Our dog was cheated out of third place! She took part in Skrufts at the Prettyfields vineyard. There were several categories and she entered Waggiest Tail and Prettiest dog (for girl dogs). With her beard, I wanted to enter her into the most handsome dog, but was banned from doing so. She did not deserve to win any, but should have got bronze for wagging her tail. As for the prettiest dog, a small girl was judge and picked the Pomeranian in a sparkling coat. I did try to influence her by getting her to stroke Leia, but she declined the offer to give her a treat, but others cottoned on to my ploy and copied me afterwards!
A different film compared to the others I have watched recently. Sadly, I do not think it is as good as the classics of its genre, notably the original Naked Gun, or even Airplane. Saying that, I love the homage to the original.
As a family, we were discussing watching a film, but could not agree on one. I noted that this was an option that dogs could be taken to, so my daughter and I walked into town to watch it. When there, I met a friend and his dog who had decided to do the same, the two dogs loving the treats given to them at the cinema. During the film, someone else’s dog decided to bark at the celluloid dog on screen, but that added to the experience.
Going back to the film itself, it was enjoyable, but the main reason it was not as good as the original was the lack of things going on in the background, something noticeable in Airplane and the original Naked Gun. I do think it is worth watching, but unlike the films it aspires to be like, there is no reason to watch it again.
This walk was recommended to me by a colleague at work. When I say a colleague of mine, technically, as my daughter and I work in the same place, it is a colleague of ours.
I did ask my son and wife if they wanted to come, but both declined. Which is a shame as it was a lovely walk. With a bit of up and down, it was actually more exhausting than my normal walks which are a lot flatter. My daughter came and we talked about matters, including how she coped with having to do much harder walks on her travels. Leia, our Cockapoo, loved it. This is almost certainly a place we will return to and I will need to thank our colleague for the recommendation.
On to Arsenal and their draw. It was disappointing after our midweek victory, but fans like me would prefer a midweek win, and if we go through to the next round, this draw will be tolerable.
Yesterday was fun. After having a lie in, I took my daughter for a drive to Brightlingsea, or rather, with her learning to drive, she took me. We had an interesting discussion about some household chores, but she relented. The drive was a good one, I only had a few concerns with her. She does not like the way I like to stalk other learner drivers, but I do it so that if it happens to her, she will not be too stressed.
The burger van where we normally eat was closed, so we ate at the Lido, where a Leia met a racist dog who did not like black dogs! It was not just Leia as another black dog came in later. But as they forgot our order, we were there for longer than we had hoped. The walk along the front was windy, something I did not consider when I saw rain in the distance. I thought we had about thirty minutes, instead it was on us while walking along the old rail tracks. By the time we got to the end of the walk, we were soaked, but the rain then passed and we were left with sunny skies. Leia had loads of fun running about with another dog on the walk, but needed a bath when we got home, something she does not enjoy.
My daughter had a friend over, so our Sunday dinner had an extra person. My son like the guest so he was happy. He spent the day recovering from his mock exams earlier in the week. After dinner, other than my son, we went to the pub quiz. Our main rivals were not there in force which meant, for the second time ever, we won! We did not expect it and were very happy to do so. But my wife may have volunteered herself to run one of the quizzes this year!
It is looking sunnier today. Yesterday was a washout. Both walks with Leia involved the rain and on both occasions, she wanted to get back as quickly as possible. In fact, last night, I walked down the road, where she had done her wee and then poo, and as we walked past the house, whereas normally on a dry day she would be happy to continue to walk, she wanted to go back home! It has been a while since that happened.
My son and I are still getting on. Cooking today was different as he did not want what I was cooking so made himself some food, my food though was quite nice.
In the morning I went for a walk with Leia which she loved and it appeared to make her tired. I rested afterwards to charge my batteries and finished watching Wednesday with my son. He had fun dressing Leia in a Christmas jumper, I do not think she liked it though!
As for Wednesday, I prefer the Wednesday Addams from the films, but I did grow to like this one as well. Just not as much.
Our dog is now aged two. My daughter bought her a present, which Leia loved, but the rest of us just spent time with her. My wife however was not present over most of the weekend so missed the actual birthday, and Leia woke up outside our home on her big day.
On that topic, I am not sure what is going to happen with my mother and the children. She had rung up yesterday asking if the kids would speak to her, but they have been quite busy. She did say that she was sorry she upset them, but when I talked about her letting Leia off the lead in an area where she may not have been able to get her back, she snapped at me and hung up. It may be that when I next see her, I will need to go alone, but I will see if the kids are happy to visit her later this month.
That was the end of a full day. Yesterday our garden had a lot of work done on it and our patio was treated with weed killer which meant that our dog was not allowed our in the back garden for the day. She had loads of energy when I got back last night. Due to that, I took her for a long walk this morning. After that it was breakfast and then working from home. My wife was doing the same which was quite nice.
We went to collect my daughter and two of her friends who had gone to France. Fortunately my wife came, as we were not able to find a parking space. We were quite pleased that she was worn her face-mask on the plane, she being aware that my brother had caught COVID when travelling to the US on one of the few occasions that he did not wear a face-mask!
After that it was a return to work and then a meal out at the Three Horseshoes in Fordham. We have been there before and the food was great. Leia loved meeting the dog that lives there, but got very jealous when we paid attention to it, and then decided to blank it! To be fair, it was a lovely dog and it was the first time that she saw all of us with another dog, and the first time every that she saw me with another one. She became quite needy afterwards and needed reassurance that we loved her. On the weekend I had met a man who said that as much as he likes dogs, if he touches one and returns home with the scent of another, he gets in trouble as his dog will just ignore him! Leia was not that bad, but none of us expected her to be the jealous type!
First of all, my wife and I went out for a meal. I was busy working from home today and Leia found this annoying as she wanted to get into the garden and attack the birds that she felt were destroying the garden. Needless to day, I was working so could not attend to her desires as often as she needed. She has got her mojo back and if anything, has more energy than she had before she had her operation. Normally, this settles dogs down, but it has had the opposite effect with her. When it came to dinner, we got a takeaway for the children and as my daughter did not want the smell of curry in the house, my wife and I went out for a meal. It was nice to get away again and while not as posh a place as it had been before, Curry Leaves served us great food. My wife was grateful that I had booked out the whole restaurant for her!
When it comes to The Pacific, I have now finished watching the series, though I have to decide which of the bonus features I am to watch. It was a good series to watch, not as good as Band of Brothers, but more educational. I was aware of aspects of the war against Japan in World War II, but this taught me a lot, including a portrayal of how horrific war is. Hopefully this will not be an issue in Ukraine. Anyway, it was a great series to watch and I am glad my mother got it as a box set for me.
Today was a day off work which was taken due to half term. I had intended to do a bit of work, but instead watched This Is Going To Hurt with Leia and my daughter. Leia is starting to improve and today has started to play fight. On Monday my wife took her to the vet and was told she is almost better. We were told that we could gradually work her back to longer walks, but that she had to wear her body suit. So yesterday on the walk that was longer that she is meant to be on, I forgot to unbutton her body suit. I realised after she started to open her bowels. So she has no body suit now!
When it comes to This Is Going To Hurt, it is a great series. My daughter and I watched all the episodes together, though she felt that it was more horrifying than any horror film she has yet to see. Her view is that getting teenage girls to watch this will guarantee the use of contraception. A particularly interesting moment was when she learned what uterine prolapse is, though the scenes involving childbirth were quite distressing for her. If she ever becomes a doctor in the future, I do not see her working in obstetrics. As a series, I thought that it was great and in general, medically accurate. At times, it was too accurate and brought back memories that I should never forget.
My son has spent the day trying to tidy up his room, and a few other jobs. None were completed but considering the state of his room, that is not surprising!
Last night, after watching Runaway Bride, my daughter and I watched Valentines Day with Leia. We wanted to ensure that she felt as if we were looking after her. My daughter also had wanted to watch this film for a while anyway, I suspect because Taylor Swift is in it.
I had watched this in the past and it was a film that I loved. However, I forgot enough that lots of it surprised me. My daughter did not like one part of the end, but I have to say that I loved it. I am a soppy romantic and the simple message of this is that Love is Love. And for the record, my favourite couple was on the plane.
I was concerned that Leia would be up all night as she slept a lot after her operation yesterday, but she had a peaceful night. My only concern last night was that she had not done a wee or poo, but this morning on her very short walk, she opened her bowels. Hopefully she will be fine. Fingers crossed.
Before I review the film, an update on the family, and then a chat about PMQs.
As a family today has been a bit stressful. Leia had an operation. One of the conditions when we got her was that we would not breed from her. So today, she was sterilised. We all live her and consider her to be such a good dog that we think that it is a shame that she cannot pass her genes on. She is calm, most of the time, listens (though could be better trained) and is so loving. We know how Cockapoo’s can be from meeting others. But after dropping my son off at school (he has not cycled in since he had COVID), I took her to the vet. She was growling at another dog while waiting in the car park, a huge one, but calmed down when I moved her forwards to sit next to me. She was fine in the waiting room and only got nervous once in the treatment room. I was tearful telling her that I was sorry I stroked a cat yesterday and how much she has made me appreciate dogs.
I worked from home afterwards and was more productive with no dog hassling me to get into the garden, but the house was empty without her.
I did get to listen to PMQs where the Prime Minister dodged questions about this parties, refused to apologise about spreading fake news on Monday and when asked about people struggling to pay heating bills now to keep warm talked about Brexit! Overall a poor performance from him, but he appeared to be buoyed by this ability to avoid consequences for his parties, and his lying being unchecked.
My son changed into his pyjamas after I collected him from school and would not change out of them. Which meant that it was just my daughter and I who collected her. She appeared fine at first but started to whimper in the car. We had been told that she is not to run or jump and while we thought that this was impossible, she has been adorable as she has sat on us this evening.
He completed his option choices and then we agreed to watch a film together, and my son stayed for the beginning. We thought it would be nice for Leia if we all stayed together but he left after dinner to do some homework. Instead my wife, daughter and I watched Runaway Bride.
I have to say, it was one of the better RomComs and I did enjoy it. Overall the message was that everyone can screw up, and the writing, directing and acting was brilliant. The chemistry between the two stars appears to have been the same as in another famous film starring the two. I am glad that I watched it and I think that I may have not ever watched it before (I try to avoid RomComs normally). One day, I may even be happy to watch it again and that would not be just because of the soundtrack.
Quick post. Dog walk in the morning, loved it, as did Leia though this was after my son had got up earlier and taken her out first thing. A quick trip to work after. And for lunch my gorgeous wife and I went to see Isabel and Tony. The kids were left behind (and did not destroy the television). It was good to meet up with them. He would have seen them sooner after their return from the USA, but their children contracted the plague (and both have recovered well). Great food, great company and a great end to the second of my birthday weekends!
First of all, the weekend update (though a bit late). My wife went out a bit for the birthday of a friend, the celebrations taking place over two days. Saturday I was to pick her up, and I knew it was going to be late as she told me. I was woken up about one on Sunday morning as she decided to get a friend to drive her home, but half an hour later, I went to collect her as she was still not home and I guessed correctly that the friend was being distracted. A drive over and a lift for another friend and we finally went to bed.
As for Leia, she has been having loads of fun with some toys that I have bought her. We had started to run out of some treats, but thanks to eBay, they have been sourced. Together with the puzzles, she is having loads of fun.
I have been walking for over a year. Over that time, I lave lost in total, one kilo. But despite my lack of weight loss, my walking is to continue. Leia will not let me do otherwise.
I have had a lot of this week off work, well Monday and Tuesday, as well as today as my daughter has her mock exams. I took Leia for a walk into the local woods today. She loves walking with any of us, but loves walking in the woods the most. While here, she got to meet other dogs and explored. Needless to say, she was quite tired when she got back!
Leia has come into season now. It is expected as we knew it was coming, but it is frustrating as we have a few things planned, and she will not be able to go to the dog sitter as normal. Which means I will have to find a way home tomorrow
My wife and daughter took Leia out for a walk this morning allowing me to cycle into work. I did not get out of bed as early as I would like, but it was nice to cuddle up to my wife. Once they had left, I got on my bike and cycled in for paperwork. I have not done this as often as before as my daughter had wanted to come into work with me to do her homework in once of the offices. But I need to get fitter and if she wants to come, she is going to have to get her mother to drop her off, or cycle in with me. Anyway, they went for a walk down in Wivenhoe and my wife, who has never been as keen on walking as I have been, did a personal best for this year!
My daughter herself has been a bit stressed out her return to school tomorrow. My son has to attend for testing, and then he is in properly tomorrow. He had been in last week for testing and since then, the friend who he was with has developed COVID. This did result in a scare this morning, until we realised that she was negative on the day. Her mother became unwell and tested positive yesterday, his friend testing positive today. The house is a lot calmer now compared to how it was this morning. Needless to say, we wish the best for her friend and family.
As for 13 Reasons Why, my son and I watched it this evening before he went off to bed. This episode looks at the rehabilitation of Bryce Walker, and his ability to still attract women to him. Hence the video...
Leia woke me up once in the night and early in the morning. Her bowels are not back to normal and she has spent this evening gassing us out of the room! The walk we had together was longer than that of yesterday and while the paths are not as soaked as yesterday, they still need to dry a bit more as they are still a bit slippery.
Later we went to Appledore and returned to the Royal George. The view, as before was amazing, and while I lived my starter, I was not too keen on my main. But that may have been because of the Coke that I drank with it. We had planned to return on Friday, but I think that if we do return to Appledore, it will not be to eat here.
Later we went to Fremington Quay where we had ice cream and Leia and I went for a walk.
Leia woke me up several times last night as she had an upset stomach. She has a particular whine when she needs to attend a call of nature, but this meant that I did not sleep that well.
Because of this, my morning walk was not as long as I would have liked. She loved it, knowing where she was and was keen to get moving. With the rain that had taken place last night, the ground was slippery and I had to be careful that she did not throw me off balance.
She was soaking when I got back and my wife and I washed the mud from her. Later in the day we went to a meal that she had booked. The place was behind a hidden door, well, not hidden, but a door with notices on it which made it look like it was not there when you looked at it initially. The servings were enormous and it certainly was value for money!
On the way home, we stopped at a military collection where I saw a T-34 up close. I also saw armoured cars which I had learned about recently thanks to YouTube video. We also went to Fremington Quay. We have been here before, but this time we arrived just too late to get anything. We will return later this holiday.
I am ending the day on a high note, this being despite the loss Arsenal had against Chelski. Apparently COVID has been an issue for the team. Unless we improve a lot, I do not see much hope this season.
