Under siege

The neighbour's building works have entered their 8th month. We have been very tolerant of their tipper trucks, grabber lorries, cement mixers, 1000 plumbers, electricians, tilers and carpenters. I do not exaggerate. At Christmas we exchanged cards and a friendly chat over the fence during which he said the building work was nearly done. Well, that may be, but he didn't mention the 4, now going on 5, weeks of driveway rehab. This consists of dump trucks, graders, rollers, vibrating thumping trucks, going up and down, back and forth with flashing lights and health and safety beeping.

It is driving me mad. I can't work in the office for the all the noise and vibration. Brin is most indignant and barks whenever he goes in the garden. I don't blame him. If I had the energy I would bark too.

Mr B says thank goodness we can't see the house, it must look like a monstrosity by now. The village gossip is that the works have increased the value of the property by a £1million.  More pence than sense if you ask me.

I have spoken to the site manager at length about my concerns and have sent an email to the neighbours. I hope for a response, but given that we have only spoken once in 8 months, I won't hold my breath.

I'd love to hear your stories of your neighbours from hell. It would really help me.

Candles in the cathedral

The Gallery - 'C'

Follow the prompt by Sticky Fingers and post a photograph which best describes your interpretation of the theme for The Gallery.

The theme this week is 'C'.

With thanks to my Dad for this photo. He lit a candle in St Paul's cathedral in memory of Mom.

Now pop over to Tara at Sticky Fingers and see more 'C'.

The Gallery

Photography by Lesley Beeton.

To see my previous Gallery entries click here.

Just another day

I wasn't going to write a post for Mother's Day this year. I think I said it all last year. But given the chance to link up with Save Every Step and share memories of Mom, I'm posting a short tribute.

Mom with my baby brother who turns 40 this week xx.

Just because you're gone,

Doesn't mean we don't remember

Or can't express our gratitude.

Your presence in our lives

Is constant, loving and good.

You are all around us

And we are your monument.

1944 - 2011

Let's take the dog with us

Snow drops in Shackleford

On getting out and about now that spring has sprung.

As the days warm up and spring blossoms, thoughts turn to getting out and about. Not just on the usual dog walks to keep us and our doggy friends happy and healthy, but proper outings. To new places, hotels or restaurants and fun events.

When we first decided to share our lives with the Boxers, we knew that we could never leave them at home, while we were out doing the fun stuff. They would never stand for it. So we started to take them out, even when they were little puppies, equipped with poo bags, paper towel, wet wipes, toys and assorted bedding and towels, just in case they went in for a dip along the way. Which they often do.

It's not quite the same in winter. A walk to the pub and lunch with a dog or two under the table is OK, but you can't exactly hang about. Spring days lend themselves to a much longer walk, perhaps stopping at the farm shop, a chat to the horse-riding school, watching the Saturday morning rugby, before arriving at the pub for brunch. Much better, especially after a long drink from a water bowl that smells of adventure.

It's not as easy as you might think, though, to find dog-friendly places. We constantly pick up gems of doggy info from fellow dog walkers. The pubs are all very dog friendly, even indoors in front of the fire. But not so the country hotels in our area. It would be wonderful to have a little drive on a Sunday, a walk in the grounds of beautiful hotel, followed by a sumptuous lunch. Of course, we responsible dog owners would have to make sure that our companions are under control at all times.

Things are far more relaxed away from Surrey, however. We have spent wonderful weekends away in the New Forest in a luxury country hotel, where dogs are welcomed and catered for. Similarly, many hotels and restaurants in towns across Cornwall welcome dogs, although beaches are a different story. We have even taken our well-behaved Boxers to gorgeous hotel on the Gower Peninsula. Heavenly.

Summer brings the fetes and fairs and concerts. The Boxers love a bit of swing and jazz in the park in Godalming on a Sunday afternoon.

So get out there with your doggy pals, and have some fun, now that spring has sprung.

A more caring me?

Something good has come out of Mom's illness. I have more patience, I appreciate my happiness and I have taken stock of my own health and well-being. I do feel that I am more caring towards others, but I am also more aware of my own sharp emotions. I feel more deeply. Which probably accounts for the still raw response at Christmas over family pressures.

And this week, I have been tested again. Someone I dislike has been diagnosed with myeloma. It is a cancer of the bone marrow. Given the person's age in his eighties, the treatment offered will be palliative, but he should enjoy a good quality of life for a few years yet. What has been interesting is the family's response to the diagnosis. Much wailing and gnashing of teeth and beating of chests in self-reflection. I don't know why. I'm pretty sure that it's nothing they've done to cause this. But cancer has this effect on families. In Mom's case, however, we knew that her lung cancer was caused by her smoking habit, and that her disease process would be swift, even with palliative treatment. No time for navel-gazing, we had to get on with the life Mom had left.

So my dilemma is this. Do I care? I should do. I should care for the family who are devastated and confused and anxious. I should care because I understand how bewildering it can be, faced with the diagnosis, the options, the tests. But I just can't bring myself to reach out to them. They hurt me many years ago, and they weren't kind to Mom. They were uncaring towards us when we were coping with cancer. 

So I turn instead to helping strangers, strangers who reach out to me for support, and I wish him well.

Here we go again

We have a new puppy. Zozi is her name and she is a fine Boxer puppy to keep Brin company. We refer to them as ‘BriniZozi’ as in ‘Brangelina’.

Zozi is much smaller than either of the ‘boys’ were; she is also very quiet, doesn’t like the cold, the wet or the mud. I hope she will grow out of it, but she could be a Little Missy.

Brin is being the perfect gentleman and doesn’t seem to mind if she nibbles him here and there (yes, even there)!

It’s lovely having a puppy but puppies are such hard work. They eat, poo, wee, play, sleep all day and all night. They jump on the sofa, hide under the bed, steal your scarf, and bark at the postman.

Zozi is working very hard at being a Good Dog Citizen. She sits on command, understands ‘no’ and ‘leave’ and ‘down’, although I have had to be a shouty Mummy from time to time. We have started taking her on short walks, just 10 minutes, to get her used to the collar and walking to heel. She loves going out.

And tomorrow night, we start puppy classes. We’ll see how that goes. The ‘boys’ were asked not to return to puppy class as they were too disruptive. Taking two Boxer puppies to training class at the same time was perhaps a bit ambitious. Zozi should be a doddle!

Remodelled by Zozi

Photography by Lesley Beeton.