Macra na Feirme

Looking, by her own admission, for all the world like a member of "Mna Macra na Feirme", the unofficial Ladies associated with the Irish "Young Farmers" (Macra na Feirme is official, it's just the ladies of a certain age and style who tag along - Irish Country gals, basically), Mum togs up to take Diamond to Mass. Diamond is actually a "prod", of course, but the RC Rev who came (to Mum's plea) and supported her when she was in the depths of Intensive Care hell a couple of months back, was so nice and kind, Diamond is keen to pay back the compliment now she's "out"

http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/politics/category/macra-na-feirme/

Diamond is currently in remission and living at home, needing the hospital only for blood tests etc, pending a possible further chunk of treatment at Kings Hospital in the big smoke. She's even been round here to admire the work of the Panini Boys, and taken tea with us, and she has been invited by the Pud Lady to come down with us to Hastings on Christmas Day. This may not quite work, as she may be in Kings, but the thought was there, and she's delighted to have the invitation.

We get some good walking today, making our way down to the quayside where, it being a Sunday, the barge SB Cambria is open, and Dad's barge-chums Mark and Cathy are "on station". Kess is there, of course, doing what she does best - being strange. Long haired JR Kess, we know of course, has a thing about stones.

Having selected a suitable stone she will then obsess on it, moving it about by mouth and, where ever it sits, ripping to shreds any grass tussocks near to it and tearing at the ground till quite a sophisticated trench has been dug near the stone. She did this on our terrace once, totally confusing me so that I just sat on Dad's lap barking at her antics, and the nice round pebble has been preserved by Dad for next time she visits.

Returning home we come across new kid on the block, short haired JR, "Clifford". I try to entice him to play by flirting outrageously and running about, but he only has eyes for Haggis (much to Haggis's displeasure) and he's fixated on sniffing bits of the "H" that "H" would rather not have sniffed.

Keep on keepin' on

Deefski

Bo and Coco

Heavy rain and strong winds prevent the Panini Boys from installing our French windows (they are worried about the dust from their stone-cutter blowing everywhere and the rain getting into the sensitive parts of their electrical tools) so they are reduced to working indoors on what is now surely going to be known as "The Panini Room" , doing detailed stuff - edging around the hall floors, picture rails, the glass pane above the internal door.

Out on the Rec we meet, now almost full grown, white and black Staffie, Bo (or possibly Beau) whom we last met as a tiny floppy pup almost a year ago. We also meet new kid on the block, equally floppy but nothing like tiny pup Coco, a Dogue de Bretagne. Named after Coco Chanel, this lady is all silly and submissive, and still all pink and "new" aroiund the mouth and eyes, but already the size of a full grown boxer. Short haired and chocolate brown - she's gonna be huge!

Have a good weekend
Deefski

I gave it up for music and....

The Panini boys continue to make good progress on the re-build. Most of the floor is now down and much of the new skirting is in place. The new French Doors arrived today and were unpacked and inspected. The Panini boys continue to feed us well (we have no complaints) although we did have to express concern when Dad-Panini suggested we might like some vegetable soup in our bowls for lunch. 100%-canine Haggis, in particular was so distressed he had to go and have a lie down.

Meanwhile, Mum and Dad are exploring some unheard of music avenues. One of Dad's allotmenters, and "Dad" to shaggy-bearded Finzi, the black lurcher, turns out to be a proper professional muso, who has performed on stage with Martin Carthy (him of Steel-eye Span etc, electric folky stuff) and Billy Bragg (presumably not together!), writes his own stuff and has released several CD's. He's about to go on tour with his latest one (including at the Gulbenkian (Canterbury) this month.

He gave Dad a copy and he's been playing it round and round in the car; he's 100% impressed and is looking on the guy with new found respect. There are songs about Kent, Spitfires and all sorts including, rather marvellously, a song inspired by Dad's own twisted asparagus as came up this Spring.

In addition Andy, Dad's co-owner of the 2CV project car Mademoiselle, is an ace electric-bass player and has lately been appearing in band headed up by his ex, "Zinta and the Zoots". Mum and Dad went off to see them in the "Smack" pub in Whitstable last night. Again (they said) some good stuff, enhanced by the rather mad-cap on stage antics. Andy at one stage whipped out his "rocket bass" (oo-er) - a bass guitar enclosed in a big silver space-rocket shaped body - big fins on the "tail end" and a pointy nose-cone over the machine-head, like something out of Fireball XL5

My future in the system
was thought about and planned,
but I gave it up for music
and a free electric band.....

Deefski (breaks away for searing guitar solo)

Ceilings and floors

Praise the Lord! The Panini-Boys are back, and this time Mum has furnished them with their own supply of crumpets in the fridge, butter and honey and Jamaican Ginger Cake. Dad's at work this week, so doesn't actually see them, so he's not in a position to scold them when they feed us with tear-offs, but he suspects we must be getting spoiled rotten, as none of us really want boring old dog food for supper, when he gets in.

You can see from the pics that the start of the laminated floor up the hall is in place, and that the inner walls have been chopped out to accomodate the French windows. The Paninis can't do the outer walls yet, as we are still waiting for the double glazed units themselves to arrive, but they needed to do the inners so they could proceed with the floors.

What you can't see from these pics (or at least only indirectly) is that the ceilings have been painted a lovely dense 3 coats of white. You'll know this when I also tell you Dad is using bounced flash off the ceiling, and you look at the difference in lighting between the new-plaster ones a few days ago.

Hey, Progress!

Welcome back Paninis

Deefski

Panini Count Zero

Ha! This Rob might know a bit about plastering (see what a great job he's done from the pics) but he knows zip about how to spoil (sorry, I mean "treat") doggies. He accepted some coffees from Dad and a few chocolate digestives, but didn't go over to the bakers once - no cheese rolls, no bacon slices, no baguettes, and definitely no panini.

The Panini boys appeared first thing to bring him here and show him the job, and then came back briefly at about 1pm when he was gone but on neither visit were there any victuals to be had. All we got, just before we passed out from malnutrition, was a bit of cold roast lamb from Dad's lunchtime wrap.

And to add insult to injury, on returning from our Rec walk (in which admittedly I did have a roll in the muddy grass) Dad decided I was way too scuzzy to remain unbathed, so I alone have been shampoo'd. He tells me that never has a small dog needed so much shampoo to raise a lather, and that the water coming off me was some kind of record breaking black. Guinness was mentioned, though this might be a slight exageration.

Ah well, weekend is here, builders are gone and Dad has washed the kitchen floor about 5 times by now. We are all expecting a million more fireworks tonight, but to be honest we're a bit bored with them at this stage.

Have a great weekend

The fragrant, white and fluffy.....

Deefer

Tomorrow we get plastered

Remember remember, tonight's the night we're allowed lots of legal shouting in the back garden. How dare people invade OUR airspace with those nasty flashy, screamy, banging fireworks. Haggis has LOTS to say on the subject, most of it at full volume from the top of the steps. Megan shrugs (seen one firework, seen 'em all). Me, I'm not so sure, so I'm usually out there supporting Haggis but from a position closer to the house than he is, just in case a girl has to make a run for it.

Last night we dined in style, as you can see, red wine amongst the Panini-Boys' equipment, with Dad dodging between tools to conjure up a roast lamb, roasties, carrots and chard, followed by Christmas pud (but don't let on to the Pud-Lady we took this long to get around to it!) and ice cream.

Today, the Paninis have been gyprocking about the place and making good the grooves left by the absent wall, putting up the new ceiling and generally titivating because tomorrow we are getting plastered. No, Haggis, this isn't Calva and no, Megan, we are not talking red wine, Mum and Dad are under strict instructions to have the kitchen entirely clear of all kitchen-y stuff because "Rob" is going to perform a transformational miracle.

The Paninis are off to another job for the day, so we don't know how we'll do tomorrow for cheese rolls, cheddar puffs, cheese-and-bacon savouries and , of course panini. Today we were offered tomato and basil soup, coffee and a "roll up". I think the Paninis might have been taking the Mick at that stage, don't you.

Deefski

Diagonal Door and Panini

Oh what a perfect day (I'm glad I spent it with you). Not only have we have the builders round again which means plenty of torn off bits of cheese sandwich, bacon roll and cheese/ham panini (Old John has not yet learned to avoid our imploring looks, even though Dad scolds him). The guys have put up the door which sits neatly diagonally across the end of the hall (we have not yet been officially told that it's main purpose is to keep us at the back of the house when the humans are out), so we think Mum will be delighted.

It's a gorgeous honey oak, just waiting for some nice oil to be rubbed into it. There will be a glazed panel above it, and it has 2 windows, so will allow plenty of light through in either direction. They have also started on the ceiling work.

We also got taken out, all three of us, in the 2CV to go collect the old project car, Mademoiselle, to take her for a nice blast through all the country lanes across to Lew's workshop, where we are all allowed out for a good sniff around, There are old farm buildings and greenhouses so plenty of chicken-y and ratty smells to chase, as well as beer-drinking, tea-drinking Jack Russell "Rosie" to talk to.

We do, though create a minor drama when we stray too near some pigs in a field. Lew runs to rescue us in alarm. Dad is quite knowledgeable around farming but has no experience of pigs, and wasn't aware that pigs will quite happily surround and kill a dog, tearing it to peices if they get a chance. Could've told me!

Dad does not think it was such a perfect day though, just because he gets chauffeured around all the builders merchants in Canterbury shelling out for french windows here, a door there, wood there and laminated flooring there..... He's gone for a lie down.

Deefer (pah! Pigs! I wasn't scared!)