Something on Saturday

Treasure 28

Another set of dogs from my brother.

Very small, as you can tell from the bottoms of the Encyclopaedia set behind.

Something on Saturday

Treasure 27
A little family of dogs my brother Tom gave me a long time ago.

I remember him when I see them.

windy day

I have said before that Holly gets worried about the wind. This time she was in such a panic she got me up early (exhausted from being at Knitting and Stitching show) and even followed me to the bathroom! Huffing and puffing. I was afraid she would go into a seizure. (Sometimes being worried about a fly will set her off).

I had been thinking about the thunder shirts I had heard about. But I needed something right then. So, large scarf to the rescue. She calmed right down and when we went downstairs laid down. Now and then she would lift her head when she heard the wind, but I would say it was ok and she would put her head down. Usually she would go into a panic again and come stick to my leg or try to find a safe place in the house. Later she actually went to sleep! So, now this is her worry shirt.

Poor wee doggie!

When Black Dogs get hot

The other day I couldn't find Holly. I thought she was in the garden, but when she is in shade and I am in sun, she blends in. Eventually I found her under the bushes.

She dug a place to lay her tummy in the cool earth.

Go away...Stop taking photos. I am trying to hide.

Rough and Tumble

A Certain Young Man and Holly. Enjoying Christmas holiday from Uni.

Holly had got wet outdoors and they were playing so mad dashing round that she bashed her nose real hard on his shin.

Normally doesn't phase her, but this time she wasn't too sure and needed some TLC.
She loves having someone here to play rough. (And who goes into the kitchen about every 2 hours to eat!)

What dogs do...

...or at least this one.

Does this help her very little brain?

Or not?

Holly sure doesn't like fussed, though when she is trying to sleep.

December days - 3

Today I made a dog happy.

I mended her teddies.

She doesn't mind them with holes, but the filling starts coming out. Then one by one someone takes them away till all she has is the "indestructible" snakey thing.

But these were her toys before she came to live here. So, she is very glad when they show up again.

Added: Thanks for the comments. Perhaps I should post Holly photos more often!

a bit of fun at the seaside

Whilst I am working on a couple things...

more seaside photos to give you a smile.

Digging for crab legs.

'Yum! If you follow this scent, you discover something to munch.'

I am sure she must have had at least a whole crab's worth of the little legs she found. She did find a big claw, but by that time was being more easily persuaded not to eat them.

Holly discovers the sea.

'Oops! It's coming after me!'

She had never been to the sea, but loves to run through water when my husband takes her on long walks. This was unexpected, that the water would attack.

Later she got to run through the water like she wanted with this bit of sea that was separated by a sandbar.

There were several WWII bunker ruins.

'Catch me if you can!'

This ruin could be entered at one side and was like a maze where you came out in a totally different place. She loved it. My husband was trying to get her to come, which she is usually good at. She kept going in the one door, through the bit we couldn't get into and out the other side. Then she would race round under this bit and do it all over again!

So fun to have a dog to enjoy your holiday with again.

And I think after last week, I am now on her list of people who count. Today she came and sat by my chair in here because someone was drilling and hammering in next door's garden and she wasn't quite sure about it. (Up til now, she has mostly ignored me during the day...and tolerated me patting her as I went past doing things.)

I should have some work to show tomorrow!

Something on Saturday

Most of this last week we have been in Yorkshire. Visiting family and having a little break.

Holly is quite well behaved (unless she sees a cat - then she forgets every thing she has learned). So, we took her in to see my husband's mother who is in a home. We had our lunch in Mum's room instead of the dining room like usual, as we weren't sure how Holly would do. It took her a little while to get used to various bells and decorators with ladders painting the ceiling in the hall (!) But soon, she ignored it all as if it weren't there. (Sort of like she does me when my husband is at work! LOL)

This was just before we left.

Okay - looking at 'dad' to be sure this was alright.

On the way out, one of the ladies in the lounge room spotted her, so I took her in to say hello. She was sooo tender in getting next to the fragile ladies so as not to scare them. It was quite precious. But the lady who was more vibrant got the wiggle-delight response to her greeting which in turn delighted the lady. Even one 'new' lady who seems (from Mum's point of view) to be finding the change too much (understatement), got a little lick on her arm which she was quite pleased about.


These origami towel dogs greeted us when we got to the self-catering cottage. A great place to stay in Beeford. Very welcoming to dogs and so many little extras - including a home made loaf of bread, cheese thin biscuits for the dog, some cake and then more cake and biscuits when we left!

We were their third customers as they have just opened this season. So, if you want a place to go - nearish the sea and not too far from York where they love dogs. Get on the list quick before everyone else finds out about them. Ashlea Studio

Something new to us

A slight diversion from things I am working on...

For just over a week we have been getting used to a new member of the household.

Meet Holly.

A friend of ours is facing chemo having been given the hope that it might give her more than a year. She is a very matter of a fact person and at this point is looking at things logically. Or maybe regaining a sense of control by getting everything organised.

So, she wanted to find someone to have her dog... now...while she has say in the matter...while the dog has a chance to get adjusted. And since Pepper has been gone nearly 2 years the Thoughtful Man thought perhaps we could. It seemed every other option our friend explored had come to nothing.

Holly isn't particularly the sort of dog I would choose, but in this circumstance you couldn't say no!

So we have been getting used to her and she has been getting used to us. Quite different from Pepper in a lot of ways. Many of them very good. For a start, I have never met a dog that isn't hanging round your feet when you are doing something with food! Not even a twitch from the comfort of the settee!

And some days she eats all her dinner and some days she doesn't and some days she takes one bit at a time several feet away from the dish, eats it and goes back for one more...etc, etc, etc!

So that has made it quite easy to stick with the resolution we'd made that any new dog was not getting fed as much people food. This was in the hope that whatever thing it was that suddenly made Pepper get sick and die wouldn't happen to another - if it was even due to people food in the first place.

Holly has really taken to my husband, which at this point is a good thing for him. Besides working full time, he leads our church and is also heavily involved on the Committee at the Community Centre. It has been fun to hear noises of a dog running around in the hall upstairs. It means my husband has stopped for a break.

She is violently opposed to the idea of sleeping in the kitchen or in the storeroom, also known as 'Pepper's Bedroom', so currently it is the front hall! But maybe as she gets settled we can get her to move into the kitchen at some point. (It is tiled, so a better choice on our part.)

At present she is also not happy about both of us being gone at the same time. Cue the violently opposed part again. But we think we have found a system. Our friend was out and about a lot more than me, and often took her along. (My husband is meeting all sorts of people round the neighbourhood, when they are on a walk, who know Holly!)So, it is taking her a while to realise if we go somewhere without her, we will come back.

Stop pointing that thing at me.

Oh yeah, I don't think she looks like a 'Holly' either, but apparently she was a rescue dog, found around Christmas time a few years ago. Our friend decided Holly was a lot better name than 'Crackers' (!) which the rescue place had named her.

We are finding it hard not to call her Pepper, so her name is morphing a little into Polly! She actually came when I called her "Polly-wolly-doodle all the day" so that was good.(Meaning it was good she came when I called her!) Most of the dogs I have lived with had several names anyway.

She is not as clever as Pepper was, so she hasn't necessarily been able to work out just what she is meant to do in certain situations. But she will learn in time. I think some of it is that we use different commands than our friend did. We didn't know Holly very well, only my husband saw her now and then when doing stuff at the Community Centre. So, we weren't familiar with her habits.

Anyway, so far, it looks like she isn't really a friend for me to talk to about decisions when I am working here in my studio. But now and then she brings 'Ted' to have a grrr and a tug. And the house isn't empty, which is also good.