On a lighter note ...

On Sunday I went to church in a pretty green dress. Many people commented on it, and it made me feel good. Was it a new dress? No. It was in fact one of my oldest ones, and it has been so close to going to the charity shop on numerous occasions, because for at least the last five years, I haven't been able to get in to it. But I always loved it, particularly the colour, and at the last minute I would rescue it from the throw out pile and hang it in the back of the wardrobe, 'just in case'. Well now it fits me again, so I am really glad I kept it. I lost a stone in weight while we were in Thailand, but gradually I put most of it back on out here. But this summer I have made a real effort to lose some again, and I am just a couple of pounds lighter than I was this time last year. I have been doing a little light exercise before my morning swim, but unfortunately my airwalker gave up the ghost this week, so I can't do that any more. Also the hot weather makes it easier to eat less, and hopefully I will be so used to it that I will continue to have smaller meals even when it cools down again. I am thinking about replacing the airwalker with a Wii fitness, but I haven't quite decided yet.

The dogs are helping us to establish a good regime of earlier nights and early mornings, but they are waking up just a little earlier each day. It was 6.30 the last two mornings, and I refuse to get up any earlier than that. They are very good all day, and hardly ever bark, but when they wake up in the morning they do bark until we get up and feed them, and then take them out, so it is difficult to ignor them. Yesterday it was still a bit dark so we were able to watch a lovely pearly sunrise. There was just enough light clouds to make it look good. Once the dogs were fed and walked, Chris and I set about rearranging the patio area to make it easier for us to hose down and clean up after the animals. We have also created a larger open area for Oliver and Finlay to play in. Mike and Pippa are arriving tonight, at around 11.00, and they are here for ten days. Two small children and five young animals will either be great fun or a recipe for disaster! We moved some of the larger plants to more secluded places where they will not get knocked. Jonathan pruned both the palm trees for us and they look much tidier. Then we washed the whole pool area and finished off with a swim. This lovely dragonfly came to share the pool with us. He was quite big and looked bluer than this in the early morning light.

By 8.30 we were sitting down to breakfast! The dogs, tired out again by now, flopped down around me. They have several toys but the only things they play with are an old bar mat from the Oak, tied in a knot, and a stone and three pieces of broken flower pot. They had one piece at first and they fought over it so much, I actually broke a pot so they could have a piece each! They sit and bite on them for ages. I know Foxy has lost her baby teeth because I found one of them, and I guess the others are teething too. You can see in these pictures how much they have grown. Chico is the size of a female Alsatian now, and Miki isn't far behind him. Foxy is much smaller. She hasn't grown to fit those enormous ears yet! I don't think she will ever be very big. We took her to be spayed this week as she is the oldest of the three. It will be Miki's turn next month and then Chico's. It's too expensive to have them all done together. Now I must go and relax outside and wait for our visitors to arrive.