“Take time daily to reflect on how much you have. It may not be all that you want but remember someone somewhere is dreaming to have what you have.” ~Germany Kent This morning I’m counting my Blessings. Such a simple thing to do, and it always makes me feel richer. I like to count them […]
For The Love Of A Small Dog…
“Happiness is a warm puppy.” ~ Charles M. Schulz This small red bundle of energy who we now know as Rufous Dog only came into our lives on Monday, but what a difference his presence has already made. Harry hasn’t stopped smiling. He now has a playmate, a buddy, a brother. They play together […]
Five Things I Love About Being Home At My Farm
“To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter… to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring — these are some of the rewards of the simple […]
What Love Looks Like
“Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove. O no, it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wand’ring bark, Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.” (Sonnet 116)” ~ William Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s Sonnets […]
Pretzels and Early Morning Strolls
“I can’t think of anything that brings me closer to tears than when my old dog—completely exhausted after a hard day in the field—limps away from her nice spot in front of the fire and comes over to where I’m sitting and puts her head in my lap, a paw over my knee, and closes […]
Keeping Bert Quiet…
“The way you help heal the world is you start with your own family.” ~ Mother Teresa Nurse Bert is healing well from his cruciate ligament surgery. Next week he’ll have an x-ray to see if the bone has healed. If it looks good, the vet says Bert will finally be allowed to run free. He’ll […]
Bert’s Latest Operation!
“Doctors?” said Ron, looking startled. “Those Muggle nutters that cut people up?” ~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix “I saved a man’s life once,” said Granny. “Special medicine, twice a day. Boiled water with a bit of berry juice in it. Told him I’d bought it from the dwarves. That’s the […]
Was He Born This Way?
“Right or wrong, it’s very pleasant to break something from time to time.” ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky This is a picture of Harry, known to some as Cafe Dog. It is, in fact, our very first picture of Harry, taken two years ago. Pretty cute, huh? In retrospect, there is a worrying glint of mischief in […]
A Very Hurried Post Because…
“Tantrums are not bad behavior. Tantrums are an expression of emotion that became too much for the child to bear. No punishment is required. What your child needs is compassion and safe, loving arms to unload in.” ― Rebecca Eanes, The Newbie’s Guide to Positive Parenting Thanks for your understanding as I write this post […]
A Not-Unexpected Delay in Plans
“Most of the things we need to be most fully alive never come in busyness. They grow in rest.” ~ Mark Buchanan There has been a lot of resting going on in our house just now. Harry, home from the vet and minus his big broken molar, needs plenty of rest. He’s content to lie […]
No Trouble Here!
“Whether you’re being good, or you’re up to no good, try not to look guilty.” ~ Jarod Kintz They look so sweet and innocent, don’t they? Bucket-Head Bert and Cafe Dog Harry… But looks can be deceiving. Could these two dogs possibly be responsible for: a) the raiding of the kitchen bin b) […]
A Morning Cup of Tea With Friends
“Think thoughts that make you happy. Do things that make you feel good. Be with people who make you feel good, and who cheer you on. Eat things that make your body feel good. Go at a pace that makes you feel good. Embrace Life… live!” ~ Angie Karan Shhhh… Just sit quietly for […]
Bert’s Amazing Adventure
“Those who teach the most about humanity, aren’t always human.” ~ Donald L. Hicks, Look into the stillness Bert’s been trying to hide it from me for a couple of days. He has a lump in his neck, and all of a sudden it’s grown from the size of a pea to the size of […]
My Day’s Best Medicine
“Always laugh when you can, it is cheap medicine.” ~ George Gordon Byron There is one thing Lyme has taught me that is well worth sharing. Some of the best medicine isn’t prescribed by a doctor. Here’s some of my favourite medicine. The smell of pine trees and sunshine. Posies of sweet little flowers from […]
Harry Dog Update
“Constant attention by a good nurse may be just as important as a major operation by a surgeon.” ~ Dag Hammarskjold Young Harry is feeling a little brighter each day, and if we get the all-clear from the vet today we will take him home to the farm tonight! He’s still quite tender and sore, […]
Ouch! Poor Harry!
“Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.” ~ Roger A. Caras I got the phone call no dog parent wants to have yesterday. Ben rang from the farm to say that Harry had been hurt after he chased a stick that had been spat out the back of the […]
Saving Marlo
“I believe in integrity. Dogs have it. Humans are sometimes lacking it.” ~ Cesar Millan Note – All names have been changed to protect the privacy of those involved Last Friday, after a terrible night’s sleep, I spent most of the day napping. I was in a good space, but a worrisome niggle kept […]
Home, away from Home
“I don’t care if we have our house, or a cliff ledge, or a cardboard box. Home is wherever we all are, together,” ~ James Patterson It hasn’t been the same, without Ben at home – while we’ve here, in the city, waiting for him to be well enough to leave hospital. We’re not used to city life […]
A Newsy Update and Writing Reminder
“Are you ready?” Klaus asked finally. “No,” Sunny answered. “Me neither,” Violet said, “but if we wait until we’re ready we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives, Let’s go.” ~ Lemony Snicket, The Ersatz Elevator This will be quite a newsy post, hence the title. Breaking News and Announcements: Husband Update: Ben […]
My Poor Sick Boy!
“The world is come upon me, I used to keep it a long way off, But now I have been run over and I am in the hands of the hospital staff.” ~ Stevie Smith, Selected Poems It’s usually me I’m blogging about in a sad state of disrepair, but today it’s about my […]
Today’s Post Is Short For A Very Good Reason
“We have to allow ourselves to be loved by the people who really love us, the people who really matter. Too much of the time, we are blinded by our own pursuits of people to love us, people that don’t even matter, while all that time we waste and the people who do love us […]
Where’s My Cheese?
“What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?” ~ Bertolt Brecht “Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.” ~ G.K. Chesterton, Alarms and Discursions I was sure I put a wedge of cheese on the kitchen bench last night while I was making dinner. I popped outside for a moment to […]
Dog-gone it, we’re busy!
“Sometimes, the best way to help someone is just to be near them.” ~ Veronica Roth, Divergent This will be a short blog post, owing to the fact that it’s cold, and all we really feel like doing this morning is going back to our nice warm bed for a cuddle. Sometimes, comfort takes priority, you […]
A Very Sad Tale…
“Oh, pity the poor glutton Whose troubles all begin In struggling on and on to turn What’s out into what’s in.” ~ Walter de la Mare Harry and Bert invented a new game yesterday afternoon. It’s called ‘chase-the-guava’. There is so much fallen fruit beneath our heavily-bearing guava tree. Even when I pick a full […]
Harry – Cafe Dog!
“Coffee is a language in itself.” ~ Jackie Chan Good Morning! It’s Harry here. Mum is meditating, so I thought I’d save time and write her blog so that we can go to the cafe faster. I love cafes. Ever since I was little I’ve been going. Especially first thing in the morning. So now I’m […]
Nurse Bert
“A nurse will always give us hope, an angel with a stethoscope.” ~Terri Guillemets Nurse Bert is very busy right now. As well as looking after me as I travel through extensive and arduous Lyme disease treatment, he is now caring for young Harry as well. Harry had surgery for his bottom jaw yesterday. […]
‘Mum’s sleeping!’ by Guest Bloggers Bert & Harry
“Sleep is the best meditation.” ~ Dalai Lama Mum’s sleeping. But she hates to miss posting her blog, so we are writing one for her. We’ve had enough of napping! There is a pesky lizard that keeps swimming in our water bowl. This is a picture of him. A naughty bird keeps stealing our biscuits. Here […]
Problems…
I got problems. Mum’s in bed, and I was just trying to amuse myself. And it’s nearly breakfast. I was hungry. Also, my teeth hurt. So I tried to be good. I ate the zip off my mum’s travel bag. It felt good to nibble all the teeth off one side. It was so good […]
Brave young Harry!
“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” ~ Will Rogers Harry, our not quite six-month-old Blue Heeler puppy had the next of his surgeries yesterday to help accommodate his severe overbite. His newly emerged adult lower canines were shaved down to stop them impacting […]
Will you still love me broken?
“The choice that you, as a Soul, have in relation to anything is always to be loving. Do you understand that this is the divine purpose that all of us as humans have been given – to love unconditionally? “~ John Morton We’ve always had rescue dogs; dogs that had nowhere else to go, dogs that […]
The Needs Of The Few
A revered philosopher (Spock in Startreck II – Wrath of Khan) once said that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one, as Captain Kirk so handily pointed out. So what does this have to do with today’s blog? As I sat down to write this morning’s post, I […]
Saying Goodbye to Charlie
“Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe, we are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made.” -Roger Caras It’s been too hard for me to write this […]
Things to be thankful for…
“The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their troubles” This morning I’m counting my Blessings. Such a simple thing to do, and it always makes me feel richer. I like to count them off on my fingers – a tangible act, and a way of really anchoring their truth in […]
Bert says sorry…
Hello, I’m Bert, Nicole’s trusty secretary… And I’d like to say sorry. You see Nicole wouldn’t play with me this morning. I tried my best to look fetching, but she kept ignoring me. I even tried emotional manipulation… But she was still ignoring me! When she went to do her yoga stretches that was […]
What does Happiness look like to you?
In our age of overwork, stress, social isolation, time pressure and exhaustion, it is increasingly important to know what fills you back up again, what makes you smile, what brings joy and happiness into your life. What does happiness look like to you? If you don’t know, make it your mission to find out, and […]