Having calmed the lovely Lionel down and got him back on track for all things poolside, the weather decided to change course dramatically mid-week. The blazing hot sun gave way to thunderstorms and torrential rain – the pool will be full before it’s finished. Luckily Christian plus digger arrived before the heavens opened and corrected my little measuring mistake and kindly managed to do a bit of landscaping whilst he was here, clearing a line of old tree trunks. The top of the garden looks like something out of Jurassic Park at the moment but I’m hoping between Denis and the inclement weather, it will return to it’s rolling lawn status soon.
I finally got my hair done when the sun was still out. Since my neighbours were having their barnets done, the hairdresser suggested it would be easier if I popped round to their house. I think the the woofers might have had something to do with the decision, trying to concentrate with all that fur let alone the puppy distraction would put most off coming over to chez moi. I took up the offer gladly especially as an invitation to swim in Mandy and Ian’s pool was thrown in, total bliss. With lockdown ending and backyard socials back, one can’t help but have a little green-eyed envy over the fence. Fingers crossed, various members of the Collins’ will be speeding over land and sea next month ready for a bit of barbeque and a nice new piscine of our own.
Now that I have sanded all the floorboards and caught up on almost all my paperwork (a French obsession), I’ve been at a bit of a loss for things to do. I could use puppy watching as an excuse for not being bent over the computer writing the book, as a behavioural study they are fascinating, but truthfully I am still feeling unsettled. Things still litter the apartment, the lack of order agitates me yet until Mumo is back in her house and stuff gets put in it’s correct corner, the mess stays. The good news is that I finally got a delivery date for my long-awaited custom made sideboard and bookcase, only a 7 month wait, which will go a long way towards me achieving a more Zen-like demeanour.
The puppies are growing and now, moving. My in-depth analysis of canis familiaris puppius has discovered that the two smallest have a definite bond with each other. This is probably because they were next to each other in the womb and the last ones out. Slim and Salome seek each other out as a specific sleeping buddy unlike the others who see naptime as the equivalent of a rugby scrum. At three weeks old, all six are starting to discover play both with each other and Mum although Uncle Yogi did get a little spooked when all decided to descend on him at once causing him to shoot off the bed. Their daily education now includes ‘sound socialisation’ which means playing unfamilar noise such as traffic and sirens every evening and short periods of handling. All the puppies sleep blissfully through jet planes and baby cries and a gentle snuggle with a human is almost as nice as having your belly rubbed. Alice has become noticeably more uncomfortable about long feeding sessions so I shall start to wean them next week. All have been weighed (kitchen scales and a mixing bowl came in useful here) and wormed. Puppy worming mixture is pink, probably so you can tell who has had their dose even if most of it ends up being dribbled out onto your clothing. Puppies are definitely distracting….
“if you want to see the sunshine, you have to weather the storm” (Frank Lane)
Widow plus woofs 
fab hair do….. xxxc
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