Sooty’s first hair cut
Sooty had her first hair cut today at the age of six months.
She was very well behaved while visiting the hairdresser and devoured her doggy treat afterwards.
She looks skinnier than I expected, which suggests that we aren’t feeding her too much. She doesn’t want more food, so I guess she’s healthy.
Next job on the list is to have her fixed.
Her favourite things in life are to go for walks and have her tummy rubbed. She’s pretty cute whether a fluff ball or shaved.
Sooty finds her way home
We thought we had lost Sooty tonight. We went for a walk on dusk at the vacant land across from our house near the tennis courts.
On the way back, Sooty ran off and disappeared. The light was fading and she’s a black fur ball, so we had no hope of spotting her.
We called out and searched along the road, which at least had some light, to no avail.
I went to fetch a torch from home. When we got there, Sooty was already inside. She had crossed the road by herself, found our house in the dark, and scratched on the door to be let in.
That’s a pretty good effort from a five-month-old puppy.
School maths award
Kathleen had her primary school graduation this evening for the second time. Western Australia is the only Australian state where primary school includes year 7, and apparently that may change in 2008.
Anyway, it was good fun for Kathleen, who has been top dog at school for two years in a row.
Tonight we were surprised and delighted that she won the Hannans Primary School year 7 maths award.
Heaven knows where she got the talent for maths. I was always reasonably good at arithmetic but struggled when it got more complicated.
Of course, we're very proud of Kathleen's success.
Christmas mayhem
Tis the season to be jolly and all that, but Christmas morning for parents is madness. We managed a seven o’clock sleep-in this year, only because the big kids were under orders to wait until the toddlers woke up. James was the last to rise.
We then opened presents, which in proportion to the time it takes to buy and wrap them, represents a ratio of about one to a million.
It takes longer to pick up and dispose of the wrapping paper. (more…)
Oh deer!
My morning jog continues to provide inspiration for mini-blogs. Today I was just past the first caravan park towards the Buckland Bridge when I heard dogs barking where I’ve never heard or seen dogs before.
A minute later I saw two dogs and another animal running towards me on the opposite side of the road. I thought at first the mystery animal was a large calf, but it turned out to be a small deer.
I stopped and puzzled about how I could call off the dogs, but before I could cross the road and act they were past me. I felt quite sad about the situation, because the deer appeared to be tiring. There was no sign of them on my return leg.
Deer were introduced to Australia in the 19th century and they’re common in sub-alpine areas. They’re elusive though, and I’ve never actually seen one in the bush, so it was quite a surprise to see one within a kilometre of town.
The Gorey ghost #2
My correspondent continues her story of the Gorey ghost in the Welsh mountains:
The haunting didn’t stop and there were many more times when we, or one or two visitors saw, or felt a spirit. I don’t know if it was the same one, or different ones. The house — Bwlch yn Horeb, known as the Bwlch — was on an historic spot and we discovered that from about the 11th century to 1800s it had been an inn, before becoming a farmhouse.
The “spirits” could have been wind, or even rats, though more than once actual shapes were seen and voices heard. I camped out in it on my own when we first bought it, when it was a virtual wreck. Many times, I had such a strong feeling of a presence that I had to run outside.
I met two young policemen who told me about the ‘ghost’ they saw; it’s a long story. (more…)
