State of things
April 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment |
I decided to write another post in my diary. I’ve been really busy these days… chasing sheep, chasing geese, smashing my paws on Roger’s keyboard… I think I like chasing geese the most. They’re really big and make funny noises. First I was a bit afraid of them but one day I decided to give it a go and chased them all from the shore. It was good fun!!
Everybody says I keep growing and I guess I’m getting really big. I also got really “laid back” as Roger and Claire call it. And the other day Claire made a really big fuss of getting one of my puppy teeth. I normally eat them (to be honest, I eat practically anything much to the annoyance of Roger) but Claire wouldn’t let me… Ah well, she probably gets all sentimental about it…
The past weeks have been really good with the weather. I spot these big flying black spots every now and then. Roger calls them “bees” and I try my best to catch them with my mouth. So far no luck and Roger keeps yelling that I should be careful. I really cannot see how a black spot that small could possibly hurt me! Anyway, I’m really enjoying all my walkies although as of late I haven’t seen Doodle. Claire says she’s on holiday for the coming weeks. I really miss her…
Eyes in the dark
April 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment |
Last night at 11:30 we went out with Jingles for his nightly toilet stop. We always bring a torch as it is generally pitch black. Upon leaving the house we heard a rustle from the bushes near the burn. As we pointed the torch at the direction of the sounds we saw initially four deer standing in the croft next to us. Sneaking up towards the sound revealed seven pairs reflecting in the dark and the silhouette of their bodies. The deer were not spooked of us and just stood there while eating grass…
Dumb, dumber, …..
April 28, 2008 | 1 Comment |
Today I had to make a phone call with the electricity company. I will try to give you a transcript of that call:
Electricity Company: “Good afternoon [... we don't want to embarrass them...], How can I help you?”
Me: “Good afternoon. I have a query regarding a house move.”
Electricity Company: “Yes?”
Me: “We bought the property opposite the road from us. It’s on the same croft as our house. The address is 16 Skinidin.”
Electricity Company: “Erm… huh?” [long silence]
Me: “Are you there?”
Electricity Company: “Yes. I’m confused.”
Me: “We bought the property opposite our home. That property should be registered as ‘16 Skinidin’. Our home is registered as ‘New House, 16 Skinidin’. I have a query regarding the house registered at ‘16 Skinidin’”.
Electricity Company: [long silence]
Me: “Are you there?”
Electricity Company: “Yes. I’m still confused…” [long silence]
Me: “Shall I call again? Although I might get you on the line again.” [I was really frightened]
Electricity Company: [more silence]
Me: “Hello?”
Electricity Company: “Yes, I’m confused. Sorry…”
Me: “Can you pass me on to someone else, please?”
Electricity Company: [more silence]
Me: “Hello? Anybody there?”
Electricity Company: “Yes, I put you through to Ian. Hold the line…”
The actual conversation took about 15 minutes until I got Ian on the line. And Ian got matters sorted quickly and efficiently. Chances are that I had a phone call with dumbest woman in the UK. It took a bit patience to remain polite…
Fish & Chips
April 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment |
After weeks of on going sunshine it obviously had to turn around at some point. Well, yesterday was that point. Strong winds and heavy rain all day. We heard somebody say that it’s good for the land and the people… a bit of water and damp… Hmm, I like to think differently and quite liked the sunny days.
Progress on the shed is on hold for a while as we’re awaiting a delivery for building sand, lintels and windows. However, I did transport some blocks over to the shed area to prepare for the next stage: the concrete slab. Heavy buggers, those blocks!
Yesterday we got the keys to our holiday let across the road. We went to Portree to collect them from the estate agent. Afterwards we drove to Stein and had “Mallaig Haddock and chips” with a pint to celebrate. Quite delicious and such a nice place to go for a quick meal!
Today we had a quick inspection of the property. We had Jingles with us and suddenly there was Tan, the Collie from Neil & Denise, jumping on the other side of the fence. Both dogs had not seen each other for a while so Jingles got really excited. After some sniffing through the fence we turned our backs only to find Tan suddenly running around in the garden. How did she managed to do that? Well, Jingles and Tan had a bit of play and then Tan showed us her trick. She just wriggled herself under the fence and was off again leaving Jingles looking a bit sad… He’s way to chunky now to follow her under the fence!
By the way: how Jingles has grown! The second photo was taken on the 6th of February 2008…
Fuel crisis
April 23, 2008 | 1 Comment |
“SCOTLAND could be just days away from a fuel crisis after workers at the country’s only refinery announced a two-day strike in a pension row.”
Read more about it here
We found out yesterday at the local gas station where we were only allowed a £20.00 take-in. Really hope they get this sorted quickly. Skye is not really looking forward to something like a fuel crisis…
It’s worse than that, he’s dead Jim…
April 23, 2008 | 1 Comment |
[Just skip this post if "Star Trek" puts you off]
By accident I came across a Golden Oldie and it’s been buzzing in my head for a couple of days now. I also remembered a video clip with it… and of course one goes to YouTube to see if it’s there. And it was… Enjoy 
Founds are in…
April 22, 2008 | 3 Comments |
Today was crunch time. I had to put the foundations for the shed in. The mixer had arrived yesterday so all was ready to go. Simon came over to help me out with the leveling, using a cool laser guided leveling device. We had the levels set up within the hour so at about 10am, we fired up the concrete mixer for the first batch. Simon taught me some tricks of the trade, like splitting the bags of cement and making the right mix. I would have struggled otherwise…
By 6pm I was totally waisted and covered from top to toe in cement and cement dust. But I had completed three trenches by then and was actually so tired I wanted to stop and finish it off tomorrow. But there were Simon, Debbie and Holly walking down the driveway all with a big grin on their face looking at the state I was in. Simon was determined to finish it off and helped me out with the last trench and checking all the levels.
I have gained a deep respect for people who do this for a living. It was the hardest day’s work I’ve done in a long long while… but I’m really proud of the work and enjoyed it as well. Next step: the concrete slab!
Puppy Tail
April 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment |
Puppy Tail
“Suddenly it’s there again,
I see it with my eye,
I turn to grab, but it’s not there…
then it’s there again, behind.
Must be quicker next time,
Take it by surprise,
I turn again, but it’s gone again
and it’s there again, behind.
Faster and faster round I go
and then I feel a pain,
I must remember when it’s there again,
that it’s part of me, behind.”
Ivy Hawkins
I’m growing up…
April 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment |
At least that’s what Roger and Claire keep saying to each other. I think I’m doing ok. I’m on three meals a day now. I used to be on four. So, I missed one but now I get three big ones! I love big meals!! I think Claire gets a bit sad about me growing so quickly. She says the “puppy time” has gone so quickly. I think I’m still a puppy… and I will do my funny puppy walk for her more often. I think it cheers her up when I do that.
To be honest I have grown really tall. I can now see what’s on the dining table when I put my front paws on Roger’s lap. I do this every now and then. Roger thinks I want to cuddle, which is true (I love a cuddle) but I’m also desperately nosy and want to check out the table every now and then.
My sore knee is healed now. We’ve not been to Mairi at the vets for quite some time now. I really love Mairi. She’s alway so cuddly with me. Claire is still worried about my knee and she says I’m too boisterous and don’t know my limits.
Now my knee is better we do all kinds of fun things. We have had quite some beach walks, which are the best. I get to play with big sticks, sea weed and I can run around like mad. Especially when Roger does his funny walk and says that he’s gonna get me… I really, really need to run then…
Also, the weather has been really good. I hate rain and wind but now it’s been sunny for days on a row. Maybe Doodle gets over this afternoon again and we can have a run again on the “white dog field”. I call it the “white dog field” because it always has these strange white dogs roaming around on it. They’re really strange: they eat tons of grass, make weird sounds and always run away from me. Roger says I’m not allowed to go near them. I won’t as they look quite big…
Western night
April 16, 2008 | 5 Comments |
Still going strong with the weather here. There’s a real “springy” feel to the world. I noticed today that the grass is growing again and there are loads of little birds which crept out of their winter shelter. And of course the lambs are coming… cute!
We’ve been quite busy over the past days. The property at Holmisdale which we bought as a holiday let also has an old byre next to it and it appears that the local council is supportive of a renovation so we went out yesterday with Jock - a local guy who does house design and planning applications - and had a look at the possibilities. Today Jock sent me his first sketches which looked really good. We plan to maintain as much of the old quirky byre as possible so we can offer holiday goers a really unique place to stay…
Coming Friday our cement mixer will be delivered. Today I did the final preps for the foundations. Simon (a friend of ours) will help me wit his laser leveling device so we’ll have level foundations to begin with. And then it’s off to my first block laying.
Today we met Alan Campbell who’s on holiday with his family here. He stays down the road in Colbost at a property called “High Tide”. Alan has been a loyal reader of this blog and he loves Skye. We had a beer and it was good fun to finally meet up.
Coming weekend we’ll have a boys-western-night and a girls-rom-com-night with Simon, Debbie and their daughter Holly. The boys have claimed the lounge and the big TV while the girls have the kitchen to themselves. I’m still pondering on the programme for our Western night … it will probably either be “Pale Rider” or “Once upon a Time in the West”. I need to go up to the loft and get those DVD’s out of the removal boxes…
Jingles is really doing fine and he’s had two romps with his big friend Doodle. I’m amazed by his recovery. Doodle is a really speedy dog but Jingles was really keeping up with her. You can see that he’s “growing into his muscles”. His coordination is way better and he has more stamina despite his set back with the operation. They enjoyed themselves immensely on the field north of us which is really nice and flat so they can run around without the danger of stumbling over bumps and pits.
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Latest music...
Hair (1968, Original Broadway recording). Some naughty lyrics for that time!!
An Rathad a Bhatarsaigh, by the Vatersay Boys