tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73289968777513630672024-03-13T05:41:35.299+00:00A Likely StoryTeresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.comBlogger523125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-86648787036184532282020-04-24T16:27:00.000+01:002020-04-24T16:27:25.946+01:00Another Year Gone!<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here I am for my annual visit
to my blog which continues to be neglected.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope all is well out there
in Blogland – or as well as it can be in these difficult times.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We are still able to take
Dusty for his daily walk. For him life goes on pretty much as normal, except he’s
not seeing his beloved girls or his little people. I know that when he does see
the girls again, they’ll go mad, wag their tails and chase each other round and
it will be as if they had never been apart.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">During one walk he turned
pink. I have no idea how. It took a lot of shampoo to clean him up and he had a
pink tinge for quite some time after. How pleased does he look? He loves a bath!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I know we’re all in the same
boat, missing family and friends, but we carry on carrying on and we adapt to
the changing circumstances don’t we? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Nothing lasts forever and one
day this will be a distant memory, something our children will tell their
grandchildren about.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bye for now – perhaps for
another year. Take care of yourselves and stay safe.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-5250466365125957362019-04-26T12:12:00.002+01:002019-04-26T12:13:15.425+01:00Poor Neglected Blog and a few words about Tennis Balls!I think Blogging has fallen out of fashion. But I don't want to leave this one to die, so I'm posting some pictures which are far more interesting than anything I have to say! I particularly like the artwork on the bottom of the boat.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LV18</td></tr>
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You may remember little Scout. She's not little any more. She's much bigger than her little big sister, Poppy.<br />
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Dusty and Tinks.<br />
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The biscuit queue (this house is still rug central as I worry All The Time about Dusty slipping over on the hard floors).<br />
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Harley, my little sun-loving panther.<br />
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And Dusty.... being Dusty. He got the kids' football out of the box he's standing on.<br />
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Oh while I'm here a note about Dusty and tennis balls. Tennis balls badly damaged Dusty's teeth so he was only allowed them under supervision. BUT he can break into a tennis ball in seconds (minutes if it's a good quality one) - and often does. It wasn't just costing a fortune in tennis balls, but it was making him sick, because he'd always end up swallowing bits of ball and green fuzz. Bear in mind he isn't given tennis balls to just play with and only has them on a field for games of fetch. He fetches and brings them back, but now and then he'll lie down for a rest and just rip and tear.<br />
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This is the dog who picked up my ball-flinger and snapped it in half with no effort at all. For a dog with several teeth missing and only two blunt fangs, that's pretty good (or bad) going.<br />
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I think I have found an indestructible ball - and one he's happy to play with. Last December I splashed out on a couple of Chuckit balls. Not the fuzzy tennis ball, but just rubber balls. The reviews were good and I thought if I can get a ball to last a week, I'll probably break even. Well, friends, he is still playing with the original Chuckit ball - this is every day since last December so he's had four months worth of ball out of one ball. I've more than broken even - I've saved a fortune and he isn't continually throwing up bits of tennis ball.<br />
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Here's a link to the balls in case anyone is interested. <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000F4AVPA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1">https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000F4AVPA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1</a><br />
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I had to change comments on this blog because I had to come on here every few days to delete all the spam from the "awaiting moderation" section so I have stopped allowing anonymous comments at all.<br />
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Hope everyone is enjoying the spring weather while it lasts!<br />
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<br />Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-16914936241827124152018-11-16T11:38:00.000+00:002018-11-16T11:38:28.713+00:00More Than Halfway Through November!<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's no secret. I don’t
like November. It’s a month of sad anniversaries and things-going-wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But something nice! Earlier
this year a pair of swans had eight cygnets. We didn’t think they’d manage to
raise all eight safely, especially as some are what are known as Polish Mute
Swans.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I didn’t know this until I
was chatting to our local swan lady at 5 am during an early Dusty walk in
summer (she had just come from feeding them). She said the Polish swans are
often not as healthy. You can tell the difference as they don’t have the usual
brown plumage and their legs and feet are greyish pink.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She also told me that male
swans lose all their flight feathers and don’t get them back until it is time
to teach the young to fly. She was fascinating to talk to, telling me how she
got into swan rescue – I could have chatted with her all day!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We’ve watched the youngsters
grow and now they are almost the same size as their parents. We’ve seen them
take their first tentative flights and watched as they got bolder! One day all
ten were flying and the parents landed on the dyke, but the kids carried on!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You could almost hear the
parents muttering as they took off again and gave chase. One went to head the
kids off while the other flew round behind them and they herded them back to
the dyke. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to get a photo of them in the air.
I did get a wonderful one of them all on the sun spangled sea – except I didn’t.
When I checked my photos when I got home, I’d just taken photos of the sea and
completely missed the swans. I do miss having a viewfinder especially on a dazzling day!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The other day Scout went down
to the edge of the dyke where the swans normally sit and for the first time
ever, she went deaf when I called her. The next thing we knew, she’d jumped in.
The water went right over her head and she panicked and scrabbled her way out
again. She’s paddled before, but that was her first swim.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She raced back up the bank to
us then the reason for her panic came into view, ten beautiful swans.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The other day she was chased
round the field by two small dogs. Two very small dogs. They were smaller than
Westies and she was genuinely terrified. She has no concept of how big she is and is still only 10 months old.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She is lovely though and so
tall that Dusty can walk underneath her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’m still working mainly on
my laptop downstairs as I still can’t sit at my desk for too long and sometimes working on the laptop has its disadvantages... or advantages depending on how you look at it!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-23322067497479141282018-09-15T14:19:00.000+01:002018-09-15T14:21:39.268+01:00A Curate's Egg of a Summer!<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That’s how summer felt, but
looking back it was mostly good. Not the summer I had planned, but these things
happen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It began with a blur of
doctor’s appointments, a visit to Minor Injuries (me), a dash to A&E
(hubby), more doctor’s appointments, another dash to Colchester General (hubby
again), physiotherapists, nurses, doctors – argh!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The school summer holidays
began and for the first year ever, I had no days out planned, but fun was had
in the garden with the paddling pool and we managed to fit in crabbing,
swimming and beach. I took them to Clacton Pier and realised with a bit of a
pang that even the smallest ones no longer need to be accompanied on the rides.
My role was water, snack and jacket carrier as well as taxi driver which I am
happy to do.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Scout came into season during
the holidays so had to be kept away from Dusty. Then Dusty had his accident…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">He ran onto the beach as he
always does, went for a splash in the sea then we noticed blobs of blood on the
grass when he came back. Some poor dog has injured itself I thought…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At which point my hubby
noticed that Dusty had four bright red legs and a red stomach and chest! It was
quite a walk back to the car and he left a trail of blood. When we got home, I
hosed the blood off him – I’d already deduced it was coming from one of his
paws, but I needed to find exactly where – while hubby phoned the vet.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The cut was above his paw –
at his wrist – and there was blood all over the patio and a towel which I’d had
wrapped round him in the car. I put a dressing on and we dashed to the vet. It
is a 20 minute drive if the traffic is good, but can take twice as long as
that. I honestly don’t know how he had any blood left in him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I was convinced on that drive
that he was going to pass out and die!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">While we were gone, my son
went outside and cleaned away all the blood and washed the towel. It looked as
if there’d been a murder.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When the vet took off the
dressing, I could see the cut and blood began to pump out. She quickly put it
back on and said they would have to admit him and anaesthetise him. We had an
anxious wait then as he’d had breakfast which made an anaesthetic more risky
(note to self – NEVER give him breakfast before his walk again).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">He was sick on the table and
when we went to pick him up they gave us a carrier bag full of medicine.
Antibiotics, pain relief, two different stomach medicines (because he’d been
sick), syringes to administer the milky stomach medicine and a drip bag with a
bandage threaded through it to put over his heavily bandaged paw if he went
outside in the rain.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ9ncZhzeYjVb3LLgq9MReiDfH2EmFfdVNh9gBQ0uDKTZmsWdY7kZe4JRqQKlyKiv9gQb0iYWa06hdGcB7zfFwqaV4XR-XAzKh4ShhTXyLoxorVAQwG3g5O1u0VdmnqJeoHvM7pDMA0iw/s1600/Dusty1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1125" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ9ncZhzeYjVb3LLgq9MReiDfH2EmFfdVNh9gBQ0uDKTZmsWdY7kZe4JRqQKlyKiv9gQb0iYWa06hdGcB7zfFwqaV4XR-XAzKh4ShhTXyLoxorVAQwG3g5O1u0VdmnqJeoHvM7pDMA0iw/s320/Dusty1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shark Bandage</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And he was back to wearing
the dreaded battering-ram leg-bruiser lampshade!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzgt6zHt3zBKTCy8H4kPdmbicVY8cXvti0a0QNeAAE9QdG4JqlKPkXyOdqGmii-BgGuBNQEbMmq7V91DBww8xcALzbtDXkGXWiBkbHHuOHaLw4nC_n0ilpJ3BvoIb79RL-Qk8K3TkKmo/s1600/Dusty2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1600" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzgt6zHt3zBKTCy8H4kPdmbicVY8cXvti0a0QNeAAE9QdG4JqlKPkXyOdqGmii-BgGuBNQEbMmq7V91DBww8xcALzbtDXkGXWiBkbHHuOHaLw4nC_n0ilpJ3BvoIb79RL-Qk8K3TkKmo/s320/Dusty2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh no not again!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Three vet visits later (for
wound checks, dressing changes and stitch removal) and he is back to his normal
self again, but we are avoiding that part of the beach. It was almost certain
that it was glass that cut him. One of the vets told me that they had had a lot
more dogs with injuries like that coming in this year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIpnP_bmVlta4yORbjgTNx-upuh86cfScSwLqPRT4kmilGj_3ALKyVdZzylHCsJe3tCvR6ryidmc7ZDhyYPLFdeg-qg_uM4ftFY7z08T8_kAvt5Eri8DLvpvsW5tSZ3dDhOG3WBB5zUns/s1600/Dusty3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIpnP_bmVlta4yORbjgTNx-upuh86cfScSwLqPRT4kmilGj_3ALKyVdZzylHCsJe3tCvR6ryidmc7ZDhyYPLFdeg-qg_uM4ftFY7z08T8_kAvt5Eri8DLvpvsW5tSZ3dDhOG3WBB5zUns/s320/Dusty3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue stitches</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I’m just glad we weren’t at
the far distant beach because I don’t think we would have made it home.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Scout’s grown a bit since
they got her in March when she was about the size of a cat! She towers over
Dusty now.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scout - 8 months</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At the end of the holidays my
two granddaughters-from-away joined us for a week and all the cousins went to
Jimmy’s Farm which is a great value day out with plenty to keep the kids
occupied. They were particularly taken with a beautiful blue-eyed Rhea and the
Capybara.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful blue eyes</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Capybara</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There were more beautiful
butterflies in the butterfly house than last year. But – curate’s egg again – a
load of children were running wild in there, running through the greenery and
screaming and shouting while their parents ignored them. Luckily a keeper was
in there and told them to stick to the paths and behave. Why would you take
kids in somewhere like that if you can’t control them? There are plenty of play
areas for them to run off steam. Sorry – excuse me while I just tuck my soap
box away again.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So now summer is over,
everyone is back at school and work, and hubby and I have our consultant
appointments later this month. Today is the day I hope to get back into a
serious writing routine, but I’m not counting any chickens just in case the
pesky Law of Sod comes and bites me on the bum again!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Hope you’ve had a lovely
summer!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-15459298036274212012018-07-26T14:20:00.003+01:002018-07-28T10:14:15.941+01:00Goodbye to Little Scrappy Tweetie Bird!<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It’s been a while since I
blogged. A lot of things have been happening on the home front.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">First I did something to my
neck/shoulder which means I can’t use my computer and driving is painful. I’ve
found a way to sit on the sofa with a laptop so I am able to write, but it’s
very slow.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This isn’t meant to be a poor
me post especially as it's my poor husband who is really in the wars and in need of looking after. Remember that old saying? It was one my parents used
a lot.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That reminds me of something
my mum used to say when things went wrong or she was really cross, “Bloody
Wars”. You always knew you were in trouble when she said that. I looked it up
and apparently it originated in Norfolk, unless anyone out there knows
different.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Remember the little sparrow
we rescued from behind the wall, the one I was so determined not to get fond
of? (That ship sailed on day one). She grew into a lovely young bird and we got
her a bigger cage hoping she’d be able to fly a little (out of the cage, she
always ended up on the floor! And there was talk of building an aviary for
her). We also got a bird table so there would always be food in the garden for
her when we let her go.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At one point releasing her
didn’t look likely as she wasn’t at all inclined to feed herself. I started
counting how many mealworms I was feeding her and it was between 40 and 50 a
day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">She wouldn’t eat seed and all
she seemed to eat were the mealworms and only if I fed them to her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We started to put her out in
the garden in the cage (keeping the cats in) and she was often visited by a pair
of collared doves, but no sparrows.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I put a spray of millet in
the cage, more in hope than expectation and the next thing there were millet
husks everywhere. Soon I saw her drinking water and pecking at the seed in her
dish and sparrows began to come to have a look.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It didn’t happen overnight,
but it was quick once she got the hang of it. She started throwing her
mealworms on the floor and flapping her wings. I don’t think she could have
said any clearer, “Hey come on, I’m ready! I’ve got this.” But I wasn’t! Oh my
goodness, I wasn’t. I won’t lie – there were tears. A lot of tears.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I was heartbroken at the
thought of turning her out into the big wide world and all its dangers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“I’ll leave it until
tomorrow,” I said. But my son said, “Do it! The cats are indoors and settled
and we’ve all weekend.” So I opened up the cage and she flew right out and went
round the garden before landing on the grass.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This is it, I thought. She’ll
come back now. The big outdoors is too much for her. But once she’d got her
breath back, she flew out of the garden and I thought I’d never see her again,
but she came back after a while and sat in the honeysuckle. She gaped her beak
at me so I gave her a mealworm and she threw it on the ground then flew round
my head about three times before flying away again. She seemed so joyful and
the sentimental part of me thought she was telling me she was fine to look
after herself now.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I don’t know if she’s been
back, but we have had two female sparrows in the back garden and one of them
comes right up to the patio doors. I always said if she flew away and we never
saw her again, I’d assume she’d hooked up with a group of sparrows so that’s
what I’m assuming.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We kept the cats in for a
couple of days and I put dishes of food round the garden. I left the cage out
there, door wide open, just in case she wanted to come back.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Yesterday my son folded the
cage up and we’ve packed it away in the garage, just in case we ever need it
again. I hope we don’t, but raising that beautiful little bird from the almost
bald little thing she was, turned out to be something very special and an
experience I am very glad to have had.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Oh and in case you wondered
why it hasn’t rained, that might be my fault I’m afraid. I got fed up getting
caught in the rain on the school run, so I put an umbrella in the car just in
case. That was several weeks ago and it hasn’t rained since. The law of sod at
work. I’m very sorry. I will remove the umbrella just as soon as the
grandchildren aren’t looking – they’ve told me to leave it where it is!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-63460957310740736582018-07-01T09:29:00.000+01:002018-07-01T09:29:49.709+01:00The Winner of Plots and Plotting is....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg888jO1sMZL-25f97GeLcMj1rrL70zAv8JSIyTiuYldKVnASv_IDLFKzMyZjspd5YjuNY9QU-R_NffmzS61WYtsSLa3WjYGtALRH-r72RzTrdBOzfmztUdJOjl9eWJ4AJPKWqQMpXrwB8/s1600/kindlecover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg888jO1sMZL-25f97GeLcMj1rrL70zAv8JSIyTiuYldKVnASv_IDLFKzMyZjspd5YjuNY9QU-R_NffmzS61WYtsSLa3WjYGtALRH-r72RzTrdBOzfmztUdJOjl9eWJ4AJPKWqQMpXrwB8/s320/kindlecover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank you to everyone who commented
on the last post and as promised all the names went into a draw to win a copy
of <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plots-Plotting-create-stories-that-ebook/dp/B07BYB1KFR/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1530432038&sr=8-1&keywords=plots+and+plotting" target="_blank">Plots and Plotting</a> by Diana Kimpton.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A long time ago my beautiful
dog Indy picked a winner from a cowboy hat for a blog competition and I had ideas of Dusty following
in his footsteps.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But I couldn’t find the
cowboy hat. So I put the pieces of paper outside thinking Dusty might choose
one as he loves picking things up, but they started blowing round the garden. Once I'd retrieved them from various bushes, I weighed down each name
with one of Scout's puppy treats – which meant I could unfold the paper so the names were visible (just wish I'd used a darker pen!).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dusty was watching from
inside, licking his lips while I took a photo of the names. Meanwhile Harley strolled
up wanting to know what was going on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHG9hJ2nvcfmOm8NX5RfHuebaf0GnDfSL25hHzppNeXLoOuvdq6hmdRtenLTqcZ6Hq-Y_oigSoPZHFX6S1NX7TE642SdYNXyJ1HYwnEq-8NTNe_liqjnp9WbnhAeW6_JcwvXdDbEfQVU/s1600/Draw1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1600" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHG9hJ2nvcfmOm8NX5RfHuebaf0GnDfSL25hHzppNeXLoOuvdq6hmdRtenLTqcZ6Hq-Y_oigSoPZHFX6S1NX7TE642SdYNXyJ1HYwnEq-8NTNe_liqjnp9WbnhAeW6_JcwvXdDbEfQVU/s320/Draw1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What's all this?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hoped to be able to get a
photo of the first treat Dusty took, but before I could let him out, it seemed
Harley made the decision on his behalf and I had to agree with her that as the
longest serving four legged member of this household, she had that right.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't Mind If I Do</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So there you have it –
congratulations to LL Cool Joe <a href="http://llcooljoe01.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Joey's Pad</a>! I’ll be in touch so we can get the book sent
out to you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Winner!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By the time Dusty and Tinks
came out, all the treats had gone!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What did we miss?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank you again to Diana for
her lovely guest post and for giving away a copy of her book.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-87946770371336918962018-06-22T06:00:00.000+01:002018-06-22T06:00:11.178+01:00Guest Post by Diana Kimpton – Win a signed copy of Plots and Plotting<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As soon as
I heard that Diana Kimpton had written a book about plotting, I went straight
to <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plots-Plotting-create-stories-that-ebook/dp/B07BYB1KFR/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1529571308&sr=8-1&keywords=plots+and+plotting" target="_blank">Amazon </a>and bought myself a copy. As I read it I felt as if this book had
been written for me. I have found it hugely inspiring and I highly recommend it. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am
delighted that Diana has written a post for this blog and everyone
who comments will go into a draw to win a signed copy of <i>Plots and Plotting</i>.
The winner of the book will be announced on Sunday, 1<sup>st</sup> July. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now over to Diana!</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">When I
first became a writer, I struggled to write anything longer than a picture book
or short story. I was so bad that my first attempt at a novel was rejected for
having a weak plot and a flat ending. I was devastated by that comment so I
dived into books on story structure in an attempt to learn to plot.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After lots
of study, I could recognize inciting incidents, pick out turning points and have
a good stab at analysing the hero's journey. I could even spot what was wrong
with some of the bad films and books I came across. But that didn't help me
create my own plots, because story analysis is a completely different skill
from story creation. However hard you study a finished book or film, you can't
tell how the ideas came together in the writer's mind. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In response
to the advice often given to writers, I tried creating characters and seeing
where they would go. But mine packed up and left in chapter 3 because the story
was so boring. Then I tried working out a chapter by chapter breakdown. But
that acted like a straightjacket on my creativity and resulted in the bad novel
I mentioned in the first paragraph. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally I
discovered step outlining: a technique that freed my creativity and took me
from rejection to selling a million copies of my books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It lets me start with any scene in my story
and work backwards or forwards from there to create my plot. I usually work out
a complete step outline before I start writing as that minimises the number of
drafts I have to do. But sometimes I start writing earlier and use the step
outline to help with the rewriting or I use a stop and start technique of plot,
write, plot, write. There is no right way to work and no set rules. Step outlining
gives you the freedom to find a way of plotting that works for you and your
story. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My methods
have worked so well for me that I decided to pass them on to other writers. But
when I started writing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Plots and Plotting</i>,
my test readers asked for examples to help them see how my ideas work in action.
That created a problem. I couldn't use other people's books because I didn't
know how their writers created them, and I couldn't use my own books either
because I couldn't remember exactly how I worked out their plots. In the end, I
decided to demonstrate step-outlining live by developing a brand new story as I
wrote - revealing all my mistakes, changes of mind and occasional flashes of
inspiration in the process. I don't know if I'll ever turn that plot into a
novel,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but I've enjoyed providing an
insight into how a writer's mind works and the feedback I've had from readers
suggest they enjoy it too. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've
noticed that this blog has lots of photos of dogs. I don't have one so I
thought you'd like to see a photo of my horse instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He gets a mention in the book because I
bought a horse to help with my research for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/There-must-Horses-Diana-Kimpton-ebook/dp/B009XR5IZI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1529573117&sr=1-1&keywords=there+must+be+horses" target="_blank">There Must Be Horses</a></i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Well that was my
excuse anyway).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Diana Kimpton is the author of more than 40
books, including her successful Pony-Mad Princess series. She writes for adults
as well as children and many of her books have been translated into other
languages. You can find out more about her at <o:p></o:p></span></span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.dianakimpton.co.uk/">www.dianakimpton.co.uk</a></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Plots and Plotting is available from<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plots-Plotting-create-stories-that-ebook/dp/B07BYB1KFR/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1529571308&sr=8-1&keywords=plots+and+plotting" target="_blank"> Amazon.co.uk</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Plots-Plotting-create-stories-that/dp/1999877500/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1529571650&sr=8-1&keywords=Plots+and+plotting" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a> </span></span></i></div>
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<br />Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-60979062957679763302018-06-09T12:40:00.000+01:002018-06-09T12:40:50.656+01:00A Bit of a To Do!<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I took this photo on the 20th
May of a swan family on one of the dykes. Eight cygnets! What a handful – or wingful
- those parents have. I can’t zoom my phone camera in any more for some reason.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I got this one today. Very
happy to see all eight cygnets, but not happy not being able to zoom in.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There was a bit of a to do in
the garden this morning. Shrieking magpies, other birds joining in. Noticed
Tinks on the fence by the oak tree being mobbed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dusty shot out and
immediately spotted something bouncing about in the bushes – young magpie!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I raced across the garden and
grabbed him, meanwhile the young magpie fluttered behind the tree and Tinks
jumped down to pursue. I grabbed Dusty and got him in just as Harley shot out.
The young magpie ended up right outside the patio door with Tinks almost on it,
but Hubby managed to catch Tinks just in time and as he put her inside, Harley shot
across the garden. He caught Harley just as the young magpie disappeared under
the gate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The whole thing only lasted a
few seconds, but wow, it was intense! How anyone gets pleasure from having one
animal hunt another is beyond me! I felt sick afterwards thinking what could
have happened.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I went out the front and
checked under the cars, but there was no sign of the youngster, so I assume it
managed to fly off and rejoin its parents.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But there was an even bigger
to do on Monday.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I found the remains of a baby
bird in our downstairs loo/utility room. Cleared it up feeling sad and
muttering about murdering cats. Then a bit later we heard a bird tweeting in
there. It was coming from inside where all the pipes are boarded in.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hubby wrestled the bottom
panel off and there was just one baby bird in there with very few feathers. I
was in tears thinking there was no hope for the poor little thing which must
have fallen about 20 feet down the shaft, but we lined a box with kitchen paper
and loo paper and some clean hay and popped her in.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I reckoned we had an 8-10 day
old-ish female house sparrow. I didn’t hold out any hope at all, but I started
feeding her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I took this photo on
Wednesday. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQun8hRUJgmf9cNgV9oz66YsSY4KIw1vMdn28n4TKcMVE-BuLvDqLr2es2YeqN8di-XZLJheHaXHCyDpqTzdLvU6yoQ_NVRf5HH7WwdzqrmgWuk2Ni9qK6NiDXsIn54KSbJFF7AkpakVo/s1600/ScrappySparrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1278" data-original-width="1500" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQun8hRUJgmf9cNgV9oz66YsSY4KIw1vMdn28n4TKcMVE-BuLvDqLr2es2YeqN8di-XZLJheHaXHCyDpqTzdLvU6yoQ_NVRf5HH7WwdzqrmgWuk2Ni9qK6NiDXsIn54KSbJFF7AkpakVo/s320/ScrappySparrow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We saw Tinks later with her
arm right in the gap beside the loo waste pipe fishing about behind the panel
which is presumably how she got the other poor little thing. They must have
fallen about 20 feet down the shaft.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yesterday I transferred the
sparrow from the box to a cage (cheap one I picked up) so she had more space to
test her wings (and would be safer), but she hopped up on the side of the box and fluttered across
the bed and onto the floor. A good sign I thought!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I took this photo today and just
look at those feathers! If you can see them that is. It isn't a great photo. Amazing how much she’s developed since Monday.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghkaZjc8EhIVHzx_PF09CFjp-qFz_OYtixr8AewZ5CwanNFFkDDwWI_AMpmlr-0leYQEKWRokuIAcZMLUqYuI7SuIoglxtOq26af8tlhM-10MFssC_pm5-x1Guk6Y91zn4L3Y9qAqiah0/s1600/Scrappy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1410" data-original-width="1380" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghkaZjc8EhIVHzx_PF09CFjp-qFz_OYtixr8AewZ5CwanNFFkDDwWI_AMpmlr-0leYQEKWRokuIAcZMLUqYuI7SuIoglxtOq26af8tlhM-10MFssC_pm5-x1Guk6Y91zn4L3Y9qAqiah0/s320/Scrappy2.jpg" width="313" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She’d just had a meal and was
settling down to sleep. I am trying very hard not to
imprint on her as I want her to be wary of humans and I never let her see the dogs or cats for obvious reasons.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Letting her go when the time
comes (and I hope it does) is going to be hard! But there are a lot of sparrows
out there for her to join up with.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Talking of things growing
rapidly, Scout is now way taller than Poppy and Dusty. This was her at the
beginning of May.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVpc835sfmBAUlTB9b7cUy1nBMWiW2Gud0liOrihOdjtlZ8FdGzrbUYvwdH7LlXMg9FFYaX1xga1xRcc9f_yID8At7gSP8BqNH1TkJgqT3t8KTp7zro7xmVdP_5XZy1UzZGMCNLQIP3qQ/s1600/Scout02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1072" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVpc835sfmBAUlTB9b7cUy1nBMWiW2Gud0liOrihOdjtlZ8FdGzrbUYvwdH7LlXMg9FFYaX1xga1xRcc9f_yID8At7gSP8BqNH1TkJgqT3t8KTp7zro7xmVdP_5XZy1UzZGMCNLQIP3qQ/s320/Scout02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Two weeks later!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqM-VRmN6kSXAcvl-EsG6MbLEg7z-UWdhtYxLg1N2P9o8ie5CPyDHq68L3cDDch31gjqeGad_y6KxsBVk1GJlw2baFlIPHJCEtO31G2zQgTfoccH9Mpy0m9PTjQj8OjVTz4jcK0PDsLxo/s1600/Scoutdusty3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqM-VRmN6kSXAcvl-EsG6MbLEg7z-UWdhtYxLg1N2P9o8ie5CPyDHq68L3cDDch31gjqeGad_y6KxsBVk1GJlw2baFlIPHJCEtO31G2zQgTfoccH9Mpy0m9PTjQj8OjVTz4jcK0PDsLxo/s320/Scoutdusty3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And this was last week when she was playing in the sea with Poppy while Dusty stands patiently waiting for someone
to throw a ball for him!</span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGptOcmeZyEQkF-Q-ffMpzZWVQ8AiXYn0jLg6MFM_OtIgYQQaYOXTfRp8a8z4MSf1EReuSpVMViguevq56MyKAesgr1HI4yLdrEpcLT9I-OQoA2U6BOxHY-Sq3eBdMSb7hhWYeQAmyDk/s1600/Dogs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1279" data-original-width="1600" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGptOcmeZyEQkF-Q-ffMpzZWVQ8AiXYn0jLg6MFM_OtIgYQQaYOXTfRp8a8z4MSf1EReuSpVMViguevq56MyKAesgr1HI4yLdrEpcLT9I-OQoA2U6BOxHY-Sq3eBdMSb7hhWYeQAmyDk/s320/Dogs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When they’re at home, it’s Dusty and Scout that play
together – constantly! The only time they stop is if we separate them and once they're apart, they both flake out - as do I!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-27780057525890314882018-04-12T19:04:00.000+01:002018-04-12T19:04:18.436+01:00Puppy Love<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dusty is well and truly
besotted with Scout. They never stop playing and we have to separate them at
times just so they can both get some rest.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dusty had his 6 monthly check
up at the vet’s and he’s put on two kilos and now weighs 16.5 kilos which is a
far more respectable weight. That’s a lot of weight to put on, but he’s always
been at the very low end of low and as skinny as a rake. Lucy said he was “perfect”
and that some of the increase could be down to muscle, but she certainly wasn’t
worried. Phew.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last year I changed him to a
different brand of dog food. The one I had used for my dogs for nearly 20 years
just didn’t seem to suit him at all and we couldn’t get him to gain weight. I
looked into it and checked on various forums and a name that kept coming up as
being a good quality food was Skinner’s Field and Trial.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve got him on their Duck
and rice variety for dogs with sensitivities – and it suits him very well. He
looks sturdier. And it’s half the price of the other food which is a bonus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Scout has started training
classes. She seems to grow before your eyes and is almost as tall as Dusty now.
It’s difficult to get a photo of them standing together because when we’re at
home, they’re normally rolling around the floor snorting and snuffling!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoNO-W3Ed2l0MBIv3EBweU5LPRYSpt0NrhRgoEZ9_6e7yBNu7z8Kn_cgvri5LDMEeTa1wNCTYIyBomHIzuw1QapycGjzzSQJW3bLpmWoRe85iuUFdzPaR8cYd7GcCyknbvT_BaJM22yE/s1600/Dustscout2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1494" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoNO-W3Ed2l0MBIv3EBweU5LPRYSpt0NrhRgoEZ9_6e7yBNu7z8Kn_cgvri5LDMEeTa1wNCTYIyBomHIzuw1QapycGjzzSQJW3bLpmWoRe85iuUFdzPaR8cYd7GcCyknbvT_BaJM22yE/s320/Dustscout2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rHb_yxVa-ATKrLim3gsxECutXl3CzzH5a29KeehQvrlme5vlbSutDc7VKZR3uu02NB-HEQZxquNSKRBHmdtmIM7sGP_F3tenJJ-h_Z1v9w21XTPmiSCqnI5HOBHTlne3pcVwR0yUwvw/s1600/Scoutbed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rHb_yxVa-ATKrLim3gsxECutXl3CzzH5a29KeehQvrlme5vlbSutDc7VKZR3uu02NB-HEQZxquNSKRBHmdtmIM7sGP_F3tenJJ-h_Z1v9w21XTPmiSCqnI5HOBHTlne3pcVwR0yUwvw/s320/Scoutbed.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhok9C6MKDtj2ZQ65ZMnaAa2o98lakuKAS_hyphenhyphenNwrVB3NpDDf83MeZJrOz5rMV6PK4ppaS2xdDUfO8WwjqnwIOlr53898YKqfFePGjCbugTL0gkwCouQi8JlrPPbrF08xm6JXOxAhPsgtDc/s1600/Threedogs2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhok9C6MKDtj2ZQ65ZMnaAa2o98lakuKAS_hyphenhyphenNwrVB3NpDDf83MeZJrOz5rMV6PK4ppaS2xdDUfO8WwjqnwIOlr53898YKqfFePGjCbugTL0gkwCouQi8JlrPPbrF08xm6JXOxAhPsgtDc/s320/Threedogs2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Settled after a walk<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Did you see Spring? It lasted
all of two days and now we seem to be back in Autumn! It’s all topsy-turvy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrKt1tlEXqXgpS4SqOPChzY1RBF-EtwTDhd_hcjrXNHiwELx35E4O9NCgvgGkuttbgLZhso5oEmbyWBQ-tIp1yaZ9IuBlWCKwelslm134zyAo-Plq2PceDi0Y4COisGcFswrzdbOHugMU/s1600/Sunnyday1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1600" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrKt1tlEXqXgpS4SqOPChzY1RBF-EtwTDhd_hcjrXNHiwELx35E4O9NCgvgGkuttbgLZhso5oEmbyWBQ-tIp1yaZ9IuBlWCKwelslm134zyAo-Plq2PceDi0Y4COisGcFswrzdbOHugMU/s320/Sunnyday1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was nice while it lasted</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></o:p></span></div>
<br />Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-26084666303246456032018-03-17T09:01:00.002+00:002018-03-17T09:01:18.591+00:00Scouting for pups!<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I haven’t posted recently because there was nothing to post about except Christmas and snow and I think
we all had enough of that thank you very much! Although we seem to have a
covering out there again just now.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But something exciting and life changing happened just over a week ago. I went with my daughter to pick up her new puppy
and this past week has been all about settling her in. It was four years almost
to the day since we brought Dusty home.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She already knows that I pick
her and Poppy up in the mornings to bring her back here and happily goes home
again later in the day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She’s called Scout and is a
mix of four different breeds. I shan’t tell you what they are, but see if you
can guess. If you want to that is.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Her colours are black, honey,
white and reddish brown. She’s about twice the size Dusty was when we got him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here she is.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZOgYm3yhHqSxC01Kiwz3voKvXVIW7em5d6NDNn0Av5Avtne3XDRfjxSyXQBQ0nTpc83IqvHHgDkUveMbNvgbWNzcaqV5ZnF8HYtyUgxhT2EVAWCOBLQ_FiLbq4AeO4-UM6q4K3kb7qdU/s1600/Scout01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1381" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZOgYm3yhHqSxC01Kiwz3voKvXVIW7em5d6NDNn0Av5Avtne3XDRfjxSyXQBQ0nTpc83IqvHHgDkUveMbNvgbWNzcaqV5ZnF8HYtyUgxhT2EVAWCOBLQ_FiLbq4AeO4-UM6q4K3kb7qdU/s320/Scout01.jpg" width="276" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scout</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tinks, who is the most laid
back cat I have ever met, went straight up to her and kissed her on the nose.
No puffed up tail or arched back or huge black eyes. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8Il4zIJbLnJYRuhiend_6LnSkEAdJUrKQKQvXfIs24GDkLdWKh2aTHX63jgcXqbtaM9OYVZ2xod5G8h50jfV_pKwOC_5enndnr96Xm5NHOYnPWBWTx48Knm88eLEOyomYXnrXpvPppg/s1600/ScoutTinks1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1146" data-original-width="1600" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8Il4zIJbLnJYRuhiend_6LnSkEAdJUrKQKQvXfIs24GDkLdWKh2aTHX63jgcXqbtaM9OYVZ2xod5G8h50jfV_pKwOC_5enndnr96Xm5NHOYnPWBWTx48Knm88eLEOyomYXnrXpvPppg/s320/ScoutTinks1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tinks and Scout</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Harley. Well Harley did this
the first time she saw her, but she now accepts her. They even rubbed noses yesterday!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-YunqNvlYBAIdGPDp4Ylb9KSJEY1VnafVMNpb2bSVr3qK492B5PorlaGlWh7rgLoYSOASE0LtKyfhLbHtfuaEUJLOfI9qtMW5Yz3r3CMZjpyptzcTA8of5Q_GW9uRyQ6qFnK2w691vrs/s1600/Scoutfirstharley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-YunqNvlYBAIdGPDp4Ylb9KSJEY1VnafVMNpb2bSVr3qK492B5PorlaGlWh7rgLoYSOASE0LtKyfhLbHtfuaEUJLOfI9qtMW5Yz3r3CMZjpyptzcTA8of5Q_GW9uRyQ6qFnK2w691vrs/s320/Scoutfirstharley.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harley</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dusty has been better with
her than I dared hope. His record with other dogs is odd to say the least. Some
he’ll be friends with and yet others he’ll bark at for no apparent reason. He's starting to catch on that the new addition wants to play and he's playful himself, so I see fun and games ahead.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the photo below, Scout had rolled the treat ball towards Dusty and he was trying to decide whether to check it for more treats or roll it back. When he first met her and for the first few days, he's been so calm, like a different dog. I don't expect that to last.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAG55WCtXBBtQk-eunoEp517L7zy6n3IneLic4V3JBiFBezmaMmUpiAXJcmejTWSc7BzH4V2tseSqSoqmxjRfsvxsRQfi6XJDkgEtc9coTjqLESNgg4KKnR5SzIpsz23XtjzGxvXnvD-c/s1600/Three4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAG55WCtXBBtQk-eunoEp517L7zy6n3IneLic4V3JBiFBezmaMmUpiAXJcmejTWSc7BzH4V2tseSqSoqmxjRfsvxsRQfi6XJDkgEtc9coTjqLESNgg4KKnR5SzIpsz23XtjzGxvXnvD-c/s320/Three4.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poppy, Dusty and Scout</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When she goes outside and has
a wee or poo, she immediately comes to you for a treat – and she’ll sit for
that. If she goes indoors, she uses a puppy pad – unless she misjudges, but
there have been few accidents. We were a bit concerned because she sleeps so
much, but then realised we are so used to high energy dogs (mentioning no names
Dusty-never-stops) that she’s just a normal pup.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She comes alive when the kids
get home from school. She adored them all from the very start. And I fell in
love with her the minute I saw her. It’s amazing just how fast they worm their
way into your heart isn’t it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Her two younger little people knew nothing about her and came home from school and there she was. They were over the moon!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCpXN3dQOnaFdE6cePa0eF3bFNrRu2WjX-Gr5TO9X9tcF4UQznmsBDqMfe1PHFi0W2G7PZbQgVXv5amTSHOodnYtHKj9R7a5QtMp4bproUtTs3mVYlp94Gjiuvbhnu4wqmnNMK141bl3M/s1600/ScoutandNoah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1593" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCpXN3dQOnaFdE6cePa0eF3bFNrRu2WjX-Gr5TO9X9tcF4UQznmsBDqMfe1PHFi0W2G7PZbQgVXv5amTSHOodnYtHKj9R7a5QtMp4bproUtTs3mVYlp94Gjiuvbhnu4wqmnNMK141bl3M/s320/ScoutandNoah.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meeting one of her little people for the first time</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Hope everyone is okay, keeping warm and looking forward to Lovely Spring!</span></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-32781388496666841002017-12-16T17:29:00.000+00:002017-12-16T17:59:19.057+00:00Wrapping Up For 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqnMqi1YJFAh0XCpqdA__PV4iGnBEILnnkBUXS-lhO2jGM_F5Ka6f9t4BtnkaCpG91MJG2RXR1idQtwjr1Y1ZUoXWWpytWljb-eL9Z_BuNc3wapYn8aFz2UybapwzCXrL4QJhyphenhypheny3EKQs/s1600/Beachuts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="1600" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqnMqi1YJFAh0XCpqdA__PV4iGnBEILnnkBUXS-lhO2jGM_F5Ka6f9t4BtnkaCpG91MJG2RXR1idQtwjr1Y1ZUoXWWpytWljb-eL9Z_BuNc3wapYn8aFz2UybapwzCXrL4QJhyphenhypheny3EKQs/s400/Beachuts.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Tinks helped me wrap the
Christmas presents (well I say help, I mean she took up the sunny spot on the
table so I worked round her until she decided the bag with all my wrapping
paper in looked very comfy and sent rolls of wrapping paper flying across the
floor, then she went off in a huff because obviously I tricked her into
thinking the wrapping paper bag was some sort of soft squishy bed). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1588" data-original-width="1600" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgZLHrsamMnu8nE6EGYPa2Y-aXuaBMlrt7Koj8rrBd_gyioTNBuWzCG1_NOrjbHoRY4K3GmQX0nQW5_-V6v30M2NbdIo1eU_4NjvOUtycw_fz2WLjisAMOjyIaaN-Xtbh4gwXykO1yJQ4/s320/Tinks1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tinks</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgZLHrsamMnu8nE6EGYPa2Y-aXuaBMlrt7Koj8rrBd_gyioTNBuWzCG1_NOrjbHoRY4K3GmQX0nQW5_-V6v30M2NbdIo1eU_4NjvOUtycw_fz2WLjisAMOjyIaaN-Xtbh4gwXykO1yJQ4/s1600/Tinks1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Talking of cats in huffs, Harley
wasn’t speaking to me when I took this photo.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4rSKuuO0-EYji-greExs1kkGp49oq3Vgg2V0H6pYwBo_ytQeUBjybAPUQ0s6fZbmEu4DJrHkAQgL8TASOgvx0Xl7X81UsvI3h58m5B2lkWKEYUIipixNS30qIxYf_CGSLRdv9xf1-UqQ/s400/Harley.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harley</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4rSKuuO0-EYji-greExs1kkGp49oq3Vgg2V0H6pYwBo_ytQeUBjybAPUQ0s6fZbmEu4DJrHkAQgL8TASOgvx0Xl7X81UsvI3h58m5B2lkWKEYUIipixNS30qIxYf_CGSLRdv9xf1-UqQ/s1600/Harley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I keep treats in the cupboard
behind me and she taps me on the shoulder until I give her some. If I don’t
move fast enough, she starts shredding magazines, pulling tissues out of the
box and throwing things on the floor. When that didn’t work the other day, she said,
“It would be a shame if this little china unicorn that you treasure so much
were to get broken.” Then she gave it a smack and it flew off the shelf and landed
with a sickening crack on my mum’s old Toby jug. Luckily the
sickening crack was just a noise and nothing was broken. “Now will you give me
a treat?” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I said I certainly would not
because her bottom is starting to look big in that fur coat. That’s why she came
and sat on my mouse mat with her back to me. What do you think? Of course I
caved and gave her some. She might be a little gangster, but she’s my lovely little
gangster. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As I was typing this, she started with the shoulder tapping. The photos aren't great, but I managed to catch her in the act!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepjc0bLNkT9DHgCexMdkK2UJQOv_JR-tVuehF36X__Rqz-HNGrb2gNmdiSEygEpKgju1DtjReBlXjJNOTJdBgwr-d42e-nlCtYqqzS9tv30lGJ_U5YoI-VePydBGaTwjZ7NXlHoltPAg/s1600/Harls2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepjc0bLNkT9DHgCexMdkK2UJQOv_JR-tVuehF36X__Rqz-HNGrb2gNmdiSEygEpKgju1DtjReBlXjJNOTJdBgwr-d42e-nlCtYqqzS9tv30lGJ_U5YoI-VePydBGaTwjZ7NXlHoltPAg/s320/Harls2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ahem - Excuse me</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQzSjzN7QCbmSx-oDg9Q9xieOem96_UA86xAE-zgKm8XjoOipqla-qydpXjCiFdibeCJynjHgI7UUoFfiP6nTl41FauUiAA4QbyGOdMgBtMvMbKZ-ai0t09yhrVZ3Piv2LpbDCfR6xcPU/s1600/Harls3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQzSjzN7QCbmSx-oDg9Q9xieOem96_UA86xAE-zgKm8XjoOipqla-qydpXjCiFdibeCJynjHgI7UUoFfiP6nTl41FauUiAA4QbyGOdMgBtMvMbKZ-ai0t09yhrVZ3Piv2LpbDCfR6xcPU/s320/Harls3.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm here!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEHclTJym4v0Xg9sgQCZDTPGnaYtHSh2zaziRkiCIZaHfiLmhQV9QEgYygFtj7uuOhBfAfTU-hB6u0kbpbff4LLfEvxO8YSYDmvK83ica9V7h2yTHt-NdUrzVAqsNDl9V1KiqddIT6NIk/s1600/Harls1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEHclTJym4v0Xg9sgQCZDTPGnaYtHSh2zaziRkiCIZaHfiLmhQV9QEgYygFtj7uuOhBfAfTU-hB6u0kbpbff4LLfEvxO8YSYDmvK83ica9V7h2yTHt-NdUrzVAqsNDl9V1KiqddIT6NIk/s320/Harls1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For heaven's sake woman, tap tap, give me a treat!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">She likes to keep my printer
warm too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1600" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ53Y-byTmO4s9dQx-1dUFkaDVySj_2zC7_ez4AshfIQnfS8E7j_focXFmUXng9jK1P50Usx0pHIfTk4a367ZD7QjrnubtDEqSLhKWavSyPDADmBCBeCrYN5lK-OwZ6_QCLkz94DceMTY/s320/Harleyprinter1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Every Printer Should Have One</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If Dusty wants a treat from the cupboard, he tries to dig his way into it (I think
Harley tells him to do that). Hm, I think keeping treats in there was a big
mistake. Every time I open the door to get out the sellotape or a new printer ink
or an envelope, Harley pops out of her little house-bed and Dusty pings out
from under my desk.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dusty</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This is me wrapping up for
this year and wishing you a very Happy Christmas. I can’t tell you how excited
I am that we’re less than a week away from the Winter Solstice and the nights
starting to pull out again!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-59658143816552839932017-11-12T09:18:00.000+00:002017-11-12T09:19:48.391+00:00November<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anyone who knows me will know
that I don’t like this time of year. Perhaps it is because my dad died in
November when I was 18 and I have always felt sad around this time. And of
course there is so much sadness surrounding Armistice Day when we remember so many who lost their lives.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This photo was taken in Malta about ten years before I was born. I must have been that twinkle in his eye. It's a favourite of mine because I can see both my boys in him.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL1JT4_tzpoeBVssqVbfwKqs8WxudmoAvqeKoZ9NKzrcn5rxS8RqnyJQ4jSoP1YvbllrynGEiqBji1zzGTxDeaZb5-Nedo5iZdKyjX-Vrrc95Ooo-1UH742kAe2IKBuV55wLbd7wCGQ08/s1600/Dad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL1JT4_tzpoeBVssqVbfwKqs8WxudmoAvqeKoZ9NKzrcn5rxS8RqnyJQ4jSoP1YvbllrynGEiqBji1zzGTxDeaZb5-Nedo5iZdKyjX-Vrrc95Ooo-1UH742kAe2IKBuV55wLbd7wCGQ08/s1600/Dad.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Dad</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This week it will be six
years since Tilly died. My funny, special, loving little dog. The first and
only girl dog I ever had. It still feels raw. Perhaps because of the
hopelessness that surrounded her decline and death. The way we knew we were
losing her, but there was nothing we could do. I still feel the shock of
realising she’d gone blind – and I didn’t know then that it was a result of
liver disease. She had such a poor start in life and we didn’t get her until
she was 8 months old. I’ll never forget the bond I had with her. I won’t say from
the start because she barked at me for 90 minutes solid, but when I brought her
home, she climbed on my lap in the back of the car and that was it - bonded.
She never left my side. If I was ill in bed, she stayed with me, not even going
downstairs to go out in the garden. If I went out, she howled miserably (Dusty
does that too!) even with other people in the house.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy6Ky8z_pzUxzkBHw2I_0PAJ0I9KjqLIoI33QRhqcrjhEcYgoxJkzvJNNWKMT2qMsv6UA2totr1DbLUc0V2QMFirLgE3Hs9TVFlQZZpp7RaYEZAvep3cEGcy_ukfDipVJ01AFpyzwFeFI/s1600/Tilly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy6Ky8z_pzUxzkBHw2I_0PAJ0I9KjqLIoI33QRhqcrjhEcYgoxJkzvJNNWKMT2qMsv6UA2totr1DbLUc0V2QMFirLgE3Hs9TVFlQZZpp7RaYEZAvep3cEGcy_ukfDipVJ01AFpyzwFeFI/s320/Tilly.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Tilly</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I’ve loved all my dogs and
cats and none any more than any of the others, but there is a corner of my
heart that will always be bruised by her loss. She used to make me smile too,
so much. And she was so clever. Indy and Oakley used to stand back and let her
open doors for them. Despite being the smallest of the gang, she used to rescue
them from other dogs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I remember once – at this
time of year – a load of geese were gathered on the field. She ran round them
in a wide arc and disappeared into the glaring sun so that she could emerge from the glare, startling them all into the air. She was so pleased
with herself! She never caught anything, never wanted to, but she did like to
have fun.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A good thing that happened
this month was visiting my youngest son and his family. I don’t know why, but I decided
to take a photo of the halfway point between there and here. I always feel when
we get to Stansted that we are either nearly there or nearly home. And
sometimes we get to see planes flying low which I love! Never seem to have any
children in the car though when that happens – typical isn’t it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV0_ETwggg6RbsAJtz9XurVckF2jHVF7-_HyiQEP_wapJ52ikq1J3895AnDS1ktonxjhIWaL1VRQ0OXqsMnebYXDKuL_KiOzbKE2PrYgJIBJF6YAYcYz-6tZiu-rjlhDugbcjqZ1KLZa8/s1600/M11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV0_ETwggg6RbsAJtz9XurVckF2jHVF7-_HyiQEP_wapJ52ikq1J3895AnDS1ktonxjhIWaL1VRQ0OXqsMnebYXDKuL_KiOzbKE2PrYgJIBJF6YAYcYz-6tZiu-rjlhDugbcjqZ1KLZa8/s320/M11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M11</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Several mornings running I’ve
seen Mute swans flying from the marshes to the boating lakes. I haven’t yet
been able to get a decent photo! So this will have to do I’m afraid. The only
sound they make is that loud wing whooshing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMcNadATmA0qNoqAqNHHom8T5fpN5LMA5mBTUvQdqzrO9p1BB9KZM1escebDMICUasBUmmr4BN0DcBQyAWpyjdbVPw_lt4vW7ZcnmWL-wl14_GUZM_uiAVh1_9c3JYDmQbwphvwEZZmac/s1600/Swans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1502" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMcNadATmA0qNoqAqNHHom8T5fpN5LMA5mBTUvQdqzrO9p1BB9KZM1escebDMICUasBUmmr4BN0DcBQyAWpyjdbVPw_lt4vW7ZcnmWL-wl14_GUZM_uiAVh1_9c3JYDmQbwphvwEZZmac/s320/Swans.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another bird blur</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Speaking of swans, I took a
picture of these on the Dock River during one of my walks before school pick-up. You’d hardly know
there was a busy road behind me carrying all the port traffic, an industrial
estate to the left of the river and the big shops, Morrisons, B&M etc to the right
– and the port straight ahead. It's quite a nice and surprisingly peaceful spot to stop and think for a while.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgK74aCZxxWwZAZg-9hZ_1VT4OnII0DYYxcJNx_Hx6MbHkijuskNBMYnVxZClibWI9iltJadm_j_YXz4btV6fEqKt6gUCIlOuJnWCUQ6QX0haVq6q1sdpo3lLdRpmPwfxVoh_O5z3apgk/s1600/Dock-River2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgK74aCZxxWwZAZg-9hZ_1VT4OnII0DYYxcJNx_Hx6MbHkijuskNBMYnVxZClibWI9iltJadm_j_YXz4btV6fEqKt6gUCIlOuJnWCUQ6QX0haVq6q1sdpo3lLdRpmPwfxVoh_O5z3apgk/s320/Dock-River2.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dock River</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I will be glad once November
is over and the Christmas lights start to appear (some people have already
started) and the evenings will be darker, but bright. In December we can look
forward to getting the shortest day out of the way as the nights start to pull
out and we head towards spring!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-9213881818169414952017-10-28T12:43:00.000+01:002017-10-28T12:47:16.307+01:00Busy Sky<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Every morning starting around
6 am I hear the geese (Brent geese I think) flying south towards the salt
marshes. They come over in waves for about an hour, squawking and clacking. I
love listening to them. They are always too early for me to get a decent photo,
but I managed to get a couple at 7 am. Poor quality and the smudge in the sky
isn’t very impressive, but I thought the sky was a pretty colour.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7jGp1GTTD9fWFR8-FVJ86hdaTtPrRmQj3O2UeTmS5NgtgRavx6kQCbb4SxnnmkHaR5vxPAzbL9dSzH8qF7mKwjjCLm1fxBhfviQNcxobFBaYxWfYdhDVBpfi-zVZxCFuDBSwgWIIBHck/s1600/Flyingsouth2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1037" data-original-width="1600" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7jGp1GTTD9fWFR8-FVJ86hdaTtPrRmQj3O2UeTmS5NgtgRavx6kQCbb4SxnnmkHaR5vxPAzbL9dSzH8qF7mKwjjCLm1fxBhfviQNcxobFBaYxWfYdhDVBpfi-zVZxCFuDBSwgWIIBHck/s320/Flyingsouth2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flying South</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have seen some birds flying
north. Not sure what they were, but they were smaller than geese and silent.
Maybe they move out when the geese move in.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7amKoGam70kJlkX8RxWFnymppzDZE4_b7_iV_sFz3WeG_OSvdN_3W7icUyRvwEE3h8qW-xDNlLJovXqD6nDW34JCXkqOULJq8lqq3YzBLzu30_ffGRWKQGSngS5WLETsQCpHEGHHz474/s1600/Flying-North.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7amKoGam70kJlkX8RxWFnymppzDZE4_b7_iV_sFz3WeG_OSvdN_3W7icUyRvwEE3h8qW-xDNlLJovXqD6nDW34JCXkqOULJq8lqq3YzBLzu30_ffGRWKQGSngS5WLETsQCpHEGHHz474/s320/Flying-North.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiETQn1l2SmfUIPYF5nveIphgi-EOsi3qI6Tld26pgILuNr52uPOz3CoHgQMPBddx1Tj3bXmgV9V0lOKaXsFBUQHpNaHBF8lIMcH7fp5J5kdpCo37m_NvEf0-lWidoIkPwDudQlOWEJYmw/s1600/Flyingnorth2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiETQn1l2SmfUIPYF5nveIphgi-EOsi3qI6Tld26pgILuNr52uPOz3CoHgQMPBddx1Tj3bXmgV9V0lOKaXsFBUQHpNaHBF8lIMcH7fp5J5kdpCo37m_NvEf0-lWidoIkPwDudQlOWEJYmw/s320/Flyingnorth2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flying North</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As it is half term we’d
planned a trip to the cinema on Wednesday, but a completely flat tyre put paid
to that and as we had already booked the tickets, we lost the money. This is
the third time we’ve had to cancel a pre-booked cinema trip in the last few
years, but hey ho, I think sometimes these things happen for a reason.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Anyway, thank goodness for
parks this week! We’ve spent hours in them! Hours and hours, making the most of the lovely weather.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmdZoqflvtzeREXMga_NjhPkCoseJk0zlQqf35m_TnuRRS0J4thjrJs5DQgkEQNNJ46uY5pSrh6TDo89_mDsdAn9lmmcejpm_Bf6wgkPQskH348ZY_gzHNKbzn5YgK6J6A1-O29-uUk98/s1600/Park.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="927" data-original-width="1500" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmdZoqflvtzeREXMga_NjhPkCoseJk0zlQqf35m_TnuRRS0J4thjrJs5DQgkEQNNJ46uY5pSrh6TDo89_mDsdAn9lmmcejpm_Bf6wgkPQskH348ZY_gzHNKbzn5YgK6J6A1-O29-uUk98/s320/Park.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We had our oak tree lopped
back this week. It’s always sad to see it so heavily shorn, but it recovers
quickly and we always wait until the birds have definitely finished nesting. I
just hope most of the bugs and spiders managed to get away before it all went
in the shredder.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgtCWb3R0wMgujanxQnsANwsDvCsYHfnFOn9iDQTfTUDQ47pud3zcErOIrb3Xvf0hPFLnFyHTYwE8kn6SSgEcStCNTruCkvvFWj6qrqFMxHRD_XvWce9zVfTuhlvGaXf5hjQJ8kWZPY4/s1600/Tree1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgtCWb3R0wMgujanxQnsANwsDvCsYHfnFOn9iDQTfTUDQ47pud3zcErOIrb3Xvf0hPFLnFyHTYwE8kn6SSgEcStCNTruCkvvFWj6qrqFMxHRD_XvWce9zVfTuhlvGaXf5hjQJ8kWZPY4/s320/Tree1.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I always find it very
worrying seeing the guy so high up the tree with his chainsaw.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH9qI3I5tT20fXG41y_sw0OHsrrC5ybjG_kId8uWV9ItwMSRcT7ju5Rgr2cVgjR1O5QYYjmTqn4rf75i3qC8f9L-RwTAeydLCaEZufPF-NrSj67qN5MR1ki4jKt8qfS1mzHM4zgAZgaw8/s1600/Tree5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="672" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH9qI3I5tT20fXG41y_sw0OHsrrC5ybjG_kId8uWV9ItwMSRcT7ju5Rgr2cVgjR1O5QYYjmTqn4rf75i3qC8f9L-RwTAeydLCaEZufPF-NrSj67qN5MR1ki4jKt8qfS1mzHM4zgAZgaw8/s320/Tree5.jpg" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you see him?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Harley was terrified and
stayed behind the sofa until they had finished. It’s very noisy with the
chainsaws going and the big shredder chewing up all the branches.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At one point you couldn’t see
the garden because it was just full of lopped off branches.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja1xZR9Bs6lrywGSl5nAHxwph-Pii0i5-KMJ9xMP9NhLZXoKPXJHd-18p9Y4zkFXz6nlTj2jTY4NE_NeVE2TbAPdNiA_YxtpsRHlq7P1WLplOgHEb46B4WNsKM-fW6_WEM2x1W8dxPpHc/s1600/Tree3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja1xZR9Bs6lrywGSl5nAHxwph-Pii0i5-KMJ9xMP9NhLZXoKPXJHd-18p9Y4zkFXz6nlTj2jTY4NE_NeVE2TbAPdNiA_YxtpsRHlq7P1WLplOgHEb46B4WNsKM-fW6_WEM2x1W8dxPpHc/s320/Tree3.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dusty wasn’t bothered at all.
He just wanted to get out there and play in all the exciting new bushes that
had suddenly appeared.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_dYeWPg6BVAwxoFpBmxb_A54YFYuCZ-1K_VenNQ5ytwMDfqj0i4K4-szoA6WsSYD5vCd3Cu08v4lSLsZ-fIulwvdQAXRlYp0fnbVCbhow-vPPhiwCKT3VxaDgcu3ah8umWY4VVdt7xLw/s1600/Dusty1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_dYeWPg6BVAwxoFpBmxb_A54YFYuCZ-1K_VenNQ5ytwMDfqj0i4K4-szoA6WsSYD5vCd3Cu08v4lSLsZ-fIulwvdQAXRlYp0fnbVCbhow-vPPhiwCKT3VxaDgcu3ah8umWY4VVdt7xLw/s320/Dusty1.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why Can't I Go Out?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Tinks was pretty relaxed about it all.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJk7vzzOiPzNn4JL9b8tLI73vU108k4cAOZoIfySQZhIN7iC9x1X9aBhC8ZcCMm8-QY530IpOCzgUpI27iKh5IZiADQ387YyP1wcIHippujgwh1pFf8rYivM6czeMLsj6HueBu9hgRj4U/s1600/Tinks1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJk7vzzOiPzNn4JL9b8tLI73vU108k4cAOZoIfySQZhIN7iC9x1X9aBhC8ZcCMm8-QY530IpOCzgUpI27iKh5IZiADQ387YyP1wcIHippujgwh1pFf8rYivM6czeMLsj6HueBu9hgRj4U/s320/Tinks1.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whatever...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">They did such a good job of
clearing up and raking when they’d finished, that the garden looked tidier than
it did before they arrived!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhweQzSDSL3qWDtldoHOygpdIx-tfDAGza_WLM86kDD7hDBOWMLoRD_YpI64kZgz6rZrPJEhQd13UYdbo6BcDGHGi_Le60aunMykLbBA7MEhzMIBSfRDECQSi0Oxe1mi5eW4v_bL59S6kA/s1600/Tree9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1044" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhweQzSDSL3qWDtldoHOygpdIx-tfDAGza_WLM86kDD7hDBOWMLoRD_YpI64kZgz6rZrPJEhQd13UYdbo6BcDGHGi_Le60aunMykLbBA7MEhzMIBSfRDECQSi0Oxe1mi5eW4v_bL59S6kA/s320/Tree9.jpg" width="208" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After</td></tr>
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Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-18365585530703756812017-10-17T09:32:00.000+01:002017-10-17T09:32:48.245+01:00Pup On My Pillow!<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Got into bed the other night
and thought my pillow felt a bit lumpy. Found this underneath it!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1sDOD_-sPsCZ9IICP4HUaXxrkWhLV9agMpl9s9xh3GhPEcVhyrnEYv4lvDDwJjuPy5PTBRGP1PlzVT1JxRyIvqHKoiU_bLDz2KtC54zHBRFEb614rLYgvqQZQvh9uyhlEjsnMfDAaDC0/s1600/Dustypillow1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1373" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1sDOD_-sPsCZ9IICP4HUaXxrkWhLV9agMpl9s9xh3GhPEcVhyrnEYv4lvDDwJjuPy5PTBRGP1PlzVT1JxRyIvqHKoiU_bLDz2KtC54zHBRFEb614rLYgvqQZQvh9uyhlEjsnMfDAaDC0/s320/Dustypillow1.jpg" width="274" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That was him looking as if he
thought I hadn'tnoticed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0DdC2w6wgre33hlWbPTiSfze3g3mI_QSBZXV5umtSkprP49ARktgEqHWYBfs3xHwXvOH4Gu5-eX635BKKgVy28EhhAq5opwOeRG1FIQnUi2i7IVmJ6x7ir6e5rFS4EOgEdRGJoECXc24/s1600/Dustypillow2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1317" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0DdC2w6wgre33hlWbPTiSfze3g3mI_QSBZXV5umtSkprP49ARktgEqHWYBfs3xHwXvOH4Gu5-eX635BKKgVy28EhhAq5opwOeRG1FIQnUi2i7IVmJ6x7ir6e5rFS4EOgEdRGJoECXc24/s320/Dustypillow2.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
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That was when he realised I had!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Saw this chap about to raid a
neighbour’s pond! Very hastily taken as he was about to slither out of view.
Not that herons tend to slither.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOLbEr7KhqCrV9tOx5CA2PWyGraUlm9Uarduics2o4qq_i6nKS3iX-9DjH6fmZQx46VSekdNa7fOpASEEbEAVSvS-_o40R53T-l5wXzBYWEaiY5ZKeSRrM37-HfPxQgxfWYyPZjgA8qQ/s1600/Heron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="1600" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOLbEr7KhqCrV9tOx5CA2PWyGraUlm9Uarduics2o4qq_i6nKS3iX-9DjH6fmZQx46VSekdNa7fOpASEEbEAVSvS-_o40R53T-l5wXzBYWEaiY5ZKeSRrM37-HfPxQgxfWYyPZjgA8qQ/s320/Heron.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Almost didn't have any photos at all! Photoshop stopped working, the drop down menus were empty and it turned out to be something Windows 10 did on their last update - removing fonts that Photoshop uses. So it had to be reinstalled. Thankfully working okay now.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last weekend I planned to go
to the Sea Shanty Festival. I love it, walking round the old town listening to
the music. Something incredibly cheery about a sea shanty and it’s a great
atmosphere. It’s about 2.5 miles from my house to the quay and I set off on
Saturday with good intentions, but ended up turning home within half a mile of my destination. It was hot and clammy
and I was tired. It had been a busy week.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I could have gone on the
second day of the Sea Shanty Festival, but I’d already planned to go to the
Ipswich Vegan Festival at Portman Road. It’s years since I’ve been to the
football stadium and it was kind of nice to be back there.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve never been to a vegan
festival before so it was good to do something different.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There was a small queue when
we arrived, but it grew longer and longer and once we were in, people didn’t
stop arriving. There were so many stalls, Tower Hill Stables Animal Sanctuary,
Sea Shepherds UK, Animals Asia, Actions for Greyhounds, Animal Aid, The Humane
Research Trust to name but a few.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And there were stalls selling
vegan products and books.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I bought some things from the
Hunt Sabs stall and Greek Animal Rescue.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You wouldn’t think we’d still
need hunt sabs so many years after it was banned, but we need them now more
than ever.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am thrilled it was so
popular but once the Sir Bobby Robson Suite started to fill up, I started to
get nervy. I’m not good with crowds, I can’t think straight and I get panicky.
I felt quite emotional too, seeing all those wonderful people there with their
stalls and I would have bought from every one of them if I could. I would have
liked to have spoken to more people too, but I go sort of numb once I get in panic
mode and can’t think straight.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It looked quiet on the stairs
so we went up to the Legends Suite where the vegan food was and it was much
quieter. I calmed down pretty quickly and got into an interesting conversation with
the Norwegian Bakers. Their stall was amazing! And so tempting! Too tempting.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But I’d run out of money. My
other half came to my rescue and I (he) bought some cakes and pastries. It made
me realise how far I have to go before I produce anything anywhere near as good
as that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I brought Dusty and Poppy
back some vegan dog treats which they said were yummy!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Definitely somewhere I will
go back to. I don’t always get like that in crowds, so perhaps next year I will
do better and maybe stay longer to listen to some of the talks and music.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-69085864330694834412017-10-07T10:59:00.002+01:002017-10-07T11:00:15.875+01:00Not Again!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I was there on Thursday. I went down before the PS Waverley was due to
sail. It was windy. I’d rushed the dogs round the field at double quick time so
I could be there. No sign of her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We saw LV18.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikO9q0HCI1SyTtU3n1eguJJtoN9O3wEDwJDkkY_Mia7tPbos4ugTZYlW33LQJSnlGRhEYz6nDJnlNzd6aBnkR2gzp1Rck-liiX-XTI-YtVtI9dvMlXIo3QwXC8t_j-P5r9VtbZCfnRPHQ/s1600/LV18a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikO9q0HCI1SyTtU3n1eguJJtoN9O3wEDwJDkkY_Mia7tPbos4ugTZYlW33LQJSnlGRhEYz6nDJnlNzd6aBnkR2gzp1Rck-liiX-XTI-YtVtI9dvMlXIo3QwXC8t_j-P5r9VtbZCfnRPHQ/s320/LV18a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LV18</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbDUiq_T0S_oPk04CokcvIB8MprIiyz2pD5vkEq70qr-RBDqQEix35okXENd7ii95c2B8-K4sc9PGPrmddW81DCfQIhM4v00AWKMWaaKdI20WtMaUm6XBivDpFhbfVqhj-t-FwUEWbBWs/s1600/LV18b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbDUiq_T0S_oPk04CokcvIB8MprIiyz2pD5vkEq70qr-RBDqQEix35okXENd7ii95c2B8-K4sc9PGPrmddW81DCfQIhM4v00AWKMWaaKdI20WtMaUm6XBivDpFhbfVqhj-t-FwUEWbBWs/s320/LV18b.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And a solar powered light vessel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnleJcWWzi91JCdTaA0qn7yAkCYhFtROiMMY6-6aNr7-9s4iRLzc-icQGePD1f92i0guH1G4cLCkMJ1uWAn1WsH9vbw5SaWJ2N2le1TULPSk-9m2Ao8hVPWaBRNBDIr1jROmHwI9IqNpE/s1600/Lightship.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnleJcWWzi91JCdTaA0qn7yAkCYhFtROiMMY6-6aNr7-9s4iRLzc-icQGePD1f92i0guH1G4cLCkMJ1uWAn1WsH9vbw5SaWJ2N2le1TULPSk-9m2Ao8hVPWaBRNBDIr1jROmHwI9IqNpE/s320/Lightship.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A young gull sitting on a
small boat.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxeR-XoT9Vjql_MmBxf7eI8pONJ2K-ypl_7DaARGWZ5BzJtv-BFCgYC7LIzehRa5vqSvT7ARofPg1eOf6Ni-3z2Qx-Kzqqknr-7bTLGsBupmTlJCHj1obMSUJqtdGSobniy32O088wqNc/s1600/Fishingboat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxeR-XoT9Vjql_MmBxf7eI8pONJ2K-ypl_7DaARGWZ5BzJtv-BFCgYC7LIzehRa5vqSvT7ARofPg1eOf6Ni-3z2Qx-Kzqqknr-7bTLGsBupmTlJCHj1obMSUJqtdGSobniy32O088wqNc/s320/Fishingboat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But no Waverley.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif726YTqIQfVuWfjtgN5Dbk-bvEg-ORYendZ0rdwzwxMYB3sogjjNJN-mD8hVF5AL4y0i6DH9S8FBkMb8qCD54zYL252TFaZE_OQqDr3UkXO_ZsSrc9mZuPrysb__uMImkdsNMSLHIwho/s1600/Harwichquay1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif726YTqIQfVuWfjtgN5Dbk-bvEg-ORYendZ0rdwzwxMYB3sogjjNJN-mD8hVF5AL4y0i6DH9S8FBkMb8qCD54zYL252TFaZE_OQqDr3UkXO_ZsSrc9mZuPrysb__uMImkdsNMSLHIwho/s320/Harwichquay1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_XdPz0PcbwosPbTKePkE10XO7WJ68wAfG_VMXuqZPNdngvwUxttgmZjQHniuTE5D3ZI7BFrkP8WTINKVYLTiMjYuXARSpONJxXmCWX7qZFcuckQ9m4K3iturkUzcl5jiFgAGCHRleC7U/s1600/Harwichquay2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_XdPz0PcbwosPbTKePkE10XO7WJ68wAfG_VMXuqZPNdngvwUxttgmZjQHniuTE5D3ZI7BFrkP8WTINKVYLTiMjYuXARSpONJxXmCWX7qZFcuckQ9m4K3iturkUzcl5jiFgAGCHRleC7U/s320/Harwichquay2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We waited, then got fed up
being blown by the wind and went home. So maybe she nipped in and out again as
we were walking away. I know she sailed to London that day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I did see a rainbow Thursday evening
though. It was a completely perfect one, but I couldn’t get the whole thing in
shot. It really was beautiful and I took time to stand and stare and wonder at
the marvels of nature. It rather made up for missing the boat.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2AdZmfGkZFm1EXkGfvs1drNbdKNjxUOWrExqmy_EWwhJHNzgbI-JzkoMdsXLOpMp2-0wfk1C_UENIm7k3wMkeoz65wkTOr3ApihEsVuchrTe6qB2Ng9c70BFva8pMndl0qw0n4FlqViE/s1600/Rainbow1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1231" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2AdZmfGkZFm1EXkGfvs1drNbdKNjxUOWrExqmy_EWwhJHNzgbI-JzkoMdsXLOpMp2-0wfk1C_UENIm7k3wMkeoz65wkTOr3ApihEsVuchrTe6qB2Ng9c70BFva8pMndl0qw0n4FlqViE/s320/Rainbow1.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_r9gpEOYJQ99OuPZpF5TRofdNRveohF957ZiF-YSTq96VselQLUR05NEsuNARH7y_auewdBuZUgr7NMZyOOtWaVkQLjbOs9WTFc_xy3SkIfJ12NoDE8kX2DimwRPCEcMEnHGsTUk3tUA/s1600/Rainbow2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="969" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_r9gpEOYJQ99OuPZpF5TRofdNRveohF957ZiF-YSTq96VselQLUR05NEsuNARH7y_auewdBuZUgr7NMZyOOtWaVkQLjbOs9WTFc_xy3SkIfJ12NoDE8kX2DimwRPCEcMEnHGsTUk3tUA/s320/Rainbow2.jpg" width="193" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There is something about ploughed fields that appeals to me. And if you look closely, you can see the sea in the distance and Walton-on-Naze.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvNlIVAVK3WFQJrLcLSFWSYYxowVsoRbfCbN38igKE5YWxTgXSYfJL3rIu7Sqy3ZWRHEuuN_r3_2CiuOkUjFSb3JgBHpTi2P3He_foFcBIl5pseMcnHWrIncYlfqeW-mul1bV5xRtjCw/s1600/Rainbow3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvNlIVAVK3WFQJrLcLSFWSYYxowVsoRbfCbN38igKE5YWxTgXSYfJL3rIu7Sqy3ZWRHEuuN_r3_2CiuOkUjFSb3JgBHpTi2P3He_foFcBIl5pseMcnHWrIncYlfqeW-mul1bV5xRtjCw/s320/Rainbow3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-75773432014288696162017-10-01T10:04:00.000+01:002017-10-01T10:07:05.590+01:00Missing the Boat<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Oh, yes I did, I certainly
did. My daughter let me know that the Waverley paddle steamer was in at the Ha’penny
Pier the other evening when she was out for a walk with her family. So the next
morning…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Well, the Waverley had gone
up to Southwold and was sailing from there to London, so she must have just
been overnighting here.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But I looked up the timetable
and she was back on Saturday! Hooray! I’ll go down and take some photos, I
said. Don’t let me forget, I said. I told everyone that was my plan and said I
hoped the weather would be nice for taking photos.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Saturday evening I
remembered.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But… she is back here on
Thursday. I wouldn’t put money on me remembering to go down, but she’ll be here
in the morning before heading down to London, then back in the evening so I
have two more chances to miss seeing her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I had hoped to post photos of
the paddle steamer, but instead here’s a photo of what greeted me when I went
up to bed last night.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcwBIJp2rWP1CDAi-3xvIagXIop-oYY36x_FnbaZP2KkaRw4vySAlJJaL60TAwOAaHxq6x8mNttUKpS_XMyUji3vrKnOOHxOZ3-djEkir9ZiDskdoXGgqv868aIAcgkKP_orD2-oKDXs/s1600/Tinks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1071" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcwBIJp2rWP1CDAi-3xvIagXIop-oYY36x_FnbaZP2KkaRw4vySAlJJaL60TAwOAaHxq6x8mNttUKpS_XMyUji3vrKnOOHxOZ3-djEkir9ZiDskdoXGgqv868aIAcgkKP_orD2-oKDXs/s320/Tinks.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tinks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">How a cat can manage to look
dignified and disdainful sitting on the loo I don’t know – but I know exactly
what that look says. “You missed the boat didn’t you – you stupid woman!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-24805364870247915752017-09-24T17:11:00.002+01:002017-09-24T17:11:39.238+01:00Warming to Autumn<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Such a beautiful day today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It started off with a red sky
and you know how the saying goes, “Red sky in the morning, sailor’s warning.”
Or if you prefer, “Red sky in the morning,
shepherd’s warning.” The message is the same.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4JBly6yvPOW-3q0p7OkWCV1trYfQg0MqOYuW-BjZKFRzoRjz_g6aPaznsVRnMWUyJKJV-YG6492KX494reWETrLLNpF2Q_cEdGI-FOSOPI78ED0w1Zmp9zE68R2Sp-qn5aWmoKYSSmm0/s1600/red-sky-morning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1547" data-original-width="1600" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4JBly6yvPOW-3q0p7OkWCV1trYfQg0MqOYuW-BjZKFRzoRjz_g6aPaznsVRnMWUyJKJV-YG6492KX494reWETrLLNpF2Q_cEdGI-FOSOPI78ED0w1Zmp9zE68R2Sp-qn5aWmoKYSSmm0/s320/red-sky-morning.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7 am</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I decided to take it as a
good omen and not a bad one. It just didn’t have the feel of a day with bad
weather coming.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The day turned a little hazy,
then the sun came out and this afternoon I decided to take a break from the
writing and make the most of the good weather.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I walked to the edge of Little
Oakley, then cut across to Ramsey and I stood for a few moments on the hill enjoying the view. Then I went to see the horses on the hill, before
turning back for home.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The photos don’t do justice
to the view from the hill. I should have taken them higher up than I did. You can just about see the Ramsey windmill if
you look hard enough (you might have to click on the picture to make it bigger).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVK726KZo_a4o0iPs_FfOAnT7G0hEKrThMSDX7bV7nC8o408Ln4etiYmU0ZrXiAezicx13Plgc-P0hDG7vuWXSLSq4hEkWRL7ELaWte1BFJRRM0UrnM3IgEjix2nb8cDq5Fbx6FFWiUbk/s1600/Ramsey2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="862" data-original-width="1600" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVK726KZo_a4o0iPs_FfOAnT7G0hEKrThMSDX7bV7nC8o408Ln4etiYmU0ZrXiAezicx13Plgc-P0hDG7vuWXSLSq4hEkWRL7ELaWte1BFJRRM0UrnM3IgEjix2nb8cDq5Fbx6FFWiUbk/s400/Ramsey2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ramsey</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The windmill was built
sometime before 1819 in Woodbridge, Suffolk and was one of the four mills on
the Mill Hills. It was moved to Ramsey in 1842. In 1841, one of my several times great
grandfathers lived on Mill Hill in Woodbridge and his occupation was miller. In
the next census he was a jobbing labourer. I often look at that windmill and
wonder…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There were some lovely autumn
smells. Someone somewhere had a bonfire. There was the musky smell of ripe
blackberries and the waft of horse manure. Moving on…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi762ytv2hy8jc1YuIh8U78jS_S5PpdzPD9EKwvWmWuu0IMeZqa9_mt8FC4gq67slfYZqadT-q9BavVcwQ3WYJIY8HlhF_lm-8bbGaj8wdBfM6pqUOt1xb20fgxc90W7s0WaQjWp-GlnEI/s1600/Ramsey1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi762ytv2hy8jc1YuIh8U78jS_S5PpdzPD9EKwvWmWuu0IMeZqa9_mt8FC4gq67slfYZqadT-q9BavVcwQ3WYJIY8HlhF_lm-8bbGaj8wdBfM6pqUOt1xb20fgxc90W7s0WaQjWp-GlnEI/s400/Ramsey1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I paused in the shade of some
horse chestnut trees and filled my pockets with… horse chestnuts. It was as I waddled
down the road with my bulging pockets that I decided to call for a lift.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now to find somewhere to put
them where Dusty can’t get them and where the cats can’t knock them down to him,
but where spiders will see them and scuttle off to live somewhere else (I live in
hope and it has seemed to work in past years). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The oak tree has produced a
bumper crop of acorns this year and Dusty thinks all his Christmases have come
at once. He no longer has to dig around looking for stones to bring in to
exchange for treats. We couldn’t understand how he kept appearing with acorns and
oak apples when the back door was shut – then we found his secret stash hidden
behind the chair! And they say springer spaniels are stupid.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The warmth of the sun, the
slightly hazy feel to the day and the lightest of cool breezes made it feel
like a spring day, but of course it wasn’t. It was an autumn day and I liked
it.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-12020653562549995712017-09-16T17:32:00.000+01:002017-09-16T17:32:37.118+01:00Quiet September Days<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Seems to be September is
often a quiet, mellow sort of month. Mind you it wasn’t quiet the other night
when it sounded like the wind was trying its best to blow the roof off.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The children are all settled
back at school and – mostly – enjoying it. They’re all excited about their
topics for this term. Vikings, The War of the Roses and other such delights. I
couldn’t believe it when three of them started on their homework the minute
they got home from school – willingly and without anyone telling them to –
while the fourth moaned because she hadn’t been given any yet.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yes, I think they were ready
to go back. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Christmas has arrived in the
shops and I bought a large red cake tin for £2.49 from Home Bargains – I do love a bargain. I am tempted to get more for storing all the
Christmas cakes I make. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I don't buy cake boards any more. The first thing we used to do on cutting the cake was to take it off the board and put it in a tin so now I put the cake on the upturned lid, decorate it, then use the bottom of the tin as a lid. Makes it easy to cut too. Just realised when I do that, the pattern will be upside down... oops.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have to admit the sight of
all the decorations and fripperies appearing in the shops has rather lifted my
spirits. Christmas lights will brighten the darkest time of the year and that’s
always good to look forward to.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What a lovely summer we had
though even though the best of the weather seemed to be before the children
broke up from school.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Before term ended, we went
out for ice creams after school on a hot, sunny day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then at the start of the
holiday, my two lovely granddaughters-from-away came to stay and oh boy did
Dusty love that!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dusty and Tinks have been
getting closer. Not quite cuddling up yet…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Harley mostly spent the
summer rolling about on the grass in the sun (or running round in the rain!).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And Harley comforted my
eldest granddaughter after yet another mishap. Harley doesn’t “do” laps very
often, but she seems to know when a cuddle is required.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We had a lot of fun, but we
had some peaceful moments too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s no secret I don’t look
forward to autumn and winter, but I’m trying to look at the positives, the
first one being roast dinners!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Is there anything you look
forward to at this time of year?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-50021503245918352722017-09-05T11:04:00.000+01:002017-09-05T11:04:21.740+01:00Suffolk Punch Trust - Last Days of Summer<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was the last full week off
for the kidlets last week and we tried to wind it down a bit ready for getting
back into the school routine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our last trip of the summer was
to the <a href="http://suffolkpunchtrust.org/" target="_blank">Suffolk Punch Trust</a> in Hollesley. It’s a wonderful place to visit for a
peaceful day out and I highly recommend it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To get there, you by-pass
Woodbridge, one of my favourite places and drive past Sutton Hoo (kidlets
declared they’d been there enough times thank you!) and Rendlesham Forest
(famous for its aliens!). And onwards towards Hollesley following the signs to HM
Hollesley Bay Colony otherwise known as Hollesley Bay Prison (where Jeffrey
Archer lived for a while).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was a beautiful day, warm
and bright and the Suffolk countryside looked its best as we arrived at the
Suffolk Punch Trust. If we’d carried on
past the Suffolk Punch Trust, we would have ended up in Shingle Street, but
decided to leave visiting there for another day as we spent the whole day at
the Trust.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It takes an hour to drive
there from here, but as the crow flies we’re only about 10 miles away. Some of
my ancestors came from that area of Suffolk and I imagine they used boats to
come down the coast and would probably laugh at the convoluted route we take
today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, we petted horses and this
one in particular seemed eager for attention. But they are all friendly and
gentle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So friendly, so gentle</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There were also some
ex-racehorses there as part of ROR (Retraining of Racehorses). As soon
as they saw us, they rushed across the field to say hello. Once their
rehabilitation is complete, they will go on to new homes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibr4xK2sFRtqM7hz0HBS9f74Uhx6_iiiHjFuLLIrKNOAkCEgM134zGiV8M3cEtZQ204VuKBJ75tJERJ4uyYMpxRKesWLfs0vg3zi96-hKoxWAUm8-ZcBKyWiL_wUm_B3qoFbpSnUQgQkg/s1600/SPt4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1364" data-original-width="1500" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibr4xK2sFRtqM7hz0HBS9f74Uhx6_iiiHjFuLLIrKNOAkCEgM134zGiV8M3cEtZQ204VuKBJ75tJERJ4uyYMpxRKesWLfs0vg3zi96-hKoxWAUm8-ZcBKyWiL_wUm_B3qoFbpSnUQgQkg/s320/SPt4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Retraining of Racehorses</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The youngest foal, Colony
Dorothy, was born in April and they lost her mother, Colony Olive to a terrible
colic in August. Dotty is now spending time with last year’s foal, Colony
Calypso. So very sad. You can see a
picture of Dorothy and Olive in happier times <a href="http://suffolkpunchtrust.org/news-and-events/a-bouncing-baby-filly-arrives" target="_blank">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXALqs1Y_c9WtXCY5ddReoap1h8gVwSdun0flgXUmJIuK42noVFqm6E_6qCvN7Q3CncidxFaFNiyYTCv3lHJrGU1gRssKqdU7yIHLQm8SOVPAkbL8V-Yzl4rGjkxioegmxQ1l8tmm9GJ4/s1600/DorothyandCalypso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXALqs1Y_c9WtXCY5ddReoap1h8gVwSdun0flgXUmJIuK42noVFqm6E_6qCvN7Q3CncidxFaFNiyYTCv3lHJrGU1gRssKqdU7yIHLQm8SOVPAkbL8V-Yzl4rGjkxioegmxQ1l8tmm9GJ4/s320/DorothyandCalypso.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dorothy and Calypso</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This chap is the father of
many and the resident stallion, Besthorpe Achilles. Magnificent isn’t he.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Besthorpe Achilles</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We went on a tractor ride
which was bumpy – but fun – and we learned a lot about the Trust and the horses thanks to our very informative guide.
The kids were given worksheets when we went in. They look for different
coloured flights (the ribbons used to decorate the manes) hidden in boxes
around the stud and answer questions. When complete they choose a prize – a pencil
or a badge. Not compulsory, but they enjoyed doing it and collecting their prizes as we left.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyachtkK6eW42hNhyphenhyphenAqYrZSlmAl4dBKXI3fTP0h4HN9gYoolLklQOzACIRx7ho-NAi-AEnpsDXhuuY7ZXUR0iBHL046jx4JuPxVaK27g9F8za-PjsjUsMUD7GttLZJuLVGhM6mBpya3cI/s1600/Tractor3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyachtkK6eW42hNhyphenhyphenAqYrZSlmAl4dBKXI3fTP0h4HN9gYoolLklQOzACIRx7ho-NAi-AEnpsDXhuuY7ZXUR0iBHL046jx4JuPxVaK27g9F8za-PjsjUsMUD7GttLZJuLVGhM6mBpya3cI/s320/Tractor3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tractor Ride</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We sat on the grass to have a
picnic, then the smaller kids played on the play equipment while I went back
with my eldest grandson to revisit the horses in the stables. He was
particularly taken with Colony Iris, aged 21, the oldest horse there. He also
liked Colony Xing, the tallest (and still growing) horse. When we had our
tractor tour we were told he will be bigger than Besthorpe Achilles (one and a
half tons) and may reach a ton and three-quarters. That’s a lot of horse!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There are two sweet Shetland
ponies, several Suffolk sheep (the oldest registered flock in the world),
rabbits, guinea pigs, goats, Ixworth chickens (which almost died out and are
still very rare today).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And pigs. New Zealand pigs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Zealand Pig</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And rare Large Black Pigs –
and some very young piglets! Another breed which was almost extinct not long
ago.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I wish I’d taken a photo of
the Gypsy Cob. He was dumped needing emergency vet treatment as a foal, but my goodness you should see him now.
There is a picture of him <a href="http://suffolkpunchtrust.org/horses" target="_blank">here</a> – at the bottom of the page which also has information about the other horses.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My eldest granddaughter had a
horrible fall at the swimming pool last week. She wasn’t running or messing
about, just walking back to the changing rooms when she slipped at the edge of
the pool and crashed down hurting her leg and elbow and falling back into the pool.
She was very shaken up with a nasty bruise on her elbow. Poor little thing – I thought
she’d had her share of accidents after gashing her leg at the beach.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There is definitely an
autumnal feel to the air and the early morning shadows are growing longer.
(Sorry about the poo bin in this one!) This small tree cast a long shadow across the
playing fields and the pointy shadows are made by the beach huts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi475V1iF1LRVQyOxXOt1tzdxSmtWGaJX7_WrzmvmsbYZWF3YlfJs-9_LSPGmv3vRxPITecD8zRGiAFPMpEBoantP9nmlbFvdJCBiwe-eepi-vNXYF21FpTGCWBMHGJKk8MOOP0I9vTQno/s1600/LongSeptshadow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1500" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi475V1iF1LRVQyOxXOt1tzdxSmtWGaJX7_WrzmvmsbYZWF3YlfJs-9_LSPGmv3vRxPITecD8zRGiAFPMpEBoantP9nmlbFvdJCBiwe-eepi-vNXYF21FpTGCWBMHGJKk8MOOP0I9vTQno/s320/LongSeptshadow.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7 o'clock September morning</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dusty’s been enjoying the
occasional swim. He seems to have even more energy now the weather is getting
cooler. Sadly the same can’t be said for me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsrRzSSUf1BAHR9TgD6wzk7ryc0hnj8GPq75hfUwRBzIQ_9VRM6_dWmA1a60o3k-v93yk8Js44wjQCdSt38nHCPkoOrm_R_Ec1SeKOZkhTEE7dKV6qsbB-s-Gqxp73_VbfQ8QrrMsKIgM/s1600/Dustyswim4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1302" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsrRzSSUf1BAHR9TgD6wzk7ryc0hnj8GPq75hfUwRBzIQ_9VRM6_dWmA1a60o3k-v93yk8Js44wjQCdSt38nHCPkoOrm_R_Ec1SeKOZkhTEE7dKV6qsbB-s-Gqxp73_VbfQ8QrrMsKIgM/s320/Dustyswim4.jpg" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dusty swimming</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’m sad the holidays are
over. I hated school myself and I’ll miss the children being around, although I'll still see them every day. I can never understand
people who complain about the holidays and can’t wait for them to go back.
Childhood rushes past in the blink of an eye – we should make the most of every
second.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I will certainly miss being accompanied by mini-Batman on my walks!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGdyNvr3HbXvlB33RReWOv3Ik3wYXoHZCtgIp2U5EdyHl7QPJY2SotGVal7v4lHKqBwAHwfeuLgJZoqKMXjyOQQjpxjzOfS2pJ28RG2IiCOmcFOeRqOFB4WV9rSiTh53HIMFOpN07lAmY/s1600/Batman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="675" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGdyNvr3HbXvlB33RReWOv3Ik3wYXoHZCtgIp2U5EdyHl7QPJY2SotGVal7v4lHKqBwAHwfeuLgJZoqKMXjyOQQjpxjzOfS2pJ28RG2IiCOmcFOeRqOFB4WV9rSiTh53HIMFOpN07lAmY/s320/Batman.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Batman!</td></tr>
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Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-38677052072309458912017-08-30T18:00:00.000+01:002017-08-30T18:29:21.374+01:00Jimmy's Farm - The Return<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Earlier in the holiday I took
my two grandchildren-from-away to <a href="http://jimmysfarm.com/visit/farm-park/" target="_blank">Jimmy’s Farm</a> and I wanted to go back with the
other four.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So last week I packed a
picnic and off we went.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As soon as we entered the
farm park, we were greeted by a young woman holding two ferrets. One she said
might nibble fingers, the other would only lick. Needless to say they had a
huge fuss made of them. Gorgeous little things.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My eldest grandson somehow
got into conversation with her about being a vegetarian (possibly because of
his badge saying, “Don’t panic and be a vegetarian”). She said, “I am too. And
I work on a farm!” And she looked a little rueful.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFPqJr3BdSIQCPGWT0OSkCETyEIA2PIUobhTiZRhDIV8bFHyz88tmc0KNo5WNZCHVUYjiDpzKrvVDPYG-eB5aLhchVRuGdjikeb9wrb4wjGcar5fSYD4yEalmqw__XxG3Jm_z-AGflAg/s1600/Pony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1271" data-original-width="1500" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFPqJr3BdSIQCPGWT0OSkCETyEIA2PIUobhTiZRhDIV8bFHyz88tmc0KNo5WNZCHVUYjiDpzKrvVDPYG-eB5aLhchVRuGdjikeb9wrb4wjGcar5fSYD4yEalmqw__XxG3Jm_z-AGflAg/s320/Pony.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friendly little pony</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some of the animals there have been rescued. The female ring tailed coati was kept as a "pet" for two years in a bird cage and had pulled out most of her fur and engaged in
classic pacing behaviour. She is learning how to be a coati with the help
of her family and rarely paces now. We learned a lot from the keeper and he told us about how one of the meerkats was a former "pet" and had been rescued too from a very unhappy existence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3b6fJXjPJaabLXqJFb0LBHNGX-GtZfZTsITD0WxQjyB9DRMZFXz3QJxLzcomGOU1YeljQzHH5y6nRrPDsc-NQXy9u-MBgkQIlaOd_ALhstD8_rFzlBv6zqEuL5SKtfjxFroLy1jUt5I/s1600/Mkats1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1333" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3b6fJXjPJaabLXqJFb0LBHNGX-GtZfZTsITD0WxQjyB9DRMZFXz3QJxLzcomGOU1YeljQzHH5y6nRrPDsc-NQXy9u-MBgkQIlaOd_ALhstD8_rFzlBv6zqEuL5SKtfjxFroLy1jUt5I/s320/Mkats1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga1XEgMgwDUoEqZwzSOpTKI6IUYI4IJjzqmOTAUGmXBQuYdFLVqFXWZFFBz8f4edkWaGMvChPYTvcZZ-rf_53S4Ju4fWtnQdjh-V2kv3HctHu2TUz7Xowhm4BIozUnLUgLZDVc3iTn8Bg/s1600/Mkats2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1333" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga1XEgMgwDUoEqZwzSOpTKI6IUYI4IJjzqmOTAUGmXBQuYdFLVqFXWZFFBz8f4edkWaGMvChPYTvcZZ-rf_53S4Ju4fWtnQdjh-V2kv3HctHu2TUz7Xowhm4BIozUnLUgLZDVc3iTn8Bg/s320/Mkats2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A better life</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The kids did the den-building and
bouncy pillow bouncing and we went into the butterfly house which was amazing and very
hot and humid. It felt chilly when we stepped back outside into the sunshine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6wEGBaA03LkBSEpypM18Mncxf8JarFPVSi3yOo6AT5TDQAnsklv-N24C1Xd_EtbnKQMJGrbccApAgUnUUY4roEHIE6VVplhRmirCpc5WPPconGsyCJ4ME3zVWa81i9bhwcqS8v6b_Ilw/s1600/bfly3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1021" data-original-width="1103" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6wEGBaA03LkBSEpypM18Mncxf8JarFPVSi3yOo6AT5TDQAnsklv-N24C1Xd_EtbnKQMJGrbccApAgUnUUY4roEHIE6VVplhRmirCpc5WPPconGsyCJ4ME3zVWa81i9bhwcqS8v6b_Ilw/s320/bfly3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This time we saw a sow with
her piglets. My eldest granddaughter begged and pleaded with me to let her take
one home. She was sure if she jumped over the electric fence and grabbed one no
one would notice. I thought she was joking, then she got quite upset. “I just want
to save one from being eaten,” she said. But the pigs were within the zoo side of the farm park, so I crossed my fingers and said they weren't being raised for meat.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But even if they are, I'm sure they have a better life than most pigs and at least get to live outdoors with freedom to move around. I have always loved pigs and I just don't like to think of eating them, but realistically I know it happens and if it has to, then I would wish the best life possible for them - if that makes sense.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Then the two girls declared
that they would become vegetarians. Tomorrow. Which by the next day had become
next week, but by the following day my little would-be piglet kidnapper had stopped eating meat. So there are three of us now and our family is very supportive
and have vegetarian days too.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">On Friday night they stayed
for a sleepover. Not much sleep was had. They all like to be in the same room –
with me – and there is chatting and whispering and giggling into the early
hours.</span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I was going to take a photo
of the aftermath – the piles of pillows, airbed, fold out bed, sleeping bags, duvets and
essential soft toys, but I was busy making pancakes for breakfast while that
was all cleared away. It would have been a bit of a horror picture anyway!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-79305529162549574672017-08-26T17:49:00.000+01:002017-08-26T18:34:46.587+01:00Harwich Rocks!<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I belong to a Facebook
group called Harwich Rocks. The idea is that you find rocks and stones, paint them (or use
nail varnish or pens) with patterns, words, characters etc. then you hide them
around town, by the beaches or in the woods. Anywhere you like really.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So many age groups are taking
part from tiny children to proper oldies like me! We gathered up a bucket of stones in all shapes, sizes and
colours and the kids spent ages drawing pictures and patterns and writing captions on them ready to hide next week.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Next week we’ll go on a rock
hunt and hide ours. It’s such a fun thing to get involved in and we have about 20 or 30 ready to hide. I will try to remember to take some photos of our
hiding places and any we find. The kids really enjoyed doing it and we will gather more rocks
ready to do the same again in the half term holiday. When the stones are found, they are often hidden elsewhere for someone else to find. It's really caught on locally - isn't it a great idea?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I decided not to bother with
the Blue Flag beach last week and we went down to Harwich beach instead. This
is the beach where I went as a child and where I learned to swim. And it is
where we used to take the grandchildren when they were smaller. We stopped going
once they started showing too much interest in the water before they could swim.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It’s not designated a bathing
beach (tell that to the locals who like to swim there!), but look at that sand.
Much kinder on the feet. St Nicholas church in the background is where I got married many years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEowWi328d8Biz1jEbOnhqFEDzxEd70oPDh20Sl1FvnwIom7Y7L_Zx5KaodpjFYl-h7iw9OwvgaJJItGkqsABuVdV4X6BwI5J9G9dxbjJ2Q1-n0OaUZrUe3CB2jTLe6mXapP8xaLrOKgQ/s1600/Today2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEowWi328d8Biz1jEbOnhqFEDzxEd70oPDh20Sl1FvnwIom7Y7L_Zx5KaodpjFYl-h7iw9OwvgaJJItGkqsABuVdV4X6BwI5J9G9dxbjJ2Q1-n0OaUZrUe3CB2jTLe6mXapP8xaLrOKgQ/s320/Today2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harwich Beach</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Apparently it is a rare example
of an emerging dune system in a coastline which is predominantly saltmarsh. I
read that on the local council’s website.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And my little fishies loved
the deeper water with no rock hazards lurking beneath. The girls were in the
sea almost constantly until the tide started going out. The boys were in and
out of the water, but it was very cold. I had my swimming costume on, but I
wasn’t tempted to join them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">They went out of their depth and I kept a close eye on them just in case, but they were sensible and didn't go out further than was safe. I always enjoyed swimming out of my depth too when I was their age.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg39qCcYjsPkqi_LD8qGx7rTwjks3wYTJVe1KuRgRTGD7HAR_CcC8RzWfPHAhRmAIGdq-7dY2GP7YjurccJJI68BrRBzfEr7cCN4X9GLnHgrnS0Y-JYkYtPVCtq7eojuCz-_Uufjgqu00w/s1600/Fish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg39qCcYjsPkqi_LD8qGx7rTwjks3wYTJVe1KuRgRTGD7HAR_CcC8RzWfPHAhRmAIGdq-7dY2GP7YjurccJJI68BrRBzfEr7cCN4X9GLnHgrnS0Y-JYkYtPVCtq7eojuCz-_Uufjgqu00w/s320/Fish.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fishes</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Someone fed the gulls while
we were there and they gathered round a little boat hoping for more. The pier
in the background is where the Pilots leave from to guide ships into the
harbour. Beyond that with the newly repaired building is Harwich Dock (not to
be confused with Harwich International Port) and the cranes beyond that are at
Felixstowe.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTVsIAND6LaGntzZTTkZLO4FWTEoF_znm1SiSFFEweFrJT4tgJkCTDov7c_S_LCLi76bgGgpiHD5vAy8SIePsd58Gi4dYMN6I64fj0r-fYq56YgssjNOP8Ff6noS9Bqd3znihVZ7JGNfk/s1600/Seagulls01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1334" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTVsIAND6LaGntzZTTkZLO4FWTEoF_znm1SiSFFEweFrJT4tgJkCTDov7c_S_LCLi76bgGgpiHD5vAy8SIePsd58Gi4dYMN6I64fj0r-fYq56YgssjNOP8Ff6noS9Bqd3znihVZ7JGNfk/s320/Seagulls01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gulls</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And we watched these two
dinghies leaving and coming back. A friend who knows much more about these
things than me tells me that they are Finn dinghies, the type in which Ben Ainslie
won gold in the Olympics.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOE6RvGcr21tpVw2-q07ZkhE3wTVKE3A2llUvxSJy3bSpHlp0cOT_Jm9Jn7TpwFz__FuzkB8B0vcJXG5BQNrzxjFFmkPKTL7z7zHpOVROgzpLVARMTvR7OojBBAD0cVMfFbbtfdfaWIaQ/s1600/Finn+Dinghy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOE6RvGcr21tpVw2-q07ZkhE3wTVKE3A2llUvxSJy3bSpHlp0cOT_Jm9Jn7TpwFz__FuzkB8B0vcJXG5BQNrzxjFFmkPKTL7z7zHpOVROgzpLVARMTvR7OojBBAD0cVMfFbbtfdfaWIaQ/s320/Finn+Dinghy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finns</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We’ve also been clearing out
the garage and found loads of old photos including one of one of the Dovercourt
lighthouses taken between 1901 and 1910. There was a lot more sand there back
then, but look how busy it was!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd-KrEIsg2-T32wGSkVvda4P_8NrUBX7tJRggta37te7jNuRm7zfPW2eQE7t8sOVjvtiRHUiixbHaBljw1bLLvpNtprIryeujQXMDg2XtaeObTHAnGwJqhlcO59uSofY2qUcs5wIK9gWs/s1600/Lighthouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="1000" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd-KrEIsg2-T32wGSkVvda4P_8NrUBX7tJRggta37te7jNuRm7zfPW2eQE7t8sOVjvtiRHUiixbHaBljw1bLLvpNtprIryeujQXMDg2XtaeObTHAnGwJqhlcO59uSofY2qUcs5wIK9gWs/s320/Lighthouse.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dovercourt Lighthouse</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Number Three granddaughter
got some new pyjamas this week. She loves them! We teased that the caption ("I had fun once. It was terrible") suits her so well as she can take life very seriously at times, but she is always telling jokes. They all have Youtube channels – she asked if I’d post a
link to hers so here it is. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh2uxCm4Et07v0PHnwxibbQ" target="_blank">Izzy Enderman</a>. At the age of eight, she wants to be
many things and one of them is a famous Youtuber! I see Dusty has managed to get his tail in the photo.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiitZYH1g5WyViejGtm3cuQ5qseb13r0MF25uMnUwsGRWRFSQcvgBIrrFS8DzJN21cKUmgFNxukzveMnZzwGkz6wRcbh9sgHnImwjY_MfZIMHLLUl5lMXeJmgkgd0zM9IHAAJQOuNv3_DE/s1600/Izterrible2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1303" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiitZYH1g5WyViejGtm3cuQ5qseb13r0MF25uMnUwsGRWRFSQcvgBIrrFS8DzJN21cKUmgFNxukzveMnZzwGkz6wRcbh9sgHnImwjY_MfZIMHLLUl5lMXeJmgkgd0zM9IHAAJQOuNv3_DE/s320/Izterrible2.jpg" width="277" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Izzy Enderman</td></tr>
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Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-6040081669151623442017-08-20T10:02:00.000+01:002017-08-20T10:06:07.224+01:00Perfect Weather?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It was so very hot and sunny
earlier in the year I bought tons of sun cream, yet as soon as the school
holidays started, away went the sun.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For me, this has been perfect
holiday weather. Being cloudy has meant I haven’t had to keep applying sun
cream to young skin and worrying in case I missed a bit.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">None of the kids want to play
on the beach any more – they just want to swim in the sea, so in future I’m
only going down there when the tide is in. Last week my eldest granddaughter
gashed her leg on a rock just under the water. If we’d been down there at high
tide, it wouldn’t have happened.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not deep enough for swimming</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Poor little girl came away
from the beach with blood pouring down her leg (looking worse because she was
wet) and I thought we’d end up at minor injuries, but once she was in the bath,
the bleeding stopped and we went back to the beach to rejoin the others. I
think she’ll have a scar on her leg though as the cut was quite deep.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We went to good old Clacton Pier this week. My smallest little person was at last tall
enough by a whole centimetre to go on the Aqua Blast Lagoon in a boat of his
own – and they all had a blast (see what I did there). Only seven boats were
operating and my crew took up four of them. Ours were the red/blue, green/blue, blue/yellow and blue/white.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDWYAaN-hFP43X_9E9QwAu64nv6VEIGeSlFmXg_kfF6Jy_aHZ4O4enBTZo6AJGNYTdm4b4iu8QdMB9VXK3JyE1f-vdYJjeLdw-HV3yneGuPfesk9w3NW9abbxo3YnFexD51QWTNKD6GaY/s1600/CP2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1333" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDWYAaN-hFP43X_9E9QwAu64nv6VEIGeSlFmXg_kfF6Jy_aHZ4O4enBTZo6AJGNYTdm4b4iu8QdMB9VXK3JyE1f-vdYJjeLdw-HV3yneGuPfesk9w3NW9abbxo3YnFexD51QWTNKD6GaY/s320/CP2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aqua Blast Lagoon</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We spent nearly seven hours
there. When we arrived it was raining and chilly, but within an hour the sun
had come out, the jackets were stowed in my backpack and of course I didn’t
have any sun cream so we all came home with sun-kissed faces – but no burn.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The 146 year old pier is
undergoing refurbishment and I could already see a great improvement. I hope
the refurbishment includes updating the loos – they still have the old high pull-the-chain
kind of cisterns.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dusty enjoyed his walk after
heavy rain left a small lake on the field. The gulls love it when the field
floods – they don’t love it when a water-happy dog splashes through it. By the
next day the wind had dried the lake up.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzs8FwHVkibkQtYxWwSc8HdL7MxAaocueRGTnAznjbZUcRKWAagBEdnnETawjTKqvhwIwsvTFxTycfGXRpgXAng-60yDt-cwwU7oYFVQ-Lvrwj8ySpoDaZ4FlK3bMW6GzmVJDYprFXYs/s1600/Dusty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzs8FwHVkibkQtYxWwSc8HdL7MxAaocueRGTnAznjbZUcRKWAagBEdnnETawjTKqvhwIwsvTFxTycfGXRpgXAng-60yDt-cwwU7oYFVQ-Lvrwj8ySpoDaZ4FlK3bMW6GzmVJDYprFXYs/s320/Dusty.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dusty making a splash!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I may have mentioned that I
love gulls. When I was
a child and my mum was in convalescence after a major operation, she said that
what she missed most (after the family) were the gulls.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I took this photo of the
lighthouse because there was a gull on top making that lovely racket that gulls
make. When I was a child and even when my own kids were small, that beach was
sandy. I don’t know where all the shingle has come from.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf18AfK1Bleg_tUJOI2t_cTTY0uuuHYAGTPFBMFl8eNQMGuDwAVRTN7-1FXu3rkNwemcqr7L6QzVU4gtZIVgoP881r86lJ9_glaI_MRhCuPobO4xJ0kCo3Br3l1nElIIUQzS7_xG-ThBw/s1600/Light.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf18AfK1Bleg_tUJOI2t_cTTY0uuuHYAGTPFBMFl8eNQMGuDwAVRTN7-1FXu3rkNwemcqr7L6QzVU4gtZIVgoP881r86lJ9_glaI_MRhCuPobO4xJ0kCo3Br3l1nElIIUQzS7_xG-ThBw/s320/Light.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you see him?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And I took this one of the
sky because… well you can see why.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBUyfFQtRwF_izICrmMlkwoPyrfclgbDcOzZB-nqEQAQkn9dwENGbK8dHY4QALk1h0yY8c7uXkUtVWQSTCSn0fMVpNqROSbLQO2aWDuS7jPzoi_xz_oaBCGZBzSXVesizIjzg2bKZmmT0/s1600/CP3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBUyfFQtRwF_izICrmMlkwoPyrfclgbDcOzZB-nqEQAQkn9dwENGbK8dHY4QALk1h0yY8c7uXkUtVWQSTCSn0fMVpNqROSbLQO2aWDuS7jPzoi_xz_oaBCGZBzSXVesizIjzg2bKZmmT0/s320/CP3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gorgeous Gulls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One day the boys and I had a
walk round the woods while the girls went to the park which was lovely and
relaxing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihaj641hGNAXBG_AxQhGqTDNePNS3dQsCHItL0RDIm1b3af_IeLMUZiQAFsR_FQzavI0uQKi7_UCKdInLHsR4Heq0AUvbyX2mExctFdivBXzqiFwarsSDmBp1hTHPC2mADlmlptC5bfdw/s1600/Woods1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="728" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihaj641hGNAXBG_AxQhGqTDNePNS3dQsCHItL0RDIm1b3af_IeLMUZiQAFsR_FQzavI0uQKi7_UCKdInLHsR4Heq0AUvbyX2mExctFdivBXzqiFwarsSDmBp1hTHPC2mADlmlptC5bfdw/s320/Woods1.jpg" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woodland Adventures</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Only two and a half weeks of
summer holiday left. Where has the time gone? It goes much too fast.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-57177579165501801162017-08-06T16:03:00.000+01:002017-08-06T16:03:17.527+01:00A Busy Week<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We took my two granddaughters-from-away
home yesterday and as always I felt sad to drop them off. The week passed so
quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At 7 and 9, they’re a bit
past buckets and spades and just wanted to play in the sea. As with the week
before, the water was rough and I was worried, but they enjoyed it. Swimming in
the pool was much less nerve racking and they had a lot of fun in there.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I took them to Jimmy’s Farm
(somewhere I’ve been reluctant to visit as it’s a working farm and farms make
me sad for obvious reasons). My other grandchildren have told me it’s good and
they were right. The girls had a great time. There was plenty to do as well as being
able to feed some of the animals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIXjKa3hMS0wf_jEaan5-GcAI7gc-IEp0dBHYwWmBIRdczq2WTKD1CtKeEcyk1LBcvEf27HZdD2UZ9Wxxd0bAeFeOLczQHTLc81PgbQaz8vXeQXqVvPFIltwyhdyuk2gvLfb-KtsnYbA/s1600/Girls03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="950" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIXjKa3hMS0wf_jEaan5-GcAI7gc-IEp0dBHYwWmBIRdczq2WTKD1CtKeEcyk1LBcvEf27HZdD2UZ9Wxxd0bAeFeOLczQHTLc81PgbQaz8vXeQXqVvPFIltwyhdyuk2gvLfb-KtsnYbA/s320/Girls03.jpg" width="304" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bouncy Pillow</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwKcK1VgTurFbrwTL6MvO3w-fNX5eXoUJGjgb52H_WWt0mh0pag7ymwQzF6mBe7DHcFKH5A0J-FWvz-1ktEHVWbOzkxgwboj6lhdjdRPe4QovD3T8QPsFrB67Qs_zXI79SlnyvidXrPo/s1600/Girls04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1333" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwKcK1VgTurFbrwTL6MvO3w-fNX5eXoUJGjgb52H_WWt0mh0pag7ymwQzF6mBe7DHcFKH5A0J-FWvz-1ktEHVWbOzkxgwboj6lhdjdRPe4QovD3T8QPsFrB67Qs_zXI79SlnyvidXrPo/s320/Girls04.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Den Building</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We decided to try Walton Pier
for a change from Clacton Pier. It’s more geared to younger children, but they had
fun on several rides (as did I), had a walk along the pier and played in the
arcade.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They spent Friday evening at
my daughter’s house with all their cousins while I went to see one of my
daughters in law playing Queenie in Blackadder. The drama group did three
episodes of Blackadder II and it was brilliant.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The house feels very quiet
today with just one granddaughter and one sleepy dog.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-23493257425256968522017-07-31T16:33:00.000+01:002017-07-31T16:33:10.864+01:00Breezy and Nerve Racking<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There are advantages to there
not being a heat wave and ferocious sunshine in the holidays. I’ve hardly had
to use any sun screen at all so far! So I haven’t been worrying about sunburn.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The small hardy souls have
braved the sea a few times, but the wind hasn’t seemed to drop for the past
week so there are always waves. Sometimes big ones – but they love going out
then swimming in with the waves behind them which is something I used to love
to do – and still do. But it’s nerve racking watching them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBf-nvc6qkM9dQ5hR52DHJ1RFAlPkQR8QtT5i3KqQ43qWnispSgU1mcyjBXTdmizUozH_1ty1viL687Y_zOlEUIPqWrQ_QiQVY6lLJFHiG6XlipWUItaIlKr1YjziIz7wxe0VA0vMLrh4/s1600/Swimall2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBf-nvc6qkM9dQ5hR52DHJ1RFAlPkQR8QtT5i3KqQ43qWnispSgU1mcyjBXTdmizUozH_1ty1viL687Y_zOlEUIPqWrQ_QiQVY6lLJFHiG6XlipWUItaIlKr1YjziIz7wxe0VA0vMLrh4/s320/Swimall2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brrr - warmer than it looks</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I don’t know why, but the sea
always seems warmer when it’s rough.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYTDWsokv5yy_X1GU4jP3xDOhc0K0IacPX85roSvepSYDd0Aq8VhLm2eE7wPuN2_ub1_KfEwsqtJkmW9FXiWsBCeSLi3j0Npnu6LEdJKYT2bJyUM1R5yyrHRiLNG0Zur94GANzOonpQg/s1600/Roxcharl05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYTDWsokv5yy_X1GU4jP3xDOhc0K0IacPX85roSvepSYDd0Aq8VhLm2eE7wPuN2_ub1_KfEwsqtJkmW9FXiWsBCeSLi3j0Npnu6LEdJKYT2bJyUM1R5yyrHRiLNG0Zur94GANzOonpQg/s320/Roxcharl05.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunnier but still rough</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We went to the Colne Valley
Railway. We hadn’t been for several years and I thought with them being older
now that they’d be disappointed (they asked to go), but they had a lovely time.
We went on a steam day, but they liked riding on the little mini train more
than on the steam train.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colne Valley Railway</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We stopped going once there
were four as going back and forth over the railway bridge used to be nerve racking
with toddlers and buggies. When I saw the bridge, it seemed much smaller than I
remembered – it was twice as big in my memory. And now it’s possible to cross
the line without going over the bridge – but of course they wanted to go over
it! We did cross the line once, but even that I found nerve racking.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bridge from the mini train</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tomorrow we’re going to the
pool so there won’t be any waves to worry about, but slippery pool floors…. Nerve
racking. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I even worry when we go crabbing that one of them might accidentally throw themselves in or scrape their legs on the wall as they climb down to the ledge. How many times did I hurl myself in by mistake? None! Where do I get my daft ideas from? I have no idea.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crabbing</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’m sure my nerves never used
to be so racked when I was a parent of small children and they certainly weren’t
when I was a child. I didn’t worry about getting dragged out to sea or slipping
over at the pool or falling down the steps of the old railway bridge and they
shouldn’t either. That’s my job. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The hardest thing of all is not letting my racked nerves show and pretending I'm as fearless as they are.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">And another thing – I always
thought it was nerve wracking, but from Googling, I think it may be nerve
racking. As if my nerves aren’t racked enough! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">But I am enjoying the school holidays, doing things I did as a child and as a young mum and reviving memories while making new ones. It's worth a few racked nerves.</span></div>
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Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328996877751363067.post-63195238377476142252017-07-25T16:01:00.000+01:002017-07-25T16:01:24.445+01:00Anonymous Who?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Every day I am getting
several “Anonymous” comments on various posts which is why I’ve set up
moderated comments. These comments bear no relation to the posts they purport
to comment on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I wonder if it is because my
poor old blog has become neglected in recent months.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The summer holidays have
started and I’ve drawn up a plan! Nothing set in stone, but I’ve written the
tide times on there and pencilled in a few things. I don’t want to get to the
end and realise there were things we could have done and never got round to.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some of them are off camping
for a few days and my lovely granddaughters who live away are coming to stay next week. I’ve been
looking forward to the holidays for ages.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One thing that will get done every
day is a dog walk (or swim) before we do anything else.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPNyJ0ObVaDkrRpnx444paINSbhFZZ44GhqDPpuW5W-UF6PubG8_EwchggsYda27-BxtUTpWGCq0wiuVKb4-SX4Rz25g5iRJSy-sIwxm2yq3Vd6UEVhrytAVYGDAild2OclH0MwCn_Lw/s1600/Dustyswim1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPNyJ0ObVaDkrRpnx444paINSbhFZZ44GhqDPpuW5W-UF6PubG8_EwchggsYda27-BxtUTpWGCq0wiuVKb4-SX4Rz25g5iRJSy-sIwxm2yq3Vd6UEVhrytAVYGDAild2OclH0MwCn_Lw/s320/Dustyswim1.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdfEfkULrNSax9YcKEt5445nD2Ci2sr0rGNEc5r8qXUHMHXVI18h5P1qR4FC5dAD82oHK3QNzrYuaGzEe0lABcGbpUnEm5_Cpbz_19MoWMIsaSQDVNF1iW_4xzaUKJY4sephR0oB-HzbQ/s1600/Dustyswim2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdfEfkULrNSax9YcKEt5445nD2Ci2sr0rGNEc5r8qXUHMHXVI18h5P1qR4FC5dAD82oHK3QNzrYuaGzEe0lABcGbpUnEm5_Cpbz_19MoWMIsaSQDVNF1iW_4xzaUKJY4sephR0oB-HzbQ/s320/Dustyswim2.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early Morning Swim</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dusty loves the beach hut taps. He sprawls out underneath and
has a shower as well as a drink.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimv_86zCOCk9YvA0cS8vIetU7MvcFauTbJQp_0jwOJfLcs6InkgQ4YV6DREBcMwj8K8FBDwqszZxQfNcegp1zhcxWBfwjkSjQCDMEMsde05BJ2aQjGFG_1_KBoatKlQbZ85I899SmKqcE/s1600/Dustytap1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="844" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimv_86zCOCk9YvA0cS8vIetU7MvcFauTbJQp_0jwOJfLcs6InkgQ4YV6DREBcMwj8K8FBDwqszZxQfNcegp1zhcxWBfwjkSjQCDMEMsde05BJ2aQjGFG_1_KBoatKlQbZ85I899SmKqcE/s320/Dustytap1.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8l0LqJDpQeYBSAt2PFolCQYuacj5feXiR2hGBnU5nTeIypL9hvJAqPFwJTIE8PGBNdb3OAyLl5YZjwAkluHxHUnZRsd930CN7QyTR2mT7INuaNAKAYfsb-KzERCqMDSU2rWZ_NqXnOI/s1600/Dustytap2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="844" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8l0LqJDpQeYBSAt2PFolCQYuacj5feXiR2hGBnU5nTeIypL9hvJAqPFwJTIE8PGBNdb3OAyLl5YZjwAkluHxHUnZRsd930CN7QyTR2mT7INuaNAKAYfsb-KzERCqMDSU2rWZ_NqXnOI/s320/Dustytap2.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beach hut tap</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was quite pleased with this Key Lime Pie I made which has no dairy or eggs. In the photo the middle is
still frozen – it looks better once defrosted, but it went too quickly to get
another photo… and I forgot anyway. It seems to be one of those things that
everyone likes which is unusual. Even trifles don't disappear as quickly as this pie!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOMX2bi2S0ZKf8ixw8HgWiiVvG9lZqB1OAIP9lQJ4p3iOTp9WByrPaA3WO-geQHMb5uOlRXyZV5nMoFEKr9hniVQJH0Id4Mfbdins6rdf1Nk-U8N9JxA9INB4XF5TEtQFvIrqAtpYFISU/s1600/Kaylimepie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1454" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOMX2bi2S0ZKf8ixw8HgWiiVvG9lZqB1OAIP9lQJ4p3iOTp9WByrPaA3WO-geQHMb5uOlRXyZV5nMoFEKr9hniVQJH0Id4Mfbdins6rdf1Nk-U8N9JxA9INB4XF5TEtQFvIrqAtpYFISU/s320/Kaylimepie.jpg" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Key Lime Pie</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hope you are enjoying the
summer!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Teresa Ashbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15350697922935549188noreply@blogger.com16