Puppies, toddlers and knot gardens

This is a funny time to have a week away from home.  The garden is overflowing with things to do and having done a lot of freelance work in March I have been snatching time in the garden in April.  But sometimes other parts of my life call.

Younger daughter has got herself a puppy, a golden labrador straight out of the Andrex ad.  She is a thorough, forward planning, think things through kind of girl and had been planning and sorting out for this puppy for months.  In fact I suspect she has been wanting this puppy for most of her life and having a dog was part of her reason for making the big move from London to living in the country.  She took three weeks off work and I had arranged to come down for the first week she went back to be part of the transitional puppy care arrangements.

The sign is a warning for children about llamas.  Possibly the puppy should have a sign on her too as she is still at the puppy bitey and nipping stage.  M has read all the stuff about teaching bite inhibition, and lots else besides, and is doing fantastically well at teaching her that, along with sitting and waiting for her food and coming when she is called.  This is not to say that the days are not spent removing her from all sorts of great chewing opportunities and teaching her what is ok to play with - squeaky duck - and what is not - my laptop bag and my shoes, my everything really.

She is so utterly beautiful that she is pounced on by dog lovers wherever we go.  Having just removed her from the catflap,stopped her taking a book off the table and prevented her from chewing the hem of my jeans, I feel this blog should accompany the impossibly cute pictures with a big warning about the time and responsibility which attaches to having a puppy.  It's not all big eyes and cute tail waving!  I think even M who was as well prepared as you can imagine being, has found it harder than she expected although I am sure she wouldn't have it undone.

If you can't have your adult children living near you, one of the sad results of changing lives and changing work patterns over the last sixty years or so, then it is quite a good thing if they have the courtesy and organisational skills to live near each other so that you can visit more than one at a time!  Older and younger daughters live about half an hour's easy drive from each other and see each other quite frequently.  So I have managed to fit in visits to my older daughter and her family and some precious time with her toddler, who is also at the impossibly cute stage, all big blue eyes and curly fair hair and with a great tendency to find life hilarious.

He has learnt to climb the stairs and was keen to wave to me at every step to make sure I was paying attention.  He has a real liking for bubbles.

And sometimes even catches them.  He is a total delight although I have rather got out of the habit of looking after small children.  When did I ever read a thing when mine were small?  In fact, looking back, I think I just didn't.  That time was probably to blame for my continuing magazine habit, bite sized pieces to be fitted in when children slept or became temporarily transfixed.

And in some of the downtime where I was supposed to be leaving the puppy to get used to being by itself, I went to Waterperry and coveted this fabulous knot garden.

Quite funny really with puppies, toddlers and even gardens.  Everything worthwhile is a commitment.  Everything wonderful comes wrapped up in its own necessity for hard work, at least some of the time.  I think I may be on the point of coming up with a philosophy, if only I could spare the time to think about it.