I survived!!

I was all excited when the door bell rang this morning.  Visitors!  I love visitors!  But no, it was the postman (in shorts, can you believe, in just 5c?) with a parcel which my mum said I wouldn’t like.

Me, not like a parcel?  What could it contain?  The dog clippers of course!

She unpacked them straight away and lured me into the kitchen so I couldn’t escape.  After a few false  starts – getting the right comb for my long hair – she was off…down my back, under my tum, zizzing my chest, round my bum then a hand finish with scissors for my ears and feathers.

Don’t I look smart?

Do you know, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected.  The noise wasn’t frighteningly loud like a vacuum cleaner or hairdryer and the action of the machine was a bit like a brush, which I love.  I got a bit nervous when she did under my chin but it was over in a trice.

Now I look really smart for the summer and won’t get nearly so hot as I do when I’m bearing my winter coat.  Mum put some of the clippings on the summerhouse roof so that birds could have my hair for their nests.  I suppose you would call that recycling.

For the birds!

My previous thoughts on dog grooming

https://dogwuff.wordpress.com/2014/02/11/i-am-traumatised/

So much for Easter…

Well that was a poor weekend.  Easter they said, so I had dreams of eggs, bunnies and chocolate but did any of these appear in my dish – NONE, nothing, nix.  Not even a morsel of chicken with creamy wild mushroom sauce* which the family had for their Easter Sunday lunch.

Scraped their plates clean, they did, used spoons to ladle up the sauce made lovingly by my mum with garlic, white wine and these funny looking posh mushrooms handpicked by a friend: fairy ring champignons they’re called.  Didn’t even get a walk with him while he was out foraging.  I like a good forage.

I did get a lick of lemon and cream swiss roll but only because the sprog couldn’t finish her seconds.  I was very hard done by.

At least they didn’t dress me in bunny ears…

 

* My mum says I have to include her recipe.  Huh, how good am I – even without Easter treats?

For four: 4 skinless chicken breasts;  1 medium onion, sliced lengthways; 1 teasp crushed garlic; 2 tablesp butter or olive oil; 200gr wild mushrooms* (or sliced button/chestnut mushrooms if you don’t have a friendly forager); 100ml white wine; 100ml chicken stock; 100ml fresh cream (or 1/2 fat creme fraiche); salt and black pepper to taste; chopped parsley to finish.

Method: Melt butter/oil in a large frying pan and brown both sides of the chicken.  Move them to the edges before adding the sliced onions.  Cook until the onions are translucent then mix in the mushrooms, making sure they are covered with butter/oil before adding the wine and stock.  Bring to boil, add lid, turn down and simmer for 20 minutes until chicken is completely cooked through.  You may have to adjust the timing dependent on the size of the chicken pieces.  Once the chicken is cooked, add the cream, bring to a bubbling heat then season before serving with a sprinkle of chopped parsley.

* You can use dried mushrooms, in which case reconstitute the mushrooms in boiling water (overnight) and use the liquor in place of the chicken stock.

 

 

What about my mental wellbeing?

Hmm, my mum has been internet shopping.  Amongst purchases are my usual kibble, Dr John Gold Medal (specially for working dogs – did you know the Queens’s dogs are fed this brand?), a book about the canal trip she’s taking this year (without me!) and a ‘grooming kit’.

I’m not all sure about that last one – somehow don’t think it’s for her as she usually buys her stuff at Fenwick’s.  ‘Grooming kit dog hair trimmer’ is the full description and I suspect it involves electricity which means buzzy noise and I don’t like buzzy noises, especially if they are close.

I’m pretty bomb proof except around vacuum cleaners and hairdryers.  I was once taken for a professional groom and came out utterly TRAUMATISED by all the buzzy noises and the whirling bath.  My mum said I was a wuss and should have enjoyed the soap suds and warm water but it scared me horribly.

Now it looks as if she’s buying a buzzy thing to trim me at home; it takes too long with scissors, she says, because I have sooooooo much hair.  But I say what about my mental wellbeing?

Hurry up!!

Here I am, all keyed up and ready to go to the beach and my mum is taking soooo long to get herself organised.  Coat, boots, keys, poo bags, tissues, new ball, lip balm (that’s not for me, by the way), phone…

Hurry up, I might just expire waiting!

Dog tired

Such a busy day and I’m dog tired.  We went for a lovely muddy walk along the waggonway and that meant a hosedown when we got home but I stood there and behaved myself cos I don’t want my mum to think I want to avoid mud because I don’t like the hose. Afterwards I get a rubdown with a soft towel then wrapped up in my Surf Dog robe to dry off completely.  I’ve had my dinner and now I’m ready for some serious rest.  Can you tell?

Cat wisdom…

That fool of a dog might go out in the rain but I’m staying warm and dry indoors.

Follow Marley Cat on Facebook   https://www.facebook.com/Marley-Cat-1608609869393626/?fref=ts

Brrr, it’s cold on the beach

It’s been very cold this week and my mum has been freezing, indoors and and out.  You know I love going to the beach but I worry about her.  I bark and bark as she’s getting ready to remind her to put on enough layers.  Funny, she tells me to shut up but I’m only trying to be helpful cos I have thick fur so I don’t get cold – but I have to look after my mum.

Please throw the ball in the sea, mum, I’d love a swim!

TGIF!!

It’s the weekend – everybody relax and S-T-R-E-T-C-H!