Sunday, April 27, 2014

Annie's Final Farewell

We had Annie cremated and returned to us so we could bury her in places she loved.  On a cloudy and cool afternoon (the kind of weather she liked best) we headed out.


Pickles led the way.


We found a lovely spot we all agreed was perfect.  In the woods where she loved chasing rabbits and near a rabbit den.


Goodbye, sweet girl.

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Another Rickmansworth Adventure

We decided a Saturday picnic was in order, so off we went.  We started off by exploring the canals in a different direction than we normally go.


Oops.


A lovely spot to picnic.


Pickles may have gotten in over her head with a swan (swan is to the left) and had to beat a hasty retreat.


We bought Katy some duck feed and she and Pickles had a good time....



I was amused by this sign (Tesco is the local grocery store)


I think we tired Pickles out....


Friday, April 25, 2014

Happy (early) Birthday

Ryan had mentioned that he wanted to see Titus Andronicus at The Globe.  I looked and there happened to be a matinee performance the Friday before his birthday.  A call to a friend to arrange an after school pickup for Katy later, and we had tickets!

We wandered into town a few hours early to have lunch.  We found a lovely place right on the Thames looking towards St. Paul's Cathedral.

Lunch was lovely and even left us a few minutes to wander through the Tate Modern and along the riverbank.

The Globe is an incredible venue.  It was beautiful and we were excited to see the show.

The show, unfortunately, was just horrible in our opinions (although, it's been well reviewed).  At Ryan's urging we left at intermission and didn't go back.

Instead?  How about a drink at the base of St. Paul's?

A very happy birthday to Ryan!

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Quiet Days

It's unusual for Ryan and I to have much time home alone together.  But life converged in a lovely way.  He had 2 weeks off from class and Katy was back to school for a few days.  Of course, he had class work he'd been putting off to work on, but we did manage to sneak in a few long walks in the woods with Pickles.  But first she got to learn how to be a coffee shop dog....


On one of our walks we came upon a field that's usually empty.  Today?  It was full of very large cows.  And fresh cow poop.  She slipped through the fence beyond our reach and made herself a very happy dog....

Yes.  She smelled as bad as she looks like she does.  And yes.  She was furious at us for giving her a bath.  But while it lasted she was one happy dog....

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Last Day of Break!

I suppose we're just easily amused.....  Katy and Ryan had heard an advertisement on the radio that talked about the longest escalator in a London. They HAD to find it.  So off we went to the Angel tube station....


As expected, it was long....

After a ride in either direction the adventure wore off and we went in search of new things to explore.  With no set agenda for the day we opted to randomly get off at a stop and just wander.  

We found a lovely old cemetary in the center of town....


Beyond that, Katy was begging to spend her pocket money, so a quick trip through Covent Gardens then home to figure out how to get back in the swing of the school routine again!

Monday, April 21, 2014

Dog (show) Days

A while back I had spotted a flyer for a "dog show."  It looked like a simple, ameteur event so I suggested we plan to take Katy (and Pickles, too, obviously).

Pickles did *not* like the car trip.  The roads there were far more winding than we'd anticipated and we think she was feeling more than a little carsick....

We made it, finally, with no major incidents.  Katy was registered and off we went!

It turns out the beginning of the event was far more serious (and time consuming) than we'd anticipated.  Since we don't have a pure bred dog that was competing, we just had to wait.

Finally the "junior handler" category was called.  Unfortunately, Pickles wanted very little to do with the entire process and spent most of her effort trying to run back to either Ryan or I (we spread out to attempt to mitigate her desire to run - we may have just confused her more...)

Katy came in fourth.  Pickles wanted out of there.
For the next category we opted to send Ryan up to help so Pickles wouldn't be quite so upset.

Pickles won fourth again!  (Best cross breed)

And with that, her show career began and ended.  Much, much happier at home on laps being snuggled...


Sunday, April 20, 2014

Happy Easter!

We took another quiet day for Easter.  So quiet, in fact, that I hardly took any pictures!  Happy Easter!


Saturday, April 19, 2014

Battersea Park

After another morning walk in the woods (seriously, I can't get enough of these bluebells - they're so beautiful!) we headed off to explore Battersea Park.

The walk there was fun.   Gorgeous old neighborhoods:

Ryan has a lot of memories of Battersea Park - it's not too far from where he lived in London before.

A little fair was set up, so Katy had some fun.
Then on to the playground.  It was a fun one; Ryan and I played, too!

We spent a long time just wandering the park.  Where else would you practice tightrope walking but here?

Spotted on our walk back to the Tube.  I'd hire it for a wedding - cute touch!