Shower Time

I've been trying to coax Max into the shower for a few days now, but failed miserably every time. The problem being, that he knows the only time he is allowed in my bedroom is when he gets showered in my en-suite bathroom. However, today I had my secret weapon to hand, or rather Lydia, and with a joint effort we managed to get him in to the shower room.

I was rather surprised, given that previously I'd not been able to get him through the bedroom door, to then find him wagging his tail in front of the shower. I have a sneaking suspicion that he thought it was Lydia who was being showered and not himself, but he was sadly mistaken!

We got him in the shower and his tail stopped wagging, but he was good as gold and just sat there looking a little bit unhappy and slightly concerned about what was coming next.

He was such a cooperative little boy when I was lathering him up...

...and he didn't seem too fed up about being rinsed off, which was just as well as it took a lot longer to make sure all those bubbles were gone.

Then we were done and he could escape the shower and seek refuge in his big blue towel. We gave him a bit of a rub down, but he's a dog and you know that he was just dying to shake it off, and who are we to ruin his doggy fun; especially after we'd just forced him to be cleaned.

After a good shake, Max was fully energised and in full play mode, running around the house, rolling on the carpet (always a good way to dry yourself a bit more, apparently) and then grabbing his toy burger for a spot of fetch. This lasted for about 10 minutes, non-stop and now having worn himself out he's sulking on the sofa and looking rather fluffy.

Is it just me, or does he look a little disgusted? Oh well, at least he doesn't stink anymore and we don't need to repeat the process for a few months, hopefully  ;-)

Sun, Seaweed and Scents

So yesterday was a bank holiday and just for a change, the sun was shining. Personally, I am of the opinion that the holiday reminder wasn't sent to the great weather controller, as let's face it, a sunny bank holiday is a rarity in the UK! And yet the sun shone on, oblivious to the fact that tradition states it should have been raining. Happy Days!

Little Orange Dog and I were without the girls this weekend, so when we were invited to visit friends by the sea, off we drove bound for the lovely Kent Coast. Before leaving, I took Max for a little walk, then loaded the car up with his food and water bowls, his tea, treats and his favourite toy. Honestly, it's like taking a baby out for the day, with all the stuff and nonsense we have to carry about, but then he is our fur baby, so it's fair enough really.

I decided the best route to take to get to our destination was not the motorway, it's a bit boring and usually much busier, so instead took the prettier route (across country) and apart from a small delay due to an event in Faversham, the traffic was kind to us and we pretty much sailed through to our destination, Birchington; given it was a holiday this really was a pleasant surprise as I had been anticipating a nightmare journey.

Having arrived, we parked up, unloaded the car and trotted up the road to meet our friends and for me to have a much needed cup of tea. Whilst enjoying our tea, Max set about covering every inch of the home and having a good old sniff as he went, familiarising himself with his surroundings and hoping to find some tasty crumbs lying around. It was such a glorious day that we decided not to waste it and after distracting Max from his sniffing activities, set about getting him ready for a nice walk by the sea.

Now, I have to apologise profusely here, as I had intended to take a series of photos as there were some lovely features along the sea wall (little doorways that would once have led down from the gardens above to the seafront, but it didn't quite work out and the only photo I managed to take was this one.

Why only one photo? Oh, if only I could have bottled it for you, you too could have experienced the strong and heady (or perhaps that should be gut churning) odour of rotting seaweed that has become trapped in the bay with the sun beating down hot and heavy on it. Words really cannot describe the strength nor the foul smell, but I have visited better smelling public toilets. No, really, I have! As you can see, I took this photo from a fair distance away, as I was reluctant to lose the contents of my stomach and so retreated to relative safety (although it was still a little stinky). I'm actually impressed with how well it turned out as I took the photo one handed and with Max tugging me up the hill in an effort to escape the pungent aroma.

Anyway, we carried on up the road and took a slightly more rural, yet more pleasant smelling route home, where Max crashed out on the cool kitchen floor whilst we ate dinner. Okay, so he didn't stay on the kitchen floor when we were eating, he sat under the dining table, but he had a well earned rest and recovered from the trauma of having his very sensitive nose bombarded with yucky smelling seaweed.

Then it was off home via a quick trip to Seasalter and another very lovely cuppa in good company (and in much more pleasant smelling surroundings).

Fetch!

Our little orange doggy is gorgeous. He loves cuddles and going out for walks, he loves saying hello to other dogs (well apart from his niece, he still doesn't like her) and he loves his food. He also loves his toys.

Max has a favourite toy; his plush burger and yes he will eventually devour it in an attempt to remove the squeaker, but that's fine because they only cost £2 each from the lovely Pets At Home store. Other than tearing it apart he likes to chase it around the house in his version of 'fetch'.

Left to his own devices, he will quite happily push it down the stairs with his nose, chase after it, retrieve it then run back to the top of the stairs and start all over again. He can keep himself amused for quite some time doing this, but the minute he manages to get a human involved it all changes.

The first thing you'll hear is a squeak and Max will put the burger by your feet. Now, you have to be quick here because if you're not, fetch turns straight into chase. He then does the normal doggy thing of looking expectant whilst waiting for you to throw his toy...and his off and...well the photo below says it all really.

My burger!

At this point whom so ever is playing 'fetch' with him, will be calling him to bring the burger back to be thrown again; all I can say is good luck because this is the face you get ...

No, I told you already it is my burger!

Eventually, he'll bring the burger back to you, but won't let you pick it up and runs around the coffee table with it until he's satisfied that you've lost interest in his toy. Then guess what? Squeak, look down at your feet and there's the burger, with Max looking at you wanting it to be thrown again.

So to clarify, Max's version of fetch:

1. Pick up burger quickly and throw.
2. Ask Max to return burger.
3. Watch Max chew burger.
4. Max brings burger back, changes game to chase.
5. You lose interest.
6. Max returns burger to be thrown.
7. Return to step 1.

What I'm wondering is, does anyone else have a dog that does this, or do I just have an exceptionally daft/ cheeky dog? Answers in the comments section please :-)

Fun at Chessington

As a family, we love a good day out at Chessington World of Adventures. It's ideal for us as my both girls have now outgrown Legoland, and my youngest isn't quite big enough for some of the rides at Thorpe Park. It's also nice to have both the zoo and Sea Life Centre on site.

Anyway, since the announcement that Chessington will shortly be closing the much loved Bubbleworks ride, a visit during the school holidays was almost compulsory. So on Thursday off we went with some good friends for a day of fun It worked well as our party consisted of two mums, two 13 year olds and two 10 year olds.

We travelled to the park separately with our two teens texting one another the whole route with traffic updates (which was handy as both the M26 and M25 were a bit of a nightmare). Almost two hours after leaving home, we finally parked up and started the trek to the park entrance.

As you can imagine, school holidays + one of the most popular rides closing soon = one very, very busy park. That said we only waited about 20 minutes to get on our first ride, Dragon Falls. I usually avoid this ride like the plague, but as it was a rather hot day a nice water slide ride with the added bonus of being shot at with water pistols after the slide part was more than welcome. Well, that was until I realised just how steep the slide was and that there wasn't really much holding us in apart from a little rail to hold on to (which I did, for dear life, might I add). However, by this time we were floating in our little boat towards the top of the slide and it was too late to jump ship. I was in a boat with the two little ones who were showing not an ounce of fear and when I looked back to the others I could see the teens were quite happy too, although my mummy friend was looking much the same as I was feeling - unhappy! And then off we went down the slide, with the girls giggling away and me with my eyes tightly shut.

Having survived we made our way around the park (stopping to have a picnic in the show area). As it was an extremely busy day, we decided to purchase fast passes for the two kids who wanted to ride Dragons Fury and for four of us to ride The Vampire. Having our fast pass slots, we were able to squeeze in a couple of rides whilst waiting.

So off we went to churn our stomachs a little on the Jungle Bus. Then off to Dragon's Fury for the two crazies in the party to not only churn their stomachs, but to make themselves as dizzy as possible at the same time. We observed from a safe distance, slightly alarmed at the amount of sway in the structure and with a growing feeling of nausea just from watching everyone spinning around in their car whilst travelling at speed along the roller coaster track. Next it was the Carousel.

And then on to the main purpose of our visit, The Bubbleworks! Who doesn't love this ride? It's 26 years old, it's really quite cheesy and that's what is just so appealing about it. I marvel at the layers of dust on some of the plastic bubbles suspended from the ceiling and the funny little yellow ducks, but the best part is the archway of water jets you have to travel though towards the end of the ride, oh and let's not forget the obligatory repetitive music as you travel around in your little tub.

With our final ever trip on this legendary ride over, it was off to the Vampire to soar above and through the trees.

Then off to the Rattlesnake. Now this had the potential to end badly, as the minimum height for the ride is 1.4 metres and my youngest is dreadful for slouching. No matter how much I tell her to stand up straight, she just will not!. However, it all worked out well and she was able to ride the Rattlesnake, but not until they'd stopped the ride to clean up after someone, who was unable to hold on to the contents of their stomach. Yuck!

The kids managed to squeeze in one more ride before they shut the queue lines and after they were done we tucked into freshly cooked to order doughnuts before heading to a nice grassy area to sit and picnic a bit more whilst we waited for the main crowds to leave. Then it was off back to the cars and home for a well earned rest.

Craftily Framed

Late last week, whilst waiting for the girls to return from their holiday, I decided to have a little clear out. Actually, it turned out to be quite a big clear out, but I also found one or two items I'd forgotten I even had.

One of those items was a glass photo frame with a white frosted surround. Actually, that is probably a really rubbish description, so instead, here's a photo...of the photo frame (that just sounds odd, doesn't it?).

Now, as you can see, this poor photo frame isn't, by any stretch of the imagination, ugly, but let's be honest, it's a little plain and just needed a little lifting. A bit like me when I don't want to wear a full face of make-up, but just enough to look presentable (where would we be without BB Cream, mascara and a bit of lippy?) Anyway, as always that's a bit off track, but in short, that was my aim to make it a little less boring, without detracting from it's simplicity.

I have a confession to make at this point in my story, because I am completely obsessed with my glue gun. I love it! So when I rediscovered the frame, the first thought that sprung to mind was, 'Yay! Something to use the glue gun on!' I am really not sure that this is a natural reaction to have and may have to seek help if it continues; anyone with Glue Gun Anonymous' number please feel free to contact me.

Anyway, back to the photo frame and glue gun in hand, I set to 'tarting up' the frame. And a few buttons later...

I toyed with the idea of placing buttons all around the frame, but as I said before, I wanted to keep it simple, whilst making it a little bit more interesting. Given the reaction of my eldest child (she was very excited and called her sister into the kitchen with 'look what mum's done'), I think I've succeeded.

Here's to more projects with the glue gun :-)

What Nan Said

My mum is a funny old stick. She favours animals over people, has an Olympic Gold in worrying (well she would if there were one available), is a dreadful cook (honestly, the comments I got about my shiny hair when I was young are largely down to the amount of charcoal I consumed - everything was burnt to a cinder) and she doesn't have the greatest sense of humour in the world. That said, over the years she has given my dad and I quite a few laughs; all unintentionally.

You see, my mum is notorious for using the wrong word for things. Think back many years ago to dear, sweet Ethel Skinner in Eastenders, that's my mum (well maybe she's not quite so bad, but she's on her way).

Unfortunately, unlike Ethel, who lived with kind, tolerant people, my mum lives with my dad, who even in his 80's is still quick to pick up on her gaffs and call me to let me know what her latest one is.

So, ladies and gentlemen, for your entertainment, I present you with 'What Nan Said' Some of her greatest gaffs...

1. Profiteroles. You would think this was quite an easy one to get right wouldn't you? You'd be wrong. For years she has been unable to get this one right. Her version, Potiferolls.
2. Not strictly the wrong word, this time an insane description to let us know just how painful her knee is, and I quote, 'It's like toothache in the knee'. What? 
3. My personal favourite. Biopsy. Some time ago mum had breast cancer which isn't amusing at all and thankfully it was caught very early on and dealt with quickly. However, mum did require a biopsy. It wasn't pleasant, but her version of it sounds really truly horrific. You see, as mum tells it, she had an autopsy. Really doesn't bear thinking about!
4. Tsunami. Now we all know what causes a tsunami and the size of the waves etc, but all of this is totally lost on mum. One very, very rainy day, she informed my dad that if it didn't stop raining there would be a salami!
5. Dad and I can't remember how this one came about, but it was a year or so after my grandmother had passed away. 'If your grandmother were alive today, she'd turn in her grave.' Not sure how this would have been possible unless my nan was a vampire and slept in a coffin when alive???

So that's an insight into the crazy world of my mother's conversations. It keeps dad and I amused and hopefully it's amused you a little too.

Decoupage Day

Earlier in the week I scooted off to my local Hobbycraft on a mission to get supplies for a crafting mission to keep the kids occupied over the remainder of the holidays.

I started off with the button canvas pictures and am still quite chuffed with my efforts. The decoupage I put off as (in my mind) it was potentially going to be a messy job. Well, that is what I thought, how wrong was I? Hardly any mess at all and not nearly so time consuming as I'd thought it could be. All I needed was a plastic plate to pop my torn up pieces of decoupage paper on, a little dish for my PVA glue, one nice flat paint brush and some protection for the table. Easy peasy!

Now, the plan is the crafts I've done this week are dry runs for what I want to do with the kids next week. I'll update you on those as they happen, but I'm guessing the mess free crafting I've managed to complete is not going to be the case when they have a go. Whereas, I have covered my working area with a few carefully placed sheets of kitchen roll, I feel the need to invest in a lot of newspaper and perhaps a wipe clean table cloth before I even consider letting them loose with the glue.

Anyway, back at the decoupaging. The most boring part of the process was tearing the paper into bits, not a bad start then. After that it was fun, fun, fun. I don't think I've painted glue on anything since I left school and I'd forgotten how much fun it was! I thought it was going to be quite a tricky process as, for those of you whom, like myself haven't decoupaged before, you have to first paint a little glue on your item, then with gluey brush, pick up a piece of paper, place said paper on the item you're decorating and (keeping it flat) paint over the top of it with a little more glue. I'll be honest, when I was reading the instructions on how to do this, I was extremely apprehensive. I am not known for my dexterity and am ridiculously clumsy. As my mum always says, if there is an awkward way of doing something, I will find it! However, I needn't have worried at all. It was relatively easy, a lot of fun and very therapeutic (especially whilst listening to some retro '80's album).

So an album and a half later (thank you Belinda Carlisle for singing to me and allowing me to sing along), and I'd covered two mache plant pots.

Now the really, really dull part started...waiting for the glue to dry. Now, I have it on good authority from the Hobbycraft lady that if you buy the decoupage glue it dries quicker than the PVA glue. However, for a first effort, the PVA glue was cheaper and can be used for other crafts as well. So I waited and I waited and I waited. Then decided that I may as well leave them overnight.

Now, the plan I had was to decoupage the inside of the pots today, but the girls are due back today and I wanted  the pots to be ready so I have left the insides naked! So, to off set the brown inner of the pot, I used the glue gun to stick a length of jute ribbon around the top of the pots and covered the join with some coordinating buttons. I must admit, I surprised myself with my creative solution to the inner pot problem.

So here are the finished articles...

I think they have worked out well (for a first attempt) and they'll be ideal for the girls to store away their pens and pencils, or for Libby, her make-up brushes.

So here's to more crafting next week with my girls. Once again, watch this space for updates!