What a start to the day!

Day 1 (proper) of Baggy and Calum's "holiday". Last night Clever Bird decided to check Baggy's e-mails to make sure that the Boys' planned arrival time this afternoon at the Equestrian Centre was okay. It was. She noticed an e-mail from Etsy - as she gets lots of those, it tool a while to register that it was confirming an order from Creative Clara's little vintage shop, Realuv. Baggy dragged Clara down the pitch black garden to her woman cave to collect the item she had sold and the materials to pack it. As it was nearly midnight, Baggy's brain was not on full throttle, so much sticky tape fighting ensued! Why does it insist on immediately sticking back down the moment you cut it, so that you then spend five minutes trying to locate the end? Why does it stick to you/itself/the wrong bit of the parcel? Hormonal Hannah had a field day getting Baggy in a state over the tape and gave her a hot flush (as if the house wasn't hot enough already) - naked packing then happened; Calum threatened to take a photo. Don't panic bloggees, Clever Bird stopped him. Of course today is Sunday, then Grotty Groom and Cal are on their training break with the horses from Monday to Wednesday, so the Post Office will be shut when they head off for the day, and shut again when they get home. However the sale was to a surprisingly local address, so Baggy's hairy biker husband saw this as the perfect opportunity to have an early morning bike ride and be Clara's personal delivery driver. He was up at 7.00am.

As Grotty was too excited/nervous about getting the Boys sorted today, Baggy decided to get up and take Furry Mama out for an early (pre-heat) walk with Minty Mutt. The water meadows seemed a good idea, as it was already hot at 8.00am. As Minty and Furry Mama were heading back along the field, Clever Bird suddenly realised that Mint was saying hello to a grubby yellow Labrador. Then she noticed a Rottweiler standing behind Mint, keeping an eye on proceedings. Tails seemed to be wagging so Furry Mama left them to it. There was no sign of an owner though. The Labrador must have signalled the Rottie because he decided to  say hello too. Freda Fretter held her breath, while Furry Mama spoke soppy-voiced to everyone. The Labrador got bored and shot off into the bean crop. The Rottie headed to Furry Mama. "Hello handsome", said Furry Mama, the Rottie looked at her, Furry Mama held out her hand. He sniffed it. Freda Fretter breathed again. So did the Rottie. Cuddles followed - he was lovely. Minty went off sniffing and the Rottie stuck himself to Baggy's leg. "Great day to find two strays", thought Clever Bird as she tried to see where the Labrador had gone to. And typical that today Furry Mama didn't have her usual spare lead with her. The Labrador had no collar on, but the Rottie did (although no tag). Furry Mama walked on with Minty ahead of her and the Rottie enjoying his head being stroked as he stuck to Baggy's leg. Freda Fretter was just trying to work out how she was going to warn the cats that she had two extra dogs with her, when a head popped up from amongst the beans. Phew! It turned out that they were the guard dogs from a yard by the field. They didn't get out, other than when the old chap Baggy met came over to  take them for a walk on a Sunday! Apparently the Rottie (whose name is Buster) doesn't like dogs or people, until he gets to know them.

Home once more (minus two extra dogs), Furry Mama let Minty dive into his little pool (and soak the whole house). The Domestic Goddess is about to  rustle up breakfast as her personal courier is home - mission complete; apparently the lady was delighted to have been got out of bed by a hairy biker on a Sunday morning - not sure she'd be so delighted if she could have seen the naked packing though. No, really bloggees, she was delighted - Realuv does like to provide a personal touch after all..........

WaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaH.

Most of the day has been spent trying to get organised for Baggy and Calum's holiday tomorrow. Clever Bird had made packing lists for the children, they can't after all figure it out for themselves and even if they could, hooves are not conducive to packing. But Hormonal Hannah still had Baggy in a proper state about it. Grotty Groom tried to just get on and get organised, but between the heat, the wasps nest on the tack locker and Calum getting angsty with Baggy, it was all rather exhausting. Grotty decided to take a break and groom The Boy Wessles. It was sweltering - no breeze at all in the stables. Grotty decided to do Wessles lots of plaits - thirteen plaits later, Baggy had lost about two pints of liquid and decided that she needed a cup of tea! Wesley felt slightly cooler.

Eventually most of the stuff needed was packed into Dodgy and Grotty had everything else organised for packing tomorrow morning - Clever Bird didn't want her leaving all the tack in the car overnight, if it had been pinched, Grotty didn't fancy three days of bare-back riding. So there's still a fair amount to do in the morning before the transport arrives. Baggy and Calum will do their own packing tomorrow night, when they get home from settling the Boys in at Ashen Equestrian Centre.

When they got home, Baggy was totally exhausted, but she had to rustle up The Domestic Goddess who was sulking somewhere. It's all very lovely having the very kind neighbours furry-sitting, but that requires the house to be vaguely respectable. Vacuuming, floor washing, washing brought in and put away, rubbish put out, evening meal cooked. The Goddess decided to whip up a healthy chilli con carne. Last time she did it, it was rather bland (even for Baggy who cannot eat hot food), so today The Goddess added extra chilli powder, extra smoked paprika and chilli flakes for good measure. What Clever Bird had omitted to remind her of, was that last time The Goddess used red kidney beans in brine; this time however the kidney beans (as per the recipe) were in chilli sauce! It was actually jolly nice, but Baggy and Calum have just eaten an entire (large) tub of fromage frais with it, to cool it down! Freda Fretter is now waiting to see whether the meal fights Baggy back later. Hopefully not as she'll need her wits about her tomorrow........

It doesn't rain, but it pours!

Baggy was woken up by a phone call from the estate agents that manage the rental of her Dad's house. "Good news, we are a step closer to your tenant leaving. He's found somewhere, it's a question of when he can move". Clever Bird tried to get Baggy's brain to wake up, "Urrrm, I had no idea that there was a problem. He's had nearly three months notice. The roof's coming off in September, so he'll have to be out by then". "Well, yes but it's not easy to find somewhere that will take a dog". Sorry, but how is that Baggy's problem? What exactly do these "professionals" get paid so much money for? Freda Fretter and Hormonal Hannah started to stress Baggy, who was instantly cross/tearful. Then Clever Bird stepped in, "And if he isn't out?", "Well, you'll have to take legal action". Cue hot flush. Baggy could feel her temper rising as Freda panicked her. "Right, well I'm not worrying about that until it becomes an issue", said Clever Bird as she made Baggy take deep breaths. "Well there aren't really any properties to rent round here at present, so it might be a problem". Baggy breathed in, then out, slowly; to get her heart to stop doing that boom-boomedy-boom thing that it's not done for a while as it tries to jump out of her chest.

Baggy headed off to Fat Club. She had put on her lightest, floatiest dress. As she got to the scales, she took all her jewellery off (just in case). Shoes off, she stepped onto the scales. They flickered between her having put on another half-a-pound, or having stayed the same. She stopped twitching and "lifted" herself. They settled on her having stayed the same. Phew! Bearing in mind that Baggy has not managed to stick totally to the plan for even one day in the last few weeks, Freda Fretter was actually really pleased with the result. Thank goodness for Furry Mama, Grotty Groom, Gloria Gardener and The Domestic Goddess who have burnt off the extra calories for Baggy. Actually, Hormonal Hannah and Freda Fretter might need a little "thanks" too, as between them they probably burnt off a load more calories stressing her out!

Home again, Baggy opened a letter from her solicitor. Three weeks after instructing him to buy the land for Baggy's Dad's house from the chap who had "acquired" its garden, there was a letter. With a whole load of complications for Baggy to address, and a request for a large cheque to pay the other person's solicitor. Waaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh! Clever Bird phoned. It wasn't even noon, but the solicitor had gone home for the weekend. Hannah started to set Baggy off again - anger/tears with a hot flush for good measure. Clever Bird said, "Okay, I'll write" and made Baggy take deep breaths, while muttering the mantra, "There's no point in worrying about things you can do nothing about".

Meanwhile, Baggy's husband Calum is doing his best to alleviate Freda and Hannah's biggest fear that he will leave Baggy; not intentionally, Baggy totally trusts him, but by something happening to him. So in addition to eating more healthily to lose weight, he's now joined a gym! To encourage him, and to give Baggy's own weight loss efforts a new boost, Clever Bird has decided that Baggy needs to get to the gym too. Baggy has therefore just burnt off a load of extra calories, fighting her overloaded wardrobes and drawers trying to find her trainers and gym clothes, that haven't seen the light of day for more years than some of you bloggees will have even been on this planet!!! She's now dressed in said items and will be heading off to join up this afternoon! She'll meet Cal there when he finishes work later. Hormonal Hannah then pointed out to Baggy that this is precisely why she should never throw away old clothes. Pesky woman. Baggy needs to face that fear (but she does have a point bloggees)! Currently on the bedroom floor are various items that are well past their sell-by date. One is a fleece that's full of holes from Minty Mutt chewing it when he was a few weeks old. Another top is literally threadbare but was a present from Baggy's sister. There's a very nice cardigan that just isn't to Creative Clara's taste, that was a present from Baggy's stepmother. There are a number of tops that were Baggy's real Mum's, that Baggy has never worn. And so on. Whether they will make it from the floor to the bin or charity shop, or they will end up being stuffed back into the wardrobe remains to be seen, but getting rid of any of them would be a step too far for Hormonal Hannah today; but at least they've left the wardrobe.........

Confident Grotty Groom equals an extremely happy Baggy.

It didn't occur to Clever Bird when she booked a nice, relaxing massage for Baggy yesterday, that today Baggy's not-quite-as-lumpy-as-they-were-before-the-massage-shoulders, would be really rather, (how can Clara put this nicely?) "tender". In fact they flipping hurt! In a good way you understand bloggees, they are at least no longer attached to Baggy's ears, but where the lovely girl worked her magic on Baggy's lumps, they are rather sore. Grotty Groom was a little concerned about this fact, as today she had her rescheduled lesson - she wasn't convinced that Baggy would be up to it. But Grotty will no longer be swayed by Freda Fretter and Hormonal Hannah talking her out of riding Wessles. The Boy is going like a dream and Grotty is feeling surprisingly confident on him. (Probably why he's going like a dream frankly - he and Grotty are so in tune that if any of the rest of the gang knock Grotty's confidence, Wesley tends to worry too. A vicious circle as you can imagine).

But today it was once again hot and humid (although nowhere near as hot as Tuesday) and Baggy was in pain. With Baggy's new attitude - "face those fears and keep busy" - Grotty groomed Wessles and tacked him up. Clever Bird decided to remove a couple more of Wesley's (but really) Baggy's "safety" blankets, and ride with no face net or rhythm beads. The face net isn't really necessary in the manege as the flies seem to stay away in there, and Wesley can see better (and is therefore less spooky) without it. The bells on the beads soothe Baggy and Wesley, but probably wouldn't go down well in a dressage competition! So, two less "safety" items. Then she decided to push her luck and ride without her air-jacket. This would be the first time of riding Wesley without it, since she bought it four years ago. Baggy always gets very nervous when Grotty is having a lesson. Fair enough really, as the purpose of a lesson is to push Grotty out of her comfort zone, but today as she walked Wesley to the manege, she was really nervous. She told her trainer that she was "being brave" and riding without it. "Why?" asked Vicki-May, who is more than aware how "quirky" Wesley can be, "I always ride in mine". "Not sure really", replied Baggy, "especially as driving here, Psychic Ploppo "saw" her Facebook status for today, 'Rode Wesley without my air jacket for the first time since I got it four years ago - fell off Wesley for the first time in four years', maybe I'm being silly". Clever Bird took Baggy back to the stables and got Grotty to put on her air-jacket. Baggy's heart rate immediately went back to vaguely normal.

The lesson was exhausting in the heat, but a roaring success! Wesley didn't just go like a dressage diva in walk and trot, he went like one in canter as well - by no means perfect, but pretty good. Baggy had a stupid grin on her bright red sweaty face, and Wesley was loving the work. He got quite excited and started anticipating Grotty, as they cantered around poles. In his excitement he did get quite fast and strong so Grotty increased the size of his circle as Freda Fretter had flashbacks of Baggy hitting the arena gate, only for Grotty to realise that she had turned him towards a jump! A jump that was about 3' 9" high and they were heading towards it from the wrong side! Grotty could feel Wessles' excitement! Baggy panicked and made Grotty focus. Wesley returned to trot. Disaster avoided! Although Wesley hasn't jumped for years, he loves jumping and could probably have cleared it quite easily - Baggy on the other hand........

But Grotty was absolutely delighted with Wessles and Baggy, who had a ridiculously large grin on her face at the end of the hour. It all bodes well for their holiday/training course at Ashen Equestrian Centre next week. That horse is just the best therapy ever for Baggy. He certainly is a "special" horse.............

Baggy has had a day to and for herself.

In spite of the incredible mugginess of last night, Baggy actually slept really well for once. When she had to come downstairs to make a bathroom visit at 4.30am, Furry Mama found the boy Minty Mutt lying in the bathroom (the coolest room in the house), panting like a train. So she decided to open the kitchen door and leave it open. All three furries shot out! So Baggy opened the upstairs windows before she went back to bed. Clever Bird isn't sure whether Minty slept outside, but she wouldn't have blamed him if he had!

Baggy had a day to herself today. Calum persuaded her to try a massage to relieve her frozen neck and shoulders that seem to have been connected to her earlobes for the last few months. Baggy is really not comfortable with being touched by strangers (another hangover from her childhood), but she really, really needs to try to relax, so she booked a massage at the beauty parlour she attends regularly (for much less pleasant treatments!) where she at least knows the girl doing the massage. Freda Fretter worried about it, but the masseur kept Baggy yacking, which works for her. But oh boy did it hurt! The knotty bits in her shoulders were ridiculous! But it definitely helped - Baggy floated down the street to her favourite café for a cappuccino afterwards. Before heading to the local DIY superstore to see the design for The Domestic Goddess's possible new kitchen.

Baggy was very excited to realise when she got there, that Calum had got some time off work, and was there too! It's impossible to miss his massive Dodge Ram pick-up in the car park. So they would be able to view the kitchen design together. Then it turned out that he had the afternoon off (having started work at 3.00am this morning), so they were able to spend an hour-and-a-half with the designer, redesigning it!  It's lovely to dream of a nice kitchen and with luck it will become a reality at some point. The Goddess does after all need all the help she can get...........

Clever Bird persuaded Grotty Groom not to finish off Baggy and Wessles.

Baggy had good intentions of getting up at 8.00 and getting Furry Mama to walk Minty Mutt before the heat. Fail. She got up at 9.00 and took Grotty Groom straight to the yard for her lesson. As she was driving there she watched the temperature on the car gauge: 19Deg.C.; 20Deg.C; 21Deg. C; 22Deg.C. Then her hands-free audio system bleeped and the computer voice asked, "You have a new message, would you like me to read it?" "Read it", said Clever Bird. It was Grotty's trainer asking whether she really wanted a lesson still today. Clever Bird really wasn't sure that Grotty should be subjecting Baggy or Wessles to an hour of hard work in this heat, so she called and left a message for her trainer, saying that she was happy either way. By the time she pulled into the yard at 10.00am it had hit 23Deg.C. As Baggy got out of the car it felt even hotter. Baggy wandered into the stables. Joey whickered to her. Wesley looked up from his nest in the straw! Baggy's phone rang. After a brief chat with her trainer, she and Clever Bird agreed that it was way too hot for Baggy and more particularly, Wessles. The car now said, "26Deg.C." and it was still nearly an hour to the lesson. They cancelled it.

Grotty wandered back into the very warm stables. Wessles got up. He was already sweaty. Baggy went off with Grotty to get haynets for the Boys. She groomed both of them, then decided that as Baggy couldn't stand her hair on her neck in this heat, neither could the Boys. She plaited both of their manes.

Baggy probably lost a pint of liquid in the process, and that was before Hormonal Hannah decided that she was overdue a hot flush. Time for tea - is Baggy the only person who needs hot tea in hot heat? Grotty didn't want to leave the Boys, but it was too hot and they needed to sleep. Treats given, Grotty said "goodbye".

Home once more, Furry Mama fed the puddy-tats (again) and filled Minty Mutt's pool to distract him, while Gloria Gardener insisted on getting Baggy into action to cut the lawn. Stooooooopid in the lunchtime sun, but she managed. Even though Baggy drank a pint of Ribena, has had two mugs of tea and lunch, she now has a headache. So now she is in the house, with the curtains closed to keep the sun out - a siesta is calling........

Not too bad for a Monday!

Today's been a good day for a Monday; well apart from the heat - that's just not British! Clever Bird is much happier when people are moaning about the cold and the wind, not the heat, Baggy is really not terribly good in the heat. Nothing at all to do with the haystack that she wears as a fashion accessory on top of her head, no nothing to do with that. Nothing at all to do with Hormonal Hannah's hot flushes either, no nothing to do with those. Nothing to do with not wishing to get Baggy's lily-white legs out, no nothing to do with that. She just doesn't do well in heat - she wilts, like a delicate little flower. Even though Furry Mama took Minty Mutt out fairly early, Baggy was still too hot. She was quite tempted to leap in the stream with the lad.

Baggy was meeting her friend Susan for coffee and a catch-up at 11 and Baggy had already concluded that it was way too hot to let Grotty Groom ride Wessles, so she decided to change into a sundress (out of her hot jodphurs and long boots). Three hours and two cappuccinos worth of catching-up later, Grotty headed to the yard. She gave both Boys a cuddle and a haynet each, then pulled up a chair outside Wesley's stable and cleaned bridles! She did two by undoing bits ('scuse the pun), but not taking them apart. The third one has not been used recently and needed a proper clean, so she decided to totally dismantle it. Clever Bird will shortly be attempting to put it back together; she may be doing a search on t'internet for "The idiots guide to constructing a bridle".

When she got home Clever Bird suddenly realised that Furry Mama had left the hose on in Minty Mutt's paddling pool - so that was nicely full/overflowing-all-over-the-lawn for him. Gloria Gardener watered the wilting plants while the cats sun-bathed. Tomorrow will apparently be even hotter and may even be a new record for a British July and what will Baggy be doing? Staying in her lovely cool thatched house? Going to the seaside? Sitting in a fridge? Nope, she will be taking Grotty Groom for a riding lesson.............