Treasure Hunting

There was great sadness on Thursday. Maya, Zoe's older dog had been put to sleep the previous evening after it was discovered she had inoperable lung cancer. Her family put her next to her companion Gracie who died 13 months ago. They were quite the pair. Evie made the grave marker. It should really have been Gracie * Maya as Gracie was the elder but if we'd put Maya on the other side she would have been too close to the beehive. And, speaking of bees, Evie told them that Maya had died and a number of them appeared at her burial.

It's actually scary how mild this Christmas weather has been.

The girls stayed over that day and we watched a terrible movie, Home Alone 2 which was horribly violent. I had to tell them that the brutality afflicted on Joe Pesci and friend by young Culkin would have resulted in their deaths twenty times over. It really wasn't a suitable show for Grannies, never mind pre-teens.

So much lounging about, snacking and watching endless telly is not the best way to live one's life, even at Christmas so next day Hannah and I encouraged the girls outside to seek buried treasure.

Martha refused to change out of her pyjamas as they were so warm and comfortable. A certain Aunt might be pleased to know that Evie was also wearing her Christmas pyjamas under her day clothes. 

Evie was the more enthusiastic treasure hunter. At break time Martha headed to her bedroom to continue reading a new book, bought with the token gifted by Granda Bert.

The dogs just didn't get it.  Humans digging? And not burying bones. Or unearthing them.

 A picture of interesting fungi. Much more interesting than the 'treasure' we found which was -

A triangular piece of rusted iron.

Several beer cans.

The innards of a spent firework.

Two trays from an abandoned electric oven. These were buried DEEP and Evie and I put a lot of effort into digging them up.

Afterwards I had to lie down for half an hour. It was worth it.

Snark and Sup

 Snark

Today supposedly marks 100 years since the creation of the Northern Irish state. Our council planted several trees in commemoration. Hopefully not placed too near a bonfire site or they’ll not see the next 100 days, never mind years.

Meanwhile, I’m hearing that the council next door planted an entire wood. They always like to go one better.

The anniversary means little to me, coming as I do from the nationalist side of the road. However, it did offer an opportunity to say to Richard and later to Dave,

Happy anniversary, Protestant.

They both took it in good part.

Sup

Winter Cress

This time last week I did not know what that plant was. It just sprang up in the yard, growing through stones. This week, thanks to a plant identification page on Facebook, I know it is winter cress and that it is an edible. I included it in tonight's salad. 

Monday night is Gardener's Supper although the only gardener was Zoe. The girls were riding bikes round the yard, Dave was fixing up the camp and Bert was at the neighbour's assisting with a difficult calving. A two vet delivery, I'm told. Bert held the cow's tail.

The Camp

Maya and I fixed dinner. It was a Chorizo and potato stew and a chocolate sponge. Both served with sour cream. 

Maya, photo by Martha

Cutting Capers

 I have just phoned Daughter 1.

The conversation went something like this.

NM: Well, how are things?

D1: Grand. We're just waiting for her to come out of surgery. Should be about twenty minutes.

My thoughts: What surgery? Am I supposed to know about this? Did Daughter 1 tell me her dog was going to the vets for an operation and I've forgotten? I'm always forgetting what people tell me. Sometimes I just don't listen enough. I try to cover up my foolishness.

NM: So, this was a planned surgery? 

D1: Not exactly, but they did say she should come in fasting, just in case.

NM: Look, I know this is going to sound stupid but I'm not sure what you're talking about. Is it Maya?

D1: It's Martha. She had an appointment at the Royal Victoria Hospital for Sick Children this morning. They decided to set her fracture under anaesthetic.

NM: Oh! 

Maya is perfectly fine

Explanation. Martha fractured her right pinky finger before Christmas whilst doing headstands. She is very into gymnastics and what her great-grandmother Martha would have called 'cutting capers'. It has been in a splint since then and did not keep her back in the slightest. I had been informed about today's appointment and did forget about it.

Martha

Update: she's fine. She was the only patient in her department today and got lots of attention and then they kicked her out as soon as they possibly could. She'll be back to cutting capers, and playing the clarinet and piano as soon as she can. Well done, NHS. We're really lucky to have you.

Her Mother

Dog Talk

Judy, poor pooch, is unwell and is in doggy hospital. What seemed like an ordinary upset stomach (lots of boking and loss of appetite) has turned out to be an infection. Bert knew last night that she was sick when one of her favourite visitors turned up and instead of the usual ecstatic welcome, loud barking, full-body wiggling and jumping up, all she could manage was a few woofs, and a few tail wags before staggering back to her favourite armchair.

Jess is distraught. What didn't help is that we are looking after Zoe's dog Maya for a few nights and I think Jess believes we have swapped dogs. So I took her with me on a trip to Ikea to cheer her up. Which was OK until I decided to take her for a bit of a walk to cheer her up even more. The first 15 minutes were fairly OK but by the time we passed Decathlon she was not in good form. I realised that the constant road traffic, the people and the noise of the planes were affecting her. She is not a city dog. We started walking back and she looked so cringey and scared that I started to think that people might think I'd stolen her and was wondering how I could convince anyone, who might challenge me on that point, that I wasn't a dog-rustler.

One thing is for sure. She won't be going walkies in a built-up environment, next to an airport ever again.

Where Jess belongs.

All Dogs Welcome

Nellybert likes to give a warm welcome to dogs and their owners, even when the number of four-legged visitors may seem excessive. Today we had just the five canine callers.

photo by Zoe Bowyer

Gracie and Maya brought their entire family with them. And stayed for dinner. Gracie likes to assist me in the kitchen when I'm cooking. Her job is to deal with spills. I am a careless cook and often drop morsels  and crumbs on the floor as I go.

As well as their family, they also brought....

photo by Hannah Bowyer

Ziggy! Today is Hannah's college day so Ziggy is sleeping over. He looks rather splendid in that picture does he not?

Sadly Ziggy missed Fly's visit. He and his master had called earlier in the day.

From this picture, taken by Miss Hannah a few weeks ago, you can tell how much Ziggy looks up to his good friend Fly.

And then there was Poppy. Eight weeks old and visiting Nellybert for the very first time.

A little Jack Russell terrier who wouldn't stay still for a second. She got on well with everyone, even the cats and she peed on the spare bed, my fault for putting her on it. I do hope we will be seeing lots more of her.

Two seconds after this snap there was puppy pee on the Ikea bedspread. Who cares!

The Last Weekend...

...included a wonderful meal in Portrush, a horrendous scene with Pearlie Blue in which the H word was invoked, a day in the garden, a meeting with Maya, a close encounter with a bull and the theft of lilies. Back to work tomorrow.