Puppies?

Usual hormone hell for the last couple of weeks while Nina has been in season. Good in one way as it meant Max was really keen to go round the garden 20 times a day sniffing where she's weed. Nasty habit except when it keeps an old dog mobile.

I had to spend 2 nights sleeping on the breakfast room table as the only way to keep Max quiet.

Then, last Tuesday, I took Nina to Jay Horgan's in Staffs to visit Bracco her boyf (Nina's, not Jay's) and the usual deed was done. I took her back Thursday to be on the safe side, but nothing doing. She sat in the back of the car and curled her lip at him.

Fingers crossed. Due on 17 Jan if she's preggie. Bracco has never stopped still long enough for me to get a really good look before, but this time I did and, goodness, Satchmo has his Daddy's head.

Good luck, bad luck

I've had some serious bad luck in recent years. It's almost as if I used up all the good luck and then it ran out big time. So ... I've lived in Wheelwright Cottage for almost 15 years and during that time, my kitchen cupboards have been organised the same all the time (bear with me, this is going somewhere). So why is it that, having had a metal hob for almost all that time, as soon as I buy a nice halogen one to replace it, a honey jar falls out and smashes it? Never happened in the first 14 years when it wouldn't have done any damage. Never happened when I was flush with money. Just had to spend a couple of hours online (very annoying when a site says they have it in stock, then you get almost all the way through the purchase before you find they haven't) and £200 to get a new one ordered. Fortunately the delivery is for Weds. But then again, perhaps all my luck these days goes into having dogs with lovely temperaments including a 14-year-old who's recovering pretty well from his spinal stroke. If so, I'll stick with that deal.