Thank crunchie it's Friday

Well lot's of brownie points for me for doing a bit of a tidy up yesterday and cooking dinner - a fabulous Californian lemon chicken dish with noodles - organic chicken, naturally. I am a lesbian Jamie Oliver! The flat is still full of boxes, but everything looks to be a little more under control now...
Pluto is under the weather. He was sick this morning and then a little antsy on our walk, chewing on his lead and then sulking. I've given him plain food, lots of water, something to chew on and the assurance that I still love him even though he was grumpy with me. We spotted Charlie the Irish Wolfhound on our walk and he wanted to play with her, but they were just leaving the park and so were we. That dog has such a beautiful face and Wolfhounds have a very ethereal quality. No sign of bad dog but I keep my eyes peeled.
Tonight we are meeting up with a friend who has just returned - along with two other friends - from doing Mission Malawi II. Malawi has a frighteningly high rate of HIV and AIDS infections. The Mission, which happens every year, is a 14 day marathon of cycling, kayaking, trekking and mountain climbing and all the money that is raised is used to fund local services helping prevent infection but also treating those that are already infected. It is easily the hardest thing most people would ever do in several life times. They raised over a hundred thousand pounds and we are very proud of every single one of them for doing it.
This weekend, my partner and I are designing the garden! Sketchpads and colouring pencils at the ready... we decided to do our own designs and then sit down and see what we had both come up with. Stuff that's in both designs will obviously be included, I'm just not sure we have enough space for everything we want to do: hot tub, adventure playground for the dog, cottage garden, veggie patch, water feature, decking, lush green lawn... I also wanted chickens at one stage!!

Dog day afternoon

I'm working from home today, so I have the luxury of (a) a lie-in! (b) walking the dog in the afternoon rather than early morning. I love walking the dog but there are some days that are better than others. This was a good day because we met a lovely lady and her greyhound Bells. Pluto loves playing with other dogs; sometimes he's a little too friendly and doesn't realise that not everyone finds him as interesting as I do, but generally he is gentle and fun; if a little boisterous.
Pluto and Bells ran themselves ragged; trying at one stage to include a Jack Russell puppy who became a little overwhelmed with all the attention. The sun although weak, was shining and I enjoyed chatting to Bells' owner. (Dog owners are generally very friendly - we don't have to find something to talk about, we have something to talk about. The same thing that has just put muddy paws all over you, or whacked you round the knee with a stick just so you would know how clever they are, or the same thing that is attempting to wrestle a greyhound into submission.) The park is full of birds and if I were a little more clever, I could tell you what they were; but I am convinced we have a family of woodpeckers living in some of the older trees. I'll check my wildlife guide to find out more!
There is one dark cloud on our sunny horizon, an aggressive dog. We come across him rarely but all the owners frown and shake their heads at the mention of his name. Apparently, he picked up a Yorkshire Terrier by the neck the other day and shook him. From what I can see, his owners fight aggression with aggression - this will only escalate the problem and if I see him in the distance now, we leave. Sad but true. Bad dog owners, what can be done? I think they should be locked up in kennels without enough exercise, and fed the same crap that comes in dog food tins. And maybe we too should be casual with our fists and feet: beating them when we think they've stepped out of line; shouting and confusing them and then blaming them when they become mistrustful, anxious, wary and ultimately aggressive. Incidentally, they are the same people that let their dogs go to toilet everywhere without cleaning it up. Anyway for the sake of my blood pressure, let's move on...
Got back had some cheese on toast and tried to do some sorting. My partner's things are all over the living room and I think she's a little stressed with the move. I don't want to put things away for her though. It's important because she moved in with me, that she puts her stuff exactly where she wants it. She has to make the changes so that this lovely flat goes from being my home, to our home. Already though, it feels a much nicer place just for her being here...

Breakfast before Pluto

Twice in one day, I can't always promise to be this keen. It feels weird writing this because actually there's a very strong possibility that no one will ever read it! But I'm drinking beer and Murder She Wrote is on in the background, so life is generally good. My partner first suggested a blog after hearing story after story about what happens when the dog and I go for our twice daily walks at our local park. His name is Pluto and in case you were wondering about the title, there was a (UK) indy film not so long ago called Breakfast on Pluto, however, as anyone with a dog will tell you, you should always eat before your dog to show who's the boss... confused yet?
Pluto is a rescue pooch and has lived with me since November of last year. He is a cross Rottweiller and Labrador, is a year and a half years old, loves walking, socks and cheese and is a fantastic friend.
My partner and I have been together over two years and she just recently moved in - she's smart and beautiful and passionate.
I press manage a rugby team, who are off to New York in May for the Bingham Cup. I'm trying to learn to cook... we had friends over this Saturday (the partner of the Net Dog was one of 'em) and my veggie lasagne seemed to go down well, as did the sweet potatoe fries, and shop bought dessert.
What else? I'm a writer; journalist, novellist and script writer. I really like Guinness. Well that's the light and fluffy stuff, there's more, of course. But I'm not writing a novel, I'm writing a blog so until the next time...

First time blogger!

I've never done this before, but have wanted to blog for ages. I have things to tell you about my dog, my rugby club, vegetarian lasagne, all sorts. This is the first of many... there goes the neighbourhood...
Allison x