Living in the UK again

So another sit ends, this one with the chocolate lab I have known since she was a puppy. She has a mantra I ought to adopt, she lives life to the full and enjoys every moment of it. Of course it’s easier when you are a dog, as long as you have a loving home and dog sitter. I was sleeping in the games room, on the ground floor, and she dropped in at 5.30am to request her breakfast. Eventually after many more off you go moments and her giving me lots of cuddles, I decide it justs not worth the effort and got up. The breakfast is hoovered up and next on her list is how much she can blag of my breakfast, usually an apple and a pear. After this, a morning walk beckons. For a Labrador this is not a walk, it’s a foraging expedition as I have said before. We have done several walks including the one from Shiplake to Sonning, and not going in the garden of the Village Hamper. I did the walk with a friend and took this photo of the countryside. I made a lemon meringue pie for friends, during whi...

I have been busy doing all sorts of things, the dog sitting has started again. It started with a one day sit with the St Bernard, he really is no trouble at all. I think I mentioned he did not like walking, well on the walk I did with him, after a typical slow start, he met a dog and owner he knew, and he then charged along. On the field he played with the dog, named Blue as the lady did not feel comfortable naming him after his colour, black. If I had a black dog, I might name him Mavro, after the black dog in Greece.  The St Bernard likes drinking out of a tap or hose, like the chocolate lab I know.  The next dog to be looked after is the chocolate lab, I mentioned before. Blackberries are starting to appear at home, and in the hedgerows. She only eats the ripe ones. There is a theory about the  missing gene  and why the just don’t stop eating! The  chocolate lab I know, you could give her a bowl of caviar, then take her for a walk and despite the treat, she w...

A kind committee member of TRHA has a garden party in her lovely garden every year. It’s an informal occasion and she provides some lovely food. I had planned on making a quiche, but a French couple who help at the store, also said they wanted to make one, so I decided to make a Spanakopita pie, and turned that idea into mini triangle shaped ones. I got the spinach from the allotment, boy I needed a lot of it! The filo pastry I bought, it was a bit fiddly, I got my friend to try one, after they were cooked and they got the thumbs up. The recipe is  here I have over the last few weeks been standing in for a new friend who works on a garden. She was away for three weeks for her fifteenth birthday. It’s been nice working there, two friendly dogs, and two rag doll cats. The other day, both of the cats were sitting on the car’d parcel shelf, lying in the sun. Unfortunately the second cat moved before I could snap it. With all the dog sitting, there hasn’t been much time to work on the g...

 I have just finished looking after the Cocker Spaniel that I have known since he was a puppy. It’s reminded me of my time with the dog the owners had before him. He was also a Cocker and I loved him to bits. In a way this sit has sort of cemented my thoughts on what dog I might get if I ever decide to have one. I love Labradors but the naughtiness of the Cocker sort of appeals to me, Labradors can be naughty too and I know the cocker I might get, may not be like the that two have lived in this house. When I looked after the one that has now crossed the rainbow bridge, we used to go for walks when the sun was still rising and there is a photo of him with the sun in front of us both, I only looked after him once but it was a special week.  This time with the new dog on the block, well he is two now, so not really a puppy now. But he loves to talk, he is really vocal, I can only guess what he is saying. As soon as he sees me coming down the stairs, it’s breakfast and then a walk...

I did take the Cocker Spaniel and Chocolate lab to Marlow, not Henley as it was Regatta week. We went along the Thames river and both dogs took a dip. On the way back we went to the cafe that I went with my friend before and it was very nice. We went back to the Cocker’s house and then something strange but nice happened. When the Cocker was a pup, he and the Labrador played together. When I got back from Greece  and walked them, they did not play together at all. But today they clicked  and played tug with toys and pretend fights. It was lovely to see.   A few days ago I finished looking after the two French Bulldogs on Station Road. I have looked after them before and it was nice to look after them again. While I was there I blagged two utility pipes from the building work going on in the old Police Station. These pipes are going to be great at growing carrots in. They are bigger than the ones I had before so I think more than one carrot can go into each pipe. They...