Things have really changed in the last few days. Coping with the grief of losing Bertie has been awful and we made the decision to get another dog. Made a search through the Kennel Club but none were available in the near future. So made another search, carefully I might add. A ten month old puppy came up and I contacted the owner. There was a possibility. However, just a few days later he confirmed that the sale could go ahead, but it clashed with our visit to France to collect the van. He agreed to hold the dog.
We were concerned about all the things we had to do in France and fortunately things went pretty smoothly. We stayed with Paulette and Philppe and had a really good time. Messed with the animals, went for good walks and ate too much.
Van passed it's MOT, filled up with cheap diesel, closed the bank account and Paulette and Philippe filled our van with fruit and veg. We've been eating peaches ever since. Fantastic. The person who has moved into our old house appears to be rather unpleasant and having a quick look at the property, it looked like the local dump! Good from our point of view because it definitely wiped out any problems of nostalgia, but not from Paulette's point of view!
Long drive to ferry port, but at least we did it in daylight and fortunately that we did, because we had problems at the port. The form we had partially completed was incorrect - panic! However, a really kind port employee helped us sort it all out, even downloading the new document and arranging the covid tests online. Took about 45 minutes! On board as we couldn't get a cabin, we rolled out our sleeping bags, and for the second time in five days slept on the floor. Not too good for old people. We were dreading the arrival in Portsmouth and anticipated that we would miss the ferry to the Island. Perry sailed through customsin the van and I followed shortly in the car. Managed to get the ferry to the Island with time to spare.
Got home and had about and hour and a half to get sorted before our trip to the mainland to pick up the puppy. Had a bit of a problem finding the house. Picked up the pup - really cute. I think it was very difficult for the family to say goodbye, but I understand the dilema.
Back home all appears to be going well. The dog did not respond to the name he had been given, I think because it was monosyllabic, so we added Henry to the name. For a short while he was Henry-Jazz, but then we realised he responded quickly to just Henry. So we have decided to stick with that name.
Henry appears to be very comfortable on the boat and seems to fall asleep easily with the movement. He finds it no difficult getting in and out - almost as though he has always known what to do! No problems with walking. He's got used to the feeding routing, and apart from a couple of accidents - life is good. We have started the engine and taken the awning off and he is ok with all that. Next is to move the boat off the mooring........ hopefully in couple of days time.
I have also been painting. Went to Osborne House with Mike and a couple of others on Tuesday. Mainly because we didn't feel comfortable about going back inside to paint at Riverside. So for the time being we will try and paint outside on Tuesdays. I finished the course with Lee and have just a little bit of tidying up to do on the painting. Will post later. Was very difficult to restart painting after the last few months with Bertie and then the decision we had to make.
Perry has even gone back to do a bit of cycling.
Take care everyone.
