Knitting Hiatus

Pardon me.......

I haven't managed to pick up the needles this week......

in fact I haven't been able to pick up much at all this week!

There has been a lot of work and a lot of ordinary old living to do.

I will tell you that I am having a loving return to Aneka Manning's "Good Food" and re-discovering again her sensible, healthy, fool-proof and most importantly seasonal recipes. Tonight we enjoyed a sumptuous Traditional Chicken Soup and have left-overs for lunch tomorrow. It's hearty, healthy and soooo frugal, it ticks all my boxes!

I washed the poodles today with a view to clipping them tomorrow. I bath them in my shower hence there will be NO photos...but I will tell you a funny story....

not hilarious, just ironic.

I renovated my brown faux marble Masonite bathroom with gold-look taps and yellow bath and turned it into a modestly priced white and black serene efficient space. I did allow myself one extravagant folly.... a Grohe shower fitting (OK I got taps all round too but they weren't that dear). The shower head WAS however and my builder thought I was insane. "But it's got seven shower settings like "rain" and "champagne" and "jet" and it's fully adjustable for height...blah blah blah"

I get in, I have my shower (it's set on "normal") and I get out.

However....it has been wonderful for the dogs. They have "champagne" for their face washing and and Bella has "massage" forcing dirt and grass out of her tightish curlyish hair and Lucy has a modest "rain" setting as hers has never really changed from the soft puppy coat. Sigh....it really is a dog's life.

Seriously though, poodles are a lot of work and tomorrow I have four hours of clipping and toenails etc tomorrow so although they are easy to live with and they don't shed and have hair more like humans than dogs, I urge people to think really carefully before buying them or the designer versions that are becoming so fashionable. The hair doesn't stop growing and needs to be brushed regularly and the ears!!! Oh my goodness they need plucking to ensure they have healthy air flow to prevent infections etc. These dogs really suit people who are willing to bond closely with their dog and have time to spend on them. They are very active and can be exuberant and need to run and explore outside a lot. They are not meant to be cotton-wooled.

Painting by Matthew Lake