I've gone, shuffled off to share the Tart's blog - you'll find me there now, when she lets me near the computer...

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

No Excuses

Wow, nearly March and hardly posted anything this month. Must be winter blues, well, that and the fact that YET AGAIN, I was abandoned at the kennels (seven nights in one year now, not that I'm keeping tabs or anything). H and L headed off into the Perthshire countryside for socialising purposes. To be fair the wee van was loaded up on Saturday morning with artworks and other people's belongings as well as their own essential travelling kit of a few ordinary clothes and vast quantities of boots and jackets so as to be ready for any variety of Scottish weather.

They delivered artwork on the way north and a painted parrot on the way south and returned a borrowed book while at the hotel but managed to come home with five litres of stuff for vehicle gearboxes, a bottle of malt whisky, a secondhand bread machine and twelve old German clothes pegs and some gingham ribbon. I wonder if they are safe out on their own...

The main purpose of the trip was to attend the AGM of the Scottish Off Road Club, of which the lad is a committee member. This involved a mini meeting, a proper AGM type meeting and then several hours thereafter, in the company of many other like minded souls and NOT A FEW DOGS in the bar.. so why was I not there? Hmmmm?

In attendance were a Labrador called Mel who is the same age as me, a West Highland Terrier called Roddy, another chap of mixed blood called Archie and my arch nemesis Lucy. I WAS MISSED. People demanded to know where I was. I could have had long and meaningful conversations with the hotel owner's two Bernese Mountain Dogs as well as the rest of the gang and perhaps scored for some extras from the hotel kitchen. But oh no, my beloved owners had to go without me.

They will pay.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch it is all work and precious little play. Hugh is trying to summon up the muse as two more openings for his work have presented themselves in the last week or so, and Lindsay is fussing over her new website plus making stuff for another outlet while studiously avoiding some financial paperwork. She has one month left of salaried employment before the family plunges into poverty so there's a lot of concern in the air.

No new pics because they forgot to take the camera with them at the weekend. Must try harder.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Grey Winter Sunday



The day needs cheering up so I thought I'd give you a new action shot of me, an arty image of the forest up the road from here in the low wintery sunshine and finally this delicious old advert from the Robert Opie Collection. I would have shown you one of Hugh's pictures but it was framed up and out the door before herself had time to capture an image for posterity.

Although there's been lots of snowy weather around the country, we have hardly had any here - sadly for Hugh and me as we could have had mad snowball games. Lindsay and I managed to find a wee bit of slushy snow for a walk this morning but we're back to rainy skies now.

In the creativity department there's painting going on (well, there HAS to be, really), rebuilding a trailer to go with the little grey Fergie tractor, muffin making (trust me, some of the flavour combinations have been 'different'), crocheting, small scale felting and lots of swearing at the computer as herself battles on with her grand website project - hope it doesn't all end in tears...

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Winter Drawers On

Hello Folks! We've had all sorts of weather here recently but right now we are having it mild and springlike, and the days are stretching out a bit. Hugh's been attacking a bit of garden with a rotovator and adding compost as there are plans to move some fruit bushes from A to B - blackcurrants, a red and a white currant and gooseberries too. He's also been doing some maintenance work for an elderly couple a few miles away. Lindsay approves because he comes back laden with interiors magazines that the lady of the house is finished with.

There was a Wool Gathering last weekend (more here) which had to survive without Hugh's presence as he was doing vital Land Rover off-road things in Perthshire with the Wee Cherub and Baby Face. Like a good boy, though, he left a great pan of broccolli and stilton soup for them to enjoy in his absence.

Tomorrow he is off to recover some unsold work from a Borders gallery and Monday he and L will be heading up to Fife to hang a new selection in the coffee shop in Dalgety Bay. I suspect I will be relegated to the kitchen.

By the way, I have been tagged to spill the WEIRD beans. But, I ask you, what would a model of perfection such as I know about it? Hmmm? So I thought it would be a wizard wheeze to tell tales on L and H instead... (pity help Hugh when Baby Face and the Wee Cherub read this)

1-If Hugh cannot remember the name of something he substitutes the name 'Henry'. So we live with nonsense like - I can't find the tea henry, have you seen it?

2 - He invariably calls his long suffering wife 'son'. As in - I can't find the tea henry, son, have you seen it? L has lived with this for so long that she takes no offence and indeed has been overheard to call herself 'son' when she's talking aloud to herself.

3 - Lindsay is not the most delicate of creatures and probably walks into more items of furniture than your average labrador, not to mention the frequency with which she suffers burns from the stove, the oven, the gas ring, the iron etc

4 - If Lindsay was to win a trolley dash she would want it to be in a stationery shop - she can spend longer hours and more money on paper goods and unnecessary pads and notebooks and cards and pens than anyone else this dog knows, and is ALWAYS seduced by packaging.

5 - Hugh's musical taste is stuck in the 1970s and 80s and he is still in love with Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy and the like.

6 - Perhaps Lindsay's taste is scarier - she likes everything from Tom Waits to Welsh Male Voice Choirs

7 - Oh, alright then, my favourite food is bananas - just don't tell all the other hounds or my street cred will be blown.