Small Talk: The Welcome Mat

[Netfoot]

I just learned this morning, the address of the house my father was born in, in the UK, nearly 103 years ago.  (Well, he may have been born in the maternity ward of the local hospital, but hopefully you take my meaning.)  Seems my niece (Heidi) has a 70 year old certified copy of my dad's birth certificate, issued in 1947!  And from this I learned the address they lived in at the time he was born, and my granny's maiden name, as well!   Anyway, I have added the street to our itinerary, and plan to visit and have a look-around.  It's only 6Km from the BnB we have booked.  I knew which town he came from, and had booked to stay the night there.  But now I know the actual house!  I don't really know why I want to see the place.  My dad moved out of there on the first day of WW-II, 77 years ago.  

Nobody commented on my idea of blogging the trip.  Neither pro nor con.  I've been trying it out, and it doesn't seem too hard, but that is on the multi-monitor machine I have here at home.  My new Alpha Litebook got as far as Miami on Friday, so hopefully it won't me much longer before it is in my hands.  Then I can see how useable it will be for (amongst other things) blogging.  Of course, how easy/hard the software is to use is not the same thing as how good/crap a blogger I happen to be.  And I suspect my ability lies closer to the crap end of the scale than the good end.

(I'm quite sure nobody is interested, but if by some crazy chance you are, send me a message and I'll let you have the link to the blog.)  

It's rainy today, which is a pity, because Bud really wants to get out of the house, but I can't face all that mud.  Mud which will be delivered into my lap and into my car by a boy who doesn't seem to realize that his desirability is inversely proportional to the amount of muck he's covered in!

[Netfoot]

I'm off to the UK tomorrow afternoon.  As I mentioned, I'm blogging the trip, and I have precisely one follower.  But she is my grand niece, so I think she feels obligated.

I might pop in tomorrow before I depart.  Budweiser goes into the kennels in the morning, and i'm missing him already.  

I'm excited, but for some reason, I have a sense of impending doom....

[Spunkygal]

4 hours ago, Netfoot said:

I'm off to the UK tomorrow afternoon.  As I mentioned, I'm blogging the trip, and I have precisely one follower.  But she is my grand niece, so I think she feels obligated.

I might pop in tomorrow before I depart.  Budweiser goes into the kennels in the morning, and i'm missing him already.  

I'm excited, but for some reason, I have a sense of impending doom....

I would LOVE to keep up with your travels via your blog, so please send the link. We are sort of/kind of talking about doing the UK next year, but we'll see. I am zero help when it comes to the mechanics of blogging, apps, etc., but enjoyed reading your earlier post about searching for your dad's boyhood home. I love that sort of thing. I am sure Budweiser will be just fine but I understand the tug of the heart strings. I have a pooch who is the boss and just lets me live here and pay the bills but she is the reason I take few trips by plane. She loves going on road trips so much that that's what I've been doing the last few years. Wishing you safe travels and I look forward to following your adventures! Cheers!

[Netfoot]

Don't expect anything wonderful, because I've never tried blogging before.  Because I hate "social media" in it's every possible form.  No doubt I will do a horrible job.

But in order to save sending e-mails and links and photos to a list of family and friends, I am going to try this:

https://anjo-uk-2017.blogspot.com/

[Netfoot]

"The Stream In The Sky", and I did not have to learn or perform any traditional Welsh poetry.  Which is a good thing, because I nearly got a headache from trying to learn how to pronounce Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch the day before!

Missing Budweiser terribly, the little monster, rushing eagerly off with the kennelman and not so much as a backward glance at his daddy...

Edited July 18, 2017 by Netfoot

[Spunkygal]

@Netfoot, I am enjoying following your travels on your blog. I don't do social media so don't comment on your blog, but some of us are following. And although Budweiser may be having fun at the kennel, you wouldn't want it any other way. That means he's happy and well cared for. 

[Lamb18]

Cool, that is such a good picture. I've always wanted to see one of those overhead canals. There is one in Nantwich that I read about in a murder mystery.

[Spunkygal]

@Netfoot, loved today's post! Your dad's house (almost..before gentrification), the White Horse of Kilburn (so cool) and farting sheep! That's worth the trip right there. And yes, please take pics of food!

[Netfoot]

22 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

And yes, please take pics of food!

I always intend to, but forget until I've eaten it all!

[Browncoat]

Hi, @Netfoot -- I mostly lurk here, but I wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying your blog and photos.  Scotland, especially the Highlands, is one of my very favorite places (I'm in the States), and it's nice to revisit through someone else's eyes. 

[AZChristian]

As a lover of all things Scottish, THANK YOU for these pictures!!!

[Netfoot]

27 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

THANK YOU for these pictures!!!

If you have not already done so, follow the link in the right hand sidebar, to the Extra Blog Photos.  There may be some additional photos in there that didn't make it into the blog itself.

[Brynnjk]

Does anyone have a link to  where you can watch The amazing race Canada season 5 eps?  I love the Canadian version but haven't been able to find a link to watch it anywhere yet.  Thank you if so.  

[Netfoot]

Just got off the flight to find the island sweltering!

One or two entries still to put into the Blasted Blog, but then I will be done with it for ever!

Got some catching up to do around here, I see.....

[Spunkygal]

On August 7, 2017 at 4:19 PM, Netfoot said:

Just got off the flight to find the island sweltering!

One or two entries still to put into the Blasted Blog, but then I will be done with it for ever!

Got some catching up to do around here, I see.....

Really enjoyed your lovely blog! I admire your stamina. I just returned from a ten day vacation (Texas-Colorado-Texas) and that drive wore me out. I can't imagine how exhausted you must be! But the best part for you is being reunited with Budweiser. Thanks for sharing your travels!

[Netfoot]

Yesterday (Saturday 12th) was Budweiser's 4th birthday.

Seen here sleeping late!

Edited August 14, 2017 by Netfoot

[Browncoat]

Thanks again, @Netfoot, for the "Blasted Blog" -- I really enjoyed reading about your adventures!

[Spunkygal]

1 hour ago, Netfoot said:

Yesterday (Saturday 12th) was Budweiser's 4th birthday.

Seen here sleeping late!

What a ruff life!

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, Spunkygal said:

What a ruff life!

Yeh, well, you know what The Tradewinds had to say:

"If I get a chance, let me tell you plain, I don't want to come as no man again. Not me, no, no, no, no, no!  I want to be a puppy!"

He lost 20% of his bodyweight while in the kennels (35 lbs. down to 28 lbs.) but his doctor says that is good for him, because the less weight he carries as he ages, the easier he will find it, with the bad leg.

Edited August 14, 2017 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Went to see the movie Dunkirk last night.

While in the UK I came across an old fishing boat, now an exhibit in a fisher-folk museum.  I spotted something fastened to her hull, that nobody else (including the museum curators) seemed to recognize the significance of:

[Netfoot]

Quote

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect...

Just what I need.

[Netfoot]

Blasted Google Photos keep changing the URLs of the photos in their gallerys.  That's why all the photos I've linked are now dead.

I would go back and link to permanent photos, but the older posts can't be edited!

And I wanted to show you a photo of the doggie I'm trying to persuade to come live with Buddy and me!  I've called her Foxy because she has sort of foxy ears.  Let me see if I can insert a permanent photo...

Edited September 2, 2017 by Netfoot

[Browncoat]

Those are great ears!

[Netfoot]

She's a pretty girl.  I've started an album for her.  First time I saw her, she was dragging her hind quarters.  I thought she had a broken pelvis.  But she was still fast enough to avoid capture.    Her gait has improved considerably.  She no longer drags her hind quarters.  She walks, with a limp, and the limp is improving.  If she has to run, she lifts one rear leg and hops with the other.  And she is quick to run.  She has probably never known the hand of human kindness in her entire life.  She is very suspicious, but I see a sweet, gentle girl underneath all that fear (and dirt).

I've been feeding her a couple times a week for some weeks now.  It is an effort to win her trust.  She will now take food (chicken, sausages, chips, fries, etc) from my hand, and I get to stroke her muzzle with a finger while she is taking the food.  She will actually come to within a foot of where I sit, if I keep still.  If I approach her, she takes off when I get any closer than say 3-4 feet.  When I walk around, she follows me about six feet behind.  I want to gradually win her confidence until she will come close and let me stroke her head.  Then I have to persuade her to get into the van and come home with Buddy and I.  She needs a loving home.  And medical attention, too.

Slowlee Slowlee catchee monkee.

Edited September 3, 2017 by Netfoot

[Spunkygal]

I love your album for Foxy! She is a sweetheart and bless you for helping her. You're so right, she doesn't know human kindness. Too many puppies dumped in the middle of nowhere who have to fend for themselves and also have litters themselves. Please keep us posted. She would be the luckiest dog to have a home with you and precious Buddy.

[Netfoot]

I had Foxy standing right next to me this afternoon, letting me stroke her muzzle and her head for nearly a minute!  Then Budweiser came running up, startling her, shouldered her out of the way like a bullephant, and causing her to retreat out of reach!  Nasty little brute, that he is!

[Spunkygal]

25 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

I had Foxy standing right next to me this afternoon, letting me stroke her muzzle and her head for nearly a minute!  Then Budweiser came running up, startling her, shouldered her out of the way like a bullephant, and causing her to retreat out of reach!  Nasty little brute, that he is!

Aw, Foxy knows a good thing when she sees it! She'll come around. And since Buddy is not doggie aggressive (as in attack mode), he will get used to her. Tomorrow I will try to post a pic of my girl and her fox ears. I can't do it from my ancient iPad. She is also a rescue and the neighbor kids were the first to say she looks like a fox! Our 5 year anniversary is in a couple of weeks and she's about 11. Rescues are the best!

[Netfoot]

51 minutes ago, Spunkygal said:

he will get used to her.

They are already great friends, running around playing together.  Unfortunately, still Bud tries to get his leg over, and Foxy rewards these attempts with a well-deserved nip to the cheek which pins his ears back, I can tell you!

 

54 minutes ago, Spunkygal said:

Tomorrow I will try to post a pic of my girl and her fox ears.

I'd love to see her.

I think Foxy's ears are attractive, and did inspire my choice of name for her, but they are really a little too long to be truly fox-like, and the tips curl over.

 

47 minutes ago, Spunkygal said:

Rescues are the best!

That they are!  And the best of all breed is the mongrel!  

[Spunkygal]

Well, I tried to attach a pic of her but keep getting the message that my file is too large. ?

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, Spunkygal said:

my file is too large.

How big is it? 

The most recent picture I uploaded was 2592x1944 pixels and 529,555 bytes.

ETA:  Ooo!  It says at the bottom where you put attachments: Max total size 0.98MB

Edited September 4, 2017 by Netfoot

[Spunkygal]

Stupid question alert, but why are the pics you post small (size-wise) enough to be attached? Is it because I am using my cell? 

[Netfoot]

I don't know.  The one I uploaded a couple days ago is the first that I've actually uploaded, and that was taken by my cellphone.  My 5½ year old cellphone.  

Maybe if your cell phone is producing JPEG images in excess of that 0.98MB -- which it might be if it's newer/higher megapixels than mine -- you will have to crop or shrink or change quality level or some combo of these, so as to get it down to where it is small enough.

[Spunkygal]

Ok, I cropped the pic to a smaller size...hope it works!! 

[Netfoot]

Now, those ears are really foxy!  

What a sweet face.  She's so cute she's bound to be naughty!  And I love the socks, too.

[Spunkygal]

She is the smartest dog I've ever had. She already knew "roll over" and "give me five" commands when I adopted her from the shelter and I've taught her a few others. She had to have been someone's pet. And she's great in the car. We drive to Colorado every summer and she just naps the entire time. Next week is our five year anniversary. But there's no doubt that she's the boss!

Please keep us post on Foxy! Paws crossed that she's a member of the Netfoot family soon!

[Netfoot]

Went and fed her yesterday.  Macaroni pie and pigeon peas & rice, with chicken and pork skin, fat and bones.  And Vienna sausages for dessert.   She is looking a little less starved, but still quite skinny/bony around her hips.  Took a few extra photos which I added to her gallery.

She is now fairly comfortable with people only 2-3 feet away so long as they don't do anything to startle her.  And she will sometimes come when I call her and hold out my hand.  She comes and licks my fingers to see if I have more food for her.  And I tried a two-handed, come-for-patting-and-cuddles gesture, which she responded to, but five separate times, before she could reach me for a head-rub, that horrible rotter Buddy barged in, shouldered her out of the way and presented himself to receive the cuddles.  What a cad!

I lay on the floor reading my book, with sausages literally six inches from my head, and she tiptoed up and ate them, then lay down within arms reach.  But when tried to slowly reach out and stroke her fur, she simply got up and moved away.  When it's time to leave and Buddy jumps in the van, she comes right up to the door and looks in, but can't be cajoled into joining us for the trip home.  She follows the van when we depart, but I don't want her in the main road, so we have to drive away quite quickly (on a very uneven road) so as to leave her behind.

Not going up today.  Went to the dentist instead.  Will go see her tomorrow.  I went to try and get bones at the butcher, but there were none available.  I'll try again tomorrow on my way back from the doctor.  One way or the other, she will be fed.  The van now contains a permanent stock of sausages and corned beef, and a bag of dog chow!

[Spunkygal]

@Netfoot, wow, she has filled out a bit! I love the new pic of her and Buddy where he is sniffing her. It almost looked like they were hugging! You tell Buddy to be more welcoming and let her get some lovin'! Looks like she may have had puppies fairly recently??

[Netfoot]

Just now, Spunkygal said:

Looks like she may have had puppies fairly recently??

I suspect that she was on season just before Bud and I met her, which was just before I went off to England.  She obviously hasn't had a bath since then, because Bud is still very "interested" due to the lingering scent.  

She has most likely had several litters of puppies in her time.  Her dugs are very large and almost look like they are scarred.  I suspect quite a number of pups have chewed on them before now.  That is one of the things I want to get her to the vet for.  That and what ever is the problem with her rear legs.  Apart from general vaccinations, worming and so forth.

[Netfoot]

Reeee...

...zult!

[Spunkygal]

As I say this, imagine it's in rising octaves..."oooooooooooooooooooh!"

[Netfoot]

While I was walking on the strip, Foxy was following close behind me but just out of reach as she usually does.  I bent over, held out my hand, and to my surprise she came just within my reach, and I was able to stroke her head and neck for over a minute.  She went sort of gaga in the face and her eyes closed.  She obviously enjoyed it a lot!  Then, my back gave out, and I had to stop and straighten up!  

Went back onto the deck and tried several times but she wasn't interested in coming close.

Then, I was patting Buddy, and she came over to within arms length.  So, I began stroking her head again, and trying to get my phone out and operate the camera left-handed.  She allowed me to pat/stroke her for another 2-3 minutes, all dreamy-faced, again.  Eventually, she wandered off when something Buddy was doing attracted her attention.

She has silky smooth fur, but there are a few ticks and the odd small would wound/lesion under the fur.  And she could use a good bath, of course.

Edited September 7, 2017 by Netfoot

[Spunkygal]

Aw, Foxy, come on honey! You know you want a loving home and attention!! There's a happier life for you, girl. (Hope she doesn't have heart worms.) 

[mpstar]

@Netfoot are you safe from Irma?  I've been thinking about you all day, particularly when I saw pictures of some of the nearby islands.  I totally spaced on this site, and then all of the sudden it popped into my head.  

 

BTW, the wonderful MissStar is engaged!  Same young man she's been dating for a decade.  the wedding is next year

[Netfoot]

Nice to hear from you, @mpstar!

Irma threatened the Greater Antilles and the northernmost Leeward Islands. Barbados was not really affected.  Someone showed me some cell-phone photos yesterday, from Antigua. They didn’t look good, but with 185 MPH winds gusting to 225...  Here,  we had a slight freshening of the breeze, with a radical change of wind direction. Other than that, everything is fine and dandy here.

Two of my grand-nieces are in Florida right now.  I'm hoping they exercise the brains I know they have, and skedaddle.  

Very happy to hear about MissStar.   I hope you will keep us up to date as the event draws near!  She and I have never actually met, but pass on my well-wishes, never the less.

[mpstar]

so glad to hear you are fine - I have friends in Florida, and they live on the 16th floor of their beachfront building.   Their car is going to the fifth floor of a parking garage as the storm gets closer.  They just arrived down there 2 days ago, and feel perfectly safe.  I'm hoping they are right.  Still waiting to hear from other friends, who may actually be on the move right now.  I hope your neices  are safe - many gas stations are out of gas and the airports are begging folks to only show up at the airport if they have a confirmed seat.  Miami and Ft Lauderdale airports are saying they will bus people to shelters if the storm hits and there are still people there.  Scary times for so many folks.  I saw pictures of St Martin, and the hotel I stayed at several years ago doesn't look like it made it through.

I will keep everyone up to date on MissStar's plans.  She lives in Denver now, but the wedding will be here in the Poconos of Pennsylvania, on the grounds of the sleep away camp where they met as mere babies.  Her fiance is a sweetie.  They have chosen wisely.  His family treats me as part of the family, which reminds me that I need to see if his Grandmother is ok.  She lives outside Miami, on the top level of a high rise.

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, mpstar said:

I have friends in Florida, and they live on the 16th floor of their beachfront building.

Here's wishing them good fortune.  There seems to have been a slight reduction in windspeed, but it's still very strong, and gusting over 200 MPH.  Maybe Cuba will take the brunt of the blow, and dissipate some of that energy.  But I don't want to wish misfortune on one place so that some other place is spared as a result.

[theschnauzers]

Actually, the winds are higher in the upper floors of high rises. Irma is just bad news. It's not much of a difference between 185 and 165 mph, when that means the area of hurricane force winds is expanding. And that the latest models have Irma going up the center of the peninsula is more bad news as both coasts will have hurricane force winds at the same time. If I still lived in Miami, this would be the he storm I would not ride out, I would have left days ago.

[Netfoot]

8 hours ago, theschnauzers said:

Actually, the winds are higher in the upper floors of high rises.

If I lived in a high-rise building on the beachfront, I'd be more worried about the foundations when the storm surge comes up the beach with tons of windload simultaneously leaning on the building.

[Spunkygal]

@Netfoot, do you have an update on sweet little Foxy?

[Netfoot]

Saw her up to yesterday.  Very receptive to cuddles now, but on her terms.  If I offer, she may come over and sit right next to me for 5-10 minutes while I stroke her and pat her and talk to her with an encouraging tone of voice.  But if I make the slightest threatening move or noise, and she is off and running!  And I can't simply walk up to her and touch her.  She still won't be approached by anyone, unless she is good and ready.

I think I have painted myself into a bit of a corner.  I have gone to considerable effort to win her trust, in so far as I have been able to.  But how do I get her home and thence to the vet, etc?  I could simply grab her, or put a noose on her and force her into the van.  Which would destroy any goodwill and trust that I've built up with her, over the last weeks and months. And how will she behave in the car while I drive the 15 Km. home?  She would probably become quite agitated to find herself confined in a moving vehicle, and I would be too busy driving to comfort her.

Also, Foxy lives in the wide open countryside, and is free to roam as she pleases.  I take Buddy up there so he can get some exercise and fresh air. She only hangs around there because she has come to expect to see Buddy there every couple of days.  And because she gets food from me.  If I take her home, she will be confined to a single house-lot.  So, when next I take Bud for a run in the country, I can't leave her at home.  But as soon as she gets free in the countryside again, she might head for the horizon! 

So, I'm not really sure what to do nexrt.