A Walk by the River

 

The other evening after a computer filled day for us both, we decided to take the dogs for a walk along the river.  They both miss having grass, so going to the river or the park is a good way for them to enjoy a multitude of new smells and a different surface to walk on.

Mavis loves the freedom of being off the lead and is good at recall now, it only took us most of her little life to perfect the distance commands.  She was never a quick learner.

Unfortunately Suky mostly has to stay on her lead now, being completely deaf means that if something catches her attention and she dashes off to have a look, we have no means of shouting her back and her short-sightedness means she loses track of us very quickly.  In fact I've noticed that she now gets a sense of security from feeling one of us on the other end of her lead.

This is the time of year when Suky's arthritis starts to affect her and her medication has to be given daily.  On walks such as this when I notice her flagging I find a bench, and the two of us sit and watch the world go by while Alan takes Mavis on for a few more minutes to use up some of her extra energy, she doing well for an old terrier.

On this day we sat and watched as dog walkers passed by us and the young lads behind the fencing gathered on the cricket pitch for a town team training session.

All the while Suky was glancing into the distance for that first sighting of Dad and Mavis coming back.

Then it was back into the car for the five minute drive home and to settle down in their beds for an evening of snoozing and watching Dad closely for any signs of snacks being forthcoming.

Sue xx

Some YouTube Videos That I've Loved This Week

 Slow down, right down.  

Make yourself a coffee or top up that teacup, maybe grab a biscuit or an extra slice of toast, and then sit and relax with just a few of the YouTubers that have entertained me this week.

I hope you enjoy. xx

https://youtu.be/jaJrA7qu6qs?si=Qv4tWdta4DcId29T

Farmhouse on Boone is currently one of my favourite YouTube channels, she has such a nice calm way about her while she is getting on with the day to day baking and homemaking.  Her beautiful home is very easy on the eye too.

https://youtu.be/xDom0BB-GCo?si=6BeKftTTJxIJFKcV

I don't even knit but I love watching Rationbook Rebecca and her lovely way with words.  Her showing us the latest books that she's added to her collection was just the icing on a lovely relaxing cake.

https://youtu.be/XJVQsHJPNlw?si=Emy_lL7gwqK54wEi

Frugal Daddy sure knows the way to Frugal Mommy's heart. 

 What a brilliant score from the dumpster, and how sad that all those seeds nearly ended up in landfill.

https://youtu.be/C5jEdCtjqWI?si=0VZDAgw_EoXSSkrx

And finally ... a couple I used to watch a lot of in the past, Kirsten and Joerg.  Wow, their channel has grown enormously in the past couple of years.  They holiday and tour beautiful places all over the UK and take us the viewers along with them.  

And you know me, I love a good cottage.

I hope you are having a good weekend, and that on this, the first weekend of September we all get some good weather.

Sue xx

A Little Trip Down the Memory Lane of 1st September.

 

1st September 2022

I was talking about how chilly it was at night and thinking about starting rationing!!

I went into my photo files to start a post for the first of September ... and found it empty. 😞 

I need to take some photos and fill it up.  Do more, go more places and take more photos.  In the meantime I will leave you with the images and the links to the posts of the beginning of September over the life of this blog of mine. 

 Just click on the dates to be taken straight to the post in question.

There was no 1st so here's the 3rd September 2021

I told you my courgette plants were so much better last year! 

 This year with the rhubarb in the same place, it was as big as these courgette plants from the year we moved into this house.  I told you that I cut right it right back to the ground only two weeks ago didn't I ... it is already growing again!

 

2nd September 2020.

Again I didn't post on the 1st of the month, but here's what I wrote on the second.

Me and Suky living in the caravan and enjoying our early morning walks around the caravan park and along the river.  Oh, and she did love to go for coffee and cake at the local garden centre ... her favourite walk.

1st September 2019

It seems I did a bit of my life history on this day in 2019.  😀

3rd September 2018

At first I read this one as 'everyone loves a terrier' ... well they do but it doesn't say that.  😂

A little trip down memory lane, you don't have to read all the posts, but they are there if you would like to.  I'll take some photos over the weekend so I don't have to subject you to that again.

Promise. 

Sue  xx

The Last Sunrise of August

 

Sunrise on the last day of August just outside out little town.

Taken by a local photographer Keith Sergeant.

Sue xx

Saying Goodbye to August

 

August has whizzed by.  

With much cooler days the tomatoes have taken an age to ripen, and some just haven't.  The garden is slightly going over with the only flowers left being the beautiful white Cosmos 'Purity'.  Each day I tidy a bit more and add to the contents of the compost bin.

As the nights draw in the animals are sleeping indoors more, no basking in the late evening sun on the patio as they did earlier in the year.  They claim their spots and then switch around when the mood takes them.  The other persons bed is always comfier it would seem.

In the bed by my chair Mavis is usually well placed to see if I'm consuming any tasty treats, although there's not so many these days with my rationing challenge going so well, I'm never hungry enough to need nibbles in the evening.

Suky has eyes like little radars always on the lookout for what's going on.  It's important to look and sniff when you can't hear.

One burst of real colour left in the garden is the weed by my living room doors.  

It's flowered since Spring and is a firm favourite with bees.  So much so that I have been saving seeds from it and I will surreptitiously scatter them in the hedgerows along the canal when I walk there next Spring.

It's been a strange Summer, with the heat of June dissipating almost as quickly as it came and then the much cooler August seeing the season out not so much in style, as in the need for woolly jumpers before they are even unpacked and the Summer clothes put away.

What will September hold ... that's anyone's guess!!

Sue xx

Making the Best of Typical Bank Holiday Weather

 

It's been a busy couple of days, so we decided to make the most of the sunshine that we woke up to yesterday.  

The forecast hadn't been brilliant for the weekend, so the minute I saw sunshine when I opened my eyes, I got up and loaded the washing machine and then managed to get it out on the washing line before we set off to Morecambe and a couple of hours at the seaside.

We walked along the prom and then sat at the far end admiring the view.

The dogs appreciate the rest as much as I do and they are brilliant people watchers. They met a lovely little dog called Rita who was celebrating her first birthday with a Puppicino ... a doggy drink from the café.

And after admiring the views for a few more minutes and seeing the clouds rolling in ...

... Mavis reminded us that part of the purpose of the outing was to get Mum a coffee and Dad a bacon butty.  So we wandered back along the prom to the Clock Tower Café.

We had a coffee each and Alan got his bacon bun, and of course the dogs got a little bit each too.  After a good half an hour of watching the world and his dog go by we carried on walking.  I had spotted a large Animal Rescue charity shop as we drove away from the prom on our last visit so I told Alan I would nip across the road for a quick look while he walked the dogs up to the grassy area for a while.

For less than the cost of Alan's bacon butty I managed to get a t-shirt, 2 books and the cutest little Dunn Bennet & Co. Burslem cup.  I've just looked up the cup online and it's mark dates it to anytime between 1937-1968.  There's a similar much less decorative one for sale on Ebay for £12.99 , so I think I've nabbed myself a bargain.

And of course I still have all these things ... Alan's bacon bun is long gone.

A successful day and one that I ended by binge watching the entire series of The 1940's House.  What a relaxing day.

This morning it's wet and quite chilly, so after breakfast I decided to mend the handle of my kettle with a bit of superglue.  Only Alan's superglue was all stuck up, and when I tried to force the lid open it all spurted out all over my fingers.  I managed to get the kettle fixed ... and now I can have a relaxing day picking bits of dried up superglue off my fingers.  😏

How are you spending your weekend?

Sue xx

For Lesley ... Pugs Might Fly

 

Are these the 'things' that you were asking about Lesley?

I hope they are.

They are my 'Pugs Might Fly' bought by Alan as a Christmas present for me during our first few months in Wales way back in 2013.  They were white at first and once we had redecorated the wall around the fireplace there they did stand out a bit better, but I decided to paint them this subtle shade of  fawn when I moved here and I knew I wanted a white wall.

Just three little plaster Pugs flying in the manner of the old Flying Ducks from the 1930s.

Made even more famous on Coronation Street in Hilda Ogden's house.

Sue xx