Toasty!

Spent the morning out in the front garden with Archie. I stood and ate my porridge in the porch, but I could sit on the bench to have my coffee when the sun peeked out. We waited by the gate as the flow of noisy teenage schoolchildren trooped by. He got many many treats, as there was not a peep (or even a wuff) out of him.

He was sorely tried when the stair cleaner next door brushed the path on the other side of our hedge. The sound of a brush drives him BONKERS!! He wants to kill it! And so I was glad I was there at the right time, and fed him treats like they were going out of fashion. Only a couple of 'Wuffs' slipped out. I will need to this all this week at least, I think, but I was pleased with the quiet wee dog who just gazed out at the world passing by his gate.

I got a lot of jobs done: Rang to arrange an electrician. The fuse board we have is one of the old type with fuse wires. I want it upgraded.

Reset all the clocks (two requiring ladders ... no - one ladder, twice...) and re-programmed the boiler. Normally this changing clocks job languishes for a few weeks...

I'm returning the citronella collar. He hates it so much, it's absolutely no use at all - it fires off on a sneeze, for goodness sake! I know it's not the right way to modify unwanted behaviour, but Bailey's mum recommended it, and I read all the glowing reviews. But it's not for wee, sensitive, easily hurt Archie...

House insurance rang and told me they'd searched around and got the best deal again and quoted a price. I happened to ask, 'And what was it last year?' assuming it was much the same... NO! About £150 cheaper!! I asked why this was... She 'checked' and found that, YES! She could 'give me' £100 rebate. Hmmmmm.

Archie stayed outside and in the porch all morning, happily pottering about, not barking. This enables me to get on with jobs like clearing and setting the fire without him 'helping'. He loves the fire. He loves the pile of logs. He loves the coal skuttle full of lovely mouth-sized black, possibly chewy crunchy things...

We took a big walk out to the Meadows, via the ex-neighbours with the new baby - just popped a card in the door and sneaked down the stairs again. Except we didn't sneak - my shoes made a clumping sound on the stone steps, and Archie chose to bark at them all the way down. No sneaking anywhere with Archie!

In the Meadows we met a wee cairn terrier, aged three. The owner said he was really awful, wouldn't do as he was told and hadn't learned a thing. And he'd been to obedience classes to no avail. Pretty lucky with wee Archie, really.

Met another young couple with a wee Border Terrier, three months old. They said he was, 'Hard work'. Well, dogs are. And I think people give up, or don't even bother. But the hard work pays off in the end.

This is Archie in his winter preferred position right in front of the fire - my foot no longer holds any attraction for his head if the fire's on. So now I don't get cramp in my foot because I can't move it. Win win.