• Living Between the Lines

    12 weeks later…

    Well, here we are, 12 weeks into lockdown and I don’t think anyone has gone crazy yet, not me, at least.What have the past twelve weeks been like for you? I hope you have stayed safe.I have summarised my experience(s) in a short, light hearted, photographic diary. I have deliberately kept it light, these are the good memories…we hear enough bad news as it is! A photographic diary, “Lockdown in a nutshell – the good side” So, lockdown is easing, cautiously, (still no hugs with those gorgeous grandchildren) but beginning to see signs of life and a new normality out there…Today, I began work on another novel, whilst leaving the…

  • Living Between the Lines

    We saw a dog…

    We saw a dog… Not a major event in most people’s lives but in Charlie’s? Well, put it this way, for the past few months, Charlie Brown has been undergoing intensive training to rid him of the panic he gets into when another dog approaches him while he is out on the lead. He has been getting progressively more anxious ever since he was set upon by three dogs, in the woods, when he was a pup. Well, could that be the reason? Maybe. Anyway, on a walk back in the Spring, we chanced to come face to face with two large dogs. Charlie immediately went into defence mode although…

  • Mum is the word

    Mothers, Dogs and Teeth…

    The hospital car park is full. It is not just full, cars are double parked at every turn. We crawl round the multi-storey, us and others with the same hope of finding a vacant spot. As one, we form a shiny metal snake, slithering round the levels. Occasionally, one lucky person spots a vacant space and slides into it as another slides out. This happens perhaps three times in half an hour. The rest of us continue our slow descent to the exit. There are no spaces in the local roads, just double yellow lines and tantalizing permit bays. Steven and I explore the surrounding area to no avail. Other…

  • Puptales

    Flossie’s Cunning Plan

    I have a secret. You didn’t think dogs had secrets? Well, think again! There is a hole in the fence. I can squeeze through that hole. Exciting eh? I’d tell you exactly where it is but it’s my secret you see. I use it when I feel like going a bit further afield than the back garden. This morning, Charlie and I were let out to carry out our ablutions. Between you and me, I have decided that Charlie is a bit of a goody-two-shoes. “Come here Charlie,” and he’s there. “Leave, Charlie,” he leaves whatever it is he isn’t supposed to have. I should stress that this has not…

  • Puptales

    Garden capers, dried sausage and deer

    While I was pottering in the garden this morning, a family of Deer ran across the lawn in the garden that backs onto our own. Flossie went mad of course, barking and jumping at the railings. I didn’t take much notice apart from making a weak attempt at telling her to be quiet. I was far too busy picking up chewed up flowerpots and the mangled remains of footballs not to mention the stuffing from Charlie’s favourite stuffed toy that was strewn from one end of the garden to the other. I didn’t become concerned until Charlie came running back up the garden, alone. I scanned the horizon and was…

  • Living Between the Lines

    Where did November go?

    Well, really, where did November go? One minute I am watching my niece get married, on my birthday (the 1st of the month) and the next I am staring Christmas in the face. The last few weeks have been a blur and it gets no better as December moves in. The annual NaNoWriMo was barely attainable this year. Though I did manage to reach the target of 50,000 words – I do not feel a worthy winner since the first ten thousand had already been written. Still, as a personal goal, it was good. Next year I promise to give it my all. Could this little chap have had anything…

  • Puptales

    If you go down to the woods today…

    If you go down to the woods today, You are sure of a big surprise, Flossie and Doris have gone for a swim, You wont believe your eyes! Flossie here after quite a gap in posts I must say. The Boss tends to keep me away from the computer when she is writing a lot and she has been writing a lot it seems. You’d think there’d be another book or two completed by now but judging by the groans coming from her, she still has a way to go. As far as I can see she is spending a lot of time reading too. A while ago two big…