Brass monkey time again.

There is a certain satisfaction gained from sitting out in the spa pool at this time of year. We just mostly sit in companionable silence, watching the steam coil & twist as it rises & admiring the crystal clear sky that shows the stars up with amazing clarity. The only sounds that disturb the tranquillity is the neighbor calling his dog in & the crunch of teeth on bone as our silly old pooch contentedly gnaws his bone at our side. He loves to save his bone till we are in the spa before he settles for a good old gnaw. Possibly it has a lot to do with the fact that he knows that bones are forbidden beyond the back porch. He is fairly protective & I suppose thats his idea of a compromise between his self imposed guard duties & enjoying being a dog. It could all hinge on the fact that Mum used to get quite agitated if he was more than 6 feet away from her. Anyway, we finished our spa & came inside to sit in front of the fire & he , as usual, stayed out to finish his gnaw. It must have been a touch too cold for him out there though, because after about 5 minutes, he came marching in carrying his bone rather like one of those old Meerschaum pipes that you see in Victorian photos.

I watched him in disbelief. He's never done anything like that before so I watched him to see what he would do. He marched on over to his basket, curled up in it & carried on gnawing. "Fair enough," I thought & left him to it. All was fine till he climbed out & headed to his favourite corner on the carpet. "Oi!" says I. "basket or outside." He shot me a very reproachful look & carefully marched off out. I have no doubt that I will find the bone on the hall mat later. Thats his canine concept of a compromise I think.

Its been quite a long week. A dear friend is shifting house & her kids show a marked reluctance to help her. Now that we have finished, I think I understand why. Damn, she has a lot of stuff & most of it is her kids. But we have finished now, so its time for us to sit & take stock of our new lifestyle.

I took Herself to an acupuncturist on Monday. I'm taking her again tomorrow for her arthritis. I must be honest & say that it doesn't appear to have given her the relief that I hoped it would, but we will wait & see tomorrow I think. Meanwhile , I have been trying to take some of the load. Our home help has been a spectacular failure, with the girl concerned only giving us half the time that she was supposed to. We have changed agencies & now have someone coming in that we know. We also know she is a bloody hard worker, who will give us & the agency bloody good value for money.

Meanwhile, during the time that Herself was out walking I raced round, made the bed, did the dishes & put the washing on. Shame I didnt see the washcloth in the tub though. Herself came home just in time to be greeted by water flowing through to the garage. We have a very clean laundry floor now. Such, I guess, are the vicissitudes of being a House Husband. I'm learning though....