Mrs B

Merledogs, you so have my sympathies - speaking as one who has a seatbelt chomper of my own - he's cost me three seatbelts - and the two I've just had fitted for MOT purposes I won't even reap the benefits of as the car is one it's way this Friday when I (hopefully) take delivery of my new second hand vehicle - which will be crated out. Jazz, I like your negotiating style. I too am in desperate need of an Easter egg - the Easter bunnies just let me down this year.

I have been watching fox(es?)at the bottom of the garden on and off all day today - we are thinking that they have made themselves a den in the garden behind us, just the other side of the fence (a mesh one, so we can see through). As we live on an estate, this is qite although the house behind is part of the old village, so has a long garden - and I guess the owner doesn't know of his visitors! Tigger has been running up and down that fence for ages, so we were pretty sure the fox was passing the way, just hadn't realised exactly where they were living. Meanwhile, Daisy runs up and down the side fence telling the cats next door off - so its quite a busy time here just now!

Morning. I am waiting patiently to see if the Easter Bunny has been. I dropped VERY (un)subtle hints last night ........... Then I'm going to find a very large cardboard box, which is going to have OH's name on it, 'cause he likes to leave little heaps of papers all over the place - which I daren't move 'cause they include documents and stuff - but it's kind of out of hand so I'm going to file them in a box!

Oh gosh, it's taken to so long to load a box for me to reply it that I've forgotten what I was going to RMF about. Sam, Michelle and Merledogs, sorry you are feeling variously rubbish. Be better soon. Sorry to hear about Wispa's injury - hoping that's better soon. Phoebejo cake (yep, I'm sure I'm not supposed to use for cakes, but I am!) I was temporarily excitable as I read down the list of ingredients and thought I had everything in to have a go myself, but then reached the mascarpone, and realised I had nothing I could substitute. Thank you for all the kind "Easter Egg" thoughts. Of course I could be wrong ............

I don't think anyone will think to buy me an Easter "egg". I'm such a big kid really. Am going to have a hunt around my recipes tomorrow and make Mr B an Easter 'cake' of some sort I think. Then I just have to hide it until Sunday.

for poorly relatives and peoples. I need to 'fess up and join the RMF Decluttering Group. I find there are far more interesting things to do with my spare time than sorting out things and removing cobwebs, however I don't think the mess is helping my state of mind just now. So why did I suddenly have the urge yesterday to blitz the messy corners of the office? RMF Just treated the neighbours to the sight of me with mussy hair and my cosy dressing gown as I decided that I'd better haul the bin out to the front for emptying - just in case I find the required state of mind to fill it with accumulated rubbish.

I have been having an on-off e-mail correspondence with my electricity/gas suppliers over the last couple of weeks. In their latest e-mail to me, they have decided that I am "Mrs Blotter". The clue in the "Mrs B" is correct, but how I've descended from my real name to Blotter is beyond me. I'm afraid my 'response' was to type in my actual surname, stick an exclamation mark at the end and send it.

I can't believe this hasn't been started somewhere ........ Perhaps everyone's April Fooling me and you're all going to have a jolly good laugh at my expense for daring to start an RMF.

I do pop in from time to time to catch up on your RMFs. However I'm trying to avoid posting anything as between work stuff, family stuff, holiday stuff, car stuff and how-I-am-feeling-generally stuff, I fear I would spend too much time whining. Am off to make some flapjacks and shortbreads. And if that goes well, maybe some lime curd. And trying to think of an exciting and imaginative meal for one using left over chicken.

Here's hoping your exam is/was a breeze Alex. Marian Please may I join the Thinking-lots-reading-but-not-posting-somewhat-out-of-sorts Group that seems to be appearing here? Lots of muddly mind thoughts going on here and generally not dealing particularly well with lots of things. I've even made a list of things.

They are threading in our Shopping Centre at the moment. I have never had it done but am wondering whether to go there now ...... or whether they will have packed up and gone home! I think I may be in a rash mood!

But you see "not me Merledogs", this one just happens to be nearly 4 years old and just happens to only have 19k on the clock! Not exactly going to put it in the cheap and cheerful category. Mr B's been on the 'phone re holiday (another thorn in my side) and I have 'mentioned' it .......... think I may now be allowed to leave a note on the guy's windscreen asking him to contact me with more info. Sam, your allergies sound very very horrible. Here's hoping tomorrow is a non-allergy day - and yes, I can quite understand that rehoming Squirrel dogs is not an option!

I am currently "on hold" to O2 in an effort to persuade them to do me a good contract thingy. (Ooooh errrrr. Bit advanced for wrinkly fuddy duddy granny types like me). At the rate we are going my battery will be flat and my chips healthe green salad will be cooked before they answer. Now which one of you lot was responsible for causing me to pounce on some unsuspecting soul in the works car park tonight in order to peer into the 'boot' of their Honda CRV thingys? The only problem is that I like it and they want to sell it next month - and I don't think we can afford!

Page 1? Or Page 2? Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus

Morning. Why is that Tigger and Daisy have just wanted me to stay in bed every morning this week when I have to go to work. Now it's the weekend they think I would like to get up before 6? Mind you, the rest of the week Mr B has been off to work at 4, so they have had the luxury of pinning me to the bed, one each side. Anyway, that means they've both been out, before it rains, and are currently tucking into their bones. Except Daisy has decided to eat within 5 feet of Tigger, so Tigger is doing lots of growly, grumbling noises, saying "out of my bone space, this is MINE" which of course Daisy can't hear! I will now go within 5 inches of Tigger and he'll look at me warily but that'll be it. Time for my breakfast now. And then to think what to do with the rest of the day. It could of course be another day of tramping around car showrooms. Yesterday we went on the spur of the moment, so I had to borrow a tape measure in each car showroom, and then explain to various car salesmen that I was measuring to make sure my dogs would be OK in the back - as this was before I did so much as open any of the front doors, I'm sure they all thought I was barking. Seemed sensible to me mind. Then I had to come home and ask Tigger to sit with his nose in the air to see which of the vehicles he could nose in! There was one car salesmen who said we could try the crate in the vehicle - when I explained we were going to buy the crate to fit the vehicle he did say we could bring the dog(s) ............. to try! Would he know what he was letting himself in for, 'cause I might just take him up on that! I have no sense of spacial awareness!

Morning. Can anyone tells me why it has either rained, snowed or been sheet ice under foot every Friday since New Year? Can anyone also explain to me why I can't go on holiday in June on the dates I want 'cause the in-laws are away elsewhere on those dates and they're coming with us. I have suggested to OH that we return them to the ferry part way through the holiday as foot passengers. I'm not sure that improved my standing with OH as an exemplary DIL!

Unfortunately this has happened just at the time that we have made the decision that we need a more Tigger and Daisy friendly vehicle - which I can also use to carry my catering stuff - on the occasions when I actually get to do that. Think I've already spent at least £700 in the last six months, so bad, bad timing to be forking out any more.

Di, don't blame yourself - you hardly ignored a cry for help from him - he quite clearly didn't want you around him at the time. And at the end of the day you still made the decision to actually "do" something. Hope your deerhound thingy is responding to your care too. Today I have to reluctantly ring my garage to say "yes it's OK to go ahead and spend a four figure sum to repair my car" - only because it is just about worth more with the repair done than without. Last day to apply for voluntary redundancy today. Wish it was me. Oh, and OH has invited the in-laws on holiday with us. Not that we have one booked your understand. But it's for MY birthday. I am not in a totally happy place right now.

What am I missing out on which is why no-one else is here?

Had to leave the house at 6.25 am today to get the bus to work - car is still in broken-down-from-Wednesday-night land. Can't decide whether I want the garage to hurry up and tell me what's wrong so that I know when it's coming back, or whether it's going to be so bad that I really don't want to know. Just off to trog around the mobile 'phone shops - 'phone has joined the broken down car club. Think I'm probably also in that club at the moment. Spent the morning trying to deal with the fall out of "my boss is on annual holiday and does some work which I have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with so there's little chance of my working it out for you in 5 minutes - so of course I'll spend the next two hours doing it for you ..........." Snow has disappeared. Again. All I want to do at the moment is eat. This is not a good sign.

It is snowing here! We have more snow now than we've had in the whole of the rest of the winter put together. (Not difficult!) I shall try to curb my enthusiasm slightly for those of you who have already had too much .......... but I'm just loving Tigger having a ball in it - and it reminds me of his first winter here when he was still learning all about new things and was so wary of the snow the first time he saw it ....... and by the time we had finished playing out in it he was just like a big soppy happy puppy. RMF. I have only managed to read as far as page 20 of RMF!

I need some suggestions for a multi purpose vehicle (by usage, not necessarily by name!) and where better could I ask than here! I have run a Peugeot 307 Style HDi (3 door hatchback) for 8 years however it is becoming increasingly unreliable, the latest last night when I spent a very interesting 3 hours on the side of the busiest road in Lincoln in the company of Tigger and Daisy, while I waited for the vehicle assistance folks to turn up not impressed, but thats another story. Did meet a nice PC who has a rescue staffie/collie cross mind. Tigger and Daisy currently travel very happily on the back seat of the car, in seatbelt harnesses, leaving the boot free for me to carry (and keep clean for) food/baking. We have been thinking for a while that it would be good to get something better for the dogs, but my thinking is hampered by not really knowing what is out there, and having to have a vehicle where I can say that the food is kept separate from dogs. The majority of journeys I make on my own, sometimes I have a passenger, occasionally this is even Mr B (!), so selfishly I dont have to have a vehicle capable of carrying more than one passenger. Journeys to and from work most of the time; to and from dog days training, walks and the like (sometimes at training the dogs stay in the vehicle some of the time if we are working different combinations of dogs), and to events where I am either catering or carrying baking to, when I tend to fill the boot with cool bags, boxes of equipment, crockery, cutlery …….. so the boot of the current car is filled to capacity, and occasionally for we actually go away, which tend to be self catering, so every crevice of the car is filled with the dogs luggage, and we find a small corner to put the human packing in! Diesel preferred. Cant decide whether I want a vehicle I can put fixed crates in or not depends if that would limit me too much for the other things I want the vehicle for. I would kind of prefer a vehicle the dogs can see out of easily when we are stopped Tigger particularly likes to look out around him and given their deafness I would prefer that the dogs have the ability to see (is that sad of me?) I dont mind looking at vans as long as I have the means to carry food separately to dogs and the dogs can see out! But maybe folks have some car suggestions too. Can anyone help by making a few suggestions?

Blimey. Maybe it's just as well there's a drop or two of water between us then! Daisy says "How is Auntie Mags' sewing?" - just in case she needs something to occupy her hands. Daisy would particularly like an "I love cuddles bandana" making ........

I could recommend a self catering place in Market Overton (Rutland) - can't say if it would be available of course - but not sure if this would be near enough for you or not - not too far off the A1. If you're interested, let me know and I'll go find a linky.

I keep checking back on you to see all is well ....... and thinking good "keep strong" thoughts for you when I'm not around the PC to check.