Square dog?

Health updates:

Bertie: the vet poked me in various places and diagnosed kennel cough. He prescribed "just wait a few days and he'll probably feel better" therapy. Thirty pounds well spent??? I did eat a bit of food yesterday (marmite smeared kibble and some scraps of chicken) but I'm still coughing and lacking in bounce.

Gail: feeling just hunky dory after my operation - three cheers for the 'free at the point of use' NHS and for keyhole surgery.

Thank you so much, dear readers, for all your good wishes.

Not feeling so bouncy

Oh woe is me. And I am normally so full of beans.

This last couple of days I haven't been full of anything. No appetite, not much energy, the occasional bout of trembling and my throat feels all sore and I've been coughing a nasty dry cough, especially when I pull on my lead.

Gail is looking all concerned and it seems I will be visiting the vet later today. Meanwhile, I am being offered (but mostly refusing) soft food, and am wearing this harness for walks so I don't further irritate my throat.

This is the first time ever that I've been poorly, and of course, given that I am possessed of a Y chromosome, I am feeling exceptionally sorry for myself....

PS from Gail: Could it be kennel cough? Although Bertie was innoculated against this virus back in April.

A lady of impeccable taste

"Come on Bertie, rouse yourself!" Gail said yesterday morning. "We're going round to my friend Diane's for coffee. And she has something in her living room I particularly want to show you."

It had better be worth it, I thought to myself, having just settled down for my morning nap.

It's only a five minute walk to Diane's elegant residence.

Gail pointed to the tower on the corner of the building, and said "You're not going to believe what's in there Bertie".

Once we were both inside, Gail kept pointing in excited fashion towards a fireplace.

So I went over to investigate.

Wow! Oh this really is exciting. (I confess I had had my doubts). Can you see what I see?

Are those really wire-haired fox terriers on the fire irons?

 Let's have a closer look.

I asked Gail to move them so we could get a clearer photo.

I can't tell you how thrilled I am. I feel so special now. You can keep your Westie mugs and border collie calendars, how many dog breeds have their very own design of fire irons?

Oh, Gail is now telling me about Diane and what an amazing person she is. Well, to be frank, as a dog, I am not all that interested in the best-selling books she's written about local history. And awards and prizes and honorary degrees aren't really my thing. Yes I'm sure it's impressive to be one of the first female Burgesses of Aberdeen, if Gail says so, but...

But what I do know is that anyone who exhibits wire-haired fox terrier fire irons in her living room is indeed a quite remarkable lady of impeccable taste (and never mind that her own pup Bunty - sadly not present yesterday - is a border terrier.....)

The Aberdeen MacTaco: for Jazzi

Several of you reading this will know my wee Scottie pal Jazzi. She lives in Illinois, has a troublesome bulldog sister Addy, and every single one of her frequent blog posts will make you smile. (For evidence of this, click here to see her special post for my Earth Science class last year....)

Well anyway, Jazzi has a bit of a thing about tacos. 'A bit of a thing' - that's British Understatement, by the way. So today, 4th October 2011, she is celebrating National Taco Day, and she has invited all her friends to participate by posting a photo of themselves eating a taco..

Oh this has caused me so much stress and anxiety. I have never seen a taco, except on Jazzi's blog. They are not part of the Scottish diet. Plus, Gail cannot drive while she recovers from 'the belly button thing', so I am not in a position to scour the length and breadth of Aberdeen to hunt down taco ingredients. Whatever they are anyway. What to do? I so wanted to join in.

Well I wrote to Jazzi about my dilemma and she kindly suggested I could 'improvise', and indicated that the definition of what constitutes a 'taco' would not be interpreted too strictly.

So Gail allowed me to have a rummage around the food cupboard and the fridge, and this is what I have come up with. An original creation, I am sure you will agree.

In this 'MacTaco', I feel I have achieved a successful blend of the traditional and the novel, and incorporated a uniquely Scottish flavour with the oatcakes. Gail has suggested that it might be helpful to readers if I label all the ingredients....

Can you believe Gail confiscated the chocolate almonds before I even had a chance to taste one!

PS I want to thank Jazzi specially for organising such a fun event. Do visit her blog for more on National Taco Day. I am so over the rugby.