Pet sitting in the UK!

  Hello! Well it's Sunday and we are leaving Brian on tomorrow!   We haven't been overly busy since my last post.  When I last left you, Brenda was prepping for Yasmin's visit!  We had a wonderful visit and a great pasta dish for supper!   We had two more outings; a visit to Blenheim Palace and a visit to a hair salon in Witney! Blenheim Palace was fantastic!  We went on Monday and the weather was perfect for our visit there.  Blenheim is the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill (and the Churchill family home).  The magnificence and grandeur of this castle rivals that of any here in the UK (my personal opinion)!  It was completed in 1720 by the 1st Duke of Marlborough , John Churchill.  John Churchill, like his descendant Winston, was a war hero, which ultimately led to his becoming the Duke of Marlborough as a reward for his military accomplishments.  The palace is named after a key battle near Blenheim in Bavaria that J...

  Hello again! Our second week in Standlake!  We truly love being out here in the country!  We've stuck mainly close to home, a trip or two into Witney on the bus.   One of this weeks highlights; "Sunday Roast" at the Black Horse Inn!  On one of our morning walks as we approached the Inn there was a fellow out front mowing the grass.  We stopped and had a nice chat with "Luke", who happened to be the owner of the Black Horse!  Not only is he the chef, he is the gardener and maintenance man! He and Munchie had lots in common to talk about since Munchie's past life includes running restaurants and experiencing having to wear many hats when you run a restaurant!  Luke told us the next Sunday they were featuring their "Sunday Roast".  He said it was always busy and suggested if we were interested to book ahead.  We decided to give it a try and book a table for the Sunday afternoon.  So on Sunday w e strolled down to the Pub and enj...

  Hello! Well, we are now in rural merry old England!  We arrived on the afternoon of September 3rd thanks to Yasmin!  I cannot say thank you enough to her for the generosity and kindness she has shown us!  Yasmin, you truly are a wonderful person!   With Yasmin chauffeuring us we were able to stock up on groceries before leaving Tooting saving us carting it all by bus later!  Poor Munchie was kind of squeezed into the back seat with all the goods!  Upon our arrival at Lilliput (the name of the Brian's house in Standlake) we met Brian himself!  Displaying typical feline indifference, he allowed us to give him a little pet and scratch, he then he sort of ignored us, although his loud purring and maintaining a close proximity told me that he appreciated our company! Our garden (back yard for you Canadians) has an abundance of fruit bearing vegetation which we are taking advantage of! Our first week here in Standlake has been a wonderful contra...

Hello! An afternoon with Frank! We spent our last week in Tooting fairly quietly, which is pretty much in our wheelhouse!   I enjoyed my last few early morning walks to the commons with Cornelius!  He is a marvelous bundle of energy.  He is pretty spent when we get back and spends a good deal of the morning lying at my feet keeping me company! In keeping with our “routines”, Munchie cooks, I eat!  All is good!  We took some time to get organized and ready for our re-location to Standlake.  This, of course, included my Munchie, baking, prepping, rolling, and pinching (she promised Yasmin some perogies!)! She also whipped up another pot of her spicy red lentil soup! Munchie wanted to make sure that Lionel, Tullika and Gabe get back they have a meal ready for them! We were able to get another chauffeured tour!  Dear Yasmin drove us out to Box Hill .  It was a “ bank holiday ” so the place was crawling with vehicles and people! Yasmin also...

  Hello there! We have pretty much established a routine now!  My day starts at between 5:30am and 6am!  As soon as I stir, Cornelius wakes and comes over for me to give him a morning scratch and pet!  He usually sleeps in our bedroom either on his own bed or on the floor beside me or beside Munchie ( and occasionally he will hop up on the bed!)  That is my signal to get up and head out for CBT (Cornelius’ Ball Time)!  He sticks to me like glue as I get geared up for our trek, water bottle, collapsible water dish, ball, ball launcher and small towel.  I have commandeered a sack of Gabe’s to transport the gear!  Once packed, Cornie and I head off to the Commons.  Once there it's ball time!  Cornie gets his workout and we head home.  Back home he gets breakfast and I head back out for my own bit of exercise back at the Commons.   Upon my return, Munchie is up, has the coffee ready to go and has usually attended to the domest...