Mia's First GOTCHA Day!

This week was officially a year to bringing Mia home, I can't believe how quick it has gone! This time a year ago she was loaded into the vets van and spent 48 hours (luckily with air conditioning and plenty of water) travelling from Romania to the UK. She came from a loving foster home who didn't want her to go, but they had to give another dog from the pound a chance of freedom, so Mia was chosen to come to us. We waited nervously at Chobham services to pick her up, and the van was running late which only added to my worry, but before I knew it they had put her into my arms where she snuggled up immediately. No shakes, and no obvious fear, I was always amazed at that! Weeks went by and she began coming out of her shell, the typical terrier cheekiness shining through! She's bloody noisy, has a killer prey drive and only listens to half of what I tell her, but I love her unconditionally and she made our house a whole again. She has got quite the little chubby thing in a year too, quite a change! As we don't know how old she is, around 2-4 apparently, we celebrate this GOTCHA day instead!

To celebrate she enjoyed her very own Pupcake smash, cheese flavoured! It as wolfed down in ten seconds so I barely had time to take the photos, should have brought a couple to practice with! She is quite a spoilt hound, I admit! She spent the day lounging in bed and then walking with all her doggie friends, her idea of perfect time! She is rather cute my little werewolf.

Hope you enjoyed some Mia pictures! Have a lovely weekend!

Katie

Five Happy Things In April

1.  Bluebell woods bursting into bloom, I am lucky enough to be able to walk in the wood regularly to enjoy them
2. Keeping cosy during April showers in the new living room
3. Beautiful new book inspiration "The Shopkeepers Home" Caroline Rowland
4. Spring cleaning the shepherds hut and getting it ready for any new crafting adventures
5. Sunny walks with Mia and her doggie pals

First Days Of Spring

"February is merely as long as is needed to pass the time until March."

There have been walks this month where spring does appear to be in the air, dappled sunlight through the bare branches hints that longer, warmer days will soon be here again, I just wish they would hurry up! Birdsong sounds all that more cheerier, dogs are pleased their paws aren't feeling so frozen and even the squirrels seem to be out enjoying the better weather, although this proves tricky as Mia see's them as fast food! There are of course plenty of reasons to enjoy February - Shrove Tuesday and all the delicious pancakes combinations you can imagine...mine's always lemon and sugar on the day as I'm a purist about such things! The daffodils, snowdrops and crocuses appearing on verges and in flower pots around your neighbourhood are a reminder that gardening time is about to begin again, I haven't been down to my greenhouse in a few weeks as my garden has flooded, hate to think how messy it is out there! For now I will just enjoy taking plenty of bracing walks (with a spot of dog rescuing thrown in - I reunited the adorable beagle below to her owner in a few minutes thankfully!) and I will have a flick through some seed catalogues for my 2016 gardening plan of attack!

What are your plans and aspirations for February? Have you already started cracking on in the garden this year?

Thanks for reading,

Katie

A Sprinkle Of Snow

We only had a small sprinkling of the white stuff over my way, but it was enough to give the garden a much needed facelift after the endless rain ruining the lawn and turning the Shepherds Hut into a houseboat! Mia was less than impressed at the snow flurry and refused to saunter outside, so my "Mia's First UK Snow Day" video attempt was in vain! I love the Brit's obsessed with weather, I'm the first to warn others of black ice (bloody death trap!!!) or other such dramatics, I just can't help myself! Whereever I went this week, the topic on everyones lips remained 'OOOOH ISN'T IT COLD!" which I was more than happy to chime in with, I just wish I hadn't of misplaced my waterproof gloves, de-icing the car was most painful without them! (Have I mentioned how cold it was???) Meanwhile the rest of the week comprised of clearing out more clutter, long dog walks with Mia making lots of new friends, and trying to ease myself into some healthier eating as the Christmas food stock has nearly diminished - sad times! 

 Wishing you a wonderful weekend! Thanks for popping by,

Katie

Beginning of December

Welcome December! The month when Michael Buble comes out of hibernation to croon Crimbo tunes, novelty knitwear is dusted off with pride, and port and mince pies are part of your five-a-day, hurray! And of course if you happen to work in retail, your sanity is put through its paces from noon until night - it can only make you a stronger, better person right? RIGHT??? Ok I'm calm.

Outside of work, things are looking rather beautifully festive already! The holly does actually have some rich red berries this year, could "snowmageddon" be on the horizon after all? Mia has been loving the bracing walks, nearly being blown off her feet with the windy weather, but she relishes the fresh air! She has been practicing her climbing after the squirrels, making it half way up trees sometimes, they need to climb faster! But luckily for me, she also loves coming home and snuggling in front of the fire, like anyone sensible, wish I could do that more too! 

There have been some late night Christmas crafting sessions in the shepherds hut (rock and roll I know!) as I attempt to get all the cards made and wrapping paper stamped, wrapping the presents themselves is a very different task and I will need to start that soon too, or I'll end up a flustered ball of sellotape with gift tags stuck in my hair, weeping under the tree...

To get in the festive spirit I've been reading my collection of Charles Dickens Christmas Tales which I received last year, I've been very much looking forward to settling down with it and a mug of something warm, highly recommend it as a present for a bookish loved one.

Have you got your decorations up already? Presents done and dusted? Or are you choosing the BAH, HUMBUG approach this season, I can see the appeal of all these!

Thanks for reading,

Katie x

West Wittering - Mia's First Trip To The Beach!

Oh how I do like to be beside the seaside! I couldn't wait to finally escape to the sea and walk barefoot on a proper sandy beach, It's been far too long. West Wittering is just over an hour from home so it's the perfect place to head to for the day, but we were lucky enough to stay with a friend in her gorgeous quirky house. 

It was officially Mia'a first trip to the seaside, or I assume it was after three years living in Bucharest! The photo above was the first chance she got to see the noisy moving monster, and after a lot of sniffing she seemed to decide she quite liked it. One of the big draws of The Witterings are the miles of lovely walks over wetland, beach, sand dunes and country lanes, which is what we headed out to explore. Three hours later we were all rather knackered and dreaming of dry socks, a cup of tea and a sit down, but in a happy contented manner! We stumbled across this tiny beach spot, and would have sat for a picnic if the weather was better! I loved this dramatic tree thats been shaped by the elements, there was also the rope swing of childhood dreams! The water was quite calm so Mia and Holly (the Working Cocker Spaniel) could have a paddle and explore the beach and all the smelly seaweed they wanted!

As always with my trips to the coast, I am on the lookout for wild plants and flowers I don't usually see at home. The land around the pebble beaches has been left natural so it's full of wildlife and would be a great place for bird spotters! Apparently there are usually plenty of Oyster Catchers but I wasn't lucky enough to see them this time, amazing how much bird song you can hear instead of just gulls squawking! I love walking amongst the towering Thistles and variety of grasses, this is the terrain I am happiest in!

Luckily the second day was a scorcher and the raincoats could be left behind! We headed to the dog friendly beach early as we knew it would be getting very busy and Mia still needs reassurance when it's too hectic! But along the walk we found some gorgeous cottages to be added to the "Dream Home" wish list! I loved the patterned thatching on Rose Cottage, and the woven pheasants on the roof are such a great twist! All the houses are so different in the area - chocolate box cottages, 'Grand Designs' type new builds, ex council properties and even beautiful New England style homes with porches, so something for everyone! We headed back to the sand dunes for the dogs to have a run around, Mia was very over excited when she finally stepped paw on the sand!

Here is Mia being barmy on the beach! She was trying to avoid getting wet but she fell into a deep bit after the photo above, hence her running like a bat out of hell afterwards! She was on a training line as her recall is still dodgy and she can suddenly forget her name when something more interesting crops up! Personally I think she suits the 'Salty Seadog' look perfectly! 

Happy days indeed! Even happier now we have decided to look for a holiday home in the area, this could be a regular haunt for us - rather exciting!

Hope you've had a good July apart from all this barmy rainy weather! Thanks for reading,

Katie