Mr Samwise's Notebook

Kind Words From A Kind Dog

2008-09-28T19:33:00.004+01:00

Hello All

A short blog tonight but both my mistress and I are feeling a lot better this week.

We were thinking over the last blog and the very kind thoughts that George the Pup sent. Looking back really we found that it wasn't so bad and Georges good wishes made us see that. The house still stands nobody has died and we are snug, warm, well fed and both of us with a reasonable occupation. ( Mine, if you are interested, is letting the old ladies round where we live make a fuss of me and giving them affection) Nothing terrible had happened

In many aspects that the idea of the man in front of you may have a far worse situation than you have does not stop your own situation being a problem - but it does put it into some perspective. For instance it has made me enjoy the recent Autumn sunshine even more. We went up to the stones today and it was fantastic just to be able to bound around and shove my nose into anything and everything.

For my mistress it has made her think how easy it is just to complain. She was telling myself and Bernard (my big friend from over the rainbow bridge) that she was out to dinner with friends among which was the hypnotherapist of her team and the thing that hit home was how positive this lady was Attractive but not stunning, it was her enthusiasm and joy of life that made her stand out. Just the positivity around her made my mistress smile and think that she should be more the same.

One other thing that she told me was that the hypnotherapist got all her companions to think of some other woman, dead or alive, who inspired them. For my mistress, she thought of dividing the exercise into two sections. Who she would model her appearance on and who she would like to be like. She came up with the british actress Felicity Kendel and the late british polition Mo Moland. A mixture of cute sexiness and practical kindness

The meal was absolutely superb with some of the best flash fried steak she ever had. I know this since she bought me a little back in a doggy bag to share

The biggest thing this week is that my mistress has had some tooth ache. To deal with it she has been dousing the tooth and gum with propolis tincture ( Bee 'spit' and alcohol which is a natural antibiotic) Now she doesn't know if the propolis has worked, the alcohol has anaesthetised the tooth or she is just 'pished' (unlikely since there simply is not enough brandy to make a bee drunk) At all events the tooth has stopped hurting!

Well that's it for the time being

Look after yourselves and your companions

TTFN

Samwise

Dust and Ticks

2008-09-18T08:05:00.005+01:00

Good Morning Everyone

We're back and what a month!.

Our poor house had more done to it than we had ever realised would be needed.This was to put a damp course into the bottom of the building. All the plaster and skirting boards had to come off and put back. The builders were supposed to stay three days and stayed two weeks. In that time we had massive problems with the electrics and had no broad band or phone line And I haven't even mentioned the problems with dust. There is dust everywhere still!!!! Oh and one aunt still with us but still very poorly. We simply don't know how to help her.

Also I was ill. My mistress thought I had another growth on my skin. I am very old and so do get warts and lumps on my skin which are harmless enough but this one on my face was rather sensitive. So off to the vets I went, both of us very upset by the thought of the visit. It turned out to be an huge tick. Not one that you would normally find in England. The vet managed to get the little ***** *out whole and my mistress watched it for a whole minute before she flattened it! Grateful though I was to get rid of my passenger I was in such a state when I got there I ended up getting my head stuck under the desk trying to get out of the way of the vet .My heart was thumping so much we had crawl home so that I could recover. I was laid out all day.

We are both slowly getting over everything. My mistress who drinks aloe vera has had to up her dose but to be fair she hasn't had one migraine. She has worked on the principal that if you are going to be stressed and you know it then throw everything you can at it to beat it. Before taking aloe and herbs she would have been flat out and exhausted but now she keeps up a steady pace.

My medicines were regular drops of Bach's Rescue Remedy and a small amount of aloe vera with glucosamine to help my bad back. I still have a bad back and stiff shoulders but they are not quite so painful and with the exception of the visit to the vets I have managed quite well although I really hated having the builders drilling the walls

Anyway I am going back for another nap before I go for my walk later on

Onwards and upwards

TTFN

Samwise

2008-08-17T21:24:00.005+01:00

Dear All

Well here we are watching the film Hellboy and busy worrying. No pictures tonight just a few thoughts

My mistress has been out at a most fantastic barbecue in the heart of Dreaming Spires country Good company, good food with the River Thames running at the bottom of the garden. There were so many wild plants including one called Lords and Ladies which has wonderful scarlet berries so bright that you can't miss even one in the hedgerow. It is so remote that although the estate has electric gates for protection you were almost left wondering why. No passing burglar would find it, they would have to be particularly dedicated.One ceratinly does not live there - one resides!

Then home to clearing out the downstairs and finding there is not enough room upstairs to put everything. We have the damp course being put in and that means a whole lot of drilling dust and disruption.

I live in a very old kennel/house which needs constant repair and attention but my mistress and I love the old girl dearly (This is definitely a female house/kennel, she is very pretty).She has a lot to offer. Cosy, compact, a tall brick house built on much older foundations dating back to a forteenth centuary. She is definately has a comfortable atmosphere which welcomes you as soon as you come in.You get the impression that this house is keen to look after you. I think she will feel better for the repairs done to her walls although it must be like having surgery.

On a more personal note one of my mistress's family is very ill and she is deeply worried. So am I. This aunt is a kind and generous woman - who my mistress has never known life without and although she has no great love of animals, we make too much mess, she has always been very good to me. There is very little that we can do here other than wait and watch and hope that she will get better soon. You can never measure how precious family, friends and home are until you look like you will loose them

Well that is it for now

TTFN

Samwise

The Good In Every Dog

2008-08-07T21:41:00.007+01:00

Good Evening Everyone

No photos this week but a report on an excellent article

My mistress usually buys The Lady Magazine each week. This a magazine that has been published since the stone age and can be pretty bland non taxing reading but sometimes it has one of those articles that just sticks in your mind.

If you get chance have a look at Graeme Simms site www graemesims.com. The man is a dog whisperer and his story is an inspiration. From being unemployed and broke at fifty the man has found himself a profession of shepard and whisperer which is useful and a place among the hill farmers community.

He is worth taking notice of if only for the fact he puts forward the idea that every dog has a lot of good in them, more than people admit to. My mistress and I have been say this for years. There is never a bad dog just bad owners and if the dog is aggressive or bad it is because the dog is ill

Well that it for now folks

Take care of yourselves and your owners

TTFN

Samwise

Roll Rite Stones

2008-08-01T20:27:00.006+01:00

Good Evening All

Well here we are, another two weeks gone by and it hardly seems any time at all.

The weather has been fantastic and far too hot for me and my mistress. My heart's been going like jack hammer and I have had to have my own personal fan to keep cool at night. My mistress has been just wilting.

It's has been quiet in comparison with the flying trip last blog.

The most interesting thing to date is that my mistress went up to the Roll Rite Stones in Oxfordshire with Himself. It must have been the hottest day in the year so far and they went with friends for a picnic.

The Roll Rites have an interesting story. A witch promised an ancient king that if he could see a certain hill from where he stood he would win an important battle. It looked as though he would but the witch played a trick on him and he what he saw was not the hill he was supposed to and so he lost his battle and he and his knights were turned to stone. The witch turned herself into a bleeding elm tree to watch over them. It is said that if you can count the stones and come to the same number three times then you may make a wish but the stones never make the same number twice.

At home we managed to take a great photo of my friend Ringo as in Ringo Dozy Paws

and a rather nice one of me. What do you think?

Well that's it for now

Take care of yourselves and your owners

TTFN

Samwise

Wheeeeeeeeeeeee

2008-07-20T10:53:00.006+01:00

Hello Everyone

An earlier blog than for a little while but then my mistress has done something really rather exciting - and she managed to take pictures too

Mistress Winter went gliding!!. I couldn't go but as promised she took pictures to show me and I heard her commentery over the twilight bark zone. My mistress is not great with any kind of actual travel so the idea of flying in an aircraft with no engine was somthing of a challenge.

It was an event set up by a local business club Mistress Winter belongs to and originally she had booked for Himself to go only but a day earlier she found that the organiser had made a mistake and booked them both in to fly. My mistress thought about it for a few minutes and then decided to face the worry and see if she could get over it. After all she had flown since she was three in tiny island aircrafts which seemed little more than taxi's with wings.

As it happened nerves about flying weren't the problem. It was motion sickness. My mistress hadn't flown for a while going everywhere by train or road and it wasn't until she was getting into the glider that she remembered that she sometimes used to get sick. Definately nothing you could do about it at that point - not even worth mentioning - so she didn't.

Take off veiw

Somewhere over Mixlow

When she came down she did look a rather interesting shade of green and everyone congratulated her on being brave but, as she told me it wasn't the ascent and flying she was proud of so much as not throwing up over the pilot. That took some doing. She and I were very pleased to see each other afterwards.

Anyway hope you enjoyed the pictures - apparently the next outing is tank driving. My mistress says she's looking forward to that event much more!!.

Meanwhile take care of yourselves and your owners

TTFN

Samwise

2008-07-17T20:14:00.003+01:00

Well a very good evening to you all

Time has flown again and we are into another blog. As like last week my mistress is exausted again - and she's meant to be on holiday!. The problem is, it is very difficult to have a holiday when you work for yourself - but she has got a heck of a lot done!

I have been trotting around doing my job of entertaining the old folk round here, letting them scratch my ears and tell me how handsome I am.I really enjoy their company and it is nice for them to have me to make a fuss of if they don't have a dog of their own I think.

I met up with other dogs this morning for a doggy meeting Cara the big boxer and Tyler the little Beagle Lucy the black lab managed to out run her owner by quite a way which impressed us all. She was very patience waiting for her mistress to catch up.

My mistress came back with two good anecdotes from work this week.

As you know she works in a shop and two well heeled parents came in and while they were buying various remedies for different memebers of the family their mobile phone went off. The father answered it and laughed loudly saying 'just make sure you get the money'

He came back to describe to his wife the following conversation from the son

'I am in trouble - but not much and I am not much hurt - but you will be getting a call from my teacher'

It appears that for sponsering the son squeezed himself in the smallest bin in the school and rolled down a local slope while his friends filmed the event. As only five of his friends fwere there, the boy did again and this time the teacher caught him.

His mother rolled her eyes to the ceiling and said to me 'I wouldn't mind but he's not raising funds for charity - he wants to raise money for a pop concert'

But as the boys father said his son hadn't harmed himself or anyone else so what had the teacher to complain about (I did refraine from mentioning the number of grey hairs of responsibility this pupil will have added to her collection)

I admired the father for being so relaxed about things and his son for being so enterprising. My parents were lovely but not half so fun loving

On the same day a young man came in looking slightly bewildered saying could he buy our flowers and their vasefor props for a film set. I said no because they were part of the shop fittings. Half joking I said he could hire them - which he promptly did for £20. As I said to the boss - I made a reasonable profit.

These even got me smiling. I hope they have you

One more thing. I have my own herb bag for my beds of mint and sage - and it smells fantastic.Really fresh for an old boy like me.

So that's it for the moment, I'm off for dinner

Have a great few weeks and look after each other

TTFN

Samwise

The Late Late Post

2008-07-07T20:42:00.005+01:00

Good Evening Everyone

First many apologies for missing last weeks blog. My mistress and I have been stunningly busy (she doing - me having my ears bent - I believe its part of a dogs job!) Also Mistress Winter has not been particularly well so we have had to take it easy.

Since the weather has been so strange we have had the second harvesting of the herbs already (although some wretched snail has completely desimated my sweet basil). Good thing having morrocan mint ready to hand for the mistress, well recomended for sickenss.

The other ingredient to a steady digestion has been Aloe Vera. Apparently tastes 'interesting' (in other words foul) but does give long term energy something my poor mistress needs in spades at the moment. The really ironic thing is that despite being quite unwell my mistress was being told she looked radient - and she felt like she'd been shoved through a hedge backwards.

My misterss heard a story from a local nurse who also served in the TA that Aloe had been used on very badly burned patients after a bomb attack with great effect - even though the surgons e were adement that it wouldn't work and livid that their methods and medicines were not being used. It wasn't even as if the Aloe was being used instead of.

Now we have been looking at cameras as well you know - and we still haven't decided on anything. However we have been taking photos on my phone - and we are still learning how to down load them. When we do there hopefully will be a lovely one of myself and Ringo Dosey Paws the golden lab that bounced all over me until I told him I'd bounce all over him if he didn't stop. He has been very good since then and he now great company - and distinctly less bouncey.

Well that's it for now, Heres to enjoying life!!

Samwise

Walking To The Stones

2008-06-22T19:13:00.010+01:00

Dear All

It's been a beautiful day. Very windy but very sunny

We went up to the stones at the edge of Mixlow. It must be understood that the stones are not ancient. They were put up by the local builder and there is certainly no sacred grove leading up to them but it is a very nice quiet space and a good focal point to a walk.

We found this man - made lake on the way which I thought was rather lovely

But onwards with our walk

Ah here we are

Oooh lets have a lie down

Ok we've seen them, let's go home

Sharing the red sofa with my mistress and a cup of tea

You may remember we were going to get a camera this week. My mistress did go to the local camera shop to look at some but there was so much choice that she left without making a decision. Too much info from an over - keen sales assistant, always off putting. So we used Himself's phone Any ideas for a good,basic digital camera - that doesn't cost the earth.

It has been a busy week again and my mistress had to fight to get time to look at her herbs. Some of the mint had even wilted through need of attention, including the chocolate mint but she saved it and managed to plant new mint which she bought in Saffron Waldon while visiting a friend (sorry no pictures since her phone camera is still out of order) Having lost a previous plant,she managed to replace her morrocan mint, the best for making mint tea. Mistress Winter had found the most fantastic herb stall at the local market. It sold nothing but herbs including unusual ones such as catmint and valarian. She took the opportunity to buy sweet basil which she had not been able to plant earlier in the year. Have you ever smelt freash basil? It is sublime isn't it?. Is there any reason why anyone hasn't made soap out of it?

Also this week she harvested the first of her herbs and then was faced with the problem with what do you do with all this mint? Well make sachets (she even embroidered a couple of them) and stuff them into the pockets of every garment that is in store and shove into all the bed linen so that everywhere there is the faint smell of mint. Put velcro on the top and you can always supply fresh mint.

The other option is to make the old fashioned drink mint julip which is the perfect summer drink.

Life is sweet,friends,music and herbs and I get to hear about it all.

Well that is it until next week. You never know she might have got a new camera by then and then there will be no stopping us!

Until then TTFN and remember to look after your owners

Samwise

Music Music Music!!

2008-06-16T09:01:00.007+01:00

Dear One and All

First off many apologies for the late blog. It's just been sooo busy with work and at last with music. We have been trying to make sure we blog on a Friday but recently we haven't always made it. Just for the moment keep an eye on the blog over the weekend, we will keep to bloging around that time

What a week at work and what a week for music. My mistress loves music and Mixlow just doesn't have enough of it but this week we have been revelling in it together.

When we were in the park earlier this week we saw this fantastic trio playing at the local park. They wer playing trad jazz. We couldn't bring you sound so you'll have to take it from me that they were great but we have brought you pictures

Here they are at the band stand

Me on the way home

And then my mistress went off to see a concert performance of Bizets Carmen at the local church. No dogs or cameras but because it took place literally at the end of our road and could hear everything. It was a stunning performance for a local choir and the soloists were spectacular. All this in the local comunity. As my mistress says Carmen can be become a little tired it is so popular, a little corney perhaps but not this time. Himself went with her having never seen it before and even he came back tapping his toes and singing the meloldies. He said how suprised he was to know so many tunes.

Then as if this wasn't enough my Mistress was off again but this time to play music with friends. Four of them are learning to play the guitar including Himself who hasn't played in years. Again I couldn't go becuase I don't travel well and my mistress couldn't bring photos since her phone has packed up (we are definately going to get a proper camera this week). But I heard from the friends dog Henry on the twilight bark, that it was a great evening sitting in a fabulous garden (he has definately promised pictures in a month or so's time when they visit again) four guitars and a violin having a whale of a time in the evening sun playing such songs as Hey Mr Tambourne Man and Leaving On A Jet Plane eating good food.I just wish I had been there

You must be thinking that I have missed out an awful lot this weekend but it was made up for by a truely sublime dog and mistress moment. The late great Humphrey Littleton was on radio playing Big Band and Swing Jazz, My mistress and I were in the bedroom putting away the washing in the bedroom when all of a sudden a Count Bassey came on with one hell of a beat. We were off my mistress and I dancing and swinging about, Big Bernie my friend from the other side keeping time with his tail. It was a perfect moment which we both loved.

Well that's it for this week

Keep well and look after your owners.

TTFN

Samwise

Dog Roses!!

2008-06-08T20:37:00.007+01:00

Hello Everyone

Sorry for the late blog. My mistress has been so busy - both at work and play.

This was me this morning. I just couldn't resist putting it at the top of today's blog. I was just so happy to be out in the sunlight!

We were out early this morning due to the hot weather. Usually I don't get up until nine but this morning Bernard, my friend from the other side was pushing me out of bed reminding me that the heat is not good for my heart.

When we went to down load today's pictures we found the pictures we took last week with my friend Digger. Digger is rather a handsome fellow so I thought you might like to see him. He is a bit of a pin up boy among the lady dogs round here but he's a good mate to me

Here is Digger greeting us and telling me about the dog roses

This is me inspecting the roses

Here's one happy Digger

These next pictures are of the roses we found this morning. We were out early this morning due to the fact that we knew it was going to be a very hot day. The sun was absolutely fantastic Normally I don't get up until about nine but Bernard (my friend who went to the bridge) was with me pushing me out of bed,reminding me that the heat is not good for my heart. We went to the fields at the back of our house and found these lovely flowers.

It's hard to believe that such beautiful flowers should be at the entrance to an ugly electrical power station and yet that is exactly where they are

The rest of the day my mistress and I spent in the yard as she planted out yet more herbs. She has found a passion for mint. Apparently you can get mint in may different guises and she has managed to collect no less than seven. They are apple mint, garden mint, cologne mint (which smells exquisite) black spear mint pine apple mint, lavender mint, basil mint and chocolate mint. Yes ladies a growing chocolate mint. On visiting friends yesterday I heard that she had been discussing a new recipe which involved purifying this mint to add to ice cream.

We now have a very scented corner of the yard to sit in. There are other herbs in the garden such as lavender and rosemary,lemon balm, thyme and sage but the sweet smell of mint is like nothing else.(Mint is very good for the digestion and for travel sickness as well as cleansing the pallet). When things have grown on a bit I will put up a photo. I have suggested to my mistress that the next project we try is to grow a chamomile seat.

To finish with, I thought I would leave you with this quote I found on the bags of our local book store

'Outside a dog a book is a man's best friend - inside it's too dark to read!!'

We think it is by T S Elliot

Until next week, look after yourselves and your owners

TTFN

Samwise

Pictures At Last

2008-06-01T21:31:00.003+01:00

Dear All

We have it! At last we have photo's. Just the one tonight and one from my photo album. It is me enjoying the afternoon sun. I am in the field just at the back of where I live and it was taken by Himself a few days ago. Not bad even if I do say so myself . Keep watching this space for our next step will be learning to down load our pictures from our cameras and we have gathered quite a lot. My mistress and I are both excited since neither of us are really computer buffs and this is a great achievement. Archie, Agatha I have the pictures of the dog roses I told you about stored up I will put them into the next blog for you and the story that goes with them. Anyway that's all tonight folks, we're off to celebrate our success

TTFN to everyone

Samwise

May Blog Part One

2008-05-30T19:09:00.004+01:00

Good Evening One and All

It's a short blog tonight but one of two so watch this space. My mistress and I have been looking at putting pictures on the blog and have got so far but now have run out of steam. We hope to have pictures on Sunday

Its been an interesting week though. At the begining we all watched a drama documentary discussing what would happen if the human race disappeared off the face of the earth. Dogs apparently would be the first to suffer. It was so depressing that my mistress and I left Himself to watch it. Crashed out on our respective beds we had a long chat about the awfulness of humans to animals. Since the credit crunch more and more domestic pets are being got rid of. It is hard to understand logically and almost impossible emotionally. (Bernie came to join us - he was able to get onto my mistresses bed. Because he is of a different world now, he doesn't leave dog hair anywhere!!)

After asurring me yet again she would never leave me we turned onto more general things such as my new bed, one we could fit in the washing machine more easily. My diet is getting better with her cooking although the real problem is - I don't like the medicine she and Himself put into it. My mistress said what was I complaining about, she had to drink aloe vera to make sure she stayed well and that was truely foul. (It works well though, she takes it for migrains and has only had one in the last three months -truely a record). We have come to a compromise though - meidcine with a prime bit of beef cooked to my taste.

I took the opportunity to ask why she was so nutty about quite ordinary things such as birds herbs and flowers. She explained that as a child and young adult life had been so fast and complicated she had not had the time or encouragement to notice more simple things in life. In her family city life was much more exciting and really anything to do with nature was pushed aside. Now she is just getting used to the excitement of watching such things as ants at work carrying a leaf home and like all converts - she wants to share it - with everyone

She's off again. Hopefully we will be bringing you pictures of the dog roses that have burst out everywhere locally. They are absolutely exquisit being creamy white with a hint of pale pink on the petals

Ah excuse me, dinner time and I'm starving -as usual

TTFN

Samwise

The Wise Woman Of the Town, The Wise Man of the Woods And Gentle Mistress Blue

2008-05-23T18:57:00.006+01:00

Hello, Hello, Hello

Well we have just come back from a damp walk in the local field. I had to push my Mistress off the sofa for a trot after hearing of the terrible events that happened to Mistress Blue. I find walking a good way of getting my Mistress to settle her thoughts. In many aspects it is a scrub land out there but with the steady tread of our feet and the constant chorus of bird song to accompany them it makes thinking much easier in such circumstances

We were going to try for pictures on the blog today but in light of what has happened these seem minor things that can wait. Since this evening Mistress Blue and my mistress have decided to have a telephone one to one in a little while in the meantime my mistress and I will be practicing taking photo's for you all to see. While I think about it, our greetings to Archie and Agather. Archie is working on smell o vision a fine cause for a blog - and a dog!

Mistress Winter and I have been sitting quietly thinking of Mistress Blue hardly knowing how to express our feelings of horror at the events and sympathy to our dear friend. Like many of you Mistress Winter and I have known such a dark side of life. Some like me were born into it others fall into it.Most of us manage to get out of such times and places but others never do and they are the ones who often attach themselves in one way or another to such gentle souls as my Mistress Blue. There are few things sensible that one can say at such times but only extend our affection to help and protect Mistress Blue as much as possible.

Photo's have made an interesting dimension to our walks these days. Until now my mistress has never been that interested in taking pictures. Unless of people or events, my mistress finds that scenic pictures quite often only interests those who have taken them for they have particular memories of such places.In the last week though we have been out taking photos and learning lessons about such matters. The first of these is, if you are going to take photos for others to see then you need an actual camera, not as in my mistress's case a phone. She managed to take some photos of the secret bit of herb bed in the park and some of the park itself and some of me but a phone doth not a camera make!. The second lesson we found was that taking photos actually make you look at what you are taking. When Mistress Winter described the herb bed to me, such was her excitement that it seemed much fuller than it was. Looking at the photos of it, it was not half as impressive. My mistress was tempted to do a little furtive gardening of her own there - I would help with the digging of course. We'll have these pictures with you soon.

Our walks this week have been most helpful for calming my Mistress's mind in such busy times -and make my life calmer too for like all dogs I pick up on my Mistress's worry in a way only animals can. You will remember last weeks Friday walk, I forgot to tell you the fascination of watching a thrush bashing seven bells out of a snail that my Mistress found which was only tinged a little with some regret for the snail. The relief of mind just watching this tiny bird so intent on his meal was something new to my Mistress. It made her more awhere of birds than she had ever been before. So much so that for a few minutes standing somewhere, so mundane as a bus que in town, she watched a pigeon pecking away on a dropped cookie. The biscuit was too big for the bird to fly away with but so sure he was to make the best of this excellent meal that he went at it again and again, strutting away when people dashed by disturbing his work and then darting back to peck at it again. For a few minutes my mistress told me that she was completely fixed by this birds absolute determination to get this food. When she looked up again for her bus she felt that she had actually rested.

Something else to think of. Where my mistress works she meets many many people,.Most good and ordinary, some difficult and demanding others just plain bonkers, it's the way of the job but just occasionally she meets someone who is truly magical. This was so with a young man who walked in with a calm all of his own. He asked for some herbs that my mistress served him and as she did so he spoke of the neckless that she was wearing. My mistress often wears a little pendent of The White Horse of Uffington, a great carving made thousands of years ago into the chalk hillside of, I think Wiltshire. Such a place is older than old with a wisdom that cannot be described only felt when there. The writer Terry Pratchet sums up the carving beautifully by describing it as the movement of a horse rather than the physical accuracy of a picture of a horse. While looking at this pendant the man suggested that she was a wise woman and seemed surprised to find such in the city. My mistress smiled and said you could find such folk everywhere if you looked hard enough. The man said that he lived near the great horse in the woods there and could never live in the town. I know that my mistress has always been a towns woman but for one brief moment something far older in her soul that had walked the hills and wood of her land looked out at the wise man of the woods and the soul of the woods man nodded back in acknowledgement - for one perfect moment there was understanding. Then he smiled, paid his monies and left. No romance, no flirtation just that split moment of encounter that leaves one quiet for a while. Please note, all those who are reaching for matches as I tell you this that my Mistress has only one god and that is God.

Well that is it for this week. I am off for my usual pre sleep nap for this evening

TTFN

Samwise

2008-05-16T20:37:00.003+01:00

Good Evening All

Well here I am sharing the sofa with my mistress I am by her feet and Bernard (you know my big St Bernard cross friend who passed over) is sitting behind her. It has been an exhausting week and today has been no different. It is not bad, just exhausting. My mistress came in looking grey this afternoon muttering that there was too much to do so we sat her down with a cup of tea and a snuggle.

Then I persuaded her to come out for another trot, this time to relax. We went for a stroll around the local park which is both beautiful and comforting. It was designed in the early 20th century with huge tree's that a child would enjoy climbing and h formal beds of tulips and primula's. (Mistress Blue took some pictures of this park a few weeks ago when she came to visit so you could look at it on her website for the general idea). We went up passed the bowling green and by the glorious Ataxa tree which is in full bloom at the moment. It has leaves so white that the whole tree looks luminous and fairy like even in a dull light.

When we walked back through a little pathway to the bowling green keepers lodge my mistress found a tiny bed of herbs some of rosemary, lemon balm, lavender and mint and possibly a sweet basil. Ignoring everything else my mistress brushed her hands over the herbs and even stuck her nose near to the basil.(I thought only dogs did that!) I could see her physically winding down as she did so.

Hopefully in the next week or so we will be able to bring you pictures so you can see the above and judge for yourself but unfortunately we cannot bring you smell - a - vision. You will just have to take my word for it that those herbs smelled so sweet you could not help but be uplifted. Lemon Balm is especially good for this - just the smell of it makes you feel better and it makes a very pleasant tea Apparently this herb spreads like a weed but when turned into an oil is quite costly.

Now Himself is back and Bernard and I can take a break from looking after my mistress. She really ought to get a grip with this work /life balance.Apparently many humans have this worry especially if they work for themselves.(Needless to say dogs don't. We consider sleep work) As a good friend of ours often says working for yourself is the freedom to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 52 weeks of the year. The problem is that my mistress really enjoys work and enjoys life - especially with friends.She had lunch with one today again in the Old Chappel - no doggy bag this time though. There just is just not enough hours in the day.

One great event to day has been the buying a bluetooth gadget to down load pictures to the blog. This should be most interesting to watch -almost like man first finding fire I suspect. We may have to wait for Mistress Blue to come and help. I almost envy her visit to Brighton but am very pleased she is going .

And now both my Mistress and I are considering doing some more sleep research. Girl Girl Hampster asked what sleep research is. Well it is a study made when your horizontal in your most comfortable position and in the best place in the house, often near a warm radiator. Then you just study the inside of your eyelids and see what comes up. Usually I am either eating gorgeous food or going on long, long runs I used to make when I was much younger. Mistress Winter also studies - usually in chocolate!.

Take good care of yourselves all of you and look after your owners well

TTFN

Samwise

2008-05-09T20:43:00.004+01:00

Good Evening Good Evening Good Evening!

It's been a beautiful day and I have just been chasing a cat. Sorry I just can't help myself being a lurcher. Cat got away no problem but it was fun running after it. I have just finished reading Agatha's and Archies trials for the Earth dog thing. I am not quite sure what that is but it looks fun. I do wish them well and really hope they get their ribbon. I used to race and I know how exciting training can be but now managing to chase the cat at my age is an acheivement

We have had a great couple of days. Yesterday my mistress had all the fun of getting sharp sand to mix in the soil for her herbs. She also came in in great excitement having been around the local farmers market. After buying the usual bread bacon and so on she came across a man selling soap that he had made himself. My mistress is mad about good soap (more so than me I am not keen on anything to do with water) This chap made a small range of his own just using natural ingredients such as palm olive oil and essential oils and cold processing them which meant all the goodness is kept in them unlike commercial soaps which are often hot processed milled and use tallow which is not so good and doesn't last as long. He had oat and wheatgerm soap, lavender soap even a hairy herby soap which you can wash your hair with. In the end my mistress bought a peppermint cream soap to try and see just how good it was. I'll give you an update when she has used it for a while. I could hear her excited chattering as she came through the door about this adventure with soap and she is thinking of even using the hairy herby soap on me.

My mistress was telling me one of the most noticeable things about the whole stall was how happy the man was who made them. When my mistress quizzed him he told her that he had been a manager of an indoor market which had been very stressful and had learned how to make soap by literally teaching himself from a book and how much fun he had had experimenting. Even with all the paper work of making the products legal to sell it was still much more relaxing than running the market

I, meanwhile have been out in the local fields where I met up with Sugsie a terrific little king Charles spaniel. We discussed food and diet with Sugsie telling me how he has a mixture of vegetables cooked meat and oats. He has a problem with his jaw which don't fit properly and make it difficult to chew. I told him how when I was very young I simply didn't have enough food so until recently I would eat anything I could get my head round. Now my stomach is a bit more delicate I am having to be a bit more careful. My mistress and I have decided that I might try this diet of Sugsy's (providing the vet agrees).

Today while I relaxed after my early morning trot Gamfer Dog (my mistress's father) visited with his wife to help celebrate Himself (my mistress partner) getting a new job in Dreaming Spires (he's a scientist). Gamfer Dog comes from London and it is always a pleasure to see him. For a cat man he is very understanding of dogs. They kindly brought me a doggy bag back with a little fancy sausage in it which I much enjoyed.

Apparently, according to Gamfer Dog, this restraunt is new and rather posh for Mixlowe but it has an excellent wine list. Gamfer and Himself chose a Boujurelais.The place is situated in the old methodist chappel and is rather lovely with many of the old features such as the gothic windows and timbers left in. The open plan of the place gives a terrific sense of space.I hope they go there again soon, the sausage was delicious (I can hear my mistress mithering over my diet again).My mistress and I are in negotiation of putting pictures on the blog. Next time they go I will ask them to bring photos back for you to see

And now I am going back to work on my instensive sleep research while my mistress goes and plans where she is going to put the new sage plants she bought in the market. She says the night makes them seem to smell stronger.

Be in touch next Friday

Until then, live well

TTFN

Samwise

An Extra Blog For a Beautiful Day

2008-05-07T21:21:00.002+01:00

Greetings All

I thought I would do an extra blog this week since I think I missed last Friday whilst Mistress Winter and I got to grips properly with this thing of blogging. My Mistress has an unexpected day home - which is nice

Today has been a perfect early summer day - too good not to report on. Not a particularly busy day due to the heat and the fact that my Mistress and I were not feeling particularly on top form but just walking round the field at the back was good enough

This field is very old, marking the boundaries of two ancient British tribal kingdoms. It is used by all the town for recreation ranging from football practice to bonfire night but my Mistress and I have been fascinated by all the flowers that are coming into bloom.

My mistress is a town girl without question but she has always been curious about flowers and plants and what they can do - and today was no exception. In our short trots out we came across clouds of cow parsley (or Queen Ann's Lace) with billows of white dead nettle not to mention all the dandelions and daisies. We also found speedwell self heal and borage almost without looking.The bluebells are still out although now fading and the May flowers are still there. All this in one field. I didn't know this but apparently borage is also the producer of star flower oil which is the new wonder oil to help rejuvenate the skin.

All the time the sun was warm and bright. I have to be careful as Bernard says l about my heart. The vet says I have a big heart murmur and so I get out of breath very quickly, hence the short walks in the heat but I still managed to meet several other local dogs including Ringo Dozy Paws. He's a young Labrador who doesn't know when to stop bouncing. Decent chap Ringo but I did tell him last time I'd bounce him off the ceiling if he didn't pack it in. He did calm down and we passed the time of day. His brother is much more sedate and gentle. I also met George the most beautiful white Westie, young, like Ringo but not as lively.He could trace his parentage right back to his great grand parents, his owner proudly told us Had a good chat and sniff with him exchanging the news as you do. Now I am crashed out on my sofa, leaning up against the keyboard.

My Mistress is also tiered after a massive clearout of her wardrobes and what looks like a lot of my fur from underneath. Really I think I should be bald with the amount I have collected there. And how she can have so many clothes I have no idea. I have one coat and that's it. Now it is all bagged up everywhere ready to take down to the charity shop.(the clothes not the fur!) I think she should listen to Vivien Westwood who said something like ' Find your favorites and wear them until they fall off you'

Now I think it is an early night for both of us. Pottering about is quite exhausting. I am contemplating about making a request for some music such as the singer Agatha and Arther terrier listened to in their last blog but I am not quite sure what to choose

TTFN until Friday

Samwise

Greetings From Samwise

2008-05-02T16:09:00.005+01:00

Hello Hello.
Is she listening ?
Yes I can hear the keys clacking.
Well good afternoon I am Samwise a handsome if elderly lurcher sitting here talking to you from the sofa (Er is she still listening good right)
She is Mistress Winter, my mistress with whom I have lived with for the past ten years

To fill in a bit of background .
We met when she came looking for a dog at the local rescue centre.
My friend Bernard told me she was the one the same day she visited (more about Bernard later) I wasn't so sure but when we discussed it later that evening Bernard was quite certain. "You were too busy looking at all the cats about when you were out but she is the right one for you."
Bernard was always right about such things.
He was the one who noticed she was winter.
All of us dogs have names for our owners.
At that time I would have put her as Spring but Bernard said she was definately a Mistress Winter. There was a stillness about her right in the heart of her being which made her have the quiet of Winter.
The main thing is you'll always be loved.
Bernard was stamping his bed down to sleep. "It won't an easy posting, not like that Jack Russell that went home to the family last week".

And as usual he was right.
Bernard was a great friend still is when he pops in. He left this world years ago. Dogs as big as him don't usually last that long but all dogs work on different levels and we all meet at different times when it suits us. Bernard quite often pops in for a chat when the house is quiet.

Talking to you and listening to you is the same. All dogs do it, you just don't notice. And if we ignore you, your right ,we intend to.

When my mistress saw Bernard her jaw nearly fell off. "That's not a dog - thats a bear." It wasn't his fault that he was such a size a cross between a great Dane a St Bernard and something else that made him look like a walking rug. And often Bernard was always taken as big and brainless but in actual fact he was one of the brightest of the dos in the sanctuary ( him and the pot bellied pig ,another great associate)

Well it's been ten years sharing and we have had to learn our way through the world, me learning to trust people again my mistress working out which way of the world was up but as Bernard said I have never wanted for love.

Ah excuse us that's the bell going for my walk. A trot round the fields at the back and the possible run about for the hell of it. Mistress Blue is here and is suggesting we walk up by the stones and see if there are any bluebells left out

TTFN
Samwise