Treats!

You know, I'm beginning to wonder whether the cartoonist at "Off the Leash" has met my Mum's pug, Millie.  LOL

 

The little devils! I knew it!

My Mum and I were discussing the vagaries of various dogs and their various toileting habits.  As you do, when you're a dog owner.  LOL

So this one is for you, Mum.  I know you'll recognise the theme!  :D

 

Indoor flowers in November!

I'm so pleased with my indoor plants!

These first three - the Mother In Law's Tongue, the Orchid and the Christmas Cactus, all sit on our living room window ledge.  They're obviously quite happy there - as they've all come into flower at the same time!

So here's the Mother In Law's Tongue - the flowers don't look like much, but they smell beautiful and, just a bit weirdly, drip nectar.  It's only a wonder that Jonty, who has a bed directly underneath, doesn't come away all sticky.  lol

So then there's the Orchid, which is a complete revelation as although we've had Orchids before, we've never managed to coax them to flower for a second time.  This one seems thoroughly keen on the idea!

I particularly like the patterning on this orchid's flowers.  It reminds me of an Appaloosa horse!  LOL

It makes a change to see our living room from a reverse perspective.  LOL

So last but not least, there is the Christmas Cactus.  Both the Christmas Cactus and the Orchid were bought for us by my Mum, so thanks Mum!  They brighten up the place no end.  :D

I don't ever remember - before this one, anyway - seeing a Christmas Cactus with such red leaves!  They don't fade at all during the year, it seems as though once they gain that red colour (new ones come through the standard green and go red very quickly) they keep it.  As you can see, the base of each stem is green just as normal.  I like the fact that it's a bit different.  :D

Lastly, is Spiny Norman, my sensitive plant.  I've not owned him for very long, and he's been a bit touchy to keep happy - but I think I've achieved it.  He grew three little green pompoms that I thought were probably flowers, but they didn't do anything for AGES.  Then, I drew the curtains one morning (he lives with the Aloe Veras on my bedroom window ledge) and there was this gorgeous little pink puffball!  It's not a great photograph, but hopefully you'll get the idea.  :D  Oh, and why is he called "Spiny Norman"?  It's because of his great big thorns!  A very defensive plant, this one!
 

First dog walk in almost five years!

Mum has incredibly generously made a gift to me of my Dad's disability buggy - who shall henceforth be known as "Anthony".

My first trip out with him was to the little boat show in Poole and to Sainsbury's.  All went very well indeed.

The second trip out was this morning, when he gambolled all around Asda without a whimper or complaint while we did the shopping.

So this afternoon, what was next on the Agenda?  Why a dog walk, of course.  Around the bark we went, me with Jonty and hubby with the bouncy midgets Basil and Rosie.  (And yes, it was a little bit windy - as my hair will attest).  The first dog walk that I have been able to take part in, for what has to be almost five years.

Awesome.

And, I only ran Jonty's paw over the once.  ~rolls eyes~  Sorry lad!

My peony has flowered!

A lot has happened since I was here last, but the biggest of all of those things is that my Dad died a few weeks ago.  Since he was the main internet contact between myself and my Mum, quite apart from everything else we miss, we have lost that point of contact.  So I thought I'd make use of Timewasting to keep my Mum up to date with the pictures that otherwise, she'd probably miss.

Hopefully, she'll be able to find Timewasting on her phone - if we help her - and be able to see my very first peony flower!  Isn't it gorgeous!

Oh Rosie - you're so funny!

She is!  She's a funny little dog.

She is very much a bundle of over confidence, which hides a much meeker dog underneath.

Take her behaviour when she's out of the house and sees another dog.  If it is small and black & white, it has a slight chance of not being barked at.  Which is because it might be Patches from next door, who she likes.

Anyone else and be prepared to be bark-bombed from a great distance.  As the oncoming dog gets closer, so she changes from barking to snarling like some ravening beast.  It's just as well she's only a bit bigger than a shoebox, or we'd never be able to take her anywhere.  As it is, there's only a few places she can go without embarrassing us!

It's all lies, I tell you, lies!

She doesn't just make a noise - oh no.  She hurls herself bodily at the perceived interloper.  Which is okay if the new dog is just saying "good grief, what's up with you?" but is no good at all if it's saying "right then ~rolls sleeves up~ I'll teach you who the boss is!".

However, if someone was to let a banger off outside the house - she'd be up on my lap, quaking, faster than you can say "bang!".

On watch - complete with reindeer

She defends her patch - both house and garden - with a lot of barking and racing around, but is very happy to trot out and say hello to the postman.  Thank god, nobody's told her she could bite his leg if she wanted.  However, cats and squirrels are a different matter.  They are, without doubt, lunch.

I iz holding dis boy down fer yoos ..

The few times she has escaped from the garden have been cat-induced.  She discovered that she could leap up on top of the compost heap and fly over the top of the garden fence.  So Daddy had to move the compost heap.  That made him happy.  Not.  Mind you, walking around the neighbourhood at night time, in sub-zero temperatures, wearing just a t-shirt (because he was so worried about her and didn't stop to grab his jacket) and carrying an empty lead and a flashlight, didn't make him particularly happy either.  Especially as she got home before he did.  Oops.  Baaaad girl, Rosie!

She is, however, just the funniest little dog you ever did see.  Her ears are shaped like devil's horns - which would explain her character.  She loves to have a cuddle and will dive under the duvet quicker than the rest of us when bedtime gets here.

Iz my Bonio, an' you can'ts has it

On the other hand, however, she makes the worst noises when you want to move her from where she's laying.  It's not a growl, or a snarl, it's a moany old woman's complaining. No other description for it.  If you insist on persisting, she'll sound like she's getting ready to bite your face off - but it's all just grumbling.  She sounds so awful sometimes, that she has earned herself the nickname of the "vicious missus".

Exhibit A : the "I shall die if you leave me!" look

Her favourite thing, at the moment, is to come out in the car with us.  Whenever we begin to get ready to go out, she's paying attention and sits in the hallway with her "woe is me" look on her face, which morphs into "I shall die if you leave me!".  All that is required is an open front door and the flick of a thumb and she's off to the car, jumping vertically into the air in excitement.

Open the car door and she's in, into the front footwell, turn around, jump through from the front seats to the back - and then runs from side to side, looking out of the window.  She scans for walking dogs, you see.  Then, when one is spotted, she bark-bombs them - and so deafens us.

Such a peculiar, funny, little contradiction of a dog.

 

Crinkle ~ Crinkle ~ Rrrrrip! ~ Crinkle

So why does wrapping Christmas presents make my back ache so much?

I've only done one and a half (so far) and my back is moaning away like me on an early morning.

It is true that I started with the two heaviest and biggest - but really - one and a half?

That's underachieving in a big way.

~ shakes head ~

~ goes back to wrapping ~

No wonder I didn't want to leave it all until the last minute!