Beyond Adolescence - part 2

[SpanielsGalore]

No point banning coffee, as it didn't work last time. 🙄
Haven't had any cake updates from a while. @VanGoSunflowers Have you stopped baking already? You still had 8 cakes to go to make it economical.

Mine also got a small Christmas dinner in addition to their regular dinner.

Big pup still managed her best starving pup expression while we ate. 😂

Then she got up at 5am to go and cry at the leftover duck on the worktop 😡

Managed to persuade them both back to sleep until breakfast at 8.30 fortunately. One benefit of dark mornings

“Big pup still managed her best starving pup expression while we ate. 😂”

I know that look!

Well, I hope everyone had a good day yesterday. Brie had a turkey Forthglade tray, but that was really our only nod to Christmas. Neither of us felt like a roast dinner, so we had pasta instead. I managed to spill tomato sauce on my favourite Toast dress 🙄 honestly, you couldn't allow me in a posh restaurant, I'm such an embarrassment.

A nice long walk for us this morning. We stitched two of our usual circular routes together by doing a road section and a bridleway in between, so started up at the edge of the moor and ended on the meadow.
So so busy! Walkers, loads of dogs everywhere; quite a few antisocial ones today for some reason, though fortunately most were on leads.
Brie had a nose boop from three sheep.

It's so lovely to have some dry days, to come back home with a clean dog and not need umpteen towels.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet how is your dress doing today? Did the sauce scrub off properly?

Glad you, Brie and DP had a lovely day ❤ I do love how Brie get's booped from sheep! All the ones near us run away whenever they see dogs, not that I blame them - there's a few arseholes near us who think it's funny to let their dogs chase the sheep.

We bid goodbye to DSis and her rabble today, so we are down to just six dogs and two children now which feels a lot more manageable. DH and I are spending the day on the sofa with the babies and PIL and my parents have taken DDs out, which I am sure means they will come back manic on sugar and not want their dinner at all...but that's fine as it will be PIL/parents problem!

There is nothing better than a house to yourself and the dogs, good food and coffee and watching your favourite Gerard Butler films. @SpanielsGalore what are your thoughts on Gerard Butler? He's a bit like Taylor Kinney (Kelly Severide) - can't act at all, but very nice to look at IMO.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Not quite my cup of tea. But I've been separated for three years now, so I could probably be persuaded. 😂

Hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas. DS2 came for Christmas and Boxing days, so that's been nice.

Had the walk from hell yesterday. Ten times worse than Heron gate. Won't go into details, but we won't be returning to the woods for a good while. It's a good job DS was with me, as he was able to hold on to a rabid P whilst I went in search of K.

DS being here also showed that all P's anxieties are centred around me. He had a huge coughing fit and she stayed sitting next to him. I did a fake small cough and she ran out of the room. She stared at him the whole time he ate, instead of hiding in the kitchen. She even stayed in the kitchen when he made toast and accepted a piece from him. She did leave the room after he started crunching it, but came back when he called her and took another piece from him.

What’s your favourite Gerald Butler film?

Watched the F1 film yesterday which was really good. Didn’t realise that Brad Pitt was in his early sixties. Still in good shape (blush). Worth watching. Also, half way through Love Actually.

Walked through the orchards. A week ago, there was a thin layer of slippery mud. Now all dried up. Surprisingly warm.

Only dogs we met were a saluki and another lab. I’m not really a sight hound person, but I do like a saluki.

Hope you and your DH enjoy your peaceful day @TheHungryHungryLandsharks

The dress is fine, but I do need a makeover; pondering whether I dare show myself on the family WhatsApp group call at New Year, as currently resembling Sybill Trelawney from Harry Potter 😆Still, could be worse - at least it's not Pomona Sprout that was my mum

Sorry you had the walk from hell @SpanielsGalore and hope today's walks will be easier.

It must be quite upsetting for you the way P reacts to you. I found it hurtful that one of our cats hated me whilst adoring DP. It isn't a nice feeling at all when an animal you love appears to be terrified of you for no apparent reason. I'm sorry that you're going through that with P. I hope she has a much better year healthwise in 2026.

Steeling myself for a walk, it'll probably be another busy one today 😨 Had a horrible panic attack on our Christmas Eve walk so not feeling confident, despite Brie being an angel.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet hope the walk went well.

Ugh! Rushing to get out before. Sorry. Was not trying to say that P hates you @SpanielsGalore , just that she has a strange fear of certain things you do - which Freija did with me. For F it was something to do with me clattering saucepans, and for a long time she wouldn't come into the kitchen when I was cooking. But she did get over it! She's now in there much of the time. Sorry for my wording (again). Foot in mouth syndrome I have, especially when I'm anxious 🙄

Thanks for asking @Silverbirchleaf , we headed up a bridleway away from the village and it was surprisingly quiet. She was hilariously giddy today, which normally only happens on the big field, but I had full-on backwards jumping head-shaking silliness up on the moor edge today.

@SpanielsGalore 'persuaded' - never did I think a woman would need to be persuaded about Gerard Butler!!!!

I am so sorry about P. That must be devastating. Do you have any idea what might have triggered it or what to do? It's so odd as from everything else you've said, she clearly trusts you beyond reason so it's not 'you' (if you see what I mean!)

I'm glad you got to spend time with DS2 though! Is DS1 still overseas for a bit longer? I forget how long you said the tour was?

I feel you pain with horrible dog walks. Sometimes dogs are little shits aren't they and even when they are, you still love them so it's hard to really tell them off (at least if you're weak like me!)

@Silverbirchleaf I love the 'Fallen' series (Olympus has Fallen, London has Fallen etc), but I also love Kandahar! If I am honest, I would probably 'watch' (aka gawp like a lovestruck teen) anything Gerard Butler was in. On Brad Pitt, it's got to be 'Troy' although I haven't seen F1 yet so need to give that a watch.

Slightly different vibe, but DH and I have paid for 'Kong: Skull Island' to watch later. Everyone I know who has watched it has said it's terrible, but i'm hoping it'll be a bit like Eastenders...so bad it's good.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet it was lovely! DDs (and both sets of grandparents) are yet to return and are going to have fish and chips out, apparently. DH has been a gem as made me a club sandwich for lunch and for dinner he's doing ham, egg and chips. All I have done since early morning is sit on the sofa and be bed. So I am very happy.

Glad you and Brie have had some lovely walks ❤I know what you mean about confidence though. When Twatdog was about 18 months, I just lost all confidence with him - nothing he had done, but just the anticipation of something happening.

It's alright @CoubousAndTourmaIet . I didn't read it like that. I know she's frightened of things I do rather than of me. P also hated clattering saucepans and baking trays, and the noise of the freezer drawers being pulled out. She's fine around me cooking now. If I carve a joint of meat, she'll stand next to me and accept pieces. As soon as I put those slices on a plate, she runs away and won't take any more. But she'll take it from DS's plate.
It's all very weird and I can't get to the bottom of it. It did make me wonder whether rehoming her would solve all her issues though. Not that I would, but 🤷‍♀️

Glad you had a lovely walk with Brie.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Glad you've had a lovely relaxing day with your DH. How much longer are you in Norfolk for?

DS2 is the soldier. He's back in Edinburgh now. He wasn't keen on Kenya, as it was too hot for him. No doubt next year he'll be moaning Estonia is too cold. 😂

P's food issues started with a piece of toast. She always had my crust ends. But one day, she had the first piece and then ran out of the room. I found her trembling outsde the bathroom door. And it very quickly escalated from there.
I offered her a piece of steak once when she was cowering in a corner. The way she crept out to get it, you'd think she was the most abused dog ever.

Yesterday's walk involved a deer. P was a bastard. K was on the periphery, hyping up the crowds. I had to scramble through hedges dense enough to guard Sleeping Beauty's chambers. I could have told them off until I was blue in the face and they wouldn't have cared one little bit.
And I can confirm a 12.5kg dog can pull someone over when they are determined enough.
Did I mention rehoming earlier? 🤔

I hope your girls enjoyed their day out with all their grandparents @TheHungryHungryLandsharks . Sounds as if you and your DH had a pretty perfect day.

The deer incident sounds rough @SpanielsGalore . Sorry you were tugged over and hope you're okay...

@SpanielsGalore until next Saturday! It’s been so long since PIL got to spend more than a day or so with DH that we decided to splash out!

Do I get points for remembering one was a soldier? Estonia is lovely tbf, although I admit bloody cold! I still remember Moscow at Christmas and shiver thinking about it 🥶

Sounds so odd with P! Just no trigger! Really hope she improves soon ❤️ walking multiple dogs really is awful isn’t it? If one’s not causing chaos then the other ones are!! Hope you aren’t hurt though from your fall!! My house is always ready to take in your girls if you do rehome…

@CoubousAndTourmaIet they loved it! But then what children don’t like being utterly spoilt by their grandparents? Grandparents never say no and always say yes (apparently). And DH and I were very happy to have a day to ourselves. DDs are yet to appear this morning - which shows how exhausted they were yesterday and they’re normally up by 7 at the latest, but usually 6! Even DWS is yet to rise…but I think that’s mostly as she missed DD1 so much yesterday - she did a lot of crying by the front door.

It truly sounds like the perfect winter break @TheHungryHungryLandsharks

We are loving this dry spell. I cannot describe the difference it has made. Off out for a bit now 😃

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks - 2 weeks away sounds great, we sadly had to come home yesterday.

Definitely a place I'd like to go back to, but it's a long drive.

It's actually colder here than where we were in Scotland. We only put the wood burner on once and I had to stop adding wood as it soon reached 24 degrees inside!

@CoubousAndTourmaIet how was your walk? It's been dry here as well - the odd shower, but nothing terrible. Due to rain toward the end of the week, but that's fine. As you say, it's remarkable the difference it makes!!

I don't know if you're doing the same given how much you've said Brie loves to be outside, but we've been sitting here with the patio doors open every day so the dogs can come in and out. It's freezing, obviously, but we're just wrapping up in blankets and having hot chocolate (with extra whipped cream).

@tizwozliz I always find if the break is too short I just don't relax! It takes me a while to switch off from work, particularly given what I do is allover the news. Norfolk is lovely, but the drive is a bugger in part because it's a lot of single lane traffic so there's the potential for what should be a short 3 hour journey to turn into a 6 hour one - I've always (successfully) argued that's why we should book two weeks...just in case. 😁

I can't believe it can get that warm indoors! I'm not sure may house gets that hot in summer. Is it raining near you? Or just really cold and sunny like it is for me and @CoubousAndTourmaIet?

@brushingboots I meant to say. DMum and MIL both loved their Dry Robe dupes. They've had great fun wearing them out together 😂

I've had another successful day of laying on the sofa watching rubbish films. I could get used to this not doing anything malarkey. If only someone in my family would pull their finger out and win the lottery so I could live like this every day forevermore.

It's damp and dreary here, although the coming days look a bit better.

It took us about 11 hours to get home yesterday - about 9.5 hours of driving time. But pretty much bang on estimates, no real hold ups. You realise how big Scotland is when it takes 6 hours just to reach the English border.

We've just had baked camembert for dinner. The pups looked like they were watching tennis as we took turns dipping 😂

Oh god, she was loopy today @TheHungryHungryLandsharks . All fine until we met an elderly couple who stopped us to ask us what she is (only of course they thought she was a boy 🙄), and she went into full "oh look at meeeee!" "aren't I lovely?" twirling about. Then, after they walked away, she put me through 5 minutes of torture with the crazy lead biting, after which she snailed all the way home so it took forever.

We often have the French door open and I have been sitting outside with her a bit, just enjoying dry days. I love winter. It's been a lovely few days of longer walks and I feel much better for it. Sadly DP is back to work tomorrow so we won't have so much scope for long walks together.

Glad your DM & MIL appreciated their new coats.

@tizwozliz ohh your poor doggies! I hope they got something equally nice?

Gosh! 11 hours 😐do you share turns driving? That’s the main reason we can’t do such long drives - need two cars for the dogs and DDs. Although even without DDs we really need two cars!

@CoubousAndTourmaIet ah you don’t mind her loopyness really! Tbh it must be so lovely that’s she’s so friendly and gentle - proves all the haters about big dogs wrong! Do people ever pat her or is it more a ‘watch from afar’ type thing?

Ohh! Boo DP going back to work!! I say he takes another week to make the most of the good weather!

I'm the only driver, although I'm not a great passenger anyway so it's not so bad. Pups got some bread sticks and carrots with a bit of camembert so thoroughly spoilt.

Morning all! Sorry not caught up with the thread as yet, I was just on the puppy thread and that’s moved on so much too! Lovely to see the newcomers over there.

I will catch up later, I may take a leaf out of @SpanielsGalore book and make notes 😂

But hope you are all having a nice relaxing time of it at the moment. DS has gone abroad to visit relatives for the new year and I have the week off. Loads of nice dog walks, reading and relaxing in store for me
this week! Yay!

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks so glad the coats went down well! Have you bought yourself one now?!

@tizwozliz 11 hours driving?! You must have been exhausted if you didn't swap!

@brushingboots I have ordered one in the sale 😁They looked brilliant this morning walking along the beach with the robes done up, hoods up, gloves on, and long wellies...like little garden gnomes who had escaped someones back garden.

@tizwozliz your photos are stunning! I also
know only too well the ‘starving pup’ impression! The only time Pablo ever drools is when I am eating something he wants. To be fair to him, he doesn’t try to steal food from me and sits waiting patiently for toast crusts most of the time, the drooling really bothers me! I know he can’t help it but still 😭

@SpanielsGalore Im sorry you had a tough walk! hope you’re ok and walks since then have been ok?

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks any good film recommendations?? Glad you’ve had a relaxing time. I hope cake and coffee were involved 🙂

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Trelawny happens to be one of my fave characters and I think she has style!

@brushingboots my dry robe dupe is genuinely one of my favourite things! It’s perfect for dog walking. Mine is covered in Pablo’s muddy paw prints 😂