Monday Montage

Bloggers' block has struck again. Since pictures speak 1,000 words, I figured I’d use them as a tool to get through this current uninspired phase. Today I'm just going to review our weekend via some photos that I took. First off, how about these Summer temperature we got last week?

While you wimps over in Louisiana would be whining about how cold it is outside, us Aberdonians were celebrating such an amazing 5 day forecast. It’s all about perspective. We didn’t let the pleasant days go to waste and spent most of the weekend outdoors. Here are some additional pictures from our Clachnaben hike. 

Since Clachanben is such an intimidating climb, we didn’t want to set Samson up for failure and therefore decided to leave him behind. He was heartbroken and cried in the windowsill while we drove off. Sam’s new spot is on the back of the couch, looking out the window so he can spy on the neighbors. 

Everytime I leave the house, he goes to this spot to wait for my return.

It’s very cat-like, dontchathink? I’m pretty sure he’s genetically some sort of hybrid between a bird dog and a house cat. When we got back from Clachnaben 4 hours later, he was still sitting in his spot, waiting for us to get back from our hike.

It hurt my heart. It really did. So the next day we took both of our pups and met up with Falene/Kady and Ryan/Angus for a forest walk. Ryan suggested we let Samson off leash and I explained that Samson has these little habits of chasing every little thing that moves and flat-out ignoring his parents when they call him back, which make off leash walks a bit challenging. Still, I felt so guilty about leaving him behind the day before that I took a chance and set him free. And he did brilliantly! 

He stayed with the pack, didn’t go gallivanting in the woods after any rabbits, and came back to me every single time I called him. If he continues to do so well, it could open up a whole world of possibilities for us as a dog walking family of four. 

He’s trying to prove himself as one of the big dogs and I couldn’t be more proud of my little couch potato. Of course both of my dogs came back covered in mud, and so as soon as we got home it was bath time, which Samson absolutely loves.

 Bailey was huddled in a corner trying to escape the torturous after-walk shower, while Sam was impatiently waiting for a boost into the garden tub. 

Since Sam’s fur is so long in the winter, it has a habit of picking up sticks as he walks through the forest. Here is a handful that I combed out of his coat during his bath.

Jonathan and I have a little assembly line rhythm when it comes to double teaming bath time. He’s in charge of soaking and rinsing while I’m in charge of shampooing and toweling off. 

It’s probably my least favorite chore, but I love it all the same. So does Sam. 

 

On Sunday we were all four pooped. I took a rare day off  from exercising and other than an outing to church and the pet store, I basically lazed around snuggling with these two all day.

 Now that Sam is proving himself as a real dog rather than some sort of stuffed cat hybrid, Bailey and he are starting to bond. Usually they just indifferently coexist but lately they have been curling up for naps together. Here is Bailey using Sam as a pillow.  

It’s almost too adorable for my heart. 

In non-dog related news, the days are slowly getting longer. I can usually start my morning runs by 8:30 and at 4:20, it’s not completely dark yet. 

The winter weather has really been fine, but these short days are killing me. I guess the time indoors will give me more time to study for my driving exam. Jonathan just brought me my preparation materials. 

Yikes. After immigrating to the UK, Americans have 1 year to apply for their license. There is a theory and a practice test, both of which are impossibly hard. I think the fail rate is something like 87% on the first try. And since I failed my US driving test where the pass rate is 87%, I’m 87% sure I’m in trouble. Especially since there are 144 pages of traffic signs.

Yikes. 

And just a random ‘Scotland is kind of weird’ picture, I snapped a photo of this ‘horse’ trailer, aka, horse mini-van on our way to the mall the other night. 

I’m still baffled by the physics of this, but I’m pretty sure the plural of ‘horses’ is virtually impossible, unless they are the mini kind. No way are two Scottish sized stallions fitting into a mini-van. 

In other HUGE WONDERFUL FANTATSTIC news, my bestie for ever and ever delivered a healthy baby boy yesterday.

Congrats Talia and Josh! I can’t wait to meet sweet baby Kye soon!