Back to school.

(The sky was mesmerising this evening)

Today wasn't as bad as anticipated. Yes, the phones were busy and yes, I was on my feet a lot of the time but I don't feel too exhausted. In fact, it felt like more of a 'oh, where's the time gone?' rather than 'god, this day is dragging'. To be honest, I'm expecting tomorrow and Wednesday to be sheer hell as that is when the majority of schools return. 

A few people have commented lately asking what my job is - well I'm customer service manager for the company that provides a certain cow-based product to all UK educational establishments (that was my poor attempt at being cryptic in order to avoid the company's Google alerts). I'm sure it's clear enough for you clever people. Either way, all you need to know is that term time is busy, busy, busy.

I came home slightly earlier than planned to find Adam fretting over the fact that he appears to have spent more than usual on the weekly shop. Personally, I don't get the big deal as long as it isn't over £100 or something but I'm kind of particular over what brands I prefer. I'm all for saving but if it tastes like crap then I'd rather pay more for something I'll enjoy. Adam, however, isn't quite like that and he constantly tries to trick me into going to Lidl or Aldi or suchlike. Over my dead body - those places are warehouses for the walking dead. I really don't want to have to Google my food in order to figure out what it is....

I'm determined to get a good night's sleep tonight if it's the last thing I do. I was woken ridiculously early this morning by the mother-in-law having a small panic attack over picking up Skye for the day. When we're both at work, Caroline often looks after her (if she had her way, she'd have her all the time) but she usually manages to turn it into a bigger deal than it actually is. The plan this morning was that she was going to come and get her around 10 o'clock after I'd gone to work. No such luck; she tried to rearrange plans and when I told her that it would be okay and that I'd just check on her at lunch instead, she started getting anxious and in the end cancelled her 'appointment' and came to pick her up. The mind boggles but it was definitely a waste of 30 minutes, I'll tell you that much.

And so, our beloved hound is still at Caroline's, my lunch is prepared and it's now cool enough to sleep comfortably with the windows closed. So help me god - I will sleep well tonight!

Fun times and farewells.

Yesterday was busy, busy, busy. Adam had the afternoon off so we ventured into the city centre to pick up a few things. I can hand on heart say that yesterday was the most traumatised I have ever been by a city centre visit. I know I'm somewhat antisocial but there were people everywhere and they seemed hellbent on being the most annoying as they could possibly be. Slow walking, texting in the middle of the aisles, kids everywhere - you name it. Anyway, we survived and I managed to pick up a couple of pairs of pumps and a shirt. A small miracle really.

We then went up the house that I lived in when I first moved to Lincoln after graduating uni in 2010. It was a big old Victorian house-share overlooking the common and the original housemates have remained friends ever since. It turns out that the last of us, Nikki, is now moving into her own place so we seized the opportunity to have a final cup of tea and say farewell to the house. I can't say that it was sad as it is so long since I lived there and, to be honest, I couldn't wait to get out (did I mentioned I'm somewhat antisocial?) but there was a sense of emotion at the prospect of a particular era coming to a permanent end. The house itself is so beautiful; huge, old and with all the original features but the landlord Dave doesn't really know if he is coming or going and so it has kind of fallen into disrepair. I spoke with him once and he told me that he didn't really want to be a landlord but he had trouble selling the house so it is a better of two evils for him. I really don't think he'll intervene until the place falls down. Such a shame.

We're all meeting up again at Claire's (the blonde girl leaning back) wedding in a few weeks so that should be fun. Selfishly, I really can't wait to see what it will be like as both her and her partners' families are millionaire farmers. I'm sure it will be beautiful. I also can't wait to see Nikki in a dress. I hope she's better at dress wearing than she is at keeping her eyes open in photos....

After a quick shower break, we then went back into the city for a meal with my work friends. Originally, Adam wanted to go out to celebrate his promotion but when he realised that we'd already been invited out, he seemed happy to tag along. Technically, it was our apprentice Katie's 18th birthday but you know, any excuse. We went to The Slug and Lettuce - the meal was nice but they did that annoying thing where they shove you all on the world's longest table so that you go the whole night without actually realising who is sitting at the other end. It happens on actual work events all the time and is one of my biggest pet peeves. I consoled myself by sampling every type of gin on the menu - bars seem to be really big on gin promotion this summer, not that I'm complaining. I did try one that was meant to have herbaceous notes but let me tell you, it was vile. Comparable to licking the back of a roast chicken; I kid you not. I'm still trying to rid myself of the taste.

Now I'm having a chilled Sunday ready for the dreaded start of September at work. I say a 'chilled' Sunday however I spent the best part of the morning chasing the damn dog around the nature reserve after she figured out a way to slip her lead. I swear she knows what she is doing and she always picks the most awkward times. Have you ever tried catching up with a Husky? Well don't. You'll lose. I'm now having to scrub the grass stains out of my jeans and soak my new white trainers. Such fun.

Happy Sunday all.

Hounded.

I managed to take a half decent photo of Skye a few days ago as she bathed in the evening sunset. She really isn't meant to climb the furniture but if you've ever tried to train a husky to obey you, you'll understand why we gave up. To be honest, we more than gave up - she now has her own chair. I read somewhere once that huskies prefer to be companions rather than pets and they weren't far wrong. Total diva.

Notice how she wears two tags; one blue and one pink? Well that's because myself and Adam had a huge argument over what colour collar and lead she should have. Initially it was all blue which I liked as it has obvious links to 'Skye'. One day I came home from work and everything was pink. Much to my annoyance it turned out that Adam's mum had replaced the blue theme with pink as she believed that blue wasn't right for a girl. Yes she's our dog and yes, I did calmly walk away...... using every last ounce of strength. Needless to say I'm too stubborn to completely give in and now she wears both tags and I switch her lead to the blue one when I take her out. Job done.

Browsing through the app store, I just installed an app called 'Woof' - kind of an anonymous Facebook for dogs. Don't worry, I took a look more for humour purposes than anything else and my preconceptions were confirmed when, after just 10 minutes, a 6-month-old dachshund called 'Macbumhole' added me. Oh the joys of the modern age.

Talking of dogs, I've been walking to and from work for the past several weeks due to the current insane traffic build up. They've shut a couple of main roads  (why they don't just do one after the other I'll never understand) and as a result, the whole city's traffic is trying to get down one road during peak times. I live a five minute drive from work and it was taking just over 50 minutes to get in - absolutely crazy. Now I'm walking, it takes just under twenty minutes; I feel great for it but I have to walk through the dreaded woodland and at this time of year it's comparable to running the gauntlet. Now there's a five minute window in which, if I hit the woods, I walk right into some local guy and his seven yappy Yorkshire terriers. It may not seem a big deal but believe me, it is the trauma of traumas and I curse myself repeatedly if I time it incorrectly.

To begin with, you have no idea they are there until you hear the most deafening whistle and three or four of them dart out from the bushes in front of you. They're soon joined by the others who then circle you at break-neck speed, periodically weaving in and out of your legs the whole way down the track. During this, their owner merrily picks his way through the undergrowth oblivious to the drama unfurling. It adds on a good 10 minutes to my journey time and never fails in further ruining my already sorry looking shoes.

On the bright side, it has become quite the joke at work now and my colleagues have already started keeping tally of our encounters (one look at my shoes provides a tell-tale sign). I suppose the only other alternatives are cycling and public transport?

I think I'll just take my chances with the dogs.

Mustering.

Despite the sun's sudden emergence from what seems like an eternal hibernation, the air has remained bitterly cold over the past few days. English weather is a trickster; it tries it's damn hardest to dupe you into throwing on jeans and a t-shirt, only to find yourself cutting glass the minute you step outside the front door. It can be both depressing and amusing.

I took advantage of the beautiful sunset and took Skye for a woodland walk yesterday. It was so nice amongst the trees; waves of golden light flooding through the bare branches, spring draughts whistling through the undergrowth. I managed to snap a few photographs before becoming genuinely concerned by Skye's persistant attempts to hang herself from various boughs. Suicidal hound.

I've found myself rattling around the house on my lonesome quite a lot lately due to Adam constantly being at work. I'm 9 to 5 and he works shifts; unfortunately, his shifts are awkward times meaning that I am either at work or in bed by the time he finishes. I'm often banging on about how I love my 'me' time but, like all human beings, I'm also inclined to moan when it swings completely the other way. I guess you just can't win in these little old minds of ours. I suppose I also resent (a little) the fact that I am always left with the dog to look after despite being reassured by Adam that he would ensure he would undertake the majority of her care. Yes, I was the one that wasn't too keen on getting a dog - not because I don't love them but I've grown up with them and know just how much attention a young dog needs. Suffice to say, I gave in to Adam's constant badgering and now he is almost always at work.

Oh well, Skye is happy enough - I'm sure I can push my selfish needs aside for the time being. We were thinking of taking her to the beach on Saturday. No doubt you'll see us on some news report; found frozen to death in some northern cove. We should question our mental sanity really but I'm sure she'll enjoy it.

In the grand scheme of things, life is good. During a week of crazy news involving parents murdering their own children in house fires and countries attempting to provoke war, all we can do is take a breath and muster the strength to soldier on, enjoying everything we are blessed to have.

After all, it really isn't too much to muster.

Sunny-day.

Today is the first day that it has really felt like spring. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, birds are tweeting and every man and his dog seems to be milling around the streets. It's that strange time of year where humans appear to awaken from the hibernation of winter - they're literally everywhere and seem somewhat confused by the correct attire for this time in February. Old ladies march by in winter coats and scarves, young children run to the parks in football kits, teenage girls meander into town wearing just skirts and t-shirts. It does amuse me.

I took Skye to the park this morning. I was expecting it to be chaos with joggers and fellow dog walkers but I saw no-one the entire time. We've had quite a few issues with her lately - I informed you of her great escape a few weeks back but it appears that her inner Steve McQueen hasn't quite subsided yet and this week as I was walking her after work, she started leaping around and slipped her harness again. It took me 2 hours in the dark, running around the icy pavements before I finally found her hiding under someone's Chrysler Voyager. If there was any amusement to gleaned from the whole debacle, the lady that owned the car came out of her house believing I was a burglar. I calmly informed her that my dog was under her car and it took me a good two minutes to convince her to look. Even when she did realise, she did not find it all that funny. Neither did I to be honest. What angered me more is that during those two hours of running around, I saw her three times and each time she saw me, she just ran faster. Disobedient isn't the word.

Needless to say, she is now on her third harness - a small black number that slips over her nose allowing me to lead her by the face. My initial reaction is that it looked cruel but after looking into it, I realised that it is actually an ingenious design. After all, you wouldn't lead a horse by the body. Not only does the lead clip to the harness but the harness clips to the collar so even if the nose piece comes away, she is still attached. I was dubious upon her first walk but was soon converted - the harness is amazing! Admittedly, it has taken her over a week to get fully used to it but whereas before she was pulling me along like a sled, she now walks naturally by my side. Best pet purchase we have ever made and you also get the amusement of her rubbing against your legs (and anything else she can find) when you first put it on in a bid to remove it.

Due to the subsidence of the pulling and general improved behaviour, I was actually able to take some photos on the walk this morning. Absolute miracle. 

Oh and remember 'C' from this post? Well you were all correct (as per usual) - she handed her notice in  this week. After what seems like forever at the company, she has found another job as a support worker for children with learning disabilities. I can imagine her being amazing in that role, dealing with people and no systems work involved. Sometimes you really do have to trust people to help themselves as, the majority of the time, they actually do.

Have a happy, sunny Sunday everyone!

Poodle parlour.

I'll admit, I've come home from work to many strange scenes over the past few years but Adam bathing the hound yesterday was one of the funniest.

It's odd really, I've never quite grasped the concept of bathing a pet unless they are overly dirty but who am I to criticise? It provides fantastic entertainment.

The (not so) great escape.

This dog is crazy. I know that much is true.

I have to say thank you to those that commented on my last unnecessary crisis post. It reinforced the fact that what I was trying to convince myself was true and I've remained pretty calm about it ever since. That aside I've discovered that, on Friday, 'C' broke up with her life partner of all of two weeks and a good friend of hers advised me that she is beside herself. True to form, love (or the idea of it) will probably eclipse everything and she'll end up backsliding her way through her review period...... and out of the door. Like you all said, we're in charge of our own destinies.

We went on a small shopping trip around the city yesterday. For once, the sun decided to make an appearance; albeit a cold one and we've been meaning to go out and find the last few homely items for a while. We've been hankering after a new wooden coffee table as the glass one is driving us to distraction - I can spend literally 30 minutes cleaning it and as soon as I come back into the room, the dust has settled again. Adam came across a nice solid wooden one in TK Max. It is dark wood and rustic themed but it had a small gash on the side; he pointed it out to the manager who happened to be loitering nearby and she gave us £20 off. Not bad for a day's work! We also managed to sniff out a decent wooden mirror to go above the fireplace. I'll admit, the room has started to look a lot cosier since - as practical as glass is, it will never look as decadent as wood!

Wow, after rambling on about wooden tables and lounge mirrors, I almost forgot to share the complete trauma that occurred yesterday as we were getting in the car to go shopping! No wonder I'm so poor at blogging - I leave all the juicy bits out.

I was in the house frantically running around getting ready whilst Adam was getting Skye's harness on ready to load her into the car. After about 10 minutes, I left the house, locked the door and walked over to the driveway. Adam is usually ready and waiting impatiently in the car for me but this time, no-one was there to greet me. The car was locked and Skye's harness, lead and seat cover were blowing around on the front lawn. I looked around and listened for voices to no avail. I swear to god it was like the case of the Marie Celeste! I walked down the road both ways to see if I could spot anyone but there was no-one around other than a few kids playing in the street. At a complete loss as to what to do, I sat down on the lawn and waited. Twenty minutes later Adam came running around the corner from the park screaming at me to find some dog treats - Skye had slipped her harness and ran off into the woods! Words can't describe how angry I was. I'd told him countless times to make sure that the car was ready before taking her out and to make sure that everything was done up properly. I obviously chose the worst time to start the debate and was answered with a lot of shouting and swearing - he gets like that whenever he's stressed. He jumped into the car and rudely started shouting at me to get into my car and go and look. I was in such disbelief that as he drove away, I ignored my car and walked into the park towards the woods. After turning the corner who should I see tottering towards me as if nothing had happened? Skye. Her tail was wagging furiously, tongue held to one side and she ran right up to me and started to motion towards the front door. I couldn't believe it. As a child growing up, whenever our dogs escaped, it was always a good day or so before they were ever found and returned. This dog, who has only been with us a month managed to find her way back down the main road, through some woods and back to our front door!

My anger at how Adam had spoken to me after losing our dog still hadn't subsided, so I left it a good half an hour before I bothered to call him and tell him I found her. That might sound mean but you won't believe how clumsy and disorganised that boy is at times; maybe a fright like this might do him good. He does everything at rapid speed without setting aside any time to stop and think - that may be good in some life situations but in many of them it results in mistakes and clumsiness. These things happen, accidents happen but I just knew this was the result of him cutting corners and pulling her to the car rather than putting her harness on inside. He cuts corners a lot and I'm always there to pick up the pieces - the laid back slowpoke I am. Needless to say, we're friends again so all is good.

Now I'm going to take a few more pills in a desperate attempt to shake this migraine and pray to god that it will have subsided by morning. I don't get them often but when I do, the world may as well end. The only reason I am able to type this is because I am dosed up on Neurofen - a welcome break from laying in a dark room with no TV.

Come to think of it, what a poor weekend this has been. Such is life ay?

Don't worry, be happy.

The snow has been falling thick and fast for the past few days. Lincolnshire received the worst of it last night and even I, the boy who endured many a winter in the frozen tundras of Sweden, found it a struggle driving to work this morning. It does still amuse me how this country grinds to a halt at the slightest sign of the white stuff but I guess you'd never truly understand unless you came to live here; despite having snow almost every single year, there are still no real provisions in place should the inevitable happen. Road gritting is confined to only the busiest of roads, path gritting is non-existant. Buildings and pipework are not built to cope with extremities of any kind and more often than not, many schools are forced to close. It's a shambles and to the rest of our frozen northern European neighbours we're a laughing stock - but I don't think I'd have it any other way. It's part of Britain's bumbling charm.

Skye, of course, is loving the snow. I guess you could say she is in her element and I've been tempted several times over the past few days to purchase a sledge in order to see what she is made of. If it wasn't for work then I really think I would. Damn work. It's pointless even being there with all the schools closed - I guess this is how lifeguards feel in winter.

Lately I've been attempting to work on just how much I worry about the tiniest, most pointless of things. If you asked people that know me just what kind of person I am, anxious would definitely not be on their list of traits - to them, I'm probably one of the most laid-back, easygoing people they know. To be honest, pointless is probably the wrong word - it isn't pointless things I worry about, it's more when someone does something to spite me. It's strange really, it may even be something innocent where the other party has no idea of the impact of their actions but I have this overwhelming urge to get some small piece of revenge. I sound like a complete psycho but it isn't as bad as I'm making it sound.

A good example would be the lady from the end of the street that insists on parking in the one available space outside our house ...... four doors down. She probably has no idea it's an issue and probably does not realise that it then prevents us from parking across our drive like the other neighbours can but it angers me to the point that I just cannot stop thinking about it. The best way to describe it is a strange underlying sense of foreboding, as if you have a constant worry about something that you need to do, no matter how much you try and forget it.

I've been trying to put those 'little' worries into perspective and recognise the logic behind them. It's helping a great deal and I haven't experienced that underlying feeling much at all lately. Don't get me wrong, it's easier said than done but by learning to chill out and understand the sheer insignificance of our constant worries, it really does help us to become more tolerable, decent people. As with most things, I guess it comes best with age - time builds and heals in multiple ways.

I suppose now I am starting to understand just how my Grandparents and the other elders in my life managed to achieve such a heightened sense of calm and tranquility - they've recognised that worrying is simply just not worth it.

I'd just prefer to achieve it sooner rather than later.

Skye.

Meet Skye, the newest addition to our rapidly expanding family.

She came to us last Friday after several weeks of 'umming' and 'ahhing' over whether we should take the plunge and adopt a four-legged friend. To be honest, it was slightly more rushed than it should have been but an opportunity landed in our lap that probably would not have arisen again.

She was living with a lady in Barrow after she rescued her from a family that were, let's say, not treating her too well. The lady had raised Huskies her whole life but after her last one died, she had no intention of homing any more. I guess Skye was the exception - she told us that she had to take her in as she would never have forgiven herself had she left her with the old owners. She looked after her over the past year, building her up, training her and getting her back to her ideal weight ready for rehoming. As luck would have it, Adam's hairdresser knew the lady and when Adam mentioned we were thinking about getting a dog, she put us in contact.

Needless to say we have spent a small fortune on dog-related paraphernalia and have had lots of stuff very kindly donated by family and friends. I've grown up always having a dog so the whole thing is kind of second nature to me but I can tell by some of the suggestions that Adam comes out with that it is all slightly alien to him.

She's a two-year-old Siberian Husky so as you can imagine she is obsessed with exercise - she will easily walk two hours a day. It can be quite difficult fitting this in but, to be honest, I'm really enjoying the new routine and exercise - there is something incredibly therapeutic about taking the dog for a stroll last thing at night and first thing in the morning before the regular hustle and bustle of the world takes hold. I'm 9-to-5 but Adam works shifts so she is never on her own long and has a huge kitchen/conservatory to wander around in - we aren't quite comfortable with leaving her in the garden on her own yet as we've been informed that this breed are the Houdinis of the dog world. When Adam is home in the day he takes her on huge walks around the local reserves so by the time I get home she has more or less passed out.

Her whining has been a slight issue and further reading suggests that this is a common trait in Huskies. They whine. A lot. She usually starts at around 5am when she is in the conservatory and it is impossible to sleep so, after a few nights of torture, we finally gave in and allowed her to sleep in the corner of the bedroom. We haven't had any issues since. As strict and condescending as most online Husky forums are, I was surprised to find that most of the owners on there allow their dogs to sleep by them. I guess this is a strange concept to me as all of my past pets have slept in conservatories.

She's a beautiful, kind-natured dog and it is comforting to have an animal around the house once again. The routine that I am falling into is something that is much needed - one of my weakest traits is that I lack motivation and Skye is definitely helping with that. After all, it is those little things that make up our lives and keep it interesting - even if it doesn't feel that way at the time.