Sunday afternoon ...

Oh, what a wild, blustery, sodden afternoon we had yesterday. Outside the skies were an unremitting leaden grey as the rain hurled itself against the windowpanes and rushed down through the drainpipes to the well below the cellar. It was dark by four o'clock and I was glad to pull the shutters closed against the stormy weather. It was an afternoon to forget all outdoor pursuits - I had planned to get out into the garden ... being a subscriber to Vita Sackville-West's philosophy that:

"If it is true that one of the greatest pleasures of gardening lies in looking forward, then the planning of next year's beds and borders must be one of the most agreeable occupations in the gardener's calendar. This should make October and November particularly pleasant months, for then we may begin to clear our borders, to cut down those sodden and untidy stalks, to dig up and increase our plants, and to move them to other positions where they will show up to greater effect. People who are not gardeners always say that the bare beds of winter are uninteresting; gardeners know better, and take even a certain pleasure in the neatness of the newly dug, bare, brown earth."

But it was not to be. So I closed the shutters and we all settled into a long, peaceful Sunday evening in front of the fire....

Amy chose to stay with us in the living room, but Ben became far too warm and retired to snooze on the chilly flagstones in the hallway. Husband was busy with the papers, so I picked up my latest project...

The knitting!

I have been inspired by a great blog I found called "Little Cotton Rabbits". I purchased one of Julie's patterns for her knitted cupcakes

and am knitting my own to sell at the Yuletide Fair at Saltram House in aid of our local animal rescue centre, Gables Farm, which helps unwanted and abandoned animals find new homes. Up until Ben arrived I'd always had rescue dogs - you can read Susie's story here from my blog entry of March this year. Her tale was so sad, and now I have a house full of newfies I can't possibly adopt any more - but maybe this way I can help give other animals a second chance.

Susie

The cupcakes are turning out rather well, and if you'd like to purchase one, then you can do so on the DevonBear website. Profits are going to the Gables Farm Animal Rescue Centre - I'm not making them on a commercial basis. To make the little cakes extra special I've put a sachet of organic lavender into each one, so they smell as good as they look, and will keep those pesky moths away!

And finally, from my trusty Book of Days ... on 10 November 1960 D H Lawrence's novel Lady Chatterley's Lover was first published in its entirety, and the first run of 200,000 copies had sold out by the end of the day. So there!

Amy's accident - and a new idea!

Last weekend Amy was a competition at the village fete - "Guess the weight of the dog". Here she is wearing her special harness complete with bunting! She of course had a great time as the centre of attention, and I went along to act as her minder. I spent a couple of hours accepting people's twenty-pences and recording their estimates of her rather too substantial weight. This was great fun, especially as helpers received free cups of tea all afternoon!

You can see in the photo above that she stands with her bum very rounded and her back legs tucked under her at an angle. She also walks in a crooked fashion due to a spinal injury sustained in her earlier life when she used to do water rescue work. She has a huge jagged scar running all the way down her back and can't raise her tail - it's a very funny shape having been broken in several places. She does the cutest little wag of just the tip when she's really happy, and she isn't in any pain now (except on damp mornings) as she is on medication from the vet. She still loves swimming which is the best therapy of all for her.

Is this a happy dog? I think so!

Anyway, all that time spent contemplating the roundness of Amy's backside started me thinking ... and I've come up with THE AMIE BAG!!!

Note how perfectly the shape of the bag corresponds to the shape of the sleeping Amy. Do you think this is a legitimate design technique? Should I offer myself as a special speaker on design courses? Probably not ... but I still think the Amie Bag looks really good. Vintage linen too, so recycled - just like Amy! It will have its debut on the DevonBears stall at the Saltram Craft Fair next month, so I hope the customers there like it too!!

Susie's story

Here, in her own words, is a story from the grand old lady of Coombe Leigh - written for my daughter while Susie was still alive. I hope you enjoy it although it isn't really a blog entry, as it's rather out of date, but tells how Susie came to live with us. She was only a scruffy mutt, and had the classic story, beaten, starved and abandoned. We never knew her real age or origins but we loved her just the same. She was with us for 14 years and until she died would always cower in a corner if an argument started, only gradually learned to tolerate a rolled or folded newspaper, and would never pass in front of your feet (waiting for a kick?).

Dear Rosie,

Our Mum has been helping me write my story for a little while now. She said that now I am an old lady I had time to jolly well sit still and think about things instead of running about like a silly Newfie! I know I'm getting on a bit now, I'm not as fast and bouncy as I used to be and Mum said she'd like to have my story to read to remind her about me when I wasn't around any more. I wasn't too sure about that, I was a bit concerned about where she was going to send me. But Mum said not to worry, I'd be fine when I got there and would have lots of doggy friends to play with. So after some consideration I agreed to co-operate.

I remember the last time we went to Gara Rock, before my legs got a bit wobbly and Mum started to worry about me falling off the edge of the cliff. (you humans do fuss; I knew that bramble patch was there when I tripped last time, and it wasn't my fault Mum got scratched rescuing me, I was quite happy lying there waving my legs in the air, brambles make a very soft landing you know).

When we go for a walk I am usually in front while the humans are trailing behind. This is another example of the benefits of four paws over two legs. Mum, Dad and you are the most untidy herd of humans when we go out on walks. I don't think anyone realises how hard I have to work making sure that you all keep together and nobody gets lost. I was lost once and I know how scary that is. Mind you, I was so glad to have escaped from my first humans I didn't notice where I was going or what I was doing. But when I slowed down a bit I realised that I was feeling hungry and tired so I had to rummage in a few bins to find some scraps to eat. Good thing you humans are such an untidy lot. This was OK to start with, but after a while my claws got worn right down and my paws were so sore. So I decided to give myself up and found a Chichester Dog Rescue person to take me in.

Our walks aren't like that though, there are usually lots of really good smells and, to begin with at least, the going won't be too tough. Sometimes if we're going a long way I do get a little concerned that Mum and Dad might not have put enough water in my bottle. All you humans usually keep saying at this point is "Not far now ..." and "Just round the next corner ..."
All I can say is that there are normally an awful lot of next corners to go round before we reach our destination. I thought when I got to the Chichester Dog Rescue kennels that I had reached my destination. All the people there were very kind, but what I really wanted was a family of my own. I'd never had that you see, not what you'd call a real family who would care for me, ruffle my scruffy fur and let me play games with their young. I so wanted to be loved.

I hadn't been at the kennels very long when I heard voices out in the exercise yard. It seemed to be a Mum human and a very small puppy human - that was you!! They sounded very kind, just the sort I thought I might like to adopt. They were sad, they explained to the helpers, as their dog Lucy had just gone to the big kennel in the sky. They had come to find a new dog to take home. The helpers thought they might like this silly puppy - a pleasant enough little thing I remember, but not really suitable for this family. The Mum and puppy humans weren't too sure what to do. I pushed my nose under a hole in the door - they sounded so kind and nice I really wanted them to notice me. I pushed harder and harder - as hard as I possibly could, but I just couldn't squeeze any more of myself out, and I was so afraid that they might leave without spotting that here was a dog who really desperately wanted a home.

Then something amazing happened! I couldn't make out very much as my face was squashed right up against the kennel door, but the little puppy human called Rosie shouted, "Look Mum, it's Lucy!" and they both turned and looked in my direction. It turned out that Lucy was their old dog who had died - she was a Westie - I guess my face does look a little bit Westie-ish - luckily for me! My heart dropped to my paws when the helper said that I wasn't available for adoption as I hadn't been at the Rescue long enough. She got me out though for them to look at and although I must have been a sorry sight with my ragged fur and thin body, Mum ('cos that's who it was) said that she could see I was a dog who needed love so they would take me home and foster me. If no-one came for me (and I already knew they wouldn't) then they would keep me.

Well, I've never wagged so furiously in my entire life. This was a dream come true! They were so kind and nice I knew I had been right to choose them. They put me in their car and off we went to my new home. But I'm getting off the point again. Mum says it's cos I'm getting old. She says I can't concentrate on anything and sometimes she thinks I've lost the plot. I don't think she's quite right about that, after all I manage to concentrate pretty hard on my food bowl at supper time! So that's the story of how I came to live with you, my family. I hope I stay here for ever - I know you can't manage without me now.

Love Susie

THE END

Sadly Susie died in 2006 and her ashes are under a rowan tree at the end of the garden in Coombe Leigh. Lots of good memories about her though. Amy was adopted too - and gave me a very tough time at first, but has settled in well now, is loved to bits and loves me back again - one-woman dog(!). Ben, the puppy, - well, just once I wanted a dog with no shadow behind its eyes, one that had only known love and kindness and he was a gift from my husband. Next time .. may it be a long way off yet ,,, but next time we'll be back to adopting again.