Of pools & tables & pots & chairs

Lots to tell you today so I will get straight on with it. I finally found out what that big blue hole filled with water underneath my trampoline thingy is really for. Can you believe people actually get in it and swim! Today was the first official day that the pool (that's what it is called apparently) was open and there is a bit of a tradition round here to be the first to swim in what is truely quite cold water. Well Auntie Jo arrived this afternoon with my mate Boudie, took off lots of clothes, and jumped in. And they say us dogs are a bit bonkers at times! As is usually the case with most events involving humans, there was a bottle thing involved, although this time, for some reason, it did not get opened.


Now you remember the other day that I tried this "sitting at the table to eat" thing that humans do, but apparently I got it wrong - you do not sit on the table, you sit on the chairs at the table. So I tried this, but still no food appeared, let alone a nice glass of chilled wine. What has a dog got to do?


I have been studying with interest this gardening thing that seems to be going on at the moment. Apparently you put these plants into some soil in pots and they grow. Well, I have tried emptying out pots to see what is going on, but to no avail, so I thought I would try planting myself and see what happens. I got a clip round the ear, that's what happened.



All of this activity recently has made me a bit tired so I have found a new resting spot - my dads chair. It is very comfortable but not the best of places to choose when dad wants to sit down! Oh well, it's back to the dog basket I suppose.

A swim in the Salz

Big treat yesterday. We went down to Couiza and met up with my great mate Boudie, Then we chased along the bank of the river Salz near where it joins the Aude.

Now as regular readers will know, I am not a great fan of water, but when I saw my mate having such great fun in there I decided, after an initial hesitation, to join him.



It was OK but one dip was enough on this first occasion - maybe more next time.

Boudie and I then found some bits of bamboo and started tearing about with them which somehow resulted in me having a mouth full of blood. Scared the pants off mum but I was fine - only nicked my tongue or something.

Uncle Stephen came to stay for a couple of nights this week. Apparently he had just finalised the sale of his house in Esperaza and needed somewhere to sleep for two nights before returning to Scotland so we offered him a bed. That was great for me as I have always liked him and it gave me the opportunity to test out his lap for comfort.


They also did something very strange which I have still not figured out. Between them they removed my nice big blue trampoline thingy and underneath it there was this really big blue hole full of water. I am not at all sure what that is for and at the moment am giving it a bit of a wide berth. My trampoline has now gone back into place but is not as springy as before. What is happening? Answers on a postcard please.





So there I was the other lunchtime, waiting for my lunch, so I thought that I would do what they do and sit at the table to give them the hint it was a bit overdue. For some reason this did not go down too well! Honestly, they do it and it is OK but I do it and you would think the end of the world had come. Talk about one rule for them and one for me.

Where were all the presents?

I'm not sure if you were aware of it but I was six months old a couple of days ago. Come to think of it, the marked absence of presents, cards, and visitors would indicate you were not aware.



This occassion was marked in two very different ways. Firstly, I received a new toy as a present from mum and dad. They felt that as I had chewed my way through many of my earlier ones, it was time to replace. And very nice it was too, thank you.





The second surprise was not so great - I was given a bath! Look here a moment, only six months on this earth is not enough time to get seriously dirty and smelly, and certainly is way too early for such drastic measures.


Shortly after all this I had my first evening social engagement. Mum and dad went to dinner at Auntie Jo and Uncle Roy's and, whilst I was not allowed to attend the actual dinner (something to do with my social skills not being up to it) I did get involved with everyone after dinner and my mate Boudie and I had great fun with all the diners.

Another hectic week

It has been a busy week since we last spoke. First of all there was the arrival of the new TV. This involved some considerable modification to the piece of furniture upon which it sat. Now, as you know, I am quite partial to a bit of DIY so dad and I got busy and sorted that out, and a very nice job we made of it, even if I say so myself.

Then there was the visit of Auntie Catherine and Uncle Alan. I'm not a shy dog so there was no problem meeting them for the first time. In fact we got along famously and I think they have just become my new best friends. Auntie Catherine was bit allergic to me at first so I did not have enough time to get in the usual quota of licks and cuddles to fully establish the relationship. She also missed out on the photo call some how, but I promise to make up for both on her next visit.

During their visit I got a bit of a tummy bug which caused a couple of disturbed nights for both me and mum and dad. However, my mum nursed me back to health which involved a lot of sleeping and not much eating.

After such a hectic time I feel in need of a bit of rest so if you don't mind I will sign off and go to bed. Speak to you again soon.

DIY Dog

Now as some of you may know, I do love a bit of DIY or Bricolage as they call it here in France. Imagine my joy, then, when dad announced he was going to connect up the electrics in the new barbeque area.


I was especially pleased when I realised that this involved digging a trench for the cable between the deck and the BBQ area, as, if there is one thing I am really good at, it's digging holes.

Dad was initially none too pleased when I started assisting him in the creation of this trench, but he soon realised that my abilities in this particular field could actually save him some effort.

As a result, I had a wonderful time getting really muddy and creating a mess. Oh I do love being a Brico dog!

I feel I must apologise to regular readers of my blog for not updating it for a while. The reasons for this are several. Firstly, this time of year does not seem to be a particularly social time, with invitations few and far between.

That said, last Friday we did all go off to Auntie Mary and Uncle Tim's for the day. They had some new friends for me to meet - Mark and Lee - and we all had a jolly good time with lots more of that bottle thing going on and much food being consumed. We did manage to fit in a few walks which was nice. Oh, I forgot to mention, on the drive over I did my usual throwing up trick, this time leaving it until we were just a few minutes from our destination. Well, I suppose I had munched rather a lot of grass earlier !!!


Secondly, those of you who live around here will be all too aware that the weather has been atrocious of late. The Easter weekend it just rained (no, I won't say cats and dogs) heavier than I have ever seen. As a result I got very few walks in and spent most of my time moving from lap to sofa and back again, with the occasional mad five minutes thrown in to keep them on their toes. However, it has done one thing for me - I have now developed quite a taste for drinking out of muddy puddles.

Still, things are looking up. We have got dad's cousin and her fella coming over soon for a visit so that will be some new people to play with, sit on their laps, and generally harass. And then my good mate Grant has said he wants to come back soon and bring his kid sister too. Can't wait to see him again and terrorise Becky who is a little nervous of us canine creatures.

Mundane this post might be, but I felt a duty to keep you all advised of my activities of late, even if watching paint dry is probably more interesting than reading it. Hopefully I will have some exciting things to discuss next time.