who came down the chimney in the hall was captured by Martyn Harrison.

Pup, paintings, perseverance

Don't know where the last few weeks have gone, though I do distinctly remember spending a few days at the kennels. No complaint there - they are always pleased to see me and my room has central heating to make my nights comfortable. H and L were up in Dunkeld and then Edinburgh, the first to do with off road driving (except this was an AGM so it was in a hotel and apparently included beer and whisky), the second to do with having a break in the city. They walked on hard pavements a lot and had to keep stopping for coffee apparently, though they clocked up three exhibitions. I think L has probably waxed lyrical about them over at Tart's Tales.

Meanwhile, back at Planet Chesters, work has not yet started on renovating the cottage because the Building Warrant application has not been approved yet. Without that H&L cannot show plans to tradesmen and without them they cannot get the big bits of work done. Harrumph!

Hugh's most recent painting (that he is happy with...) is this one of the village from 'down the field' where he and I walk and I chase hares occasionally.

And you'll see, Lady Midge is now in residence. She has been here for four days, though it seems like forty four to me. Have you any idea how many meals she has had in that time? She is small, black and shiny. She bounces about and tries to get me to play but I am holding out. She wees A LOT, but mainly outside, though I notice no-one tells her off about walking over the flower beds. I think they have been taken in by the fact that she still looks cute. I walked into the living room on day two and she was sound asleep on MY cushion in front of the stove. I restrained myself to a sigh and pointedly left the room.

Let's Get it Over With

Here is more photographic evidence of the done deed. It may be Valentine's Day but the arty ones' idea of romance is to go and look at puppies. This is Midge. I ain't met her yet but she's coming to live with us in a fortnight. That's it really. Life is complete. No peace, no bed to call my own, incontinence (hers, not mine), stolen toys, fewer meals, less space in the Land Rover. Ach, I'm going off to my bed while I still can. Goodnight!

Suspicions....

I am amassing evidence...

I was not there but I sure sniffed his clothes when he came home....

(PS - May I just slip in here a very big thank you to

Wimsey for his kind offer with regard to puppy making

- see previous post comments -

a true gentleman!)

Here I am!

Helllllloooooooo! Lady Ash of Chesters has finally got back online. Now I can update you with happenings chez moi. We'll start with Christmas as it was a very fine day for this dog.

Leisurely breakfast on a frosty morning followed by a drive down to Kielder Reservoir. The place was deserted and quite eerie - very still and misty, yachts at anchor, hardly any birdlife on the water though a few little birds in the trees as we walked. I didn't venture in for a swim or even a paddle - a bit nippy for that - but we had a fine outing, culminating in a flask of coffee and flapjacks in the car before we headed home. There we set to with present opening. I had considerately wrapped some bottles of beer for Hugh and even more considerately helped him open the package again, and indeed any other parcels he seemed to be struggling with in the course of the afternoon. H and L then succumbed to a fancy dinner cooked in the Rayburn, including the best roast potatoes herself has ever done (as in this is the second time she has ever cooked them and they were better than the first...). I believe I may have scored for a little left over meat in the course of the evening.

So that was Christmas. The festive tone continued for several days so I had extra interesting walks instead of the same old sniffs around here.

There is a wee fly in the ointment, however.

On Christmas Eve the vet phoned with the results of my hip test thingy. Lo, I have the potential for dodgy hips and am advised not to have pups! Imagine! Me! Miss Fit and Healthy - pah! So there we have it - my amazing bouncing genes are not to be passed on to another generation. No pretenders to the throne of Lady Ash. Or is that really true? I happen to know that H & L bumped into friends in Hawick whose dog had pups on New Year's Day. Can you see where this is going? I, too, have strong suspicions and will report back so soon as I know what's afoot.

Happy Days

Hello and a very Happy New Year to everyone.
I will be back with stories soon but at the moment our Broadband link is still kaput and we are using dial-up at a speed of two bytes an afternoon.

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.

Clocking up the Miles

I've been whizzing round the countryside with the arty types of late - visiting friends, running errands and just generally working hard. Because it IS work, you know. I have to stay alert in the back of the car AT ALL TIMES lest a pheasant stray cross the road, or one of those grey ratty squirrels, or, if we are in a town, a hound dog or two.
Hugh and his pal Joe spent two days walking a part of the Southern Upland Way. It is Scotland's longest walk. It stretches west to east from Portpatrick's romantic seascapes over the Mull of Galloway to the dramatic North Sea cliffs at Cocksburnspath. Tracking through some of Scotland's most beautiful and varied scenery, it offers an unforgettable holiday experience for serious walkers and weekend visitors alike. By the way I lifted that last bit from here
Anyway, L and I dropped them off near Moffat and they walked back to Traquair so they clocked up about 31 miles, staying overnight at St Mary's Loch.
Since then, we have been in Newcastle (my first experience of being in a flat - no pheasants there), down to Washington where I met new friends who have a fine garden full of interesting sniffs AND a big sponge football for me to sink my teeth into AND they let me have some banana - pretty sound all round, that place. Then H and L needed to do some work near Edinburgh so we all went off in the Land Rover for that jaunt. I notice I did not get included in the coffee shop stop on the way back, however.















The brambles (blackberries) in the garden are ripening well now (they are always later than the wild ones) and the first few were added to some apple jelly that L made the other day - glorious colour, methinks. Not content with that, she then felt the need to make a batch of boozy mincemeat for Christmas selling. First, though, there's the Harvest Supper at the Village Hall to contend with, then a Halloween Wool Gathering - more of that on Lindsay's blog

The Tea Party

The Crafternoon was a great success and Lindsay was very chuffed to raise £330 for Macmillan Cancer Support. Obviously the main attraction of the afternoon for certain folks was the promise of men in kilts. So here we have:
The Three Graces or
Macbeth's three witches or
Wilson, Keppel and Betty (for those of you old enough to remember your grandmother talking about them!) or
Winkin', Blinkin' and Nod or perhaps
Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, See No Evil (aye, right)

Seriously, though, Joe, Hugh and Ross did a great job serving tea, coffee, cake and large amounts of cheek, and they did all the washing up too.
Other stars of the day were Lorraine and Anne who stitched and stitched and brought goodies to sell, and Trisha, Queen of Hearts, who supplied the chocolate fountain (which promptly gave up the ghost!) and made the day of children large and small, and brought her own lavender and produce to sell too. And there were other bonuses - Hazel and Sheila and Alison all arrived with home baking to supplement the supplies. Heroes every one!
Little me? I saw a crumb or two of cake from an empty tin. Such is my lot....

Home Again

We've all been away - in separate directions.

I was despatched to see my friends at the kennels where they appreciate what a fine canine specimen I am, while H and L went north. They were lucky enough to stay in a perfect cottage in the heart of the Perthshire countryside, with paths from the door, a quality village shop ten minutes walk away and dry weather all week.

Photographs were taken and here's the evidence. Typical southern Highland landscapes, tumbling streams, mirror smooth lochs, solid stone houses, turreted white harled larger 'estate' properties, red deer, roe deer, red squirrels, buzzards and rabbits. The perfect spot for a chocolate labrador, it must be said. They have promised to take me next time....

The cottage was a TV free zone but the twosome had taken their own entertainment

for him, his guitar and a new guitar magazine

for her, more stitchery and books

for them both, a fine bottle of malt whisky

Creating a Stir!

CRAFTERNOON TEA

Sat 22nd September at 2.30pm

Southdean Village Hall

There will be tea, coffee, home baked cakes and a

luscious CHOCOLATE fountain.

You can watch

a quilter, a handknitter, a patchworker and a hand spinner

busy being creative and you can have

your delicious afternoon tea

served by MEN in KILTS

all in return for a generous donation to

Macmillan Cancer Support

as part of the World's Biggest Coffee Morning!

Yup, her ladyship has rustled up some trusty textile friends to demonstrate and her gin drinking buddy to provide the chocolate fountain, smiled very sweetly at some kind hearted Scotsmen (erm, and a Geordie) and is hoping for LOTS of support for this venture at the village hall. She thinks the world of Macmillan nurses because the whole family had such support from them when her Dad was ill and this seemed like too good an opportunity to miss.

Sunny Sunday

Well, I'd love to be able to post lots of pics showing the creativity of the folks but there's precious little going on that makes for elegant images. Hugh has been verrrrry busy working long hours on things which have nowt to do with painting - mainly putting up and taking down fences for the illustrious Thirlestane Horse Trials (three day palaver at Lauder, forty minutes north of here) and building aviaries for a new neighbour who keeps raptors (lovely word that, and not bad for a three year old labrador). Specifically a buzzard and a Harris hawk for those of you who know about these things. And he's been cutting grass by the acre with the wee Fergie tractor as well as with a mower. As well as all that the poor lad has been working on getting the 4x4 off road event in the forests sorted out and has more of that to come before the day itself on 9th September. Oh, and he's off doing a charity cycle ride today - my hero!

Lindsay - hmmm, bit of admin stuff, bit of painting (walls and doors - she hates painting doors) and quite a lot of destruction of built-in wardrobes. I understand that Part l of the Great Plan is for us to move next door to where the grass is greener and the sun shines longer. This entails much pondering over paint charts, endless washing of brushes, long periods spent contemplating bare walls and muttering over the amount of 'stuff' there is to contend with. When all this gets too much she takes it out on the garden.

I have to report a nasty trend developing chez nous.

Name calling.

They seem to consider that I am unusually inquisitive and a little officious in my attitude at times. In recent days I have been referred to as The Chocolate Policeman, Agent Ash of the FBI (Furry Brown Inspectorate) and even Deputy Dawg. I am plotting revenge....

Crumbs of comfort

Her ladyship remembered to take the camera with her the other morning when she took me for a walk so here are her tasteful images taken just up the road from here. We do all realise how lucky we are to live surrounded by such glorious countryside, honest we do. The reason the fields are nice and green and lush is because the blinking rain is back with us again and this makes for more flooded boggy bits in the garden and hens plodging about in mud baths.

Showtime Blues

Well, Southdean Show was a success APPARENTLY. You can read a brief summary on Lindsay's blog but AS I WAS NOT THERE it is really only a human account. I understand there were no animals allowed at all - because of some blinking cattle disease - so I cannot give you my usual full report. Perhaps normal service will be resumed next summer. Harrumph.

The Sun Shines Again!

Hallelujah! I get longer walks again. The downside is that there is not as much mud to play in but I can live with that - I'm just happy to be investigating all the living things out there, and a few of the dead ones too.

Do you like this painting - it's called Big Sky (yes, really) and it sold on the opening night of the current exhibition. His Lordship was fairly pleased about that.

From the sublime to the ridiculous, I can also bring you the first image of the 2007 Southdean Show rag doll which you have, of course, all been eagerly awaiting. For those of interested in such things, she is a fine example of recycling - brown upholstery remnant cotton body, jumble sale blouse fabric, gifted skirt fabric, hair from silk and linen yarn L has had in stock for twenty years, necklace is a bracelet that she made, ribbons from my late lamented friend next door and pantaloons of the finest embroidered linen which started out in Devon, went to Portugal and made it all the way back to Chesters. Now all you have to do is pay up, guess her name and she's yours, on 11th August at the Show. And I have been asked to point out that it took YEARS to plait all of her hair...

Meanwhile, the main activity round here still seems to be in the form of destruction but L has also been out with paint brushes and rollers inside and Hugh is set to build aviaries for a neighbour outside so there is evidence of constructive work too.