hot news!

Just off the press - Murphy has turned veggy!

Totally forgot to say earlier, but yesterday when I went home at lunchtime it was a nice, sunny, blustery day and I went into the garden to play with him. There, in the middle of the grass, was something I'd been looking for for over a week - my beetroot!!

I was sure I'd bought some last weekend but couldn't find it when I went to look for it - now I know why.. the question remains whether he snuck into the fridge and purloined it or whether it'd been left on the counter and he took it from there. We will never know. (although the former is quite a worrying thought

Luckily (for all sorts of reasons!) it was vacuum packed and he hadn't been able to get into it...

-but good on him for going straight for the superfood! There's nothing gets past my Murphy..

poor gizzy!

she has a hard life of it sometimes. Murphy battered out the catflap this morning just before I went to work and shot across the lawn, barking - Gizzy just had time to get onto the garden wall, from where she sat and looked down at him enigmatically, while he bounced around in the bushes underneath, barking enthusiastically. Now she's getting her own back, doing her best to sit on me and the laptop while I do this, while Murphy can only lie at (on) my feet at ground level.

wednesday

after reading that Marley book, we really appreciate Murphy more. Not that he's behaving hugely better - he chased a spaniel round and through the brambles yesterday morning; he/she was squealing the whole time, it was very embarassing! Poor dog... I had to apologise to the owner and put him on the lead when she came round again

but Murphy, despite your sometimes awkward (for us) social niceties, we love you!

Marley or Murphy

Have you read that book, "Marley and me" by John Grogan? I got it for Richard for Christmas and since he finished it last week I've been reading it.. it's hilarious! Marley is a much worse version of Murphy, and the story's about him and his family. I've got the last chapter to go tonight and I know I'll be howling... the story is very warm and true to life, and extremely well written; the best thing I can say about it is that it has made me look at Murphy with new eyes and really appreciate him more while we have him. I'll be devastasted to say goodbye to Marley

mud, mud, glorious..

mud! How he loves it! We took him out to a different forest for a wee change on Sunday. Don't think he liked it so much, the first half of the walk was on vehicle tracks - he likes to be nearer nature than that! Once we got onto the foot tracks with the trees close in about us he was much happier, and bounded off amongst them, to reappear every now and then to make sure we were still around. Til, of course, he disappeared completely off down a hill and was eventually found by a group of 3 or 4 girls who heard me calling for him and called too (don't worry, he had been introduced earlier).. then he went and found the deepest, most deadly mud puddle - the type that doesn't come off when you dry him - we had to hose him down when we got home - take a look! (how happy does he look now?)

like cat and dog.....

it's impossible to work out the relationship between a cat and a dog, or at least the ones who reside with us! You think it's simple. Dog chases cat. Right? But what about the one everyone who has both will tell you - the cat rules the roost?

Gizzy once followed Murphy and Richard - in the pitch black and at a distance of 10 feet - right through the woods one night. Every time R stopped she stopped, so he couldn't hear her bell til they got moving again. He was quite unnerved. Right at the end of the walk Murphy chased her - so far into the woods I had to go up 3 hours later and call her til she came out. (the cheeky beggar came with me and every time I called sat and listened carefully for her with his head on one side, then looked at me as if to say "nope, I can't hear her, shall we move on a bit?" - like it was nothing to do with him!)

So out of doors he rules, then - but wait, that's not always true either. I've watched him rolling around on the lawn and Gizzy creep up, gather herself (the way cats do) and suddenly leap on him, front paws raised, land on him with both paws and then streak away, ears flattened - leaving him a bit dazed, looking round giving it "who? wha'?"

- or there's the times she waits behind gateposts for him on the return leg of his walk and then leaps out and smacks him one and runs away...

But other times he'll suddenly decide it's time to assert his man/doghood and will chase her over the garden, or under the car.

And if she comes screaming in the catflap with her tail all abush, he always gets up to stick his head out and see what's bothering her. If it's another cat he leaves them in no doubt as to whose garden this is! (the hedgehog episode is for another day)

- and she has been known to wash his face for him if he's daft enough (or brave enough) not to move it from her vicinity when she's in a good mood.

and sometimes they ignore each other and sometimes they compete for our attention - if one's getting it the other one pops up - "I'm here too!"

maybe they're just human after all...

midweek

I've finally managed to calm down after the hectic pre christmas rush of October, November and December, or maybe it's just because for the first time in months and months I've had 3 weekday evenings in with nothing to do and nowhere to go (apart from choir on Monday which I skived off of).. so here I am ensconced on the sofa watching the football - well til 9 when the Brits come on. Richard has to go and pick Emily up so I'll be safe to turn over!

Murphy appears to be getting tips off the cat - he's gone to bed in the huf cos we won't feed him any more food - particularly, I think, cos nobody would feed him any pizza! Oh, he's back now, with a heavy sigh. If he's not careful he'll get his teeth brushed and his ears cleaned again... he doesn't mind the teeth (poultry flavoured toothpaste, it's a race as to whether I can get the stuff on his teeth before he licks it all off the brush)

he managed to make off with a chocolate muffin that was accidentally left on the coffee table on sunday night - Richard found the case in the garden the next morning... of course it could have been the cat but somehow I doubt it

normal?

not much happening today.. couldn't top yesterday anyway, he had an hour's run with me, then immediately went out with Richard to take Emily to the yard and got a run with him too.. didn't take him out today although i did mean to. Went to church for Lent instead (for all the good that does Murphy). we did take him round one of the local forests though, which he likes. There are various sculptures throughout the forest one of bison which is actually really spooky, they're a wee bit in from the path and look really real from a distance. They confused Murphy too the first time - it took some persudaing for him to go and sniff them.. then of course he attacked one (I think I told this story), pulling me over and I cracked my head on it - it turned out there was a squirrel nesting in it! Exit squirrel at speed!

he went and had another sniff today but the squirrel's obviously decided that wasn't too safe a home as no sign now.

Gizzy got a mouse again - we knew cos Murphy growled at her and chased her up the stairs - not sure if he wants to rescue the mouse or just take it off her!

neat 'n clean

Murphy is all spruced up and ready to impress! I decided to give him a good brush last night (having run home from work, done my "meditation", thrown down a couple of bits of pizza, gone to Pilates and (on my return) brushed Murphy's teeth. Next?) Having done that I took the opportunity to trim his paws and moved on to his tail - unfortunately he doesn't really recognise the command to stand. He sat and when I tried to get him to come forward (and therefore stand and walk) he just shuffled towards me on his bum! So I had to get him to lie down so I could attack his tail.

Got more done today while he was standing in the kitchen trying to impress on Richard the need to feed him some of our dinner - I was able to retake the scissors to his backside and snip off the shaggy bits and a bit more of his tail.. luckily I had to go out to Guides before I got too carried away! It's still there, just!

Richard tried to move his bed a couple of days ago, to prevent his barking in the middle of the night at things he sees or hears outside - he wasn't too happy about it (his bed was moved to the hall) and padded round upstairs for a while before going downstairs to the lounge and (you've guessed it - barking in the middle of the night!). After he lay in the place his bed used to be in the kitchen and watched Richard with a reproachful look all during breakfast, richard relented and moved it back.

So of course he thanked us by barking at 5.30am this morning and when I went rushing down to tell him to wheesht, there he was lying very comfortably in his bed and just stopped barking long enough to say hello.. how helpful! Grrr!

easy cos it's sunday morning?

I have to apologise to the members of the golf club, and surrounding residents... I took the bold hero for another run along the railway line this morning and all was going well - no sheep in the vicinity, he hadn't scared the 3 little girls in pink anoraks who were out frogspawning (in fact I think they wanted to say hello but he ignored them). All that had happened was he'd out-manoeuvred me and back tracked and hoovered up a stray dog treat that was lying on the ground (I thought he hadn't noticed on the way out - huh!)

but what did he do at the back of the first tee but chase a cat up a tree and announce this, at great length and the top of his voice, to everyone in the vinicinity for at least 3 full minutes! I couldn't get through the barbed wire to get at him. The cat was unmoved and unmoving - "come up here and say that, buster!" and though he tried, luckily dogs are not built for tree climbing. Eventually, as we were starting to gather a crowd, he stopped for breath and noticed me yelling at him and came bouncing over. Excitement over...

that ****in' dog!

He comes back from his holidays, all bouncin' around and pleased to see us .. Nick said he was better but not entirely, so we decided 24 hours starvation to let his tummy settle down. Unfortunately he had other ideas and managed to find the truffles Sue (my sister) gave me for Christmas, which I've been saving in the fridge - not that he got into the fridge, he's not that smart! - eejit me left them on the coffee table ............ need I say more? (we managed to save the last two but who'd eat them after that?)

So much for the 24 hours! Still, it didn't stop him hoovering down the chicken and rice we gave him for dinner (have you noticed this dog eats better when he's sick?)

Roll on tomorrow. Who knows what it will bring?

PS on the cat front Gizzy helped us get out to work on time on Thursday morning - just as I was heading to the door she flashed past me up the stairs with something suspicious in her mouth.. yes, you've guessed it, it was a bird... (RIP bird, by the way)

empty nest syndrome

Oh dear, I don't know how I am going to cope! What will we do? - Murphy has left home! He's gone off with Nick and g-friend & parents for a stay by the seaside. He'll have a wonderful time, he'll be the centre of attention (they're leaving Baxter behind) which is always his idea of a good time, and Nick has been warned to look after him - and he will, Nick's good for that kind of thing.

But we're left without our baby! Nobody to "purr" at us when we've finished eating or having a biscuit (translation - "my turn, give me attention/pizza/biscuit"), nobody to follow us round the house - with his eyes if not actually - and park himself in the most awkward places when we're rushing round the kitchen. Nobody to bounce round the garden barking, or to sleep on our feet in the evenings, or to distribute his shoe collection round the house, or to greet us at the door with a furiously wagging tail... nobody to make us get up and go for a walk, then to have a towel wrestle with, nobody to rest his head on our knee and fix us with those big eyes, to laugh at when he plays or talk to as we go about the place (or is that just me?) ... nobody to hug, to dress up (Emily) or to swear at (Andy).. we are truly bereft.....

... just as well it's only 2 nights and he'll be back on Friday!

a visitor

we have a visitor tonight - Busby is a black lab-cross who has come to see us with Rebecca, Emily's pal. He is quite hyper and does the paw thing same as Murphy (when you stop petting him the paw comes up to rest on your arm, urgently - "I'm still here"). He seems to have developed an amazing trick - he can open the front door and disappear into the night... he's done it twice tonight so we've had to lock the door to be safe. Murphy is not impressed!

Busby also wants desperately to play with Gizzy - it was so funny I've never seen such an obvious double take as he did when he was passing the duvet (Gizzy curled up asleep) and I pointed her out and introduced them - he stuck around, shiveringly keen to play with her but too scared to go near - she stood up, tail all bushy and gave him the eye til his nerve failed and he ran away..

Luckily for us all (as he's exhausting us all with his energy) he's being fetched home now.. Murphy will be very pleased as he's finding it difficult to cope and has gone to his bed!

Mind you poor Murphy has been having a hard time of it - check out what Emily made him wear today!