Fairy land.

Note to readers (my lovely Baggees): For the avoidance of any doubt - every character in this blog is me!!! No Baggy was harmed in its writing.

Baggy's daily state!
Depression (Black = really bad/Grey = not great/Blue = okay/Yellow = sunny day): Yellow.
Anxiety (From 1 = barely any to 10 = gibbering wreck standard): 1.
Tears: No.

In spite of the extremely dodgy start, Baggy's weekend turned out to be a lovely one. Sunday was a bit of a right-off, as Baggy, Calum and the pooch were all so tired, so quite a lot of it was spent lolling about. Truthfully, Baggy felt really rather ill too, she went for a 'little' lie down after lunch and woke up four hours later! She has a really bad cough which isn't helping!

Bank Holiday Monday turned out to be a scorcher, so they headed off to Dunwich for a bit of sea air, as did most of the rest of Suffolk, or so it seemed! After wearing themselves and the pooch out, walking up the beach, and avoiding the hoards, they treated themselves to a celebratory meal at the village pub. The Ship at Dunwich serves great food and welcomes dogs, so it was the perfect choice. Clever Bird persuaded Calum that they should get there early, which was a wise decision! Shortly after their starters arrived, there was a queue out of the door to order food! It was as ever a delicious meal, and worthy of a double celebration: Cal's new job and ten years since Baggy and Cal became a couple!

Yesterday Cal was back at work, so Furry Mama took Pepper to Halesworth Park for a ball-chase, and a paddle in the river. It was surprisingly muggy, and, as is his way, the pooch suddenly decided he was too hot and headed off to the canal. It was a good three-hundred yards away and he disappeared out of view. Freda Fretter can't help but worry when he does it, even though she knows he'll come back to her. Furry Mama reached him. just as he was hauling himself out of the stinky water - minus his ball, which was on the other side of the canal. It took some persuading, and about ten false starts, but eventually he plucked up the courage to swim across and get it!

Creative Clara then went into town to the vintage shop and did a deal with one of the other traders; cash and a pebble-polishing machine for an Omega watch she had for sale. She was sooooooooo excited! She has wanted a polishing machine ever since she started collecting beach pebbles, but they're a lot of money, so she couldn't justify buying one. It just so happens that the uncle of the trader was the inventor!! And since he'd retired, his nephew had taken his remaining stock. Clara couldn't get home fast enough to set her first batches of pebbles-a-tumbling! Clara loves her 'pebble-dasher' as she's nicknamed it. Now she just has to wait three weeks to see if she can polish pebbles!

It's been 'dashing' away very noisily in the garage for twenty-four hours so far. Six more days until stage one is complete!

This morning Baggy had to go to the Doctor's, she finally had her appointment to check on her anaemia on the instructions of the Blood Donation nurses. As she walked in, coughing like a chain-smoker, the Doctor said, 'Well you sound rather poorly.'
'Yes, but I'm not actually here about that.'
Baggy has to have blood tests tomorrow and go back to see the Doctor a week on Monday. The Doctor seemed a lot more concerned about Baggy than Baggy, or even Freda Fretter is for that matter! Let's hope that they're right not to be worried.

Baggy was in the surgery for only twenty-minutes, but the pooch had had a meltdown in Billy Bob Jalopy campervan again. He was in a right state! Panting like a steam engine and shaky with anxiety. Furry Mama decided to take him to Dunwich Heath to cheer him up. Freda Fretter is trying not to panic that he's no longer feeling safe in the campervan, after the events at Kentwell Hall. He's more than happy to leave Furry Mama! However, under no circumstances must she leave him - it doesn't make life easy. Freda is hoping that the queue for blood tests tomorrow, is a short one!

By the time they got to Dunwich he'd forgotten his angst, and was whimpering with joy and excitement. Hormonal Hannah was happy as well; there's nothing like a bit of ozone for clearing the lungs.

   
Clara enjoyed picking up pebbles, while Pepper ran about, paddled and ran about a bit more!

Baggy decided she fancied a cappuccino and then couldn't resist the lemon and poppy seed scone to go with it. And Baggy cannot confirm or deny whether clotted cream was involved.

Someone didn't approve:

Home to check Clara's latest collections, guarded by Bracket kat.

 
Who also couldn't resist bashing the pooch on his head just to make sure he knew his place.

One of Baggy's favourite parts of the day is when she goes out with Gloria Gardener to water her little kingdom. It takes a while, but it's worth it. A little fairyland has appeared on the new land......

The Universe has been aligning Baggy's life.

Note to readers (my lovely Baggees): For the avoidance of any doubt - every character in this blog is me!!! No Baggy was harmed in its writing.

Baggy's daily state!
Depression (Black = really bad/Grey = not great/Blue = okay/Yellow = sunny day): Yellow.
Anxiety (From 1 = barely any to 10 = gibbering wreck standard): 1.
Tears: No.

Day one of the 'not-according-to-plan' Bank Holiday weekend was a day out at Southwold. As usual it was chilly in the wind, but not chilly enough for Calum not to arrive on the beach with ice creams! Baggy can never say 'no' to an ice cream, especially a fudge one. There's a reason why Hormonal Hannah has stopped Creative Clara from announcing Baggy's weight in these blogs! In any case, after the total fiasco of Kentwell, they all deserved a nice treat - especially the pooch, who was seriously stressed after two days without a ball to chase.

Clara asked Cal to take a few photos for Clara's blog. As explained previously, Baggy's phone is impossible to see, so it is a question of point and hope. He did a pretty good job, considering the subject matter - sorry Baggees that's not very fair on the handsome pooch.

However it was fascinating to see the results of his point-and-hope technique when they got home. These photos have not been tackled by Clara - this is how they actually came out, directly after the ones above! The camera on the phone clearly lost the plot, but Baggy rather likes them!

What do you think Baggees?

Calum had a sunbathe, Clara searched for pebbles and the pooch swam and hurtled about. Lunch was made by The Domestic God in Billy Bob Jalopy campervan.

Pepper slept, while Calum and Baggy ate cornbeef sarnies and Baggy's favourite cheesy snack - Wotsits, washed down with a beer by Calum, and a cuppa by Baggy, because Baggy and Calum know how to live! Now Clara should have taken a photo, but Baggy was too focussed on food, so she forgot to, but when they got back to Billy Bob to prepare lunch, he was a little campervan, sandwiched in between two massive mobile homes! As Baggy munched her food she had a nose in the mobile home to their right and realised that the couple in it were also having their lunch - oysters and posh bread, washed down with champagne. Hmmmmm. However Baggees, please do not misunderstand Clara, Baggy had no desire to be anywhere other than where she was, with her two best boys, and eating what they ate, in their special little campervan!

After a little rest, they headed down beside the dunes towards the town for further ball throwing. It was considerably warmer than it had been earlier and Pepper decided he was too hot, so he shot over the dunes and disappeared from view. By then the tide was fully out and Furry Mama could see various people looking around for someone in charge of the little black rocket who'd galloped across the beach and thrown himself into the sea. Freda Fretter wasn't embarrassed at all! Sigh! As they headed to the café, Calum received a phone call.

They sat on the bench while Calum was offered a new job! (Yet another reason why the Universe decided that they should not be 'in the eleventh century' with no phones for the weekend!) It's great news as it's only a five minute commute, rather than a ninety-minute one, so Baggy is delighted as she might get to see him a little more often. Cal is also excited, but sad as well, as he loves the firm he's currently with, but this new firm seems great too. Thanks Universe!

As Cal talked, the pooch got frustrated at having to wait!

But he had to wait even longer, as they decided to have a cappuccino treat in celebration - yes okay Baggees, you know Baggy too well - and a piece of Victoria sponge.

It was lovely!

On the way home, they popped to the new company, so that Calum could find out more about the job. Baggy and the pooch waited in Billy Bob, and both fell asleep on the little sofa in the back for an hour. Home for more job celebrations: fish and chips washed down with beer, in Calum's case, and Baggy decided to have some white wine. Three quarters of the way through the bottle, Freda Fretter began to get concerned that it was having no effect on Baggy whatsoever. Does she drink too much? And so is getting immune. Clever Bird decided to check whether it was a really low alcohol content, but she couldn't see, so she put her glasses on. It was really low alcohol content - zero in fact, as it was Elderflower Cordial. Baggy has just finished the bottle.........

Well that went horribly wrong!

Note to readers (my lovely Baggees): For the avoidance of any doubt - every character in this blog is me!!! No Baggy was harmed in its writing.

Baggy's daily state!
Depression (Black = really bad/Grey = not great/Blue = okay/Yellow = sunny day): Blue.
Anxiety (From 1 = barely any to 10 = gibbering wreck standard): 9.
Tears: Yep.

Okay Baggees, so those of you who have been paying attention will know that Creative Clara should not be blogging today, as she's supposed to be with Lady Eadwyn at Kentwell Hall. Are you sitting comfortably? Ready for a little saga? Okay, well let's begin:

Yesterday (Thursday) was the day that Cal, Baggy and Pepper Pooch were going for their five days at Kentwell. As The Domestic Goddess had spent so much time sorting out Billy Bob Jalopy campervan, the house didn't get a look in. 'Who cares?' you ask. Good question Baggees, as they weren't going to be there for the weekend, 'what does it matter?' Well, Freda Fretter and Hormonal Hannah care a great deal, as some neighbours were coming in to look after Hinge and Bracket cats while they were away!! The house finally looked okay by 3.00pm - seven hours after The Goddess started tidying and cleaning. Then it was find and pack kit time, so they didn't actually set off on the ninety-minute journey until 4.30pm. One-hundred-and-eighty-minutes later!!!! after the journey from hell, they arrived - in the pouring rain.

Never mind - park Billy Bob, with Fred Volvo next to him. (Oh, you wish to know why they took two cars Baggees? Well, because there's no way that everything would fit into Billy Bob. But Kentwell is really close to number one furry's place of work, so rather than putting the trailer on Billy Bob, it made sense to take Fred, so that Cal could go straight to work, while Baggy drove home. Clever, huh? ). So in the rain, they popped up Billy Bob's top, then erected Creative Clara's gazebo that she uses for vintage fairs, and made a nice sitting area! Table, chairs, benches, lots of booze, lights and rug for the pooch. An hour later, camp was made, so Furry Mama took the pooch for a walk up to the hall.

As she approached the entrance (their camp was in a field just outside the actual grounds), Clever Bird noticed a bill board. Freda Fretter started to feel sick, as Baggy read it:

NO DOGS

or

PICNICS

beyond this point.

 

'Well, that can't be right,' thought Clever Bird, as Hormonal Hannah started to go into a meltdown, 'we came here with Minty Mutt. We even took him into the café and he was given his own bowl of water and dog treats.' So Furry Mama carried on walking, intending to ask the World War 1 lot, who were near the gates, what the situation was. As she walked, with a very excitable pooch sniffing sheep droppings, a woman came towards her. Before Furry Mama could speak, the woman said, 'That dog can't be in here.'

'Yes, I saw the sign I was just coming to ask about it.'

'Well it's simple enough, this is a working farm and dogs aren't allowed on it.'

Clever Bird tried to explain about their previous visit with Minty Mutt and asked when the policy had changed.

'It hasn't changed, dogs have never been allowed. You need to leave.'

Clever Bird tried again, but the woman was getting angry, so, in tears, Furry Mama went back to Calum.

'It looks like I'm going home in the morning.'

She explained. Calum was upset too. They tried to figure out what to do and managed to get in touch with the girl in charge of their group.

 

Very long story short. No dogs. But....? Eventually, Clever Bird realised that they have a totally nutty dual policy! Dogs are allowed (apart from in the house) unless there is a re-enactment event on! The girl in charge, was most apologetic, but it wasn't her fault, she was only ever there as a re-enactor. She explained that the woman who'd been a bit off with Furry Mama was the event organiser and that she was under direct instructions from the owners. As they all walked back to Billy Bob after this depressing conversation, there was a man loitering outside Billy Bob. As they got closer, before anyone could speak, he started ranting!

 

'I hope you're going to be going, that dog has not stopped yapping. It's driving me mad. It needs to shut up. I can't bear it. Blah, blah, blah....'

Calum said, 'Well he's not barking now is he?'

'Well, no, he's shut up because you're back. It's not good enough. What are you going to do about it?' Too much! Hormonal Hannah totally lost it. She's embarrassed to say that she used a very rude word.

'Don't you dare ******* start, I've had enough.'

The man started to respond and walk towards her, when he noticed Calum, and the colour his eyes and face had gone - so did the girl in charge of their group. She told him to 'leave it, as it was sorted.' He stomped off muttering, clearly off to complain. By now Calum was spitting feathers and Hannah was virtually having a panic attack.

 

Then it all got even worse when the poor girl had to explain that they couldn't really even stay the night, as the owner might have a fit! And that they would have to leave quickly, as the gates would be locked in an hour! As Baggy opened Billy Bob, to a very panicked pooch, she noticed that Pepper had trashed the back curtains, and broken the rails they were attached to, and also broken the wires on two other sets of curtains. He was virtually shaking with stress, and Furry Mama realised that the man had probably been yelling at him.

 

So, an upset Baggy, an angry Calum and the embarrassed girl, dismantled everything and threw it all back in the cars, and at 9.45pm Billy Bob and Fred Volvo left the site. But they couldn't go home, because today (Friday), they had to do the cleaning etc. of their holiday cottage, as their caretaker is in sunny climes, so they'd just have had to drive all the way back this morning. So they spent the night on Calum's work yard, surrounded by HGVs.

 

This morning they were up at 5.00am, after not much sleep. The guests left at 10.00, so they could get started on the cottage. Fortunately, the couple that had stayed had left the place looking immaculate, so it was pretty easy to do! But the garden had grown like topsy, with the heat and the rain, and all Gloria Gardener's herbs were dead, and her pots looked poorly. Plants bought! Three hours of weeding and planting later, Gloria was satisfied, and both Calum and Baggy felt ill from exhaustion and the muggy heat. Meanwhile, the pooch, who had no clue what was going on, and had not eaten anything for over twenty-four hours, was violently sick.

 

 

The drive home this evening, was absolutely exhausting. Pepper lay on the passenger seat with his head on Baggy's lap for the whole drive, so Furry Mama could stroke his ear. But it's as well they came home, because Cal had a call on the way, from the neighbours, saying that Bracket would not come in as she was too scared of him. Sigh!

 

So, one way and another.......

 

But let's look at the positives!

 

• Billy Bob Jalopy is all clean and repacked logically.
• The house is also fairly clean and sparkly.
• Both cats are in the house and deliriously happy that Furry Mama, Cal and even the pooch, are home.
• Furry Mama doesn't have to worry all weekend about Hinge getting poorly.
• Pepper is absolutely delighted to be home, and has eaten a proper meal.
• Cal and Baggy can have a lovely three days together.

And Hannah is staying positive! Have a lovely weekend Baggees, Baggy is going to, even if it isn't exactly what she'd planned. And you never know, Lady Eadwyn might make an appearance soon........