newfoundland dog

Ben’s birthday walk …

by Helen on April 23, 2013

Note: This is the printable birthday bunting that I’m giving away with the May issue of the Bustle & Sew Magazine on Thursday.

Here at Coombe Leigh we are all very patriotic – and would like to wish everyone a very happy St George’s Day. But as far as one member of the family is concerned, 23rd April is very important for quite a different reason! No, not Shakespeare’s birthday (though it is), but Ben’s birthday – the big fellow is SIX today!! And so, in honour of this very special event, we went on an especially favourite walk this morning. Luckily the day dawned fine and bright ….

We parked at the top of the hill opposite Salcombe in the little car park at East Portlemouth. The view is amazing – right across the estuary and as far as Dartmoor in the distance on a clear day. But I wasn’t allowed to linger – my two furry friends were keen to set off …

Down, down, down – the path through the woods … can you see the impatient black shapes just disappearing around the bend in the path? I hope they’ve remembered that we’ll have to climb up again at the end of the walk!

Hmmmm … which way shall we go – beach only – I think!

Here we are – and nobody else in sight. A private beach for Ben on his birthday! The newfies rush ahead of me now ….

Anxious to dive into the water! This is a lovely safe sandy beach that shelves very gently so is ideal for Daisy to practise her swimming skills. Ben pretends he doesn’t know her!

There’s a stream to paddle in too. Lovely cool fresh water – nice and clean too – great for thirsty canines!

What a wonderful walk – we came back across Mill Bay and turned up the steps to East Portlemouth at the Venus Cafe… we didn’t stop for an icecream today though.

And the steep climb back to the car.

Happy Birthday Ben!

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A lovely Easter …. and a peek at my Curlywurly Cottontails pattern.

by Helen on April 2, 2013

We had a lovely Easter. The weather was reasonably kind to us – cold, but dry, so our Egg Hunt was able to go ahead as planned. Ben and Daisy went up into the garden with Rosie and Dan to help hide all the chocolate goodies, but I am sorry to have to tell you that, after only a few minutes they were returned to the kitchen in disgrace.

Ben had spotted that the eggs were being placed in nooks and crannies just out of his reach. Clearly he felt this was totally unsatisfactory but, due to his rather lazy nature, he didn’t try to jump up and reach them. Oh no …. he simply bumped his big furry body into the bushes and trees holding eggs and gave them a good shake – which definitely achieved the desired results as far as he was concerned. Luckily his bad behaviour was spotted before he and Daisy had chance to consume his ill-gotten gains and that was when they were both returned to the kitchen in disgrace!

So there were lots of goodies left for Emily and Oliver (my friend Lisa’s twins) to discover. I think they were pleased with their treasures! Then after lunch everybody wanted to relax – except for the youngest member of the family ….

Who was quite determined to stay awake! Eventually even she was persuaded to lie quietly for a cuddle …

Though she didn’t stay quiet for very long!

Here at Bustle & Sew Easter isn’t quite over yet – my 40% off Easter Eggstravaganza finishes at midnight tonight (BST) so there’s still time to pick up a cracking (groan!) good bargain – you don’t even need a code, your discount is automatically deducted at checkout.

And finally … bunnies are not just for Easter …. here’s a sneak peak at my Curlywurly Cottontails pattern for next month’s magazine…

I’ll tell you a bit more about the Curlywurly Cottontails next time!

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A Lovely Weekend

by Helen on March 10, 2013

This Sunday here in the UK (I know it’s different in the US) is Mothering Sunday – and I have been completely spoiled all day. Sadly Rosie and her boyfriend Dan have gone home to Bristol now, but Rosie made sure I enjoyed all my favourite things – and took some photos for me to show you too ….

We went to the garden centre and saw some beautiful spring flowers- so cheerful and bright on a cold, wet and very grey day here in south Devon

We had lunch too – and a much improved Ben enjoyed all the attention he received from passers-by (Daisy was asleep under the table)

There was lots of mother and daughter togetherness and love …..

I am so lucky to have such a kind and caring daughter.

Later on Rosie took some more photos for me … some little softies for next month’s magazine (I’ll show you a bit later this week) and also my new Pin Cushion Mice. I first uploaded this free pattern more than two years ago, and I’d been feeling for a while that it was time to revise and update both instructions and photos.

So I have! And if you’d like the free Pin Cushion Mouse pattern, just CLICK HERE to download the pdf file.

Finally ….. remember Daisy’s competition in my last post? The answers are Ben A, D, E and Daisy B, C, F – well done Monika!

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Pawley Ben and Name that Newf!!

by Helen on March 7, 2013

Today is the first day of Crufts Dog Show (Did you know that in 1951 Hollywood came to Crufts when MGM introduced the Lassie Cup for the best rough collie?!)

In this second (and final) all doggy-post honouring this great canine event I’m going to hand you over to Daisy who has a competition for you (this one’s just for fun – sorry no prizes!) But before I do … I must tell you – she is in DEEP DISGRACE (she doesn’t care a bit!). Poor Ben is injured and I feel bad too.

A couple of days ago he went very quiet and just lay in his corner resisting all our attempts to entice him out to play. Then, when I went to rub his ears and chin (which he usually loves) he cried. So I phoned his least favourite place, loaded him into the car, and we set off to see the vet. After looking in his ears (clear), taking his temperature (normal), our lovely vet started to manipulate his head. Well, I nearly cried too – Ben was in such pain. And the diagnosis – he has sprained a muscle in his neck. But why, you may ask, do I feel bad and Daisy is disgraced?

Get well soon Ben!

Ben is allowed off-lead exercise while he mends, so later I took them both to the woods. Then the penny dropped …. Daisy has a habit of launching herself at him in excitement when we set out, and hanging onto his collar for a few paces before he (seemingly effortlessly) flicks her off. Of course now she is a lot heavier (44 lbs) and I guess the flicking is not quite so effortless any more, so I think that must be how he hurt his neck. (I should have realised, I feel bad) The good news is that he will heal by himself in 2-3 weeks with no permanent damage and needless to say Daisy won’t be allowed to do that to him in future. Meanwhile he isn’t in such pain any more as he has a supply of dog painkillers and is happily wandering around in dog cloud-cuckoo land feeling very mellow indeed!

Now, while Ben is resting I’ll hand you over to that naughty Daisy for her quiz …..

Hello to you all! Today I am delighted to present to you my new quiz – NAMETHATNEWF!!

Let’s get started! Your first question for 10 points is …….. Whose are these paws?

Next for a bone-crunching, biscuit-munching 15 points – whose nose is whose?

Now an easy-peasy one – just remember wonky is funky!! Whose tails are these? Just 5 points on offer here…

And the final question … for a massive 375 points …. and counting – what did I have for dinner last night? (note from Mum: the little monster was a bit bored of being photographed by this time so decided to grab the camera between her sharp little puppy teeth!)