Missing

I can't believe I've missed over a whole month on here and I really don't know what I've been doing! We've just come back from South Devon and it was Finn's second holiday. He was a good boy and we spent the days walking along the beautiful River Dart, sketching and just sitting taking in the wonderful British countryside at my favourite time of year. 

beach clean community

I had a wonderful surprise the other day when I was contacted by 2minutebeachclean to say they were sending me a present. It was a lovely piece of jewellery made by the talented staceypumpkin who donated several necklaces made from driftwood and freshwater pearls. It's hard to put into words what pleasure this has given me - to be picked and to wear the necklace. I enjoy the beach cleaning and consider it to be something we should all do without thinking - the people behind 2minutebeachclean work continuously to put the message across in a lighthearted and fun way - even though the problem of plastic pollution and all the rubbish left on our beaches can be so upsetting. What an amazing community it is.

Pics of rubbish collected on Bognor beach, lost shoes at Bracklesham, me with my necklace, Finn enjoying the sea breeze and some of the weird finds I collect.

Finn update

What a wonderful dog Finn is becoming. He's really settled in to our life now and seems to be very happy in his new routine. He's very loving and obviously up for all the walking that is expected of him.

It was Gra's birthday last week so we spent the day out walking, beachcombing, collecting and photographing. Plus a bit of eating and drinking too - the perfect day. Below are pictures of paint on the bottom of boats.

East Head at Wittering was very stormy but beautiful. I did a #2minutebeachclean and in the picture of the sand you can see the tiny pieces of plastic littering the beach - all the black and white bits are plastic too. They can be found all along the sand dunes now and this shocks me every time I see it. I also collected some shells and seaweed to draw.

2016

Happy 2016 - very late but better late than never, I'm hoping this will be a good year. We had lots of lovely walks over Christmas - I actually managed a beach clean on Christmas Day but the most important news of all is Finn's first anniversary. Unbelievable that he's been with us a year now. We had a little family party for him - it was important for my sister to be there as she found him for us. He was the centre of attention and loved all the fuss!

Time flies by ...

.... I cannot believe it's over 2 months since I've updated my blog. I upload everything to Instagram at the moment so if you click the link at the side, you can find me there. But here are some of the photos from my Autumn walks and things I've collected plus of course Finn doing what he does best!

Finn's first trip

We've been away to the West Country - walking the coastal paths - which is my favourite thing to do. This time we've had Finn with us - his first holiday (that we know of). I was unsure how he would behave as he's a very impetuous dog and can be hard to handle at times. I needn't have worried - he was a good boy. He became bored easily while Gra was searching for fossils and I was drawing but only disgraced himself once when he did a runner from our hotel room and was eventually stopped by a German guest with a very large suitcase! I think we wore him out in the end.

Busy

I've been busy with work lately so here's a pictorial update of what I've been up to.

I visited West Dean Gardens - it's so inspiring there - I must go more often with my sketchbook.

I've been doing housework - as you can see Finn is very settled - when I change the bed he always snuggles into the washing pile!

I had a birthday and a lovely long weekend of dinner in the Horseguard's Inn, a day walk at Firle Beacon, a picnic and visit to Goodwood Sculpture Park and an afternoon in Arundel to go around the art trail and have afternoon tea .... phew!!!!

Happy Birthday Finn!

Today is Finn's 5th birthday - as far as we know - it was roughly worked out by Allsorts Dog Rescue when we got him. The picture on the left shows how he was in the dog pound in Ireland and the one on the right as he is now. It hasn't been easy to get him to this point as his behaviour has sometimes been pretty wild but he is calming down and Gra has worked wonders with him. 
It's lovely to see him enjoying his life and having adventures. He found a fox in the shed and was obsessed with that for over a week even though there was no more sign of it. He eats my blackcurrants and gooseberries off the bushes and traumatises the sparrows and pigeons in the garden. He's found his voice too - it took him about 4 months to bark - I'm sure the neighbours are delighted! He's very loving and funny too - a great companion - I'm glad he found us - Happy Birthday Finn!

New Year, New ......

We have a new dog! He is a rescue terrier cross called Finnegan but as that name is such a mouthful he will be known as Finn. I'm so delighted - he's fitted in well apart from raiding the biscuit tin, trying to jump the garden fence and retrieving a quality street from under the sofa and stuffing it down. I managed to get most of it away from him as dogs and chocolate do not mix. 

It all happened rather quickly - we had seen several terriers online at Battersea and Dog's Trust that we liked but each time they were reserved before we even had a chance to visit, so we decided to wait until after Christmas before looking again. My sister saw Finn on the Allsorts Dog Rescue site and we applied. They responded - saying he was already reserved but then on Tuesday of last week they contacted us again as the man had changed his mind. We had a home check on Wednesday and went to see him on Thursday, loved him and brought him back there and then.

He's gorgeous but quite naughty, completely the opposite in character to Bill although he looks similar. I think he will provide us with a lot of fun and love and many stories for this blog!

May

May has gone and Summer is now here although no sign of nice weather yet. I am having a creative block with my drawing which always happens when I'm sad or anxious. Although I love taking photos and recording all the things that interest me, mainly dogs, nature and food - which does help.

Arundel florist's display, Petworth Park where there was much debate about whether this was a Magnolia or Gardenia - we decided on Magnolia Grandiflora - if anyone knows differently please let me know, wild foxgloves, homemade strawberry tart and grass silhouettes from an evening walk.

A visit to Lewes which I always love, a lot of the shops are independent which makes a nice change, woodland walking and cousin Gif who gave me a lovely cuddle.

Keeping busy

I'm trying to keep busy at the moment as being without Bill is proving to be even more difficult than I imagined. We are doing a lot of walking so hopefully I will soon be fit and svelte like!

Some instagram pics - beautiful tree, flowers, feathers and Alf!  These peonies from my sister were just lovely. Walks in the Spring countryside and a trip to London to see the Matisse cut-out exhibition at Tate Modern. No cameras allowed inside unfortunately and it was so very crowded - even on a Monday which spoiled my enjoyment a little. The pictures were brilliant but it was annoying to have to queue to see each one.

Bill

Yesterday was a sad day for me as I had to have Bill, my beloved JRT, put to sleep. He became quite ill on Monday night and so did not suffer for long which was what I'd always hoped for. He was 15 and had a brilliant life, out walking every day and sharing all our adventures - a tough, brave little dog, full of character - he fitted in with our lives perfectly. My constant companion, I'm missing him so much.

Hear

Day 24 of the August Break is hear. My Jack Russell's hearing suddenly went a year or so ago, the only consolation being he is no longer terrified on bonfire night or frightened by thunder and lightening. He used to cower under the bed - a pitiful sight. I really miss talking to him though and getting a reaction, it's also difficult to let him off the lead as I can't call him back, he just trots along, faster and faster until I have to run and catch him.

touch

Old age?

I've been worried about My Jack Russell aging for a while now, he's definitely slowing down. Bill's 14 (98 in human years) but yesterday I wondered why I worry so much. At 4am he wanted to go out and he chased a fox into a neighbouring garden. I could hear him tearing around but I couldn't get him. He eventually came back through a hole in the hedge. Then he was up again at 7am for a walk, at 11am he visited his friend Alfie to run up and down his garden - guarding against any intruders. Another walk at 3pm and a game at 6pm. All this interspersed with several light meals throughout the day. No wonder this is him today, I wish it was me!

Sunday night

Playing with my new phone ...

♥ 14 ♥

My beloved JRT is 14 today. ♥ Happy Birthday Bill ♥

Warm

My Jack Russell's got a new coat, bought just in time for the snow. As you can see he doesn't like it - he refused to look at me when this picture was being taken!

Harvest

It makes him all itchy but I can't stop him. In fact it looks like a nice thing to do - I may give it a try. I'm still neglecting my blog at the moment - sorry - lots of work and the invalid is still needing help, although I'm glad to say he can get his socks on by himself now and he is improving!
I find it very hard to be creative for myself when I have a lot of work on, in the evenings I just crash out with a large glass of wine.
PS. The presentation went well - it just has to be passed by one more person now - so fingers crossed.

Charm

The weekword is 'charm' chosen by Linda Sue, pop over to see her beautiful felting and all the other links to this week's word. These sweetie bracelets seem to be all the rage at the moment. If I bought one - guess which charm I would get first?