Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone... and Happy Birthday Jo.

We have had a quiet time.... not really a big celebration here.

We took Ruby to the vets on Christmas Eve and she had her operation - no risk of unwanted puppies now. The vet provided a plastic funnel collar to keep her from chewing her stitches which worked really well until I took it off so she could eat her dinner on Wednesday and she took the opportunity of my turned back to eat all her stitches. So we went back to the vet on Thursday morning - poor Ruby was really sick and had diarrhoea in the car... and the vet wasn't there so we had to bring her home and take her back again in the evening. She is now stitched up again and the wound seems to be healing well.

We have had some lovely walks despite the funnel - it is a bit of an inconvenience when you are pushing your way through bushes and between rocks. We climbed the hill opposite and K9 (behind Wolf Hill) and found yet more ruined buildings - I can't help thinking of them as castles... fortified buildings - why else build perched on the top of the hill away from water etc unless it is for defence? I really wonder what was going on here and why everyone felt the need to build fortresses on the top of all the hills around us. I have asked Mohamed to check out if there is a history department in the University, maybe someone there has some knowledge of local history.

The weather is drier again and we have blue skies and sunshine though it is not really warm enough to warm my croissants in the morning (I have to put them in the oven!).

The rain has done a lot of damage to the road, especially the road going up to the spring and our river walks have changed... landmark boulders have been moved or covered with gravel and more boulders. The aqueduct has no water in it, and has been filled in with rocks and gravel almost all the way along... and the pipes where it crossed the river have been swept away. The village will have to get together and clear it all before the dry season bites. It was nice this year having water in the village pond all year round - well nice for the goats and donkeys and dogs and little boys that used to swim in it in the hot summer weather - and convenient for everyone else.

I have just about finished reading David Copperfield... I had forgotten what a great book it was. I picked it up on Christmas Eve and was in tears of sadness and laughter almost straight away.

Just listened to the anniversary edition of the Archers.... dun dun dun!!! Is it curtains for Nigel or just life in a wheelchair???