Syb and I spent the morning exploring misty, frosty woods and fields, with plenty of crispy grass for her to roll about in ecstatically. Now it’s snowing quite firmly and that feels like a deeper magic still.
I found the first book in Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series in the little free library and have taken it As A Sign to finally read it! (Especially TDIR, which I see people tweeting about every December). I never read it as a child and neither as an adult - my hiraeth Christmas snowy faves were always The Children of Green Knowe and Alison Uttley’s Stories for Christmas.
Tonight! 8pm BBC Two, a literary battle for the ages as Jilly Cooper meets Terry Pratchett in
#OnlyConnect. It’s The Jillies v The Morporkians!
I feel increasingly guilty about Sybil being introduced in the hospital as “a therapy dog” given that her special therapeutic skills amount to lying on the floor with her paws in the air and making satisfied grunting sounds when people rub her tummy, and then looking disapproving when they stop.
Her Excellency is having a snooze to recover.
Thanks to spending a full half an hour grooming the dog before taking her to the hospital I’m delighted to say she only moulted a cat’s worth of fur over the course of her visit 🎉 (here she is looking like a visiting President being introduced to the local dignitaries.)
Yet again I’ve disappointed her.
Absolutely adored the completely magical Totoro (wildly long but utterly perfect in every detail) but my attitude to the bloody awful, borderline insanity-inducing building remains thus:
Going on
#OnlyConnect this year has been a special experience for me as a fan and a quizzer - and for Sybil too, as it turns out. Karyn, captain of The Statisticals, adores goldens and sent Sybil a toy retriever today. We have named him Alun.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cks91ajobLh/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Sybil the Rescue Retriever on Instagram: "Sybil got a lovely present today from golden retriever fan @karyncooke! Turns out you can get toy goldens in IKEA (they didn’t have one when I was there recently) so Karyn very kindly send one to Syb in the post. Syb is utterly delighted and refused to pose with Alun as she much preferred chewing on him. Thank you Karyn! 🐾🎁 10/10 dog gift
#goldenretrievertoy #ikeatoy #ikea #dogtoys #goldenretriever #goldenretrieveruk #rescuegolden #rescuedog #rescuedogsofinstagram #presentsfordogs #dogpost #alunthedog"
Sybil the Rescue Retriever shared a post on Instagram: "Sybil got a lovely present today from golden retriever fan @karyncooke! Turns out you can get toy goldens in IKEA (they didn’t have one when I was there recently) so Karyn very kindly send one to Syb in the post. Syb is utterly delighted and refused to pose with Alun as she much preferred chewing on him. Thank you Karyn! 🐾🎁 10/10 dog gift
#goldenretrievertoy #ikeatoy #ikea #dogtoys #goldenretriever #goldenretrieveruk #rescuegolden #rescuedog #rescuedogsofinstagram #presentsfordogs #dogpost #alunthedog". Follow their account to see 219 posts.
I am incredibly impressed/surprised that Mastodog (Sybil) has absolutely maximum chill around fireworks. Not a peep. Can’t be bothered. Just having a big old snooze. (I put my fingers in my ears last time I watched them - so beautiful and QUIETER that way.)
