Party Time!

More adventures for Miss Midge. Her Mum is called Fay and her owners, Jo and Alan, held a BBQ so all the puppies could meet up again. They are nearly six months old already. I'll point out now that although I was invited THEY did not take me. There was a lot of muttering about 'disruptive influence', 'too big for her own boots', 'show-off' and other wounding and hurtful dialogue too painful to repeat here. So there you have it - favouritism.

However, photographs were taken, as you can see. Also you will note from the top pic that Midge really is a midget - she is the littlest of the litter now. That's her and one of her brothers going off to investigate the trampoline. Shortly after, Midge beat a hasty retreat back to the other hounds - bit scary, those boys.

As well as the pups and mum and granny, there were two visiting black lab great aunts. The amazing thing was how fantastically well behaved everybody was - no barking or nipping or bad language from anyone.This statement has been repeated to me ad nauseam, I might add.

The middle pic shows a squirming Midge beside her mother Fay and her grandmother Flora (a full English Setter).Today is a celebration of a completely different kind. This vehicle was acquired by Hugh many months ago and he has been working on it ever since, in his spare time. A Range Rover of mature years and rusty chassis, it was 'bobtailed' by Hugh - that is , the back end was chopped off and refashioned. A demon welder then constructed an external rollcage for it before Hugh set to the seemingly endless patching and welding of the rusty bits, plus many more previously undiscovered problem areas, and other techie stuff. Finally, in the nick of time, it was finished and today he rolled out with Shorty on a trailer, for its first off-road trial. We wait with baited breath to learn how the day has gone....

Rain stopped play

There I was, just getting accustomed to waking up to sunshine and the comforting thought of another day to laze in the garden when lo, the rains came down. Well, alright, heavy drizzle, but still, it has rather taken the edge of my early summer.

Hugh took pity on me and I was sole passenger on the brief car trip he made today (ooops, and then another one to his saviour, the blacksmith with the well-stocked workshop just down the road). So at least I had the joy of the back of the car all to myself, without 'Nipper' Midge at my ankles.

The camera has been out this last month, but largely to photograph fancy new yarns and stuffed animal-thingies for herself's shop so I don't have anything that new and exciting to show you. Hugh's cabin is ready for the maestro but he's been cutting grass and washing cars for a living lately so there's no new masterpieces to show you yet.

H and L were down in Northumberland on Sunday, checking out The Art Tour - they saw work by fifteen different artists and craftspeople (out of many more) and had a jolly time. I fear L may feel the need to rabbit on at length about the experience but she can do that on her own blog, methinks...

Beach Blues

Greetings from sun soaked Chesters. Blimey, we've had a couple of weeks of warm dry weather and I have to say these [still young] bones will soak up any amount of sunshine given the chance. Nothing better after a walk or dinner than to flop down onto toasty warm earth and just r-e-l-a-x..... zzzzzzzzz

Hugh had a birthday this month so we all took off to the seaside. Not one of the brightest or warmest days, it must be said, but this did not deter us. I tried to introduce Midge to the pleasures of deep water but she wimped out whenever a wave approached. We were inevitably made to pose for photographs again even though I was soaking wet and Midge would rather have been sniffing along the high water mark.

A major highlight of the year happened just yesterday - Lindsay received all the way from South Africa this painting by this talented lady . L has been scheming to acquire one of Arty Farty's artworks for quite a while and when she spotted this one on her blog she knew that was it. Fortunately when it arrived and was unrolled (it's about 1m x 1.5m!) Hugh immediately said how much he liked it too. This means its allowed to grace the living room wall, as soon as he's made a frame to stretch it over. Posh, eh?

Tres tasteful

Et voila, the cabin exterior is painted and the floor has been varnished. The curtains are made but not hung yet as H & L need to find a cheap and cheerful way of insulating the roof. Then, maybe, the arty stuff can get moved in and Hugh can splash paint on those walls instead of his current garret.
Fat lambs everywhere which means no running across empty fields for Midge and me. It's either walks along the road on a lead (bah, humbug) or trips to one bit of forest or another. Even that's getting complicated as tonnes and tonnes of trees are being felled and shipped south these days.
Hugh's all pleased as he's got work with the beloved little grey Fergie tractor this week, at a friend's house down the road. Just as well he's finished painting for his new exhibition which opens at the Cairns Gallery in Peebles in a couple of weeks' time.

Artistic Development ll

This morning was a touch frosty but then the sun shone and we were off to the forest. L was in snap happy mode so Midge and I were coerced into posing for her.
We are a good advert for 'no-nonsense well-priced complete dog meal ' says she.
Hmm, give us an egg now and then you'll REALLY see a shiny coat, says me.

And here we have proof that three polite Polish cabin kit builders can drive up from London, build a cabin in a matter of six hours, turn round and drive all the way back again for a very reasonable price and two cups of coffee each. Now H & L need to get on and paint it before the unseasonable sleet takes its toll on the raw wood. In the mere blink of an eye it will be magically transformed with Cuprinol Shades 'Wild Thyme' to a subtle 'you don't really notice I'm here, do you' sort of effect....

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